Chapter One

“Taehee-ah!” the old woman cried upon seeing her daughter after seven years.

Taehee worked abroad for almost seven years. Due to the financial status that they were experiencing, Taehee was left with no choice but to leave her family to her mother. There are hundreds of options she can do but her mother said that working abroad is the best answer to their problem.

Her husband was a wasted drunkard man, he abused Taehee. He physically hurt Taehee which Taehee have decided to run away from his husband. It is also another reason why she left South Korea, to get away from her husband.

Now that she’s back she has decided to fix things on her own. Fill the seven long missing years towards her children is here greatest agenda.

“Eomma~” Taehee said weakly as she give her mother a hug.

“I’d missed you Taehee.” The old woman said and run short kisses to her beautiful daughter. Obviously, the old woman missed her girl.

On the other hand, Hayi was standing all alone watching the scene. She recognized that the woman she just saw from the pictures is the same woman she is seeing with her own eyes but she doesn’t feel anything except awkward. She was very young when her mother left and for her, she can’t pull the best memories with her except her grandmother’s story about her mom.

Taemin came rushing inside the house that he accidentally bumped Hayi by the shoulders. Hayi looked up to his brother who saw the heartbreaking scene of a mother-daughter reunited. Hayi caught his brother’s eyes rolled upwards. His big smile that was painted in his face a moment ago suddenly disappeared.

“Oppa?” she called her brother.

Taemin look at her and give her a pat on the head which make Hayi’s plain expression crumpled. “Yah~” she said softly while smiling as his brother tickles her sides.

“Taemin? Hayi?”

Both of them stop playing and they saw Taehee looking at them. Her eyes were glassy as ever and her smile can even reach the clouds upon seeing them. Taehee ran to them and give them a hug.

“I miss you my dears. Eomma will never leave you again.” She said between in her sobs as she hugs her children tighter but sadly to say that her children stay rooted on their positions. They were not giving her hug back.

Days had passed, the house seems to be full with people but for Hayi and Taemin it was just nothing but ordinary days. Most of the times, Taemin was out and went back home every evening.

“Where have you been again Taemin?” Taehee came rushing from the kitchen following Taemin to his room.

“Outside.” Taemin replied as he open his door.

“Outside?” Taehee questioned out. “You have been always going out so early in the morning and you’ll be coming home seven in the evening, what have been doing outside for the past days?”

“I’m just with my friends, hanging out.” He replied with his thriftiest to his mother as he picks out random clothes in his closet.

“Hanging out every day? How come you can hang out with your friends the whole day while you can’t even stand a single second sitting the dining room with me?”

“And so what? Why do you care if I hang with them?!” Taemin slam him closet hard without even looking to his mom.

“I am your mother Taemin! You should even drop a call or even send a message where you are going!”

“Why do you act as if you’ve known me since then eomma? You never knew eomma so don’t act that you care for me! Don’t act that you know what I am doing every single day. Stop trying at everything!”

Before Taehee can say more, Taemin pick up his fallen clothes and pass by her. He slammed his bathroom door and Taehee can hear the shower from the outside. Tears starts falling down on Taehee’s cheeks as she remembered what her son had just said. All of a sudden she felt that she the world most undesirable mother.

All of a sudden she blames herself for being so far to her family. Her knees felt weak and good thing she grab a support in the table beside the closet. She remembered how those seven long years abroad ruined her duty as a mother.

Taehee arrived at Canada, late noon. She didn’t know what to do since she didn’t have time to study English. As she was out of the gate, she saw a fellow Korean waving at her.

“Taehee?”

She nods at the fellow Korean and go along with her. According to her passport papers, she’s just good for a month in Canada for vacation. She met this fellow of her during the time that she was fixing her papers and she said that she will help her in finding a job. If she found a job she can rearrange her papers with the embassy and her boss.

Luckily after two weeks of searching for a job she immediately pack her things and find the nearest apartment to be efficient. Her job was to be a waitress in a Korean restaurant. Her papers were fixed right away and she will be good for a year. Unfortunately, on her fifth month working, the restaurant was robbed and the owner was killed.

Due to financial problems that restaurant encounter after the burial, the restaurant was set off to close and Taehee lost her job. She was planning on going back home but was stop by her friend who helps her to find her first job. For the second time around, Taehee found another job. She found a job as a housemaid, since her papers were only good for the remaining seven months she have decided to stay for the remaining of the time and went back to Korea before her passport’s expired.

As the duty of being a housemaid, she lives in the vacant room of her boss. For her first three months of work, her passport was asked by the owner of the house for the safety and the like stuffs she didn’t understand. She clean the house, cook for them, laundry their clothes and other housemaid job was her everyday routine. She is not complaining with the load of work because she knows that on the other side of the world she knows that her children are safe. She is sure that her children can eat three times a day, go to school every day and she can fulfill other needs, well there is only one thing that she lack, her presence.

