"Ahhh… See what you caused," Michael sighed, staring at his stained shirt.
Little Pumpkin pouted, almost on the verge of tears. "I don't like medicine...""I don't want it," he muttered sadly.Michael sighed as he stared down at his son, realizing he had no choice but to call Joel.Emily, who had stirred awake while the father and son were chasing after each other, spoke softly, breaking Michael's train of thought. "Please let me feed him."Michael and his son looked in her direction."Ahh, komawo. But he doesn't let..." Before Michael could finish his statement, Little Pumpkin picked up his medicine from the stool and walked towards Emily.Michael opened his mouth agape as he watched his son in astonishment.Emily grinned at the cute darling before her. "Good boy.""Bring the spoon and water," she said, ruffling his hair affectionately.As if being controlled by a spell, Little Pumpkin turned around and snatched the spoon from his father's grip. He also carried the bottle of water from the floor.Michael watched his son in disbelief as he scampered back to the beautiful stranger.Emily smiled. "Very good.""Cutie, please sit on the chair," she said, patting the chair beside her.Obediently, he climbed up on the chair, and Emily nodded happily.She managed to dissolve the tablets in a spoonful of water with her right hand, then turned to Little Pumpkin.She smiled sweetly at him. "Baby, say 'ahhh'..."Michael shook his head pitifully at the pretty stranger. 'Ahhh, my foot… he'll never open that stubborn mouth of his. You are only wasting your time and effort.'But to his utmost surprise, Little Pumpkin obliged. He opened his mouth and gulped down the medicine.Of course, the medicine was very bitter. But since the beautiful noona was sitting right in front of him, he took it gladly."Ahhh..." Michael gasped in shock.Wait, did his son just... actually take the medicine? Unbelievable! He wouldn't even take it from him, his father. But then, he took it from a total stranger—something he had never done before. Michael watched his son in bewilderment.Little Pumpkin never took things from strangers. He never even got close to them at all. He never even allowed the maids in the villa to touch him. The only people who were allowed to touch him were his father and his uncle.Taking his medicine was a pain in the ass for him and everyone in the villa. He never allowed anyone to feed him medicine, not even his father sometimes. Only Joel was always able to feed him, and that was after a lot of persuasion and promises to get him anything he wanted. But seeing his son take his medicine with the help of a stranger, Michael was beyond shocked.Emily clapped her hands cheerily. "Awwn, awwn... you did it, baby.""You are soooooo strong. You didn't even grimace," she praised.She grinned as she dissolved another tablet in a spoonful of water. "Let's take the last one.""Fighting!" she cheered.Little Pumpkin giggled. "Fighting!""Hana - Dul - Set!" She quickly fed him the medicine.Little Pumpkin gulped down the medicine, but this time, he grimaced a bit.The second medicine was even more bitter than the first."Ahhh..." Emily feigned a grimace, and this made Little Pumpkin snicker."Uwa!" Emily gasped, impressed."You did it again, baby," she stated, ruffling his hair."You are such a big boy!!!" She nodded approvingly.Of course, she was only saying those things to make the cute little boy not grimace.But joking apart, Little Pumpkin was strong. Many boys his age would have poured their eyes out if they were in his position.Little Pumpkin hugged Emily.Michael blinked rapidly as he watched the duo. If anyone saw them right now, they would think they were a mother and son. Who would believe they had just met each other for the first time?Little Pumpkin laid gently on the sofa, resting his head on Emily's lap. She, in turn, stroked his hair happily, and in no time, the cute little darling fell asleep.—Within a few weeks of being together, Emily and Little Pumpkin grew very close to each other.They were always doing virtually everything together.Little Pumpkin never felt the absence of his father and his uncle whenever they weren't around since the pretty noona was always with him."Haaaa..." Emily gasped, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets."99th position..." she stuttered, staring wide-eyed at Little Pumpkin's school report.She quickly covered up her shock with a smile. "Omo!" (Omo means oh my)"99th position again?!!!" Joel and Michael gasped as they entered the lounge, overhearing Emily.Little Pumpkin and Emily looked up at the duo, who were staring at Little Pumpkin in disbelief.Michael sighed as they walked into the lounge.He took his seat on a chair next to Little Pumpkin. "Ha... When will you improve? 99th position every time."Joel grinned, ruffling Little Pumpkin's hair with his left hand. "You tried, kiddo."Michael sneered. "You keep telling him he tried... He never gets any better." He stood up and headed to his room.Joel shrugged. "Well, at least he didn't get the last position."Michael scoffed and waved his hand in the air without looking back."I'll get you a toy car, okay?" Joel winked at Little Pumpkin and lazily climbed the stairs to his room.Emily opened her mouth agape, surprised by Joel's comment.'He tried?!' she thought, staring at Joel's retreating figure.With the little time she had spent living with him, she already knew Joel was always the sweetest person whenever he was around his nephew, so she wasn't shocked when he grinned. What shocked her was the fact that he said Little Pumpkin tried—99th position!"Humph..." Emily heard Little Pumpkin let out a sad sigh."You tried, baby," she said, trying to cheer him up.Little Pumpkin shook his head. "No." He pouted his cute pink lips. "I know I didn't, noona."She smiled. "Don't worry, cutie. We'll work it out together, okay?"Little Pumpkin nodded slowly."Kaja." Emily stood up and gently pulled Little Pumpkin towards the dining area—it was time for dinner.