Now With U (Living In The Past - Book 2) (WheeByul)

AFTER 7 YEARS (Part 15 - EPILOGUE)

"Ha-eun-ah! Hurry up or you're going to be late for school!" shouted WheeIn when the girl took forever to change into her uniform.

"Sheesh. Why are you so loud?" groaned Byul, appearing at the bedroom doorway with messy hair and eyes squinting at the light.

WheeIn ignored the protest as she knocked on Ha-eun's door. "Ha-eun-ah!"

"Alright! Alright! Calm down, Mom!" Ha-eun opened the door and frowned at WheeIn before she went to put on her shoes and jacket, sulking all the way. She didn't even greet Byul when she walked past her.

WheeIn merely shook her head, took her purse, gave Byul a very quick peck on the cheek then left the apartment with the quiet Ha-eun walking ahead of her.

What was that about? Byul wondered as she went back to bed.

Her leave was almost over and Ha-eun's mood had been okay throughout. She seemed almost like her old self, cheerful and witty. Until today.

Byul sighed and closed her eyes, hoping to be able to get an extra hour of sleep or two before WheeIn returned.

She woke up a couple of hours later to feel a leg draped over her own.

Turning her head, she blinked and saw WheeIn asleep next to her.

Byul moved to lie on her side, pulled WheeIn closer and felt her snuggle. "Tired?" she whispered.

WheeIn groaned in reply.

Byul's eyes opened fully. "I'll take that as a yes although I don't know why you're tired. We've been on leave for days, doing nothing but driving Ha-eun around and doing naughty things to each other when she's at school."

That earned her a pinch on the side and she squirmed while laughing out loud.

WheeIn lifted her head and looked up, squinting at Byul.

"You look so unattractive," commented Byul before she kissed WheeIn. "Christmas vacation is coming up. Where should we take Ha-eun this year? Skiing? Or would you rather we stay put? Enjoying freezing Seoul."

"I'm fine either way. You should ask her," mumbled WheeIn.

"I think I know what her answer might be. She'd want to stay in Seoul so she could hang out with her friends and that boy."

"I'm not so sure about that," WheeIn said as she pulled away and stretched.

"Huh? Why?"

"Didn't you see how she was behaving this morning?"

"Yes but I thought it was puberty kicking in."

"It was puberty related but most importantly, boy related. Overheard her on the phone last night." WheeIn yawned and went back to her previous position, snuggling against Byul.

"Uh oh. Should I get my gun?"

"I don't know exactly what happened but I heard a very loud 'how could he?' and this morning she was trying to get out of going to school so something must have happened."

"She's been on the phone constantly lately, talking to her friends or playing games. Maybe giving her the phone wasn't such a good idea."

"She has to have one so she can contact us in case of emergencies."

"I know but maybe we should give her an older type. Just for making calls and sending texts," suggested Byul.

"You want to take away her phone and replace it with an even older one? Go ahead, Inspector Moon. I'd like to see you try. It'll be like igniting World War III and I will not come to your rescue. You're on your own," said WheeIn.

"Such lack of support from my own wife is very discouraging. We're supposed to be a team!"

"Hey, you're the one with the death wish. I'm not gonna get myself involved in that mess. It's hard enough to explain to her why we won't let her have the latest smartphone that all her friends have. Now you want her to downgrade? Good luck."

"Okay okay. Never mind." Byul sighed. "So the boy might have done something bad?"

"Maybe. We can ask her about it after she calms down."

"Should your suspicions be proven true, this would be her first heartbreak, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah. It's bound to happen sooner or later, unfortunately."

"I wish she didn't have to go through more heartbreaks. She's had enough already and she's only twelve," Byul said, playing with WheeIn's fingers.

"I know but that's life. This might be the first of many. It's inevitable. Luckily it's only puppy love. She'll get over it. We all do."

"I can help reduce the amount of those heartbreaks, you know."

"By using your gun?"

