A/N: I'm back! I hope you enjoy this super overdue update. :3
Chapter Twenty Two
"So what is it you plan to do?" Ye Eun repeated.
"Come clean." Ye Eun was about to say some words in protest but Mi Nam held up his hand, stopping her. "Listen to what I have to say first."
She nodded, even though she was hesitant.
"Coming to terms with this wasn't easy at first but now that I am a father, it's something I can't ignore even if I am an idol. If I do this and take all the heat, Min Jee won't have to be a secret. I won't even mention your name. I'll take care of it all."
"You're willing to deal with all the consequences, the back lash from the media- even if it jeopardizes your career?"
"The reception from the media of me having an illegitimate child won't be pretty, but its reality. I don't want to hide anymore. Sure, I don't know what's going to happen, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." To Ye Eun, Mi Nam said this a bit too nonchalantly, as if he didn't know the seriousness of the situation he was getting into and his smooth talking would get him out of it.
"Mi Nam-"
"I know becoming a pastry chef is something you always wanted to do. So, I want you to do it. It's selfish and wrong of me to hold you back. But I can tell something is wrong too. I can see it in your eyes. Before we go any further, make any solid decisions, I need you to tell me what it is."
Mi Nam had swayed her into telling him what she swore she was going to keep from him. "He Yi…"
"What did she say to you?" Mi Nam instantly went on alert.
"She said if I stayed in Seoul she would make my life a living hell. Make sure Min Jee didn't have a childhood. That's when I really realized how much our actions have the potential of ruining our daughter's life. And, I'm afraid. Not of her, but of what the media can do."
"Please don't be. Trust in me and I promise I'll make things right."
"But how do you know this will make things right?"
"The only one this could possibly ruin is me. And even then, life goes on." Mi Nam cleared his throat. "So. I want you to take this as an opportunity to start anew." He looked straight at her.
"What do you mean?" Ye Eun knew what he meant but didn't want to believe the words he just said.
"I want you to start living the live you've always wanted."
"But the person I wanted to do that with is you."
Here comes the hardest part. Mi Nam sighed. "I have you let you go. I… need to let you can't live your life properly with me."
"Is there someone else?"
"It's not like that. You deserved to be loved properly and I'm not capable. I can't love you properly." It hurt to say. It hurt him even more because it was true. He finally had come to terms with it but admitting it was still hard. He was an emotional train wreck; and another relationship was the last thing he felt he needed….even though he loved Ye Eun dearly.
"I…I…" Ye Eun stuttered, her gaze shifting down. "I'm sorry. It's just…processing everything you're telling and how you feel…it's…"
"It's not your fault."
"It's because of me." She looked up, black beginning to line down her cheeks. God, Mi Nam hated to see her cry. "How is it not my fault? Don't try to make me feel better. You know that I can't love another man like I loved you."
"I want you to move on." He reached out for her hand, looking into her eyes, earnestly. "I want you to start the life you always wanted with someone who loves you; I want you to have that big family and for you to open that pastry shop. This is the first step. The next step is going to Japan. I'll take care of Min Jee."
Leave her child for her own dream? To Ye Eun, that was one of the most selfish thing a mother could do. She couldn't even call herself one if she did. "I can't let you take this on all by yourself." She would be insane. "You'll be a single father." Even if she did let him take care of their daughter, how could he find the time for it? Idols could have exhaustive schedules.
"You've been living this way for almost five years; what's wrong with me doing it?" There he was again; using his nonchalant tone. Ye Eun knew he was nervous and scared but he sure was good at hiding it and putting on a front for her.
"What about your image? An idol with a child? A single idol with a child."
"You don't think that devil fairy hasn't ruined already it?"
Ye Eun let herself laugh a bit before getting serious again. Mi Nam just wants to take care of his daughter. He just wants to make things right. She inwardly sighed. "Mi Nam, there's only one way I will consent to this."
"What?"
"You need to adopt her."
"Adopt her?"
"If you adopt her with a good story they can't say anything too harsh. If you take her away from me, like that, it wouldn't hurt your image…it might even help it. So, do this. It's not like you can't call her your daughter and she can't call you her father."
