Mrs. Oh and Mrs. Kim took a taxi to Minkyung’s house. Mrs. Oh pretended not to let the excitement show once they were in the posh neighbourhood. Houses were rare in the capital city. Houses with big gates and walled gardens were the epitome of luxury. Mrs. Kim pointed to every house that went by. She imagined what it would be like living in such splendor. To redo the house whenever she chose, buy all the clothes, shoes and handbags she wanted, go on holidays to exotic countries, have an expensive car and a chauffeur, eat the best food the world had to offer, be pampered by maids and be the envy of all the friends.

Neither of the two ladies could contain their glee when the taxi dropped them off in front of such a house. Mrs. Kim watched Mrs. Oh ring the doorbell with a hint of green. The housekeeping manager greeted them from the intercom.

“I’m here to see Miss Kim Minkyung.”

“There’s no one by that name here.”

“I think you misheard. I’m looking for my future daughter-in-law Kim Min-kyung.”

“I’m sorry but I think you’ve the wrong address.”

The manager hung up. Mrs. Oh was frazzled. Mrs. Kim was equally as startled.

“She doesn’t live here?” Mrs. Kim wondered.

“No, she does, she said so. This rude housekeeper is doing this on purpose.”

Mrs. Oh rang the doorbell again impatiently. She had an argument with the housekeeper. The latter wasn’t too thrilled and stopped answering the intercom.

“How rude is this woman! She is stopping me from seeing my family.” Mrs. Oh stomped her foot, her face as red as her aggressive tone.

“Do you think you might have gotten the wrong house number? What if it’s house number 10 not 11?”

“I am sure it’s 11.”

Mrs. Kim was having wild doubts about Minkyung but said nothing. Mrs. Oh was wearing a murderous look. Mrs. Kim didn’t want to encourage anything. The duo tottered up to house 10 which sat at the top of a hill. The climb was arduous. They were both winded when they reached the top. Mrs. Kim’s curls had fallen out from behind her ears and she kept trying to push the disheveled hair back into place. Mrs. Oh did not have as much hair for there to be any mishap. Mrs. Kim breathed more heavily than Mrs. Oh who was mustering her breath to speak.

She rang the doorbell with as much dignity as she could maintain after insult and exercise. A voice greeted them from the intercom. At the mention of Kim Minkyung’s name the owner of the voice said she would be right out.

The voice belonged to a lady around the same age as Mrs. Kim and Mrs. Oh. She was the housekeeper at house 10.

“You wanted to know about Minkyung?” The housekeeper inquired, her eyes sparkling knowingly.

“Is she at home?” Mrs. Oh asked impatiently. “I’m here to see her, she will soon marry my son.”

“This is not the Kim family’s house. This is the Wu family home. The Kim family used to live in house 11, which is down the road. They no longer live there, ever since the family went bankrupt. Such a shame it was. I knew the children there quite well. Minkyung especially, she used to flirt with Master Kris.”

“You know Minkyung?” Mrs. Kim asked.

“No, she doesn’t, how can she? This is the wrong house,” Mrs. Oh snapped.

“I did know Minkyung then. I don’t know where she is now. Good riddance. She was troublesome. The whole family was trouble starting from the mother.”

“Can you tell us more?” Mrs. Kim quizzed.

Mrs. Oh wanted to hear more but not in the company of Mrs. Kim. She crossed her arms over her chest and listened to what the housekeeper at house 10 had to say.

“They were a rich family. The mother was wild, nosy, always in everyone’s business. She didn’t take much care of her children. They were ungroomed and wretched. One year the family moved abroad. The next year they came back saying it was hard to settle abroad.

“There was a new addition to the family in that year, a young baby girl that Mrs. Kim said was hers but everyone in this neighbourhood knows that the baby really belonged to that lascivious eldest daughter of theirs, Minkyung. The real reason of their coming home was because of the shame that girl had brought the family. She was only a teenager. Mind you, Mrs. Kim will always say it is her child. She was well past the age of child bearing when the baby appeared.”

“Minkyung has a child? What happened to the father?” Mrs. Kim asked.

“I don’t know. No one knows who the father is.”

Suddenly Mrs. Oh wasn’t feeling too well. She clutched onto Mrs. Kim for support and fanned herself with her hand.

“A single mother?” Mrs. Oh asked faintly.

“Yes, the whole family was a disaster. The eldest girl a single mother, the eldest boy gay and the other girl, I’m sure she’s just as insane. It’s all to do with the mother. She didn’t raise her kids right. When the family went bankrupt she troubled her husband so much that he ended his life.”

“Minkyung is poor?” Mrs. Oh breathed.

“I’m sure it’s not the same person. She might just have the same name.”

“I am not a liar. Wait here! I have a picture of the family who used to be in house 11. The Kim’s and the Wu’s would celebrate New Year’s together.” The housekeeper disappeared, behind her the gate swung closed. Mrs. Oh was having a hard time coming to terms with everything.

The idea of having the most suitable suitor for her daughter was not disintegrating before her eyes. She worried for Sehun, praying he wasn’t so far into the romance that he was thinking to do something rash. Mrs. Oh couldn’t afford to marry a single mother into the family. What would people say?

