#mikanyuzu26

[gwynne-fics]

Quiet Reconnection, 20, YoungRa

little wonders

Young-Do has a death grip on Min-Jae when they walk into Bo-Na’s pool party. At five, Min-Jae likes to run around everywhere, especially if Eun-Chae is nearby. Rachel carried So-Young and accepted compliments on their matching bathing suits.

To Young-Do’s surprise, the lack of Eun-Chae did not result in a tantrum from Min-Jae. He didn’t want to go play with the other kids so he sat down in the shallow end of the pool with Rachel and So-Young. The three of them played splashing games together and Young-Do just pulled out his phone and recorded it to show Rachel later.

Eventually, Rachel had a small group of children around her. All three of Bo-Na’s girls thought So-Young and Min-Jae were the cutest. So-Young particularly liked splashing with the youngest, Jae-Hee, and Myung-Soo’s tiny daughter, Ji-Yi.

Ye-Sol joined the small group and then Bo-Na. Young-Do found himself standing in a small group of men watching their wives and children. Well, not watching–filming. Chan-Young had his phone out and Myung-Soo was never without a real camera.

He lowered his phone and started laughing. “This might be a little creepy.”

“You can go ahead and stop,” Myung-Soo said through the clicking of his camera. “I’m willing to bet money that Rachel will be irritated if she doesn’t get all the cute moments the way Ye-Sol and Bo-Na can.”

Young-Do rolled his eyes, tossed his phone on the lawn chair, and went to go sit down by Rachel. “This is what I have you for,” he called over to Myung-Soo right before he gave So-Young a playful splash. So-Young happily kicked and slapped the water just like Min-Jae would at her age.

And Rachel didn’t protest the splashing. It helped that it got his face wet. Mostly. Rachel looked up at him and laughed softly. “You’ve got to stop crying whenever I play with the children. Aren’t you embarrassed yet?”

Young-Do bent down and kissed her, resulting in the children decrying their grossness and splashing them even more. “Never.”

[gwynne-fics]

Quiet Reconnection, Youngdo Minjae, 16

father and son

Young-Do crouched down in front of Min-Jae and tightened his little judo belt while his son looked at the competition ring nervously. Min-Jae was seven and ready to test himself. Young-Do wasn’t worried for him. After a year at the private judo school, Min-Jae was doing well. His teachers thought he was ready. Young-Do had Go Nam-Il look in on him (so Min-Jae didn’t catch him hovering) and his securities expert thought he was ready, too.

“Appa?” Min-Jae looked at him with wide, almost wet eyes. “Appa, what if I lose?”

“Then you can work harder for next time. Everyone loses a few times. That’s how you get better.” Young-Do drew him into a tight hug. “It is okay if you lose, Min-Jae. I love you and I’m proud of you. Omma, too.”

He said the last part because he knew Rachel’s opinion still mattered more than his. Min-Jae held onto him tightly. Young-Do grinned when he felt his son shift his weight, step, and then knock him to the ground. It startled some of the parents of his competitors. 

Young-Do was just proud. Now the other little boys would be nervous. His son just proved he could throw his father. He sat up and ruffled Min-Jae’s hair. “Do you want me to stay here or let you warm up alone?”

“I can do it alone.”

“Okay.” Young-Do knelt down and put his arm around Min-Jae’s shoulder. He pointed out the special box Rachel rented out for them. “I’ll be up there with Omma and So-Young. Can you see them?”

Min-Jae nodded and waved when Rachel and So-Young started waving to him. “Myung-Soo-samchon will take pictures? I want to show Eun-Chae. But only if I win. I don’t want her to see me as a loser.”

Young-Do completely understood that feeling. He hated losing in front of Rachel. “He’s right over there.”

Once Min-Jae seemed comfortable with him leaving, Young-Do made his way to their seats. Rachel decided that Min-Jae didn’t need the pressure of them watching from the front row. He sat down next to her and So-Young immediately climbed up on his shoulders.

Rachel took away the bag of chips from her. So-Young pouted but didn’t argue when Rachel explained why. “No crumbs in Appa’s hair, sweetie. How is he?”

“Nervous. He’s going to be fine. I think he would do better if Eun-Chae were here though.”

“Hyo-Shin says large crowds are too much for her. He’s worried about the elementary school not being gentle enough with her. He says he has to talk to the teachers at least once a week.” She paused and then probably said the worst thing she could think of. “Min-Jae is good at protecting her. Is that why you think she should be here?”

“I win faster if I know you’re watching.” He put his arm around her shoulders. “Even before we were dating.”

