The Art of Family (Book 2)

Chapter 17 Tides of Change

"Appa..." Ye Jin smiled tightly. "It's me."

"Have you been well?"

"I hope your answer is yes...it would surely take a load off my shoulders."

Silence punctuated the columbarium that housed the various lives of the deceased and the beautiful tears and stories of their relatives. It wasn't often that Ye Jin would take time off work to visit her father, but she has been wanting to release the stress she has been holding in for a while now.

These days, Ye Jin feels as though she has been walking on a tightrope. One slip of her feet would surely lead to her demise in the bubbling fire of despair waiting to engulf her.

At least with Hyun Bin around, she would have been able to confide in him. But now that he was miles away from home, her usual support system was in shambles.

As much as they were certain that they would get through this together, it was difficult to offer that same emotional support to one another when they were forced apart. Crying over the phone would only hurt her husband more than it should and it would hurt her too.

Helplessness was often an emotion they had to deal with growing as a couple and as a family, but that feeling was even more prominent now that they were apart.

"Things have changed again, appa. You used to say that change is good and that we ought to embrace the growth that comes with it, but why am I so scared?

"Hyun Bin's away, the children are growing, Jeong Eun-" Ye Jin paused as she tried to compose herself.

"He's starting to question everything. I know we can't keep the truth from our little man for long..."

"You'd probably ask me to talk to Bin ssi about this, won't you?" Ye Jin chuckled bitterly to herself. "I wish I could bring myself to do so. He's been stressed out too, appa. I can't, with good conscience, burden him more. Not when he's still dealing with his secretary."

Ye Jin paused once again, just as a gentle breeze drifted in through the tiny gap of the window. With a start, Ye Jin realised that her cheeks were wet. So deep in her worries was she, that she hadn't noticed how her petite frame had been shuddering as she spoke to her father. She hadn't noticed how her voice had trembled like a dying leaf against the wind in autumn nor how each tear was slipping down her face like a chain of glistening pearls.

It had been a while since Ye Jin last cried like this.

"I don't know, appa. I'm feeling a little lost. But I'll be okay...We will figure this out somehow." Ye Jin breathed. "If you can, please give us more time. I don't want to break our precious little boy's heart so soon."

Bravely, Ye Jin wiped her tears away, allowing her sorrow to linger on the back of her hands and her drying cheeks. With that, she smiled, taking a bow in front of her father's urn before she left to fetch the children.

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At the kindergarten

"This is fun!" Jeong Eun grinned whilst kicking hard from the ground, bringing the see-saw past its tipping point once again.

Sandwiched between the seat and Jeong Eun was Tae Rin who was laughing hard as they bounced up and down together. On the other end was Geonu and Eun Ae, who were equally elated over the kindergarten playground's prime hotspot.

From the car, Ye Jin smiled when she saw the children, observing them from a distance until one of them spotted her. At that moment, all her worries melted away to welcome the warm fuzziness that could only ever come from her love for the children and their innocence.