Chapter 30: A New Start.

After the long day of working and Sumi’s heartbreaking words, I walked to my apartment defeated. My body felt very tired and I dropped over the mattress that was on the floor. I closed my eyes and immediately fell asleep.

A knock was heard and I resisted opening my eyes. The noise became louder and I was forced to walk and open the door. It was the old lady that owned the apartment building.

“Good morning” I yawned.

“Good morning young boy. I need to talk to you” she walked inside the apartment.

“Yes, is there anything wrong?”

“You’ll see young boy. I’m very ashamed about telling you this right now, but the building is going to get demolished. I know you paid the rent for staying for six months, and don’t worry young boy I’ll pay you back your money”

 What? This couldn’t be possible happening. I was shocked. Where would I stay know? Did my mother do this to me? Was she able to get her son homeless?

“Why is the building going to be demolished?” I asked puzzled.

“A big company needed the space for building a new music store here. They offered me a high amount of money for the building lot. I couldn’t deny selling it” the old lady explained.

A music store? Everything made sense. My mother was definitely behind this. What was she thinking?

“Hyung! Please open the door!” Kwangmin screamed.

I opened the door and a worried Kwangmin greeted me. Along with him were Hyunseong and Jeongmin. I was surprised to see them there.

“Hello Hyungs!” I bowed. “Kwangmin, there’s something going on”

“Mom bought this place and wants to demolish it to build a music store”

“Yes, how do you know?”

“Excuse me young boys. I need to go and communicate everyone else in the building” the owner said and exited the apartment.

“Come in” I told the guys. They walked in the apartment and found a place to sit.

“What am I going to do? I don’t have a place to stay” I covered my face with my hands trying not to panic.

“I already called other places but it seems mom paid everyone to not rent me or you an apartment”

“Are you serious? Why is she doing this? I’m going crazy”

“Youngmin-ah, we talked to Donghyun hyung but he didn’t like the idea about you staying with us” Hyunseong hyung muttered.

“Hyungs… I know it’s not the right time to say this. But, I’m sorry.” I kneeled and bowed my head.

“The fact we’re here supporting you doesn’t mean we already forgave you. It’s just because no one deserves to sleep on the streets. Your mother is a monster” Jeongmin crossed his arms.

His face was serious. It was so weird to see that look on Jeongmin. He was always lively and cheerful.

“Do you have idea what we had to go through after you left the group?” Hyunseong stated.

“I’m sorry hyungs. I know the first thing I should have done when I got here to Seoul was to apologize with you. But I didn’t know how to do it. When I was outside I learned to value all I had here in home. Boyfriend… you are like family to me. No, you’re actually my only family. I thought my mother would never turn her back to me, and that was why I chose her before anyone else. But she betrayed me. And you… you were always there next to me. But I didn’t treasure that. I never told you how much I appreciated everything you had done for me. How much I love you. You’re my brothers, even when we weren’t born from the same parents. And I feel like for betraying you because those things don’t do to family. I’m regretful of my actions. I want you to know that. And I’ll work hard for repairing all the damage I caused to you”

Tears were coming from my eyes. I was looking down. I couldn’t even look at their faces. I felt so bad for making them go through so many bad experiences because of me.

“Exactly, we were like family. Do you have idea of how we felt when you left us? We got on time to every event because we had no one to get up late. We didn’t have someone to complain about the mosquito bites on outside activities. We had no one to fight with Minwoo. We had no one to pay attention to Kwangmin’s Pikachu fanboying. We had no one to be the only one hold to Hyunseong’s hugs and extreme skinship to friends. We had no one to be the baby spoiled brat who convinced Donghyun to buy milks for him. I didn’t have someone to set jokes along to bother Donghyun hyung or Minwoo. I didn’t have my friend to lean on in difficult moments. I didn’t have my Youngminnie, my cute little brother on my side, that even though he was a spoiled brat, he would always encourage us to do it better. He would always smile and say a stupid joke that wouldn’t make us laugh but would make us feel fine. He would always work hard and show us he wasn’t there only because his parents paid for it. The world lost one of the twins of Boyfriend. But I lost more than that. I lost my brother and that hurt me to the extent is difficult to forgive you but is even more difficult to watch you enduring this alone”

Jeongmin’s tears fell without stopping. His little eyes were red and puffed from crying. Hyunseong was also sobbing lightly. I felt like trash. How could I hurt my friends like this? How was I able to leave them alone?

