Chapter 19: An Emotional Reunion Part 2

After chatting as a group for quite some time, my aunt asked to speak with us separately. She first requested to talk with her daughters, and we all agreed and left to give them privacy.

I took the opportunity to go out and look for ingredients to make food for everyone since we have not eaten, and also to consult with the doctors about my aunt's diet, since she has been fed through a tube until now...

**Yoo Seonmi POV**

Even though hours have passed since I woke up and I have been talking for hours with everyone, I still feel like I'm in a dream and at any moment I will wake up in my bed with my little Seunghae sleeping between my husband Jung and me.

But reality just keeps showing me the opposite. I can't afford to lose more time than I already have—5 years! That time I lost and could not see nor take care of my babies who are now grown up. No matter how much I look at them, it is hard for me to recognize them. I know it is them, but they are so big. My little Seonhwa, who was just entering her adolescence, is now leaving it, she is now a young lady.

And my little baby Seunghae, who was just beginning to speak clearly, is now a big girl entering her adolescence.

How much my little ones must have suffered without their parents by their side to take care of them, I know Jinna and Jiseok have taken care of them, but it's not the same no matter how close our friendship is and we are siblings in everything but blood, even blood siblings don't always treat their nieces well in such situations and I can only fear for any suffering my girls may have had.

Before anything else, I have to know from them, to really know how things have been until now. I know I am very unfair and ungrateful for thinking that they could have been treated badly, but as a mother and in my situation where I don't know what to think or believe, I have to hear it from them.

"Seonhwa, Seunghae, I want you to tell me how you have been, how your uncle and aunt have treated you, if you have had any problems or difficulties in these years, if you have lacked anything, if you have suffered from hunger or cold, please tell mom everything," I told them trying to contain my emotions and anxieties.

Seunghae is still small and doesn't seem to understand the context of my question, she just started talking about many things including what she ate this morning. But my attention was more focused on Seonhwa. The older one, she is the one who would be more aware of my question and to give me an answer to it.

She looked at me for a few seconds and put on a serious and somewhat upset expression, I was a little surprised to see her upset and offended.

"Mom, listen to me well and please pay attention, I will only say this once and I hope you never ask for something like this again or I will hate you for it. Aunt Jinna and uncle Jiseok have taken care of us as well as you did. If before the accident they adored us and treated us almost like their daughters, after the accident they treated us as their daughters completely. The care they have given us never faded even a little compared to what they give to Wooseok Oppa, Jihu Oppa, and Jinhee. We never lacked food, clothes, entertainment, or affection," said Seonhwa very seriously and nostalgically as if she were remembering the past.

"Mm mm, uncle and auntie love and spoil us a lot, every time they buy dolls or play with Jinhee Unnie, they also buy for me and play with me as much as Unnie. And Wooseok Oppa is always looking out for us and brings us treats secretly away from the uncles, but don't tell them or they will scold Oppa and he will no longer be able to bring us more treats," said Seunghae adorably.

So I don't need any more explanation, I just let paranoia and my bad side make me think of nonsense, my girls have been well taken care of and that is indisputable. I owe Jinna and Jiseok a big apology for even doubting them for a moment.

"I understand, forgive your silly mother for thinking and saying nonsense," I told them as I hugged them tightly.

"But I see that you mentioned your uncle, auntie, and Wooseok, yet you did not mention Jihu, why is that? Tell mom what you are hiding, I thought by now my little Seonhwa would already be dating him and when Seunghae said not to embarrass her in front of her Oppa I thought she was referring to Jihu but it seems she was talking about Wooseok, am I wrong?"

"Mom! Don't embarrass us," said Seunghae before continuing, "Especially in front of Jihu Oppa. It's true that for me Wooseok is the second best Oppa in the world, but the first will always be Jihu Oppa, he is something like the Oppa of the Oppas."

"So the Oppa of the Oppas, eh," I said as I gently stroked my little Seunghae's head and then gestured to Seonhwa to answer my question.

"I have been waiting for him to confess for some time, but no matter how many hints or signals I leave him, it's like throwing eggs at a wall, it just does not work," said Seonhwa sadly and somewhat frustrated.

I gave her a hug and stroked her hair. She is so big that it's hard for me to pamper her like before and the fact that I can't move easily complicates it a bit, but the effort to pamper her is worth it.

