Chapter 9
Chapter 9 - Dark Day of the New Moon
“You want me to take s.h.i.+nhae to her dad?”
Jiyoon blinked her eyes .
“Yes . In truth, there is a nasty cold going around, and we had to send several kids to the hospital . Of course, we couldn’t send the children to the hospital by themselves, so couple of teachers had to accompany them . That is why we are short on staff and don’t have the time to take s.h.i.+nhae to her father . ”
“Doesn’t her father usually pick her up?”
She gleaned from the director’s words that s.h.i.+nhae would be meeting her father outside of the orphanage . The director’s expression turned for the worse . She looked regretful and sad .
“I told you last time, right? s.h.i.+nhae’s dad visits her often, so the other children shun her . That is why we tried to come up with several solutions . One of the ideas was to stop the other children from witnessing the meeting between s.h.i.+nhae and her father . Of course, the children know what is going on, but there is a difference in witnessing the meeting and imagining the meeting . ”
It was a pretty convincing argument . Jiyoon nodded in agreement .
“But just because we are short on manpower, I can’t tell them not to meet, . ”
“That’s true . ”
This was s.h.i.+nhae’s day to meet her only family member . It would be too cruel to rob this day from the child .
“After you deliver s.h.i.+nhae, you don’t have to stay with them . You just have to accompany her to the promised location, and you have to pick her up on the agreed time . You just have to bring her back . ”
When Jiyoon heard the director’s words, she realized that it wasn’t a difficult task . It was why Jiyoon agreed to do the request .
“Where do I have to take her?”
“So you are agreeing to do it?”
“Yes . It isn’t as if I’m a stranger to s.h.i.+nhae, and this won’t be a difficult task . ”
The director’s face brightened .
“Thank you very much . The location is the bank next to the orphanage . ”
“It is close . ”
It was really close . Jiyoon didn’t even need directions to get there .
“They just have to avoid being seen by the other children, so there was no need to go far . ”
“Should I go right now?”
“Yes . He’s probably waiting for her right now . ”
After the director thanked her, Jiyoon went to look for s.h.i.+nhae . It wasn’t too hard to find s.h.i.+nhae, who looked like she wanted to run outside . She was pacing around the front gate .
“s.h.i.+nhae!”
Jiyoon had a bright smile on her face as she called out to the little girl . They had become quite close, so there was no disagreeable tone to her voice .
“Unni!”
s.h.i.+nhae gave a big wave . Her reaction was different then normal . Normally, she would pump those little legs to jump into Jiyoon’s arms .
“You are going to meet your dad today?”
“Yes!”
Normally, she had a sad expression on her face, but currently, there were no traces of such expression on her face . It was as if Jiyoon was witnessing a small flower bloom on a warm spring day . s.h.i.+nhae’s bright expression was too cute . There was an atmosphere of joy surrounding her, and it highlighted how cute she was .
“Unni will be taking you instead of the teacher . ”
“Huh? Unni will?”
s.h.i.+nhae’s eyes turned round .
“Yes . All the teachers are busy today . That is why unni will be going instead . ”
s.h.i.+nhae was a bit surprised, but she soon put on a big smile .
“Let’s go!”
In the first place, s.h.i.+nhae didn’t care if the person delivering her was a teacher or Jiyoon . If she could meet her father, she was willing to go out by herself . Of course, her father and teachers told her that she always had to be accompanied by a teacher . That was the only reason why she hadn’t gone out .
Jiyoon firmly grasped s.h.i.+nhae’s hand . She felt the warmth that was unique to a child in her hand .
“Unni’s hand is cold!”
s.h.i.+nhae let out a trilling laughter . Jiyoon had never seen s.h.i.+nhae be so happy . She had thought she had gotten close to s.h.i.+nhae, but as expected, she couldn’t hold a candle to her father . For some reason, she was a bit jealous .
They walked parallel to the wall of the orphanage, and they soon arrived at a crosswalk on an intersection . s.h.i.+nhae raised her one hand that wasn’t in Jiyoon’s hand . She was also careful to look at both sides of the street . Her actions made Jiyoon smile .
