"I'm sorry, she's not in the condition to talk right now," the young man bows to me.
I scoff, "Don't tell me she's stinking drunk. Go back up there and tell her it has to do with Hwang TaeKyung. Immediately. She'll see me."
The man looked at me strangely a bit, then turned to tell Mo HwaRan. And of course, he came back with a quick reply that she'd see me. He led me up to her room and quickly left. I found HwaRan sitting on a loveseat, a glass of wine in her hand.
Just as I thought. Drunk.
"Long time no see, Jung Aimee," she smirks drunkenly at me. "What's this urgent news about my son? Is he hurt? Or what?"
"Actually, I didn't come to talk about TaeKyung," I cross my arms at her. She stares at me.
"Then what?"
"I came to talk about Go JaeHyun," I say the songwriter's name slowly. I let it sink into her. Mo HwaRan's expression immediately turns dark. There's a long tense silence between us.
"Vile girl. I'll never know what TaeKyung saw in you," HwaRan scoffed.
"You don't know anything about Hwang TaeKyung," I scoffed back at her.
"He's still my son!" she snapped at me.
"There's more to being a mother than popping a baby out between your legs," I spat at her. She scoffs at my language, but I don't care. I have to bring the conversation back. I can't stray now. I didn't come to tell her what a terrible mother she was. At least, not this time.
"What is Go MiNam's relationship to Go JaeHyun?" I demand.
"You don't even know MiNam," Mo HwaRan smirks, instead of answering me. "You only know a Go MiNyu."
I tense a moment. I can't wonder about how she knows. I have to get an answer out of her.
"Either way," I say through gritted teeth.
"He's the twins' father," HwaRan says simply.
"What's your relationship with him then?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at her.
"We were lovers," HwaRan answers simply and cooly. I almost want to tackle her down and beat the crap out of her. But I stay still. At least now, I am starting to understand why MiNam was so upset.
"I'm guessing you're not her mother. You were just the home wrecker, right?" I snap at her.
"They weren't even married!" HwaRan snarls at me. "Anyway, he loved me. Her pregnancy was an accident. He loved me."
"You never fail to disgust me," I snap. "It's bad enough you neglected your own child and treated him as if he didn't exist. Now, you even took a mother away from both her children as well as their father? That's three orphans that have become because of you!"
"It was never my choice to fall in love!" Mo HwaRan bolted up from the loveseat, but then stopped. She swayed a bit and sat back down. I grit my teeth.
"Miss," the young man from earlier enters again. "Go MiNam requests to speak to you. Should I let him come up?"
I tense. MiNam…came here?
"Bring him up," Mo HwaRan has a small smirk on her face.
"What are you doing?" I narrow my eyes at her as she pulled out her phone and dialed a number. She ignores me.
"The man I left you for…the man I loved, I'm going to meet with his children. Won't you come and see?" Mo HwaRan says into her phone. With horror, I suddenly realize who she'd just called up. I dive for her phone, but she dodges me.
God, no.
"Come and see, my son. It's a girl named Go MiNyu. Come and see," she purrs into the phone. I open my mouth to scream, but she's already hung up. She looks at me.
"Tonight, they both learn everything," she lets her phone drop to the floor.
"S-sunbae!"
I turn and see MiNam, staring at me.
"S-sunbae!" MiNam exclaims as she sees Aimee standing in Mo HwaRan's room.
"Welcome," HwaRan smiles at her. Aimee looks away from MiNam, as if she was defeated or ashamed. MiNam wonders why Aimee is here.
"What are you doing here?" MiNam asked Aimee, ignoring Mo HwaRan.
After a moment, Aimee replied.
"To find out the same thing you came to find out," she muttered. MiNam is reminded of her purpose here. She turns to look at Mo HwaRan.
"You said you and my father were just friends. Is that true?" MiNam's voice cracked.
"I was going to let you believe that," HwaRan sighed. "But you've already figured out everything on your own, haven't you?"
