#7 - II

Jiyong extended his arm over the couch and the boy accepted the silent invitation to come closer. It was almost an endearing act – one like that between father and son. Jiro looked at Jiyong who was paying attention at the screen. He was observing his uncle’s features.

Ever since his mother brought him in Korea, a lot of people had already said that they looked alike or him being mistaken to be Jiyong’s son. Not that he abhorred the idea of being this man’s son it was just…

For once, the little boy noticed that they had the same sharp nose, same arrogant chin, and the same lips. It couldn’t be possible right? He was born in Los Angeles and one friend of his looked like David Archuleta and not be a son of David Archuleta. It could be a plain coincidence.

“Jiroo?” He heard his uncle called. “Can you tell me about your Daddy Remy?” Jiyong asked at the little boy. It bugged him for weeks about the unknown father figure of Jiho and seeing that it was quite safe, he dared ask.

Now it was his time to study the boy as he thought of his answer.

It was true.

What people said about them.

They do look alike. Especially if Jiho closed his wonderful eyes which no doubt he got from his mother.

“Daddy Remy is forever with me.” Jiho answered – smiling like the little boy that he was but there was something amiss in his tone.

“What do you mean forever with you?” Jiyong asked softly so that Jiho won’t retreat from him.

“Some of my friends have imaginary friends. I have one too.” Jiho looked up at him and he noticed a hint of sadness on those pair of cat like eyes of the boy. “But I have an imaginary dad instead.” And the boy smiled.

“So,” Jiyong frowned at the realization, “You mean to say that your Daddy Remy does not exist?”

Jiho shook his head and Jiyong knew it was time to shut his annoying questions in regards of the identity of that Daddy Remy who in truth was the product of the boys’ imagination. It made him crazy for weeks in thought that that Remy actually broke into Chaerin and Jiho’s defenses but now, he wasn’t sure what hurt more.

Was it the effort of an imaginary friend who broke into the Lee’s protective barrier or that this charming boy had to make up an imaginary father figure to cope up with his needs?

“Uncle Ji?” Jiyong heard the boy and who was he to deny him? “How do you say ‘Dad’ in Korean?”

**

“APPA!” Jiho’s scream made Chaerin jump from her seat and run towards the living room to see what could have hurt her son to make him scream. “APPA!” Another scream and Hyun Joong was joining her. “What is it Jiho?” Chaerin asked immediately as she approached the couch that hid her son and Jiyong from her sights.

She expected anything – anything of threat but she saw none.

There was no harm in Kwon Jiyong tickling her son to the mattress was there?

And they were laughing. Someone who could be hurt cannot be laughing unless they are merciless masochists and as far as she remembers; her baby doesn’t even know the meaning of the word.

“Omma!” Jiho called her in Korean which made Chaerin look in surprise while Hyun Joong crossed his arms over his chest and watched in amusement. “Did I say it right, Appa?” Jiho asked excitedly at Jiyong who nodded with a big grin plastered in his face.

 

“I was teaching Jiroo here some of the Korean formalities.” He said as he tried to control his laughter. “How could you, Chae? You didn’t even teach the Korean terms for Mama and Papa on Jiho?” He asked

Hyun Joong turned from one set to another because what was in front of him was a mix of emotions. Jiho and Jiyong looked happy and were enjoying themselves where as Chaerin looked confused and distracted.

“Why is he calling you Appa?” Chaerin asked. It was the dimness of the room that hid her face although Hyun Joong could see it clearly. She was shaken over. Color drained from her face and he worried if she would actually faint.

But he let it go…

“Well…” Jiyong said with shame laced with slight naughtiness. “Can I call Uncle Ji ‘Appa’, omma?” Jiho asked his mother. “Can I?” The boy’s face was obvious with merriment that Chaerin had no nerve to deny him that simple pleasure so she nodded.

It was weird to hear Jiho, her son, called Jiyong his father. It was … an unexpected blow on Chaerin’s feelings.