After crossing the crosswalk, it didn’t take too long to arrive at their destination . There were a lot of people going in and out of the bank’s gla.s.s door . Everyone looked busy, but there was one man standing next to the entrance .
“Dad!”
It felt as if s.h.i.+nhae spurned Jiyoon’s hands . s.h.i.+nhae let go of Jiyoon’s hand, and she started running . It drew the eyes of pa.s.sersby, but s.h.i.+nhae didn’t care about them .
The man reacted to s.h.i.+nhae’s voice, and his face lit up .
“s.h.i.+nhae!”
The man ran forward to greet the running s.h.i.+nhae .
“Dad!”
s.h.i.+nhae jumped into Sungyoon’s arms, and he let out an ‘oof’ as he received s.h.i.+nhae .
s.h.i.+nhae had suddenly let go of her hand to run forward, so Jiyoon had been a bit taken aback . However, a smile appeared on her face when she witnessed the warm reunion between father and daughter .
“Have you been well?”
“Yes!”
s.h.i.+nhae’s expression was brighter than the sun in the sky . s.h.i.+nhae buried her face in Sungyoon’s chest .
The father and daughter remained that way for a while as they talked .
Jiyoon watched them, and she wondered what she should do . s.h.i.+nhae had met her father, so she thought about returning to the orphanage without saying anything . Still, she thought she should say goodbye to s.h.i.+nhae .
Jiyoon approached the father and daughter .
“Ah! Unni!”
It had been a while since s.h.i.+nhae had met her father, so she had totally forgotten about Jiyoon . s.h.i.+nhae finally registered Jiyoon’s presence again . She escaped Sungyoon’s arms then she pulled on Sungyoon’s rough large hand .
“Dad, dad! She is the unni that brought me here today!”
When Sungyoon looked at her, Jiyoon could observe Sungyoon’s face more closely . She was a bit surprised .
He hadn’t groomed himself, so his hair was unkempt . It seemed he was leading a rough life, so he looked gaunt . It made his cheekbones more prominent . He also wore squalid clothes that looked to be falling apart . He looked shabby . However, Sungyoon’s face was much better than she had expected . If he was given a makeover, she thought all the freshmen girls on their date dash would fall for him .
“h.e.l.lo . ”
Jiyoon gave a slight bow, and she gave a short greeting . That was it . Jiyoon wanted to be close to s.h.i.+nhae, but she didn’t feel the need to be on familiar terms with her father . Moreover, she was a bit guarded right now . Even married men made pa.s.ses at her . If Sungyoon showed too much interest in her, it would make it awkward for Jiyoon to interact with s.h.i.+nhae in the future . She wanted to avoid that .
However, she had worried for nothing .
“Yes . h.e.l.lo . ”
Sungyoon bowed towards Jiyoon . However, that was it . He didn’t show any interest in her, and he didn’t make any moves . In fact, Sungyoon seemed a bit guarded towards Jiyoon . For the first time in her life, a man was looking at her with wary eyes .
“Are you her teacher?”
Sungyoon sounded a bit astringent . Jiyoon was fl.u.s.tered, but she kept that hidden .
“No . I came out to volunteer at the orphanage today . Children were sent to the hospital today, so several teachers had to accompany them . That is why I came here instead of them . ”
After hearing her explanation, Sungyoon nodded . That was it . Sungyoon’s eyes didn’t linger on Jiyoon .
“My cute daughter! What do you want to do today?”
If he was like the other men, he would have tried to continue the conversation . Jiyoon found Sungyoon’s reaction quite refres.h.i.+ng . Jiyoon was sure of it now . This man didn’t have an ounce of interest in her .
“Mmm…”
s.h.i.+nhae put a finger to her lips, and she started thinking hard . How was she going to spend her day? What will allow her to have the most fun with her father? Jiyoon could almost hear s.h.i.+nhae’s thoughts churn .
Sungyoon waited for s.h.i.+nhae to speak . His face didn’t show any signs of being bored . Jiyoon could tell by his look that Sungyoon loved s.h.i.+nhae very much .
