It's so ugly towards the end, I'm so ashamed and I have nothing to say in my defense, I'm so SO sorry, and if you feel you should give up at this point I won't blame you. I'm sorry I disappointed you.

*

Eunji went to Sung Jae’s school after the date with a rather warm heart and a smile on her lips. It’s been a good day. A perfect one, perhaps, if not for the slight flicker of guilt in her heart which she ignored for the time being. The date went on surprisingly well, maybe a lot better than any of the last dates had turned out to be, and soon she found herself looking forward for the second, and possibly even some more to follow. It wasn’t only that Howon was an incredibly gracious man. He was, in fact. He was kind and generous and fun to be with, with all his snarky remarks, thick sarcasm and honest manner of expressing himself, all of which Eunji truly liked. It was also that he was a man she was really familiar with, despite having met only once in strange circumstances, months ago at the Christmas get together, he was someone she’d heard of so much, by both Woohyun and Sung Gyu as their stringent and stern team leader, and for this reason she knew him a lot more than he knew her. Because of that, during their short time together, Eunji could actually see through him. True to their words, he was a man with very little to say but so much expressed with even a slightest arch of his brows or a lopsided smile. And she understood him. It made their conversations easier, and easy to flow. She found herself warming up to him, and soon it occurred, that it might even work out in the end.

The flicker of guilt, however, was that she wasn’t exactly ready yet, to let go of the love she had for Kim Sung Gyu. It was something which has grown and nurtured over the course of time they’ve spent together, which was considerably long, thus she wasn’t quite sure if it was possible to snap it off its roots. Eunji looked over at the still empty entrance of the school and sighed. If only she had nipped it off the buds when it had just sprouted. Unfortunately for her, back then, it hadn’t really occurred to her that her strange obsession and fascination with the other was in fact love. Not until the sprout has grown its root deep and it has blossomed like the spring, and now, it was too late.

The final bell of the school rang loud enough that it echoed over the expanse of the school grounds, and so Eunji climbed out of her car and waited by the entrance, a practice she followed ever since she learned Yoora was liable to be waiting at the entrance way, ready to snatch the child and flee. She hadn’t turned up in ages, nonetheless, which made the situation even scarier. Not knowing what she was up to was dreadful than seeing what she was doing and being unable to put an end to it.

Eunji sat on one of the plastic waiting chairs and let out a sigh. For how long was she going to be doing this? Picking up her favorite kid, going to her favorite place, waiting for her favorite person to come home just to see him smile even on the worst of his days and feel her heart fill in pleasure? She’s getting older, and the day she would put an end to all of this and move into a new life was getting nearer. Though in her wildest fantasies, the man she would end up with was Kim Sung Gyu, she also knew that it wasn’t how the reality was going to be. Sung Gyu was going to take his own path, whatever it was going to be, and Eunji was most probably going to marry someone who wasn’t Kim Sung Gyu, and the last time they’d part ways afterwards will indeed be the final time they meet, and everything which has happened up to that day will only end up in their shared history.

This thought gave her the shivers. Regardless, she’s come to realize the truth. Woohyun was right. Sung Gyu was right. She had a life, one that was different and completely disconnected from that of Kim Sung Gyu, though they had tiniest, inconceivable strings attaching them to one another. One day, those strings will snap. She needed to build her life on her own. And for that, as an initial, she needed a job.

As if on cue then, something hung on the wall before her caught her eyes. It wasn’t anything so special; it was a sizeable piece of paper, a notice hung up on the notice board. What caught her attention was the large bold lettering which immediately drew her towards it. It was a vacancy for an immediate recruitment, the position was a child counsellor.

Eunji held a degree in child psychology, one that she’s been carrying with pride but hadn’t landed her on many jobs except for a few menial ones which had only ended up in disaster. But this one, she realized, was worth a try. It gave her a strange, good feeling. It was going to be a day job, which only lasted until the school ended. Then afterwards, she’d be free to spend all of that time with her favorite pair at her favorite place. Now that she wasn’t obligated to serve that part of running errands at the Kims, she didn’t have to sit on her bored bum in the empty house until it was time to pick up Sung Jae from school. She can actually expend that spare time on doing an actual job, earning money and be close to Sung Jae in the same time. It was a win-win situation. So, she quickly pulled her phone out and snapped a few clear photographs of the poster so that she could apply for the job when she was free. But first, she would confide in her employer.

“Baby sitter!” Called a loud, cheery voice all of a sudden, and she was shoved to a side by the force of the hug she was being pulled in to. Unaware to her, the kids have fled out the gate, so had Sung Jae, and was now holding her in a bone crushing hug.

“Oh! It’s the little guy who took subway for the first time!” Eunji greeted with a laughter as Sung Jae pulled away. “Had a good day?”

“Yup!” Sung Jae responded enthusiastically, and made a face. “But I’m hungry. All the travelling has made me hungry”

Eunji chuckled and held out her free hand which he happily grabbed. “Let’s go home then, I’m sure grandma has cooked you a feast”

Upon going home, however, they did find a feast for the kings cooked up and set out in the kitchen for them, but Sung Gyu’s parents were hurriedly getting into their coats, his mother meddling about with her new phone, trying to figure out how it worked while loudly complaining. They did say they were staying the day so that they could leave to their home together with Sung Gyu, so upon seeing they were ready to go somewhere, Eunji was surprised.

“Mrs. Kim? Is everything okay?” Eunji questioned as she stepped into the threshold, Sung Jae cheerfully following behind them, and he soon went and grabbed onto his grandfather, who laughed and picked him up with a grunt.

“Oh, Eunji-ah! Just the person we needed!” Exclaimed Sung Gyu’s mother with a flurry and approached her on hurried feet. “Eunji, my dear, Sung Gyu’s sister just called, she’s fallen sick and there’s nobody to look after the kids, so I’m afraid we have to leave soon” She explained urgently. “I was trying to reach Sung Gyu over the phone to tell him, but this darned gadget wouldn’t work! Can you tell him that we had to leave first?”

“Oh, that’s okay, I’ll tell him that” Eunji smiled warmly in return. “I’m sure he will understand”

“Lovely” Sung Gyu’s mother smiled and touched her cheek gently. Then, as if it suddenly occurred to her, she widened her eyes. “Oh, and tell Sung Gyu that he didn’t need to come over. We’d most likely be in Hapjeong, at Jieun’s place for the next few days. Besides, I don’t want him driving at night…oh, and just make sure he’s safe and happy, Eunji-ah. That child doesn’t know how to take care of himself”

Eunji’s heart warmed at the trust his parents were putting on her, and gave them a smile. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Kim. I’ll take good care of him, and also won’t let him drive”

“You’re so kind” His mother smiled. “Well then, we’d better dash. Good bye, Eunji! Don’t forget to call him!”

Sung Jae was soon set back on the ground and Sung Gyu’s parents gave them a last wave before they fled out the house. Sung Jae stared after them longingly, and let out a sigh. “They are going to play with the nasty kids” he complained under his breath and stomped away into the kitchen. Eunji just shook her head, amused, pulled out her phone and dialed Sung Gyu’s number, who picked up the phone soon and basically yelled at her on the other end. “What now Woohyun!?!”

“Boss” Eunji sighed, the two have started bickering again. “It’s me, Eunji”

There was a rustle on the other end, which she assumed was him checking the caller ID, and when he spoke next, he sounded milder. “Oh, Miss Jung. What’s up?”

Eunji soon went into explaining everything that she was told, and was responded with Sung Gyu’s slightly disappointed sigh. “Ah, so they already left?”

“I’m afraid so…”

“Okay” Sung Gyu muttered in the end. “I’m going to be a bit late to come home, anyway, since I have to take the train. You’d be okay, yeah?”

“Absolutely” She glanced over at Sung Jae in the kitchen, dejectedly dumping steamed rise into a bowl. “Well, I’d be off then. Take care, boss, see you at night!”

“Wait-!” Sung Gyu’s voice echoed suddenly, stopping her from cutting the line.

“Hm? What?”

Sung Gyu was hesitant on the other end, and after a moment, he said. “Can you stay a little longer, tonight? There’s something we need to talk about”

“Okay” Eunji agreed, curiosity already rising inside her. “I can spare a few minutes, I guess. I’ll tell Woohyun”

“Thank you Eunji” Sung Gyu said with a sigh of relief. “Well, see you later then”

The line went dead soon, and Eunji found herself smiling creepily down at her phone, at his phone ID, the contact photo which was one of Sung Gyu she had taken unaware to him, when he was found sound asleep sprawled across the sofa. His eyes were shut tight, his eyelashes resting softly on his slightly round cheeks. He looked like a baby. When she realized what she was doing, she quickly put her phone away and looked over at the kitchen entrance. There was another baby who really needed her right at this moment, a baby who needed a little cheering the most.

*

Work ended surprisingly soon, that day, or Sung Gyu put an end to them surprisingly soon, whatever goes. Soon he found himself stuffing his belongings into his shoulder bag while simultaneously sipping on the last of his coffee, eager to go home. He had checked on the train schedule just now, and the next one was in another ten minutes, but since it was the busy hours, Sung Gyu decided to take the bus. He wasn’t sure of which ones he needed to take, but he could ask around.

