THE LANDLORD (BBANGSAZ)

Chapter 19 (M)

MINJI

Six months later

The smell of ginger and spices wafted through the air as I walked through the front door, a plastic bag of groceries hanging from my hand. The door swung shut behind me, and I entered the kitchen to find Hanni and Jia huddled around the table, laser-focused on constructing an epic gluten-free gingerbread house.

"How are my girls?" I asked, setting the bag of sweets on the table and leaning down to place a kiss on top of Jia's head.

"Did you remember to get the little red dots?" Jia asked, looking at me like her question was the most serious thing she'd ever asked me and that my life depended on the answer.

"Yes, ma'am," I replied, stepping around the table to kiss Hanni hello. "I got a little something for you too," I added.

"Aw, thanks, babe," Hanni said, barely looking up from her task. She was squeezing a huge tube of white frosting, meticulously dispensing the sugary glue between two slabs of gingerbread.

Once she finished piping the frosting, she set the tube down on the table and gently pressed the two edges together. "Okay, Jia, now we just need to wait for this last wall to dry, and then it'll be time to really get our decorating on."

Jia nodded silently, her eyes trained on the newly laid frosting.

"How about some hot chocolate while we wait?" I offered, unpacking the candies from the bag.

"Yay!" Jia quickly clambered down from her chair at the table and scurried to the pantry to help me get the hot chocolate ingredients.

Once Jia was out of earshot, I placed a hand on Hanni's shoulder and asked, "How was she while I was gone? She's listening to you, right? No issues?"

Hanni chuckled and shook her head. "Just because I've moved in doesn't mean that things are going to change between Jia and me. She was perfect. You really don't need to worry about us."

I let out a sigh of relief. Hanni had moved in for good last week. I'd figured there might be an adjustment period for all three of us, but so far, things had gone smoothly. "I know you're right. I just worry sometimes, you know? This is still new territory for all of us."

"Well, I appreciate your concern, but trust me, everything's perfect." Hanni smiled, and I leaned down to kiss her again, this time a little longer than before.

"Dada!" Jia called out. "Come help me make hot chocolate!"

I broke away from the kiss, and Hanni let out a small giggle.

"I guess that's something we'll just have to get used to, won't we?"

"You'd think we'd be used to being interrupted by now," I said with a wink. We both laughed, and I walked over to the fridge and pulled out the milk.

"Hey, Dada?"

"Yeah, Jia?"

"Is Hanni gonna live with us forever?"

Shit. When Hanni and I decided she should move in, we'd had a talk with Jia about it, but she didn't have many questions at the time. Hanni had said she thought that was a good sign, but I'd been worried. And now that Jia was asking me questions like that? I wasn't sure what her reaction would be, no matter how I responded.

"That's the plan," I said, turning the heat to low and setting the wooden spoon on the counter. "Is that okay with you? I know we talked about it before and you said it was okay, but it's also okay if you're scared about it now."

Jia shook her head, looking down at her toes. "No, I'm not scared," she said, picking at a piece of frosting stuck to her shirt.

"Then what is it, sweetie?"