Safe Haven [Kim Seokjin ff]

Chapter - 3

"Eunha-ya.. Why are you.. Asking that..?"
Hyejin asked her daughter, fumbling with her words.

"Eomma you remember once I had asked you, what would appa do with us if we found him? You had said that he will play with me and make both of us smile. That's what samchon is doing right now. So is he my appa? Have we found him?"

They both didn't know how to react to that. But Jin finally melted at Eunha's cute innocence.

"Eunha-ya, sadly I am not your appa..."

He saw Eunha's face turning sad.

"But.. If you ever feel like you want to play with your appa, you can come to me. We will have lots of fun. Okay?"

He said, raising his hand for a high five. Eunha's face immediately changed into a smiley one and she gave him the high five.

"Okay samchon"

"Dr. Kim, it's really not necessary. You're a busy person..."

"Don't worry Ms. Kim. I want to do it. How can I not want to spend time with this cute and smart little one?"

Hyejin stared at him for some time, then turned to Eunha.

"Can you play here for some more time? I need to talk with Seokjin samchon."

"Araso eomma"

She gestured Jin to come out.

"What's wrong Ms. Kim?"

"I want to continue the session, if you're fine with it."

Jin's lips turned into a smile.

"Of course. I'm glad you're comfortable now."

They returned to the counseling room.

"You must be wondering.. Why did Eunha say that she 'found' her appa?"

"I think I have an idea, but I'll let you share."

Hyejin braced herself to delve into the past she was so badly running away from.

"I.. Um.. Had her when I was 25. Her father.. Well.. He was my boyfriend. When I found out I was pregnant and told him so, he started panicking. I was afraid too, but foolish me thought we would tackle it together. I couldn't have been more wrong. He fled, leaving me alone. I was devastated, I didn't know what to do. I wanted to keep the baby, but I was so scared of doing it alone. Still I did it, and Tae has helped me incredibly for pushing through. I obviously can't tell Eunha about all this, so when she asks about her appa, I tell her that he's waiting for us somewhere and we need to find him. Like her favourite game hide and seek. I know it's too lame, but I couldn't think of anything else. I also know that as she grows up, she'll start understanding the lie.. But till then I just..."

She stopped speaking, and glanced at Jin. He was not writing anything down but was listening to her intently with a gentle expression on. After so long, she actually felt like she was being heard. Her pain, which she kept hiding, was being seen.

"Ms. Kim, I understand what you would've gone through alone. But you should know that you're an excellent mom. You've raised such a sweet and intelligent daughter on your own. What you told her was just to protect her from knowing the cruelty of this world. And I know it hurts when you remember about the past, but when you think about it, if you exclude the part of the jerk fleeing away, it's that past which gave you this beautiful present. Isn't it? Because of that past, Eunha is there in your life right now. And besides, I'll say, it's better that jerk went away from your lives before only. It would've been worse if he had done something like that after Eunha came into this world. She deserves a much better dad, and you deserve a much better husband/boyfriend. Every situation has two sides like a coin, we should try to find the good memories and take only those with us, and let the bad ones go."