108 Finale

One Year Later (final chapter)

"Here, watch your step. Take my arm. Be careful, baby." Jyeon catches me by the elbow as we make our way down the cobbles embedded in soft grass that are a bit slippy from light rain. It's a beautiful day, drying out from yesterday's weather as the sun starts to climb, and the birds are singing loudly as though to welcome us here again. We come often, yet the beauty of this place never ceases to please me.

I'm carrying a box of plants and flowers, concentrating on leading the way while he makes sure I stay steady. I am focused on today's task list in my head as it seems we have a jam-packed schedule today. It's Yoonies birthday, and we have a family tea party after this.

"I'm fine. We're almost there." I turn back, screwing up my nose and making a silly face at the bundle of joy nestled in his arms that always puts me in a good mood and melt when I get a giggled response. Big brown eyes set in the sweetest face and the cutest dimples, resembling his daddy so much that it's scary. I never knew it was possible to create such a perfect mini-me of another human until I looked at Seo-Joon the day he was born. "Aren't we, baby? Just a few more steps, and we can say hello to your big sister." I croon in a sing-song tone at our son, filling up with the strongest maternal love inside when he gives me a toothless grin, and then turn back and lead on in an uplifted mood despite our destination.

"Just be careful. It's hard to catch you when Junior here is getting so heavy. He's no longer the lightweight he was at birth and wriggles." Jyeon tickles him to prove the point, and the air is pierced with the most angelic giggling that almost shatters my heart. Our baby boy is a smiler, and a laugh is never far from those gentle lips.

"Takes after you." I laugh, leaning back to jab Jyeon in the cheek with my pointer finger and blow him an adoring kiss. Joking about my husband's weight. My whole world wrapped up together and following me to see our daughter.

"It's all that home-cooking mummy does, right, Joony? She's making us chubby." Jyeon jests, and I roll my eyes at him, knowing that is far from the truth. He is still as toned and fit as he's always been and the sexiest man alive. My cooking has only seemed to help him build muscle.

"I should stop then and make you go to Auntie Greta's for dinner. The walk will keep you trim; she will not let you have seconds as I do." I stick my tongue out at him.

"I am staying away from that woman for the near future…. she is a worst pregnant person than you ever were, and now I know why they say the hormones can be crazy. I don't know why my best friend chose her as his forever, sometimes." Jyeon laughs, not meaning it, but I have to agree. Greta pregnant is like unleashing a devil; she is way more volatile than I ever was and is prone to outbursts of tears. Bryant is kept on his toes and pandering to every whim like a champ and even delayed their wedding when they got the surprise news about their baby. Bryant is the happiest guy alive next to Jyeon and seems satisfied with his lot in life.

"I am still amused by the fact she barely admits they are a couple, even with an engagement ring, half-planned wedding, and a bump… she's hopeless. Can never admit to needing a man or being anything but a strong independent woman who relies on only herself." My laugh rings out in the serene peace around us as we come up level with the top path that leads us to Tia.

Greta has deep wounds and a serious trust issue with fully letting a man be a huge part of her existence. She loves Bryant to death, but her fears have been tainting her happiness with this pregnancy. We both mourn lost children, so I know why she's scared. I sympathize and understand. She's worried about not being a good mom or that, like all the men in her life, Bryant might one day disappear. She's improving, and it's harder to heal than my scars, but she is getting there.

"Yeah, she's something. He's breaking down those walls one tiny piece at a time, though, so one day, he will master her. Wouldn't change her, though… she makes our family complete. Even if she is a giant weirdo and a pain in my ass."

Jyeon and Greta have a strange sibling-like relationship of love and hate; sometimes, they lock heads more than my husband, and I do. They are both fiercely protective of me and like to keep one another in check in how they treat me. Yet they hang out whenever we four are together and have a special bond that I used to see in me and Yoonah when we were little.

I like it, though, as Jyeon will never step out of line knowing my backup kitty cat has sharp claws. Greta is my sister for all eternity; even mother has adopted her into the fold as if she were always one of us. Our family got bigger, yet there seems to be more than enough love to go around.

