Chapter 5

Stepping on the gas pedal, Yunho directed his car to the available spot of the sidewalk lot. He looked at the digital clock located on the dashboard & was relieved that he wasn’t at all late. His ten o’clock function had been a tedious start & he all for once was glad to be out of the office. It was exactly twelve in the afternoon, the time which every worker goes out for lunch but he didn’t have the appetite for a meal, in fact, he never did. He walked up the hill from his parking area & up to ABC international school where his little man was getting out. Yunho grinned at the thought of the little dude, never has he met a boy so bright that it put him to shame.

As he walked, he spotted rows of parents holding their kids hands & walking them to the car. He valued the sight of parentage operating before him. He would like to be one of those parents one day. One day & yet, it sounded so long before it would happen. A family consists of a father, mother & child. Yuri was already a mother of Dohyun whom was after all, the child of the family. All they needed was a man in the house & Yunho wouldn’t decline the offer in a million years. He just have to convince Yuri about that. He doesn’t apprehend why she was so ascertain to shut him out. There was obviously an intimate connection between them.

As he got to the gate of the school, he waited like the other parents for their kids to come out. He liked the sound of that, waiting for his kid to come out of school so they can go home together. Parenting was, of course, a big commitment but he wasn’t going to agitate over it. More & more parents left & fewer children were coming out of their classrooms but there was no sign of Dohyun. Yunho began to wonder. Certainly, Dohyun wasn’t held back in class for doing something defective. Finally, the parents who were surrounding him was now gone, leaving him standing on the gate alone.

He frowned. It didn’t at all sound appealing to him. Looking at the walkway leading to the outside, he waited for any signed of a little boy emerging but none whatsoever. A woman of mid-thirties came out from one of the classrooms & spotted him. She frowned at his presence & looked at something inside her room. She slowly walked to Yunho.

When she reached Yunho, she kindly asked, “Sir, are you waiting for someone?”

Yunho turned to her from his scanning of the area. Returning the kind smile, he answered, “Uh, yeah. I’m here to pick up Dohyun. Dohyun Kwon. Is he here? It’s been quite a long time.”

“A long time indeed.” She agreed, “I’m Mrs. Takahashi, Dohyun’s teacher. Dohyun has already gone home way before the other students did.”

“He did?” Yunho bewildered.

She nodded, “His mother came to picked him up exactly after the bell rang. They must have gone somewhere urgent. You must be Dohyun’s father. Your wife must have forgotten to tell you or something.”

‘Like hell she forgot!’ Yunho thought scornfully, not bothering to correct her addressing mistake. Keeping his cool in front of the kindergarten teacher, he managed a bright tone, “Thank you, Mrs. Takahashi. I will see to it with my wife.” Although, she didn’t notice his sarcasm when he accosted Yuri, she gave him a nod & walked back to the classroom.

Before he could let out his annoyance towards what just occurred, his apple iphone 5s rang from his black traveler plain pants pocket. Cursing under his breath, he put the phone to his ear.

“Yes?!” He growled.

“Hi, uncle Yunho.”

At the sound of Dohyun’s voice, his mood softened just a little. His temper lowering down, he said lightly,
“What’s up, little man?”

“I was calling to ask are you there at my school to pick me up?” Dohyun wondered, out loud.

Hesitating before he answered, Yunho sighed, “Yeah.”

“I told you he was going to pick me up.” Dohyun said in the background, apparently to Yuri. Yunho smiled at the tone of his voice.

“Dohyun, finish your homework & don’t bother Yunho.” Yuri’s voice came that slightly twisted his guts, “I’m already done with it.” Dohyun replied, & then shifted his attention to Yunho once again, “Sorry, uncle Yunho. Mommy came for me before you did.”

“Uh, yeah, I have picked that one up.” He said sarcastically, “But no worries, it’s no big deal. Next time, call me when your mom picks you up okay?”

“Well, I don’t really need to.” Dohyun said, almost apologetically, “Mommy said she’s going to be the one to pick me up from now on.”

Yunho gritted his teeth together. So, Yuri’s performance of avoidance had just begun, “Oh.” Yunho said, “Okay.”

There was a long pause as if the talk was really intensified. He felt as if Dohyun was fading away from him slowly & they have gotten along so well.

