Fate and Destiny

FOURTEEN

Joy watched as Sungjae drove away, his words still ringing in her ears.  "OMO!" she was startled when Irene suddenly appeared beside her, tapping her on the shoulder.  "Aish! Unnie!" Joy protested.  "What was that?" Irene asked her.  "Sungjae-ssi dropped me and Youngjae off. The driver he hired for us won't be starting until tomorrow," Joy explained.  "Okay. But what's with the hand holding?" Wendy said.  "He was just thanking me for taking care of Youngjae," Joy replied.  "We've been watching you since you got out of the car, and it doesn't seem like he was just thanking you," Seulgi taunted her.  "You're just imagining things, unnie. We should go in or we'll be late," Joy said, dodging their inquisition by walking ahead of her friends towards the school building.  "You know, you don't need to hold hands just to thank someone," Yeri yelled after her.  "RIGHT!" Joy heard the other three girls chorused.  Joy decided not to answer, unless she wants to be grilled thoroughly.

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Changsub poked his head in Sungjae's office at lunchtime.  "Maknae! Eunkwang hyung and I are going to grab lunch in the cafeteria. You coming?" he asked him.  "No, hyung. You go ahead," Sungjae told him without taking his eyes off his laptop screen.  "Aish! Don't tell me you're going to work through lunch again?" he scolded him, entering his office.  The door opened again after a few seconds.  "Guys! Let's go!" Eunkwang said.  "Hyung, can you please tell this boy that he needs to eat, too," Changsub grumbled.  Eunkwang also came into the room.  "Yah! Yah! Do we have to drag your butt out of that chair?" Eunkwang threatened.  "Hyung..." Sungjae started to say but Eunkwang interrupted him.  "How can you work with an empty stomach, huh? Can you think clearly when your stomach is growling, huh?" Eunkwang continued castigating him.  "Hyung!" Sungjae said again, louder this time.  Eunkwang stopped talking.  "I said I'm not going out to lunch with you. I didn't say I'm not eating lunch," Sungjae clarified.  "Oh, okay. You're ordering in? We can do that," Eunkwang said, calming down.  "No. I'm not calling for delivery," Sungjae replied.  "Then what? Don't tell me you brought lunch?" Changsub asked dubiously.  "Yeah. Sooyoung made me a lunchbox," he bragged.  "Joy made you lunch?" Changsub said in disbelief.  Sungjae nodded.  "I saw her making Youngjae's and I said that it looks delicious. So she offered to make one for me," Sungjae explained.  "If I had known that Joy could make you eat lunch, I would've searched for her a long time ago," Changsub said.  "I would kiss Joy if she keeps making lunch for you," Eunkwang said.  "Yah! Hyung!" Sungjae reacted.  "It's just an expression, maknae. You think I'm crazy? If you don't kill me, your Hyolyn noona will," Eunkwang said.  "You and Joy seem to be in good terms now. Is there something you're not telling us?" Changsub probed.  "No. Sooyoung and I just had a bad start because we both want to keep Youngjae for ourselves. But now that we have to share responsibility, we talk things out and then we compromise," Sungjae said.  "Wow, hyung. Youngjae is such a polite boy and he's kind of mature for his age," Sungjae said proudly.  "Joy brought him up well, then," Eunkwang concluded.  "Yeah. I have to give Sooyoung credit for that," Sungjae said almost to himself, a small smile on his lips.  He was so deep in his thoughts, he didn't notice his hyung-deul exchanging meaningful looks over his head.

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Back at the school, Joy was having her own lunch with Irene, Seulgi, Wendy and Yeri.  They were badgering Joy about the scene they witnessed in the parking lot that morning.  "Really, Joy? What was that all about?" Irene asked her.  "Yeah. It looked like you were discussing something serious," Wendy added.  "So serious that he needed to hold your hands," Seulgi teased her.  "Oh, my God! Unnie! Did he propose?" Yeri exclaimed, grabbing Joy's hand to check for a ring.  "What?! Don't be silly, Yeri," Joy scolded her, snatching her hand away.  "So, then what?" the four chorused.  "We were talking about Youngjae," she said as she told them of her conversation with Sungjae the previous night.  "So he was just telling me that he thinks of him as family since the beginning. And he's thanking me for taking care of Youngjae," she finished.  Her friends exchanged skeptical looks.  "So, he'll drive you to school every day?" Irene asked, changing the subject although she is still unsatisfied with Joy's explanation.  "No. Just for today. He said the new driver he hired will start tomorrow," Joy replied.  "And yes, he's picking us up later," Joy added before they could ask.  "Unnie, how's it like living with him? I mean, he seems so stuck up," Yeri asked.  "I still haven't caught on his moods yet. When we first met, he was like this cold person. Now, he doesn't seem like it. But who knows? Maybe something will change his temperament again. I mean, in the two days since we moved in, we only talked for around thirty minutes. Maybe less," she said, chuckling.  "Sungjae-ssi always comes home late. Ilhoon-ssi was right. Jaejae and I practically have the house to ourselves. Sungjae-ssi never stays at home even on weekends. And he doesn't eat dinner at home either," Joy added when she saw the confused look on her friends' face.  "Even weekends?" Wendy asked incredulously.  "Yeah. When we moved in last Saturday, he was at the office. Sunday, he went out with his hyung-deul. Today is actually the first time Jaejae and I got to spend more time with him," Joy confirmed.  "They play golf every Sunday and then they usually stay at The Big Wave," Seulgi said casually.  "How did you know that?" Irene asked curiously.  Seulgi snapped to attention.  She knew she got caught.  "Hyunsik oppa told me," Seulgi admitted reluctantly.  Joy and Irene looked at Wendy.  "I didn't talk to Minhyuk oppa over the weekend," she said defensively.  "We didn't say anything about him, unnie," Joy said to her.  "But you do talk to him? Just not this weekend?" Joy prodded.  "Well... Yeah," Wendy conceded.  "And just when did they become oppa to you?" Irene asked the two.  "Wow! You've been interrogating me about what you saw this morning, but all the while, it's the two of you who's been keeping secrets," Joy chastised them.  Just then, the bell rang signaling the end of lunch break.  "Saved by the bell. But don't think you two are off the hook. We'll talk about this later," Irene warned them in a low voice.  Seulgi and Wendy looked at each other.  They know that when Irene used that tone, they won't have any choice but to confess.  Curiously, Yeri remained silent throughout the conversation.