We walk the last few feet and come level with Tia's pretty grave. Over the months, we have erected a little garden border around it and planted many beautiful flowers, interlaced with ornate garden statues and a small bird bath nestled in the foliage. A large stone teddy bear sits in pride of place beside her headstone and holds and glass-encased globe with a picture of her baby brother.

"Mother's been again. She never mentioned it…. look." Jyeon leans in and points at a new addition. A crystal angel nestled on the edge of the headstone base to perfectly catch the light and cast rainbows across the garden and stone in delicate patterns. It has a little brass plaque inscribed with 'Granny will always love you, my angel.' It chokes me and instantly clogs my throat with the threat of tears, and I kneel to brush away a few fallen petals from the wings.

Despite the past and how little concern she seemed to show for Tia's loss back then, her going to therapy and bonding with Seo-Joon changed something inside of her, and she comes here as often as we do. So many regrets and pains from facing her guilt and silent feelings from all those years have come out in gestures like this.

"Becoming a grandmother changed mother's outlook on everything. Every day she amazes me more and more with how warm and loving she has become and seems to keep growing a bigger heart."

"Yeah, who knew mom would be the picture of doting gran, knitting baby shoes, baking cakes, and having house parties for birthdays. She was never like that when we were kids." Jyeon sits Junior on the grass beside me and kneels behind him to act as a backrest. His chubby little legs are kicking freely now he has been set loose, and he grabs a handful of my skirt and instantly sticks it in his mouth. "It was always flashy parties, money and for show… and now it's always private home-cooked dinners and celebrating like a real family."

"We all changed. We all grew so much, and thanks to this little devil, I feel like we finally knew what family really meant."

Since I gave birth, our life has been a non-stop circle of doting parenthood. Yoonah loves his nephew insanely, and his mother and he squabble to babysit at every opportunity.

"I wonder If Yoonies mystery lady will fit in the way Greta does. Or if my little sister will be insanely jealous of someone trying to steal her golden child spot." Jyeon cuts into my reflection on our past and how happy I am with how my life has become nowadays.

"Greta will always be everyone's favorite…. But, yeah. He kept her a secret anyway. I am just glad he is finally bringing her to meet us, and the fact it's his birthday party with family hints that it might be serious."

Yoonah met someone through our work with OLO on the island renovations. A simple girl who was connected to the construction crews we hired to oversee work on the new adventure campgrounds. I wondered why he suddenly invested so much time and energy into managing the project even though I kept a hand on it while Jyeon took full control. Not that we minded, as three heads were better than two, especially when my pregnancy progressed and our little bundle came into the world.

Yoonha has grown up so much this past year with having family lean on him in ways we never did before. He seems to have learned how to take the burden and has matured emotionally.

"I think the boy finally found out what love was meant to be like. His grinning is getting tiresome day after day at work." Jyeon jests and strokes Seo-Joon across his tiny dark-haired head. His fluffy scrap of hair never lays flat, and he is now intent on sucking his thumb while tangling little fingers in the grass around him. I had never known babies could be so content and easy to love and care for until my son was born.

I make light work of tidying the grave and positioning our new plant pots perfectly. Tweaking things and Jyeon plants one or two new bulbs as we work in comfortable quiet. The nature and bird sounds surrounding us always revitalize my energy levels, and I glance at Tia's name on her new headstone and the inscription we finally chose.

'Only with us briefly, but you left a lifetime of love to all you touched.

Forever our little girl.

We love you.'

When I am done, I reach out and trace her name with my pointer finger before sitting in silence for a moment so she can feel the love I still have for her. Seo-Joon never replaced her as I feared he might when his birth grew near. Instead, I just loved them equally and appreciated more the very short time I got to hold Tia in my arms before she was taken from me. I am reminded o her scent, her feel anytime I hold him.

Finally, Jyeon takes out the wrapped bouquet we have with us and lays them right on the stone base. A small tag and note are from my parents and Jyeon's father. A matching array we had laid on theirs this morning before coming here. Today was the day of visiting our lost loved ones, and it felt symbolic right before welcoming someone new to the family.

