JENNIE

Two years later...

I sighs and sleepily raps off my alarm. My eyes were still closed and I smacks my lips together. I wasn't ready to get up yet. It was June and summer wasn't my favorite season. I rolls onto my back and finally opens my eyes. I stared right at the ceiling.

It's ten minutes past six when I finally gets up. I washes my face and brushed my teeth, before heading to the kitchen. As I passed by the rooms of my children I could hear the tell tale signs that told me we were awake. As I walks past the fridge, I grabbed the bread and butter and flips on the kettle.

Thankfully, I had made the kids lunch and had kept it in the fridge. While the water boiled, I butters the bread and dumps it into the toaster and set out mugs with tea bags sitting in them. I goes through my emails as I waited for the water to boil. I sends the manuscript I had gone through the previous night to my assistant.

I grins when a message pops up.

Fr[Mino]

you awake yet?

I shook my head as I typed out my reply.

To[Mino]

Obviously. The kids have school and I've got work. You still on for lunch?.

Lego pops into the kitchen first. At eleven, he looked so big that sometimes I couldn't believe my eyes. Beside my son's growth, the other thing that still surprises I was Lego's dark hair. Lego had begun to dye his hair black, his blonde hair hidden away. Kuma had been the one to take his little brother to get it done.

"Morning, Miemie." Lego pressed a kiss to my cheek in greeting. I smiles at my son, my phone vibrated in my hand - I had a new message. Lego had on his glasses, a white long sleeve shirt with a huge black strip on the middle and black jeans with rips, his feet covered by one of his Naked Wolfe sneakers.

I placed the toast done onto a plate and added more slices to the toaster. I hands Lego the carton of tropical juice. Lily appeared just when the second batch of toast was done. She had her dark hair pulled up into a ponytail, she had on a green plaid dress shirt with a black belt around her waist and white sneakers. Thankfully, she and me had picked out her clothes the night before.

My adorable seven year old daughter.

"Morning sweetie." I bent a little so I could press a kiss to her forehead.

"Morning Mom. Kuma is on his way down with Luca." Lily tells me before taking her seat at the table. True to her words, Kuma steps into the kitchen with Luca running past him and into my legs. I laughed and knelt down so I could hug my little boy.

"Morning Miemie! I saw you in my sleep!" Luca cheered. "We went out for ice cream and you got the yucky one with the black things in it." Kuma rambles on and I chuckles.

"You mean raisins?" I replies as I lifts Luca up. He held on to me as I went on about I enjoying my yucky ice cream. It's quite funny. Once Luca was seated with his food in front of him, I finally made my own cup of tea and grabbed the last pieces of toast. I slathered jam on mine and munched.

"Are you going to work today or are you working from home?" Kuma asked.

"I'll be working from home. I've got a few things to look over and I've got lunch with Mino." I replied and Kuma just nods. Lego looks up from his food when he heard me metioned Mino. It's been two years since the divorce and to me it felt like Mino was trying to push for something I had no interest in giving. He has heard me tell Mino so many times I'd prefer if we remained friends and nothing more.

Just like Lego, Kuma wasn't much of a fan of Mino. I really say what exactly was making me feel this way towards a man who was making me smile like a kid who had found a pretty easter egg.

"Don't forget, you have to pack your things for your weekend at your dada's house. Lisa is going to be here on Friday and I don't want you running everywhere, looking for a shoe or something." I said, pointedly staring at Lily who looked at me with wide blue eyes.

"I have no idea about what you're talking about, Mom."

Kuma snickered and so does Lego. Luca cackled like it was the best joke he had heard all year. We talk about school, the episode of Bob's burgers we had watched last night before bed and I tells them about the book I had just finished reading. They all dump their plates and cups into the sink and grab their bags.

I hands Lily and Luca their lunch bags, I gives both Lego and Kuma lunch money and bids them all good bye. I couldn't believe how fast my children were growing, in a few months Kuma was going to head for college, leaving the nest.

After Kuma, it'd be Lego, then Lily and fuck, even Luca.

Damn it.

I dejectedly drops my cup and plate into the sink too. I washed them all instead of dumping them in the washer, it gave me something to do and think about. Once I was done, I wipes my hands and grabbed my phone. I had three messages from Mino.

Fr[Mino]

I am so on for lunch. You can call me flashlight. See you at twelve.

I snorted at the joke and shook my head. Mino's jokes were so horrible. No bad, no, Lisa was the one who cracked awful jokes. The thought itself was a bit of a shock to me. I cleaned up the bread crumbs and grabbed a lemon flavored water from the fridge before heading to my room. I drops the water on the bed side table, then made my way to the bathroom. I stared at my reflection in the mirror.

