Chapter Text
Blood curdling in the back of his mouth like the clammy coins in his palm. Blood, sweat and tears poured over the measly metal pile upon his skin. He wonders how long he must suffer in this cruel, exploitative world. Oh Jinwoo-
"What the fuck? Hey, you fuckin- Did you never have home training? I was eating that! Do you know how important food is to broke college students?"
Bae Iseul stares in shock at the audacious animal beside her, chomping on a large chunk of the sandwich that was in her hand mere seconds before.
The dog deems her words as inviting rather than scornful as it whines, nudging at her knees.
"Aish."
Her miffed resolve melts away as she's sucked into adorable, glimmering eyes, almost hypnotised as she sacrifices the remainder of her meal.
She always was such a dog person.
"Where did you come from, bud?" Iseul asks her rather shabby new friend as it clambers onto the bench next to her.
Definitely no home training.
She scans the park but there seemed to be no panicked passerby or desperate calls of a name in the distance. All the greedy pooch had was a dirty, frayed collar with no tag.
"I guess you can just keep me company until your owner finds you." She informs the dog as if it would even understand.
Iseul puts her earplugs back in.
Oh Jinwoo fell to his knees and wailed. A pitiful wail. He was rendered truly powerless. For the first time, the ever optimistic, determined boy had no more choices. The wild cards were exerted. All his friends-
Iseul frowns at the din in the background. She slams the pen against the page, grunting in annoyance. She was going to kill Youngmi for suggesting the park as a tranquil place to study.
Good old Oh Jinwoo's wailing was no match for the snivelling little girl in front of her. Iseul is completely bewildered. First some ravenous dog and now this snotty imp invading her peace.
Bae Iseul had never liked kids much, a fact which horrified frankly everyone she's ever told. She just never understood how whiny, needy little humans who relied on another's existence to survive could be appealing to anyone.
Iseul winces, practically visualising the snot sloshing around in the child's throat as it sniffs and gulps.
"U-unnie, please help me."
"What's wrong, kid?" Iseul asks, a little perturbed. She looks both ways for potential kidnappers, but this child, her and the dog are the only ones in the large expanse of land.
It's 11AM on a Monday after all. Most people have jobs.
The girl pants, a torrent of water streaming from her eyes. "I-I was c-chasing doggy and t-th-"
"Okay, okay. Sweetie, I need you breathe." Iseul interrupts in the most soothing tone she can muster, rolling her eyes as she turns away from the kid to rummage through her bag.
Why me? Why this early on a Monday?
She scoots over on the bench, patting the spot next to her. The girl is so small that Iseul has to help her clamber on. The older girl sighs, dabbing the younger's eyes and then her nose. Iseul almost gags as the kid blows her nose into the tissue whilst she's still holding it, only a thin sheet of paper separating her hand from someone else's bodily fluids.
Why on earth would anyone want children?
Luckily, the little imp had calmed down, snuggling up to her shaggy dog instead.
"What's your dog's name?" Iseul asks.
She realises it's the least relevant topic ever. She should probably be asking where her parents are or if she knows a phone number.
"Mine? He's doggy." The girl answers, her chubby hand patting the big dog's head on her lap.
"Uh huh. So...where's your guardian?"
The girl pouts vacantly like the question doesn't register.
"I'm hungry." She whines, pointing to Iseul's bag.
The college student rolls her eyes and yanks her precious chocolate bar out of her bag.
"You shouldn't be asking strangers for food, kid. Weren't you taught that?" Iseul grumbles, surrendering her last morsel to the grabby small hands.
The kid extends the bar. "Open please."
Iseul sighs, tearing open the wrapping. Her jaw is tense as the kid obnoxiously chews on the bar, swinging her legs like she has no care in the world.
"You aren't even going to give me a piece?" Iseul protests, along with her stomach.
"No. I'm hungry." The girl mutters mid-chew.
Iseul exhales slowly. "Where are your parents?"
"Parents?"
"Mummy?"
"My mummy?" The girl repeats, frowning. "She went away."
"Daddy?"
"Daddy's not home."
Iseul begins to panic. Who is this child? Where is her guardian? How did she get here with only her dog?
If she could foresee that she'd be walking with - carrying- a random, little girl with her scruffy dog tailing after them then she would have never gotten out of bed this morning.
They'd started the walk hand in hand, much to Iseul's annoyance, until the girl kept complaining that her feet hurt. Iseul wanted to retort that if the brat had not run off in the first place then they wouldn't be in this predicament.