"You know it."

They grinned then grew quiet, staring at each other with smiles on their faces.

"By the way, there's something that I've been meaning to ask you," said WheeIn.

"What?" Byul tapped WheeIn's nose then grinned when she pecked her lips.

"That girl that came to visit us, Bae Suzy? Are there more like her?"

"What do you mean?"

"People you've secretly helped in the past."

"Err... I never did it in secret. The others always knew about them. Seul, Hyejin, Yong..."

"But you kept them from me."

"Not on purpose. Like I said, I just didn't think that it's worth mentioning. I've even managed to forget some of them." Byul shifted so that she could look straight into WheeIn's eyes. "You're not thinking that I'm hiding things from you, are you?"

"No but Won-jae's death got me thinking. I guess everyone has their secrets, things they keep from everyone else. Even the ones closest to them."

"I suppose so. But I honestly wasn't keeping anything from you."

"I know. You're just too modest to consider it as something worth mentioning," said WheeIn. "I guess it's normal. We can't exactly remember everything we've done or everything we went through. In a way it's fun because there's always something new to discover about each other. But let's try to tell each other as much as possible about the things we do remember. I don't want to wake up one day and find out that you have had a child with someone else."

Byul laughed out loud at the thought of that. "If I was ever pregnant, I'm sure one of my friends would've informed you about it. Wouldn't be able to hide the bump while working, would I?"

"I'm serious, Star. I want you to know that you can tell me anything."

"I already know that and I want you to know that you can do the same with me," replied Byul with a smile. "You have nothing to worry about. I've told you practically everything about my life."

"So have I. You even know about my criminal background."

"Yeah. You were a very naughty girl," said Byul, smirking while playfully biting her lip.

"Seriously? Now? While we're in the middle of a serious talk?"

"I happen to find a serious you very attractive, Miss Jung."

WheeIn could only sigh when Byul pinned her to the bed and began kissing her neck. "So much for that talk then," she said.

"We can continue it later. Right now, I'd prefer we use our mouths for something else," mumbled Byul as she kissed her way up to WheeIn's lips.

She stopped when she felt WheeIn stop responding and lifted her head. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," replied WheeIn with a smile, looking up at Byul. "Ten years, Star," she said as her fingers softly caressed the back of Byul's neck.

Byul broke into a smile. "I know. Crazy how time flies, huh?"

"Will you ever get tired of me?"

"What? Now what kind of question is that?"

"It's a logical one. It's possible, you know, over time."

"I know you're no longer insecure so what's with the sudden question?" Byul moved off of WheeIn to lie next to her, propping her head on one arm.

"That whole thing with Won-jae just got me thinking a lot. He fell out of love with his old girlfriend, didn't he?"

"I have a feeling that he wasn't really in love with her in the first place. They were young, he was lonely and under constant stress and fear. She came along and, well, things happened. He knew that it was a huge mistake, that's why he never stopped looking for her despite the risks. But even then, I think he did it because of his child and not necessarily out of love for the woman," Byul said. "I love you." She took WheeIn's hand in hers. "And I would be stupid to let you go. Ungrateful too since you're my saving grace and all that." She grinned and kissed the hand.

"But it could happen. The feelings could go away."

"You and I both know that this isn't just about feelings. I took an oath to stay with you through anything until death do us part. It's a promise I intend to keep."

WheeIn shifted closer and let Byul hug her.

"I don't have any secrets that could pop up and wreck our future like Won-jae and Hee-yeon," said Byul. "I've dreamed of having a family for so long and now that I have one, I won't let anything destroy it."

"Call me crazy but I understand what Hee-yeon did. I don't know what I'd do towards anyone who tries to take you away from me," mumbled WheeIn against Byul's neck.