“Neither of you need a pretty girl in order to be good at this. That’s just your masculine pride talking. Look. There he goes with your favorite move.”

Young-Do tensed when the other boy almost got out of the arm bar but Min-Jae held onto him and eventually got his opponent to tap out. Min-Jae quickly went through his heat and made it to the finals. So-Young eventually sat herself in his lap and leaned forward in an attempt to watch her brother.

About halfway through the final match, she sighed and leaned back. “Min-Jae lose.”

“You don’t know that, sweetie,” Rachel said and handed her the bag of chips when she asked for them. “Just watch.”

Young-Do didn’t tell Rachel that So-Young was right. Min-Jae lost the match but came in second. He made sure he cheered as loudly as possible and whistled twice when Min-Jae’s name was called. (Rachel shot him a look that clearly said he was not to whistle in public.) He could tell his son was dejected but he put So-Young on his back and carried her down with him.

“Only nice things, okay?”

“Only nice things to Min-Jae,” So-Young agreed. She scrambled down his back and ran up to hug her brother. She congratulated him on his wins and chattered excitedly for him. Rachel came up and took Young-Do’s hand while Myung-Soo took more pictures for them.

“I lost, Appa,” Min-Jae said quietly on their way to the lockers. “I don’t deserve a party dinner. Parties are for winners.”

Young-Do stopped him and crouched down again. “You get a party dinner because you won five matches and we are proud of you for trying. Competitions are different than practice. You learn more during competitions. One loss cannot take away those five wins. Sometimes you fight someone who is better than you and you lose. Losing is important, Min-Jae. Did your coach or teammates say something to make you feel bad?”

“No.” He looked down at his feet. “I want Appa to be proud of me. I want to be called your son when I do judo. Everyone knows who you are at the school. I want to be like Appa. They say So-Young is like Appa and she’s only been there for a little while.”

“I am proud of you.” He pulled Min-Jae into a hug. “Do you want to see my first trophy? It is a second place trophy. I was always in second place when I started. There is nothing wrong with second place. You are like me, you are my son, and I am so proud of you.” It made his father furious that he couldn’t win everything. Mother tried her hardest to celebrate the second places before she ran away but Father never allowed him to be satisfied with it. Min-Jae’s quiet tears as he cried into his shoulder cut into him. “Do you want to practice more with me?”

Min-Jae nodded and Young-Do began to mentally clear his schedule to make time for both his children. Min-Jae had wanted less time with him once he started at the school. Young-Do wished he’d paid better attention to his worries and frustrations. He’d completely missed this.

He couldn’t control what other people said to Min-Jae but he could control himself. He would never make Min-Jae feel weak if he got second place. He would never punish Min-Jae for getting second place. Young-Do took him into the locker rooms and helped him shower and get ready quickly.

Rachel had a fun child’s dinner planned for Min-Jae and his few friends back at the suite. Young-Do was glad that So-Young continued to only say nice things about the matches to Min-Jae. He considerably brightened once Myung-Soo pulled out the pictures and showed them off. 

When Eun-Chae showed up, Min-Jae was all smiles and Young-Do couldn’t tell he’d been in the pits of despair after getting second place. He wondered if his father ever looked at him like this. Young-Do watched how gentle Min-Jae was with his friends and knew…he wasn’t the right fit for Zeus.

Did his father feel this way about him? Was that why he tried to break Young-Do into that horrible bully who won at all costs? He would not do that to Min-Jae for the sake of the company. If he could learn how to lead, so could Min-Jae. He pushed the thought aside.

“Everything alright?” Eun-Sang came up to him and handed him a glass of wine. “Rachel is very proud of him.”

“I’m very proud of him,” Young-Do said with a tight smile. “Everything is fine. Thank you for bringing Eun-Chae. He really wishes she could watch him. How are you doing tonight?”

If she caught his deflection, Eun-Sang didn’t push it. She just smiled and sipped her drink. “I just sold another script and Hyo-Shin will be the director again. I’m excited.”

[gwynne-fics]

Quiet Reconnection, Youngdo and Rachel, 51

“My [mother] asked about you.”

Rachel looked up from her textbook and wrinkled her nose. He’d stopped rubbing her legs and was staring at his own book. Young-Do wouldn’t meet her eyes. She wasn’t sure he’d spoken until he swallowed uncomfortably.

“She wants to meet you.”

“Why? I’m not your girlfriend. Introduce her to Eun-Sang.” It still bothered her that they’d started dating. She didn’t know how he managed it but her opinion still stood. Eun-Sang wasn’t good enough for Young-Do. 