She began to wonder if her idea of taking the picture of the kid and the dog and posting it on twitter with their location then going to class like she was supposed to was a more desirable, albeit morally questionable, option after all.
"By the way, kid, what was your name?" Iseul enquires.
It's ridiculous that she knew the uncreative name of the dog before its actual owner, but hey, nothing was not ridiculous about this situation.
"Mirae. I'm five."
"Nice to meet you, Mirae I'm five." Iseul mutters sarcastically.
Mirae giggles, her chubby hand thumping Iseul on the shoulder.
"Silly unnie! I'm five years old."
"Ah right," Iseul fake laughs along, "Silly me!"
They wait for the pedestrian light to turn green on the crossroad. Iseul grimaces as her muscles burn from the long walk and additional weight of a literal human on her hip.
A pair of old women walk and wait along side them for the traffic to halt. Iseul sees the dirty looks out of the corner of her eye.
"Single mother at such a young age." One tuts, evidently not quietly enough.
Iseul scowls at her close minded ignorance.
"A kid who has a kid...gosh you know how young people are these days. Don't wait until they're married and look what happens."
"There's nothing wrong with being a single parent, you old wenches! Just because you're stuck in the seventies doesn't mean you get to judge people. You wish you were as young and pretty as me and my daughter!" Iseul snaps, glaring at the two stunned elders.
"What did they say unnie? They sound mean." Mirae pouts as Iseul storms across the road.
"Nothing, kiddo." Iseul huffs, plonking the girl on the ground.
She almost cries tears of joy as she spots the pink bakery. "Your house must be around here right?"
They were just going off of Mirae's lacking description of a white house with a red door near a corner store called Uncle Kim's and a pink bakery.
All Iseul can say is thank God for Google maps street view, in which she managed to narrow down ten areas with a convenience store named Uncle Kim, to the specific one opposite the pink bakery.
Maybe Iseul should've been able to tell from Mirae's prim attire but the girl clearly lived a lavish life. They were in a very wealthy neighbourhood. The shaggy dog, now panting from their long walk, seemed pretty unkempt and skinny for a rich kid's pet but Iseul figured it was probably just the breed.
"Okay, let's get you and doggy home. Where do we go from here?"
Iseul snapped a couple pictures of the massive, fancy houses they passed as the little girl skipped down the cobbled street with her dog.
"Hurry up, unnie!"
"Coming, brat." Iseul yells back, waddling after the energetic duo.
Mirae stops running.
Finally, finally, finally.
"This...is your house?" Iseul frowns, craning her neck to take in the staggering walls of the Hanok in front of them. "What the hell? I didn't know we accidentally walked to the Joseon era."
The antique house was so oddly out of place amongst the sleek, modern houses, tucked into its own quiet corner at the end of the street.
Iseul could admit it was charming...antiquated but charming. She snorts as Mirae jumps and fails to reach the large handles on the red front door.
She notices the smart doorbell and presses.
"Hello?" The intercom sounds with a woman's confused, distressed voice.
Iseul lifts Mirae to the small camera. "Hello, ma'am. I found your kid at the park."
The intercom ends.
"Hey, Mirae, you brat. Did you hear how stressed you made her?" Iseul scolds.
Mirae scowls, muttering something under her breath which Iseul doesn't catch. She can't wait for this all to be over.
She was half expecting a younger woman in a Hanbok to answer the door but she's a lot older and dressed in a black pinafore.
"Good heavens, Mirae my child! Do you want me to die prematurelu?" The woman exclaims, grabbing the child by the shoulders and lightly shaking, before enveloping her in a bone crushing hug.
Iseul almost smiles at the reunion. For the first time, Mirae is rueful and meek which makes Iseul feel more smug than it probably should.
Not such an outspoken brat now huh?
The woman finally breaks away, noticing the college student who awkwardly smiles and bows.
"Well, ma'am now that I-"
"Thank you, thank you so much. You saved my life. Seriously." The woman grabs Iseul's hands, squeezing with gratitude.
"Y-yes, sorry that I couldn't get her here sooner. You must've been so worried to lose your daughter-"
"You said I'm your daughter, unnie." Mirae interjects, crossing her arms.
"W-what? You definitely heard me wrong, kid."
After all she'd done for the imp, was Mirae going to make her out to be some failed wannabe kidnapper?
