Miran carried the baby boy in her arms while chasing the soap bubbles that her mum shot from a plastic pink gun; the baby girl was sound asleep by her grandmotherās side. Their father, however, was nowhere around. Not that he had much of a choice, when Miran chose for him. The way her son laughed made her laugh in return, for there was no sweeter sound in the world, and chase the soap bubbles with a little more determination. Lucas and his sister, twins because Miran did not joke on service (and no one warned her that twins ran in her dadās side of the family, apparently), were not one year-old yet but they were already so smart and aware of their surroundings. The baby girl, though, seemed to be the one who was more aware of what was happening, which tired her to the point of falling asleep just anywhere. When it was not concerning, it was entertaining to see her struggle to keep her eyes open while eating.
āOh no, the bubbles are gone! What are we going to do now, Lucas?ā The baby looked up at her confused. The bubbles were there just moments ago, where they couldāve gone to? And as if listening to what he was thinking, the grandmother restarted to shot bubbles in his direction, making him laugh again and wave his little arms in the air.
It was in the midst of bubbles that Miran spotted him. Seunghyun was still far, and he did not seem to have taken notice of her, but she had taken noticed of him. He hadnāt changed. He still carried himself with a mix of strength and gentleness. He still looked like the polished man she left. Would Lucas turn out like him when he grew up?
āMiran, are you okay?ā Her motherās voice brought her back from staring but she had been too late. Seunghyun had seen her.
It had been just over a year since sheād left, and Seunghyun would be the first to admit that he was not over it. He should have been, but he wasnāt. There was a part of him that was glad she had left, that she had saved herself before things got bad. She had done what he couldnāt- sheād let go. He was happy for her in that regard. But a part of him still resented her for it. After all the things she had said, about love, about staying by his side, about wanting to have a family with him... sheād still left him. Walked away before they even had a chance to get married. He was heart broken. He remembered calling to cancel the wedding. Thank god they hadnāt sent out the invitations yet because that conversation, having to tell everyone that it was off, might have killed him. Though there had been a time when he hadnāt thought that kind of love could ever be his, she had changed his mind, shown him how beautiful it all could really be. And then sheād ripped it from his fingers just as heād felt safe. If he couldnāt trust her, who could he trust?
Sooyeon was the only one he had properly confided in. She was the only one who saw him break, who saw him cry, who listened to him ask what heād done wrong, why she would do this. And she never had the answer. For all anyone knew, they were great for each other. Seunghyun had sincerely thought things were going well, that they would be okay. But heād been naive. Heād been stupid. And he wouldnāt let that happen again. He wouldnāt let someone break down his walls, find him amidst the rubble of his stoic, cross, exterior. He had no reason to.Ā
Amidst everything, he chose to return to the institute back in the US to teach young mutants and try to keep his mind off of everything else. But, of course, he still stopped back in South Korea to visit Sooyeon and Kyuhyun from time to time.
It was during one of those visits that he saw her. It took him a moment to realize it was her at first, seeing her playing with a baby, another sleeping nearby. Were the children hers? Or was she babysitting? And if they were hers, had she really met someone else so soon after sheād left him? Maybe she was married. Or maybe she was a single mother. A year could change a person a lot. She looked softer, as he knew himself to look harder.
Her eyes met his and he did not smile. He couldnāt bring himself to do so. She had moved on, and perhaps so should he. He gave a simple nod of his head, let her know that he had acknowledged her, acknowledged her new life without him. (God, heād been so excited to maybe be a father one day, to have moments exactly like the one she was having right now. Would he ever have that chance? It seemed unlikely.) He held her gaze only a moment more before stuffing his hands in the pockets of his slacks and turning away, walking in the opposite direction. She clearly didnāt need him, and she clearly didnāt want him. He would not intrude upon her new life.
