Jeon Arin's POV (Point Of View)
I sat at the dinner table with my mum and Taemin's dad. I shifted in my seat nervously, "I'm so sorry I informed you about this late. You might have been busy," I said to Taemin's dad.
"Oh, don't be bothered. To tell you the truth, I was actually surprised that you wanted to have dinner with us," he said with a smile. My mum smiled next to me and placed her hand on my shoulder, "I'm glad she's warming up to you, honey."
I held everything in me, not cringe at her words. Taemin's dad eyes softened at my words. "Where's Taemin by the way?" My mum asked.
Taemin's dad glanced at his watch in slight annoyance, then glanced at his assistant, who was standing beside him for an explanation. "He said he was with his friends at the arcade, but he will be here shortly," the assistant explained.
On cue, Taemin walked into the house, holding a stuffed bunny in his hands. "You're late," his dad said in slight annoyance. "Of course I am. My busy schedule was interrupted by someone," Taemin said before shooting me a glare.
He sat down on a chair, then placed the stuffed bunny on an empty seat next to him. "What is that?" Taemin's dad said, looking at the stuffed animal with distaste.
"I got this at the arcade. Any problem?" Taemin asked with a raised brow. "Aren't you a little too old for toys?" Taemin's dad said.
"Oh, give him a break, honey. There's no harm in owning a few stuffed animals," my mum said with a small smile. "Yeah, she's right, Dad. After all, you never allowed me to play with toys when I was younger," I said with a mischievous grin.
Taemin's dad wanted to say something, but stopped when the food was served. "Let's eat everyone," my mum said ecstatically. The staff around us left, giving us privacy.
"How did your tests go, kids?" Taemin's dad asked when we started eating. "It was okay, but I don't have hopes of getting a high score, though," Taemin said before taking a sip of his water.
His dad looked at him in disbelief before turning to me with a slight smile, "How about you, Arin? How did your test go?" My mum also turned to me, waiting for my answer, even though she knew I would have done well on my test.
"My test went well, but to be honest, I felt really down these past few weeks," I began, looking at my hands before continuing, "I decided to have dinner with my biological dad to lift my mood, but he said he was too busy with his new family."
My mum's fork dropped on her plate with a loud clang, "What did you just say?!" She almost screamed in anger.
I looked at her in guilt, "I'm sorry I spoke to him, but I couldn't help it. I missed the fatherly love I was getting, but now, he is giving all his time and affection to his new kids. You know I hate sharing. He also asked if I would like to join them for dinner, but that question was just a slap on my face," I blurted out in anger.
"So you went ahead to talk to him without my knowledge??" My mum said, almost losing it. I looked at Taemin's dad, "But when I asked you if we could have dinner together, I was a bit nervous, thinking you wouldn't agree to it, but I was deeply touched when you left your work to spend time with me and my mum, unlike someone who I thought loved me."
"Well, I would be glad to fill in the space your dad left behind in your heart, Arin. All my time and affection would be yours now, and of course, it would also be your mother's if you don't mind," he said with a smile.
"I don't mind at all, Dad," I said with a smile. I watched as Taemin's dad's eyebrows shot up in shock when I called him Dad. I felt my mum calm down next to me when she heard me call him 'Dad'.
"Wow, I didn't for once think you could give anyone your time and affection, Dad," Taemin said, stretching the 'Dad' word out, "You didn't even give me, your biological son, that, but you want to go ahead and give it to someone else," he scoffed.
"Don't start," his dad warned. Taemin scoffed again before getting up to leave. "Sit down. Dinner isn't over yet," his dad commanded.
"I'm not hungry," Taemin said before grabbing the blue stuffed bunny from the chair and walking off.
"Taemin, hold on!" My mum yelled after him. "Don't bother," his dad said, trying to stop my mum from going after him.
She stood up and ran to Taemin, grabbing his wrist to stop him from walking off, "I can give you all the time and affection you need," she said with a smile.
Taemin looked down at her hand that was grabbing his wrist before looking at her, "Really? Are you sure Arin won't have an issue sharing her mother's love?"
"Nonsense. We will soon become family, so she shouldn't have an issue with sharing my love. Right, Arin?" She turned to ask me. I glared at Taemin in anger.
"Looks like she doesn't approve of that idea," Taemin said before removing my mum's hold on his wrist and walked off.
My mum sighed before walking back to her seat, "You have to share my love, Arin," she told me with a sigh.
"I hate that," I said coldly. Taemin's dad chuckled, "Won't you share her love with me, though?" He asked with a smile.
"Of course I would, Dad," I said with a smile. He nodded his head in satisfaction, happy that I had fully accepted him as my dad, but unknown to him, he's just a pawn in my game to bring Ji-seo down.
I looked at my mum as she began eating, and she smiled as she spoke to my 'Dad'. 'I hate sharing, you should know that by now,' I said inwardly.
***Flashback***
I wasn't the only child of my parents. Everything was going smoothly. I enjoyed the love that was given to me by both my parents; I didn't want anything to disrupt it.
Until I heard the news that my mum was pregnant. At first, I wasn't bothered, and I anticipated the child to be born. When the child finally came into our lives, I realised that it was the worst thing ever.
All the love, all the affection were shared between me and her. It was even worse when she was born. Everyone had their eyes on her; no one cared about me anymore. Her cries were so annoying.
I went to tell my parents that they should focus on me, but they just laughed in my face, saying I was probably jealous about the attention the baby was getting, but deep down, I was.
My dad hired a nanny to watch over Eunbi while my mum was recovering, and I got more upset at the attention the baby was getting.
Her first birthday was approaching, and everyone had their eyes on her. Looking at her in admiration. I didn't remember anyone looking at me like that.
The nanny took us upstairs for a moment, and I stared at the baby in anger. She looked at me with a smile on her face.
"Why did you have to be born? I had both my parents' love, but now I have to share it with you. It's not fair," I said to Eunbi. She looked at me, babbling incoherently.
"You're such a fool. You can't even hold a conversation. I wonder what they see in you. You're not special. I'm special," I said in annoyance.
Eunbi kept babbling words, and that got me more annoyed. "You have to go back to where you came from," I said firmly. The nanny came into our room and took us downstairs with a smile on her face.
I walked off to the pool, away from the crowd, and luckily enough, Eunbi followed after me.
I stared at her in anger, "Go away!" I yelled and kept walking. She kept following me with a smile on her face, "Stop following me!" I yelled again.
She giggled. I huffed in annoyance. I raised my hands, and Eunbi did the same. "You're always copying me."
I raised two hands in the air, and she did the same. I looked at the pool, then looked at her, "Okay then, since you love copying me, copy this," I said before jumping into the pool, to which she followed after.
"You're such a fool. You don't know you can't swim," I said with a giggle. Everyone heard the huge splash from outside, which was due to I and Eunbi falling into the pool.
"Where are my babies?!" She yelled at the nanny. "They were here just a moment ago," she said nervously.
Everyone rushed outside, and I started acting like I was drowning. My dad dropped into the pool and pulled Eunbi out before taking me out.
They rushed us both to the hospital, but sadly, Eunbi couldn't make it. What started as a fun day, celebrating Eunbi's one-year birthday, turned out to be a disaster.
The nanny was put in jail, and the death of Eunbi really tore my parents up. My mum kept blaming my dad because he was the one who hired that nanny; meanwhile, my dad started to become distant, but he still showed his love to me, trying to make me forget about the incident. But deep down, I was happy that I fully had their attention and didn't feel bad about her death. NOT. ONE. BIT.