"No one will take me away from you. But yes, I get your point. If someone were to try to take you away from me... Oh wait. That already happened." Byul chuckled. "And I was willing to give up everything to hunt him down and make sure he couldn't hurt you or Ha-eun. So yeah, I also understand that Hee-yeon to a certain degree. Not the whole possessive, murderous 'if I can't have him then no one can bit though."

WheeIn turned her head and kissed Byul's cheek. "So no secrets?"

"No secrets. Ever. I don't want to keep anything from you." Byul moved her head back so she could kiss WheeIn on the lips. "I'll list down all those 'not worth mentioning' things and give it to you as soon as possible. Now let's figure out a way to find Ha-eun a nice man who doesn't make me want to shoot him."

WheeIn let out another chuckle. "She's twelve, Star. Let's wait until she's twenty five." She leaned up and kissed Byul again. "Thank you."

"Most welcome. Anyway, I'm hoping that Ha-eun will move out by the time she's eighteen. Better yet... let's dorm her!"

WheeIn laughed again. "Dorm her? Wow. Casting away your own daughter for the sake of freedom to have sex with your wife anytime anywhere?"

"Correction. To have hot and wild sex with my wife anytime anywhere." Byul smirked as her hand made its way under WheeIn's pajama shirt.

WheeIn sighed. "This insatiable Inspector Moon-..." she was silenced by Byul's lips.

"Soon to be Senior Inspector Moon," whispered Byul between the kisses. "I'm a woman of authority, Miss Jung. Doesn't that turn you on?"

WheeIn suppressed a laugh as she rolled onto her back and let Byul climb on top of her. "If I say 'yes', what would you do?"

"Just wait and see."

-------------------------------------------------------

Solar came home early that day to find Ha-eun in her living room, watching TV. "Hey there, what are you doing here?" she asked as she went to the kitchen to get something to drink.

"Waiting for Umma."

"Where is she?" Solar sat down next to the girl and gave her one of the two milk containers she was holding.

"She said she had something to take care of."

"Where's your mommy?"

"Right here." WheeIn came out of the bathroom and sat down at the other side of Ha-eun.

"Where's Byul?" Solar asked.

"She has an emergency errand to run," said WheeIn, putting a finger to her lips. "Top secret. It's for your mother, actually."

"Oh okay."

"Why are you home early today?" WheeIn asked Solar. "Slow day?"

"Interviewed the new lab assistant that's gonna help Bo Mi and then had a meeting with Appa but I finished much earlier than expected so I took the rest of the day off."

"No dates tonight?"

"He's coming over for dinner," said Solar. "Why don't you join us?"

Before WheeIn could answer, Ha-eun had let out a loud sigh and stood up, walking away to the guest bedroom, closing the door behind her.

"What's up with her?" Solar asked WheeIn with raised eyebrows.

"I think she's a bit sore on the subject of dating right now."

"Wha... but she's only twelve!"

WheeIn laughed out loud. "Apparently, her crush was seen holding hands with another girl just yesterday. She wouldn't tell me the details though."

"Holding hands... wait. Is her crush the same age?"

WheeIn nodded. "He's her classmate."

"Twelve and holding hands?!"

"Yeah. The world is changing, Yong. I've even seen second graders holding hands, going on chaperoned 'dates'."

"Wow." Solar shook her head. "I think I was around fourteen or fifteen when someone asked me out. Even then, our parents made sure they kept an eye on us. Waited for us at the same restaurant and all until we practically couldn't do anything." She laughed out loud.

WheeIn laughed along. "But they don't do that anymore now so... what have you and Mister Mayor's Son been doing?" she asked and winked.

"You sound just like Byul."

"It's catchy!"

"That's what she said."

"Then it's valid. Great minds think alike, you know."

Solar shook her head. "I envy you two sometimes."

"Why?"

"Well, even though I'm happy right now but when I see you two... what you have is... special."

WheeIn practically beamed at that. "It is. I'm lucky. We're lucky. It's not always easy but the good far outweighs the bad."

"Good to know," Solar said, finishing her milk.

