“I-I’m sorry, Mrs Byun.”

The woman glared at the boy below her, despite being related by blood, she could only despise his presence. 

Seeing Baekhyun only reminded her of the old and difficult days when her salary was only enough to cover Baekhyun’s school fees and some utility fees, her friends were all slowly rising up the ranks, but somehow, she was still stuck in that little one room apartment shared with her husband and son. Despite how hard they’ve worked, nothing seems to be improving.

That was until Mrs Byun went to a fortune teller, and that’s where their lives all changed. Some for the better, some for the worse.

“Your child, or children, have bad karma.” The fortune teller moved her hands around a glowing ball, frowning as she tried to foresee the poor woman’s future.

“What should I do?” 

“Move to the central part of Seoul. That is where the good karma is concentrated.” The fortune teller pulls out her map, circling around an area with the word ‘GOOD KARMA’ printed over it.

“Will that really make me rich?” 

“Yes, right now I sense a really bad karma, your son was born on a day of a terrible thunder, it’s terribly unlucky. But Miss, you actually have a lot of good luck. You’re being trapped by your child’s bad karma, once you fix it, you will be rewarded. Maybe you can consider buying a good luck charm for your son?” 

But all Mrs Byun took away from the session was: my child is bad luck.

He’s the reason for all my sadness and despair.

Mrs Byun feels very negatively about her son. As an extremely superstitious woman, what the fortune teller had said made a lot of sense to her. She had children for the sake of having children, and despite being a mother, she could only see her son as a burden. At the same time, she felt a sense of relief, that she could finally point to something to blame. It’s not her laziness, not her poor attitude or her unwillingness to learn. It just had to be her son’s fault.

-

“Honey, you’re trying to say that we...move to central Seoul, and leave Baekhyun here?” Mr Byun said in a confused tone, not really understanding what his wife was saying.

“The fortune teller drew this map for me, according to the sun and moon, our child has a lot of bad karma, he’s bad luck. If we want to be rich, we need to get out of here.”

“How about Baekhyun? Will we come back to get him?” 

“Of course, when our lives are settled.”

Mr and Mrs Byun pack their bags, and with no final words exchanged with their son, they leave for the door, taking the earliest morning train to do some house hunting in the central area. Poor Baekhyun woke up confused at the disappearance of his parents, he had cried and sobbed, calling his parents numerous times but it always went to voicemail. He couldn’t file a missing report either, because after rushing into his parents’ room and seeing the closets empty, it was clear that they had left without him. 

Waiting for a day became a week, then a month, then a few years. They never came back.

Mr and Mrs Byun forgot about their son overtime. True to the fortune teller’s words, the couple really did hit the jackpot and started up their own company. Sales were doing extremely well in their first year and they were finally living amongst the riches like they’ve always dreamed of.

With their dream come true, the couple became reluctant in bringing Baekhyun back into their lives. Their lives were so perfect, there was too much to lose. The couple decided then that they would never raise children again, trying to forget every memory they shared in the past.

But then an unexpected pregnancy arrived a few years later, Mr and Mrs Byun didn’t have the heart to abort it, but yet they didn’t want to raise it, for fear it would bring bad luck again. With a cold and heartless soul, they piled up their troubles onto their son’s already very problematic life, and once again, they never came back.

-

“T-This way to the VIP room, Mrs Byun.” Baekhyun stuttered out, leading the way to the exclusive room for the VIPs to have a first look at the brand new caviar skinned bags. Baekhyun felt like he was on the verge of crying, maybe he shouldn’t have taken this job and come face to face with the woman he used to refer to as his mother, who ironically dislikes him so much.

“I don’t want you as my personal shopper, find me someone else.”

“R-Right away.”

Jongdae watches worriedly from afar, his best friend is pale like a ghost, and seems to find it difficult to concentrate. But when his father introduces him to yet another big designer in the industry, he had to put his worries aside.

-

Baekhyun hoped that that was all and he could finally leave now since Mrs Byun was supposed to be his last customer of the day, but when Mrs Byun finished shopping and headed for the door, her secretary called him over and asked to have a quick chat in the mall’s VIP Lounge. 

Baekhyun sweated nervously, stomach churning as he followed behind the woman wearing an unnecessarily large coat and high heeled pumps. They quickly reached the top floor, and sat down at one of the corner tables.