After making sure that her son was well with Jiyong, which in no doubt he was, she led Hyun Joong back to the dining room to continue their discussion in terms of the flower arrangements for the engagement party.

“Oppa, I think white roses would be fine.” She quickly said as she tries to recover from the unexpected show of closeness between her son and a friend – a friend who was getting engaged in that matter. “How many would it take to fill the hall?”

Jiho looked so happy when he learned the term – and to think that it was Jiyong he was addressing broke something inside Chaerin. A form of unavoidable guilt resurfaced before she caught Hyun Joong staring intently at her that she frowned. “What?” She asked as she curled her fingers into a fist to hide her shock.

“Do you need water?” Hyun Joong asked her in a tone Chaerin couldn’t guess if it was mockery or something serious.

She sighed before saying a quick no and that they should continue with their meeting since it was getting late. Hyun Joong didn’t say anything.

It was making her crazy – his silence. As if he calculated and guessed something she thought she hid so well. She sighed and almost lost control when she caught herself about to throw her pen – “Say it, oppa. We can’t continue this silence game you’re playing.”

Hyun Joong studied her and saw that the cold mask Chaerin put up was suddenly gone and showed how much distressed she was at what she saw. “The truth shall uncover itself sooner than you think Chae, so you better spill the beans while it’s early than regret its consequences when it’s too late.”

She didn’t look at him. She just stared at her planner. “Believe me, I talk out of experience.” He told her and this time she stared at him hard. “What truth are you saying?”

“The truth of Jiho’s father.” He returned the cold, hard stare. “The truth is so obvious, Chaerin. It’s up to you to say it officially and stop this nonsense.”

“If you’re thinking that Kwon Jiyong is the father of Jiho then you’re wrong.” At a moment there, when she said those hard words – he almost believed her. But Hyun Joong knew Chaerin.

He scoffed then. “I can assume what happened that night when we sent Jiyong here, Chaerin and now seeing a boy that has features like a photo copy of him helps me solve the matter easier.” She ran an angry hand on her blonde locks and saw that she was a tad bit lost on the situations. And seeing her so vulnerable made him want to take back his words.

“Chae,” he held her hand.

She was quick to take it away, “Oppa, if we’re done here then I should see you out. It’s getting late and you must be tired.”

Hyun Joong didn’t know if the cut Chaerin was showing was deeper than what he healed years ago. Now, she was lost and guilty over some heavy truth that could change not only one but four lives. Hers, Jiho’s, Kwon Jiyong’s and even that socialite Kim Na Hyun.

He was her most loyal stone to lean on before – and he won’t change so he allowed her to lead him out.

When she closed the door he gave a sigh. It was true when he said he was speaking from experience. After all, if he didn’t hide the truth that he had loved her more than he should, she could have been happy with him. Hyun Joong could have been happy too and was not suffering the inevitable consequences of an unsaid confession that was already five years overdue.

**

When Chaerin finished clearing her things form the dining area, she saw that Jiho had fallen asleep on Jiyong’s arms again. “Jiyong,” she called after she readied herself for whatever conversation that she will have with him. He was Kwon Jiyong after all, one who was always unpredictable.

“Did he sleep long?” She asked and looked at him and saw that he was studying her son like an interesting stamp he was about to collect. “No.” Just one word and she knew that Kwon Jiyong was dead serious about his thoughts at that moment. Only, she didn’t know his thoughts anymore.

Suddenly, gone was the Jiyong who acted like Jiho’s father. Who Chaerin faced now was the business tycoon Jiyong everybody was talking about. This was Na Hyun’s man.

“Um, I’ll take him to bed then.” She said as she attempted to take Jiho away from him. All she wanted was to sleep and forget the conversation and words she said that night. But her mind wanted more; her mind was telling her to get Jiho, pack their bags and fly to LA immediately.

Jiyong made no move to release the boy but turned to her and said, “I think we need to talk, Chaerin.” He put Jiho on the mattress as gently as he could and put the covers over him so he won’t catch the cold of the night and walked to the dining area – where their talk would be private and low enough to not wake the boy.