“I already did. She wants to meet you, too.” He poked at her feet with his highlighter and she lightly kicked at him. “She wants to meet all my friends. Myung-Soo is going to come with me to Secret Garden tomorrow. Come with us.”

“She’ll misunderstand our relationship. Everyone always does. I don’t want her to think I’m the other woman. I’m engaged now.”

Young-Do stiffened and she winced. She didn’t like reminding him that they had an end date. Hyo-Shin didn’t demand she end her friendship with Young-Do even though she knew that they disliked each other. There was a part of her that hoped they could just continue after she was married and he came back from his enlistment.

Twice now, he told her he felt like he was losing his sister to a brother-in-law he didn’t want.

She wished people understood friendship better. In some ways, she was closer to Young-Do than she was with Hyo-Shin. She could be more honest with Young-Do because she wasn’t afraid of losing him. He knew all the worst parts of her and didn’t care. She knew all the bad parts of him and knew how hard he worked to make them go away.

She trusted Young-Do more than Hyo-Shin on some things.

Well, not until she thought about this break where he left for two years. Hyo-Shin would understand if she wrote him. He would have to. 

She would convince him.

“She wants to throw me a graduation party. She’ll feel better knowing the guests. Rachel, you’re my best friend. She knows exactly what our relationship is and won’t mistake it for anything else. Why don’t you want to meet her?”

Rachel sighed and closed her textbook. Their graduation was coming up soon. Just one more round of tests and papers. Then they were done and onto better things. Real things in their real companies. She was excited. Mother was going to let her pursue designing.

“Mothers don’t like me. Hyo-Shin’s mother thinks I’m enabling his hobby. She thinks I should encourage him to be a prosecutor. We had a fight about it.” She shifted so she pulled her legs off of his lap and underneath her. She scooted so she could lay her head against his shoulder. His hand came up automatically to play with her hair. “I think it’s a rule. Mothers-in-law don’t like their sons’ wives.”

“My mother will like you just fine then as you’re not trying to marry me.” His body was a little tight and she wondered when he would finally tell her what was bothering him. He’d pulled back from her about a month ago.

Rachel blamed Eun-Sang. What else could it be?

“Don’t sound so disappointed by that,” she teased as she lifted her head up and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “I am going to make an excellent wife.”

Instead of laughing or mocking her his expression darkened and he frowned. It exasperated her. “What is wrong with you? You’ve been in a bad mood all night.”

Young-Do shook his head. “Nothing. I’m sorry. I’m picking Myung-Soo up before dinner. I’ll grab you, too. My mother will be glad to meet you.”

Rachel watched him pretend to go back to studying. “If you say so.”

[gwynne-fics]

Quiet Reconnection, Rachel & Minjae, 21

heartbeat

Rachel hears Min-Jae sneak down the stairs in the middle of naptime while she’s in her office working and she almost smiles. He tries so hard to hide his heavy plodding and she has to resist the urge to intercept him and put him back in bed. She listens carefully for So-Young’s fussing. Min-Jae is always the first to speak up if So-Young is unhappy. He tries so hard to make it better. 

Rachel stays in her office and works on her sketches. She wants her little duckling to be unafraid of doing things on his own. She winces when she hears him scoot a chair into the kitchen. A few minutes later, he scoots it back, and she hears him trundling towards her office.

“Omma?” her little boy asks as he pushes open the door. “Omma, can I come in? It’s time for your water.”

“Of course, Min-Jae.” She’s slightly confused as he comes in with one of the water bottles clutched tightly in his arms. He walks up to her and holds it out. Rachel takes it and looks into his large, bright eyes and knows she needs to drink the water. “Thank you for the water, Min-Jae.”

“You have to drink it all, Omma. Appa says every day after lunch. You have to replace all your tears.”

Her heart leaps to her throat and for a few seconds, she’s angry with Young-Do for saying such things to Min-Jae. He’s such a smart four year old and remembers everything that he hears. He even knows how to operate the elevator to go down to Young-Do’s office all by himself. Rachel is glad that Go Nam-Il catches him every time.

She scoops Min-Jae up in her arms and feels his little heart rapidly beating from all of his exertion. “I’m not sick anymore, Min-Jae. I’m better now. You don’t have to worry about me and my tears.”

He hugs her tightly and kisses her cheek. “No excuses, Omma. Drink all your water. It is after lunch.”

She was definitely going to take this up with Young-Do. She was not going to be bossed around by their son. Rachel got through half the bottle before setting it aside. Then she lifted him up and started to take him back to his bedroom. He lays his head on her shoulder and holds onto her tightly. She can still feel his little heart pounding against her chest.