“Woohyun-ah” Sung Gyu called from the doorway of the cubicle, and the subject in question poked his head out from his own cubicle, and then stepped fully out of it. “Ah hyung, you’re going? Good, I was just about to leave as well”

“I want to know what buses to take home, I don’t want to take the subway again”

“Bus?” Woohyun raised his brows. “Hyung, I was thinking of giving you a ride home. I know how these public transport is like for you” He grinned.

“No, it’s fine, Woohyun, I live on the opposite end” Sung Gyu explained, but Woohyun shook his head.

“No, Hyung. I’ll drop you off. Besides I have to pick Eunji and stuff”

Sung Gyu looked at Woohyun, cocking his head to a side, perplexed. “But she drove herself there. You’re obviously taking the bus”

“Nope, I have a ride” Woohyun grinned. “Come on!”

It turned out that Woohyun was getting a freeride from Sung Yeol because the man has lost a bet, and Sung Gyu was unintentionally (Or intentionally, judging it’s Woohyun) dragged into their loud and stupid banter. He sat in the back of the car grumpily while Sung Yeol and Woohyun loudly argued over one thing or the other, all of which made no sense to him. But at least he got a freeride, even though Sung Yeol wasn’t so happy providing it.

“You could have gone home with Myung Soo” Sung Yeol pointed out to him at some point. “The guy practically lives next door, hyung! Use your good resources”

“His crazy brother is stalking my baby sitter” Sung Gyu grumbled from the back seat, his arms folded on his chest as he tiredly leaned against the door. “The last thing I want to be is sitting in Myung Soo’s car with that maniac, pestering me about her”

“Ah, so this is better??” Sung Yeol asked, but all before Sung Gyu could respond, a second voice started screaming at him. “Myung Soo’s crazy brother is stalking Eunji? What the hell hyung!?!”

“Geeze, Woohyun” Sung Gyu rolled his eyes. “Do you have a sister-in-law complex or something?”

Ever since the Howon-and-Eunji-on-a-date thing happened, Woohyun’s been all petty and crazy possessive over Eunji that Sung Gyu was beginning to think that Woohyun had some sort of an obsession of her. But then it turned out that Eunji’s sister, Eunmi, wasn’t exactly a softy and she tended to become a little crazy if something bad happened to her little sister, and Woohyun was left the responsible one of her as her brother in law so whatever happened to Eunji, Woohyun was liable to get the end for it.

Regardless, because of Sung Yeol’s (Loud and ungrateful) free ride, Sung Gyu was able to reach home soon. With a big smile and a long sigh of relief, Sung Gyu entered his home, breathed in the warm homey scent of food and detergent and his kid and Eunji, removed his shoes and entered the living room, only to find a fort of sofa cushions, bedsheets, curtains and lamps concocted in the middle of the room and the two small culprits huddled inside a sizeable tent they’ve built, conversing in sharp whispers and doing whatever kids these days did. If it was another time, Sung Gyu would have gotten livid over them destructing his living room. But over the time he’s grown fond of the kind of games they played and he found it to be a relief to find his living room destroyed, as if it was a sign that someone in his home was having a good time that he wasn’t. Sung Gyu rid of his jacket and left his bag in the hallways and tiptoed into the room quietly so as not to disturb the two quiet tent dwellers. He then slowly peeked into the tent where both Eunji and Sung jae still hadn’t caught a sign of him and called her name in a loud whisper. “Eunji”

Eunji looked up and yelped, startled, Sung Jae almost dropped the energy bar he was nibbling on and stared at his father as if he had grown two horns.

“Boss! What the hell?” Eunji exclaimed and Sung Gyu frowned in return. “Money to the swear jar” He pointed into the tent. “Enough space for me to slip in?”

Hearing his father asking this brought a delightful smile upon the child’s lips. Sung Jae quickly scooted to a side, leaving space for his father to sit. Though it was cramped inside the fort, it was cozy and nice. But it didn’t help that he was sitting right next to Eunji which was too close for his liking. He sat on the floor, legs crossed, and Sung Jae offered him an energy bar which he accepted with gratitude.

“I thought you’d be late” Eunji pointed out to him.

“I was going to be” Sung Gyu explained. “But I got a ride”

“From whom?” Eunji raised her brows.

“Sung Yeol. He’s lost a bet with Woohyun. And ah, Woohyun’s there to pick you up, but he’s down getting some coffee or something, I told him to take his time”

“Because we have to talk?”

“Yup” Sung Gyu nodded, and settled cozily inside the tent. Sung Jae leaned against him and rested his head on his shoulder. Out of reflex, Sung Gyu brought him into his arms and the child clutched onto him like a koala cub, nestling warmly into his embrace.

“So, what do you want to talk about?”

Ever since he got back to work after lunch, Sung Gyu was consumed largely by his own thoughts. He was thinking of lots of things, and more than half of them were about her, Jung Eunji. In the wake of the recent events, he’s realized something, something which he strongly refused to acknowledge let alone think about, but he had to, for the sake of her and himself, and that was that he had developed an unhealthy infatuation about the other. It was subtle at first, with occasional wonderings and heeding her a large amount of concern, but then as the time passed, he had found himself thinking about her more frequently; he’d been missing her, strangely, even though he’d met her just a few hours ago. A sense of longing that he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. It happened that hers was the face he always wanted to see, the voice he wanted to hear and the one person he wanted to share a conversation with all the time, an obsession, he later supposed, that needed to be slowly put a limit to, or even an end to, if they both wanted to live a peaceful life. Thus, he took the first initiative, and that was to convince her to find a job. He knew what come after convincing her to stop working for him, which he’d leave aside for the moment to think about in another time, at a time when his heart and mind was more at peace.

Besides, she was said to be arranged for a marriage. And how was that supposed to work if she was stuck in a menial, unprofessional job? If marriage happened to not work for her owing to her less-known occupation, Sung Gyu would forever be ridden in guilt. Therefore, it was all for the best.

And this was what he revealed to her in a soft, hushed voice while his son gently drifted off to sleep in his arms.

“A job you say?” Eunji asked in a whisper, resting Sung Jae’s long legs in her lap. “Strange, I was actually thinking of the same”

This, came to Sung Gyu as a mild shocker. “You were?”

“Mmhm! In fact, I’ve got this perfect plan”

Sung Gyu arched his brows, having very little to no faith on whatever dumb plan she’s come up with. “And what’s that?”

“Well, before that, don’t you think it’s strange we thought of the same thing at the same time?” Eunji asked, feigning innocence as she picked on her fingers. “Maybe we have telepathic powers”

“Yeah?” Sung Gyu scoffed. “Then what am I thinking right now?”

He was thinking how he really wished they had telepathic powers. He really wished that they had their minds connected somehow so that it would become an excuse for the obsession of Eunji that he had. But Eunji wouldn’t figure out that, of course, because they indeed hadn’t telepathic powers.

“You’re thinking that we probably do have telepathic powers”

It was a close one, but Sung Gyu was glad it wasn’t as close as what he thought. “I was thinking of how dumb you are” Sung Gyu retorted, and in the silence that followed, the cheerful ambiance dissipated.

“So why did you think I should get a job?” Eunji asked all of a sudden, her eyes searching in his face. “It’s not Woohyun, obviously”

He wasn’t going to divulge in her how he wanted to stop obsessing over her but there was one thing that he could tell her. “Because Woohyun said you’re going to get married soon, and not having a job declines the prospects of finding a good match, Eunji”

“That’s good then” Eunji said with a flourish. “I don’t want to get married anyway”

“Don’t be silly” Sung Gyu chided, ignoring the slight flicker of hope ignited in his chest. “You say it now but later when everyone around you is married, then you’d regret it”

“Are you going to be married, boss?” Eunji asked, raising her brows, and Sung Gyu found himself stammering his answer. “N-no, but that’s a different case”

“Well then, I wouldn’t too” Eunji mumbled, her sad pout not waning off. Sung Gyu felt a slight tug on his heart, and he hated it, how her confession made him feel relieved. But what did that mean? What did anything mean anyway? Sung Gyu would have to let go of her sooner or later and what he should be doing right now was preparing himself for that day, not having expectations of her still taking care of a twenty-year-old Sung Jae when Sung Gyu’s hit his old age. So, he quickly changed the topics, simply because Eunji’s impending marriage was a topic he’d rather not indulge.

“Anyway, what’s this brilliant plan you came up with?” Sung Gyu asked.

“Oh! Yes, that” Eunji responded, fumbled around in the claustrophobic space of the makeshift tent and finally located her handphone. She tapped away for a second, the light from the screen illuminating her concentrated face. Soon she located what she was looking for and showed the phone to him. There was a photograph of what seemed like a notice or a poster, and in bold lettering, it said; ‘Immediate vacancy for a child counsellor’

“I found it on Sung Jae’s school’s notice board. They’re recruiting soon, it seems” Eunji explained animatedly. “And it’s a perfect job! Flexible working hours, and there won’t be a lot to do, except for speaking to problematic children. But that’s something I’m good at. Besides, I’d be around Sung Jae that whole time so he could find me when he needs me. And after school, I can come here and look after him, make dinner and all that stuff” Eunji ended her long and exhilarated account at that note, and looked up at Sung Gyu expectantly. For a moment, she looked like a little girl who just spoke excitedly about playing tea party. Sung Gyu gulped hard. It was indeed a good plan, one that he could give her credit for. But it also didn’t solve his problem. It didn’t keep her from coming to his house and into his life less. It will change nothing. But Sung Gyu could hardly bring himself to say anything. Judging by how happy and expectant she seemed right now, telling her something so…heartless would only crush her little dreams. So, he only laughed in response. “Why do you like Sung Jae so much? He isn’t even a fun kid”

Eunji smiled shyly and dropped her hands into her lap. “Well, I don’t know. I just like being around him, I guess”

And I like being around you too. Sung Gyu’s mind responded, and he shook his head vigorously in an attempt to shake off the unnecessary thoughts.