(A/N: Kaja means let's go)After taking their baths, the brothers—Michael and Joel—strolled over to the dining table.Michael smirked as he sat next to his son. "Little Pumpkin, eat well, okay?""Nde." Little Pumpkin nodded his head.He shook his head at him. "At least you're good at something. Tsk tsk tsk..."Joel chortled lightly.As soon as their dinner was served—a chop suey dish—Emily hastily dug in. One of her traits was that she loved food, a lot.The 'boys' had just taken their first bites, but Emily had already taken ten bites—she was a pretty fast eater.Michael and Little Pumpkin paused to watch her in amusement.'A beautiful lady with a beautiful appetite,' they thought.Joel stared at the girl before him in annoyance.He shook his head, disgruntled. 'Why does she eat like an animal?'He dropped his chopsticks and folded his hands, looking straight at her. "Hey..."Emily swallowed and looked up at the handsome man."Have you no manners at all?" Joel asked, furrowing his brows. "It's been three weeks already. The doctor will be here tomorrow to remove the bandage."He pushed his chair backward, stood up, and took long strides towards the staircase.Emily dropped her chopsticks at once and stared at the floor dejectedly. After a while, she stood up and walked away to her room. She understood the deeper meaning behind Joel's words. She had to leave.Little Pumpkin pouted as he watched his pretty noona walk away. He climbed down from the dining chair and also scampered towards his room in dejection."Little Pumpkin, you're leaving me too?" Michael pouted, watching his son as he walked to his room."Unn." Little Pumpkin nodded his head and shut his door."Ahhh... Everyone ditched me." Michael shrugged his shoulders and continued eating.Emily slumped on her bed and sighed. She was slowly falling for the handsome man, but she would be leaving the next day.The few weeks she spent with the family seemed like months.She was beginning to feel like she actually belonged in the villa, but it was all lies and fantasy—she was leaving soon.She would miss Little Pumpkin, his dad, the maids that treated her like family, the villa itself, and of course, her god.Even though her god never spent much time at home, the little time he usually spent with Little Pumpkin made Emily realize he wasn't that bad of a person.Emily let the tears stream down her face as the reality hit her that she was really leaving.The next day, Joel decided to take a day off work. He sat on the couch, feeling relaxed as he watched the doctor unwrap the bandage on Emily's arm."Is she alright now?" he asked the doctor."Yes," the doctor replied, bowing as he finished unwrapping the bandage on Emily's left shin."Good," Joel nodded."You may leave," he waved his hand, dismissing the doctor.The doctor bowed, packed his things, and left the villa."Now that you're healed, you should leave," Joel said, turning his gaze to Emily."Yes, I'll pack my things," Emily said, standing up and heading towards her room."Things?" Joel's words stopped her in her tracks."Things, you say?" Joel raised an eyebrow."You didn't bring anything when you came into this house. Leave the way you came," Joel ordered coldly.Tears stung Emily's eyes as she stood still."Yes," she forced out, trying to fight back her tears.She turned and faced Joel, who was sitting comfortably on the couch."Kamsahamnida," she bowed her head and made her
Room 207. He had finally found it.He lightly tapped on the door for some time, but received no response."Is she already asleep?" he muttered, rolling his eyes.Why did she always love to sleep so much? He turned the doorknob, only to find the door locked.He glanced around, ensuring that no one was watching, and skillfully picked the lock.Since he was quite adept, it took him less than a minute to bypass the doorknob's defenses.He pushed open the door and stepped into the cozy studio apartment. On the left, there was a neatly stacked desk with books and a chair.A screen divided the room, and Joel quickly deduced that her bed was located behind it. However, there was no trace of the girl.He sat down on the chair and gently placed Little Pumpkin on his lap, patting his back. Removing their masks, he set them on the desk."Don't worry, kiddo," he whispered, planting a kiss on Little Pumpkin's forehead.🌃🌃🌃Emily skipped happily to her apartment as soon as she stepped off the elev
She observed the attractive man as his cold gaze met hers.Joel kept his hands in his pockets as he stood by the doorway. "Speak," he demanded."Um... I... I can explain," she stammered, her voice trembling.He watched her with a blank expression. "Explain," he repeated.She nervously scratched her head, trying to find the right words. "It's... it's... I mean, I can..." Her thoughts trailed off, leaving her speechless.She felt helpless, not knowing how to express herself."I'll pay you back," she finally managed to blurt out.No response. Joel remained silent.Fear gripped her, and she swallowed hard. "Please..." she pleaded, her voice barely a whisper.She had no idea what the handsome man had in store for her."Tell me what you want... I-I'll do it," she stammered uncontrollably, her words stumbling over each other.A flicker of something crossed Joel's eyes as he observed her. He took a step forward, his gaze fixed on the girl.Emily's heart raced, and she instinctively took a step
