Jo Min Hee reminded Jong Kook that the higher ups had set up a meeting with him, and he groaned in response, knowing what’s coming next. He knew that his magazine was still not number one, which is what he promised his father and his aunts and uncle, who were also members of the board. He massaged his temple with his right hand in frustration, planning on what he’s going to say, or as his father would call it, an “excuse” he’s going to come up with.

If Jong Kook was honest with himself, he would’ve done something that involves music as his career. His mother had approved it, secretly, of course, since his father had pushed him into attending a business school. Business. A term that had been ingrained in his mind since he was a small child. From when he was a little boy playing in his father’s office, to when he was a high schooler and his father couldn’t attend his graduation because he was abroad for a meeting with important clients, and finally, in his mother’s bedside, before she passed away, his father was outside because he received an urgent call. He wondered why or how the company became more valuable to his father more than their own family. His mother, on the other hand, had always been there for him, always been so supportive of his interests.

Music. His mother had considered herself his biggest fan when it comes to music. When she was diagnosed with cancer and was confined on bedrest, she told him when was the first time she realized that music was his calling.

“When you were five years old, you would always sing to me on the spot,” she told him, smiling. He nodded and enveloped her hand in his. “You would either be pretending to be serenading us or you were some sort of rockstar.”

They both laughed; his mother is weak but her smile is still lively. “Promise me that you won’t be hard on yourself like your father is. Continue doing what you love and fight for it. I love you, son.”

He strode to the board room, his hand fixed on his tie. He entered the room and bowed to his elders.

“Jong Kook,” his father’s younger sister, Kim Hae Sook greeted him. She had always favored him, since she was close to his mother, too. He sent a small smile and a slight nod her way.

Jong Kook then set up his presentation, which included plans for the company, both short term and long term. The oldest of the four siblings, Kim Ga Young, twiddled her thumbs as she watched her nephew talk about strategies and whatnot. He animatedly talked for a few minutes, remembering to tell the positive reviews and the areas that needed to be worked on further.

Kim Ga Young cut him from speaking further. “Are you having troubles with your company?” she asked.

“In fact, our line of malls are in need of some fresh capital for expansion. We want to bring it internationally,” his uncle, Kim In Tak, commented. “The way I see it, instead of putting our money on Queue Publishing, we should just invest on building up more malls.”

“But uncle-”

“It’s nothing personal, Jong Kook,” Kim In Tak said. “It’s just that I’m looking into a bigger picture here. It will be more beneficial if we put in the money into a sure thing.”

Jong Kook shifted in his spot in front of the room. He looked down and balled his fist.

Kim Ga Young chimed in, “We’ve already said it before. Reviving the publishing company is going to be nothing but a costly mistake.”

Jong Kook’s eyes scanned the room and found his father, his back to everyone else, looking out the window. He knows that he was just trying to find a good time to criticize his plans. His eyes also saw Kim Hae Sook, who smiled at him, urging him to go on.

“I still don’t understand why it’s only my publishing company you’re always attacking-” Jong Kook started.

His father, Kim Byeong Soo, the second oldest, finally spoke up. “Bottom line is, you’re still the weakest link, Jong Kook. What else can you do? What went wrong? Was it a mistake giving you your own company?”

“You can’t take it away from me,” Jong Kook said.

“Actually, we can. We gave it to you because you asked to have your own. But remember, we can take it away any time we want especially now, you can’t even show us that you can do better. That there’s hope. You can’t always just accept being second, Jong Kook,” his father said.

“It’s not just the money, Jong Kook,” his father continued. “It’s also our family name on the line.”

“I know that very well, Father,” he looked at the old man. “Just give me another chance-”

“You’ve asked for one like that before,” Kim In Tak said.

Kim Hae Sook couldn’t help but look after her beloved nephew. “Come on, it’s not like it’s the end of the world if the publishing company isn’t in the number one spot right now,” she said, looking over in Jong Kook’s direction. “You all know it takes time when it comes to business. Me with my airlines, you and your malls, or whatever didn’t happen overnight. Give Jong Kook another chance and let’s just move on.”

Kim In Tak shook his head. He knew that Hae Sook would forever be on their nephew’s side. He glanced over at his older brother, who gave him a nod to continue on.

“Fine. One last chance,” Kim In Tak said. “You better not mess this up or you’re going back to working under one of us.”

His father stood up. “Are we done here?”

Kim Ga Young said, “It’s been a long day.” She then stood up and followed her younger brothers out the door.

It was only Kim Jong Kook and Kim Hae Sook who were left behind. She then came nearer to where’s Jong Kook’s at, who was arranging his papers and laptop back in his bag. She put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze.

“It’ll get better, Jong Kook,” she said. “You know I’ll always back you up, right?”

He laughed and hugged his aunt. “Of course. Thank you, by the way, for standing up for me earlier.”

“Hey, don’t thank me yet. You need to pick yourself up from your slump, all right? Or else, you’ll be working under me. You like planes, don’t you?” she laughed when he shook his head playfully.

“But really. Thank you, Aunt Hae Sook.”

~

Ji Hyo approached the three middle-aged women who were sitting and talking amongst themselves in one of the restaurant-tent she found in the street. She asked them if she could photograph them for the magazine, and they were quick to oblige to her. Just as she was about to continue, another woman, who was holding two plates of food on each hand, came forward and set down the plates on the table. As the woman got a closer look at Ji Hyo, a loud guffaw erupted from her.

“Well, if it isn’t our favorite girl, Song Ji Hyo,” the woman said.

Ji Hyo then took a step back, realizing who the woman was.