Mo HwaRan takes a sip of wine from her glass. MiNam resists the urge to slap it out of her hand.
"Please," MiNam's voice cracks again. "Tell me it's not true."
"MiNam," Aimee strides over to her and takes her arm. "We should go now."
"No! I won't go until she's answered me!" MiNam snapped, crying. Aimee didn't make her move or leave. But her grip tightened on MiNam's arm. MiNam wasn't going to go until she got an answer from Mo HwaRan.
"We weren't just friends," Mo HwaRan suddenly said. "We couldn't forget each other and held onto one another no matter what. We loved each other that much."
MiNam felt herself crumble. She almost fell to the ground, had it not been for Aimee's grip on her arm. MiNam's tears flowed freely down her face. It had been the truth. Aimee pulled MiNam back up to her feet, stroking her arm.
"MiNam, please, just let it go for now," Aimee begged her.
"You loved each other so much…" MiNam muttered, crying. "That my dad left my mom and you…left Hwang TaeKyung…?"
"You…!" Mo HwaRan seemed shocked that MiNam knew her little secret.
"I know," MiNam spat at her. "I know you left the one person in the world who should've been the most precious thing to you. I can't believe a person like you, who would leave your child, is someone who can love."
Aimee's grip wavered on MiNam's arm. MiNam saw tears form in Mo HwaRan's eyes.
"What you and my father had wasn't true love, was it?" MiNam's words were colder than she had ever been in her entire life. Something in her was aching so deeply and permanently. All her and her bother's efforts…
Mo HwaRan suddenly chuckled.
"You're saying the same thing your mother said," she sighed. "She ignored me, not believing your father would come back to me."
"She probably didn't believe it because you were a person who left other's recklessly and treated others recklessly," MiNam kept her words going. "And I don't believe it either. It's not possible my father would've loved someone like you."
Mo HwaRan stared at MiNam a long moment. Aimee had already stopped trying to persuade her to leave. It was useless. Suddenly, Mo HwaRan snatched up the CD on her coffee table.
"You can't believe it, even though the proof is right here?" HwaRan stuck the CD in MiNam's face. It was 'What Do I Do?'. MiNam couldn't even say anything back.
"This song that TaeKyung remade," HwaRan started slowly. "It's the song your father wrote asking me to come back to him. Your dad wrote it and I sang it for the world to hear."
MiNam's tears flowed so quickly. She bit her lip and gritted her teeth so had it hurt.
"That's the reason your mother acknowledged our love and finally left," Mo HwaRan said each word slowly, letting it sink into MiNam's fragile heart.
"It's a lie," MiNam said. "It's a lie."
"Everyone acknowledged it!" Mo HwaRan screamed. Her shrill voice pierced MiNam's ears and made her jump. Then, HwaRan seemed to maintain her cool again. She scoffed, and smiled.
"Why? Why can't you just accept it? Why deny it?" Mo HwaRan asked, her voice soft, but taunting. "My son didn't understand it, but he acknowledged it. That's why he remade the song."
"That's a lie!" It was Aimee's turn to scream. "You used your influence as a mother to force him to rewrite it."
"Even so, you can't deny what was," Mo HwaRan doesn't even look at Aimee. She stares MiNam down. "I met you when you were young. If your father hadn't passed away, I would've become your mother."
MiNam stared at this woman. This evil, reckless, cruel woman. Her mother? Never. Never.
"I was going to compensate you with my fortunes," Mo HwaRan told her. "Didn't your aunt tell you?"
MiNam thought about it. The way her aunt had tried to be so sneaky. How her aunt had hid the truth of Mo HwaRan from MiNam. MiNam slowly shook her head.
"Compensation…?" MiNam choked.
"TaeKyung knew I was going to be good to you," Mo HwaRan smiled. "I told him everything about my relationship with your father. But…he doesn't know you're JaeHyun's daughter, does he? Did you tell him you knew he was my son?"