Mrs Byun looked at her son looking around the lounge. She felt boastful and proud, it was probably Baekhyun’s first time here, a commoner like him wouldn’t be allowed into such a place.  This lounge is exclusively for customers who spend 100 Million Won every year at the mall.

“Byun Baekhyun. I thought that I already made myself clear. We’re not supposed to cross paths again, did you not understand? Are you here for my money? Do you know how disgraceful that is?”

“N-No, I didn’t know you were one of the VIPs, I actually have an internship with Chenel.”

“Internship? Are you in school or something?”

“Yes, Seoul Academy.”

“W-What? The prestigious Seoul Academy?”

 Now this was definitely surprising. Mrs Byun expected her son to have had quit school, he needed money to support Minjun and himself after all. Not only did Baekhyun continue school, he entered Korea’s top University as well.

“After all these years, you still haven’t told me why you left, why did you-”

“I haven’t even finished talking yet. How dare you ask such personal questions? Do you have no manners at all?”

“I’m sorry...” Baekhyun flinched at the woman’s sharp tongue and apologized immediately, if she could ask him questions about his personal life, why couldn’t he do the same?

“But fine, since I owe you this, I’ll tell you. It’s hard to say it in a nice way, but you’re bad luck, Baekhyun-ah. Ever since we moved out that year, we really hit the jackpot and are living in the most luxurious way possible. The fortune teller said that you have really bad karma, but you seem to be doing well right now. Seoul Academy isn’t easy to enter-”

“How could you? How could you just abandon me, and abandon Minjun, for money and a comfortable life? You created us, and you dare say that your own children are bad luck?” Baekhyun’s voice trembled as he spoke back, his eyes were becoming red and he tried really hard to not let the tears fall. 

All along he had hoped his parents left him on his own to do something good, that there must be a reason why they left so urgently. But turns out, a little superstition and the greed for money was all it took to turn his life upside down. If Minjun ever asks Baekhyun about where their parents are, Baekhyun doesn’t have the heart to tell him that their parents abandoned them to live a fabulous life of their own.

“Is this how you speak to your elders? How impolite-” The woman grabbed her glass of juice, having a strong urge to spill her beverage onto Baekhyun’s uniform.

“Baekhyun-ah! What’s going on?”

Both their heads turned, and Mrs Byun immediately puts her glass back down. Baekhyun immediately recognizes the lady in front of them, and he wants to hide his face in embarrassment.

“Mrs Park, how are you? Do you remember me? I’m from the Byun-” Mrs Byun gives an overly exaggerated smile, twirling her hair as she bowed to give Mrs Park the utmost respect. 

Mrs Park gave the woman a polite smile, before quickly dismissing her and facing Baekhyun. She had a very concerned look on her face, and she gently grabbed Baekhyun’s cheeks to face her. Mrs Park could tell that the boy was holding back his tears - his eyes were wet and his nose was turning a pinkish red.

Mrs Byun gaped like a fish at the intimacy between Mrs Park and Baekhyun, Mrs Park looked more like Baekhyun’s mother than she ever did. 

“M-Mrs Park, do you know Baekhyun here? Is he your personal shopper at Chenel?” Mrs Byun walked closer, curious as to what their relationship was. How did his son get so close to the madame of the Park household?

“Ah, Baekhyun here is my son in-law.” 

Mrs Park wrapped her arms around by the boy’s shoulder and patted his hair gently. Baekhyun stood there in shock, and so did Mrs Byun. Mrs Park just publicly introduced Baekhyun as her son in-law, and if even he himself was in shock, he couldn’t imagine how Mrs Byun must be feeling.

“Baekhyun-ah! Why didn’t you tell me…? W-When did you become one of the Parks?” Mrs Byun slowly staggered to where Baekhyun was standing and grabbed his arm with a very sly grip, and that just made him even more upset. It just proved how much of a gold digger his mother was.

“Baekhyun is my son’s partner. The future heir of the Park Enterprise.” 

Mrs Park pulls Baekhyun away from Mrs Byun’s grip, bringing Baekhyun closer to her side. Noticing Baekhyun’s discomfort and being too emotionally unstable to speak, Mrs Park chipped in to help the poor boy. Like Chanyeol mentioned to his mother before, Baekhyun really needed a lot of protection. The world was just too cruel to him. 

“Son, do you know who this woman is? Is she disturbing you at work?” Mrs Park asked with a gentle voice, feigning ignorance though she knew very well that Mrs Byun was Baekhyun’s mother.

Mrs Byun looked desperately at her son, uttering the fact that she is his mother is enough for her. 