He made no indications that she was allowed to say no, so even as her heart was tearing on , she followed him.

He leaned at the counter while she stood a few feet away from him.

He was battling his thoughts, thinking of how to form his words so that he could not harm and not break their civil relationship. He had so many questions and ideas and … “I honestly don’t know where to start.” Jiyong said before he gave out a sigh he knew would calm his nerves.

“Chaerin.” He called. As simple as her name. She was starting again.

Starting to feel the shiver that would run all over her skin when he says her name – that was the inevitable effect he had on her before and now she didn’t know if she missed the feeling or want it rid of. “Chae, do you have a boyfriend?”

She looked up and frowned at his almost nonsense question. He made her heart flutter for that? “If you’re up for some pass time conversation, Jiyong, spare me.” She managed to put on her bitter mask and attempted to walk away when he called her again.

“Do you know that Jiho is making up an imaginary father figure to cure his needs?” He asked her and this time, in a more serious tone. “I am asking that question so I could know if you have someone in mind who could stand up for him as a father.”

Chaerin faced him square and frowned. Yes, she knew about Jiho’s dear Daddy Remy. “Yes. I know.”

Her answer made him a little bit angry as he said, “You knew? Then why did you let him? It’s normal for children to have imaginary friends but an imaginary father? Chaerin – are you in your right mind to allow him that kind of pretension?”

“It’s better than he look for someone he couldn’t have Jiyong!” She answered back while forcing her voice and temper five levels lower so that she could not wake her slumbering son in the living room.

“You could give him exactly what he is looking for, Chaerin! You know that!” Actually, he didn’t know where that emotion came from. He was suddenly overprotective over the boy who was as close to him as a son could ever be to a father and now – he was suddenly jealous over a man who could probably stand to have the legal right to be Jiho’s father…

… and Chaerin’s husband.

But he knew he couldn’t be a candidate.

Where were all of these coming from then?

“You have no right to tell me about being a mother, Jiyong!” She said in a voice he knew would finish any talk. “Who are you to tell me what my son needs? It is my problem where to look for a father figure for Jiho, not yours!” Jiyong was taken back. Who was he indeed? Or maybe yet the question is; who was this woman in front of him?

“You will never understand, Jiyong.” She said in a more sober tone. “You’ll never understand so you’ll never solve this.” This was not his best friend, his hunchae.

This was a stranger.

“Who are you?” He asked with a scoff that made her glare at him. “Chaerin, how could I even understand you if you never allowed me to rebuild the friendship that we had before?” He raked his hair before continuing. “These past weeks you’ve been avoiding me like plague and I don’t even know what gone wrong between us! Did something happen during that last time we were together? Did I hurt you to hurt me like this in return?”

Now he understood why he was so concerned. Technically, he should because even a wounded animal would react when hurt. And Jiyong was hurt over her indifference.

Chaerin forced the unshed tears back. Me? She asked herself. Me? Hurting him? It was filled with sarcasm, one she couldn’t believe. If anybody was hurting anyone – it was him. It was him and his indifference years ago!

Him and his indifference over the fact that until now he was still hurting her. “Chae, answer me.” He approached her until he was right in front of her.

“I am begging you. What really happened between us five years ago?” He was hoping for a straight answer. He was hoping that their unexpected conversation would bring the old Chaerin back; the old Chaerin who would say her secrets to him and would stay honest no matter what.

But he was disappointed when she left him with the words, “You don’t need to wake the dead, Jiyong. The past is the past – don’t dwell on it.”

She turned for the last time before going to the living room and for a moment there he thought that she would release those tears that were making her eyes glitter in sadness. “The past would only confuse you more, so I’m sorry if everything confuses you.”

In time, Chaerin thought as she gathered her son in her arms and climbed the stairs to the bedroom. You will know.

A/N: Is the tension building up now? Aigoo, *hides* my SD heart is breaking .