“So, what do you think?” Eunji pressed on, and stared at him in that expectant expression even longer, and he felt like he was being put on a pedestal by everyone taking his opinion as important.

“It doesn’t sound half as bad” Sung Gyu shrugged so as to not to give her too much of conviction. “You can put some thought into it and do as you please”

“It is how I please!” Eunji chirped on happily, making him feel even worse. And then she frowned, possibly noticing Sung Gyu’s discomfiture. “Oh, but you don’t have to pay me for taking care of Sung Jae if I get the job. Just consider it’s a favor”

“Right” Sung Gyu nodded, reminding himself that he had to pull off a stunt yet again to convince her otherwise, but then he would have to leave it for another time, until he had a good enough a plan which would actually work. For the time being, he supposed, it was good enough.

“Oh, look, he’s asleep!” Eunji whispered softly, all of a sudden, as if she noticed the sleeping child only then. “Aw, this is so adorable! Look at him clutching you like a baby monkey, he’s so cute!”

Sung Gyu frowned at her choice of words addressing his son and cuddled his boy even further. “That’s because he’s my son” He replied haughtily.

“Pbft” Eunji rolled her eyes and looked back at the child before she pulled out her phone and began to snap photos of the soundly napping boy. “These are going up on my sns. People need to see how cute the kid I’m baby-sitting is”

“Maybe they want to see how cute the guy who’s kid you’re babysitting is” Sung Gyu said and tried to force his face into her phone as well, but Eunji fought back, moving the phone away and telling something about people leaving her sns when they’d see a totally average face. They bickered on for a while, about faces and likes and sns and everything unrelated to the predicaments between them at that moment, things they didn’t want to talk about. After a while, then, they both found themselves staring at Sung Jae’s peaceful sleeping face.

“This is weird” Eunji whispered as she gently reached out and fixed Sung Jae’s soft curls with her fingertips. “Sung Jae looks like you the most when he sleeps”

“How would you know? you haven’t seen me sleep”

Eunji grinned. “Why, you always look like you’re sleeping” she said, and did a very bad mimicking of his face with narrowed eyes and pouted lips that he shoved her away.

“Anyway” Eunji went on once she settled down. “He still has Yoora’s nose. That doesn’t go unnoticed”

The playful atmosphere shifted then, and so did Sung Gyu’s mind. He found himself mulling over what she just told him. Of course, Sung Jae indeed had Yoora’s perfectly sculptured nose. But that surely wasn’t all that he has gotten from her. There had to be more. As much as Sung Jae looked and acted a lot like him, there had to be something deep inside which screamed Yoora, something which he hadn’t noticed just yet. What if it was her anger? Her impulsive nature? What if it was her habit of suddenly changing her mind about things or her avid manipulativeness? Of course, Yoora also had certain good qualities to her as well. She was talented, ambitious, she was a born fighter; she had this significant presence that wherever she went, she shined. Sung Gyu wouldn’t mind if he had happened to have gotten all of these good qualities from her. But he truly didn’t want this innocent child to grow up and one day be pushing and pulling people around as he pleased and playing manipulative games on others, playing people, like his mother did. And the thought of this always worried him.

So he addressed the one person who would have all the answers he soughed after. “Eunji” Sung Gyu called and Sung Jae’s hair distractedly.

“Yeah?”

Sung Gyu swallowed hard. “What else do you think Sung Jae’s gotten from his mother?”

Sung Gyu dreaded the answer, but Eunji, as always, had the perfect things to say. “He’s gotten her creativity, obviously” Eunji said, and took her time to scrutinize him. “But you see, boss. What differs Yoora and Sung Jae is the background they grew up in; it matters a lot, since their environment is what people pick up most of their attitudes and habits from. So, if you think Sung Jae will go into doing silly stunts on people and play with their feelings, well, he’s far from that. He’d never be his mother, boss, he grew up with you”

Sung Gyu sighed softly and lifted his gaze to the other. “So you’re saying that he’s picked most his habits and attitudes from me?”

“Of course!” Eunji said with a knowing look and gestured at the peacefully sleeping child. “I mean, just look at how he could just pass out whenever and wherever. He’s definitely picked up that laziness from you”

“Yah” Sung Gyu chided softly, and when she looked up at him, he gave him the warmest smile he could muster, just because that’s exactly what she deserved for putting his mind at peace. “Thank you” he said when she met his eyes.

“You don’t have to thank me” Eunji muttered, looking away, but he pushed on. “No really, Eunji. My gratitude for you is long overdue. I should have thanked you earlier. You’ve been of great help the whole time”

“Well then, if you’re that so thankful, then you can do me a favor” Eunji returned, averting her gaze.

“And what is that?”

Eunji whipped around and looked straight into his eyes. “If I get accepted for the job at the school, promise me you let me come and take care of Sung Jae. That’s the least I am asking for”

Sung Gyu smiled in return. “You sound like it’s so hard to compromise”

“Well?”

“Apply for the job first” Sung Gyu returned with conviction. “Then we’ll see”

*

The next day, and also the one after, Sung Gyu didn’t have to travel by train since he had a ride at his expense. The moment he had revealed how exhausting and time consuming the train ride was, Eunji had immediately jumped in and offered to give him a ride until his mother began to feel better, yet under the condition that he didn’t reveal anything to his mother, and so Sung Gyu had agreed. He didn’t get late to work after that day. Sung Jae always made it to school on time. On the third day, however, Eunji had come over to his place with a red face and beads of sweat glimmering on her forehead and claimed that her car had a bad tire patch.

“Terrific” Sung Gyu muttered, sitting down in one of the kitchen chairs, feeling exhausted already. It wasn’t that he was upset at Eunji that he lost his ride. It was about the entire day. Since that morning, he’d been having a bad feeling gnawing at him, something that he couldn’t begin to explain. In the beginning, it was just a gut feeling, an instinct, telling him that there was a looming dark cloud floating above him. An impending danger, perhaps. An omen. But he had managed to shake that off in time. Regardless, the number of bad things happening seemed to give him an inkling to something beyond his limit of understanding. For one, earlier in the morning, he had accidentally knocked his coffee off the counter and his favorite cat-printed mug had snapped into two. And then when he was ironing his shirt he had somehow put it on high power, and that left a gaping patch of a burn in the shape of the iron on the middle of his shirt. Afterwards, he had dropped a couple of eggs, thankfully in the sink, while he tried to concoct something since Eunji was getting late. And on top of all of that, he didn’t have a ride to work, and they were already too late to make it to school on time. It was beginning to occur to him that he was perhaps entitled to a streak of bad luck for the entire day.

“You can always take a taxi” Eunji suggested when Sung Gyu draped himself over the table, moping around. Only then he lifted his head. “oh, that makes sense”

In the end, they did get a taxi after Eunji called one up for him, and he had high hopes of making it on time. But his streak of unluck seemed to have not ended just yet as they ended up stuck in heavy traffic. As it turned out, there’s been a road accident somewhere up in the street, blocking off the rest of the road.

“Well, sadly we’d be here for a while until it’s cleared up” Commented the taxi driver, making his dread and exasperation even worse. The bad feeling he had, grew up a notch, and he tried to distract himself by thinking of all the other better options they had.

“What do we do, Sung Jae-ah” Sung Gyu finally resorted to conversing with his son, confiding in him as if his words spoke wisdom at times like this. Eunji had claimed myriad times that despite the odds, Sung Jae had a hidden side of great insight to him, and Sung Gyu decided to see the merit of trying it now.

“We can take the subway again, Appa” Sung Jae reasoned in all seriousness. “Because all the taxies get stuck in the traffic. Buses do too. But trains don’t”

“The kid is right” Intervened the taxi driver into their conversation. “I’m afraid we’d be stuck here for a little too long. But if you catch the next train, you’d at least make it a little earlier”

Sung Gyu mulled over their seemingly last alternative himself, and regardless of having to be stuck in the stinky and stuffy train coach again, it appeared to be the only plausible option as of now. “Hm, you’re right” He nodded and gave his smugly smiling son a pat on his head. “You’re a smart kid, Jae” Then he turned back to the taxi driver. “And thank you, you’re too kind”

“Anything for a dad, sir!” Cheered the garrulous taxi driver, and soon Sung Gyu paid for their rather short drive and looked for the nearest subway entrance. As it happened, the next one was a whole block away, adding up to his endless line of bad luck. With a resigned sigh, he clutched Sung Jae’s hand tightly in his and together they made their way to the subway through the thick throng of early morning commuters.

The subway ride was no different from their first. The crowd was thick, the ambiance was smelly, the heat was unbearable. To make things worse, they couldn’t even find a seat all throughout the ride which they had to take, pressed together and crammed into a corner by the unhelpful passengers, and by the time both the rides had ended, Sung Jae who previously enjoyed the subway was in a sour mood and exhausted. Sung Gyu, feeling guilty that it was his fault the child was being pulled through all of this, carried the boy all the way from the subway station to his school despite his heavily paining arms. When they arrived there, Sung Jae was half an hour late, Sung Gyu was nearing his time limit and both of them had to dash after a brief good bye.