"Ye Eun, I'm not going to lie. I want them to know the truth." Suddenly feeling parched, Mi Nam took a sip from his glass of water. The two exchanged glances before looking elsewhere; one to the other patrons in the restaurant and the other out of the window.
"Are you eating all of your meals?" Ye Eun asked.
Mi Nam couldn't help but smile. "Yes, dear. I'm eating all my meals." A lot of the times Mi Nyu had to watch over him to make sure he ate, but he still ate. Sometimes he just didn't want to; sometimes he just didn't have the time for it.
There was a short silence before Ye Eun began, "Lying is going to save us from more trouble, from getting in too deeply, from being pulled apart. As much as I hate it; the fact is you are an entertainer. That is how you make money; if you want to keep doing that you're going to have to do this. You're going to have to work around it. I know you hate this idea but, if this is the road we're going to take then, this is the best way to get down it."
"Randomly adopting a child-wouldn't that seem a bit…" If he told the truth then no one would question how he met the child, who the parents were and all the details.
"I'm giving you the rights to take away my child, our child as the caregiver. You took in this child from one of your dear friends." Ye Eun stated, "This friend couldn't take the stress of raising a child alone and left it in your care and disappeared into Japan. I'm not saying that I won't be in her life, because I will. It'll just be long distance for a little while."
Ye Eun felt a bit more comfortable with this choice, even though she didn't want to let her daughter go. "On February 28th, I will sign the papers of admission." It seemed Ye Eun's demeanor changed at that moment; as she straightened up and became very professional-like. "Around the beginning of April I will make a visit to my relatives to talk about living arrangement and visit the school in Tokyo. I'll be back in Seoul shortly before packing and beginning the process of sending over my stuff. By the beginning of May I can promise to have everything done, if you can do what you have to do on your part. Just…"
"What?"
"Ease my heart and promise me that you'll have Min Jee grow up safely and happily in my absence?"
"I won't allow for anything else."
"And please, please don't spoil her." Ye Eun laughed, "Because, god forbid, I think she's inherited your attitude."
ㄹ
Mi Nam was a mixture of happy and disheartened after coming out of that restaurant with Ye Eun. But he had to put on his face; he had an interview with Jeremy to get through with.
It was over fairly quick, filled with the standard questions and some very interesting fan submitted questions the interviewer found amusing. Jeremy was positively glowing the whole time. The interviewer asked what it was, and Mi Nam jokingly replied 'He's always like that.' They couldn't know about Julie, of course. That would just start a scandal.
Speaking of which, the very second it was over and they walked outside of the building, Julie was there. Mi Nam inwardly sighed. He had decided to deal with her in a very neutral manner (or at least he tried): he didn't speak to her if he didn't have to but he was no longer going to go out of his way to be rude to her, even if he might've wanted to.
"Jeremy! Mi Nam-ah!" She squeaked excitedly.
"Julie! What are you doing here?" Jeremy inquired, confused but happy. My thoughts exactly, Mi Nam thought, how did she even know we were going to be here and who keeps telling her?
"I wanted to take you guys out!" She beamed, clapping her hands together.
"Together? Both of us?" Mi Nam asked, a bit shocked.
"Yes!"
Although hesitant, Mi Nam agreed with a smile. Why not?
ㄹ
Mi Nyu sat down at one of the larger tables in the classroom. They had finger painted today and the kids effortlessly made a huge mess. Even though they helped clean most of it up, she excused them for it began to interfere with their nap time.
She had laid out the pictures in the sun so they'd dry quickly so she could post them on the walls of the classroom. One of the little girls, Yee Seul, had made a finger painting of her and Tae Kyung, who she called 'Mr. ghostface'. When he had first come in, Tae Kyung had a drained expression and Yee Seul had immediately called him ghost face. Tae Kyung came to call her Bucky, because she had quite large front teeth. It just so happened, Tae Kyung and that little girl had gotten along the very best out of all the children. Looking at that picture instantly made her smile.
Tae Kyung had done better with the children than she had thought he would. He did get irritated quickly, that was obvious, but he kept his temper under control and seemed to have a genuinely good time with them.