“Hyung, I…”

“I don’t want to hear a word. I want you to work hard to gain Donghyun’s forgiveness. You should come back to Boyfriend. We started this together and we should finish it the same way. We want the old Youngmin back home. So you’d better don’t betray us this time” Jeongmin stood up.

“I won’t. I’ll gain Donghyun’s hyung forgiveness. I’ll work hard and we will get Boyfriend’s name on top together. I promise”

“Please take care and eat well. Be careful not to catch a cold” Hyunseong said.

He was always so kind and fatherly. He was always taking care of me day and night.

“Yes hyung. I’ll do it” I replied.

“Let’s go” he said and walked to the door.

“I’ll talk to my brother for a while” Kwangmin said.

“Ok. We’ll be waiting for you at the van” Hyunseong smiled and the exited the apartment.

“Mom wants you to go back to the mansion. She said she had someone else you could get married with” he handed me a letter from my mother.

“I can’t believe she’s doing this. She found someone else who can make the company stronger and grow. She only cares about money” I placed my hands in my pockets and shrugged.

“I know. But, where are you going to stay now? Donghyun hyung was clear with us about not letting you stay at our apartment” Kwangmin sighed.

“I’ll find a place. Maybe I can sleep at the University’s gym”

“What? Hyung, I’ll talk to mom” Kwangmin said concerned.

“Don’t worry. She won’t change her mind. It’s okay. Kwangmin, there’s some good news. I found a job as an actor in a drama. And I’ll be the main character. I’ll get a payment for this soon so I’ll be able to afford renting an apartment. And I’ll sure try my best to be back to Boyfriend again.”

“You’re working in a drama? Wow! That’s amazing!” He smiled.

“Yes, I just got the job yesterday so I wasn’t able to tell you yet”

“That’s good. You’d better call Donghyun hyung. We miss you, hyung” he held my shoulder.

“I’ll do it. Sure” I smiled.

After they left I hurried and took a shower. I didn’t want to get late to the filming set. It would be easier if I still had my luxury sports car. But now, I had to go by subway and bus. So, I had to go out earlier to be able to be on time.

The good thing was I could repass and rehearse my lines on the way to the set. I was learning more about my character and the story of the drama. I really liked it, even though I had some scenes of me crying. I wasn’t very good at that, so I had to get it better.

I tried to focus in the fact I had to go on and not about the one that I didn’t have a place to stay anymore. I couldn’t give up now, after all I put myself in this position and I had to get out of it to get to Sumi’s heart. My mother wasn’t going to stop me this time.

When I got to the filming set, I first saw Choi Minho from Shinee. Taemin was also there. Maybe he was there for seeing Sumi. I had forgotten they dated at prom. So maybe they were dating for real or something like that.

“Youngmin-ah! How are you?” Minho greeted me with a big smile.

“Hi! I’m fine, thanks.” I replied with a smile.

“We’re working together. Isn’t it great Taemin-ah?” He put his arm around my shoulder.

“Yes, as long as you don’t get too close to Taylor” he smirked.

“Taylor? Didn’t you tell me you were just fr…?” Taemin kicked Minho’s leg so he wasn’t able to finish his question.

Yes! I knew it. Piggy Mushroom and Taemin were only friends. Even so, I had seen them kissing so that meant being friends could change so easily and I had to be alert.

“Just treat her well. Let’s go hyung” they walked away.

I went to my dressing room. Yes, I already had my own dressing room. Wasn’t that great? Yes, it was. There was a clothes rack with my outfit for filming. I took them and the cellphone Kwangmin just gave me rang.

“Yeoboseyo?” I answered the call.

“Hyung! Where are you? Sumi is at our parent’s house. I don’t know what happened. But one of the maids told me she was there. I’m worried.”

“!”

 I threw the phone and the clothes away. What was my mother trying to do? Couldn’t she leave me alone? She already took everything I had. But I wouldn’t let her take Sumi away from me.

“I’m going there” I picked up the phone and told Kwangmin.

I ran as fast as I could and took a taxi cab. I immediately told the driver to go straight to the address of the Jo’s mansion, my old home.

When I got there, the maids hurried to open the taxi’s door. They greeted me excited and insisted in paying the taxi fee. I didn’t have time to discuss about it, so I let them pay.