“I love you” Sung Gyu muttered, giving his son a quick, lingering hug and Sung Jae quickly pulled away. “Got to go, appa” He retorted, sprinted to the school entrance, yet as always, didn’t forget to turn around and yell out in a cheery, hurried voice, “Love you too, appa!”

The nagging feeling in his heart, however, didn’t wash away. Instead, it grew bigger and bigger as the day progressed, until it was a looming shadow lagging on behind him, continuously trying to imply that something terrible was around the corner. He didn’t believe in the sort of things, nonetheless. He didn’t believe in instincts, the ability to foresee things when something beyond his control was about to happen. But this, it was something that he couldn’t bring himself to ignore. Things hadn’t turned out for the best since that morning. He’s gotten incredibly late for work, earning another round of scolding from his boss who was two years younger, and it didn’t help when he realized that it was the same man who was gleefully laughing away with Eunji, his baby sitter just the other day. Then he was supposed to go out with Dong Woo to carry out the investigation he was allocated to, and Dong Woo refused to take the shorter way to the Mansion since they were supposed to cross a bridge, making the journey longer. As afternoon approached, the nagging feeling got stronger. It was so much as a great force pulling him towards an unforeseeable presence somewhere beyond his susceptibility, and soon he was spiraling into a seamless end of a worry fest, only the conscious that it was a mere feeling keeping him at bay.

And then the phone call happened.

Dong Woo and Sung Gyu was on their way, heading back to the office from the mansion, speeding through the suburban routes of Seoul in the hot sun of the noon when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Sung Pulled it out distractedly, telling his partner something or the other about overtaking the surpassing vehicle (Dong Woo was a terrible driver, as it happened, what with his poor ability of concentration) and he near picked up the phone when he suddenly noticed the caller ID. Dread ran down his spine as cold sweat formed on his skin. It was as if he was being given answers by whatever deities up there on the nagging feelings he’s been having the entire day. His heart was in his throat, and with his eyes closed, he in-took a deep breath. Yoora’s appearance after a prolonged period of silence almost always meant bad news.

“Hello?” Sung Gyu muttered slowly, trying to appear clueless once he picked up the phone. The sound from the other end was clear as crystal, so was her voice, as if she was speaking from inside of a vast hallway where voices echoed through. “Hello, Sung Gyu Oppa”

Trepidation hit Sung Gyu for a second time. That tone, that voice, he knew it all too well. It didn’t appear ever so often, and whenever it did, Yoora always had one of her manipulative schemes planned up her sleeve.

“W-what is it??”

“Hm, nothing” She responded almost nonchalantly, but then, the ambiance shifted, and Sung Gyu could almost feel it, even if it’s through the phone. Her voice was stiff, dark and somber when she spoke next.

“I just wanted to tell you this, Sung Gyu; just never take a mother’s love for granted”

And then the line went dead. It was at that moment that Sung Gyu realized, something indeed has gone terribly, terribly wrong. He had an inkling to what could have happened too. A dreadful inkling, as if he was being punished for feigning negligence on his own intuitions, since they could have actually meant something. Perhaps even that whatever he felt, was true. So, he quickly dialed Eunji’s number and waited for her to pick. It was still twenty minutes before Sung Jae’s school ended. But knowing the kind of things Yoora could do, it could be anything, and Sung Gyu couldn’t be too sure.

“Come on, Eunji, pick up, pick up”

“Boss!” Echoed Eunji’s voice in his ear, and after having heard Yoora’s dark, horrifying murmurs, it was gratifying to hear her bubbly, cheerful tone. It was honeysuckle for him. It gave him relief, though it lasted for not so long.

“Eunji, where are you?” He asked her.

“At Jae’s school. Why? You sound tense”

Sung Gyu took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself, which simply went to naught. He couldn’t calm down, not when he’d just learned he was yet again tricked and trapped into another one of Yoora’s merciless games. “Eunji, I want you to do something. This is probably going to break school rules, but I want you to go and check if Sung Jae is fine”

There was a moment of silence on the other end, which, he guessed, was the moment Eunji expended on contemplation. “Boss, just…what exactly is going on?”

He hated it that they were acting as if it was a situation where Sung Jae was being put in danger, though it was Sung Jae’s own mother he was talking about. But times have passed, things have changed, and Sung Gyu didn’t trust her anymore, especially not to have something unimaginable planned to do with him. So, he took a deep breath and finally fluttered open the eyes which he’s been having closed the entire time.

“It’s Yoora” He said.

*

As soon as the line went dead, Eunji pushed open the unguarded double doors into the school hallway. Sung Gyu did mention earlier that day that he’s been having a bad feeling since morning, all of which he blamed on instincts, but not once did Eunji imagine that whatever the bad feeling he had was in any way related to Sung Jae, or Yoora, and this very thought made worry settle in the pit of her stomach. The hallway was found to be empty and void upon her entrance, yet the mingling noise of the school children still echoed inside like a trajectory. Eunji knew where his classroom was, of course; having been there myriad times for all the many reasons a guardian was asked to pay a visit to the teacher. It was the one in the left side corner, the one which opened up to the play area outside. When Eunji stepped along the marble floor, the sound of her feet echoed in the empty hall. There was a hint of anxiety in her heart, nonetheless, what she mostly felt was hope, hope that whatever Sung Gyu had heard, had felt wasn’t true.

Thankfully, each and every classroom had wide glass paneled windows opening to the hall, something they’ve come up with for the principle to catch the misbehaving kids. When Eunji peeked in, a young, stern-faced teacher whom she didn’t recognize was standing by the chalk board, explaining something. Eunji bent slightly behind the wall in an attempt to hide herself from the teacher in case her gaze wandered about, and quickly searched for the familiar mop of wavy floppy hair in the carefully concentrating children. And then, there he was, quietly sitting in a corner with his friend, distractedly scribbling away. A small smile spread across her lips as relief overtook her. Of course, whatever Yoora did, she was playing him, she was pulling him into another one of her tricks, while the child was perfectly fine in his classroom.

“Hey, miss!” A loud voice called from behind her, and she whipped around, only to see a young security guard, who obviously had abandoned his job earlier, hurrying down the corridor towards her. Eunji soon moved away from the class room. “You’re not allowed in here!” Th guard panted.

“Oops! My bad” Eunji responded, walking backwards towards the way she came from, with her hands held up in defense. She would have to wait outside until the school ended, which had to be in another fifteen minutes, during which she would contact her terribly worried employer and sooth his mind with the truth.

“Oh, thank god” Sung Gyu sighed on the other end after Eunji revealed to him her findings. She could almost feel the relief emanating from him, as if he had imagined the boy to have been imperiled to great danger. But Eunji understood. To anyone else, it would have been almost nothing. But to a father, a parent, everything was of great concern.

Eunji was right outside the main door, sitting in a plastic waiting chair as she spoke. “What happened really? What did she do this time?” She pried.

“No nothing, just…” Sung Gyu hesitated, and there was sound of shuffling and moving coming on the other end. He was walking. “She just said something strange in this really creepy voice, and I just….” He sighed dramatically and the sound of his footsteps stopped. “I guess I’ve been on the edge the whole day”

“It’s probably just nothing” Eunji tried to comfort, though she was curious of what Yoora must have said to make him go ballistic. “You’re edgy because all of those bad things happened in the morning, but that doesn’t really mean anything, boss. And whatever she said, Yoora was just trying to provoke you. You know how she’s like”

Sung Gyu sighed and he continued to walk. “I sure hope so” he replied. “Anyway, just give me a call when you’ve gotten Sung Jae. I want to talk to him. I’d feel better once I hear his voice”

Eunji smiled warmly at this sweet gesture and she felt something comforting spreading through her veins. “Okay boss” She retorted, and just before he could disconnect the line, she added. “And don’t worry, boss. I’ve always got your back”

Sung Gyu made a rather relaxed chuckle in response. One that filled her heart and mind like windchimes. “I’ll keep your word for that”

As time progressed, however, the small flicker of agitation she initially had, began to grow stronger. She hadn’t heard what Yoora had told him, yet she knew the kind of things she would tell someone and she perfectly knew of her ability of slipping into anyone’s mind and manipulating them as however she pleased, attacking her prey in their weakest points. And Eunji knew what the weakest point of Sung Gyu was; Sung Jae. And the child’s weakest point, as of now, was the mother he had never known. For this reason, Eunji began to pace around the entrance, jittery on her nerves, cursing the time which seemed to be moving slower. Nothing was certain until Sung Jae was out those doors an in her arms, and she was impatient for that moment to come.

The familiar sound of the school bell rang, followed by the loud noise of the chattering children and scraping desks and chairs followed. Eunji stood by the waiting chairs, her eyes dead set on the door, patiently waiting even thought it was basically at the bay. The doors were pulled open, and a sea of children swarmed out of the corridor, all faces relieved and contented that the long, unusual form of torture which was school had ended. So many faces she saw, so many little hands and limbs brushed past her. But much to her growing and soaring agitation and dread, none of these were him. Holding on to the last fiber of hope, Eunji waited and waited, anticipating the familiar lingering touch of the child and the small echo of his voice. Seconds turned into minutes, and soon everyone crowding dissipated. He wasn’t there.