He looks like a cold man, but hyung-nim has a good heart.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door of the classroom.
She quickly scurried up towards it, to find a delivery man standing there with a bouquet of flowers.
"Excuse me, I was told this is where I could find a Ms. Go Mi Nyu."
"Yes." Mi Nyu answered. "That's me, but what is this?"
"Oh these? These are for you, ma'am." He gently pushed the bouquet into her hands.
"Huh? But…it can't be…" She stared down at the bouquet.
"And this note, that was to be stated then give to you: "To the beautiful girl that holds the top place in my heart; Just the thought of you makes any dim day brighter."
The note was really heartwarming. "Here's the note." He handed it to her, "Have a nice day, ma'am." Before she knew it the delivery man disappeared.
"Oh! Thank you, mister!" She called after him before scoping around her classroom trying to find a glass to hold the flowers in. They were so pretty.
Finally after getting a vase, and removing the plastic and setting in the flowers, she went over to the sink. "Ah, I can't believe hyung-nim remembered my favorite flowers." Even though it was an assortment of different flowers, the majority of flowers were her favorite type, lilies.
"Since your theme is a wedding in winter, we're going to go with flowers that are cool colors. You know, white, blue, things like that. Mi Nyu, aren't lilies one of your favorite type of flowers?" They had toured their last venue, which was the furthest away in a town to the east of Seoul. Buried in the woods was this beautiful multipurpose facility that Ye Eun had found out about from one of her friends. So far Mi Nyu had liked all the places they visited equally, which was no help to either Ye Eun or Tae Kyung who honestly just wanted to find a place so they could finally mark that off their list of things to do.
"Oh yes."
"I'll make sure to have plenty of them." Ye Eun smiled.
"So, that's your favorite flower huh?" Tae Kyung added, tapping his foot.
"Hmm-mmm." She hummed. "Does hyung-nim have a favorite?"
"Even though I'm allergic to most flowers, I've always though asters were pretty. There were a lot of them around me when I was younger."
"Happy couple, what do you think about these?" Ye Eun showed them a sketch she drew. For each place she showed them, Ye Eun had showed them a different design for the individual space and shape of the venue. "Out of all the venues that we've toured today, this has the best potential of having all the things you wanted with your theme. The details worked out quite nicely. The white, the sliver and the blue would blend beautifully throughout this structure."
"It's very nice, Ye Eun." Mi Nyu smiled. Of course, growing up Mi Nyu thought the just a simple wedding in a church would be sufficient. The feeling she got when she walked into this particular place was pleasant and homey, more than the others. There was something about the place that made her just know. "Let's have it here."
"I'm impressed too, motormouth. This will do." Tae Kyung was just glad she found a place.
"Really? This one?" Ye Eun jumped up. "Great! I'll contact the owner!" She took out her cell phone before stopping and glaring at Tae Kyung."Yah Tae Kyung!" Her shout made both Mi Nyu and Tae Kyung jump.
"What?" Tae Kyung replied.
"Don't call me motormouth!"
Mi Nyu laughed at her memory of that occasion and got even more excited about her own wedding in the upcoming fall.
Then she remembered what Ye Eun had called her about the other day, and sadness came over her. She was going to be moving to Japan in the late spring with Min Jee and hadn't told Mi Nam yet. She knew he wasn't going to take it well and she wanted to do all she could to help him cope. All she could think about was how much he shut himself up when Ye Eun left him. Now she was doing it again. But Mi Nam was a stronger person now, right? He wasn't going to shut himself from the world.
She didn't blame Ye Eun for wanting to leave; after all, she wanted to pursue her dream. She felt that things would be better for her and her daughter in Japan with her family, and Mi Nyu wanted her friend to be happy.
"It's not like Mi Nam won't be able to see her. Tokyo and Seoul are only a few hours away. Leaving all of this…it just feels like the best thing right now. Me being here, I don't feel is good for me or Min Jee right now…"
What Mi Nam needs is someone to really love him; love him and not leave him. But maybe oppa is approaching relationships in the wrong way? Mi Nyu didn't like to delve into her brother's personal life too much, especially the romantic segment of it, but how could she avoid it now? She wanted her brother to just be happy, to have a smile that reached his eyes.
