Fate and Destiny

NINETEEN

Youngjae and his grandparents were already seated at the restaurant when Joy and Sungjae arrived.  "Eomma! Appa!" Youngjae squealed when he saw the two walking towards them.  The older couple smiled at each other upon hearing their grandson call Sungjae, appa.  Youngjae gave each of them a hug when they reached the table.  Sungjae leaned down to hug his father then gave his mother a kiss on the cheek while Joy greeted them.  "Hello, Mr. Yook, Mrs. Yook," Joy said as she and Sungjae sat on one side of the table with Youngjae sitting in between them.  "Did you have fun?" Sungjae asked Youngjae.  "Yes, appa. We went to all the rides except the roller coasters," he said.  "Why? Are you afraid of heights?" Sungjae asked him.  "No. But harabeoji is," Youngjae giggled in a cute way, making everyone laugh.  "Next time, we'll ride it together," Sungjae promised.  "Yesss! Thanks, appa!" Youngjae beamed, giving Sungjae another hug.  "You have to be tall to ride the roller coasters," Joy reminded him.  "I am tall. I'll grow as tall as appa," he declared.  "And just as handsome, too," Sungjae added in jest.  "Yeah. That, too," Youngjae quickly agreed.  The adults laughed at the boy's confidence.  Youngjae's funny recount of their day at the park dominated their lunch-table conversation.  After their meal, they decided to roam around the mall.  When they passed by a toy shop, Mr. Yook and Sungjae practically ran inside, excitedly tugging Youngjae with them, with Joy and Mrs. Yook following in a more relaxed pace.  Mrs. Yook sighed as she and Joy sat on the couch to wait for them.  "Did Jaejae tire you out?" Joy asked her.  "Jaejae?" Mrs. Yook said, slightly baffled.  "Youngjae. That's how Sungjin oppa calls him. I guess I caught the habit," Joy explained.  "Oh, I'm sorry I got a little confused. I thought you were referring to Sungjae. That's how his Sungjin hyung called him, too," Mrs. Yook recalled.  "I know. Sungjae-ssi told me last night when we were chatting," Joy said.  Mrs. Yook nodded in acknowledgement.  Although she was delighted to see that Joy and her son seem to be getting along well, Mrs. Yook didn't comment on it, answering instead Joy's question earlier.  "Well, I'm not as young as I used to be. But it's worth it. We had a great time just as much as Youngjae did," she said.  "But I'm not tired. It's a sigh of contentment. It's been awhile since Sungjae and his appa had this kind of fun together. Before, yeobo was busy with work, Sungjae with school. And when Sungjin left, it put a strain in their relationship. For a while, Sungjae blamed his appa for his hyung leaving. Then Sungjae became busy when he took over the company. It's nice to see them bonding again like before. It's even better because of Youngjae. I just wish his Sungjin appa is here as well. Then it would have been perfect," she added as an explanation.  Joy looked over to the three generations of the Yook men who are enjoying themselves trying the toys out.  "I'm sure Sungjin oppa can see them from where he is. He and Sohee unnie are probably having as much fun as you are watching them," Joy said, taking Mrs. Yook's hand in hers to comfort her.  "Thank you, dear. I really wish I had a daughter to talk to, like what we're doing now," Mrs. Yook said, patting Joy's hand.  "So, how are you? Has my son been nice to you?" she asked her.  "We're getting along well. He hasn't been cranky, so far," she said.  "That's good to hear," Mrs. Yook said as she looked at the trio.  "Those two seems to have grown close in a short time. I'm not complaining, mind you. I'm just amazed my son easily opened up to Youngjae," she said.  "Jaejae has that effect on people. Maybe because he's such a sweet boy, they can't help but be drawn to him," Joy explained.  "He even allows him to call him appa," Mrs. Yook observed.  "That was a surprise for me, too. Sungjae-ssi was even the one who suggested that. I guess, like me, he doesn't want Jaejae to feel that he's an orphan," Joy confided to her.  As she and Mrs. Yook watch them, they both marveled at how similar the three were.  From the way they stand, to the way they scratch the back of their head when they are curious or confused, to the way they frown while checking out a toy.  After an hour or so of browsing, Sungjae went to pay.  Joy's eyes almost popped out when she saw him push a cart full of toys to the counter.  "Mrs. Yook, can you excuse me for a while?" she said as she stood, hurrying to where Sungjae was. Youngjae and Mr. Yook were still browsing other toys.  "Sungjae-ssi. Is all that for Jaejae?" Joy asked him.  "Yes. Do you think we should get some more?" Sungjae said.  "Absolutely not! You have to put the others back," Joy told him.  "Why? Jaejae will enjoy playing with these," he whined.  "Please, don't spoil him. Jaejae only get gifts on his birthday, Children's Day and Christmas. Other than those occasions, I only give him a prize when he did something good. And it's usually cookies I bake," Joy said.  "You mean like doing well in school?" Sungjae asked.  "No. Doing well in school is already a given. I meant good deeds like cleaning his room without being asked, helping others, carrying bags for the elderly. Basically, just being nice. And I want him to grow up knowing the value of hard work. I always tell him that if he wants something, then he should work for it. But he won't know that if everything is given to him on a silver platter. If you give him things just because you want to, he'll think that all he needs to do is ask for it and, bam, it's there," Joy explained.  "I get that you want to make up for the lost years, but you don't need gifts to do that. Just spending time with him is more than enough," she added.  Sungjae looked regrettably at the cart and sighed then he turned to her with an imploring look in his eyes.  "Aww! Come on. Don't do that. Jaejae does that, too," Joy protested.  She can never say no to Youngjae when he gives her the sad, puppy-eyes look, and it seems Sungjae can make her give in as well with that look.  "Fine. Why don't we do this? I will let the three of you choose one gift each. As for the others, you can buy them but you can only give it to him on those three occasions," she compromised.  "Okay! Which one should I give to him now?" Sungjae said, perking up.  "Well, he likes cars and robots. He also likes building things," Joy said, giving him an idea.  "I like cars, too," Sungjae said.  In the end, Youngjae chose an airplane model kit, Sungjae gave him a remote controlled car and he got a Transformer robot from Mr. Yook.  The rest of the toys, Sungjae paid for and will be delivered to the house.  Leaving the toy store, Mrs. Yook walked arm in arm with his son to the parking lot.  "I'm glad you came with us today," she told her son.  "Me, too. I'm sorry for not making more time for you and appa," Sungjae apologized.  "It's okay. I know you're busy. I'm actually surprised that you're not working today and you easily agreed to lunch. But more than that, I'm surprised you let Youngjae call you appa," she told him.  "I just don't want him to feel like he's lacking a dad, that's all. I know hyung would want me to do that. As for lunch, I agreed because it's been awhile since we had lunch together. Plus it's a chance for me to spend time with Jaejae. I see him every morning but only for a short time, just before he leaves for school. And he's already asleep by the time I get home," he said.  Mrs. Yook smiled upon hearing his son call Youngjae by his nickname affectionately.  "Maybe you should cut down on your hours at the office," Mrs. Yook suggested.  "Yeah. I'm going to do that. That way, I can at least eat dinner with them. Besides, I can't let Sooyoung wait up for me every night," Sungjae said.  "She waits up for you?" Mrs. Yook asked in surprise.  Sungjae nodded.  "Jaejae said his eomma can't sleep unless everyone's already home," he explained.  "Oh, she is such a sweet girl," Mrs. Yook said.  Reaching their car, Mrs. Yook turned to Joy and Youngjae.  "Thank you for letting Youngjae stay with us," Mrs. Yook told Joy.  "You don't need to thank me. You're his grandparents. It's only right that he gets to spend time with you. He can stay with you anytime," Joy said.  Mrs. Yook hugged Joy to show her gratitude.  "We'll drop by the house soon," Mr. Yook said to Sungjae.  "Okay," Sungjae said, giving his father a hug, then kissing his mother goodbye.  "Please take care, Mr. Yook, Mrs. Yook," Joy said.  "Aish! Mr. Yook and Mrs. Yook make us feel very old. Call us abeonim and eommoni," Mr. Yook told Joy, patting her on the shoulder.  Joy was fazed, her cheeks turning pink.  Sungjae, meanwhile, merely raised an eyebrow in amusement.  "Uhm, Jaejae. Say goodbye to harabeoji and halmeoni," Joy said to hide her embarrassment.  "Thank you for bringing me to the park. I had a great time. And thank you for the robot, harabeoji," Youngjae said, hugging both the older Yooks and kissing them on the cheek.  "You're welcome, dear. We'll do this again soon," Mrs. Yook said.  "Bye, appa, eomma," Sungjae said to his parents before turning to the driver to remind him to be careful.  His parents' car has barely moved out of the parking lot when Sungjae's phone beeped.  Pulling it out, he opened the message and laughed.  Joy raised an eyebrow at him curiously.  "What is it, appa?" Youngjae asked him.  "Nothing. Just a funny text from Ilhoon hyung," he replied, reading the text again.  I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE JOY FOR MY DAUGHTER-IN-LAW. YOUR APPA WOULD, TOO, Mrs. Yook's text read.  Sungjae put his phone back in his pocket, shaking his head in amusement.