“Aren’t you at least going to greet your favorite stepmom? How’s by beloved husband’s daughter?”

She balled her fists, her nails poking her palm quite hard, and tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

“I should get going,” Ji Hyo said, bowing to the women. She then set off running, her camera bouncing on her chest, and eyes blurring due to unshed tears.

“Come on! Take a seat, oh, unwanted one!” Ji Hyo heard the woman call out to her.

She wiped the tears on her eyes as she stopped running, her legs finally giving up on her. She looked around and found herself standing in the middle of an empty street, a lone streetlight was above her. She sat down and finally let herself cry, her sweater getting more and more damp as her tears flowed freely.

A part of her wants to scream and shout, and another part of her wants to kick herself in the for reacting in such a childish way. She should be over it, right? It’s been more than ten years ago and everyone else moved on. Well, except her. But how does one even get over the fact that they had been abandoned not by one, but by both parents?

She couldn’t even remember the time when her family had been together happily. She was about thirteen years old when her father and mother got into a major argument, the one that made her father leave the house for good. Her mother, on the other hand, got a call from one of her friends, offering her a job in America. A job offer that she accepted immediately. She found out later on, because of a slip of the tongue of her caretaker, which was her mother’s good friend, that her father had left them to be with his mistress. She was sixteen years old when she finally had a good look at her father and his mistress. She was far away from the two, but she will never forget the way her heart constricted as she saw him with her.

It was by a letter how she was told by her mother that she had found a good man, and started their own family along with his kids from his previous marriage. She explained to Ji Hyo that it would be hard for her to get to America because she wasn’t of age to be petitioned. Her mother simply asked her to continue her studies and that she would send her a monthly sustenance for her needs. Ji Hyo let it all happen, because, who is she going to kid? None of her parents will come back for her. She’s finally accepted that fact after countless sleepless nights she spent crying. She was going to be okay. She was okay.

Maybe it was some unseen nerve that was struck when she saw that woman again today. Maybe it was the universe’s way of telling her that she’s lucked out. She sniffled and reached for her phone inside her purse. She tucked away some of her hair that covered her face, each ring on the phone making her more and more agitated, that she started pacing around.

“Hey, are you still at work?”

~

“Hello?” he answered his phone. “Yes, I am. What do you need?” He rubbed his eye and dragged himself to stand up to keep himself from falling asleep. “Yes, I understand. Yes. Bye.”

He sighed to himself. Why do problems about the company always follow him home?

Jong Kook walked to the kitchen to get himself a glass of water. He was almost finished gulping down his water when he noticed the sticky note stuck on his fridge. He yanked it from its spot and then shook his head, obviously chastising himself for not remembering it earlier. He stood in front of his fridge for a few more seconds, contemplating whether to head out or leave the errand for tomorrow.

“Whatever,” he muttered, crumpling the piece of paper and tossing it in the trash. He then grabbed his jacket and headed out the door.

~

He quickly got what he needed at the convenience store and paid for his items. On his way out, he held the door for an elder and he bowed his head when she thanked him. Jong Kook decided to walk to his house in the longer route, so he could make up for his hours lost in exercising. He was whistling to himself, completely lost in his surroundings, when his ears perked up, thinking he heard a familiar voice. He narrowed his eyes at the figure at the end of the street, and he smiled to himself when he realized that he was probably right. It was Ji Hyo, her camera hung around her neck and she was... frantic? He slowly approached her when he heard her voice get panicky over the phone.

“Hey, are you still at work? Please call me back soon,” he heard her say. She stood under the streetlight which shone on her face, revealing her tear-stained face.

“Ji Hyo?” he called out to her softly.

She jumped slightly, not even realizing who the stranger drawing closer to her. “Who's there?”

“It's me, Kim Jong Kook,” he told her quickly, noticing that she was slowly backing away.

She held her chest, then looked at him closely. “Oh. You scared me.”

Jong Kook then gave her his handkerchief, which she took gratefully. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah,” she lied. “I'll give this back to you after I wash it, okay?” They both sat on the sidewalk to get away from the middle of the street.

“No, it's fine. Keep it,” he told her. “Are you sure there's nothing wrong?”

When there was no response, he put an unsure arm around her, in which she molded into almost immediately. He rubbed her shoulders, as if silently telling her he'll be there to comfort her. After a few sniffles and a deep breath, she nodded against him.

They stayed in their position for a few more seconds when he felt her slowly detaching herself from his embrace.

“What are you even doing out here?” he asked. “Isn't it too late?”

She held up the camera. “I was taking shots for the latest issue. It just...” she took a deep breath. “I just encountered someone I wasn’t expecting. That’s all.” She mustered up a small smile, one that was met with a scrunched forehead.

He then lifted a hand to her face, and softly wiped off the lone tear that fell once more. He was unsure why he did that, but he just felt like it was the natural thing to do when he sees someone he cares about crying. Wait, “cares about”?

She smiled at him. It was a sad smile, a smile he was all too familiar with. He was about to ask her once more when she suddenly took his hand in hers. “Thank you,” she said to him.

He nodded at her and squeezed her hand. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

“I just don’t think it’s right to talk to my boss about my problems,” she told him, laughing. Her laugh is still music to his ears. When she saw his brow shot up, she said, “I’m still technically working.” She held up the camera once more then looked down at the uneven pavement.

He looked around, then made a move to take off the camera from her neck. He set it aside and gestured for her to start talking. “Well, now we’re just Jong Kook and Ji Hyo.”

She smiled for a split second then sighed. “Do you ever feel like you just don’t belong anywhere?”

Hey, guys! I'd just like to thank everyone who's still reading my story! :)