I opened the front door and felt a knot in my stomach. I wasn’t prepared for this. Facing my mother feared me the most. I was scared of not being able to love her in the future after this. I knew I had to confront her. But I couldn’t hide the feeling of a lost child that missed his mom so bad, that mom who had protected him for so long and ended hurting him at the same time.

“Mother, what do you think you’re doing?” I said loudly.

My mother was sitting on the white velvet big sofa. Her clothes perfectly arranged and her body covered with luxury jewelry. She was also wearing her characteristic old-lady-like perfume and that light red lipstick. She was my mother; at least physically she hadn’t changed at all.

Sumi was also there, wearing her normal tomboy clothes, just a black t-shirt and converse with simple jeans. She was sitting across my mother on the red leather armchair. Her head was down and her hands were placed untwined over her legs, making nervous movements.

“Youngmin, you’re here my son” my mother faked a wide smile.

“I’m not here to say hello and take a cup of tea. I’ll just warn you”

“You will warn me?” she mocked.

“Yes. I don’t know exactly what’s going on but if you touch one of her hairs, you’ll regret it. You can do anything you want to me, you can leave me homeless like you just did. You can do whatever, except bothering into Sumi’s life. If you do so, I’ll forget I’m your son and I will betray you in the most terrible way.”

“Are you threatening me?” My mother placed her hand on her chest in a dramatic way. “Like if you can do that”

“I know your deepest and darkest secrets mother. I can get you in jail if I want to” I smirked.

“Would you be able to get your own mother in jail?” her face suddenly went pale.

“I won’t, if you stay away from her. But don’t tempt me mother”

“Jo Youngmin…” she muttered. She was surprised of my words.

“Let’s go Sumi” I took Sumi’s hand and walked away with her.

Once we were outside, Sumi stopped me and let go of my hand. I was so shocked about being so rude with my mother that I didn’t pay attention to see how she was.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

She looked at me panting. Her eyes were teary but her stare showed angriness. Guiltiness ran through my body. I knew my mother had hurt her feelings once. She could have done it again this time.

“Why didn’t you tell me anything? Babo!” she hit my chest.

“Yah! Why do you hit me?” I exclaimed.

“Why didn’t you tell me your mother kicked you out of home? And that she took your money away, that she burnt your clothes, she left you homeless. And she took the last cent you had. She paid the universities for not letting you get into one. And that when you said you needed the job you meant it because you had to pay back your scholarship and you couldn’t get another job because your mother was against you. Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“Sumi… I” I looked down.

“I treated you like trash and now I feel like for doing it”

“If you treated me like that was because I deserved it for hurting you so bad in the past”

“But you know I said things I shouldn’t have said if I knew this” she wiped a tear with her back hand.

“Sumi, these problems are only between me and my mother. And I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to look me like you’re doing right now. I don’t want you to pity me. I don’t want you to accept me because I’m a hopeless soul. I want you to love me for whom I am”

“I don’t pity you. I’m just… never mind.” She muttered. “I’m sorry”

She put her arms around my waist embracing me in a hug. My heart fluttered and at the same time my body felt calmed. I hugged her back and caressed her soft hair.

“You don’t have to be sorry. I’m sorry, for leaving you behind for three years”

“Youngmin, don’t get the things wrong. I wasn’t accepting your feelings. I’m still not sure if those so called sincere feelings of yours are actually real”. She broke the hug.

“I know. You’re not an easy girl. But I’ll earn patience with you” I smiled.

“You won’t give up, will you?” she sighed.

“Why did my mother call you?” I asked worried.

“She offered me money for telling you to stay away from me. I told her I had done it before but you hadn’t heard my words. She was surprised about it. She told me she thought if I rejected you at first, you would stop immediately because you don’t like accepting rejection”

“Didn’t she try to threat you?”

“No, she didn’t. I was surprised too. She was more like trying to negotiate with me. But there’s something that worries me…” she bit her low lip.

“What is it?” I tilted my head confused.

“She bought part of the shares of the entertainment company I work for.  I’m afraid she can get me fired” she shrugged.

“She won’t. I won’t let her do that. You’ll have to trust me. I’ll protect you. I promise” I hugged her tightly.

I had to protect her no matter what. My mother could destroy me, but I would never let her hurt not even one of Sumi’s hairs. 

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Happy Haloween everybody!

I hope you liked this chapter. Youngmin is so sweet, don't you think so?

What do you think will happen on the next chapters?

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