11:59 (18)
11:59 (18)
"What happened?" he asked warily.
"I need help in Maths," she explained.
"Why don't you ask your Lady Cop to solve it?" he asked irritably. He was annoyed at Gayoon for not getting the hint and going off to sleep with Jina. It was not like he was about to do anything to her...yet.
"She's as bad in maths as I am," Jina revealed.
So that's where Jina gets her lack of talent in maths from, he snickered inwardly. Trying to suppress his smile, he followed his daughter to her room. Gayoon was sitting at the desk, unusually still.
"I heard you're terrible at maths," Minho said bluntly. "How do you even solve cases without that basic knowledge?"
Upon hearing his voice, she spun around. To his surprise, she looked pale and scared as if she had experienced something horrible within the span of a few minutes.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Lady Cop, are you alright?" Jina inquired.
"N-nothing!" she stammered. "And I solve the cases just fine! I use my fists most of the time!"
"Uh huh," Minho scoffed. "If fists were everything then my sister would have been a genius."
"But she's a doctor," Gayoon frowned.
"That's coz science was the only subject she excelled in," he stated, taking a seat next to her. Jina sat on Gayoon's lap and flipped the pages of her math book. She pushed it towards her father.
"This one!" she pointed out. Minho glanced at the math and groaned. He looked at the clueless duo who faltered under his stern gaze.
"Are you telling me that you can't solve this simple problem?" he snorted. "How did you become a detective again?"
"Through my hard work!" Gayoon exclaimed, feeling irritated at the money lover who was snickering at her. He found her annoyance highly amusing. Gayoon scowled at him as he picked up the pen and began to solve the problems one by one.
Both Gayoon and Jina watched in awe as Minho wrote down all the steps, explaining to them through writing rather than speaking. Even a math dunce like Gayoon understood what he wrote and after ten minutes, he put the pen down.
"Look," he said triumphantly. He smirked as Gayoon checked all the answers. To her annoyance, they were all correct.
"We just can't do all this complicated stuff!" she complained.
"Yeah!" Jina agreed. "Who cares about how long it takes to finish a work? As long as it's finished!"
Minho sighed. There was no way to make Jina understand the simple maths. If her own mother could not understand elementary level stuff in her mid twenties then there was no hope for their daughter either.
"Now go to sleep," he ordered. "You've got school tomorrow."
"But I wanna play with Lady Cop!" Jina insisted. "Don't we Lady-"
She turned around to find Gayoon had fallen asleep on the desk.
"Should I wake her?" Jina asked.
"No," Minho said. "You go and get dressed for bed. I'll handle her."
Jina got off Gayoon's lap and headed for the bathroom to change into her pajamas. Minho stared at Gayoon's sleeping face. A small smile appeared on his lips.
Her face looked more peaceful and calm as she snoozed. The event of the past few days had mentally drained her. On top of that, her sudden move into Minho's house had also tired her out. The woman was a hard worker and did everything on her own, something which Minho greatly admired. He would never admit it to her but it was the most beautiful aspect of hers.
He leaned over and carefully scooped her up in his arms. If he had it his way, he would have taken her to his room but Jina would throw a tantrum. So he placed her on Jina's bed.
She stirred and rolled over, a stray strand falling onto her face. Minho gently removed it and tucked it behind her ear.
"Encore! Encore!" she mumbled in her sleep. What are you dreaming of? He wondered.
"Dad, I'm ready."
Jina came out of the bathroom, rubbing her eyes and yawning. She, too, was tired and wanted to sleep. Climbing onto the bed, Jina lay down as her father tucked her in.
"Dad," she said. "Will the Lady Cop stay with us forever?"
Minho's hands paused and he glanced at his daughter who was looking at him with hopeful eyes.
"Can't she stay here forever?" she asked.
"I don't know," he admitted. "Only if she wants to."
"Do you want her to stay?" Jina asked. "I want her to stay here with us for a long time."
Jina glanced at Gayoon who was sleeping like a log, oblivious to the little girl's wishes. Minho, too, looked at her. His mind was replaying the first time they had talked at the hospital when Gayoon had revealed that they were having a daughter. At that time, they were strangers who were never supposed to meet again.
But the fates were strange and they met under the most testing circumstances. What would Gayoon's reaction be if she found out about their connection? Would she leave again?
"I want her to stay as well," Minho told his daughter. "But if she wants to go someday, then we can't stop her."
Jina bit her lip. She wanted all of them to be a happy family. Was it too much to ask?
"Dad...why don't you sleep with us tonight?" she requested. Minho was about to refuse but she held his hand and said, "Please."
Minho exhaled a deep breath. Gayoon was sleeping peacefully on the other side and he wondered what her reaction would be when she woke up. But he could not refuse his daughter's earnest request either.
I'll just sneak out later at night, he decided. "Alright," he conceded. Slowly, he climbed onto the bed, settling at Jina's other side so that she was sandwiched between Gayoon and Minho.
"This feels nice," she said sleepily. Minho kissed her forehead and patted her until she was asleep. Gayoon shifted and hugged Jina in her sleep, the latter settling comfortably in her mother's arms.
Minho settled on his pillow, staring at his daughter and Gayoon. Both of them had grown very close over the past few days unaware of the relationship they shared. He was hesitant to reveal it. What if Gayoon ran away again? And what if this time, they never find her?
"What made you run?" he whispered. Gayoon did not reply but kept on sleeping beside her daughter.
Minho watched over them for a while before he, too, fell into a deep slumber, pushing away the thoughts of their uncertain future.