"No, the ahjummas were being meanie-"
Iseul forces a laugh, turning to the bewildered woman. "Well, I best be off. Bye, Mirae."
"Unnie can't go, we haven't played together yet!" Mirae whines.
The woman nods. "Yes, please come in and have some refreshments. It's the least I can do to thank you and your dog looks like he needs a drink."
Iseul blinks. "My dog? This...isn't your dog?"
The woman frowns. "No, we do-"
"Doggy is my dog, unnie. You said it in the park!"
"No I didn't! You said you were chasing the dog-" Iseul clears her throat, calming her tone a little in front of the woman, "So I just assumed he was yours."
"Miss Mirae!" The woman exclaims, dragging the girl through the door.
Iseul raises her eyebrows. Miss Mirae?
"Are you her nanny?" Iseul asks. Doggy brushes past her leg and trots happily through the beautiful front garden.
The woman scoffs. "Over my dead body. I'm the housekeeper, Mrs Hong. You can call me Halmeoni. What's your name, dear? I never caught it."
"I'm Bae Iseul. Nice to meet you." She bows again, wondering what on earth she was doing with her life.
It was a pretty decent excuse for her to miss Literature class at least.
"Bae Iseul, also known as the saviour of my job." Mrs Hong chuckles. "Seriously, I was dying from worrying about Miss Mirae. Lots of predators on the loose."
Iseul nods. "There's so many vile, dangerous people out there. That's why you shouldn't run after random dogs and get lost, Miss Mirae."
Iseul knows she'll never have to see these people again so is she going to be petty and give this kid an earful? Yes, she is.
"Gosh, the dog. I don't even...I'll have to call animal services." The housekeeper stresses. "He...is it even a he? He'll have to wait outdoors and I'll bring him water."
Iseul shrugs. "Fine by me."
She sheds her shoes as they enter the house through some side door straight into the kitchen. Iseul almost drools at the array of side dishes on the kitchen island.
"Man...the frying pans here must cost more than my existence." She mutters, taking in the sparkling appliances and furnishings.
"Take a seat, dear."
So Iseul does, sticking her tongue out at Mirae who desperately jumps up and down to try and get on chair to reach the counter top.
"Miss, take this to the dog." Mrs Hong orders, halting the girl's struggle.
Mirae patters out the room, a trail water sloshing on the hardwood floor.
The housekeeper rolls her eyes. "Our Mirae is still adorable even when she's making a mess."
"Adorable?" Iseul echoes.
Mrs Hong giggles, placing a bowl of rice and chop sticks in front on her. "You don't think so?"
Iseul pauses unsurely. "Um...she's-"
Mirae waddles back into the room. "Halmeoni, can we please keep doggy? Please, please, please?"
"Your father said no pets, Miss Mirae. Remember what happened when we had fish?"
"It wasn't my fault." Mirae pouts. "Unnie, help me up."
Iseul rolls her eyes, yanking the kid onto the stool with probably less sensibility than needed.
Mirae opens her mouth expectantly.
"You have your own hands, feed yourself." Iseul scoffs, picking up Mirae's spoon and placing it in her small chubby hand.
Surprisingly, Mirae doesn't throw an immediate tantrum and begrudgingly digs into her rice. Although, the force sends some grains flying over the counter.
Iseul sighs. "Don't be a baby about it, kiddo. I fed myself at five, that's what big girls do."
Mirae scoffs. "I am a big girl! I'm five."
"All the five year olds I know feed themselves."
Mrs Hong watches in fascination as Iseul scolds the younger girl with just the perfect amount of sternness without being mean. It's apparent in the way she grabs a napkin and wipes the dribble of broth from Mirae's chin. The girl seems to know exactly what to say to make Mirae behave how she wants; the kid eats quietly and calmly by herself which is a first.
Bae Iseul is complete magic.
"Unnie, I ate well by myself." Mirae declares.
"Good job, kid."
"So give me chocolate, please."
Before Iseul can even answer, Mirae has snatched her bag off the corner of her chair and rifles through the contents, pulling out various things on a search for sweetness.
"What's the point of asking if you don't wait for an answer?" Iseul tuts, taking the bag back.
Mrs Hong warily eyes the book Iseul picks up to put in her bag.
"That book," She blurts.
Iseul is a little confused and shows her the front. "This book? It's called Blue Oblivion."
The front door slams.
Mrs Hong's eyes widen. "That's my boss. One second."