Betrayal (Pt. 1)
My Perfect Stranger
Honestly, I don't trust anyone anymore. Not the media, friends, family, or even myself. Everything is my fault, so why should I even care about anyone, or myself, anymore? Life is nothing. Life is meaningless.
I am nothing without my kids.
3 Days Before
When I arrived in front of my lawyer's building, I was totally blind sided by the bomb rush of paparazzi and flashes of cameras surrounding the area. I couldn't even get out of my car without security's help.
As I struggled to get past the paparazzi, the question that stuck in my head was how? How the hell did they find out about this? I only told a certain number of people, and I'm sure those people wouldn't leak this information.
I put the thought aside as I basically ran to the doors of the building. Once safely inside, I thanked the security guards graciously as I walked to Mr. Chung's office in the back. I got stares from the receptionists and staff, presumably because they already know who I am. I don't really care at this point.
I knocked before opening the door to his office and sat down in the chair across from his desk.
"Hello, Mr. Kim. Thanks for showing up. We have a lot of things to discuss-"
"I have a question," I interrupted.
"Go ahead."
"Um, why were there so many paparazzi out there if no one was supposed to know about this? I mean, I understand a few being out there because they follow me around like leeches, but there's a swarm out there!"
His brows furrowed. "That comes as a shock to me. I didn't think anyone would be out there. I brought security just in case, but I didn't think they needed to be used."
"So you didn't leak out any information?"
"Mr. Kim, I would never do that. I know there may be some sleazy lawyers out there in the world, but I'm not one of them. I care about my clients. You should know that by now. There's no way that I would ever in my life do something like that to you. You have to believe me."
I stared him down for a few seconds. He seemed to be telling the truth. However, he is a lawyer and is trained on being persuasive. But based on our heart to heart we had earlier, I knew he was telling the truth.
I sighed before saying, "I believe you. I'm sorry for accusing you. I just don't know who could've done this."
"No need to apologize. And I'm sure this is probably just a coincidence. You know how on top of things the media are."
"Yeah you're right. I'll just let it go."
"Great because now we have to talk about the charges. Do you want to go through with them?"
"At this point, I feel like there's no other choice. It's obvious that I still love him, but everyone else is right. I need to let him go. Me holding on to him is doing nothing but hurting both of us even more."
He nodded. "I'm glad you came up with this decision. The sooner decisions are made, the sooner this is over. Now, I've called Jonghyun's lawyer. He said his client is very distraught and not mentally stable right now. He feels guilty about what he's done to you so he doesn't want to speak to anyone right now." That definitely sounds like Jonghyun. "He said Jonghyun stated that the only person he wants to talk to is you. If you talk to him, he'll comply with the charges, but if you don't, he'll be as difficult as possible and make this process a whole lot harder."
"So Jonghyun wants to talk to me? Where?"
"The safest place would be somewhere in a secure vicinity. Maybe here, but it can't be somewhere public or at your home. Are you willing to speak with him?"
I felt so spaced out. "I don't know."
"Mr. Kim, I know it may be tough, but I need you to do this. It'll put an end to things sooner than anticipated." Am I ready for that? For things to....end? "If you do decide to speak with him, you will have privacy. You'll be in a room with only you and him with no one listening in, but there will be an emergency button underneath the table you'll be sitting at if you needed."
I nodded. "Well, if it'll help everyone out, I guess I'll see him."
He clasped his hands. "Great! Is today too soon?" It really was. But I decided I should just get it over with.
"I'll do it today."
"Ok. I need to step out to get Jonghyun's lawyer on the phone. Just sit tight."
He stepped out and was gone for a couple of minutes. I decided to text Minho and Nicole since I had nothing else to do. They were the first to know about everything, aside from my parents. I needed to tell someone or else, I would explode.
He came back in excitedly. "They'll be here in about ten minutes. This time, I'll make sure to be prepared for the media. They'll sneak in through the side entrance, so don't worry."