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Changsub came to Sungjae's office to submit a report and was surprised to see him already preparing to leave.  It's not even 4:30PM yet. Is he not feeling well? Changsub said to himself, looking at his watch.  "Sungjae. Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.  "Yes, hyung. Why?" Sungjae said.  "It's still early, but you're already leaving. Are you going somewhere?" Changsub said.  "I have to pick Youngjae and Sooyoung up at school since the driver will only start tomorrow.  Sooyoung said they're usually out by 5:30PM, so I have to leave early for me to make it before then," he explained, taking out his cellphone to text Joy.  "Do you need anything?" Sungjae asked Changsub as an afterthought.  "I just want to give you this latest sales report," he said, handing him the file.  Sungjae took it and put it inside his laptop bag.  "Okay. I'll look over it at home. Bye, hyung," Sungjae said, leaving Changsub.  Taking out his phone, he dialed his wife's number.  "Yeobo! I'll be home early. I have something interesting to tell you," he said when Chorong picked up.

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Youngjae and Joy came out of the school building just as Sungjae was parking his car.  Youngjae waved when he saw him and immediately ran to him.  Sungjae smiled and lightly ruffled the boy's hair when he came up to him.  "Hi!" Sungjae said to Joy when she caught up to them.  "Hi! Did you wait long?" Joy asked.  "No. I just got here when you came out," he said.  "Hello, noona-deul, Yeri," he greeted when he saw them.  "Hello!" they said.  They all looked curiously at Joy, who shook her head imperceptibly.  "Drive carefully. You have precious cargos with you," Irene reminded Sungjae.  "I will, noona," he replied.  Joy called Youngjae who was talking to his friends.  "Jaejae! Come on. Let's go home," Joy said.  Sungjae felt his heart skip a beat when he heard Joy say the word HOME.

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Miran was preparing dinner when Youngjae came running into the kitchen.  "Hello, ahjumma," Youngjae greeted her then went straight to the counter to get a cookie.  "Hello, Youngjae," she greeted back.  "Put that back, young man. It's almost dinner time," Joy scolded Youngjae who was already headed to his room to change clothes.  "Just one, eomma. I'll still eat plenty at dinner," Youngjae promised, running to his room.  "I can't win with this boy," Joy complained, making Miran chuckle.  "I'll just change clothes, ahjumma, and then I'll help you with dinner," Joy said, turning to Miran.  "He's a growing boy. It's normal that he eats a lot," Sungjae told Joy, over-hearing their small argument as he was coming in.  "But he'll ruin his appetite," Joy argued.  "Aish! Let it go. It's just one cookie. Besides, no one can refuse ahjumma's cookies," Sungjae said, reaching into the jar himself.  "Two peas in a pod," Joy uttered, shaking her head at him in frustration.  "I'll be right back," Joy said to Miran, then went to her room to change.  Sungjae chuckled as he watched her retreating figure.  "You're home early. Are you okay?" Miran asked, slapping his hand when he reached for another cookie.  "You sound just like Changsub hyung. Is it really surprising that I left work early?" he chuckled.  "Well, you rarely leave your office while the sun is still up," she said.  "I picked them up from school since the driver won't be coming in until tomorrow," Sungjae said.  "Hmmm!" Miran nodded.  "What's with the, hmmm?" he asked.  "Nothing. I'm just glad that they're here. Maybe now you'll have a reason to spend more time at home," she said.  "And by the way. I didn't make those cookies. Joy did," she informed him before going back to her cooking.  Sungjae looked at the cookie jar, then smiled before taking another one and headed to his room to change.