[*Eomonim = Calling a friend’s mother]

      The moment I open the studio’s room, the back of a middle aged woman greets me. She was exactly like how I remembered – a little bit on the short side, slender, and very well dressed. She is observing my wall of merits, and my heart pumps in my chest as I hold my car keys tightly.

      I take a deep breath.

      “Eomonim.” I greet her, announcing my arrival.

      She turns around slowly, her face void of any emotions. “I’ve been waiting long.”

      “Sorry for that,” I chuckle nervously and bow in respect. The food I had this morning is suddenly rising up my throat. “I was in my apartment. I came as soon as I could.”

      She sits down on my sofa, and looks at me from head to toe. Her features masked and unreadable. “Are you living alone?”

      “Yes, I am.”

      “A young man like you should be married,” she crunches her nose. “Your parents must be devastated. Find someone and settle.”

      I grimace and bite down on my lip. “Would you like to have anything to drink? Coffee, tea, Juice-”

      “The receptionist was a good host, thank you.” She dismisses me. “Have a seat, boy. I have some things to discuss with you.”

      “Ah, Yes.” I gulp and twiddle with my fingers, sitting on the sound engineering seat. “Go ahead.”

      She crosses her legs, and looks at me square in the eyes. “Sandara is working as a dance instructor in this company. I would like to assume that you already know, seeing as you came here immediately.”

      I look down at my intertwined hands, avoiding her cold gaze.

      “She doesn’t recall anything that comes to you.” I shut my eyes tight, my chest constricting. “Nothing at all. And she is engaged to be married to Choi Seunghyun. I hope you know that.”

      “Y-yes, I know.”

      “Look at me, young man.” She orders, and I take a deep shaky breath. I raise my head, and her lips form a straight line. “What happened five years ago, I have forgiven and forgotten it. But my Sandara has just started to live again – She found a good man, a good job, and a stable future. I don’t want her to sacrifice her happiness for a short lived spark of young infatuation. I hope we’re on the same page.”

      “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

      “Don’t play dumb with me.” She snaps. “Choi Seunghyun told me how you’re sabotaging their engagement.”

      “With all due respect, I am far from sabotaging anything. No matter how you see it,” I clench my fists, and force myself to speak. “I have always loved your daughter.”

      “I know.” Her eyes soften. “And she loved you too. But not all love stories have to end in forever. What we want and what we need in life are very contradicting.”

      “I can provide her everything she needs – everything Choi Seunghyun can, and even more. I’m not the same kid from five years ago.”

      “Son,” She sighs, and her face softens even more. “I have nothing against you, so don’t think I’m trying to warn you away. My daughter’s wedding is in a couple of months. Trying anything before will not be enough time for her to make a logical decision, and it will harm her. The time it needs for people with history like yours is years. By then, she’ll be in a legal relationship with her husband. If you hold on, it will hurt you both.”

      “I’m willing to do anything for her.”

      “No,” she stresses. “I’m not willing to sacrifice my daughter’s happiness twice.”

      “Please.” I plead, my eyes stinging as I hold back the tears. “I love her. You cannot imagine how grateful I am that God has given me a second chance with her. How I spent these past five years, I don’t know. I don’t want to sabotage anything in her life, I just want to make it better. With me in it. Please, I beg you.”

      “Kwon Jiyong,” She shakes her head, biting her lower lip. “It’s not what you can and can’t do. It’s what Sandara isn’t capable of.”

      “Please.”

      “I’m sorry. I hope my daughter’s wedding goes as planned.”

      With that, she picks herself up and proceeds to the door. I’m rooted in place, unable to say anything to stop her. Or do anything, for that matter. Grabbing the closest thing to me, which happens to be my lyric book, I throw it across the room in frustration.

      What the hell was I trying to do? Convince the mom of the girl I love to let me delude her daughter into an affair we’re already having, even though she’s engaged to be married in the next couple of months? Way to go Kwon, you’ve ed up your chances even more now.

      “ this.” I take out a cigarette from my pocket, and plop it between my mouth, sighing. My heart beats wildly, and I blow out a cloud of white toxic smoke. Little did she know that her daughter is currently in my house.

      “Was that Dara’s mother, or am I hallucinating?” Youngbae helps himself inside, and I notice Lee Seunghyun tagging along, sunglasses and caps covering both their faces. Youngbae plops himself on the seat opposite of me, whereas the other occupies the sofa, face first.

      “It was.” I mumble.

      “What was she doing here?” He takes a sip out of his coffee cup, eyes boring into mine.

      “She wants me away from Dara.”

      “Hyung, she is engaged after all…”

      “I don’t care.” I snap at him, “Just sleep your hangover away or something. I’m not up for another person reminding me of her fiancé.”

      “But hyung-”

      “Shut up, Panda.”

      “Don’t vent out on the poor guy,” Youngbae kicks my foot. “You and I both know he’s right.”

      “Youngbae,” I scowl, pointing my cigarette at him. “Please. Not today.”

      “I’m in favor of being the supporting friend, but I still think you’re making a big mistake.” He raises his hands up in surrender, and I roll my eyes. “Whatever. You’re still going to do whatever you want to, so I’m not going to waste my breath.”

      I take a deep breath, and the thing that has been bugging me the most from the earlier conversation pops up in my mind. Dragging another round of tobacco, I face Youngbae. “Choi Seunghyun told her I’m sabotaging his ‘relationship’ with Dara.”

      He raises his brow, “The only thing you’re sabotaging is your sanity.”

      Seunghyun chortles from the sofa, and I try to ignore him.  “Focus with me, Bae. He’s ing blaming me that Dara doesn’t want him. How dare he!”

      “But you are stepping in the middle of their relationship, Jiyong. For all you know, they were happily engaged before you came in the picture.”

      “Dara Noona did tell me that Choi Seunghyun was a dreamy fiancé when we first met.”

      “Lee Seunghyun, I swear if you don’t shut up right now-”

      “He’s right, Ji.” Youngbae cuts me off, and I glare at him. “Look. I’m not telling you you’re the axes of evil or whatever irrational thoughts are going through your mind right now. I’m just saying, I love Dara as a friend, but she’s doing you more harm than good.”

      “I can’t let him win this time round, Bae.” I scoff. “What am I? A push-over?”

      “Is this about Dara or your unresolved hatred for Choi Seunghyun now?” Youngbae asks, and I frown, because that is exactly what Dara had said yesterday.

      “I love Sandara.”

      “I think we’ve all realized that, hyung.”

      “What do you want out of this – to win her over and love peacefully, or to take what Choi Seunghyun took away from you?”

      “That’s not a valid question,” I scowl, taking a drag of the cigarette.

      “Yes, it is actually.” He frowns, tilting his head. “And the fact that you don’t want to entertain that question, or that your answer wasn’t to just win over Sandara, means that you have to sort out your priorities. Fast.”

      Relieving a bunch of smoke into the dim recording studio. “Who are you? My shrink? I know what I want out of this.”

      “Do you know what you want out of this?”

      “I want to win her over from that Choi Seunghyun.”

      “Why is Choi Seunghyun still in the equation?” He lets out a frustrated cry. I take a deep breath, my hands shaking and my eyes seeing red,