My hands began to get clammy at the thought of seeing Jonghyun after avoiding him for so long. What would he say? Why is he not putting up a fight against the charges? Why is it that talking to me will solve everything for him? Is it a joke? Is he playing me? No. Jonghyun wouldn't do that. He may be crazy, but he would never purposely hurt me. I just hope I can keep my emotions together.
Later, I was directed to a secluded room. I opened the door and gasped before entering and closing the door. There he was. Sitting there with a solemn look on his face. He looked like a kicked puppy on the side of the road. I noticed that his hands weren't chained or anything. Did they really trust that he wouldn't touch me?
I walked slowly to the table. Jonghyun lifted his head when he heard noises. When he saw me, he had the biggest smile on his face. I could basically see his tail wagging. In a way, it was kind of good seeing him. But honestly, I didn't know what to expect.
"Kibum," he whispered exasperatedly as I sat down across from him.
"Hey," I said almost silent.
"I'm so happy to see you. I missed you so much." I remained silent, not knowing what to say. He sighed before saying, "Key, I'm really sorry for everything. I'm sorry for what I've done to you. It may be hard to believe, but I never meant to hit you. You know I'd never ever willingly hit you. My fist meant to hit Minho, but somehow he dodged it and it hit you. I'll never be able to forgive myself. If you don't forgive me, I understand. I might as well just die now because I'm not worthy anymore."
I scrunched my brows. "Jonghyun, don't say that. You don't deserve to die, no one does. Yes, it's true that I was unhappy with your actions, but I don't hate you. I don't think I ever could. I'm just really disappointed in you. I care about you a lot, Jonghyun, and I just want the best for you. We don't have to be together for me to still love you. I'll love you regardless because you've always been there for me. You just need to know when to back off."
"But that's hard. Do you not know how much I love you? I hate seeing you with him. I hate everything about it. We have a family together. He doesn't belong."
"You fail to understand that you're the reason why we're not together. You were not mentally stable and you're still not. Jonghyun, I want you to get the help you deserve. You are a great person. You need to show the world how much of a great man you are."
"But.......but you're the only person I can see myself with. You're my whole being-"
"And that's the problem. You're so dependent on me, Jong. You treat me as if I'm your property. I'm a person who needs to be free. I want you to be free as well. Trust me, I don't want to press charges against you. I believe if we can come to an agreement, I wouldn't have to-"
"No," he interjected. "Continue the charges. I want you to-"
"Jong-"
"I deserve to go to jail. I've just realized how much pain I've put you through, and I crossed the line when I physically hurt you. I can never forgive myself. I deserve to rot away behind bars. So please, for me, continue the charges."
It hurt my heart to do this to him, but I knew he was right. Maybe not about the rotting away part, but he needed to be away from his current surroundings.
"So that's it? You'll just accept the charges?"
"Well there's something that I want first."
"What?"
He paused for a second. "Kiss me."
My eyes widened. "Are you out of your mind? I'm not doing that! If you forgot, I'm in a relationship with Minho. I just can't do it-"
He gently grabbed my hands. "Please. I'm begging you. This is my only request before being taken away from you for I don't know how long. While I'm sitting in jail, I want my last memory to be you. I'm not asking you this to mess up things with you and Minho. I'm asking you this for me, for us. This may be the last time I get to be alone with you like this. Just....please do this for me."
The look in his eyes was longing and genuine. I know Jonghyun more than anyone else, and I know when he's being serious. I just didn't feel comfortable doing that since I'm with Minho. Minho's my everything and if he found out about this, my whole world would crash.
However, this is really important to Jonghyun. As bizarre as it sounded, I knew that he would be more content with things if I did it. It was a tough decision, but I had to do what I thought was right.
"Ok," I said staring into his eyes.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Since I'm basically the one putting you behind bars, I may as well fulfill your last wish. You can kiss me, Jonghyun."