"If you wait too long and don't act, someone might get ahead of you, sometimes you have to take the initiative and not wait. Look, if you wait too long, even your sister who seems to adore her Oppa might end up taking him away from you," I told her the first part to encourage her to take the initiative and the second is a tease I could not resist to both, I like to see them embarrassed, they are so cute when they are flustered.

Although I did not expect my careless tease to end up bouncing back and hitting me in the face with what Seunghae said next.

"No mom, I would never take Oppa away from Unnie, I'm not selfish, I'm a big good girl and I know how to share. I will share Oppa with Unnie and that way we don't have to fight over Oppa," said Seunghae with a proud expression for being a big girl even though she does not understand what she just said or at least I hope she doesn't understand.

"God, what will I do now, Jihu has stolen my two adorable babies," I said dramatically. And Seonhwa could only facepalm.

Then we talked about many things, they told me that since the accident, they have been living at Jinna and Jiseok's house and to my surprise they have been sleeping with Jihu since then. For me, it is as if it was yesterday that Jihu and Seonhwa still slept together, but they were only 12 at the time, but to know that they have continued sleeping together until now and that they are not boyfriend and girlfriend is a shocking surprise, I would even doubt that nothing spicy has happened, but the fact that Seunghae has also been sleeping with them since the accident leaves no room for those thoughts, but I can't abandon the idea either.

"Seonhwa, by sleeping together do you mean in the same room or in the same bed?" I asked, still trying to clarify everything. But it was Seunghae who answered before her sister could say anything.

"What a silly question Mom, obviously we sleep in the same bed, didn't you hear me say that I haven't wet the bed for 2 years now, I'm a big girl," she said, trying to look taller by standing on her tiptoes.

"I know it's strange, but ever since Seunghae was born we've slept together, and after the accident, we were very depressed and Seunghae took it the worst. Uncle and auntie offered her to sleep with them like Jinhee, but Seunghae didn't want to and she kept crying wanting to see you and sleep with you.

Jihu Oppa did everything possible to comfort us and help distract Seunghae, and she could only sleep when she slept with us. So it also became normal for the three of us to sleep together.

We tried to sleep separately after a couple of years, but the nightmares returned and Seunghae and I couldn't sleep without Jihu Oppa's company, and that is why we ended up like this. Even the uncle and auntie sought psychological help for us and we have improved a lot, the nightmares stopped and they no longer bother us if we sleep alone, but we got so used to sleeping with Oppa and it felt strange to sleep without him and things ended up like this," said Seonhwa embarrassed.

"If you put it that way, I can't be angry with Jihu for stealing my babies, it is clear that he has made a great effort to take care of you and it is more than clear that he has not taken advantage of the situation in the slightest. Just look at my big baby who is still waiting for a confession, surely she has not even received her first kiss yet," I said playfully to embarrass Seonhwa, but the truth is that now I'm worried that he sees her more as a real sister and not as a member of the opposite sex or there is also the possibility that he doesn't like girls. If it's either of those cases, Seonhwa's heart will break into a thousand pieces.

"Alright, now I understand the situation better. Now my babies I want you to go look for your uncle and auntie, I want to talk to them alone," I dismissed them with a hug and a kiss on their foreheads.

But to my surprise, they returned not only with Jinna and Jiseok but also with everyone else, even nurse Hyo-ri came with them, she seems a bit embarrassed but entered holding hands with Wooseok. They brought food, with so much talk and emotions I forgot that several hours had passed and we hadn't eaten and now that I saw the food I felt hungry.

With the doctor's permission, they allowed me to eat some puree and soup, but it seems that I won't be able to eat anything solid for a few days until my stomach gets a bit stronger. Although it was only puree and soup, they were delicious, I had never tasted something so good, I thought it was because I had just woken up but when I saw that everyone had expressions of satisfaction for the good taste I understood that I was not the only one.

"Jihu, I already missed your cooking, if only I could eat your food every day, no matter what day or way I die, I'm sure I would die with a big smile on my face," said Wooseok as he ate another bite. At his words, I saw everyone nod in recognition.

"Hyung, I can't cook for you every day. If I do, you won't be able to enjoy other meals besides mine. But this time, I did it to celebrate aunt Seonmi's awakening," Jihu said, without seeming arrogant or boastful about his cooking. It is as if he was stating a fact rather than exaggerating. I could not deny it; if he cooked like this every day, no other food would compare.

And while I agree, it only worries me more. He is a talented cook. 'Could it be that his affections lie elsewhere? Is my little one destined for a broken heart?'