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xv.

 

He’s walking away from Jeguk Middle School, his hands in his pockets and feeling, for some stupid, unfathomable reason, incomplete without Kim Tan by his side.

He doesn’t understand why.

He never would have believed it, if it hadn’t come from his own best friend’s - ex, now. ex - lips: he’s an illegitimate child. His mother is a mistress - and has the audacity to live in the Kim household, of all things. No wonder the Chairwoman is so indifferent towards him. He thought she was just cold, even to her own son. No, she really just resents him, and what he represents: her husband’s unfaithfulness.

(The image of his father and that other woman burns in his mind, as he tries to forget.)

The air is cold today, he realizes as he closes his eyes and continues walking. The sun is shining, but there’s no warmth from its rays.

His eyes fly open at the impact of hitting another person.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles quickly, brushing himself off before offering a hand to the young woman on the ground. He’d be more angry - who would dare to crash into the heir to the Zeus Corporation? - but he can’t deny it was his fault for not looking.

She smiles softly, but also, with a tinge of sadness. It’s almost like nostalgia, but he’s quite sure he’s never met her before. It must be something else. She’s older than him - maybe 25? - and she’s pretty, yes, but nothing Myung Soo would fanboy about. “It’s okay… I’m fine.”

“That’s good,” he says shortly, not in the mood for small talk. (Then again, he never really is.) “Sorry aga -”

“But you’re not,” she interrupts, smiling at him again. This time, he can’t deny the sadness in her eyes. “You’re not okay, right?”

Is it really that obvious? Or is she just psychic? “What are you talking about?”

“Listen to your enemy today,” she tells him cryptically. “You’ll regret it if you don’t, forever. You don’t have to trust him ever again but please, just for today, follow him.”

“What?” he asks, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Who are you? What do you mean, I’ll regret it?”

“I’m sorry, I’m in a hurry today. But that’s my advice, take it or leave it.” She’s gone in a flash before he can say anything else.

Weird.

- : -

He almost doesn’t follow Kim Tan, until those cryptic words flash in his mind. You’ll regret it forever, she had told him, before running off as fast as possible.

Just for today.

He only meets with his mother for a few minutes as she hurriedly explains what’s going on. She can’t tell him where she’s fleeing but she promises she’ll come back for him.

“I can’t protect you from your father, but I don’t think I ever could. So take care of yourself, Young Do. Bear this weight while you can, and one day, I will find a way to set you free.”

(He owes one to Kim Tan, now. But more than that, he owes a priceless debt to that mysterious girl on the street, because she’s the one who changed his mind. He doesn’t know how she knew, but that’s not what really matters. He’ll never forget what she did for him.)

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xviii.

It’s his last year of high school at Jeguk and his mother has already reunited with him. She’s running a quiet cafe on the other side of Seoul, with a different name and a different identity. She’s happy, though, more than he ever saw her be when his parents were together.

He’ll come visit a few times a week, and they’ll sit down and have a cake roll and coffee together. He tells her about his matches with his father, and updates her about his grades - rebellion seems less appealing, now that he has her back in his life - and talks about his motorbike. She smiles and most importantly, she listens.

(She’s the only who ever does.)

There are days when she’s on a shift and he’ll just sit quietly and watch her. It’s only been a few months since she came back for him, and honestly, he’s still afraid she’ll disappear. Again. And leave him in this cruel world, where his crown is still his to bear.

But tonight is different, because Myung Soo has dragged him out to celebrate. His mother had insisted he needed to spend time with his friends. These days, Myung Soo is pretty much the only friend he has, although Lee Bo Na and Yoon Chan Young show up earlier with their sickeningly intertwined hands and wish him a happy birthday.

He’s sitting at the bar, mulling over his glass of whiskey when she sits down next to him.

She hasn’t changed at all.

“You….”

She turns to him and flashes him another smile. It’s identical to the one from a few years ago, sadness filtering through the cracks. “Hello, there.”

“Thank you,” he blurts out, because it’s the first thing that comes to mind. What he’s wanted to say to her, what he’s dreamed of saying to her if their paths ever crossed again. Two words, but really, they hold so much more weight.

“You’re