He slowly stood up and I did the same. He walked to me and placed a hand on my cheek. He smirked before saying, "You're still as beautiful as that day."
I knew exactly what he was talking about. The day we had our first kiss. I chuckled, "You're still as short as that day."
He laughed quietly before saying, "I know you may never love me again the same way I love you now, but I'll always love you. I appreciate you for this and everything you've done for me and the kids. I love you, Kim Kibum." Then, he leaned in slowly and kissed me.
The kiss was slow and sentimental. Instead of getting those butterfly feelings I used to get with him, I felt a sense of comfort. Old memories of our relationship rushed to me all at once as we continued to kiss. It was very nostalgic.
He placed his hands on my lower back and that's when I pulled away saying, "Jonghyun."
He smiled before pulling away. "Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away. I will always love you, Key. I hope you know that and never forget that. You letting me kiss you shows me how much you still love me too, and I'm grateful for that. Thank you for letting me love you."
There was a knock on the door signaling our time was almost up. I looked at Jonghyun and kissed him once more, which surely surprised him and even myself. "Be safe, Jonghyun and take care of yourself. Get the help that you need. And when you get out of jail, I hope you come out a better man." I turned around and walked towards the door. Before opening it, I looked back at him and waved. "Bye, Jonghyun." He waved back and then I left.
My lawyer was standing there with worried eyes. "How did it go?"
I smiled slightly. "It went well. No trial will be needed. He'll take on all charges."
"Really? That's great, Mr. Kim!"
"Yeah.."
After leaving the building with much difficulty from the media, I decided to call Nicole. Obviously, I couldn't tell Minho about this because his reaction may be terrible, and I refuse to talk to my parents about my love life. So Nicole's the best candidate.
I hooked up my phone to auxiliary so I could talk to her easily while driving.
"Oh, hey, Key," she answered sounding busy.
"Hey. Sorry I'm calling so suddenly. Is it a bad time?"
"Oh, no! It's not a bother. What's up?"
"Well I just left my lawyer's office. It was weird as hell at first because a ton of paparazzi were there. It's unexplainable as to how they all knew I was going to be there. My lawyer told be it could just be a coincidence, but I don't know."
"He's right, Key. You're naturally paranoid anyway, so maybe you're just thinking too hard."
"You're right."
"So what happened there?"
"I met with Jonghyun."
She audibly gasped. "What?! What happened?"
"We discussed a few things and....I sort of...ended up...kissing him?"
"Are you out of your mind?!"
"I know it sounds crazy, Nicole. It seems a little heinous to me too, but I promise you, it was only a goodbye kiss. Jonghyun's going to be gone for a long time because of me, the least I could do was respect his wishes."
"What about Minho?"
"We're still dating of course. Minho's the love of my life. If I ever lost him, I don't know what I would do. I know it may be hard to understand, but I know it was the right thing to do. Just please don't tell him. I'll let him know in time." Or not at all.
She sighed. "Whatever you say, Key."
"Thanks. I have to go now. My mom's calling me."
"Ok. Love you, boo!"
I chuckled. "I love you too." Then I switched the call over to my mom. "Hey, umma."
"Kibum!" She sounded hysterical. "You need to get here as soon as possible!"
"Why? Umma, what's going on?"
"I don't know, but child protective services are head and trying to take away Taemin and Jongin!"
My heart instantly dropped. "WHAT?! Can you put me on the phone with them?" I heard the phone shuffle before I heard a man's voice.
"Hi, is this Kim Kibum?"
"Yes," I said as I took a road to the direction of my mom's house. "What is going on?"
"Well, we were contacted by an anonymous caller that claimed you're mentally unfit to raise your children?"
I remained calm on the phone, but I was internally screaming. "I don't understand. I've raised these boys for 11 years. I've never done anything that would lead anyone to believe that I'm a horrible parent."
"We received photographic evidence of you doing things like taking drugs, drinking, and other obscene things." This just wasn't making since. The last time I did drugs or partied was way before I had the boys. There's no way anyone could know about this and bring it to the public.