With the vase now full of water, she went over and sat on her multipurpose teaching desk. Her good mood instantly returned.
She took out her phone, which she hardly ever used while working, and called Tae Kyung. "Hyung-nim!"
"Ah, pig rabbit." He paused. "You're lucky you called now, we just took a break from filming. I thought we weren't even going to get one today."
"It has it been going well?"
"There's this girl we costar with, some Kwan Jin Na, who is terrible at acting. We've been filming the same section for about an hour because the director finds some flaw with her- and when he's tired of finding flaws with her he finds something wrong with the setting or the way the clothes are."
"Oh, I'm sorry. You must be tired. Should I bring you something to eat or drink at the studio, dear?"
Unknown to Mi Nyu, the good shivers went down Tae Kyung's spine at the sound of the word dear. "Don't be ridiculous. You're at work; just make me something good to eat when I get home."
"Okay!" Mi Nyu replied happily, "But how'd the director say you and Shin Woo were?"
"He's too blinded by Shin Woo's handsomeness to find many flaws in him. As for me..."
"What?"
"He said I could scowl less."
Holding back a laugh, Mi Nyu suddenly remembered the bouquet. "Oh hyung-nim, thanks for the flowers!"
"Flowers?"
"Yes, the flowers and the note you sent. It was really really the best!"
Those words made Tae Kyung feel uneasy. He hadn't sent her any flowers. In fact he couldn't even recall her favorite kind. Who could have sent them? Who else could know her favorite? Jealously coursed through his veins. Just WHO dared to since his wife flowers?
"What did the note say, Mi Nyu?"
"Why are you asking, hyung-nim? You wrote it!" It made Tae Kyung quite distraught knowing Mi Nyu thought he was the one who sent them.
"I forget. Refresh me?"
"To the beautiful girl that holds the top place in my heart; Just the thought of you makes any dim day brighter."
Now he got the bad shivers. Shin Woo, Jeremy, Mi Nam…they couldn't have sent them. It had to be someone…someone that she knew or even worked with? Either way they were going to feel Tae Kyung's wrath.
ㄹ
"Noona, I think I'm really beginning to like you." Shin Woo said from behind a cup of steaming coffee. Coordinator Wang touched her cheeks. They were probably burning red and she had to stop herself. She was at work and it was going to be a very busy day for her. She had no time to be fantasizing about Shin Woo. Although was is a much better option than running around all day making sure the right clothes were delivered, checking for flaws in those clothes and doing makeup. She was just put in charge of a new act that was to debut with A.N Entertainment. It had come as a surprise to her and she was glad she got to be in such a high position. Head coordinator, after three years ...it's finally happened!
Her date with Shin Woo was fantastic, to say the least, and she regretted the fact that she probably wouldn't be able to spend more time with him in the next couple of days. She might be booked the whole week and he'd be busy with recording. Oh, maybe I should make him another candle. He did say he enjoyed the last one I gave him.
Her phone vibrated, and she hoped it wasn't a call saying how something else was going to be delayed. To her surprise it was Shin Woo.[ I know you're busy right now but I just want to say I'm proud of you. I heard about your promotion. I know you'll do well! ChaeRim, fighting!]
She smiled. Shin Woo saying he's proud of me is definitely enough to get me though the day. She held her phone to her chest. He doesn't even have to say that much and I'm high as a kite. I think I really might be seriously in love with this guy.
Coordinator Wang sighed before going through another rack of clothes. The one intern and two new coordinators working under her hadn't been quite up to speed as she expected. "HEY!" She found something off about the clothes. They weren't the right concept or size. She checked the side and of course, they belonged to another A.N Entertainment artist. "Can't you guys read? It clearly says Rose Yang!" She pointed to the sheet attached to the clothes rack. They all mumbled in response, shuffling their feet around. "These clothes go to Rose's room! Take them there NOW!"
She didn't mean to yell at them, but this was the fourth time they messed something up today.
The shortest member of the group and the only intern, Mi Cha, huddled forward and bowed, "I'm sorry Mrs. Wang. I was responsible for bringing these in. I didn't look properly."