One evening when she was in her room, she was hugging her photos of her children when the door burst to open. “Throw this Taehee-ah!” her boss said and she followed it. She looked down at the garbage bag and found toys, clothes that were only worn once. She can’t bear those stuffs to be thrown away so she have decided to collect those and sent it back to Korea.

Her life goes on for the remaining months and on her last month she start packing her things. She will be asking permission to her boss tonight that she will be going back to Korea because her papers are going to be expired and she wants to go back home. She missed her family so much. Unfortunately, a big commotion happened when she was about to ask permission during the dinner.

“What? You are planning for divorce all of a sudden?” the wife aroused to her sit and her daughter was shocked upon seeing her mother bursting out in the table. “Yes! Didn’t you notice? You have been always drunk to your work! You are not fulfilling your needs as a mother and even as a wife!”

“What? How dare you---“ the commotion continues and Taehee pulled the child from the unhealthy scene. Together they went to her room and watch the television. As they are watching television, Taehee planned to take a look on what’s happening. She watches her boss pulling out luggage with her clothes obviously was shoved from the closet. She going downstairs angrily and she give one last death glare to her husband. Taehee looked at the husband standing in the baluster. His face was emotionless. He watches his wife pulling out of the driveway and it takes seconds for him to realize that his wife left him.

“Taehee can you bring some wine in my room?” He looked at Taehee and she nod at him nervously and ran downstairs. She picked out random wine which she is not aware that the wine has high alcohol content. Placing in the tray with the glass she headed her way to the room.

“Sir,” she called out the man who is leaning against the windowpane. She placed the tray on the table and at the same time the man turns to her direction and opened the wine without any effort. “I’m going down the kitchen sir,” she murmured and turns her back to him.

“Do you want to take a drink?” the man asked.

“No sir, I’ve got lots of things to do in the kitchen.” She replied as she reaches for the doorknob. She was about to twist the doorknob when she remembered something. “Sir, my passport is about to expire and I will be resigning to my work sir.”

“Pardon?”

Taehee sighed, “I’ll be going back home.”

“No.” the man said taking a big sip to his wine. “You’ll be staying with me.” He says. He stands up and Taehee noticed that the man was walking limply to her. “But sir, my passport is going expired soon, even my I.D sir.”

Taehee hold the doorknob as the man was inching towards her. “I’ll be fixing them tomorrow. Just stay with me. I’ll be paying you higher salary.”

He was now in front of the woman. Taehee try to open the doorknob but the man stops her and pinned her arm on the door. “Let me go sir. I still have things to do.” She cried as she tries to push him away but the man was strong he takes his drink the whole shot. “No. I’ll let you go if you stay with me tonight.”

“NOOOO!” Taehee yelled and she kicked her by his thighs but it was nothing. The man closed the space between them and starts kissing her harshly by the neck. Taehee was crying so hard as she tried everything to get away from him. The man was strong and now she is getting weak. She felt her knees wobble as the man plant kiss everywhere.

For a moment, the man stops kissing her. His hand trailed her jawline and lifts her chin up. “I didn’t know that I have a beautiful maid.” He smirks. Taehee was still in shock as the man continues to caress her face. “Oh no, baby don’t cry.” He whispered as he kisses the tear the fall in her cheeks.

“Let me go.” She whispered softly.

“Not yet babe,” the man whispered and kiss the tip of her nose. “Let me go.” She said it once again as she gather all the strength that was left in her. She pushes the man away from her and the man fall down. Taehee got that opportunity to get out. She holds for the doorknob weakly, shaking she tried to twist with her weak hands but the door won’t let her. She didn’t realize that the man gather himself to stand up and got her pinned another time on the door.

“Can’t get your way out huh?” he questioned her and punched her in the stomach. It was light punch from the man but for Taehee who lost her energy from crying and for pushing the man away; it is very painful for her. She fall on her knees but before that could happen, the man caught her up and carry her to the bed.

The man throws her on the bed as the weak Taehee watch him his clothes. Tears keep on falling on her cheeks as the man crawls to her and start ing her clothes.

“Eomma?”

Hayi ran to her mom as she noticed that Taehee was shaking badly on the floor. “Eomma!” she shakes her by the arms but Taehee slapped her daughter’s hands away. “Eomma, this is Hayi!” she cried as she wipe her mom’s tears.

“Hayi!” she said weakly and gave her a hug. Hayi was squished by her mom but she didn’t say anything. She pats her mom’s back as her mother was shaking badly for unknowable reasons. Hayi heard the door from the bathroom and saw Taemin drying his wet hair with a towel. Hayi shoot him a look with Taemin shrugging back at her.

‘I saw you.’ She mouthed at him dryly and rolled her eyes. “Eomma, let’s go to my room.”