Come Back Home

1

THURSDAY (LATE AFTERNOON) - AT THE MALL - WINTER'S POV

"But I want to check the new mics they got!" Beomgyu protests.

"Fine..." I sigh. "...but I'm not buying anything! You just take a look, OK? And if you..."

"Winter?" Someone suddenly says behind me, making me turn around.

"Megan?" I say, surprised. "Oh my God! It's so nice to see you!" I add, hugging her.

"You too!" She says, hugging me back. "I can't believe it! It's been...what, 10...12 years?"

"Yes, something like that!"

"Oh my goodness, is this Minji?" She asks in disbelief after looking at my daughter.

"The one and only." I reply with a smile. "You remember Megan, Minji? She and her husband used to live next door when you were little."

"Oh...yes! You had a pet rabbit, didn't you?" Minji asks.

"That's right! And you were quite obsessed with it!" Megan laughs. "How old are you now, honey?"

"I'm 17."

"17? Oh my God, time really does fly..I still remember you when you could not even walk yet!" Megan says. "And these big boys here must be Beomgyu and Taehyun?" She asks and the twins throw her a timid smile.

"Yes..." I confirm. "13 years old...and as you can see, they are already as tall as me..." I add, making her laugh.

"Sorry, mama...but can we go check the mics? The store is going to close." Beomgyu suddenly says, getting impatient. Of course, chatting with his mother and some other "old" lady must not be entertaining enough for a boy this age.

"Fine...you can go but you all stay together!" I instruct and the three of them immediately hurry away. "Minji, I count on you to watch your brothers!" I shout and she just raises one arm in acknowledgement, not even bothering to turn around.

"I can't believe your kids are already so big..." Megan says, shaking her head.

"I know...Sometimes I can't believe it myself. It seems like it was just yesterday that they were babies..."

"And what about Karina, is she here?" She asks, looking around. "I'd love to say hi!"

"Um...no...She..." I trail off but I know that there is no point to hide the truth. "Karina and I...um...we're...divorced."

"Oh..." She says in surprise. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea...I..." She mumbles in embarrassment.

"It's ok, Megan...It's been five years, it's water under the bridge now..." I shrug with a small smile, to reassure her. "Besides, we both found someone else and...Rina and I still get along just fine."

"That's good..." She nods. "It's really important for children to have parents that get along..."

"Definitely..." I confirm. "To be honest, it was not easy on the kids at first...The divorce hit them pretty hard, especially Taehyun, but...Karina and I always tried our best to maintain a sense of family, despite our separation. And I think we are all in a good place now..."
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A FEW DAYS LATER (SUNDAY EVENING) - AT KARINA'S HOUSE

After spending a week with the kids, I drove them back to Karina's.

"You really didn't have to walk us to the door, you know." Minji tells me in a provocative tone as Karina opens the front door.

"Actually, I did." I replied. "So that I can tell your mom that you're grounded for two weeks!" I say while Minji rolls her eyes.

"Grounded?" Karina repeats in surprise.