Choi Eunhye wasn’t the type to show up announced. She would call at least two business days in advance. So it never occured to Youngjae how she would be barging into his office and nagging him about irrelevant things. Great. Just when he thought he could leave. Sighing quietly, Youngjae poured a cup of water for his mother, who was still staring deadly at him. Even with the years, her attitude towards her son never changed; always looking at her own flesh and blood as if he carries an incurable disease. Youngjae was used to being hurt, but he never blamed his mother.

Taking the seat across from Madam Choi, Youngjae sighed softly, “What are you here for, Mother?”

“Go back home,” his mother got straight to the point without blinking an eye.

“Now?”

“Yes, now.”

“What’s wrong?” Since the day Youngjae left his hometown for college in Seoul, he has not stepped even half a foot back home. For some reason, Youngjae dreaded going back there. Things never felt right whenever he was home. And although his mother was, still is, a vicious woman, he appreciated that she never told him to come home. Well, until now.

Madam Choi stared at the cup of water in front of her cautiously, then she decided to swallow her thirst instead. “For two reasons. One, a very important business partner of mine asked if I could house someone, and I said yes. Two, I am going to set you up for a blind date.”

Youngjae wanted to roll his eyes at the second reason. “What does the first reason have to do with me?”

“You dare talk back now?” Madam Choi glared, feeling her blood boiled, “I will be out on a business trip for two weeks. You will be hosting in my place.”

“Mother, I also have work-”

“It’s a favor from an important business partner, I do not want us to come out as disrespectful. You are my son and will be there in place of me, do you understand? You have a share in this law firm, too. I’m sure that ill-mannered thing you called a ‘friend’ can handle a month of you not being here.”

“Don’t talk about Kang Han like that.”

Sighing in disappointment, Madam Choi shook her head as she patted the fur collar of her expensive mink coat, “You and your undisciplined taste in people.”

Didn’t really know what that meant nor did he care, Youngjae badly wanted to just walk out on his own mother. He’s already this grown, yet she's really out here still treating him like a child. But of course, Choi Youngjae’s angel-like personality does not allow himself to make such an unfilial scene. Instead, Youngjae opted to do as ordered.

“Okay. Who are we hosting that is so important?”

The madam shrugged, “I don’t know. We’re meeting my business partner tomorrow at a function.”

“Here? In Seoul?” Youngjae gaped at his mother in disbelief. All of this suddenly popped out of nowhere without a single warning. “We?”

“Yes, we. Now, I’m tired. I’m going to stay at a hotel. I’ll have my assistant send you the address of the place.”

“Wait-”

“Be there on time. Save me some face at least.”

Just like that, Madam Choi disappeared as fast as she entered. The young lawyer was left to sit there in his seat, trying to wrap his mind around what happened. His own mother really disregarded him as a person so much, she didn’t even think twice about planning this ahead with him. She just did everything in her own way.

Youngjae fell back onto the sofa and closed his eyes. “When will I ever be free of this…”

<||><||><||><||><||>

Even without his mother telling him to do so, Youngjae would still show up on time. He’s always been punctual. When he walked into the function, dressed in a simple black suit with hair slicked back to reveal more of his handsome face, everyone didn’t hide the awe in their eyes. Not only was Choi Youngjae known for being well-respected in the field for his accomplishments despite being one of the youngest, but he was also known to have that calming vibe that everyone loved to wheel around with. And no one could ever forget who was the lawyer in charge of defending Jet Entertainment in the unsolved Jet Scandal. Who could forget the person who’s currently being witch hunted by Sun Corporation for trying to diminish their plan? Just a couple months ago, Choi Youngjae’s handsome face was everywhere in the news for everyone to ridicule him as a traitor for siding with the possible culprit of the infamous Myeong-dong Arson. Youngjae stayed lowkey since the day Sun Corporation pulled a couple of strings and fished him out of the case. It’s been too long since he last participated in a formal function.

Nervousness does not exist in his dictionary.

Not when it comes to professional work.

Someone approached the lawyer with a curt smile, “Lawyer Choi, it’s good to see you finally out of your cave.”

“Lawyer Lee, thank you for having me in your thoughts. You must be having too much free time,” Youngjae returned the smile politely.

Lawyer Lee, Lee Soohee, a woman with a strong personality on the court, was the legal representative for Sun Corporation. She ignored her opponent’s remark and butted in with another matter. “Madam Choi is here also. I’m guessing you could make it through those doors because of her, right?”

To humor Lawyer Lee, Youngjae kept his vibrant smile, “Yes, indeed. I really have no need to be here at all, you know?”

“You-”

“Choi Youngjae-ssi!” An excited call of a rather familiar voice grabbed the young lawyer’s attention right away. Walking towards him with a bright smile was none other than JB’s manager, Son Youngmi. “I didn’t think you’d be here!”