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Sungjae, Joy and Youngjae were already on their way home when Sungjae's phone rang again.

**CHANGSUB HYUNG CALLING**

"Yes, hyung?" Sungjae said, clicking the bluetooth earphones.  "Are you home yet?" Changsub said on the other line.  "Still on the way. Why?" Sungjae asked.  "Joy and Youngjae with you?" Changsub inquired.  "Yeah," Sungjae confirmed, glancing at Joy who is seated beside him.  "Family day still not over?" Changsub teased him.  "Hyung. You're getting distracted again," he reminded him.  "Oh, yeah. Sorry. Anyway, the guys are asking if we're still on for tomorrow?" Changsub asked, referring to their golf schedule.  "Yes, of course. Same time," he said.  "Okay. I'll tell the guys. See you then," Changsub said.  "See you tomorrow, hyung," Sungjae said.  "Oh, and our client from Singapore sent an email today. He's asking if he could have a video conference later today," Changsub added.  "Okay. I'll check it when I get home. I'll give you an update. Thanks, hyung," he said, ending the call.  "Appa. Are you going out tomorrow?" Youngjae asked from the backseat.  "Yeah. I'm meeting my hyung-deul at the golf range. Why?" Sungjae asked him.  "Oh, nothing," Youngjae replied, looking out the window.  If Sungjae was clueless, Joy can tell that Youngjae was disappointed based on the tone of his voice.  She was debating with herself whether to tell Sungjae about it or not.  In the end, she decided to let Sungjae realize it on his own.  Youngjae went straight to his room as soon as they entered the house, while Sungjae headed to his home office.  Joy sighed, following Youngjae to his room.  She knocked softly on his door.  "Jaejae, honey. Can I come in?" Joy asked him.  "Okay," Youngjae said softly.  She entered his room and sat on the side of his bed.  "I know you want to spend the day tomorrow with your appa, but you have to understand that before we came to live here, he has been spending his weekends with his hyung-deul. You can't expect him to change that just because we're here now," Joy explained.  "I know, eomma. It's just that I thought we could build the airplane together," he reasoned.  "Well, maybe he'll come home early tomorrow," Joy said to comfort him.  I hope you do, Sungjae-ssi, she silently prayed.  "Do you want me to cook spaghetti for dinner?" Joy asked, trying to cheer him up.  Youngjae nodded gloomily.  Joy stood up, kissed the top of his head then went to her room to change.  Dinner was a solemn event as Youngjae was not his usual talkative self.  After finishing his food, he immediately excused himself.  "I'll get ready for bed now, eomma. Goodnight, appa," he said, going to his room without giving either of them a goodnight kiss and a hug as he usually does.  "Is Jaejae not feeling well? He's been quiet since we got home," Sungjae asked Joy worriedly.  "Sungjae-ssi. If we're going to share responsibility of Jaejae, you have to learn how to read his moods," she told him.  "Why? Is he mad at me? Did I do something wrong?" Sungjae asked her.  "No. He's not mad at you, and you didn't do anything wrong. But, yeah, you did something," Joy told him, picking up the dishes and went to the kitchen, leaving Sungjae to ponder on her words.