"Just take the clothes to the right room, Mi Cha-ssi."
"Yes, Coordinator Wang." She nodded slightly before rolling them out the room. It was the majority of the group found her a bit frightening.
"We're sorry, Coordinator Wang. We've just been so rushed." The eldest of the group, the only male coordinator, stepped forward. "And sometimes Mi Cha-ssi isn't very observant."
"Well, being observant is one of the most important aspects of this job. We have to make sure that everything goes well even in the most unfavorable conditions! Especially like today, today when we're rushed. I'll let it go for today. But let's try to minimize our mistakes. I'm nervous as you all are to be dealing with a new group debuting."
As Coordinator went to out the room to take a sip of water, she felt her phone vibrate. Oh. Who is it now?
[And, noona, don't yell too much. I'd like you to keep your voice.]
Coordinator Wang smiled. "I'll keep that in mind, Shin Woo."
ㄹ
Mi Nam, Jeremy and Julie had made their way to a pizza shop were they had ordered a big supreme pizza to split between them with soda. It hadn't been bad so far. Mi Nam wasn't being an ass to Julie, at least not in front of Jeremy, and Jeremy was ecstatic about it. They were actually conversing, with no snarky side remarks or eye rolls.
"So, Jeremy, I've got some exciting news."
"What?" Jeremy beamed, while Mi Nam sipped his coke.
"I've decided to take a teaching job!" Julie smiled.
"Really?" He squealed, reaching over to hold her hand. "That's great! We can see each other all the time! Oh my god! Mi Nam isn't this great?"
"Yeah, mhmm." Mi Nam mumbled. He wasn't all that sure how he felt about it. Even though he had gotten to like her a bit, he still had an off feeling when it came to the girl.
"You're going to be a superb teacher!"
Yeah, Jeremy don't inflate her sense of worth too much. Mi Nam began to blow bubbles in his drink.
"Thank you; if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have even known where to start with Korean."
"Oh Julie, you're the one who decided to minor in it. I only taught you the basics!"
"But I was ahead of everyone thanks to you! Even if I completely butchered a word, you never made me feel bad."
Oh lord. Here they go again. Mi Nam grabbed a slice of pizza, causally remarking, "And you two say you're not dating?"
Jeremy just mumbled something incoherent while Julie blushed. Did he take this as confirmation they were? He turned his sight towards the girl, sort of hoping to find some confirmation in her body language, her face. They exchanged glances and Mi Nam knew for sure. Something had happened between them. That and she was hiding something. Julie grabbed her drink so she wouldn't have to speak, giving Mi Nam a... quite resentful look.
"'Cause I'm pretty sure you've wanted to jump Julie's bones since she showed up." Mi Nam kept it up, seeing if he could sift out what was up between them.
"Mi Nam, shut up!" Jeremy said, shrinking into his scarf in attempt to hide his face.
Mi Nam shrugged. "But since you're going to be living here from now on you'll have plenty of time to do that won't you?" He directed his sentence straight at Julie.
Bam. I hit where it hurt. He saw the look in her eyes. A look of guilt. Now, why would she have guilt unless she did something guilt worthy? Mi Nam's suspicion was only confirmed when she suddenly got up out of her seat. "Excuse me; I'm going to the bathroom."
"Oh, okay." Jeremy barely whispered, finally peeking out from his scarf. He felt like punching Mi Nam dead in his jaw.
"What's wrong with you?" He turned to Mi Nam, angrily.
"Me? Nothing. Why would you assume that?"
"Things were going great then you just had to mess it up! You're being an asshole!" He kept his voice down as not to attract attention. "You made Julie so uncomfortable she had to leave the table!"
"Hyung. You may not believe me, but she's hiding something from you!" Mi Nam copied Jeremy's hushed tone.
"All of this over your own delusion that's she's up to something?"
"It's not a delusion!" Mi Nam whisper screamed, voice cracking. He got up from the table. "And I'm not going to sit here and let you call me crazy!"
"Fine! Go!" Jeremy had enough. "I don't want to be with someone who is going to accuse someone I love of something because of their own paranoia!"
Great. Now they were attracting attention.
"Fine. Whatever." Mi Nam huffed, stomping away.