Using this meet-up as a plan to walk away from Lee Soohee, Youngjae casually made his way towards Youngmi. As soon as he was close enough, he lightly touched Youngmi’s shoulder and steered her back to facing the direction she came from. Lee Soohee probably felt disrespected and stood there frozen as ice, but Youngjae could care less. He turned his attention to Youngmi, “Hello, Youngmi-ssi, you look beautiful.” That wasn’t a lie.

Youngmi chuckled and shook her head, “No, it’s just normally I don’t dress up. But thank you! You look good, too!”

“Thank you.”

“I really didn’t expect you to be here… Because… You know…” Youngmi tried to be careful with her words, since she didn’t know how sensitive the topic would be for Lawyer Choi.

“I’m here for my mother’s business. It’s nothing that important,” Youngjae replied. He glanced around unconsciously, “But if you’re here… Does that mean-”

“Noona, what are you doing,” another voice, belonging to the one and only Im Jaebum. The idol looked at the close proximity between his manager and his lawyer with an unreadable expression.

Seeing the way Jaebum’s eyes quivered slightly, Youngmi coughed and removed herself from Lawyer Choi’s bubble. “Jaebum was invited.”

As if on cue, appearing next to Im Jaebum was Choi Myungdae. “Youngjae-ssi! Hey!”

Youngmi pursed her lips, “Myungdae was invited, as well.”

Before Youngjae could greet back, his mother’s stern voice pierced through the lively atmosphere like a sharp sword dipped in deadly poison, “Youngjae.” Madam Choi didn’t look happy. She looked unusually unhappy.

“Mother,” Youngjae lowered his head out of respect. Little did he notice how tensed up Jaebum and Myungdae became the moment they heard and saw Madam Choi. “Where is the person we’re supposed to meet?”

Madam Choi didn’t bother answering her son’s question, rather she laid eyes on that hateful thorn she thought she’d never meet again in her life. Yet, that day has come. “What are you doing hanging around these people?”

Youngjae didn’t understand his mother's overwhelming rage out of nowhere. “This is one of my clients, Im Jaebum-ssi.”

“Client?!”

“Yes, client-”

“Who put you on this? You have a law degree and what did you do with it? You represent this?!”

“Mother, please don’t speak like that in front-”

Madam Choi scoffed and rolled her eyes, “I can’t believe this. You stooped THIS low.” The madam stared deadly into Jaebum’s red eyes. No one knew what she was going to do. Her heels clicked loudly as she stepped slowly over to the idol with murderous intent.

Jaebum didn’t break eye-contact. Back then, he was scared of her. But not anymore. It’s been ten years. The Im Jaebum back then was far more different than the Im Jaebum now.

Not understanding the sudden harsh tension between Jaebum and his mother, Youngjae couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t defend his own client. His mother can’t do this. Youngjae stepped in between, blocking Madam Choi from advancing any further. The blunt action surprised everyone involved in this little stand-off. “Mother, this is my professional work. Please, don’t do anything rash and embarrass yourself. I don’t know what is going on with you, but he is my client. May I ask you to show a little bit of respect in public, please, ma’am?”

“That good-for-nothing co-worker of yours put you up for this, right? I knew it. I told you countless times to not meddle with disgusting people like him. But you just had to go against me, huh?”

Youngjae could not stand those words coming out of his mother’s mouth. He could not stand the way her eyes seemed to rip through his soul. He could not stand the silent violence stirred within those pupils. “Kang Han is my best friend. Please, stop speaking about him like that. I’ve had enough of you keep ridiculing him for no reason.”

“...”

At the back, Jaebum knew exactly who Madam Choi was referring to when she said people like “him.” He knew it all too well how much that woman still hates him. The fact that she’s so obsessed with the idea of her son hanging out with people she finds disgusting was enough to make Jaebum want to give her a good wake-up call. His heart ached for Youngjae, because the younger just had to go through this the second time.

The second time hearing his own mother talked down on his best friend like she's just drinking water.

“Mother, please, let’s just go get our business done and not cause a scene.”

“Are you defending him now? I knew you were just a disgrace to this family! First with that stupid thing you did against Sun Corporation that put you in this state. Now, this? When will you ever use your brain? Why are you so stupid?!”

“Mother!” Youngjae raised his voice unexpectedly. Fortunately, the room was quite crowded and noisy. No one noticed the mother and son arguing. “Stop-”

A slap quickly caught on Youngjae’s cheek. Jaebum’s eyes bulged angrily as he tried to throw himself at that evil woman on impulse. Myungdae stopped Jaebum just as fast, holding his best friend’s arm and shook his head in disapproval. Youngmi confusingly looked back and forth between the family drama in front of her and the scary Im Jaebum who looked like he was about to lash out in a wild massacre.

“I knew I shouldn’t have raised such an insolent child as you,” Madam Choi spat, putting her hand down to wipe it with her handkerchief. “What a waste of my investment!”

