The long ride into the outskirts of Seoul passed by faster than I had ever remembered, the time seeming to fly by as TaekWoon and I talked. I could barely keep myself from bouncing in my seat, my excitement trying its best to burst its way out of me. I wanted to remain calm but all I could think was that it was finally here: the day that I had struggled for and prayed about for years had finally come.

My heart thumped painfully in my chest when I thought of the years that had gone by while I waited for this moment. Relief was too small a word to express what I felt; only profound contentment flowed in my veins. For the last time, I would pick Jae up from the orphanage; now he would be mine to cherish like I'd always wanted. And the thought that this was the first day of the rest of my life made me happier than I had ever been.

"So, what will we do first?" TaekWoon's honeylike voice asked, the warm tone spearing through my thoughts. "I know you have a plan."

I smiled at him, delighted that he knew me so well.

"Nothing too big; we can just take Jae shopping for more clothes and some things he'll need now that he's staying for good."

Staying for good! The smile on my face stretched my cheeks to the point that they ached. And still I wanted to keep smiling as the sweet words left my lips.

"And of course school; I found the perfect preschool he can go to until the new school year starts."

"School so soon? I thought you'd want to keep him close for a while." I let out a snort, and let him know the truth.

"It's not me who made the decision. Jae's determined to start school as soon as possible. He keeps thinking he's behind the other kids. He wouldn't listen when I said we should take the summer off and enjoy it. But if that's what he wants, then I don't want to ignore it just because I want to keep him close."

"He's determined and that's good. It'll come in handy when we start training." I turned in my seat, surprise making me raise an eyebrow at TaekWoon.

"Training? Training for what exactly?"

"Soccer of course. He could be an all-star with his dedication. Did I ever tell you that I was on the national team?" TaekWoon's eyes sparkled as he spoke, but I had to burst his bubble.

"Sorry, but my kid is going to be an engineer. He's a mechanical genius; he once took my IPhone apart and put it back together in five minutes flat."

"Naegihale?" TaekWoon glances at me, his smile so wide that the sides of his eyes have crinkled and I'm not sure he can see through the tiny slits that are left.

"Call. What's the wager?" He doesn't know it yet but I'm a sucker for competition and a twinge of excitement goes through me.

"We let Jae know about both options; take him to a soccer practice and that engineering museum they have for kids. After we ask JaeHyunnie what he wants to do after giving him some time to think it over."

"Cool. And when I win what's my prize?"

"You're so confident you'll win?" I shrug at him nonchalantly, my smirk daring him to question me.

"I know my kid."

"Then... how about the winner gets a kiss?"

His words make my heartbeat kick-start in my chest and I remember our last kiss, our only kiss, that took place at our wedding. Back then my eyes had been shut tight as TaekWoon leaned toward me, and the soft brush of his lips over mine had been maddening and tantalizing at the same time. I had replayed that kiss in my head a hundred times since then, but his bet made me want another as soon as possible. Grabbing TaekWoon's free hand in mine, I shook it firmly.

"Deal."

As we pulled up to the orphanage, all the children ran outside, meeting us as we stepped out of the car. Their smiles were bright and they talked excitedly, glad that one of their own was leaving. Like clockwork, JaeHyun ran out of the building, dropping his luggage as he ran into my arms. Lifting him into the air as high as I could, I kissed his smiling cheeks as he laughed. The same happiness that filled me up showed plainly on his face and I squeezed him extra tight as I put him down, new awareness hitting me. Today might just be his happiest day too.

When I'd put him down, Jae ran directly to TaekWoon, flinging out his arms as he was lifted once again, TaekWoon's blinding smile hitting me right in the chest. I remembered again just how beautiful he could be.

"Hyung, you did it!" JaeHyun said while hugging TaekWoon excitedly.

"What did he do?" I asked quizzically, and suddenly both their faces looked guilty.

"Nothing," TaekWoon said, putting down JaeHyun behind him, "He just meant that he was glad I could make it."

"Uh huh," I said while giving the both of them a look to let them know I didn't believe a word they said.

"JaeHyun," I said as I held my hand out to my son, "it's time to say goodbye."

Jae's face wavered at my words, and almost as if it was a ripple effect, the rest of the children begin to squirm and look away from us. One little girl burst into tears, and an older girl went to comfort her.

Jae took a deep breath and one by one went to hug the other kids. The older ones smiled cheerfully, telling him to be good and not to come back. The younger children held on to him longer, some of them giving him small items so that he would remember them. For my own part, I doubted that my sensitive boy ever could forget.

The other children looked on in silence as JaeHyun said his final goodbyes to KyungMi, tears running down the older woman's face as he embraced her. Some wore happy smiles but others looked away as Jae ended his hug and walked towards me.