ㄹ
The atmosphere at the dorm was dreadful; despite Mi Nyu and Shin Woo's toned down version of "cheeriness". Jeremy and Mi Nam had basically created that dreadful atmosphere. Tae Kyung adding to it, still irate about the flowers, which Mi Nyu had brought home and sat on the kitchen table. The man wanted to almost smirk and say 'I told you so' to Mi Nyu who thought their vow of friendship would last. But even he knew something serious had happened between the two- something that most likely had involved Julie. Upon returning, she locked herself away in the extra bedroom saying she felt a little under the weather.
"Should I fix her some tea and medicine?" Mi Nyu asked, digging into her rice.
"No, Mi Nyu. She's not sick from something. More like someone." Jeremy remarked, looking straight at Mi Nam. Mi Nam just narrowed his eyes, finishing his dinner in silence.
In an attempt to avoid Jeremy, the younger got up first to go to his room. Jeremy did the same, tired from the day's events- with no intention of talking to Mi Nam.
Mi Nam heard the footsteps behind him and sighed, thinking that Jeremy wanted to say something to him again. "Hyung." Mi Nam acknowledged. Trying to avoid your hyung is hard when you have a room next to his...
"Mi Nam." Jeremy looked at the back of his head briefly, before moving on. He only took a few steps heading towards his room before he turned back around, however. He couldn't keep in it. "How could you embarrass me like that?" He asked, truly curious. Mi Nam had been alright then, all of sudden, acted like an complete paranoid jerk spouting all this 'she's up to something' crap. Jeremy really thought Mi Nam had a change of heart. Must've just been an illusion, right?
"Embarrass you? It's that British brat that's embarrassing!"
"You're the brat, Mi Nam!"
"Seeing you guys together is practically sickening. It's like you are her lap dog."
"Lap dog? So what if I am, huh? Unlike you, I actually treasure the people I love and I don't drive them away with my attitude. Just because you can't stay in a relationship for more than a month don't blame me and get jealous." Jeremy was so angry he didn't even realize all of what he was saying.
That one word set Mi Nam off like a firecracker. "JEALOUS? I'M FAR FROM JEALOUS! HOW COULD YOU EVEN BRING UP MY PAST RELATIONSHIPS!? WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU EVEN KNOW ABOUT THEM HUH? WHAT DO YOU EVEN KNOW ABOUT ANYTHING?"
"I KNOW WHY EVERY GIRL YOU'VE EVER DATED HAS WANTED TO BREAK UP WITH YOU! YOU'RE JUST A SELF-CENTERED ASS WHO THINKS HE'S SOME PRINCE! YOU TREAT PEOPLE AWFUL! NO ONE CAN LOVE YOU BECAUSE YOU ONLY THINK ABOUT YOURSELF!" The second the words came out his mouth, Jeremy regretted them deeply. He felt a deep burn in his chest…he didn't mean to say them. Why did he say such horrible words? The look on Mi Nam's face was one of pure hurt, with eyes glazed over. Jeremy knew he was about to cry. The older tried to apologize, but words wouldn't form. It was too late, he knew. How could he be so insensitive when he knew what had just happened between Mi Nam and his cousin?
Go Mi Nam still couldn't even properly register the words he had just heard. He stood there frozen for a couple of seconds before it all finally hit him. "Asshole."
"Mi Nam-" He wanted to reach out and grab his arm but he coiled away from him.
"Don't." Pushing Jeremy out the way, he silently went towards his room.
"Wait-" Jeremy didn't even know what to say and the other wasn't willing to listen.
Faster than the other, Mi Nam slammed the door in his face before locking it. "Leave. I don't want you anywhere near me." Mi Nam's voice seeped through the door.
Jeremy gulped. It felt like his throat had grown lumps. He hadn't been this awful to Mi Nam, or anybody ever. But Mi Nam just made him snap.
Shin Woo quickly came up stairs to see the matter. "Jeremy, what's going on?"
Jeremy hit his head against Mi Nam's door. "I went too far, hyung. It was only because...he made me so mad this time. I couldn't-"
Shin Woo sighed. "Come here, Jeremy. Let's talk."