Clenching his jaw tight in unjust anger, Youngjae regained his composure to face his mother again. He didn’t say anything.

The madam continued, “Your uselessness always attracts the same type of people. First, that scum Jaebum, and now, that lecherous Kang Han. Sometimes I wonder why are you so loyal to such dirt of society. It disgusts me.” Walking away, Madam Choi recollected herself before she could meet her business partner.

Like lightning strike, so many emotions rained down on Youngjae. He chased after his mother and caught her arm. “W-wait! Y-you mentioned… Jaebum…?”

His mother looked up at his watery eyes and pained expression with a wicked smirk, “Look at the mess that you are. What are you going to do now? Cry? How does it feel to not remember sixteen years of your life, son? But you know what? Maybe that is best for you. Your precious Jaebum left you anyways. Not worth remembering, because who knows he might be hating you so much right now.” She spoke in a calm voice, eyes staring straight at Im Jaebum.

Jaebum never felt so much anger and hatred all at once before. He desperately wanted to pull Youngjae back and hug him and tell him that evil witch was lying to him. She’s lying. Because Jaebum never once in his life hated Youngjae. If anything, his love for Youngjae grew even more brutal each and every day. He admitted that he was a for leaving the love of his life, but he will never stop loving Youngjae.

But Youngjae didn’t know this.

Didn’t understand this.

He blamed himself.

Finally breaking her son’s heart into pieces, Madam Choi pulled back her arm in a rude manner and vanished into the crowd with her bodyguards following closely behind her. Youngjae watched his mother leave hopelessly. He felt tears b, threatening to escape in order to ease the overwhelming emotions piling against his throat. What came out of his mother’s mouth did more than just hurt him. Those words damaged every inch of his heart. Those words tore him apart. Pain stabbed repeatedly all over him, making sure he’d bleed to death.

Jaebum stared at Youngjae’s defeated back. Maybe he should go over there and comfort Youngjae. Jaebum contemplated whether it’d be a great idea or not. But Youngmi took the lead after seeing that her idol wasn’t going to move from his spot. “Youngjae-ssi…”

Upon hearing his name being called softly, the young lawyer turned around with a strained smile, “My apologies, you have to witness that. You have a wonderful night. I have to handle some business with my mother.” And he scurried off before another tear could fall.

<||><||><||><||><||>

Choi Eunhye waited around for her business partner to show up while sipping on a glass of sweet wine. After what had happened with her son, the madness lingered deep within her black heart. The last ten years had been smooth sailing for her. Everything was going well. She thought that scum would never show up in front of her again. Unfortunately for Madam Choi, fate loved to play with her patience. The showbiz world never posed as an interest to the cold-hearted, workaholic Madam Choi. So how was she supposed to know that piece of became insanely successful? How was she supposed to know that dirty kid she called “scumbag” would cross paths with her son again after so many years?

Very good thing that her son had lost his memories.

She would hate to have to go through that mess one more time.

“Madam, the young master seemed to have left already,” a bodyguard whispered into Madam Choi's ear.

Half shocked and disappointed, Madam Choi just sighed and waved it off. Even though she treated her son no less than trash, she knew what kind of person he was. Well, after all those mean things she had said, there was no way her son would want to stick around and fake it any further. Thus, no use in trying to hold him back from acting like a damn fool for all eyes to see.

“Choi Eunhye-ssi?”

The madam lifted her head to meet eyes with another elegant madam. Eunhye smiled widely, “Nam Hyoreum-ssi, hello.”

Nam Hyoreum greeted with a subtle bow to show respect for her elder. “Did I keep you waiting for long?”

Shaking her head, Madam Choi handed her wine glass to one of her bodyguards, “Not really. I was just enjoying the social event.”

“Is that so? I don’t see you socializing,” Madam Nam chuckled softly, eyes twinkling prettily under the bright light.

“I am,” Madam Choi forced out her most friendly smile, “With you.”

The two women laughed with their mouths covered. One of the two genuinely didn’t understand what or why they were laughing. They exchanged a few more dialogues before Madam Nam settled in lightly with a little touch to Madam Choi’s wrist. “Again, I am so sorry to have asked you such a strange request. My cousin really needed someone safe for his artist-”

“An artist? Like the ones that paint and draw?” Madam Choi interrupted out of curiosity.

“No, ma’am. An artist as in singing and performing.”

“Oh, I see. That’s fine, too,” the curious madam definitely didn’t see anything wrong with this whole situation until it struck her a few seconds later. The only person in this room who could sing and perform was…

“I brought over the person,” Madam Nam reached out her arm and gestured for someone to come over. When the person had found their place next to her, she introduced the guest to the host, “This is Im Jaebum. Thank you for letting him stay at your household, Madam.”

Madam Choi’s eyes widened at the sight of that leech, “Y-you said this is who I am housing?!”

Jaebum smirked boldly but still bowed politely, “Hello, ma’am. Please take good care of me.”

“You-!”