"By the way, there's something that I've been wanting to talk you about. I haven't exactly discussed this with Star but I know she'll support whatever decision I make so no problem there. I'm more worried about you and the team's opinion on the matter," said WheeIn.

"Sounds serious. What's it about?"

"Well, Ha-eun's gonna be in junior high soon so we can start teaching her to be more independent, let her do things on her own including staying home alone."

"Reasonable. So you two will have more free time?"

"Not really. Just more flexible time to do other things. And you know how I've been admiring Doctor Lee's work, right?"

"Doctor Lee the psychologist?"

WheeIn nodded. "I've been helping you guys for almost ten years now and although I enjoy doing it, with the new technology and your ever improving skills, I think you guys can do just as well without me. In fact, I don't think I've been that much of a help in the recent cases."

"That's not true. You're always a great help to us." Solar straightened up in her seat. "Are you leaving the team?"

"Not really. Just taking a hiatus. I want to be able to help you in more ways in the future so I think... I'm going to go back to school," said WheeIn with a smile. "I want to be able to do what Doctor Lee does."

"You mean being able to create a psychological profile of criminals and victims?"

WheeIn nodded. "That would be a useful extra set of skills, don't you think? But I will wait until I'm sure that Ha-eun is okay with doing things on her own. Plus, we're saving for Ha-eun's tuition fee as well so we'll see."

"Byul doesn't know yet?"

"We've briefly touched the subject a few times. She knows I have a growing interest towards that field and that I want to go back to school one day."

"Well, I'm all for you being happy and chasing new dreams. However, when the time comes, you might have to tell someone else about it and not me," said Solar with a mysterious smile.

"Huh? Why?" WheeIn saw the look in Solar's eyes and knew. "Please tell me you're not stepping down?"

"I'm not stepping down," stated Solar. "I'm stepping up."

"What?"

"I've been talking to Appa and as much as I love this team, it might be time for a change."

"How..." WheeIn was speechless. "Have you told Star?"

Solar shook her head. "I'm waiting until things are finalized and after she has been appointed senior inspector. Oppa and I have been talking and although I like doing what I do, changes might be required once we're married. He's not really fond of his wife running around chasing crooks with guns."

WheeIn began to grin. "Ooh... so you've had the talk, huh?" she teased.

"Don't look at me like that." Solar began to blush and stood up from her seat to hide her embarrassment. She went to the kitchen, threw the empty milk container away and washed her hands.

"So what will you do once you're no longer leading this team?" asked WheeIn as she came to sit at the kitchen counter, watching Solar.

"Appa's probably gonna promote me to a position that won't require field work."

"I thought 'captain' was a position he created especially for you? What's a rank higher than that?"

"Well, 'captain' as a title is something he indeed created for me but on paper, I'm somewhere between senior inspector and superintendent, more or less. So the official rank he's promoting me to will be superintendent. I'll basically be the head of the whole station, not just the task force."

"That's cool. You're probably going to be the youngest superintendent ever."

"Yeah. Which means more years of proving myself worthy of the position." Solar took out a bag of chips and turned around to sit across from WheeIn, sharing the snack.

"You'll get through it."

"I think so too. I'm up to the challenge and I have a great track record that proves my ability to lead," said the captain. "I'll survive."

"Who will replace you? Who will lead the team?"

Solar smirked and winked. "You'll see."

"Hm... that smirk. I think I have an idea."

"You should. The candidate is someone you know very well," Solar paused to swallow the food she was chewing. "That person's appointment is gonna be one of the last things Appa does, I think."

"He's considering retirement?"

Solar nodded. "His term is ending and he has no interest in extending it yet again. He said that he's accomplished all his goals. He caught So Ji-sub, his daughter's settling down, his other daughter is happy with a family of her own..."

WheeIn took a piece of chip and chewed quietly. "Things have changed a lot since I first met you," she said in a nostalgic tone.