MiNam blinked. She thought hard and long. No. She hadn't. Guilt gnawed at her. Who would've been more hurt? Her? TaeKyung? Her mother? Her father? Mo HwaRan? MiNam's head throbbed.
"I didn't tell him because I was worried for him," MiNam said immediately to justify herself. "I wasn't trying to deceive him."
"Tell it to him," Mo HwaRan's stare was cold and icy. "Let's see if he believes you."
MiNam choked on sobs again. Aimee gritted her teeth and dragged MiNam towards the door to leave. But it was too late. The door burst open and there stood Hwang TaeKyung, tears in his eyes.
"Y-you…!" TaeKyung choked on his words as he saw both me and MiNam.
"H-hyung-nim…" MiNam couldn't even speak.
"TaeKyung, please don't assume anything," I make a move towards him, but the look he sends my way tells me to back off.
Suddenly, Mo HwaRan walks over to MiNam and puts her arms around his shoulders.
"This girl is the daughter of the man your mom loved," she said, a smug smile on her face.
TaeKyung stared at me, then MiNam. I saw the tears in both their eyes. I could tell how hurt TaeKyung was. MiNam looked even more hurt. Mo HwaRan was so smug that I wanted to smack her. But I couldn't will my body to move.
"She said she wasn't trying to deceive you by not telling you," Mo HwaRan said simply. MiNam opened her mouth to speak, but TaeKyung had already stormed off and ran out of the room. MiNam sprinted after him. I finally willed myself to move my head and glare at Mo HwaRan.
"You're a monster," I spat at her, but my words were soft. I'd never seen TaeKyung hurt like that, except when anyone mentioned his mother. "Isn't it bad enough you left him to rot on his own? Why did you have to destroy his one chance at love?"
I didn't even bother to listen for a response from her. I took off after Taekyung and MiNam.
I should've never come here. Please let them be okay.
ShinWoo held the phone up to his ear. MiNam wasn't picking up. He grew frustrated. They needed to make a plan. Reporter Kim wanted to interview both her and her brother. Together. The real MiNam wasn't back yet. And they couldn't do the interview.
The sound of heavy footsteps up the staircase caught ShinWoo's attention. He ducked behind a pillar as he saw TaeKyung.
Why was he so angry?
Then, he saw MiNam running up behind TaeKyung. She grabbed his arm. They spoke a moment, in harsh whispers. Both seemed to be crying. ShinWoo watched from afar. He saw TaeKyung shove MiNam away from him. Something in him snapped. His fists clenched, but he stayed watching silently behind the pillar.
"I don't want to see you ever again!" TaeKyung snapped at her and stomped away.
ShinWoo saw MiNam fall to her knees, sobbing loudly. Her choking sobs shook her small body and it broke his heart. Despite everything he'd told himself these past days…telling himself about moving on and forgetting her…about how he might even like Aimee…
All of it was gone. All he could think about now was MiNam and her crying.
"Sunbae, I'm worried about him," MiNam said softly. I looked at her. We're sitting on the roof of the housetop, talking girl talk. Ever since the night with Mo HwaRan, TaeKyung hasn't spoken to anyone in the house and just stays in his room or at the studio.
"He seems to be cutting himself off from us all," MiNam muttered. "He won't look at me. He won't speak to us. I don't know if you'll be able to get through to him…but I've lost hope."
I took MiNam's hands.
"Don't lose hope, MiNam," I tell her. "I'll try my best to find TaeKyung for you. He might not listen to me, but I can try. He's my best friend. He promised me when we were kids that he'd always be my best friend. And I won't let go of him. Never give up on him, MiNam."
"I'm just so worried, and I feel terrible for hiding the truth from him," MiNam rubbed away her tears. I hugged her in my arms and patted her back.
"It's okay, MiNam," I force a smile. "I won't let TaeKyung think he's alone in this."
