Betrayal (Pt.2)
My Perfect Stranger
You've got to be ing kidding me! Out of everyone I know who could've done this, never in my life would I have imagined that Nicole would do this to me. She was basically my sister! Family isn't supposed to do this to one another. I swear if I see her right now, I'm going to fight her. So it's best that I just stay home for awhile.
When I got inside of my apartment, I was greeted by an angry Minho standing in the living room. I slowed my tracks as I approached him.
"H-hey, honey-"
"Don't honey me."
I furrowed my brows. "What?"
"How long?"
"How long what?"
"Dammit, Key. How long were you seeing Jonghyun behind my back?!" He must've heard.
I abruptly walked up to him. "Minho, you must believe me when I say this. I love you and only you. You're the man I wanna be with. Not him!"
He took a step back from me, which really hurt. "Oh, really? Well how do you explain this?"
He showed me a message from an unknown number claiming that I kissed Jonghyun. "Minho, that doesn't prove anything-"
"Wait, it gets better. They sent me a voice recording as well."
He played it and it turned out to be the phone call between me and Nicole! She disguised her voice, but mine was still the same. Also, it was edited. It cut out the parts where I expressed my love for Minho, and highlighted the parts where I talked about Jonghyun. It really pissed me off.
"Minho-"
"You know what? I don't even want to hear it. I've given my all to you, Key! I'm usually not this open with anyone, but I opened my heart to you. I took on so much just so I could be with you. I've dealt with your psycho ex, the media, and I've even helped take care of your kids. Is it not enough?!"
"But you are enough! That recording is edited. Nicole is selling me out!"
He scoffed. "Not only are you hurting me, but now you're lying on my best friend, the one who actually helped us get together? Wow, Key. I didn't know you could stoop so ing low."
"Would you just listen to me?! I'm telling the truth, Minho. Nicole's been leaking information out to the public about us-"
"Even if that's true, that's not what I'm worried about right now. What's going on you and Jonghyun, huh? Am I just the sideline or something?"
I shook my head quickly. "Not at all! Yes, it's true that I kissed him, but it was only a goodbye kiss! I promise it meant nothing to me. Minho, please," I was basically begging at this point. I felt my eyes water because it felt like Minho was slipping away.
"You know what? I'm done."
I gasped. "No, no, no! Minho, we can work this out. Please talk to me-"
"I'm done talking! I'm done trying to save something that can't be saved. No matter how hard I try, he's always going to be someone you love. Just admit it!"
"Yes, but I love you differently than I love him. You're the man I want a future with." Tears escaped my eyes. "Please don't leave me."
"Do you not understand that you cheated on me?! I don't care it if was a goodbye kiss or not, or if it meant something or not! You still did it, Key, and honestly, I'm jealous. I'm jealous that I'll never be able to have you to myself. And I'm hurt that you even did something like this. I may be strong, but I have feelings too! So you know what? I hope you have a nice life. I'm done with this whole thing. Bye, Key."
He quickly walked passed me and I turned to catch up with him. "No! Minho, please!" I caught his hand and he snatched it away. He looked another way as he talked.
"Honestly, I can't even look at you right now. I love you too much and I know if I see you, I'll come running back. I just..... I just need some time alone. We both do." Then at that, he was gone.
There was nothing I could do. I wanted to run after him and stop him, but that would just cause more commotion. Honestly, he has a right to feel the way he does. That's why I didn't want to tell him so soon, or at least not let him find out the way he did.
I broke down right there as reality hit me. Not only are my kids gone, but now Minho. Jonghyun leaves for jail soon, and I just lost a friend today. What more could go wrong?
Present
I stared solemnly out my window as those event played throughout my head as I sat on the window sill. It's been three days since everything has happened. Three days since I've seen my children, Nicole, or Minho.
My phone hasn't been touched and neither has the TV. Why should I bother? I already know what's on there. More sleazy stories being released by the person I thought I could call a friend, a sister.
News of my "scandal" was the last thing I heard or saw before I went MIA. The only connection between me and the outside world is my house phone because it plays messages out loud. So far, I've missed about ten calls. I could really care less.
The only calls I wait for are my lawyer's, my mom's, and of course, Minho's. Sadly, his call has yet to come.
As days pass, my depression increases. This lonely life isn't one I'm ever prepared for. I miss having a noisy home full of excited children and an even more excited adult. There's absolutely nothing to do without them.
As depressing thoughts fill up my head, I stare out the window wondering just how high up I am from the ground. How far of a fall would that be? Would I even be missed? Would my death even make a difference in this world? Most likely not.
Maybe child protective services were right to take my children away. I've become very not mentally stable these few days, and to be honest, I'm scaring myself. This is not the first time that these suicidal thoughts have taken over.
If I'm cooking in the kitchen, I would stare at the knife like its my only hope. Or if I'm taking a shower, I would think about how long it would take to drown myself. Or if I see a tie in my closet, I'll think about strangling myself. This is becoming so unhealthy for me. Maybe I should just end my misery.