As I took JaeHyun's hand in mine, I felt a pang of sadness hit me. With astonishing clarity, I realized that while I had successfully saved one child, the others would still be here. What would become of these children, who would love them like I loved Jae? Suddenly my happiest moment felt bittersweet, and tinged with more than a little sadness.

"Eomma, is it ok if I come back to visit?" I could hear the tremble in JaeHyun's voice and the sound of it makes my chest tighten in response.

"Whenever you want Jae," I whispered to him. "As many times as you want."

His smile was tremulous, but he didn't waver as I helped him into the car, making sure he was well situated in his seat. He was silent as we pulled away from the orphanage and I was afraid to speak, not sure if he wanted to talk about how he felt. We were all quiet for some time until finally Jae spoke.

"Eomma where are we going?" JaeHyun said from the backseat, his legs kicking gently against his booster seat. He was getting even bigger and soon wouldn't need the childish accoutrement. I felt sad at the thought but the happiness of the day quickly won out. Now I would see him grow first-hand, take part in all the small moments that made raising a child so worthwhile.

"You need a few things that we don't have at the house and some new clothes too. It'll be fun shopping with you for the first time huh?"

I smiled and Jae smiled back, his tears from earlier long gone. Ridiculously prepared as he seemed to be nowadays, TaekWoon popped in a children's songs CD and we spent the ride into Myeongdong listening to high pitched voices sing about bears, how to be good friends, and learning the letters of the Korean alphabet. Both boys sang along, and my irritation at the CD was overwhelmed by my happiness at having a family. This was my ideal, something that I had wished for only in my wildest dreams and every one of them was coming true.

"Jae try this on, you'll look so cute! And it's in your favorite color too."

As my little boy squirms into the grass green cardigan, I can't stop my insides from bouncing up and down happily. These simple things, like taking Jae to look for school supplies and new clothes have completely met all my fantasies. And the best part is that even TaekWoon is involved, probably picking out more items then me and JaeHyun combined. He spends his money freely, even when I protest, telling me that he hardly ever spends his money on anything. To him, spending it on me and JaeHyun is just the same as spending it on himself. I wonder how I could've found such a perfect man, someone who valued family and Jae just as much as I did.

"These shoes too," TaekWoon says eagerly, holding out a pair of bright blue patent leather covered sneakers. "They'll go great with jeans."

"Yeah, and great with all the blue, black and white clothes you picked out," I say with a roll of my eyes. "Jae will be a clone of you before the day is out."

I help Jae wrestle back out of the cardigan while TaekWoon looks indignant.

"I have a great sense of style," he says firmly.

"Of course, you do," I agree as I place the shoes and our other purchases on the counter for the young lady to ring up.

"Those are my favorite colors, good colors for boys," he continues, his eyebrows scrunched up cutely.

"I know that too," I say with a smile. He huffs out a breath and the high color in his cheeks makes me want to kiss them.

"Kids need more than three colors, Yeobo," I say to TaekWoon, suddenly feeling the need to be affectionate in my speech. And the shocked look on his face is well worth it; my words have sent his face into full blown redness. He steps closer to me, leaning his head down to whisper so that only I can hear.

"Yeobo?" He questions simply.

I smile up at him, pleased immensely by his reaction, and by the fact that I've successfully distracted him from his pouting.

"Well, we are married," I say flashing the ring he bought me on our wedding day. The middling sized diamond I picked out sparkles prettily, but not as much as the smile TaekWoon gifts me with.

As he starts to come even closer, the girl at the checkout counter clears her throat and our moment is broken as we pay for our items. TaekWoon grunts as he picks up the bags from this and a few other stores that we visited earlier in the day.

I pick up a few of them too and Jae carries his book bag and other supplies as we leave the fashion section of the large market.

"I think we need to drop this stuff off at the car," TaekWoon says sounding winded as we walk idly down the street.

"Yeah and we need something to eat too, Hyung!" Jae pipes up.

"You're right JaeHyun-ah, Hyung is starving."

"You're always starving," I say pointedly to TaekWoon and his answering smirk is almost too much to bear.

"And what do you feel like eating Yeobo?" he says moving close to me again, our footsteps falling into sync while Jae walks ahead of us. Feeling shy myself now that he's calling me honey, it takes me a minute to formulate a response.

"Jae, you decide. What do you want?"

As the little boy began to list everything from pizza to udon noodles, TaekWoon and I walk on, stuck so close together that a piece of paper would be hard pressed to get in between us. My emotions were on a roller coaster, extreme happiness turned to sadness and then back again. Now TaekWoon was adding in something else, a stirring feeling that I wasn't used to but had felt growing stronger each day we spent together. I had always been pragmatic to a fault, so I asked myself a question: Could these increasing feelings be what it meant to fall in love?