"I know…I just…don't want him to end up hurting himself," she sighed.
"I won't let him," I smile at her. "I won't let him be alone."
She smiles faintly back. I give her hand a light squeeze and then head towards the door. Talking to TaeKyung might be best at this point. It'll be hard to approach him, but between us all, I knew him the best. But as I head towards his room, I'm suddenly pulled aside by ShinWoo. He drags me into the backyard. Before I can even ask him what's going on, I see Manager Ma as well.
"It's about MiNam and MiNyu," Manager Ma said softly.
"We'll be heading to Okinawa in a couple hours for the fan signing," I explained to TaeKyung. I didn't tell him about Reporter Kim. He didn't look up at me. He kept his eyes fixed on his blank music sheet. He scoffed.
"Why are you even going, Jung Aimee? You're not part of A.," he muttered.
I ignored his statement, "Aren't you going to come with us?"
"I'll come by myself," he said simply.
I bite my lip. He really wasn't expecting to talk to me. Was he so angry with me, just for knowing about MiNam, her father, and his mother? My heart wrenched. I reached over to touch his hand. He flinched and pulled away from me. He continued to glare at his papers. He looked so scary.
"Don't look like that, Hwang TaeKyung," my voice was soft. "When you look like that, it looks like everyone is your enemy. And even I'm afraid to approach you."
He doesn't reply. I reach to take his hand again.
"You're not alone in anything you do, oppa," I say. "Don't turn of your lights, expecting to be blind to everything. I'm still here, even if you can't see it. The same goes for ShinWoo, Jeremy, and…MiNam, too."
Still, TaeKyung says nothing. I squeeze his hand and then turn to the door.
"We'll be taking MiNam with us. You follow later, oppa," I tell him from the doorway.
I walked along the beach barefoot, letting my feet sink into the sand. Jeremy sits down beside me, patting the sand into a big hill. MiNam and ShinWoo stood closer to the water's edge. I stared at them a moment before looking away. I walked to the water's edge and stuck my feet in.
"Aigoo, that's cold," I pout. Jeremy laughs lightly.
"I've never seen the sea before, actually," MiNam says suddenly. "It's beautiful."
"Really?" I ask her.
"I've seen it on TV or pictures, but never like this," she took a deep breath.
"We can go rent and boat and browse more," ShinWoo suggests.
"It's okay," she smiles lightly. "I'm fine just looking at it like this."
She looks at me and laughs.
"Aren't you cold, sunbae?" she asks. I grin. It was chilly out here. I had been stupid and decided to ear my bathing suit out here with nothing much a thin cover-up. I rubbed my arms up and down. Having my long hair gone didn't help either.
"It's a bit chilly," I admit. She smiles and steps closer to the water. I take her hand and slowly, we tread the shallow ends of the water. MiNam stops again and stares out at the sea.
"It seems so far. Endless," she mutters.
"MiNam," Jeremy pipes up. "The earth is round. It may look far, but the further away you go, the earth is round, so eventually, you will end up just where you started. Just like the magic bus."
"That's true," MiNam smiled. "But it'll take a really long time."
She takes another step forward. I move with her, but then ShinWoo grabs her arm to stop her.
"Don't run away," he says suddenly. I stare at him, but he's looking at MiNam. "Don't run away by yourself. I'm here to hold onto you. We all are."
MiNam surprises me by brushing his arm off of her. She looks at him and smiles.
"Don't hold onto me anymore, ShinWoo hyung," she says. "This is the first time I've been to the sea. So of course, I have to step in by myself and experience it all for my own."
ShinWoo and I watch as she walks into the water by herself. Then, I turn to look a ShinWoo. He's looking at MiNam, but then turns and looks at me. I force a smile at him. He smiles back just a little.
Author's Note:
Not much to say to you tonight. Gotta go to bed. Urg. It's late and my mom is nagging me .