“Honey, stop bothering Yunho, he has work to do.” Yuri said, & there were light tapping of the keyboard. They were evidently at Yuri’s massage parlor.

“But I have nothing better to do!” Dohyun protested.

“Here.” Yuri said, “Eat these cherries.”

“Aw, mommy!” Dohyun groaned, “Can’t I just talk to uncle Yunho?! Watching you type is boring!”

“Honey, Yunho needs to work!” Yuri retorted. It sounded like she was reaching out for the phone when there was fidgeting in the background.

“Bye, uncle Yunho. I will talk to you later.”

Albeit the fact that Yuri was attempting to avoid him, he was alleviated that Dohyun was still fond of him & still wanted to be around him. Shoving the phone back into his pocket, he turned his feet & headed back for where his car was parked temperedly. He couldn’t believe Yuri would even think about ostracizing with him. He didn’t know what the hell happened between them & of course, he was going to find out if it was the last thing he does! It wasn’t really her background that he was directly interested in, it was her feelings that he was concerned of. She couldn’t be that inattentive about his feelings for her, could she? She’s an intellectual person. Though, he wasn’t certain about that when it came to affections. That shoved in more curious questions in his mind.

As he got to the car, he looked at the clock & swore under his breath for the second time. He was late for his next meeting. Great, just great. He wasted his time to pick up Dohyun when his mother had already did that, Yuri was ignoring him & to top it off, he was going to be in trouble with his administrator at the office.

It was five & the sun was getting ready to descend to its horizon. The elevator door slewed open & before Yuri stepped out, she glanced outside to observe the hallway. When the coast was clear, she held Dohyun’s small hands & left the elevator. Searching for the keys through her crowded navy michael kors jet set travel small tote purse & snatched the first gleaming metal in sight. Dohyun was on the candy she bought him earlier to distract him. Putting the keys into the hole & with a twists, the door opened & she rushed Dohyun in as if she was hiding from a murderer.

Dohyun ran to the couch & grabbed the remote, turning the television on. Yuri was relieved that he didn’t ask further questions about her deeds but Dohyun’s keen intelligent had her suspecting his oblivious posture for a moment. She didn’t want to think about it at the moment. Her neck & back ached from work & she needed a nice, warm bath with bubbles. Putting the keys back into her purse & setting it on the table near the door, she rubbed the rear of her neck & circulated her shoulders. Telling Dohyun about her bathing, she got his acknowledgement to behave although she didn’t see why & not to step foot out of the apartment.

As soon as her whole body was encircled with warm & bubbly waters, she let out a loud sighed & sank in the tub, totally decompressed. She rubbed her temples & rotated her head slowly, using the method she learned before for relaxation. It only helped a little since she still knew that there wasn’t going to be much more stresses hereafter. The dimness of the bathroom light added to the slackening as she felt herself proceed to doze off.

It must have been a long time or it must have been a short time but there was a loud bang on the door that woke Yuri up from her snooze. She almost jumped at the knock & straightened up herself.

“What is it, sweetie?!” She called out.

“I’m hungry!” Dohyun whined.

“Alright, I will come out & make dinner.” She answered, & began to get up from the tub. Grabbing a towel to wrap around her, she stepped out of the heavenly produced bath. This is what happens when you get a kid running around your house. No more leisure time whatsoever. She quickly got dressed & combed her hair. Coming out of the bathroom & walking into the kitchen where Dohyun sat expectedly, she reached out for the refrigerator & pulled out a pot of tomato soup, getting ready to put it on the stove.

“Aw, mommy, that again?” Dohyun soughed, “But it’s disgusting.”

“It’s either this or the leftover pizza from last week.” Yuri said, & start the stirring the soup.

Dohyun stuck out his tongue in disgusts, “Oh gross, I thought you were supposed to throw that away.”

“I did.” Yuri grinned. There was no way in hell that she was going to let Dohyun eat poison! When the soup was ready, she grabbed two bowls, scoop up some soup to put into the bowls & set it on the table with two spoons.