The housekeeper wasted no time in returning with a picture. Many faces stood side by side in colourful clothes. Mrs. Oh spotted Minkyung before the housekeeper could point her out. She introduced the Kim family to the duo, name by name and then pointed to the baby in Mrs. Kim’s arms. “That is Minkyung’s baby.”

“Oh, my, she was so young, what was she thinking?” Mrs. Kim’s voice was filled with disapproval.

Mrs. Oh said nothing. She was feeling dizzy.

They thanked the housekeeper for revealing the truth to them.

“Oh, it was my pleasure.” The housekeeper at house 10 disappeared and the gate shut behind her.

Mrs. Kim’s brain was whirring at abnormal speeds. Immediately her thoughts flew to her own son and that girl. Mrs. Kim didn’t know anything about that girl other than what Jongin had told her. She trembled. Was it possible that Sehun’s negative influence had corrupted her precious Jongin? She prayed it wasn’t so.

Mrs. Kim found the right excuse to call her son. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Oh, I’ll call Jongin and ask about Sehun.”

She tried to call her son. Jongin didn’t pick up. Mrs. Kim grew agitated. This behaviour wasn’t at all like Jongin. Her son had always answered her calls before. The Sehun-like action alarmed her.

“My son isn’t picking up, is yours?”

As usual when Mrs. Oh tried calling her son there was no answer.

They decided to visit the boys at work.

Mrs. Kim called a taxi. Mrs. Oh gave the taxi driver the address.

When they got to the location they found that the building was abandoned and had been that way for a very long time.

The boys had lied to them!

Both mothers were now at the verge of a mental breakdown until Mrs. Kim remembered that Jongin had a girlfriend who’s number she had in her phone. Mrs. Oh was relieved, she too wanted to get in contact with someone who would know something about Sehun. Jongin’s girlfriend was perfect, where Jongin was, surely Sehun would be near.

*

Ayoung wasn’t sure what she was thinking when she agreed to meet Jongin’s mother. She and Jongin were no longer together. Apparently Jongin had kept this from his mother. What did that mean?

Jongin, who had been so adamant that they break up, had not told his mother, the person who would be happiest when she heard they were separated. The world was clearly spinning off its axis. Ayoung didn’t know why she was meeting Jongin’s mother either. Perhaps it was the worried tone that had startled her.

She had given them the address to the social service centre and told them to wait at reception. Now she was delaying the meeting by avoiding Mrs. Kim.

Ayoung and Mrs. Kim always got into rows when they were together. Jongin was the mediator of their fights. She wondered if she should call the son in case an eye were to fall out. Ayoung looked at her phone, was close to speed dialing Jongin, her finger lingered but she decided against it. It was time to grow up. If Jongin didn’t want this relationship then neither did she.

She put on a brave front and went to reception. Mrs. Kim was pacing there manically. When she saw Ayoung she ran up to her.

“Where is my son? How is he? Why isn’t he answering his phone calls? What have you done with him?” Mrs. Kim bombarded her with questions.

Ayoung had no answers. She told Mrs. Kim to calm down, take a seat and tell her what was going on.

Mrs. Kim took this as an insult. She pointed an accusing finger at Ayoung, called her a bunch of names and again demanded where her son was.

Ayoung asked if they wanted any tea or coffee. Mentally she told herself off for inviting the two ladies to her workplace. This could get very ugly for her.

Mrs. Oh wanted water and a cup of tea. Mrs. Kim asked if there were biscuits too.

Ayoung made sure they were taken care of before moving away and giving Jongin a ring. His phone was off. She picked at her cuticles. Was something wrong?

She tried calling Sehun next.

He answered.

“Do you know where Jongin is? He’s not answering his phone. His mom and yours are here at my workplace looking for him.”

Sehun digested this. He didn’t tell her where Jongin was or if anything had happened to him. All he said was that he’d come over if she sent him the address. Sehun said he’d pick up the two ladies. Ayoung thanked him and wondered if she should inquire further about Jongin, was he okay? Before she had a chance to Sehun had already hung up.

She grit her teeth. Clearly Sehun didn’t like the situation either. Breakups were messy. She took a deep breath, tried to calm herself and then contemplated if she should leave Jongin a voice message.

In the end, she did, she asked him where he was and if he was doing okay. Had she been completely indifferent she may have inquired about his girlfriend. Ayoung didn’t mention the woman. She didn’t have to. Naomi Kim was a fashionista and a social media influencer known for her love of animal skins and other animal abusive and environmentally unfriendly lifestyle.

“Couldn’t he have picked someone nicer?” Ayoung grumbled to herself. Obviously this fling with Naomi hadn’t reached Mrs. Kim. Perhaps the cocky woman didn’t want Jongin to tell his mother about it. Why else was Mrs. Kim here distraught and worried?

Ayoung contemplated if she should go back to the duo or wait for Sehun to haul them away. Against her instinct she decided to see what the ladies were up to lest they inquest why she was being neglectful and create a fuss at her workplace.

“So much for having a break-time,” she murmured to herself.

Mrs. Oh and Mrs. Kim were discussing Minkyung. Nothing was working out today for the ladies. Mrs. Oh imagined she had been scammed, her only son had been hoodwinked and she was the one who had put that girl and Sehun together. She was crying into a handkerchief, regretting all the decisions that led up to this moment.

“Mr. Oh did a terrible job raising his son,” Mrs. Oh cried. “If only he had paid more attention to his son the boy would have turned out okay.