"Unnie!" The loud scream emitted from Jihye as she ran towards the older girl who had just punched in the keycode for the apartment.
"Jihye!" Kira shouted back, with the same amount of enthusiasm to match the kid's energy. She was already very tired from the long day at university, then enduring a long winded meal with her friends who constantly teased her. Yet she felt revived when she saw the young girl smiling up at her with innocence, a playful glint in her eyes.
"Hi Kira, how are you?" The housekeeper greeted and she smiled, bowing in respect.
"I'm good, just a little tired" she responded, taking off her jacket and bag which the lady immediately tended to.
"Hopefully this little one doesn't wear you out" She said, lightly pinching the child's cheek to get a grumble in response.
"I'm sure we'll have lots of fun, right Jihye?" She asked, squatting down to her height and the girl nodded, pig tails flailing about with the head movement.
"You know the drill, there's food in the kitchen for dinner. Jaehyun will come a bit late after practice so put her to bed by 9 and tell her not to wait up" She said and Kira nodded
"How late will he be?" She asked curiously, knowing she wasn't allowed to leave until Jaehyun came home to make sure Jihye wasn't left alone.
"He usually tries to come before 11 but he might come earlier since its your first proper day. It's getting closer to their concert so I wouldn't put it past him if he's later than usual" She said and Kira nodded, immediately feeling the tug of Jihye on her hand and she followed the girl into the living room
"Jihye make sure to finish your homework!" The woman shouted down the hallway
"Homework? You're only five" Kira said, patting the young girls head as they both sat down at the living room table, a kid's english book open in front with crayons and pencils spread all around the dark wooden table.
"I have an English teacher, her name is Allie" Jihye said, the last part in english to show Kira all her hard work.
"Woah, your english is so good!" Kira responded in english, giving her a thumbs up. Jihye slumped her shoulders a little, realising that she couldn't understand her too well.
"You sound different" she said with a huff and Kira laughed
"Is it because of my accent?" Kira asked, getting her attention again as her ears perked up
"Accent?" She asked, the word seeming pretty new to her.
"Yeah...I'm from England, so my English might sound a bit different" She said and Jihye looked at her with wide eyes
"England? Is that where the queen is from?!" She asked and Kira nodded, chuckling a little before taking her phone out and googling a map.
"It's across the world from here...see?" Kira asked showing the interested kid her origins.
"Its so far away...Do you miss it?" She asked, looking up with a pout and Kira shrugged, thinking.
"A little bit. My parents and a lot of my friends are there" She said
"Don't you miss your parents?" She asked, opening up a can of worms in Kira's head, however she kept her response light hearted
"I do...but I also have my brother here so I don't get too lonely" Kira said
"A brother? I want one too...I always feel lonely" She said, palm on her cheek while her elbow leaned against the table
"Well you have me now, right?" Kira said, booping her nose with her index finger before looking ahead to see the English words along the page, blanks half filled in by Jihye.
"Do you need help with your homework?" Kira asked, changing the subject and Jihye nodded, her attention span going with whatever Kira was saying and doing.
Kira let Jihye work, watching intently as she tried to spell out the three letter words in English, with the help of Kira who recited the alphabet every now and then to make sure she could learn the pattern.
The two rushed through the pretty small set homework, enjoying a dinner afterwards where Jihye spent most of her time question Kira on what twins were and about her own life. Jihye also filled her in with stories in school, letting Kira know that she didn't have too many friends but was closer to the teachers instead.
Kira wondered to herself why Jaehyun didn't just invest in private tutors and homeschooling for Jihye since the risk of people finding out would be so much higher since she was going to school, but hearing Jihye talk about her experiences and her school life made her realise just how much of a normal childhood Jaehyun wanted her to have. And just because her father is an idol, it didn't mean her life had to be restricted as well.
"But I'm not tired!" Jihye said, all changed into her fluffy pyjamas, as she stuck her toothbrush into her mouth, getting ready for bed.
"I know but your dad will be mad at me if you're not in bed, plus..its a school night" Kira said with a playful warning tone as she took out her pigtails and brushed through her strands.
"My dad gets mad when I stay up too late, but he's the one that's always up til late!" She whined, washing the toothpaste out of her mouth.
"Is he? I'll give out to him then" Kira said, cleaning up the bathroom before carrying the girl into her bedroom
"Will you read me a story?" She asked with hopeful eyes, getting into the covers that had love hearts printed over them.
"Yeah sure...which one do you want?" Kira asked, looking at the bookshelf which was stalked with bedtime stories beside her bed
"I like the princess and the pea....but what's your favourite?" Jihye asked as Kira skimmed through the collection, trying to find good books to read.
"Hmm...the twelve dancing princesses, its an old one" She said, smiling at Jihye
"What's it about?" She asked curiously and Kira chuckled
"I'll bring it to read for you some other day, I'm not a good storyteller. Can we stick with Goldilocks for tonight?" She asked and Jihye nodded excitedly at the mention of getting a new book soon instead of just getting the recycled old stories which Jaehyun had gone through several times.
The calm sound of Kira's voice eventually led the little girl to a peaceful slumber, being worn out from the simple yet fun day she had in the company of the older one. Kira smiled as she looked at the child already sleeping when she wasn't even halfway through the story.
She quietly closed the book, placing it back on the shelf before walking out of the room, being careful enough to not wake the girl up, smiling to herself that her first day of work was a victorious accomplishment.
YOU ARE READING
Spitting Image | Jeong Jaehyun
Fanfiction"Babygirl?" "Yeah?" "...I was talking to my daughter." Everyone has secrets, some come in the form of a 5 year old who spills hot chocolate all over the carpet. Who knew a mere part time job could lead Kira to meet her idol, and eventually find love...