Panic settled in her stomach, twirling around, making an uncomfortable emotion of fear erupt inside her. She felt as if she had done a great mistake, though all she did was sitting outside the school like she always did, waiting for the child to come out. With the dreading guilt forming a tight knot in , thoughts that she shouldn’t have left, that she should have waited in the corridor, well-hidden until he pushed through the door was gnawing at her, she still held onto the positive scenarios in her mind. Yes, he was probably in there, chatting long with a friend. Or maybe he got in to trouble with that stony-faced teacher for his waning attention, or he probably got detention, keeping him back at school. Whatever it was, Eunji had to keep her mind sane. He was at school, in the safety of his teachers and everybody else. He should be safe in their hands. He always was. It was the place Sung Gyu entrusted the safety of his son to, and they should very well be keeping it.

Yet, the alarming feeling never left. Eunji couldn’t hold up any longer, Sung Gyu’s disconcerted voice echoing in her mind. Therefore, without second thought, she pushed open the door and entered the hallway for a second time. This time around, she didn’t waste a second peeking over the glass panel into his class. She simply went for the door and pushed it open, only to find the classroom completely void of students, except for the homeroom teacher who was leisurely packing her things. Upon realizing that she was having an unexpected intruder, she looked up at Eunji with a rather blank look, and then, much to her worsening feeling of terror, a completely thwarting smile appeared on her lips.

“Miss Choi. Where is Sung Jae?” Eunji panted, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling which was churned in her guts by her look. The Homeroom teacher continued to give her that eerie smile, and then resumed with packing her things. “Well, he went out to meet his mother, Im Yoora-Ssi” she said then, and a sharp pain stabbed into her chest. Eunji’s agitation worsened, and she was so much closer to losing herself. How? How? Her mind was screeching incessantly in her mind. He was just there! Just a moment ago!

“W-what??” Was all Eunji managed as her hands slacked to her sides. Miss Choi looked up to face her with a bland look. “Like I said, he went to meet his mother…” She shook her head then, in utter disappointment and turned to face the other. “It’s rather tragic, actually, the things that the child has to go through because of their fathers’ unacceptable behaviors. So as a teacher, I gave him the chance he deserved” Eunji felt her knees giving away, yet she stood head strong, all for her employer, the one who was wronged in so many ways. “Don’t speak like you know anything. Just tell me where my child is?”

“Your child? Well, certainly, after you rob him and his father from his mother”

“What are you talking about?” Eunji breathed, falling slack against the door frame. Her mind was in haywire and she could hardly register the nonsense she’s being told.

“Anyway. I’ve done my part, and now it’s yours to solve amongst yourselves” Shrugged the teacher, swinging her bag on her shoulder. She lifted her eyes to finally meet Eunji’s gaze then, and it was horrifying. There was an unmistakable sense of resentment blazing inside them.

“I’ll tolerate anything Eunji-Ssi” She spoke in a voice dark enough to match her eyes. “But I would never tolerate when one takes a mother’s love for granted”

A mother’s love? Right. It was the last straw for Eunji. She’s had enough.

Acting as fast as she could, Eunji soon pulled the door close behind her and stood on the way, then she pulled out her phone and held it out for the show as if to prove a point.

“You dare go out of here, and I’m calling the police”

The teacher looked anything but amused. “The police? Now you don’t need to take this-,”

“Speak, and we can solve it here. Or you’d get sued”

The teacher gave a condescending laughter. “This is not some sort of a game! The child will speak to his mother, and then he’d back! What’s this song and dance all about?”

“Don’t talk like you know anything! It could have been a child abduction for all you know!”

At the mention of this, color perceptibly left Miss Choi’s face, dread taking over. It was as if the truth hadn’t hit her until then, and once it had, it was all too late. The teacher said nothing, and Eunji took this moment to launch into her last, inevitable resort. “Hold on” He said to the teacher as she waited for the phone to be picked, which did immediately, and Sung Gyu’s relieved voice sounded on the other end. “Thank god, Eunji, you worried me sick! Can I speak to Sung Jae?”

At the sound of his voice, at the mention of the child, Eunji felt her entire resolve crack and crumble around her until there was nothing left. Soon she was a hopeless, helpless victim standing in the middle of a storm which she had no idea of the roots of, someone who had lost a battle she wasn’t supposed to fight the first place.

But then she knew who her boss was like. Always standing on the edge, on the brink of falling, always worried, always in the fear of losing all that he loved. And for him, Eunji needed to stand strong. Because as she had acclaimed to be just a moment ago, she always held his back.

“Boss, listen to me, okay?”

There was silence on the other end, and when he finally spoke, he sounded so small, vulnerable. Eunji felt herself almost losing strength. “Where’s Sung Jae, Eunji?”

Eunji closed her eyes and finally took a deep breath. “Yoora’s taken him, boss. He’s with her”

“W-what?” his voice crackled, but Eunji pushed on. “Look, boss. It’s just for a moment, and he’d be back with me. But I’d find him, I swear I will-,”

“But what has happened? You said he was there!”

She did. She indeed did so, because he was there, right there in front of her. Eunji recalled seeing the familiar tuft of fluffy dark hair from behind them, and felt her stomach churn. “He was. He really was…” Eunji muttered slowly. “And I was asked to leave the hall…but I swear I didn’t move an inch from the door”

“Then what the hell happened?” Eunji realized, Sung Gyu wasn’t breaking, losing himself. If anything, he had suddenly gained an unsurmountable strength.

Eunji threw a hard glare at the now speechless culprit standing in the middle of the class, all senses lost, and turned away. “It’s the homeroom teacher. She’s walked into some bull trap”

*

It’s not a lie to say that since his childhood, since he learned of the notion of a mother to exist, Sung Jae had never stopped wondering what her mother was like. He had heard very little of her from his father, who didn’t seem to mind her much care, telling him continuously that she’s left them and that they didn’t want people who no longer wanted them in their lives. Sung Jae had followed his words, of course. He was his father, and fathers knew the best. But still there was this tiny bit of curiosity in his heart which grew bigger and bigger whenever he saw his school friends with their mothers and mothers on the TV, wondering what his mother was like, where she could be. It was as if she’d been taken away to a different universe, tucked away in a secretive place, hiding her away from prying eyes. Still he wanted to see her, hear her voice and his wonderings never stayed in the same place. As he grew and learned there was no other universe she could be hiding away from him, that she was there, somewhere out there, Sung Jae strangely found himself yearning for her. For a mother he had never known in his life.

The first time he set his eyes on her however, the moment she revealed to him who she was, Sung Jae felt his heart beating incessantly in new found fascination. Only one thought appeared in his mind as he looked into those dark orbs of her eyes, traced every inch of her as if in an attempt to engrave her deep in a corner of his heart, all left for her to invade; ‘She is so pretty’

Sung Jae has seen her a few times, knowing her as his father’s mysterious friend who appeared at odd moment and fought with him in hushed whispers in darkened corners where he couldn’t hear her, yet he hadn’t exactly seen her, not enough for her gaze to be imprinted in his mind. He hasn’t thought of his mother much, at least not in regards of appearance. Nonetheless he sure hasn’t expected this. He couldn’t recollect much of her, of course, since, when she had left him back then, he’s been only a little baby. But he felt so much of familiarity in the presence of this complete stranger. It was weird. He never knew her. But he felt like she was someone he had known. Her eyes were very pretty. They were big and dark and had a cat-like quality to them. Her skin was very white, a striking contrast to her dark, wavy hair, and her smile was the prettiest. Sung Jae immediately found himself drawn to her. ‘My mother’ Sung Jae thought to himself.

“Mother?” He called, still, as if to clarify it himself. He wasn’t certain though. It could even be that she not his mother. But he didn’t entertain that dreadful thought.

“Yes, sweetheart, I’m your mother” the lady told him. Her hand was soft and warm when it held his, her thumb working circles on his small palms. Her fingernails were pointy and painted red, like of a witch, unlike his baby sitter’s which were always trimmed short and naturally pink. The sight of her fingernails flagged red lights in his chest.

“But I don’t think…” Sung Jae found himself saying rather boldly. Of course, his father was a detective, at least, nearly so. But he was brave, and Sung Jae too, should be the same. “How do you prove you’re my mother?”

The lady laughed softly, and it sounded pretty too. In fact, everything about her seemed so pretty and elegant that she seemed almost unreal, unworldly. Sung Jae felt as if they clarified his suspicions of her hiding away from him in a different universe. She looked like she had appeared from a different world.

Her hand moved away from him and then graciously across the table and into her clutch, which also seemed very glamorous and expensive. She opened it, and pulled out a few things which he recognized as photographs. She handed them to him. They were all photographs of this lady, and a small, pink baby wrapped in a blue sheet in her arms. She was different in the photographs from now. It was as if all the expensive things she had had flown out the window. Her skin was pale and eyes were all red, her hair was messy and her smile was forced, sad. But she was still pretty, even in a terrible looking dressing gown. The next shot was of the baby alone. It was red and puffy with small eyes and nothing significant to talk about. Uninterested, he looked at the next, another shot of the baby, now no longer red but slightly pink, eyes still small, wearing dungarees. The next photo, however, stopped him in tracks. It was a photograph of the lady and his father.

