8 Years [ENGV]

#10

HAEIN

It was still not possible to see Haeji, only a few days had passed, but I didn't want to be away from her anymore — it was surreal.

It was a feeling I had never felt, not even for Jisoo. Of course, I would give my life for both of them, but obviously, the love I felt for Jisoo didn't equal the love I felt for Haeji. They were equally so great that they couldn't be measured in any way, yet incomparable.

I asked Jaehyeok to see the school schedule and found out that Haeji's classes were only in the morning, in the afternoon there were extracurricular classes that she didn't attend, and at 3 pm, the children played in the courtyard.

I looked at my watch, and it was 2:59 pm, I took a deep breath — I was anxious —, tapping my foot on the ground frantically. When I heard a signal coming from inside the school, my heart raced while I was looking for my daughter.

It was impossible not to recognize her, just like her mother, she had her own glow that made her stand out. Or maybe I was already completely in love with my daughter, who for me shone brighter than the other children. She ran with three other classmates, laughing, sometimes stopping to brush a few strands of hair from her face and running again, playing tag. I swallowed hard and approached the fence, some children noticed and thought it was strange, they stared at me scared and ran away from the fence — after all, an unknown man dressed all in black was approaching the place that should have been safe. I didn't even need to get her attention in some stupid way, Haeji looked in my direction, her eyes lit up, and her chest puffed out, the smile of surprise lit up her face. She left her friends — and the games — and ran to me.

"Haein!" She arrived, holding on to the fence. "Where's Jisoo Unnie?" She asked, trying to look behind me.

"She didn't come." Haeji didn't show any disappointment. I believe she was very happy to see me. "How are you?"

"I am fine. A woman came to talk to me." She said, probably referring to Kan-in. "Will you come get me this weekend?" I sighed and looked at her, denying it sadly. That made the disappointment appear. "You don't want to adopt me anymore?"

"No, my love... Of course, we do." She swallowed hard. "But you need to talk to that woman first, okay?" She nodded sadly.

"Can't I talk to her at your house?" I denied.

"Not for now. It has to be here."

"Why?" Before she could answer, an authoritative voice sounded a little far away.

"Ming Hae-ji!" She looked back, and I looked up, seeing a woman approaching in a hurry. "Who are you talking to?"

"Haeji." She looked back at me. "Everything will be okay, okay? You'll be able to come with us on the weekends soon." She nodded. I wanted to tell her I loved her and kiss her forehead, but that might confuse her, so I smiled slightly, caressing her cheek with my thumb and stood up, leaving there in a hurry.

"Hey! I'll call the police!" In the distance, I heard Haeji yelling for them not to, but I didn't even look back, feeling like Lim So-hoo while running away from the anti-communist agents in Snowdrop.

JISOO

Jennie was seven months pregnant, and her nerves were on edge. She was more nervous, more anxious, more irritable, more sentimental and more round.

"I think I'm going to cancel this party," she said, as we looked for some space for the party to happen. "I'm fat, and I'll get fatter until the day of the party."

"And?" Lisa asked.

"I don't think I'll even be able to walk during the celebration."

"It's not that long until the party happens." I said, and she looked at me.