The Reluctant Manny

Episode One

If there was one piece of golden advice that Park Minji could give to someone, it would be to never die while your children are toddlers. Unfortunately, Minji's sister, Soyi did not get this piece of advice.

Due to a series of unfortunate events, Soyi departed the land of the living in a most unpleasant way, leaving behind toddler twin boys. Yejun and Seojun were only two years old when their mother passed away. Their father had long since left their mother, never even knowing he had twin sons. Rumor around the neighborhood was that he ran off with a woman from Russia and hadn't been seen since the moments after he had helped Soyi conceive the two boys.

However, the present is much more important than the past, and we find our main female protagonist at quite the crossroads in her life. With no other family to care for their earthly needs, Yejun and Seojun find themselves firmly planted on a white sofa in the small living room of their bachelorette aunt. They were listening to said aunt and a stressed and weary social worker discuss the finer points of child custody and care.

The two small boys looked up at the adults with wide, dark eyes that held confusion, weariness, and most importantly sadness. Their tiny tummies rumbled, not really helping the boys to relax in the slightest. They squirmed and fidgeted without hesitation, as would be expected of male toddlers.

The aunt they had rarely seen and barely knew, stood on one side, arms flailing wildly, loose hair from her messy bun swishing around her face, and dark circles under her lower eyelids. Opposite her, stood an equally exhausted social worker, a large diaper bag haphazardly cast to the floor at her feet, and her hands clasped in front of her in a last ditch effort to maintain her composure.

"Miss Park, I quite understand your reluctance to take these two children in, but you must understand the situation! Your sister has died!"

The boys watched their aunt's eyes grow wide in disbelief and then fill with tears.

"I am quite aware of the status of my sister! However, I do not understand why you can't keep them for just a few more days? That's all I need! As soon as I have my work finished, I can take them!"

"Ma'am, we are not a babysitting service! We have already kept them the maximum time allowed. Like it or not, you are now the caretaker for these boys! Now, I have to go. However, if you need assistance with seeking medical care, locating a daycare, or anything along those lines, do not hesitate to call me. Here's my card."

The two boys watched as the social worker extended her small, drab looking business card out with her right hand. Their aunt snatched it from the worker's hand and stood to the side to allow the woman to exit the premises.

The social worker left without even sparing them a pitying glance. As the door slammed behind her, their aunt crumbled to a chair near the sofa and wept. Her face was buried in her hands and her shoulders shook with all the sudden loss and new burden currently cast upon them.

Yejun looked to his brother, who seemed to be more interested in his shoe laces than his weeping aunt, and then turned his eyes back to the crying woman. Shuffling his tiny legs to the edge of the sofa, he slid off the cushion and toddled over to the woman. Reaching up one pudgy hand, he funneled all the sympathy a two-year-old could muster, which is infinitesimally small, and patted the woman on her downturned head.

Minji felt the toddler's patronizing pat and looked up with red and watery eyes. As her eyes met his large black ones, her heart melted in a way only a woman's can, and she threw her arms around his small frame, startling the child who had not been lovingly touched in quite some time.

Yejun couldn't help the burning in his eyes or the tears that rolled down his chubby cheeks. His sniffles became loud sobs, eliciting a similar and sympathetic sound from his twin. Seojun was very empathetic for his age, and once he heard and saw his brother crying, he too became quite sad for reasons he was not entirely sure of.

Minji was now faced with the dilemma of comforting two small boys, and the only thing she could think of was the one-eyed monster in the corner of the living room. Standing from her seat, ripping herself away from a crying Yejun in the process, Minji quickly grabbed the remote and located some cartoons.

Both boys immediately hushed, allowing the overwhelmed woman precious time to think and reorganize her thoughts.

She paced the floor in her kitchen, wringing her hands and desperately trying to think of what she would now need to care for two toddlers. Her house was adequate sized, and she did have a room that would be a good fit for the boys.

Her parents had left Minji their spacious urban home upon the event of their death, seeing as she was the oldest child and the most responsible. Several rooms had remained dismally empty, but now would have to be put to use for the first time in five years.

Minji glanced through the doorway and into the living room as she heard giggles bubbling from the boys' mouths. She found herself sadly smiling as she felt the regrets of her dismay and disappointment weighing heavily on her shoulders.

How could she have neglected her sister's beautiful boys? How heartless of a person was she? Wiping away tears, she whispered a sincere apology to her deceased sister and then picked up her forgotten cellphone from the kitchen counter and pressed several keys.

Holding the phone up to her ear, she listened with frustrated agony as the phone rang, and rang, and rang without someone to answer on the other side.

Taking a deep breath, she plopped the phone back down onto the counter and walked to the living room. Both boys were seated on the floor, their heads bent back so they could fully see the screen that was a mere few inches from their faces.

Bending down, Minji snapped off the television, trying her best to ignore the muffled cries of disagreement from the twins.

"Okay, boys, you and Auntie Minji are going to go shopping! Won't that be fun?"

Both boys wailed louder in response, but Minji held her ground and scooped them up off of the floor and onto their feet. She tucked their coats around them snugly, and with a small and forced smile, she took their hands and led them to the door of the apartment.

It took some effort and much struggle, but finally the trio had donned their shoes and coats, ready to trek out into the world and procure the needed necessities for a successful survival.

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AN: And...chapter one is done! Welcome to my first Jin-centric fic. Many of you have waited a long time for this and I can proudly say the moment has finally arrived! I hope you will enjoy this story and give it lots of love. Thank you for reading and see you in the next update!

💜