His father looked a lot younger, but he recognized his fluffy caramel colored hair from all the photographs from his grandparents’. The two of them seemed like they were on the beach, sitting side by side on a pier with their bare feet dangling down, the sky blue as pastel and their smiles as bright as the sun rays. His father was leaning back on his outstretched hands while the lady leaned against his chest. He was so skinny that it weirded him out, but still they looked cozy. They looked happy. They looked like those parents on beach trips in all of those dramas on TV.

…parents…

Sung Jae ed the photos onto the table and with an unimpressed face, he began to drink from his smoothie. They were at a café somewhere he didn’t recognize. An expensive one where they sold really luxury drinks and you have to sit and behave like a really nice kid unless you want other people to look at you like you were an alien. He guessed that his mother came from a world like that, though he and his father belonged to a world where they could be as bad as they want in coffee shops and not earn glares from people (Maybe a bit) and still managed to have fun. Sung Jae wasn’t sure why he was there, either. Why his mother person suddenly wanted to see him or why his mean homeroom teacher wasn’t being mean for once and introduced him to the one he had always known as his father’s friend. All he knew was that he wanted to go home.

And also that he was mildly disturbed by the appearance of his mother, who turned out to be someone completely unexpected. To be frank on his part, he had always thought mothers were always chubby and had short messy hair, tired eyes, a loud voice, chipped finger nails and always wore an apron in the kitchen and sometimes in other places while carrying curry-ridden wooden spoons. He was rather surprised to know that his mother looked nothing like that but like she’s come from a real-life fairy tale.

The lady, his mother, laughed again and slowly fixed his hair, a gesture so familiar that he stopped drinking to look up at her smiling face. “You’re so much like your father, Sung Jae-ah…” The lady pouted, which looked strange on her too pretty face, and she looked out of the glass panel at the road. “You remind me so much of him so I miss him now”

“Then why did you leave us?” Sung Jae’s asked without hesitating once, and this seemed to have come to the lady as a huge surprise. She turned back to him, her face holding a strange expression. “Hm? You’re really not different from your father, aren’t you?”

Sung Jae shrugged, and the lady sighed in response before she touched his hair again. “It’s so complicate, sweetheart. Omma doesn’t know herself, sometimes”

“Appa said my omma left because she didn’t want us anymore so we shouldn’t want her anymore either” Sung Jae explained haughtily and set his smoothie on the table. He’s heard this enough times from his father, enough to repeat it without missing a word.

The lady laughed at this dejectedly. “It’s how it is now, isn’t it?” She asked in a mild tone, her eyes almost looking sad. “Well then, I’ll tell you the truth” She said and sat back.

“What truth?” Sung Jae raised his brows.

The lady seemed to mull it over, prodding her tongue inside her cheeks and finally leaned forward, grasping his hands. “Well, you see, Sung Jae…I, Omma, never truly stopped wanting you”

“You did?” Sung Jae echoed, mildly surprised. The lady nodded in response. “Yeah” she whispered, and gently took Sung Jae’s soft cheek in her hand. “In fact, Sung Jae, I keep wanting you more and more everyday…”

*

In panic-stricken frenzy, Sung Gyu flagged a taxi right outside of the headquarters and drove himself to Sung Jae’s school. As the school drew nearer, his agitation became stronger until all there’s left was anger and resentment towards the rest of the world who wouldn’t just allow him to have an ordinary, peaceful life. Somewhere deep down, he had known that Yoora would do the sort of a thing. She was so desperate, too desperate for someone whom she had abandoned, for a reason he couldn’t fathom, and snatching Sung Jae away from him was exactly the kind of thing that she’d do. He also knew that he didn’t need to panic in the way that he had. She probably was trying to talk to him, to see him for once and maybe hold him and feel his warmth in her embrace, that warmth of a child any parent would soughed after. But then there was also this small part of him which feared this Yoora, this new Yoora who seemed so close to him yet so far away. So many things about her made her unfamiliar to him. Eight years have passed since they’ve last known and loved, and eight years was a lot of time for a person to change. Sung Gyu was horrified of the fact that he had no idea of how much the Yoora he knew could have changed, and that gave him more of a reason to not let her see him. This thought, right at that moment, made his terror grow even further.

The moment they reached the school gates, where a few older children hung around, Sung Gyu mindlessly shoved a wad of bills into the driver’s hand and fled across the lawn. He knew that his son probably wasn’t in there but somewhere else with his mother. But the one who was responsible for everything was in there, held back by the one who held all the answers, the only one who could keep him from falling apart. And more than anything, he needed his answers.

The hallway was long, dark and empty when he pushed himself in there, and the eerie ambiance inside was making his stomach churn. All the other times he’s been there the corridor has always been littered with students and teachers, brightly lit and boisterous. The atmosphere it held now made his skin prickle, as if it was an inkling to an impending danger. When he hurried along the marble floor, his feet rapped loudly against the tiles, making the sound echo throughout. He knew where the classroom was, of course, and as he passed the glass panel making it to the door, he saw them, Eunji standing by the door, holding it close with a stiff look on her face, and the teacher appalled and awash in guilt.

“Eunji, it’s me” Sung Gyu panted as he tried to open the door but didn’t budge against her weight. She moved away soon and he stepped inside, breathing hard and enraged by the mere sight of the teacher who caused it all.

“You’re here” Eunji said as soon as she saw him, and upon seeing her face, holding up so well despite everything she was put through in a matter of few minutes, Sung Gyu felt relieve pour over him.

“Eunji” he muttered, placed a comforting hand on her arm before he gave her a knowing look and moved away. He stood in front of the teacher, who definitely saw him at that moment as a strong, overwhelming presence. His eyes were burning in rage, hands near trembled, regardless he managed to keep himself sane.

“Why did you do that, miss Choi?” Sung Gyu spoke, and when he did, his voice was calm and composed, yet a dangerous tone underlying beneath.

“Because Yoora-Ssi…she was…and I-I”

“Why did you let a complete stranger take my son!” He raged, all of a sudden, making the teacher halt in her words immediately, stunned by the strength of his voice. Sung Gyu was done caring, done holding himself back, done with allowing the time to solve the problems in his life. He was ready to take it all into his own hands and do whatever he could and how he pleased.

“Boss...” Eunji’s mild voice sounded behind him, but he took no heed as he made a few rushed steps towards the teacher, scaring her enough to corner herself against the wall.

“You don’t even know anything, you don’t even know who that-that woman is and what she’s capable of, and still you allowed this to happen!?!”

“Sung Gyu-Ssi, there’s no need to overreact this way, especially when you’re in wrong as much as I am!” The teacher, finally having gained her composure, spat back in rage. Sung Gyu dropped his hands, confused himself and his speechlessness encouraged the teacher to take a few bold steps towards him, making him the intimidated one now. “I heard everything from her, your pitiful ex-wife. I heard how treacherous you are, how shameless, how repulsive the kind of things you did, and I, as a woman, only did what was right”

Sung Gyu took a step back, then another, perplexed. There was nothing he could understand of all the nonsense he was sputtered at just now, nothing except for one. Yoora’s been tricking people, tricking them to believe that he did wrong while the one responsible of everything was her. And it wasn’t that difficult either. Because that’s exactly the kind of a person she was. Manipulative. Despicable.

“W-what?” Sung Gyu muttered in the end, and the helpless stance he was suddenly emanating pulled the revengeful person inside Miss Choi out onto the surface even more.

“You always act so weak, but obviously, you’re far from that, Sung Gyu-Ssi. Especially if you have the guts to cheat on your wife with this-this-!” She heftily pointed at Eunji who stood behind, dumbfounded and unable to speak. “brazen little liar and deprive her of all the chances of seeing her child, just how heartless can you get?”

Sung Gyu held his quietness for a moment, trying to stop himself from going insane, but then he was failing, miserably so.

“Don’t you dare speak like you know anything, Miss Choi” He growled, throwing her a dark look which immediately silenced her. “You know absolutely nothing and I’m not here to enlighten you either. I’ve always known you’ve had something against me and my son all this time, but I didn’t think you’d actually let that come before what’s precedent and do something as mindless as this, but that doesn’t concern me either…” He took a deep breath then, and another, before his voice reverberated across the classroom. “Tell me where the hell is my son!?!”

“Boss, please” Eunji’s soothing voice sounded yet again, and it was in the moment that her warm hand clutched onto his arm that he began to feel saner, calmer, and he allowed his breath to return to its normal pace from being hasty and frantic. Eunji’s hand then descended softly down his arm and into his palm, which, Sung Gyu held onto tightly in reflex, as if it was all he needed to stop himself from crumbling into pieces.

“Boss, listen. Let’s just…contact Yoora, and we’ll find him, okay?” Eunji spoke in this mild, resounding voice that he felt himself warming up to her and searching for solace in her even more. His hand held hers tighter and she squeezed back in response. With a sigh, he fell onto sit on a nearby table and pressed his head on his free hand. “I already did Eunji, hundred times, but she wouldn’t answer”

All of a sudden, Sung Gyu felt that calm soothing touch on his head, slender fingers pushing through his hair in a manner which gave him the comfort that he had never felt before. “It’s okay, we can just find them. They couldn’t have gone too far”

“Hm…” Sung Gyu nodded, ran his hand down his face and finally looked up. Eunji was staring down at him, her dark eyes full of concern, all directed for him and her hand still holding his in a warm, tight grip. He was in the comforting embrace of the one person who understood him the most, and nothing’s felt better. He trusted her, with all his life, and now she was proving to him that that immense trust on her hadn’t indeed gone in vain.

