Three of kind

Part 1

It's another noisy weekend at the small apartment, with the TV blasting yet another Barney episode that Karina already knows by heart and her suddenly ringing phone adding a mismatched melody that's making her frown and grunt.

"Stay here. Don't move," she warns the half naked little girl sitting on the bed before rushing out of the room to get her phone.

"Yes, Dad?" she answers the phone after seeing the name on the screen, returning to the small bedroom only to find the girl missing. "Erica! No, Dad. This is not a good time. Call me back later? Okay."

Without saying bye, she hangs up the phone, grabs the pajamas she has laid out earlier and leaves the room in search of the mischievous girl.

"Erica! You're going to catch a cold if you don't put your clothes on right now!"

A loud giggle ensues from the corner of the living room and she can't help but laugh when she sees the top of a brown head peeking from behind the tall armrest of her large couch.

"Hm... I wonder where she is..." she pretends to wonder while stealthily inching towards the hiding place, preparing the pajama top so she could slip it onto the girl's head as soon as she catches her.

"Gotcha!" shouts Karina as she jumps in front of the crouching girl, causing the latter to squeal before trying to make her escape.

Expertly, she pushes the giggling girl's head through the shirt but she has to let go of the pants so that she can use both hands to put the girl's arms through the sleeves.

The second she releases her hold to grab the pajama pants, the girl makes her second escape, running through the living room.

Karina sighs in exhaustion but the girl's loud cute laugh followed by a cheeky "Come and get me, Mommy!" erases all irritation and she leaps up with new-found energy, chasing the girl around, letting her win for a few minutes before grabbing her and throwing her onto the couch.

It's a struggle to get Erica to stop kicking so she can put the pants on her snuggly and right when she has succeeded, the doorbell rings.

Grunting, she goes to check the camera only to see a face she recognizes.

It's the blond woman whom she has seen a few times while coming and going, someone who also lives in the building. They've even shared the elevator once and the blonde had gotten off earlier so she probably lives somewhere on the lower floors.

The doorbell rings again and she quickly opens the door.

"Yes?"

"Good evening," says the blonde who, upon Karina's further inspection, is still wearing pajamas under her hoodie and a pair of fluffy slippers. "My name is Minjeong and I live right below you."

"O-oh? Hello. Nice to meet you. My name is Karina. How can I help you?" replies Karina.

"I don't usually nag and I know it's weekend but I need to go to work in a few hours so I need my sleep. Can you please keep it down? Especially with the running," Minjeong says.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! We'll keep it down. So sorry," apologizes Karina, blushing. She never wants to discomfort others so she feels a little worse than she should.

Minjeong nods. "Okay. Thank you."

The blonde's about to turn around and leave when a little girl comes bursting out of the apartment, only stopping when she hits her mother's legs.

"Hi!" Erica suddenly greets their neighbor with a bright smile and a quick wave of the hand.

Minjeong can't help but crack a small smile when she sees the girl. They've come across each other a few times and once, while in the elevator and while Karina wasn't looking, the two had exchanged funny faces, making each other grin and giggle.