"Indeed it has. By the way, the triple date is a go. I just talked to Seulgi and although she was all blushing and in denial at first, this captain has managed to convince her."

"That's great. When?"

"Tomorrow night?"

"Okay. I'll tell Star. How's Hwasa doing? Is she warming up to Xiumin oppa again? They had their talk days ago. Something should have changed by now."

"They're talking like normal people now, friends. I take that as a good sign."

"Definitely."

They heard a door opening and saw Ha-eun coming out of the room, still looking less than happy but she approached them anyway, reaching out for a handful of chips.

"I heard that you've volunteered to be my flower girl," Solar said in the hopes of cheering the girl up.

Ha-eun nodded.

"Consider yourself hired."

The girl stopped eating. "You're getting married?"

"Not this year but yeah, I am."

Just then, the doorbell rang and Solar walked to the front door to let Byul in. "Where have you been?" she asked.

"Went to pick up your mother's Christmas present. It's in the car," said Byul.

"Christmas is still a couple of weeks away."

"I know but she's done a lot for us so we ordered her a special, limited edition something," Byul explained as she took off her jacket and shoes.

"A special, limited edition something? What might that something be?"

"I'm not telling you. You're a potential spoiler to our little secret," joked Byul.

Solar stuck her tongue out at Byul then followed her inside.

"Did you get to the store on time?" asked WheeIn.

"Yup. Right before they closed for the day." Byul noticed Ha-eun there and felt a bit relieved that she wasn't locking herself up in a room. "Wanna eat out tonight?" she asked the girl who shook her head.

"I have homework. Can we go home now?"

"You're eager to go home and do homework? Now that's a first," commented Byul.

Ha-eun just jumped off the stool and started gathering her things.

"Say goodbye to Halmeoni before you leave," WheeIn told the girl who dropped her bag and walked upstairs to find Solar's mother.

"The mood swings and the sulking... seriously." Byul shook her head after Ha-eun. "Were we that bad as teenagers?"

"I think so. This is just the beginning, you know. It's gonna get worse. I hope she's not one of those teens who just shuts everyone out because we're 'not cool' or 'annoying'," said WheeIn, making air quotes with her fingers.

"Let's make sure she doesn't. I miss seeing the cheerful side of that girl."

"Happy parenting," teased Solar as she laughed at her two worried friends.

"Your time will come, Kim Yongsun. Just wait and see," Byul retorted.

"I'm not worried. By then, I'll have Ha-eun who will help advice my kid on how to be a better teenager."

Byul was going to say something when she heard Solar's mother and Ha-eun coming down the stairs so she turned her attention towards the woman to take her leave.

-------------------------------------------------------

"Ha-eun-ah," Byul knocked on the slightly ajar door and pushed it open to see Ha-eun sitting at her desk, doing homework.

"Yes?" The girl didn't lift her head from her books.

"Do you wanna go skiing this Christmas vacation?"

"Up to you."

"I'm asking you," Byul said, walking inside to sit on the bed behind Ha-eun. "Do you want to go somewhere? We can't actually go overseas but we can go skiing or do something in this country. Any ideas?"

Ha-eun merely shrugged. "I'm fine with anything," she said unenthusiastically.

"But you get to choose what we do for Christmas. You used to jump at the chance to do that."

"..."

"Okay. That's it. Put down your pencil and talk to me. Come on." Byul was not happy with being ignored nor did she like Ha-eun's constant moping around.

Ha-eun made it a point to sigh as loud as she could before she did as she was told, swiveling around to face Byul. "What?"

"I know you're not happy about that boy but must you mope around like this? I know you're not really keen with sharing these things with us but I'd appreciate it if you do. We will always try our best to help you."

"I'm fine, Umma," said the girl without any change of expression. In her mind she was grumbling, wishing that Byul would just leave her alone.

