Chapter 45

“If by coincidence we run into each other at a corner of this street oh; We would definitely pass through like strangers; Whose faces we don’t even recognise – If”

The extra two days in Toronto went happily for Momo.

On the way back from the falls, the whole gang stopped at Niagara-on-the-Lake for more sight seeing and dinner. They went back late to Toronto and retired for the night.

The day after, they drove up to Horseshoe Resort for an early winter excursion.

They spent the first half of the day snowboarding together, and after lunch, the group broke into two.

Momo has missed skiing a lot and went up to ski slopes with Terry, Don and Sam; while the others were taken by a tour guide for snow walks and mobile rides.

“You’re really good,” Samantha grinned, as soon as Momo slid up next to her.

“Not really,” Momo grinned in return, her adrenaline slowly subsiding, “but I did work at a ski resort during my school days.”

Momo liked Sam.

Out-going and level headed, she has been with Terry since high school.

Through some of their conversations the past few days, Momo knew she has been loyal and supportive towards Terry, especially during his Beijing stint days.

And being a Chinese descent, tall and attractive, she was a perfect fit for Terry.

“So, which part of Tokyo are you from?” Sam asked later, as they took their gears off.

“I’m not. I’m from a small ski town, slightly north of Tokyo.”

“That’s a coincidence,” Terry said. “Bri’s mom told me that he spent some time at a ski place north of Tokyo during that picture scandal days.”

“Oh, did she?” Momo stiffened slightly.

“Yeah,” Terry nodded. “You should ask him about that.”

“Weren’t you in Beijing then, babe?” Sam asked.

“Yeah, but I kept in touch with Omma Kang almost everyday at that time.”

“Did he mention which ski place?” Momo asked.

“No, he didn’t. We weren’t in contact at that time,” Terry said. “JYP didn’t allow it. He could just call his mom and the boys.”

“Yes, President-nim is very strict on things like that,” Momo said softly.

“Actually… it’s too much of a coincidence, if you were ask me,” Don suddenly drawled. “You sure Brian wasn’t at your hometown, Momo-ssi? Mebbe you did stumbled upon him and decided to follow him back to Seoul?”

“Don, that’s kinda far fetched, isn’t it?” Terry laughed.

“I dunno, anything’s possible with a sasaeng…” Don shrugged.

“Momo’s far from a sasaeng,” Terry grinned again, remembering the strict regime she kept the boys on at the dorm.

Sam too laughed at the idea.

“But seriously though, how is it working with the boys?” Sam asked, fascinated with the workings within the infamous k-pop world.

“It’s pretty cool actually,” Momo smiled, trying to ignore Don’s earlier words.

“I bet it is,” Sam gushed. “But to be with such beautiful creatures all the time, how can you even survived.”

“You get you used to it,” Momo laughed, thinking of her dorky dorm mates, behind the scenes.

“Hey, Momo’s beautiful herself,” Terry argued, a little jelous of Sam talking about any other guys apart from him. “Brian was grumbling how Mark Got7 and GD have been hitting on her lately.”

“GD? The GD? Wow!”

“That’s interesting… why was our Brian grumbling if others are hitting on Momo?” Don sent a question their way.

“Huh?” Sam asked.

“Good question,” Terry mulled, thinking of the scene in the Day6 kitchen a few weeks ago.

“I mean, Brian should be happy right?” Don suggested. “At how popular his cordi is?”

Don acted nonchalant, but Momo knew he was poking fire into the flame.

“And it must be convenient to have a live in assistant with you there all the time.”

“Live in? Momo doesn’t live with the boys,” Terry said, frowning at Don’s statement.

“Not according to Wonpil, though,” the latter hinted.

Momo went red at Don’s words.

“I don’t really stay with them, Terry-ssi, just stay over sometimes. Especially when the schedule gets tight,” she explained. “Manager Choi and Cordi Kim stay mostly at their home now that the baby is around.”

That was not lying, was it not? Momo asked herself. Their schedule was hectic 24/7. Hence why she was staying at the dorm 24/7.

“Oh yeah, Choi-hyung has a room there too,” Terry remembered. “So, you just take Junhyeok’s old room, when you need too?”

“Yes, something like that,” Momo smiled.

“Well, I don’t see a problem with sleeping over,” Sam said, always liberal and practical in her Western thinking. “With the current hectic pace the boys are putting up with, I’m sure your presence help. Just like a regular foster mom, huh?”

Momo smiled at Sam’s words too, yet kept her eyes averted from Don’s knowing ones.

***

They had an early dinner that night, and went their separate ways.

Cordi Kim and Momo decided to stay in.

Manager Choi and the boys went down to a pub nearby.

While Young K left with Terry and Don to Terry’s place for a last night bonding, after dropping Sam off at hers.

“Don-ssi. What are you doing here? The others have all left,” Momo said in surprise when she opened her door when the door bell rang.

“Yeah, I know. I came back by myself. You have the boys’ room card, right? I think I left my wallet there.”

“Oh, ok, chan-kam-man.”

Momo was a little nervous at Don’s appearance but ran in to retrieve the spare card nonetheless.

Should I tell Cordi Kim Don’s here? Momo thought. But she quickly decided against it, laughing to herself at her paranoia.

“Come and help me look for it ya? It’s brown leather,” Don asked her as they entered the suite.