I looked healthy.

I looked happy.

I pressed both hands to the mirror and the edge pulls off. There was a secret compartment hidden behind the mirror. In there was a picture of me and Lisa on our wedding day and sitting beside the picture was a black velvet box. I pull it out and flipped it open. Resting on a velvet pillow was my former wedding ring.

I stared at it for a minute then closed it. I placed it back into the compartment and pushed back the mirror. There was once a time, I couldn't picture myself being happy unless Lisa was there and here we were twenty two years later and everything was done. All they had left was our children.

I don't dwell on the thought of Lisa and instead started to get ready for the day.

I leaves the house by twelve forty, dressed in my yellow sundress. Has I mentioned how much I hated summer? The drive to the café me and Mino were having lunch was a mere ten minute drive from the house. Mino had to be the best friend I never knew I needed. He was always there with his awful jokes, there to watch the children if I had to travel.

Mino tries to push me out of this comfort zone. If I doesn't, I had a feeling all my work would be done from home and I'd rarely step outside. So yes, I was very grateful to Mino. However, despite what Rosé says, I wasn't attracted to Mino. Besides that one time feeling, two years ago, I don't feel anything whenever I close to Mino, or when we hug. Nothing.

Café Morrison was a small café in a quiet street. I pull into the driveway and got out of my car. The café was small with large windows, a big sticker with the name of the café was glued to the window. I made sure I had my phone and wallet was in my pouch. Thankfully, the café was cold when I stepped in. I finds Mino a few tables away, his phone in his hand.

The café was surprisingly empty, save for a couple of people. I made my way to him and sat down on the empty seat beside him.

Mino looks up and smiles brightly when he sees me in front of him. "I was just about to call."

I pick up the menu and shrugs. "You missed me that much?" I teased as I looked through the names of food listed on the menu.

"No, I didn't." He stuck his tongue out at me. "How was work?"

"I spent the day in bed, it has to be one of my favorite things. Lying in bed, reading a good book, making a few corrections and munching on chips." I replied. He was about to do the same when a waiter walked up to us.

"Welcome to Café Morrison, may I take your order?"

He orders a steak sandwich with onions, fried eggs and I ordered a maple-citrus salad with coconut. The waiter nods and excuses himself. Once he was gone, Mino picks up from where we stopped.

"I envy you sometimes. But I love kids and I love teaching them, so..."

"Mino..." I leans forward, like I was about to whisper a secret. "No one asked you that."

"I don't think I like you today." Mino pouts a bit and I laughs. Once I stops, "How's the kids?"

"They are wonderful. I think I have the best kids in the world."

"I'd have said you're biased because you're their mother but I have met them and they are wonderful. I don't think I've met kids who are close to their parents like the Manoban kids."

After the divorce, I hadn't changed the kid's last names. They were still Lisa's kids, no matter what happens while I had gone back to my home name. Jennie Kim. Mino talks about his day, about the child who wanted to eat his crayon because it smelt nice.

"I had to tell him, just because something smells nice doesn't mean it was going to taste nice too." He said with a chuckle.

"Kuma almost did the same too when he was little. I had this pineapple scented candle and Kuma wanted to eat it. There was a lot of crying that day." What I don't add was, Lisa had been the one to tell Kuma not to eat candles because it smelt nice, Kuma had stayed glued to Lisa for the entire day. Kuma had been six.

The waiter returns with our food and water.

"When is Rosé returning from Thailand?" Mino asks before taking a bite of his sandwich.

"In a week, she has a two week break after that then she's got the final leg of her book tour." I replies as I dug into my food. Conversation picks up and the door to the café was pushed open. It was the lunch rush. Just like always, me and Mino split the bills between themselves, He walked me to my car.

"Lunch was lovely." I said with a small smile.

"Your company made it even more better." He smiled at me, he holds out my hand and I stepped into it, my body shaking slightly with laughter, we hug for a few seconds before I pulls back.

"I've gotta go now. The heat is going to make me go crazy if I keep standing here."

"Drive safely then."

"We can do lunch tomorrow, and dinner the day after that."

He grins and waves enthusially. "I'll hold you to that then." He said. I waves back timidly before getting into the car. I pull out of the parking lot and drove away, Panic! At Forever Young playing through the speakers and I sang along.

It's been two years and my heart hasn't fully healed but I'm getting there. I got everything that I could need, my amazing friends, awesome job and the most wonderful children on earth.

I just needed a little time.

I was going to be okay.

~~~~~~~~~