“C-Come on Baekhyun-ah, introduce omma to your mother-in-law.” That fake sweetness in Mrs Byun’s voice disgusted Baekhyun, it made him want to puke and cry in one corner. With how close the woman was, Baekhyun could smell her awful smelling fragrance, a scent so pungent and overly-rich that made him sick to his stomach.

“Mom, I don’t know who she is. I want to leave.”

Baekhyun replied to Mrs Park, glancing at Mrs Byun with disdain in his eyes. Mrs Byun could only react in horror at his son disregarding her, maybe now she would know how he felt when they had abandoned him when he was just a mere teenager.

“Baekhyun, how could you embarrass your mom like that? Don’t be like that-”

“Baekhyun-ah, follow Mr Kim to the car, mom will join you later, alright?” Mrs Park cut Mrs Byun off and gave a comforting pat on the boy’s shoulder, before calling for Mr Kim to bring Baekhyun to their car. Before Baekhyun left the lounge, he took one last glance at Mrs Park, something sparked in her eyes that reminded him so much of Chanyeol, it made him feel safe.

-

“Mrs Byun, do you know what I hate the most in this world?”

“W-What is it, Mrs Park?” Mrs Byun trembled, still shocked at the turn of events. Her juice became diluted from sitting there for so long, but she couldn’t resist the urge to take large sips as the domineering Park madame looked at her with a disappointed look.

“I hate people who have such a terrible greed for wealth.” 

“W-What do you mean, Mrs Park, I would never! Baekhyun is such a good son, I would never do such a-” Mrs Byun faked a chuckle, fanning herself with her hand as she rambled, but Mrs Park once again cut her off, being quick witted and sharp.

“Enough with that crap, Byun. You have not talked to your son in years. Byun Baekhyun and Byun Minjun are part of the Park household now, the chairwoman dotes on them and my son loves them both. They have never been happier, so please don’t harass them in public, especially Baekhyun, ever again when you see them in the future.” A vulgar side of Mrs Park unconsciously popped out, a motherly instinct to protect the two innocent children.

“They’re my children! I deserve to see them!” Mrs Byun suddenly cried out, trying to act pitiful for some sympathy. Mrs Park rolled her eyes, wondering why sweet little Baekhyun had such a stubborn mother.

“You clearly lost that right when you decided to leave them behind a few years ago! You have also violated the law by doing that to both your children under the age of 16. I could easily file a lawsuit and put you and your husband in jail. Do you understand?”

“Y-Yes…”

“Good. And remember, Park Enterprises will never work with such cruel CEOs like you.”

With a contented smile, Mrs Park walks out of the lounge while Mrs Byun crumbles on the sofa seat, looking extremely deflated at the possibility of blackmail.

Horoscopes are not that accurate after all.

-

Mr Kim panics as he opens yet another packet of tissues for Baekhyun, who is currently a crying mess. The moment Baekhyun entered the car, he lets out a sob and slowly it becomes muffled cries. Both the driver and Mr Kim stared at each other, not knowing how to comfort Baekhyun.

“Baekhyun-sshi, I’m sure that everything will be fine. Mrs Park is good at dealing with problems.” 

Baekhyun wasn’t crying out of fear that the problem wouldn’t be solved, but he’s crying in pain from that encounter with his mother - that the way she had thought of him had never changed, and even had the audacity to label him as bad luck. He is just speechless that even after so many years, their ty attitudes still remain the same, and it hurts so bad - to have your mother treat you like not just like a stranger, but as a commoner below her that did not deserve her time or respect.

Baekhyun cried like the pain of an open wound, he was so overwhelmed by his emotions that he broke down entirely, and didn’t even try to wipe away his tears. Mr Kim had to do the dabbing, and waited patiently for Baekhyun to calm down a little.

Baekhyun soon falls asleep, too tired from crying so hard.

Mrs Park finally arrives and sits next to Baekhyun in the car, she could see the dried up tears on his face, and the crazy amount of tissues that have been wet and soiled.

“How is he, Mr Kim?”

“Baekhyun-sshi doesn’t seem to be coping well, he cried the moment he entered the car.” 

Mrs Park gently brushed the hair stuck to Baekhyun’s forehead, her motherly instinct had never been so strong. Maybe because Chanyeol was always such an independent and aggressive little boy, Mrs Park didn’t really have to protect him so much.

“Poor boy, let him sleep. We’ll drop him off at Chanyeol’s.”