"Everyone can use a helping hand once in a while. I know I do. Even with the gun, the badge and the team... without talking to your mom, I don't think I can do this. Sometimes she also doesn't know what to do but it helps make me feel better just by sharing with her. I think your grandparents, aunts and uncles will tell you the same thing. They all have people to talk to when they're troubled," said Byul with a smile. "So share. That's what we're here for. Keeping things bottled up inside won't do you any good. Trust me. I used to do that."

"You sound just like Mom."

Byul grinned at that. "Great minds think alike. There's a reason why I married her, you know. She's a very smart woman. You should listen to her."

The girl slumped in her seat but said nothing else.

"So wanna tell me what happened? It will make you feel better. Really."

After a few seconds of silence and another loud sigh, the girl finally gave in. " Kang-hoon... has a girlfriend, apparently," said Ha-eun hesitantly. "She's from another school."

"Sorry to hear that but there will be other cute, nice guys who are better than him," Byul tried to comfort the girl.

"Maybe."

"Not maybe. Definitely. Trust me, I've had my share of heartbreaks as well before I met your mom. There was this boy who lived just downstairs from our old apartment. We went to the same school together. He was a year older than me and he played soccer. Very cool," Byul began, hoping that she could cheer the girl up with her past stories.

"Did he turn out to have a girlfriend too?"

Byul nodded. "Two of them, to be exact. From two different schools."

Ha-eun's jaw dropped. "He was dating two girls at the same time?!"

"Uh-huh. And he still had the guts to ask me out on a date. The cover boy of Teenage Jerk magazine right there."

The girl finally laughed at that. "Wow. You had it worse, Umma. At least Kang-hoon's not that much of a jerk."

"Why thank you for your sympathy."

"Did you go on that date with him?"

"Nope. Luckily my friends told me about his two girlfriends before he asked me out. But I did give him chocolates on Valentine's Day." Byul cringed. "Heart shapes. Made them myself."

"I was thinking of baking Christmas cookies for Kang-hoon," said the girl who then sighed again, reminded of the source of her sorrows.

"Look at it this way. At least you found out before you decided to do something crazy like... I don't know... confessing?"

Ha-eun's eyes widened. "I would never confess to a boy!"

"Why not?"

"A girl has gotta have pride, you know. Jinhee says that the boys must be the ones who chase the girls and not the other way around."

Byul laughed at that. "6th graders' wisdom, huh? Not bad." Kids these days, she thought.

"Have you ever confessed to a boy before, Umma?"

"Err..."

"Oh my god. You have!" Ha-eun gasped as if Byul had just committed a felony.

"What what what? There's nothing wrong with being a little courageous," Byul defended herself.

"Desperate is more like it," mumbled the twelve year old, shaking her head.

"Hey! No calling your mother desperate! How do you even... why do you sound like you know more about dating than I do?" Byul was genuinely baffled by Ha-eun's replies but was glad that she could hear the smart witty replies she had been missing.

"Sorry, Umma, but it sounds desperate to me."

Ha-eun was still laughing at Byul when WheeIn suddenly appeared at the door. "What's with all the laughing?"

"This girl finds my past heartbreaks and jerk encounters entertaining, apparently." Byul pointed her finger at Ha-eun.

"Ooh! Do tell!" WheeIn sat down next to Byul.

"I've told my story. It's your turn now."

"But I didn't date jerks."

Byul rolled her eyes. "Right. Irene told me you had a bad boy period. I'm pretty sure every single boy you dated in that period was a jerk."

"A bad boy period? You liked bad boys?" exclaimed Ha-eun.

"It was high school and I was young and naïve, okay?" WheeIn defended herself. "Back then I thought that they were cool and mysterious."

"Exactly how bad were these bad boys, Mom?"

"Bad enough to make me switch to nice boys instead," said WheeIn. "Well behaved, straightforward gentlemen."

"Like that model?" Byul scoffed, frowning in dislike.

"You dated a model? Which one? Got any pictures of him?"

