Sinful Passion

twelve

That night, Mina and Chaeyoung decided to sleep separately, even though they both really didn't want to.  Changmin was probably going to come back sometime in the middle of the night, and it would be risky for them to sleep in the same bed again.  After Mina tucked Chaeyoung in for the night and gave her a kiss on her forehead, she left Chaeyoung's room and turned in for the night in her own.

At around 6am, Mina was jolted awake by the feeling of a weight flopping onto the bed, right next to her.  She forced open her eyes, and in the dim light of the room, managed to make out the silhouette of her husband.  Changmin had fallen onto his side of the bed, face-down, still dressed in his suit, tie, and leather shoes. Once Mina became more alert, she also realised that Changmin reeked of alcohol.  Probably one of his after-work parties again.

Mina checked the time and decided to get up.  She looked over at Changmin.

"Oppa," Mina said into the darkness.  Changmin grunted in response. So he was still partially awake at least.  "You should change out of those clothes."

"I drank," Changmin slurred, obviously unwilling to listen to Mina.

Mina sighed.  "At least say hi to Chaeyoung?  She should be waking up for school now.  She misses you a lot."

Changmin didn't say anything for a while.  Finally, he responded," I'll do it later. Let me sleep."

Mina gave up.  She pitied Changmin's sad state, knowing how stressed he was at work and how much his job meant to him.  Being a CEO placed a lot of unwarranted pressure and expectations on him too. But Changmin did lots of unnecessary things, like spending extra time at work at the expense of his family.  Now Mina could better understand the dynamic between him and Chaeyoung, and why they seemed cordial but not warm towards each other. Chaeyoung had been lacking a parental figure ever since her biological mother left, and Mina's importance in Chaeyoung's life was dawning on her more than ever before.  She was afraid but determined. She wanted to be there for Chaeyoung no matter what. But it didn't change the fact that Mina still felt helpless regarding how to improve Chaeyoung's relationship with her dad.

Mina got out of bed and washed up.  She went downstairs, but Chaeyoung was still nowhere to be seen despite it being time for her to wake up for school.  Perhaps she'd forgotten to set her alarm. Mina went upstairs to Chaeyoung's room to check on the younger.

Her suspicion was right; Mina cracked open Chaeyoung's bedroom door, revealing the most adorable sight she'd ever seen.  Chaeyoung was curled up into a ball, fast asleep, clinging onto a soft dinosaur plushy. Mina resisted the urge to take a picture and instead, mentally saved the image of the sleeping Chaeyoung in her head.  She didn't have the heart to wake Chaeyoung up.

But Mina eventually got around to it, knowing that Chaeyoung was going to be late for school if she didn't.  Mina walked over to Chaeyoung's bedside, crouching down. She admired the younger's sleeping face for a moment.  So pretty and innocent, Mina thought. She snapped out of it and reminded herself to do what she came to do.

"Chaeng... Chaeng, wake up..."  Mina coaxed in a soft voice, gently shaking Chaeyoung awake.