“Mom, hi,” Kyu said as he sat down. His mother smiled at him, her hands curled round a cup. He motioned for the waiter and ordered a cup of coffee for himself. Sheila waited until it was delivered and then drained her cup.

“You know the plan?” she said, lowering her voice and glancing around endlessly. Kyu nodded, sipping at his own coffee.

“Good. Now you know your father wants to meet you. He told me to let you choose the time and place, so what shall it be?” Sheila asked.

“I… no. let him choose. He said the first time he wanted it on his terms,” Kyu said, shaking his head. Sheila nodded, secretly supporting the plan to make Kyu’s father appear in control.

“And… I may need to meet you again. I don’t know the entire plan yet and I don’t know if he may be tapping our phone lines so… is there some place safe we can meet?” Sheila asked, lowering her voice even more. She paused before continuing, “I told him all mine.”

Kyu pulled out a pen from inside his jacket. He knew by safe, his mother meant, ‘somewhere your father can’t find us’. He wrote an address of one of his less frequented hangout spots on a napkin and passed it over to his mother. She folded it without reading it and stuck it into one of the many pockets in her purse. They nodded at each other, before Kyu wished her luck and she left.

Sheila walked all the way down the road before she pulled open the door of a black car and sat, not looking at the person opposite.

“So?” Jeremy asked.

In response, she opened her purse and pulled out the napkin KyuHyun had given her, handing it to her right. It was taken from her fingers and she heard a sinister chuckle.

“Am I done now?” she said.

“Not yet, I’m afraid. We still have some use for you,” Jeremy told her, putting the car into drive and pulling off. 

KyuHyun had barely entered his office before his phone beeped, signalling a new message. He pulled it out, checking. It was his mother. Worry made his fingers clumsy and it was a while before he could open it.

I’m okay. Need to meet you. Tonight, at ten.

KyuHyun placed his phone down on his desk before he dropped it and sat down. His hands were trembling violently, and he tasted blood as his lip split beneath the pressure of his teeth. He had to do this. He knew that. His father would never leave him and SungMin in pea