"Mm." Joel remained unfazed, not even bothering to bat an eyelid.As they reached the CEO's office, Noah held the door open for Joel, expecting him to enter. However, to Noah's confusion, Joel simply walked past him without acknowledging his gesture.'Does he not recognize his office anymore?' Noah groaned inwardly and hurried after his boss.Dealing with Joel was a constant pain in Noah's neck.Joel strode into the conference room, and the officials stood up, bowing their heads as he leisurely made his way to his seat. They only sat down after he had taken his place.Draping his legs on the long conference table, Joel crossed them and declared, "Let the meeting begin."Noah's jaw dropped in utter surprise as he watched his boss's nonchalant behavior. He couldn't believe his eyes.'Didn't he just tell me to cancel the meeting? This man might drive me insane. Gosh!' Noah facepalmed, trying to gather himself before taking his own seat.Joel smiled to himself, paying little attention to t
They knew they had to be on the top floor, waiting for the CEO before his arrival.As soon as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open on the top floor, they hurriedly stepped forward towards the exit, where the CEO would soon emerge.Sweat poured down their faces, but they had no choice. They couldn't afford to have their "stinking asses," as the CEO had put it, fired.But now, they wondered if their asses really did stink.They would find out once they returned home later in the evening.The CEO's elevator dinged as it reached the top floor.The doors slid open, revealing the ever-gracious CEO, his intimidating aura enveloping him.The middle management bowed their heads and quickly made way for him and his personal assistant.As the CEO briskly walked towards his brother's office, the managers trailed closely behind him like timid cats.He paused when he reached the door leading to his brother's office.Turning back, he faced the middle management.They quickly bowed their heads.
He tapped his spoon on the table, causing Emily's laughter to abruptly cease.Michael glanced at Joel for a moment before resuming his meal.The trio ate their food in silence, occasionally interrupted by Michael engaging in conversation with Emily.Once they finished eating, the maids cleared the dishes from the table.Michael bid Emily good night and retreated to his room, while Joel leisurely stood up and made his way towards the stairs.Emily bit her lip as she observed Joel ascending the stairs. She didn't know how she would approach him about leaving her bag in his car.She stood up and dragged her feet to her room, feeling restless and unable to sleep. She tossed and turned in bed, unable to find a comfortable position.After a while, she reached for the rechargeable hand fan on her bedside table and switched it on, hoping it would provide some relief. She blew air into it, letting out a long sigh, berating herself for her foolishness.She turned off the fan and rolled over to t
Emily's face fell, disappointment evident on her features."Aishhh!" Michael playfully tossed a cushion at Joel."Ignore him, Emily," Michael reassured her, offering a sympathetic smile."But really, you want to be a broadcaster, right?" he asked, his gaze fixed on her."Yes," Emily nodded."My sister is a newscaster too," she mentioned, lips twitching to the side."Huh," Michael nodded in response.He stood up and headed to his room. Emily watched him, confused about his actions. Soon, he returned with a script in his hand, a copy of the news Stephanie was going to broadcast that night.Carrying a dining chair from the dining room, he placed it in the middle of the lounge, moving the center table aside. With the remote in his hand, he muted the TV.Handing the script to Emily, he said, "Here.""Sit on that chair and pretend you're broadcasting the news live, just like you're in a studio, like Stephanie, okay?" Michael explained with a smile. His lips twitched and added, "I know you ca
Emily timidly nodded her head, "Uhn.""Pshh," Joel chuckled.So, she was scared of an escalator... how hilarious!"It doesn't bite, you know," he shrugged his shoulders."No... I'm scared," she cried.Joel sighed. "See, people are using it too," he pointed out, trying to calm her down."Ahhh..." Emily sighed softly.She was still scared of it, though...Joel ruffled his hair, "huff."They couldn't possibly take the stairs; that would be so stressful. Besides, they'd have to walk a bit farther before they found his hidden personal elevator."We just need to take the escalator to the next floor, and then ride my personal elevator to the top floor," Joel explained.Joel sighed, glancing at his wristwatch."Stay still," he mumbled."Mbo?..." Emily looked up at him, utterly confused.Before she could utter another word, she was already in his arms.He stepped onto the escalator, and she shut her eyes, clutching Joel's clothes in her palms. He looked down at her and smiled. In no time, they