I slowly stood up on the window sill, tuning out everything else. All that I could feel or see was myself and the view in front of me. I looked down and saw the cement, second guessing my decision. This is crazy.
I opened the window, letting in the most blissful breeze. I closed my eyes as I took it in. This was the most relaxed I'd felt in a long time.
"What the hell are you doing?!" I heard a voice scream behind me.
I turned around to see Minho running towards me. He quickly pulled me away from the window and slam the window shut before turning to me.
I squirmed beneath his grip as he said, "Are you crazy?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"Let go of me!"
"No, Key! Calm down. What were you about to do?"
I took a deep breath. "What should it matter to you anyway? You'll just leave again like you did last time! Without even hearing my side of the story. You'll just be gone like everyone else."
It was silent for a few seconds before he pulled me into a hug. "I believe you."
I paused, "What?"
"I believe everything you said about Nicole. She told me everything. After I left here, I called her expressing my anger towards you and told her we were done. Then I guess she felt bad and told me everything you told me. She said she did it because she needed the money or something like that. I completely lost my cool and headed over here to apologize." Then there was a pauses. "I heard about the kids too." That caused me to break down.
I tightened our hug as I continued to cry. "I miss them so much!"
"Then why would you even think about committing suicide?"
"Because I'm so depressed. The whole world hates me, my children probably hate me for leaving them with my mom, and you hate me. So I might as well just do everyone a favor and not exist."
Minho pulled away to look at me. He placed his thumbs on my face to wipe away my tears. "Listen to me. I don't hate you. Yes, I was mad at the time, but I could never hate you. And it wasn't your fault. I got fooled by someone I thought was my friend. Also, You know your kids love you. There's no reason for you to feel this way. I admit, that I was wrong for walking out on you before hearing you out. I was just so upset. But when I heard the news about the boys, I knew you could use some support. I'm so glad I got here in time. I don't know what I would do if you had jumped."
I sniffed. "Why did it take Nicole telling you the truth for you to believe me? Do you really not trust me?"
He sighed. "Like I said before, I was fooled. It's not that I don't trust you. It's just, Nicole has been a longtime friend of both me and you. It doesn't seem like she would do something like this. But after hearing her confess in that phone call, I knew I messed up. I'm so sorry, Key. I'm sorry for causing you pain, but you have to think about things from my perspective. Just forget about Nicole right now. How would you feel if I told you that I kissed an ex of mine? No matter what the circumstances were."
I pouted and sniffed again. "I wouldn't like it."
"Exactly, so of course I was pissed off. It feels like every time you tell me things between you and Jonghyun are done, you contradict yourself by doing something like that. You see what I mean?"
I buried my face in his chest as more sobs overcame me. "I'm so sorry, Minho! I know you won't be able to understand it, but it was something that needed to be done. It was really an official goodbye instead of a continuation. You've got to believe me."
I heard him sigh again before his grip loosened up on me. He pulled me back to look at me. "It's really hard for me to accept this, but I promise to move past this. I believe you, just......next time wouldn't a hug suffice?"
I cracked a small smile. "Of course. I'm sorry again, Minho. Ugh, my whole life is a mess. My business is out there for the whole world to see, my children are gone, and my best friend ed me over. Go figure."
He cupped my face. "Well that's why you have me. After all, I'm your superman, right?" How could he make me smile at a time like this? "I'm here to save and protect you. Let's get through this together, ok?"
I nodded and he leaned in. I stopped him right before our lips touched. "Are you sure you want to kiss me?"
He grinned. "I could never turn down kissing you, even if demon lips have touched yours." Then he gave me a lingering peck on the lips before saying, "now come on. Let's make things right."
We headed to the living room and tried to sort out all of my mess. How would I be able to fix everything? Life was just so screwed up right now, it didn't matter what I did. But Minho seemed determined.
"So we should at least go to the child protective services office and see if things are ok. It's better to go in person than call," he suggested.
"Wait. I want to do something first."
"Like what?"
"I want to confront Nicole."
"Key, I can already see this ending horribly. As you said before, you're not stable right now. And though I believe you're a sane person, your emotions are still not together get. I feel like if you see her, you're going to cause a big commotion."
I blinked. "And that's a problem?"
He took a deep breath. "Aigoo. Of course it's a problem when you're trying to get your children back." Damn he's right. "We need to focus on your kids first because they're the most important."
We left and headed to the child protective services office. Thankfully, there wasn't any paparazzi there, but I'm sure after staff members have seen me and Minho walk through the door, someone will call them.
We walked up to the help desk. "Hello, I'm Kim Kibum."
The lady looked at me once before calling someone. Then she looked at me again. "Ah, yes. Someone will be with you shortly. Please have a seat in the lobby."
"Ok, thank you."