“Come” Eunji whispered softly, and he finally proceeded to climb up on his feet. But then he stopped, his eyes lifted and bore threateningly at the teacher. “I will sue you” He muttered darkly, his voice deep and condescending as he spoke. “I will sue you for allowing child abduction, Miss Choi. And I will make sure you would never be able to do such mindless, tactless acts ever again. And as an insight, miss Choi. I didn’t leave her, she left me, and if you were foolish enough to believe something a complete stranger threw on your face, then I don’t think you have the ability to teach a bunch of innocent children either…”

Eunji squeezed his hand warmly in encouragement, comfort, and only then was he able to turn away from the spiteful woman, only to look down at the one whom he had faith on the most. “Come on, Eunji” He whispered and smiled at her the slightest, a smile which soon vanished and tuned into a frown. “Okay” Eunji whispered back, and as they made it down the corridor, across the lawn and down towards the car, in an attempt of finding solace at a time when their hearts and minds were in mess, they held onto their hands; warm, tight and long.

*

The moment she allowed him to slip into the driver’s seat of her car, Eunji knew that it was a big mistake. She wasn’t sure how or why she felt this way, but after having kept her promise to his mother of not allowing him to drive for a while, a small part of her was threatening to break through and stop him from doing what seemed like he shouldn’t be doing at the moment, the small part which believed, despite the odds, in the strange nightmare his mother had called a ‘premonition’ to be true. But when she looked up at Sung Gyu who was already buckled up and revving the vehicle to life with a rigid, determined look on his face, she couldn’t bring herself to speak out her predicament let alone offer to drive instead. As it happened, right at that moment, Sung Gyu was thriving on pressure, adrenaline and an intractable amount of strength which Eunji was sure she couldn’t over power with her words. He wouldn’t listen, even if she tried, because as of that moment, what was more precedent was getting his child back over a premonition of some sort which was bound to be untrue.

As they drove along the road from the school to the main city, the car whizzing through the wind so fast that the trees decorating the sides of the road appeared a faint trajectory, Eunji pursed her lips, looked ahead and weighed their options. Where he could be, what he could be doing, how far the sudden meeting could have gone. She wanted to speak up and suggest calling Yoora once more, but they haven’t shared a word since they left the classroom and gotten into the car. Neither did Sung Gyu seem like he was willing to entertain her outspoken thoughts.

But then as if he’s been reading her mind, his hand reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his phone which he handed over to her, not once ripping his gaze off the road.

“Try calling her again, Eunji. I can’t imagine where they could be”

Eunji nodded briskly and slid her finger across his phone, only to find it without a guarding lock. She was soon brought onto his home screen, a photograph of him and Sung Jae, one someone else has taken while they sat on a bench somewhere, Sung Jae on his lap and Sung Jae’s hands tightly grasped by him from behind, him looking down at the child in an almost mesmerized stance, greeted her. Eunji’s chest tightened upon seeing Sung Jae’s blissfully smiling face. More than anything, she wished him to be safe, though it’s in the arms of his birth mother. She wished he would only find happiness in this sudden meeting with her.

Sung Gyu had saved her number as ‘Yoora’, no contact photograph, and has dialed the number continuously for an uncountable number of times. Adding her own attempts to the list, Eunji dialed. The phone was soon connected to the Bluetooth system of the car (Something she’s done ages ago, she couldn’t recall when) and the loud beeping of the connecting lines was all that they could hear inside. And then, a voice interrupted, saying that she was unavailable and ‘are you willing to leave a message?’ Sung Gyu cursed, Eunji cut the line, and after half a minute, she tried again.

Eunji tried dialing the number over and over again a few times, only to have the line going into voicemail and every time it did, Sung Gyu lost his patience and tried to grab the phone off her hands, but Eunji knew he wasn’t exactly in his sane mind. Eunji knew that at least one of them had to keep hopes that she would eventually give up ignoring and respond. But Yoora didn’t. Not even after an uncountable number of attempts. Sung Gyu was driving endlessly, without an inkling of where he was headed to, the world whizzing past them as uncertainty clouded whatever was held there beyond them. Eunji wasn’t sure what would come next, if Yoora would not indeed respond. Would they still be driving through the endless streets, still lost in ambiguity, hoping that by some miracle the world stopped in time and would bring them back to where they started? Or would Sung Gyu get tired and lose himself at one point, searching for comfort in her, the kind of comfort that Eunji wasn’t certain if she was even capable of delivering? Eunji was consumed by her thoughts, while her hands were dialing and redialing mechanically. This carried on for a while until suddenly Sung Gyu reached out, grabbed the phone and stuffed it in the middle compartment in a bout.

“Boss” Eunji let out a sigh. “You need to calm down first, and we’ll get hold of her, okay?”

“I can’t ing calm down Eunji!” Sung Gyu growled and slammed his hand hard against the steering wheel before he ran it through his dark locks. “I don’t know what she would even tell him, I don’t know what she already has told him, how far she’s planning to go and this is just…!” He whimpered and when he clutched the wheel again, Eunji could witness how tensed he was, how his hand curled tightly against the vinyl, how is skin appalled, how his veins were protruding against it. Eunji fought her urge to reach over and place her own hand on his in comfort, and looked ahead. The road was stretching out before them for miles and miles ahead, and in adrenaline-driven-haste Sung Gyu was just far too gone to realize that he had probably geared out of the city and was headed somewhere they were both uncertain of. Tall dark trees lined the road from the either sides, and heavy lorry after heavy lorry passed by them, almost all lodged with massive logs of cut trees, the amount rising to a terrifying height. Eunji realized with a pang, they were heading nowhere, both on the road and in their minds, the car was going faster and faster, and they needed to stop.

“B-boss” Eunji muttered, and it agitated her even more so, how her voice shook slightly in fear. Eunji noticed how the speed increased, and the trees passing by were soon nothing but massive thick walls of greenery stretching on an on as if they were being trapped in an unknown reality. Eunji suddenly couldn’t breathe. No, this wasn’t going to lead them to the boy. But Sun Gyu seemed as if he hadn’t realized it yet. If anything, he was not his sane self anymore. Consumed by anger, hate and fear, he was a completely different self, a lost and defeated trooper of a game he had never known to have been engaged in. His knuckles were chalk white, gripping onto the wheel tightly, and his free hand rested on the door, fingers buried deep in his hair and his eyes focused dead set on the road in concentration. There was something about his eyes at that moment which gave a terrifying feeling running down her spine. Something so cold and distant which seemed to insinuate only one thing in her mind. And that was that he was doing this to keep his emotions and fears at bay, to concentrate, to keep the wrong thoughts off his mind. Eunji needed it to stop. For everything to stop, to slow down and let them take one ing breath before they would both be far too gone. And for that, she needed to act. Eunji took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She knew that it wasn’t the appropriate time to reveal this. She hadn’t been able to find the audacity to divulge in him the new change in her life. But at that moment, she realized, it was probably the only solution they had.

“Boss…” She muttered, exhaled, and looked dead ahead. “Boss let’s contact the office and locate the phone”

Sung Gyu heeded no attention to her as he drove on almost subconsciously. Eunji needed to try harder.

“We should be able to get the GPS system at your office to locate Yoora’s whereabouts, boss. We could trace its directions-,”

“How the do you think that works, Eunji?” Sung Gyu exclaimed all of a sudden, a clear indication that he had paid attention all along. “The system needs a valid reason to trace a phone, and a personal matter ain’t no ing-!”

“Well then I’ll ask Howon to do it for me!” Eunji interjected. Her breathing was harsh and uneven after having acted out all so suddenly, yet she held her gaze, solely watching Sung Gyu for a reaction.

The vehicle slowed down, discernibly. Eunji held her breath as something unrecognizable flashed through his eyes. Sung Gyu gripped the steering wheel and looked away. A lorry carrying logs whizzed by them, followed by another. Eunji can only find her even breathing again once the speed of the vehicle fell into a comfortable pace.

“Let me do it for you…boss” She whispered, trying to locate Howon’s number with her trembling hands. So many things were muddling her mind at that time. Too many things. She wasn’t certain if she could keep up with herself any longer though she had to. This wasn’t how she was going to tell him that she had finally settled down. No. She wasn’t planning to tell him anyway, as if him not knowing the truth was the only way she could keep the feelings he had for him as real, but now it was as if she was losing him for good, even though she knew that it wasn’t the truth. Sung Gyu wouldn’t care, of course. It wouldn’t matter to him as much as his son did to him right now, and Eunji wouldn’t blame him. He probably wouldn’t even remember what happened once all were said and done, and then they’d be back to square one, both of them living their own lives-,

“Eunji…” Sung Gyu’s voice, smaller than usual, sounded from beside her as she tried to frantically locate the number. Her fingers were trembling and her mind was scattered all over the place. “Wait, I’ve got it, boss…just a moment”

“Eunji, you don’t have to…” Sung Gyu was telling her, and she finally willed herself to look up, only to see him looking straight ahead, the vehicle in a mild pace, but she could see how it was beginning to gradually increase in speed. He didn’t spare another glance at her, driving ahead as if he knew where it would take them, but no. Eunji wasn’t certain what the look in his eyes meant. But she was almost too sure that it wasn’t something she would like.