"We'll stay with mom tonight and then tomorrow….. You ready to see your new room, big guy." Jyeon scoops up Seo-Joon and hugs him tight, smiling like the proudest daddy alive, pressing a kiss to his temple, and I use his pant leg as a holding spot to heave myself up and dust us all down.

"Finally, we get to move into our long-awaited castle." I joke, half-serious, because the building of our island home has taken forever due to how many changes Jyeon made. It started as a tiny two-bedroom cottage and ended up as a four-bed villa, garage, and pool house with room to grow. So typically extravagant and overdesigned by the man with no self-control when it comes to a building budget.

It has a small cottage as an annex for mother and Yoonah when they stay over, which I don't doubt will be frequent now they have a place to come. Bryant and Greta finished theirs two months ahead of us because they stuck with small and modest, never swayed from the plans, and less than two hundred feet from ours.

"I'll miss our boat." Jyeon sighs, and I shake my head.

"You can go sleep in the harbor anytime you annoy me. I won't miss running about caring for a baby and trying to work on the smallest boat in history, that's for sure." I sigh, glad to finally be moving into our fully furnished and complete abode. It's walking distance to the shack, which is now looking chic in its larger polished size without losing any of its charms.

Although we had plenty of places to live in the city, the island was where we spent most of our time, and the boat was not ideal once our boy came along. Babies come with so much stuff, and that boat has been like living in a cramped campervan.

"We have a busy year ahead now the house is sorted, the little monster here is with us, and our job roles in OLO are settled. We have the Shack franchise to build upon, the completion of the island adventure, and the continued upgrades to the rest. I think we should hold off a couple of years before this one gets another sibling." Jyeon is thinking aloud, and I gawp at him in utter horror. Recoiling in protest at his words.

"What? Hell no….unless you carry a baby for nine months and push it out of your body, then there will be no more until I say so…. and that is a long, long time away. I have plans in OLO and want to enjoy Seo-Joon's baby years and dote on him."

"but babe....."

"No!" I hold my hand up and try to silence him, but he holds Seo Joon under the arms and gently waves him forward in my face as though that will sway me.

"I want a playmate, mommy….. I need siblings, and having us similar age works better." He puts on a mock baby voice, and Seo-Joon stares at me blankly, seemingly unimpressed with being held aloft. I nod back, sighing heavily.

"I know, baby. Your father is weird, but we love him, so we put up with it." I lean in, kiss my son before saving him from his dad's hands, and hug him tight against my chest. "Honey, he doesn't need playmates when his father is the biggest child of them all. He has you." I lean up, kiss Jyeon on the lips with a quick press and then brush past him to head back the way we came. Leaving the basket for him to pick up now I have my baby. "Come on, mother will freak out if we arrive after Yoonah. You know she wants us to meet his girlfriend all together, and Greta isn't coming until this afternoon."

"Yes, wife." Jyeon relents, knowing I always have last say and arguing with me is pointless, and steps up behind me, catching me around the waist to steady me on the less wet cobbles and guides me. Kissing me on the back of the head as we walk and staying close to protect his most precious duo.

The sun has quickly warmed out the path, and it's no longer dark, slimy, and wet but beautifully clean and subdued tones of the stone.

"I love you, baby." He leans in, whispering it in my ear, grazing a kiss across my ear, and I beam automatically. I lift my hand from Seo-Joon's chubby thigh and pat his cheek, feeling out his clean-shaven jawline with an appreciative grope. My heart swelling like it always does when he showers me with his adoration. Safe in the circle of his arms in the haven I depend on in life.

The past year has outlived my expectations regarding what being married to him again would be like, and I no longer harbor the fears and insecurities I did back then. Claire resigned rather than move to Hong Kong, and we never heard of her again. I never have to worry about Jyeon straying again. He showers me with affections and verbal reaffirmations that he adores me daily, and I can feel it in every touch and look he gives me.

"I love you too. I love both of you so much."

I love them, my family, my extended family, my life, and my position at OLO, and I never thought that would ever be possible.

Sometimes we all need a wake-up call to reevaluate everything and figure out what's important to us.