Dohyun was rather picking on his food than eating it so it seems he has already lost his appetite. Yuri, however, didn’t notice how vile it tasted on her tongue, continued to swallow it absent-mindedly. The affirmation that Yunho confirmed the other day was surprising, yet pleasing. Even though it was a declaration of his infatuation towards her, it was exactly the annunciation she wanted. Maybe she was just way over her head. He’s Jung Yunho, come on. The boy who was always there for her when she needed him. What more could she ask from him? No more, a little voice affirmed. True, she had feelings for him way from the beginning but she felt like she wasn’t worthy of him. She already had a kid. Yunho deserves someone who was new, someone who can give him his own child. She looked at Dohyun & wondered. Yes, Yunho did show his fondness towards Dohyun but she wasn’t sure about the whole thing.

She had no clue why she was trying to avoid him. Yunho isn’t the kind of person that she should be trying to disregard. He didn’t deserve it but she didn’t have any other choice in order to get her feelings balanced. Being around Yunho was already overpowering by his potent masculinity & now, he was eight times more of the matter. She couldn’t quite resists him; several intimate scenes that had already occurred were the probable evidence to it all.

“Mommy?” Dohyun’s voice broke her state of thought. Before Dohyun could asked his question, she knew what it was going to be. There was no way of ignoring him either so she turned her attention to her son.

“What is it, sweetheart?”

“Are you scared?” He asked.

Well, that was new to her, “Scared of what?” She asked.

“You know, him.” He eyed the door & then back to her.

“Scared of Yunho?” She bluffed, “Of course not. Why would you think that?”

“Because you are not talking to him anymore.” He specified, “That’s going to make him sad, you know. He really likes you.”

“Honey, this conversation is irrelevant. Can we change the subject?” Yuri preferred.

He didn’t utter a word after that. He picked at his food again, almost as if he was sad himself. Yuri studied his posture & the ty taste revealed itself in as she placed her spoon down. Taking Dohyun’s plate as well as hers, she walked towards the sink; the faucet & felt the cold water on her fingers as she began to wash. She was once again, abstracted as she stared out of the window while she scrubbed the plates.

“Mommy.” Dohyun began again, catching Yuri’s alertness, “Did he tell you?”

He didn’t need to say any further details for she already knew his intentions. It never ceased to amaze her how much the boy knew. Sometimes, he was a joy & sometimes, he was too smart for her self-awareness, “Yes & no.” Yuri replied. Wiping away the water dripping from her hands, she sat back down on the kitchen, facing Dohyun’s serious expression. Dohyun was usually so active & playful, not to mention, exceedingly cunning but never was he ever so sober towards any account.

Dohyun’s carefree smile appeared again. He got off from his seat & stood in front of Yuri, “Follow your heart, mommy.” He implicated as he climbed onto Yuri’s lap. She immediately hugged him tight & smiled.

“Do you like Yunho, honey?” Yuri asked.

She felt him nod against her chest, “Yeah, he’s really cool. Not like the other idiots that likes you!” Dohyun said, & she laughed.

“Idiots?!” She inquired.

“Yeah.” He repeated, “They don’t deserve you but uncle Yunho does. He really likes you. I mean, really. He gets jealous when you are out with another person & he worries about you. Mommy, I know you like him, too.” “Yes, mommy does like Yunho. Mommy likes him a lot.” Yuri murmured, & Dohyun’s hair.

After a while of more hugging & affectionate talks, Dohyun went back to his usual deed of playing before going to bed. Yuri sat down on the living room couch with the news , although she wasn’t at all listening to it. She was too busy thinking. Maybe Dohyun was right after all. She should just follow her own heart but the problem was that she didn’t know what her heart was telling her. To be with Yunho? If that was it then was he even offering? Or to just go along with what is happening? God, she was confusing herself. The door opened from outside sounded alerted Yuri from her trance as she stared at its direction. Yunho was home. She was wondering if he was going to knock on her door but why would he? He was obviously well-read about her purposes at the moment towards him. There was a long pause before the slamming of the door outside came & Yuri let out a breath. She was tensed at the fact that he might come to her. Although, it relieved her, it also disappointed her but she didn’t think she could do anything about it. It was Yunho’s decision to do whatever he wants. She didn’t have any say in it.

Turning off the television, she ventured to her bedroom, getting ready to sleep & take her mind away from the tautness.

There were days when she couldn’t do anything but think. At work, she was so absent-minded that she almost bruised a client’s neck with the same rub. Her partner asked her what was going on with her but she didn’t want to let out any information about her occurrences. Her son even noticed her behavior but didn’t question about it.