“I love you, Omma. I’m happy you’re not sick anymore.”

His little heart that loves her so much that he wants to replace all her tears. Her eyes get briefly wet and she desperately hopes she hasn’t damaged her children. Rachel glances over at So-Young’s crib and listens to her quiet snoring. She sets Min-Jae down in his bed after kissing his forehead. “I’m happy I’m not sick, too. Thank you for the water, Min-Jae. I promise I’ll drink all of it. I love you so much.”

He grins up at her and then closes his eyes. She stays with him until he falls asleep before going back down to her office. The half empty water bottle sits on her desk and mocks her. She doesn’t know if it is possible to replace all the tears she cried during that year. But she does know, that she likes that her son thinks it’s possible.

Rachel still texts Young-Do to tell him what happened. She wonders what explanation her husband will give her.

[gwynne-fics]

QR, Rachel & MinJae, 13

nickname

It is Ye-Sol who notices it first. She’s trying to capture some pictures for Young-Do and Myung-Soo at Rachel’s first day back to work. At home, Min-Jae plays quietly with his blocks and stuffed animals. He’s not a loud boy but he can get stubborn about things.

Things like Rachel within his eyesight.

He starts crawling and scooting with vigor when Rachel stops responding to every call for her attention. Sometimes she walks into her office or into the library to grab something and leaves him sitting on the floor. Min-Jae gets very fast at chasing after her.

He’s walking when Rachel brings him into work with her. The first day is a little hectic, especially when Min-Jae discovers he has to stay behind the baby gate in the play area. Rachel walks out of her office to talk with a member of her staff and Ye-Sol keeps an eye on Min-Jae through the glass.

He climbs over the baby gate, trundles directly towards Rachel, and fists his little hand in her skirt. Ye-Sol gets three pictures of his determination. Rachel looks down at her son when he starts tugging. She doesn’t appear surprised.

“Want. Omma.”

“I’m busy. If you want to be with me, you need to hold on.”

“Yes, Omma.” He grips her skirt with two hands. Rachel walks slowly so he can keep up. Ye-Sol snaps two more pictures. Rachel catches her and looks at them a few minutes later.

She laughs and ruffles Min-Jae’s hair. “He’s my little duckling.”

[gwynne-fics]

Quiet Reconnection, Young-Do and Baby MinJae, 39

swimming pool

“Omma.Want. Omma.” Min-Jae sniffled as Young-Do carried him into Bo-Na’s annual poolparty. Rachel needed a break and Young-Do wanted to give her one. She was at aspa and would join them for fireworks later. “Omma.”

Young-Doknew all about special relationships between sons and their mothers but hedesperately wanted that special relationship between a son and his father. Hefelt a little dejected after ten minutes of tantrum when Min-Jae realized Rachelwasn’t coming with them. Now, Min-Jae was a little worn out as he laid his headon Young-Do’s shoulder and gave pathetic little cries.

Itmight’ve been a little stubborn of him but Young-Do didn’t let Bo-Na takeMin-Jae away from him as she squealed over his adorable swimming trunks andt-shirt. It helped that Min-Jae did not want to let Bo-Na fawn over him. Ithelped even more when Ye-Sol appeared and Min-Jae turned away from her, too.

“Ihave snacks for the kids over in the shade, if he’s hungry.” Bo-Na pointed at theplay area she set up. “The babies and toddlers are all behind the fence and I’vegot a bevy of babysitters, all with the best credentials. I picked all the onesRachel wanted so you can take a break if you need it.”

Young-Doshook his head and it got a smile out of both women. Bo-Na showed him to hispool chair and helped him arrange the diaper bags and pool supplies. Young-Doslathered Min-Jae in sunscreen and tried to ignore the sad, wet, pouty face asMin-Jae looked up at him.

“Omma?Soon?”

“Hours.Soon, but hours.” He knew Min-Jae wouldn’t understand but he didn’t want to lieto him. Min-Jae sat on the pool chair while Young-Do put sunscreen on himself.He’d forgotten to ask for Rachel’s help before they left.

“Here.”Myung-Soo grabbed it from him and started taking care of his back. He chuckledat Min-Jae’s sad face. “The two of you look so miserable without Rachel. Let’sgo sit in the pool. The water should distract him for a little bit.”

Theywent over to sit on the steps in the shallow end. Min-Jae looked at the waterskeptically before looking up at Young-Do. “Bath?”

“Pool.Because it’s hot. You can splash in pools.”