Sungyoon didn’t look anywhere else . He looked only at his daughter’s happiness, and Jiyoon felt a very good feeling from him . Jiyoon felt a lot of favorable feelings towards Sungyoon .
Of course, this feeling wasn’t affection . It wasn’t like the movies or drama where the person fell for someone saying, ‘You are the first one to treat me this way . ’ Her feelings weren’t close to that . If she was to come up with a comparison, it was a pleasant smile that appeared when one saw a family that got along . It was that type of feeling .
“I’ll go for now . ”
This was the time between father and daughter . She wasn’t family, so she didn’t want to intrude on their time . That was why Jiyoon had spoken those words .
“Then I’ll meet you later here, s.h.i.+nhae . Ok?”
“Yes, unni!”
s.h.i.+nhae gave a big hand wave towards Jiyoon . Jiyoon laughed as she gave a small hand wave .
“Thank you for bringing s.h.i.+nhae here . ”
“It was nothing . ”
As a thank you for bringing s.h.i.+nhae to him, Sungyoon lowered his head . Jiyoon was a bit embarra.s.sed, so she let out a bashful smile .
After letting Jiyoon go, Sungyoon started to play with s.h.i.+nhae in earnest . They went to a fast food restaurant, and then he bought s.h.i.+nhae a hamburger . They went to a movie theater, and they watched the latest animation movie . If he had his way, he even wanted to take her to an amus.e.m.e.nt park or a zoo . Unfortunately, his schedule wouldn’t allow it .
However, s.h.i.+nhae was truly happy at every little activity they did . It didn’t matter how much the director of the orphanage and the other teachers took care of her . It didn’t matter that Jiyoon came to play with her . Nothing could beat her time with her father .
However, time moved faster the more fun you had . While she was having fun, the sun had already set . There was only the lingering red color of the sun left in the sky .
Jiyoon was waiting for the father and daughter in front of the bank . She came 10 minutes early .
Jiyoon saw the father and daughter coming towards her from across the street .
There was a big cotton candy in s.h.i.+nhae’s right hand, and her left hand was in her father’s hand . The glow of the sunset washed over them, and it was a very warm scene .
Jiyoon suddenly thought about her own family . When she was young, she had gone to the amus.e.m.e.nt park several times . She had so much fun there, but there always came a time when she rubbed her eyes as she yawned from exhaustion . When her father saw this, he had always given her a piggyback ride . Her father’s back was large and very warm . She hated the smell of cigarettes now, but when she was young, it was one of the smells from her father that comforted her .
‘It has been awhile . Should I eat out with my parents?’
She wanted to get used to her college life, so she hadn’t spent much time with her family . She thought it would be a good idea to spend some quality time with them .
Jiyoon was having many thoughts when the father and daughter arrived in front of her .
“Did you have fun, s.h.i.+nhae?”
s.h.i.+nhae didn’t answer her . Jiyoon observed s.h.i.+nhae’s expression . Her expression looked rough, and moisture was starting to appear near her eyes .
Sungyoon didn’t say anything as he put his hand on top of s.h.i.+nhae’s head . s.h.i.+nhae was like a puppy sticking close to her mother . She placed her hands above Sungyoon’s hand as she clung to him .
“I want to stay with dad longer . ”
s.h.i.+nhae pouted, and she spoke with a childlike hope . s.h.i.+nhae had spent a fun day with her father, yet she didn’t look happy right now . Jiyoon knew why .
‘She doesn’t want to part with her father . ’
s.h.i.+nhae had to live separately from her father at such a young age . Of course, she was having a rough time . Jiyoon felt sorry for her .
Sungyoon crouched in front of s.h.i.+nhae, and he extended both arms towards her .
“Let me hug you once, my daughter . ”
As if s.h.i.+nhae had waited for it, she hugged Sungyoon’s neck . Sungyoon also hugged s.h.i.+nhae as he patted her back .
He wanted to tell her that he would come for her next time . At that moment, he wanted to tell her that they’ll live together once again . He wanted to say that, but he knew his situation wasn’t good enough to make such promises .