“Oh, ok,” Momo said.

Still feeling uneasy, she left the front door opened.

“Aaah…. found it,” Don grinned, waving his wallet, a few minutes later.

“Great,” Momo said in relief, eager to leave.

As she walked towards the main door, hoping Don would follow suit, the latter called out to her.

He was standing at the living room sofa.

“Hey, Momo. I’m sorry. But, can we have a little chat?”

“Chat?”

“Yeah, I think you’re getting the wrong idea about me. Let’s start again and talk about it.”

“Uhmm…it’s getting late, Don-ssi, and we’re flying home tomorrow.”

“I won’t take long. Besides, you’ve left the front door open,” he smiled. “So, you’re safe, ok.”

He knew, Momo thought to herself.

Despite his sweet smile, Momo was still feeling nervous, but she guessed he was right. And maybe, they did get off on the wrong foot. So, mainly for Young K’s sakes, she concurred.

“Ok.”

Don pointed to seat on the sofa for her and took the arm chair away from it, just to ease her worry.

“So, anyways, I want to apologise,” Don started. “You may find me weird these past days, especially since we just met and all. So, if I’ve said anything to offend you, I’m sorry ya.”

“Aah ani ani, no offence taken.”

“Such a little liar,” Don grinned at her obvious discomfort.

Don has this ability to reel you in and cast you away with just his words, Momo thought.

And true to Momo’s observation, after the subtle scathing words, Don mellowed it down again, “Yeah, but anyways, I was actually just testing you.”

“Testing me?”

“Yeah, I dunno why, but I got the vibes that you and Young K were an item, so I just wanted to see if my hunch was true.”

“Oh?”

“But I guess I was wrong. You’re just close to every one of them, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am,” Momo nodded albeit cautiously.

“And like you advised, I have been observing him, our Brian…” Don said, “and you are right. He has evolved. He’s no loger that shy insecure kid I used to know. In fact, he’s quite the opposite.”

And again, despite the praise, why did Momo feel it was anything but.

“In fact, looking at him now… made me wonder if he really was a shy kid that long time ago at all.”

And there it was.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, is he really the person you think he is? Or maybe that sweet shy act was just something he put on, to get sympathy from all of us, including you.”

Momo just shifted uneasily in her seat.

“When he first came here, he was all alone,” Don recalled, “Maybe being cute and vulnerable were something he used to get Terry and us to take him in, y’know? And we did. Through us, well mainly Terry actually, Bri got accepted and famous through 3^rd Degree. He even managed to lure JYPE to come to us. Well, I’m sure you know that story.”

Don looked almost lost in his own story, but yes, Momo did know that story.

“Well, as you know, Terry didn’t make it. It’s a Korean thing,” Don leaned forward and raised his eyebrows in a conspiratory whisper, “and even if I didn’t really want to, Terry made me go, just to look after his little bro. Terry is such a mother hen.”

Don sighed dramatically and leaned back in his seat.

“But after being there, I guess I learned the hard way that I didn’treally want that idol life. Not when you’re almost a slave under the company. But what else can our Bri do. To come back as a failure would mean facing his dad, who can be worse than JYP himself and all the other instructors put together. And guess what, he perservered and kinda made it… somewhat…” Don sniggered, knowing as a band, Day6’s popularity came no where close to the idol groups like EXO, BTS and Got7.

“What’s you point exactly, Don-ssi?” Momo asked, barely holding her anger.

“Well, I’m just saying that, now that he’s all famous and everything, does he really need any of us here anymore? Except to gloat over his success.”

Momo stared at Don with wide eyes.

“Is that what you think he’s here for?” Momo asked, perplexed at Don’s negativity towards his old friend. Her thoughts went back at how happy yet nervous Young K was in being able to perform for his family and friends at his old homeground. “I seriously don’t know what you’re trying to achieve by saying things like that, Don-ssi, but personally, I don’t really care. I just feel sad for you, that’s all, to have such ill feelings towards someone who loves you so much, who hasn’t done anything but to sing you praises all the time.”

Feeling a little sad for Young K too, Momo got up from her seat, and decided to end the conversation, “but since you don’t have anything good to say about my boss, and have found your wallet, then I suggest you leave, please.”

“Hmmphh..” Don scoffed, still languidly sitting on the sofa. “So loyal… and besotted, apparently. He managed to get you all wrapped up around his finger, hasn’t he? Then I was right after all… that you are smitten with our pretty boy.”

Momo silently fumed, shaking her head while walking towards the front door.

And so what if I am, she thought belligerently. Liking Brian-san is no crime, is it?

“I just want you to know the kind of guy you’re in love with, that’s all.”

Seeing Momo walked away, Don called out to her.

“By the way… has he ever mentioned my kid sister, Daniella?”

Momo kept walking, ignoring him.

“He was madly in love with her. His lyrics… both the good and bad... they’re all abut her, y’know?”

Momo faltered, thinking of all the times she mused about the words to Day6’s songs. Especially the ones solely written by Young K.

But she carried on, knowing Don was just trying to get a rile out of her.

“But now, she’s no longer with us… She died... Close to two years ago.”

Don’s raised voice carried across the living room to her, but Momo kept on walking.

“Trying to abort your Brian-san’s unborn child,” he finished.

And Momo finally stopped walking.