Min-Jaeimmediately brightened. Rachel had a no splashing policy at bath time. She didn’twant Min-Jae getting soap in his eyes. Young-Do was a bit more lenient when shewasn’t looking. He allowed little splashes. Min-Jae brought his hands down onthe water and laughed when his face got wet.

Myung-Sooslapped the water next to him and Min-Jae’s eyes got wide. He looked down athis little hands and then at Young-Do’s hands. “Splash, Appa! Splash!”

Young-Doobeyed and his chest relaxed over the next hour while he and Min-Jae sat in thewater and splashed everyone who came to sit next to them after Myung-Soodeparted to go get pictures for Bo-Na.

Itwas fun. Anyone who wanted to talk business with him (which wasn’t allowed atBo-Na’s parties anyway) had to suffer through Min-Jae demanding that his fathersplash the person interrupting their fun.

Sowhen Rachel sat down in the water next to them, Young-Do figured it was allover with. He took a moment to appreciate her red bikini and tell her howlovely she looked. He expected Min-Jae to immediately climb into Rachel’s armsbut instead his son surprised him. Min-Jae stayed put.

“Splash,Omma! Splash Min-Jae. Pool! No bath!”

Rachellaughed and kissed the top of Min-Jae’s head before taking her arm, putting itpartway in the water and scooping up as much water as she could and drenchingboth of them. Min-Jae cackled gleefully and started splashing her back.

Myung-Sooemailed him the pictures that night. Not once did Min-Jae try to go back toRachel. It felt like a win.

[gwynne-fics]

Quiet Reconnection, Young-Do and Rachel, 61

name

“Remember,” Rachel said quietly as they drove to thepolice department. “They do not know who we are or how powerful we are.All they know is that our daughter broke a man’s wrist.”

“She is fifteen,” Young-Do barely held back hissnarl. “The officer said the man was twenty-four.”

“And you can destroy him all you want once we know whathappened. I won’t stop you. But Young-Do, please calm down. This will be thefirst time her name means something. We have to handle this carefully.”

“Aren’t you angry at all? So-Young is a black belt injudo. She is the national champion in her division. If she broke his wrist itwas because he attacked her.”

Rachel was glad he wasn’t driving. Go Nam-Il appeared to bespeeding enough as it was. Rachel swallowed and clenched her hands into fists.She did not want to have to be the calm one. They had very few details. Shedidn’t know why So-Young and Ji-Yihad been at a bar or even how they’d gotten in. The whole situation worriedher. Ji-Yi wasn’t even thirteen yet. The two girls were supposed to be hangingout at Myung-Soo’s studio.

“I am angry,” Rachel said as they pulled up. “But I’mrelieved So-Young isn’t the one with a broken wrist.”

[gwynne-fics]

Quiet Reconnection, Young-Do and Rachel, 33

diary

Rachelsat in bed with her phone and stared at the black screen. So-Young was asleep inthe bassinet and Young-Do was putting Min-Jae to bed tonight. She promisedherself she wouldn't pretend to already be asleep when he joined her. Sheswiped her phone and went through her task list.

Herfingers shook as she checked off her daily reminders. She smiled at So-Young fourtimes even though it was tight and unnatural. She read Min-Jae three stories.She left her bedroom. She showered and put on makeup. She remembered to takeoff her makeup. She only cried once. She put her children in cute clothing andtook pictures. She sent the pictures to Young-Do.

Shewould get up with So-Young tonight to feed her. She had an alarm set for thatone. She only had one task left.

Touch husband. Itcouldn't be him touching her. It couldn't be an accident in the middle of thenight where she rolled against him. He had to be awake. She had to be awake.Rachel had to be the one to touch him. The task was five days overdue.

Shedidn't want him to leave her and take the children. She had to show him she wastrying. Rachel was so focused on finding a way to accomplish this task that shedidn't hear Young-Do come to bed until he sat down. She jerked and flinchedaway.

"It'sjust me," he said gently. "Do you want me to plug in yourphone?"

Rachelswallowed and nodded. She let him take her phone away. Touch husband.

Shedidn't move as he finished turning off lights and saying goodnight to theirdaughter. He got into bed and started to fuss with the blankets and her heartwas pounding and she was sweating but Rachel waited until he was still to pressthe tips of her fingers against his shoulder.

Young-Dodidn't say anything. Even in the dark, she could see his eyes open and hestared at the ceiling. His throat worked and his brows lowered. His shirt wasthe rough sort of new fabric. She didn't touch his skin. She didn't touch him.

Didthis even count?