Then it hit me. Someone's selling me out. Someone I know personally or have known in the past is releasing information to the tabloids! Now it makes since to me. But who would it be? This is too much.
"I'm almost there. Can you guys wait until I get there?"
"We can, but we don't have much time."
"Ok, I'm pulling up now." Then hung up the phone as I drove up the driveway. I ran out of the car and into the house.
Taemin and Jongin ran to me crying and I embraced them tightly as they both cried on my shoulders.
"Umma," said Taemin, "t-they w-want to take us away! P-please don't let them!"
"I'm here, babies," I whispered. "I won't let them hurt you. Now go sit with Nana while I go talk to these men." They both nodded and ran to the couch next to my mom.
The men walked over to me. "You're Kim Kibum?"
"Yes, sir. These are my children. I don't know who could've told you something like this, but it's not true. Well it is, but these are things I didn't when I was a teen, when I was young and stupid. You have to believe me when I say I am not an endangerment to my children," I plead.
"I'm so sorry for this. I want to believe you. I really do. But there's a certain procedure we have to follow and we're not allowed to give the minors back to the parents immediately after a report."
I had to think fast. "Well can my mom keep them? Just for the time being?"
"Only if you don't come in contact with them before we get everything settled."
I looked over at my mom and she nodded. "Ok. I'll do whatever I have to do. Just please don't take them away."
The man nodded. "As long as you comply. Again, I apologize for the difficulty. My team will be investigating these pictures so we can track down the original post to check the dates they were posted. You must leave now."
I heard my kids sobbing and I couldn't bear it. "Can I say goodbye to them first?" They nodded and I went over to the couch where they were stationed crying.
Jongin let out a sob, "Umma! Don't leave!" My eyes teared up and I hugged him tightly. I grabbed Taemin so he could be in the hug too. "I promise I'll get you guys back ok? Just stay with Nana until then."
Taemin shook his head. "I don't want Nana. I want you!" At that, unreleased tears escaped down my cheeks.
"I'll be back, I promise. I love you two so much!" I kissed there cheeks before standing up to leave. Their sobs got louder the closer I got to the door. "Umma," I said to my mom. "Please take care of them. I'll settle things." Then I left.
The ride back, all I could think about was who could've did it. I thought back to old high school friends. Maybe some spiteful decided to do this to me. But I didn't have many enemies in high school so it's hard to tell who it could be. It's even harder to narrow it down since that picture was posted online awhile ago before being deleted. So anyone could've gotten those pictures.
However, the person who called had to know where my parents live in order for child protective services to get the address. There aren't many people who know their address. But now that I think about it, they did have a party there some time ago. So maybe the person who knows is a person from the party.
I groaned as I pulled up to my apartment to find paparazzi everywhere. This is ridiculous. I parked and stepped out of the car, being bombarded with questions as always. However, these questions were not ones I was prepared for.
"Key, is it true that you do drugs around your children?"
"Are you an alcoholic?"
"Where are your children now?"
Wow. Word spreads fast. So the person who called the protective services obviously had to call the media. This is some bull. It's amazing what people will do for money.
As I made my way to the entrance door, one question caught me off guard. This one question had me do a double take. That's because this one question referred to something I only told one person.
"Did you really kiss Kim Jonghyun today at your lawyer's office?"
Nicole.
Hello everyone! Lexy here. I just wanted to clarify something. I've never put in context that this is a jongkey story. I remember only once that I said it could be either jongkey or minkey because it wasn't decided yet, but obviously because of the way the story has turned out, it makes more since for the story to continue being minkey. I'm not trying to offend anyone, this is just a matter that has really bothered me lately.
I hope you guys continue to love and support this story because I'm doing the best that I can.
Thank you. And as always, please leave comments ^.~
Also, please give my other stores much love: Lost Boys & Family Feud
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