Chapter 10:The Playground Meeting
836 Words
It had been a week since the dinner.
Lee Jihan hadn’t texted or called once, and Mirae had spent every day trying not to think about it. She didn’t know what silence meant — maybe anger, maybe confusion. Maybe regret.
Minjun, however, had no clue that his life was on the edge of a shift.
“Can we go to the big playground today?” he asked with hopeful eyes.
Mirae sighed. “Only if you promise not to run off like last time.”
“I’ll stay beside you. Pinky promise.” He held up his little finger.
She linked hers with his and smiled. “Alright. Let’s go.”
---
The sun was bright, the playground packed. Kids screamed in joy, and tired parents tried to keep up. Mirae sat on a bench, sipping iced coffee, keeping her eyes on Minjun as he dashed toward the slides.
She was mid-scroll on her phone when a shadow blocked the sun.
“Is that him?”
Her heart jumped. She looked up and saw Jihan standing there in a simple grey hoodie and jeans. No suit. No bodyguards. Just him.
“How did you find us?” she asked.
“You told me you come here on Saturdays,” he said quietly.
She had — during their dinner. She hadn’t realized he’d actually remember.
He looked toward Minjun, who was laughing with another child.
Mirae stood up quickly. “I told you — not yet. He doesn’t know who you are.”
“I’m not going to scare him. I just want to see him... for real.”
She didn’t argue. She couldn’t. Something in his eyes stopped her.
They sat on the bench together. Silent.
“He looks like you,” Jihan said. “But he has my ears.”
Mirae smiled softly. “He has your stubbornness too.”
They watched in silence again.
“Does he like dinosaurs?” Jihan asked suddenly.
“Obsessed.”
“I used to be too,” Jihan said. “I memorized over fifty species.”
She glanced at him, surprised. “You don’t seem the type.”
He shrugged. “I wasn’t always this guy.”
Then they saw Minjun trip and fall.
Mirae’s heart jumped, but before she could move, Minjun got up, brushed off his pants, and ran toward the swing.
“He’s tough,” Jihan said.
“He’s had to be.”
There was a pause. Then Jihan turned to her.
“I want to do this right. I don’t want to barge into his life, confuse him. But I also don’t want to stay a stranger.”
Mirae nodded. “So what do you want to do?”
“Let me start as a friend.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Friend?”
“To him,” he clarified. “Let me be someone he sees often. Someone he likes. And when the time is right... you can tell him.”
She hesitated.
“I’ll follow your lead,” he said softly. “No surprises.”
Minjun ran over just then, cheeks flushed with excitement. He looked at Jihan curiously.
“Hi,” Jihan said, crouching down slightly. “That slide looked fun.”
Minjun nodded. “It’s the fastest one.”
“I believe it. I used to like the fast ones too.”
Mirae watched as her son looked at the strange man again, then nodded and ran off. But he kept glancing back. Curious. Open.
Jihan smiled a little. “He didn’t cry. That’s a win, right?”
Mirae chuckled despite herself. “Yeah. That’s a win.”
---
Over the next few weeks, Jihan made appearances. At the playground. Near the ice cream truck. Outside Minjun’s daycare.
Always casual. Always respectful.
And slowly, Minjun started to notice.
“Why does that man always smile at me?” he asked one day.
“He’s a friend,” Mirae said. “Mommy’s old friend.”
“Oh.” Minjun blinked. “Does he like dinosaurs?”
“He loves them,” she replied.
That sealed it. The next day, Minjun walked right up to Jihan and asked, “Do you know about Spinosaurus?”
Jihan grinned. “Only the most underrated dinosaur of all time.”
Mirae watched from a distance as they talked, hands flying in animated excitement.
Something warm bloomed in her chest.
---
That night, after putting Minjun to bed, Mirae’s phone buzzed.
Jihan:
Thank you for today.
He’s amazing.
She stared at the screen for a moment before replying.
Mirae:
He is.
You were good with him.
Jihan:
I want to earn his love the right way.
And yours too.
She paused, heart thudding.
Mirae:
One step at a time.
He replied almost instantly.
Jihan:
I’m not going anywhere.
She turned off her phone and lay in bed, unsure whether to smile or cry.
Because for the first time in years, she wasn’t alone in this.
And maybe… just maybe… she didn’t have to be afraid anymore.
- Writer
