Expectations Are Always (Part 1)
She woke up.
Ella stared blankly at the window frame before her with wide-opened eyes. The only thing going through her mind was how wondrous the sparkling sunlight was shining onto the wooden window frame.
It was pretty.
Like Mommy.
“…Mommy.”
Ella abruptly got up, jumped out of bed, and ran to open the door in her pajamas. She ran to the front door, and as her hand was reaching for the lock, someone lifted Ella up from behind.
“Put me down! I’m going!”
She was struggling but was helpless while dangling in the air. After putting Ella down in the living room, Jo Minjoon turned Ella around to look at her. Tears were filling Ella’s eyes to the brim.
“Let me go to Mommy.”
“I’ll let you, but first you need to wash your face. You want her to see you looking so dirty?”
“…I just need to wash my face, and you’ll let me see Mommy?”
“That’s right. First, wash your face, then change your clothes. After that, we’ll see.”
“I’ll go do them.”
Ella rushed to the restroom. Jo Minjoon watched her go with his arms crossed.
‘What should I do? My goodness.’
A sigh or regret rose up through his throat, but he could not let it out. Because the moment he let his frustration out, that frustration would end up targeting Ella. He could not figure out how he should behave around her. If he appeared stoic in front of her, then she may feel like he was not being sympathetic to her. If he appeared sad in front of her, then that would only serve to make her sadder.
It is times like this when Jo Minjoon feels like he is still a child, even though he has become an adult. Jo Minjoon took a look around the kitchen. Kaya had been making pancakes for a while. Ella’s favorite: chocolate chip pancakes.
Ella did not feel like eating these days. So Kaya was trying to entice Ella with the pancakes.
Ella finished washing her face in a flash. Then she immediately went to her room to change clothes and came back out. Then she looked at Jo Minjoon.
“Uncle, I’m done washing my face and changing my clothes. Let’s go now. I want to see Mommy.”
“…Kaya put a lot of effort into making you pancakes. How about we have breakfast?”
“No. I’m not gonna eat.”
“But still, you should have some…”
“You promised—!”
Ella clenched her fists and shouted. Angry tears were filling both of her eyes to the brim. Jo Minjoon momentarily could not say a word and took a look at Ella. Ella, whether angry or sad, sobbed and wiped the tears away with the back of her hand.
“Why <hic> do you always <hic> break your promises?! You promi<hic>sed, <hic>! You promised!”
Jo Minjoon and even Kaya were now looking at Ella. Neither could say anything to her. They had never broken a promise they had made to her. However, the two of them could not exactly tell Ella that. Ella’s anger was not directed at them. There could only be one person who had failed to keep a promise to Ella.
“…Ella,” Jo Minjoon called her name in a low voice and gave her a hug.
Compared to when he first saw Ella, she has definitely grown, but she’s still pretty small. She was a small child. Jo Minjoon and Kaya could not fail to feel worse for how small she was.
“Okay. I’ll keep my promise. Don’t be mad. Let’s go right now. I’ll take you.”
“W-Waahhh…”
Ella sobbed, and her tears began flowing. Jo Minjoon quietly patted her on the back as if to catch them in his hand. Kaya, who had been watching them both, took off her apron and began quietly packing the pancakes up. She thought maybe she could have Ella eat on the way there. Even though Lisa had a boyfriend, she had chosen to leave Ella in their care. That showed how much she trusted the two of them. They did not want to betray that trust.
It has already been a week since Lisa collapsed. The reason for her collapse is simple. Lisa could no longer endure the radiation treatment and chemotherapy. Her body was completely drained, and she had to go to the hospital.
And for the past week, Jo Minjoon and Kaya took Ella to see Lisa every day without fail. It was a tiring task even for family relatives to carry out, but they had done it. Why did they do it? Was the bond between them stronger than that of family? Or was it simply because they could not leave this child, whom they remembered as once being so loved, alone to be steeped in sadness?
Jo Minjoon and Kaya immediately took Ella to the hospital. On the way to the hospital, Ella did not say a word. She simply looked out the window with the anger-filled eyes of someone whose trust had been betrayed. Whom was that anger directed at? To Lisa who said that nothing was the matter? Or perhaps to the God who never answered her prayer, no matter how many prayers she offered?
Ella entered Lisa’s hospital room while Jo Minjoon and Kaya went to find Paul. Paul looked almost the same as usual, but there were a few differences. His normally neatly-trimmed beard was a mess and looked to have been trimmed in a roughshod fashion. And his cheeks looked much more haggard.
“Lisa’s reached her limit.”
“…What?”
“These are my thoughts now that all the tests have been run. Trying to continue at the bakery would be insane, as it stands. But even trying to live a normal life would be a stretch. She must truly take the time to relax and take proper care of herself.”
“…Will she get better if she rests?”
“At the very least, she won’t shorten her life any further by doing so.”
How disillusioned must Paul feel to express such cynical thoughts? Jo Minjoon looked quietly at Paul and asked, “Then, what should she do?”
“She needs to quit working and enter a nursing home. She’ll need to get regular checkups while there.”
“Is there really no other way? Lisa will want to somehow find a way to bake bread. If she’s unable to do that, then…”
“Minjoon, I’ve considered everything,” Paul replied with a lamenting sigh.
Hearing that curt response, Jo Minjoon had no choice but to stay silent. Even if he had known Lisa longer, he is unable to care for her as deeply as her lover Paul can.