Once in a while, she would bump into Yunho. When she went to take out the trash, she would catch Yunho ahead of her & not knowing why, she hid in a corner until he was out of sight to proceed to the dumpster. There was that time when she was at the market buying groceries, she spotted Yunho & again, she hid. Then there was that one time when she did actually look at him when he knocked on her door, surprising her with his hand holding her mail which was mistakenly put into his mailbox. She gave him a thank you & closed the door before he could utter another word. Every time she heard him coming home, she would get jitters with both excitement & nervousness.

What was wrong with her? She was supposed to be reconciling with Yunho, not avoid him.

It had been several weeks now since she’s last seen him. It was ten & Yuri was sitting on the couch, wondering. Dohyun was fast asleep in his bedroom. She didn’t bother to turn on the light so it was dark. The television wasn’t , thus there was no brightness excluding the moonlight outside the window. Yunho had already come home at the exact time he always did. Again, at the sound of his door, she twitched. There has got to be a stop to it for it was both agonizing & torturing her. She missed him so much that it hurts.

She have to be brave this time. No more running away. It isn’t the solution to any problems. Hearing the same remark all the time, she decided that she was finally going to listen to it.

Opening the door, she stepped out & at that moment, when she was in the dark hallway, she held in a breath. Yunho’s door was right in front of her. The hallway was quiet & hollow & Yunho’s door was the key target to get rid of the distortion in her.

Pausing at his door before she knocked, she let out a big breath. Preparing herself to do what she consider a big choice, she closed her eyes shut & wished for the good. When she was about to lift her hand to knock on the door, the doorknob twisted & it opened from the inside.

Yuri stood immobilized as she stared at the sight in front of her. Yunho stood before her, looking more than irresistible with his hair tousled & his chest bare. The only thing that covered him was his polo ralph lauren plaid flannel pajama pants. He looked back at her with his intense eyes. His nose was flaring as if he was angry & his muscles were glistening even though there weren’t any lights. She could make out every aspects of him & his body. She was so aroused she didn’t know who she was anymore. He looked as if he was thinking the same.

Managing to tell herself the purposes of why she came in the first place, she forced out a groggily evoked voice, “W...We need t...to talk.”

Yunho inched closer to her, “Like hell we do.” He whispered, & pulled her against his muscular chest. Without hearing her responses, although she didn’t have any, he lowered his mouth to hers forcefully.

The second he did that, she lost every speck of self-awareness within her. Immediately, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as he did the same with her waist. He pulled her into the room with him & slammed the door shut, his mouth lingering hers as he had her against the wall. His tongue inched into as it massaged her own.

Yunho gently, yet passionately, a low moaned coming from his throat. She contributed one of her own lust.

“I love you.” He murmured, against her lips.

Wrapping her legs around Yunho’s hips, she let him hold her tightly & led her towards the bedroom, his lips still caressing hers.

Catching back the usual cycle of his breath, Yunho breathed in hard. He removed himself from Yuri as he fell back on the bed. His chest was heaving up & down as he raked his fingers into his hair. He turned & cradled Yuri, who was too, panting wildly.

For years, he had dreamed of this & finally, it has happened. At the moment, Yuri appeared at his door, he lost all conscious inside of him. She looked so fragile & delicate that it was almost as if she was going to fall apart any minute but she wasn’t that fragile when they let their lust take over them. The several hours they had just experience was priceless & he had no regrets to it. After that moment, he vowed to cherish the woman in his arms. He had told her that he loved her & that was only his benefit of the doubt.

Yuri turned to look at him when her breathing went back to normal. The adoration in her eyes almost tugged at his heart. The sweats were gleaming around her forehead & all over her chest as well as it did with him. She was without a doubt the most beautiful woman he has ever laid eyes on. She reached out to caress his cheeks adoringly & smiled. He held her tightly against his embrace & lowered his head to sprinkle light kisses on her lips. He felt her smile forming under his own lips as he deepened the kiss. After what seemed like an eternity, he parted from & kissed her cheeks lovingly, he whispered, “It’s time to talk.”

She gave him a knowing look & nodded. Wrapping her arms around his waist tightly as if she was asking him to give her encouragement, she sighed.

“Alright, let’s talk.”