"Don't need to show you pictures. You know that weird insurance ad with the good looking guy in a suit and that dog with a bow?" asked WheeIn.

"Yes. Why?" It then hit the girl, causing her to gasp. "That's him?!"

"That's him."

"I hate that ad," mumbled Byul, sulking even more.

"He's so good looking! I mean, he's super old, of course, but very good looking for his age!"

"Yeah. That he is."

"But your mother turned him down and chose me," said Byul proudly.

"What? Mom, what were you thinking?"

"Yah!" shouted Byul. "Whose side are you on?" She pouted like a kid and crossed her arms.

Ha-eun laughed out loud. "Sorry, Umma, but he's seriously very handsome."

"Looks isn't everything," said WheeIn, poking Byul's puffy cheek. "It's what underneath that counts." She smiled lovingly at Byul and unconsciously leaned in to kiss her when she heard Ha-eun groaning.

"Mom, stop. Not in my room, please."

The two adults quickly pulled away from each other and couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, we'll leave you to your homework but I hope you get my point," Byul said, getting off the bed. "It's okay to be upset or sad or angry at something or someone, just... talk to us about it. Share. Give us a chance to listen and maybe even help." She ruffled the girl's hair on her way out. "We love you. Don't forget that."

WheeIn followed Byul and sat back down at the dining table where she was working. "Nice move, Inspector. You got her laughing again."

"Why thank you. Coming from the aspiring psychologist, that's definitely high praise," replied Byul as she went to the fridge to get a snack.

"Speaking of that psychologist thing, I told Yong about my going-back-to-school plan."

Byul turned her head. "You're really set on going back to school?"

"Yeah. Can't happen anytime soon, I know, but I just wanted to give her a fair warning and to hear what she thought about it."

"What did she say?"

"She was supportive of the idea."

"Good to know." Byul took out a cup of yoghurt and closed the fridge. She walked towards the dining table and took a seat across from WheeIn. "Every time I look back, I'm always amazed to see how much things have changed. Our friends are either married or thinking about settling down-..."

"Oh! Speaking of our friends," WheeIn interrupted Byul. "Triple date tomorrow."

"With Seul and her girlfriend too?"

"Yes. Yong arranged it."

"Awesome! I'm very curious about her."

"Well, you can meet her tomorrow. Now continue."

"That's it. The end. Our lives have changed a lot," Byul said, scooping yoghurt into her mouth.

"Yeah and there will be more changes to come, I'm sure."

"I'm looking forward to it."

Byul then moved to the couch to watch TV.

Ha-eun came out of her room soon after, brushed her teeth and kissed both parents goodnight before she went to bed, obviously in a much better mood.

"She's a good kid," remarked Byul, as her eyes went to Ha-eun's closed bedroom door.

"She is. And as much as it scares me, I think she'll pull out of puberty just fine," WheeIn said, closing her laptop and her notes. "I'm gonna be at the restaurant all day tomorrow so you have to keep yourself busy during the day."

"I think I'll visit the station, talk to Seul and Hyejin, check up on Bo Mi, the boys..."

"Playing cupid again?" asked WheeIn. She went to lie down on the couch, head on Byul's lap.

"I think we've done enough of that for now."

WheeIn let out a chuckle. "Things have indeed changed a lot. Us playing cupid to them? Talk about role reversal."

"Yeah." Byul paused as she took WheeIn's hand in hers. "Thanks for making my dream come true. I wouldn't have had what I have now without you."

"I know." WheeIn grinned then closed her eyes. "You owe me big time."

Byul squeezed WheeIn's hand. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. I owe you just as much anyway."

"I know. You owe me big time." Byul grinned then kissed the hand she was holding. "Love you."

"Love you too."


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You thought the last chapter was the end right... hehehe... but even here I'm still not able to put on name on the Mayor's son... Sorry for that...

Again don't forget to vote...

A/N: And that's it! Thank you for reading! Follow me for more stories to come. Stay safe!