“No” She shook her head frantically and searched through her phone once more. For some reason, she couldn’t seem to find it, she couldn’t remember how she had save the number, or if she ever even did. For some reason, all that she was aware of at that moment was Sung Gyu. Sung Gyu’s hands rigid on the wheel, Sung Gyu’s face appalled, Sung Gyu’s eyes longing and distant. She felt the speed rising ever more, and when she looked ahead-,

-They were driving like they wanted to get lost in the uncertain crossroads of life.

“Boss” Eunji called softly at first, afraid that anything she’d say would set him off. She knew, it was a vulnerable moment for him. He was a vulnerable person. Anything said and done was liable to send him spiraling down in an emotional turmoil, and it was everyone else around him who should do everything within capability to keep him sane and running.

Sung Gyu did not once rip his gaze away from the road; more and more lorries and trucks carrying logs happened to pass by them, and she wasn’t sure which drove the fastest. If it was the lorries, or them. His hands were grasping tightly onto the steering wheel, so much so that his veins were protruding blue against his pale skin, and it terrified her, how that itself seemed like a map to whatever lied beyond, in her eyes.

“B-Boss…” She muttered again, and searched in his stoic face. But nothing. He didn’t seem to hear her nor see her, as if all his senses were clouded by his own innermost demons. Sung Gyu could sometimes be so consumed by his own thoughts. This wasn’t even the first time, and Eunji knew. But this wasn’t just the right time to let this happen. Not when their car seemed to gain an inhumane pace, not when he’s unconsciously putting their lives into danger.

Eunji looked ahead then, ahead at the road before them. Phones forgotten, reasons forgotten, afraid for their lives. And that’s when she saw it, a truck carrying a gargantuan number of tall logs barreling towards them in a speed that she couldn’t fathom. She looked at Sung Gyu, yet the distant look in his eyes hadn’t faded away; as if he had moved to a parallel universe, leaving behind only the shell of himself, driving them through. The truck drove towards them as if it was what which carried the end of their days, and Eunji saw her entire life flashing before her eyes. Sung Gyu’s mother’s voice began to echo in her head, so loud, so frantic, unrelenting. And that’s when it occurred to her; the premonition.

“BOSS!”

“H-huh?” Sung Gyu seemed to ease back into his senses. But he was too slow.

And everything happened too fast. The truck didn’t budge, staying in its tracks down the vast expanse of the road, even as the car drove straight towards it, Sung Gyu’s control over the wheel completely lost by the time it neared the collision. Eunji closed her eyes, fearing her life, fearing his life, fearing for the life of the little boy, waiting for them somewhere out there, lost in the big world around him, waiting for his father to find him. Through her frantic, endless thoughts, Eunji noticed; Sung Gyu taking a hasty turn to the right, and as if it suddenly occurred to him in a matter of split of a second, the car was suddenly accelerated to the opposite direction, driving them head-on towards the end of the lorry. Eunji could hear it like a blood wrenching scream of the undead. Loud and terrifying, as the side of the car went sliding roughly across the surface, sending heated sparks flying where the vehicles collided. The car twirled across the road as the scarring screeches of rubber against tarmac echoed in her mind. Eunji couldn’t bring herself to scream, her voice lost as well as her sane mind. Her eyes were shut tight as her hands tried to grasp frantically at whatever she could reach as if it was all which could protect her from what had come. Loud noises. The screams, the yells, the screeching or iron against iron, rubber against asphalt, the prayers in her mind along with Sung Gyu’s mother’s voice; ‘Life is this fragile thing-‘

And then Everything stopped so abruptly. It’s as if the entire world had suddenly stopped dead in time. Brash clamors echoed in her mind, the reek of spent rubber and burning oil seeped in through her nostrils, and Eunji realized, with a pang. She was alive. Perhaps the crash was all in her dreams. Perhaps, everything which transpired within that brief course of time was nothing but a horrid apparition in her mind. The stench of oil and rubber she had inhaled probably wasn’t real. The ringing in her mind and the aching in every inch of herself was probably due to something she couldn’t exactly pinpoint but still hadn’t anything to do with everything she had thought had happened in that briefest span of time. It was so rapid, so sudden, and something that Eunji had come to believe through time was that if something took so little time to transpire, then it didn’t happen at all. A breath. Then another. Eunji tried to find relief in a moment she couldn’t still come in to terms to have happened. But then, she opened her eyes. She saw everything. Everything, that was real.

Her car had crashed beyond repair. Through her blurry, hazy vision she could see the irreversible cracks on her windscreen, tiny spinsters of glass had shattered all over the dashboard and pretty much everywhere she could see, sinking into her skin on her arms and her face, bleeding out crimson everywhere her skin had ripped. Smoke was emanating from ahead where they have collided onto the railing, and from her side she could hear it, a soft painful whimper…him.

“B-boss!!”

Through her hazy cognizance, she could exactly pinpoint the condition that Sung Gyu was in. Whether he was hurt, where it pained, if he was even…he was, god, he was. She could hear him whimper. She could hear him breathe. And Eunji wasn’t sure what she needed to be doing next, except for crying and frantically reaching for him through the devastation they were engulfed in.

“Boss! Oh my god…are you okay?” Eunji realized, only then, for him, she could finally find her voice.

Sung Gyu was bleeding. That much she could tell. He was bleeding on his temple, streaks of crimson running down the side of his face, and small cuts here and there, so many of them that it almost distorted him to the point she couldn’t make out if he was in pain. But he was, if his whimpers and uneven breathing said anything. What hurt her the most at that point was that except for the ringing in her head and the small cuts on her skin which she couldn’t even feel at that point, Eunji wasn’t hurt. It was as if the crash had done nothing on her. But Sung Gyu. She couldn’t tell how bad it was, she couldn’t make out where else it hurt him, what’s even worse was that there was nothing she could do at that moment to make his pain go away, nothing but reaching out and taking his hand in hers. His hand, covered completely in blood, trembling in hers, held her tightly, squeezing her on and on as if he was in indescribable pain.

“It hurts Eunji” He said then, a painfully hoarse whisper, and it broke her.

“Where does it hurt? Wait, hold on, boss, hold on, I’m getting help, I’m getting-,”

Eunji searched frantically in the debacle of shattered glass, plastic and everything that had been destroyed in the crash in search for a phone, for any phone, and found hers. It was cracked, and when she mindlessly pressed and tapped at every inch of it, the phone never came back to life. With a cry, she allowed it to fall through her slippery hand, and keeping her need to wail to herself, she began to look for his phone. But Sung Gyu’s voice, yet again, stopped her. He clasped her hand so tightly, and a long, painful whimper broke from his lips. “Eunji…Eunji it hurts”

Eunji looked into his face, and she saw it, how he was beginning to lose his consciousness, gradually easing into an insentient state. His breathing heightened from uneven to haggard, asphyxiating, almost; eyelids falling drowsily as he struggled in best of his ability to stay awake. Despite his endless attempts, however, pain was beginning to win over the best of his struggles. Eunji began to cry.

“No, no, boss, please stay awake, stay with me!”

“E-Eunji…”

“No! please no!”

Her cries weren’t unheard. Sung Gyu, through his pain, managed to slowly squeeze the hand he still held, and in a hoarse voice, on the edge of his consciousness, Sung Gyu spoke to her.

“Jae…. take care of Jae…. I…I trust you”

“No stay with me”

Sung Gyu shook his head, and swallowed hard.

Eunji held her breath, and Sung Gyu, just as she watched him unable to do let alone think of anything to make his pain go away, slowly eased into complete oblivion. She tried to pull him awake, crying miserably, calling her name, searching for his pulse, just anything, but no, he was in utter insentience, and all she could do then was cry, watching the grip he had on her hand slowly loosen. Cry all until a familiar sound erupted from somewhere through the ringing in her head and the loud noises surrounding him. Sung Gyu’s phone, which she located pushed in between the crushed creases of the dashboard. The plastic cuts through her skin as her hand reaches for it, she could heed no attention, and the person she possibly hated over her life, on the other end of the mobile she held, suddenly seemed like the only saving grace she had.

“Sung gyu” Yoora’s voice was rich and confident as she spoke, completely oblivious of the sudden turn of the events, and Eunji wished, she wished if she could strangle the woman with her bare hands. But not right now, for perhaps, right at this moment, she was probably the only one whom she could reach.

“Y-Yoora-Ssi-,” Eunji didn’t realize she was crying, yet the tremble in her voice was so strong that she was certain it clearly served her intention.

“Eunji?” Yoora muttered after a moment of quietness, and the very sound of concern in her voice was enough for Eunji to break the strings which held her together for so long finally snapped, making her weak, vulnerable and lost. Both her hands clutched onto the phone and her bloodied, deft fingers were beginning to slip, yet she held on. Her voice, now a strangled, crying mess echoing on the other end.

“Save him, please, save him!”

“E-Eunji?”

“Please” Eunji cried, her bloodied hand covered her face and she wailed. “It’s Sung gyu”

Honestly I didn't even care to proofread, it's terrible. I'm losing my spark i guess. Do you think I'm dragging this story for too long? Also, a disgrace to all the fanfictions in the entire universe. Again, I'm sorry.