A few minutes later, the man I saw at my mom's house came to get me. "Kim Kibum? You can come to my office." Me and Minho stood up and headed there.
We sat in the two chairs in front of his desk as he spoke. "I take it you're here for your children."
I nodded. "Of course. I was wrongly framed. I just want to know what I need to do to clear my name and see my kids again."
"Well, the good news is my team has tracked down the original post of the photos. It seems you're telling the truth. Those pictures were posted way before you even had children. We're just waiting for the executive to sign off on their release papers."
"And when will that be?"
"Maybe another couple days....or now since..... I'm the executive."
I raised my brows. "Huh?"
"You see, I believe your story. I really do. The only thing I'm concerned about is the well being of your kids. I've been with parents in the past who used to party in their teen days. They swore that part of their life was over. Then they would relapse and endanger their children, ultimately resulting in us having to take their children away from them again. How can I be sure that this won't be the same case?"
I looked at him sincerely. "Look, I could sell you on a story about how I'm the most perfect parent in the world with the most perfect life, but I'm not because that's the furthest from the truth. But what I will tell you is that I love my kids. I would give my own life for them. I know I'm not in the most favorable circumstances right now because of the media, but I swear to you I would never let anything hurt them. Honestly, the only reason most of this is happening is because someone close to me leaked this information. I've already lost a friend, please don't make me lose my children as well. Please."
The guy looked between me and Minho. "What about him?"
Minho spoke up. "Sir, I'm not the biological father, but I treat those boys as if they're my own. There's not a moment where I ever wanted to leave because my love for them grows more and more everyday. Kibum is an amazing parent. I've seen it myself. If you take those boys away from him, you wouldn't be helping them, but hurting them."
The guy stared at us a bit longer before pulling a paper out of his file cabinet. He then signed the paper and handed it to me.
"Congratulations. You'll be able to pick up your sons after you take this to the front desk."
My eyes widened with excitement. "Really?! Thank you so much!"
"You're welcome. Now go you two. Your kids are waiting."He didn't have to tell me twice.
After turning in all paperwork, we headed to my mom's house. I called her to relay the good news before arriving.
As I hopped out the car, the front door flew open revealing two squealing boys of mine.
"Umma! Minho!"
I grabbed Jongin while Minho grabbed Taemin and spun him around.
"Umma, Minho, we missed you," said Jongin.
I snuggled him as I said, "We've missed you guys too."
"Where did you guys go?"
"Umm, we had to fix some grownup problems first before we could get you two. But everything's ok now."
"Yay!"
My mom and dad walked over to me. "Umma, Appa, thanks so much for looking after them. Appa, I know we've had a rocky past, but I can't thank you enough for doing this for me."
They both smiled before he said, "You're my son. I'll do anything for you. I love you. And you too, Minho. Thank you for helping out my son. I'm not always there to protect him, but I know I don't have to worry much now because of you. So thank you."
Minho bowed with much difficulty with Taemin in his arms. "No problem, Sir. I'll always be here for your son."
I smiled before saying, "Sorry to end the sweet moment, but we need to go handle some very important stuff."
"Oh, of course," said my dad before hugging me.
My mom followed. "Stay safe, my son." I nodded then packed everyone in the car.
As we rode home, I wasn't surprised with the news on the radio.
"Kim Kibum has been spotted the leaving child protective services office earlier today. It's been previously reported that his children were taken away from his due to a report filed to protective services. Kibum seemed happy leaving the building today, so one can only assume that his kids are coming back. Congrats to him."
I shut off the radio then. At least someone's happy for me.
When we arrived home, I told the boys to go to their room while me and Minho tried to figure out the rest of things.
After awhile of talking in the living room about Nicole, the media, and Jonghyun, my phone rang. I immediately turned sour after seeing the name.
"It's Nicole."
"Don't answer it," Minho warned. However, I had another agenda.
I answered, "Hello?"
"Key? Hey, best friend! We haven't spoken in awhile. Are you ok?" So fake.
"Yeah I'm fine. I'm just watching tv. What are you doing?"
"Just checking up on you.......are you and Minho ok?"
"Yeah we're fine why wouldn't we be?"
She panicked. "Oh! No reason! I was just checking."
Minho looked at me confused as I continued. "You know, it's been so long since we've last seen each other. How about we meet up tomorrow? You can come over."
"Ummm, sure! What time?"
"Anytime's fine. Just text me."
"Ok. Got to go. I love you!"
Sure you do. "Yeah. Same." Then I hung up.
"Uhhh," said Minho. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I want to see what the little rat has to say before I let her know that I know everything. I want to watch her squirm, but ultimately, I want to see if she'll tell the truth to me. She told you, but not me."
"Don't you think she'll be a bit suspicious if I'm there?"
"No. Because you're not going to be there."
"What-"
"Minho, I can handle myself."
"But what if your emotions get the best of you?"
"You just gotta trust me on this. Me and her need to talk this out.....one on one."
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