When he said he had considered everything, it sounded like he had placed his faith in hope only to have it completely dashed and fall into despair.
Paul’s choice was bound to be the best. As both her doctor and Lisa’s lover, he would suggest the best way to save Lisa in the most humane and rational way.
“If between her dreams and her life she could only choose one, I’ll make sure she chooses her life even if I have to stomp on her dreams. You can always have dreams if you’re still alive. However, once you die… you won’t even be able to see them.”
“…Have you been able to convince Lisa?”
“It’s not that hard. If I mention Ella’s name just once, her eyes surprisingly soften.”
Paul smiled bitterly. He had to tell the one he loved to give up on her dreams and use her child’s name. He had to do it. He had to threaten her. As much as he loved her, Paul had to force her to choose the more difficult path.
“Please enter her room now. She’ll probably ask the two of you a favor.”
“…I think I already know what that favor could be.”
“All the better if you do.”
Jo Minjoon and Kaya got up from their seats. As they were about to leave the examination room, Paul hesitatingly said, “But if.”
“…”
“But if you do know what she’s going to ask… Could you let me know beforehand what type of response you are thinking of giving her?”
“We’re on Lisa’s side,” Kaya replied.
“And on Ella’s.”
“…Is that really something you should be deciding on so easily?”
Lisa, who had made a request of them, nodded without hesitation, even before the question was finished being asked. She then looked at Jo Minjoon and Kaya, bewildered.
Her favor was a simple one. Lisa asked if they could take care of Ella while she was at the nursing home. It was actually difficult for her to ask them that, but these two were Lisa’s best choice to leave Ella with.
Of course, she had given Paul some thought as well. However, he was already much too busy, and he had yet to form a deep bond with Ella. Therefore, the people who could take care of Ella the best were these two.
“Lisa. You are the last pâtissière Rachel can depend on,” Jo Minjoon said in a low voice.
“And you’re the last remaining family for Ella.”
Lisa had already become irreplaceable to the two most important people. He did not wish to lose such a person as that. He did not want to lose Lisa like that. Lisa smiled joyfully. But that joy was immediately overshadowed by loneliness. Ella, who saw that smile, clutched at Lisa’s clothes and looked at her with an anxious expression.
Lisa had already heard enough of an explanation. She had to go to a nursing home. And of course, she cannot take Ella there with her. The only people who could raise Ella right now are Jo Minjoon and Kaya. Ella had to listen to the two of them and await Lisa’s return. It was simple.
However, for some reason, it felt like if she let go of her now, Lisa, who would feel relieved by this arrangement, would potentially never return.
Ella was not a fool. Rationally, she knew there was nothing wrong with Lisa’s decision. However, she did not want to be convinced of it. She wanted to be with Lisa. Kaya and Jo Minjoon are both great, but they cannot compare to Lisa.
Lisa stroked Ella’s hair.
“Please take care of her.”
“Hi, are you Ella?” Rosa smiled broadly and asked.
Rosa had a look on her face that said that the small creature that had appeared before her was so cute, she couldn’t help herself. Ella hid behind Kaya with a slightly guarded look on her face. With both her legs encircled by Ella’s arms, Kaya was unable to move properly, so she simply stroked Ella’s cheek.
“Ella, you should say hi. This is Rosa. She’s our restaurant’s pâtissière.”
“…Hello.”
“Oh my, what a cutie. I’m Rosa. We have some pastries I’m sure you’ll like. Do you want some? They’re delicious! I bet you’ll be surprised!”
“My mommy’s pastries taste the best.”
“Of course they do. There’s nothing quite like what your mommy makes, but I’m sure mine taste second best after your mommy’s! However, for you to have some, you need to do something in return. If you think they taste good, you have to give me a hug. How about it?”
Despite Ella’s curt manner, Rosa was unperturbed and kept up her friendly attitude. In the end, that attitude managed to open up Ella’s heart a tiny bit.
Gwen looked at Jo Minjoon with a bit of a worried expression on her face.
“But, is this really okay? There are so many dangerous things in the kitchen. If she’s always going to be here, then…”
“Of course we’re not going to be bringing her to the kitchen normally. Ella will be mostly over in the break room or the office. The break room’s been filled with fairy tale books for Ella to read.”
They could not help with this arrangement. Once school is over, the manager, Jonathan, brings Ella to the restaurant. Considering Jo Minjoon and Kaya’s work hours, they had no other choice. Of course, they did not always leave Ella alone. In reality, aside from the time they were serving the dishes, the two of them spent as much time with Ella as possible.
Actually, they did not have to put in as much effort as that. Ella was an unspeakably cute girl, and all the staff members, without exception, doted on her. So, quite unlike what Jo Minjoon and Kaya had been originally worried about, Ella soon began to hang around everyone and little-by-little regained her smile.
In particular, the one Ella opened her heart up most to was Rosa — because she was a pâtissière like Lisa. Ella became close to Rosa unbelievably quickly. Thanks to that, Jo Minjoon and Kaya could both relax a bit. Just having Ella not be depressed made their own lives a lot brighter.
However, something unexpected happened. Whenever Ella occasionally walked through the hall from the break room to the office, all those who witnessed her do so wondered who this young girl could be.
And where there is curiosity, there are always those who seek it. And those seekers came before them — before Ella.
Ella had received an invitation for an interview.
CREDITS:
Original author: 양치기자리
Translator: Comic Seoul
Proofreader: Potato