To thank my parent’s for their hospitality, the boys offered to do some physical labour at the convenience store. My mom supervises them, staring earnestly at Jackson’s sleeveless arms as they flex with the crate he’s lifting. He walks up to us, cargo in hand.

“Where do you want this, Mrs. Park?” He says, letting the crate hit the countertop with a resounding thud.

His grin is revealing.

“Oh, you can put it just right over there.” Mom replies, pointing to a far corner of the shop.

Jackson bows slightly and walks ever so coolly to the destination. Seunghoon and Jaebum are leaving tonight, but Jackson has decided to stay a few more days with me here in Busan. I’m guessing Jaebum asked him to stay as someone who knows what’s going on and can be an emotional support. Either that or Jackson really likes flirting with my mother. In any case, I delivered the news to my mom last night – she was ecstatic.

“You boys are just so handsome when you work for us.”

“You don’t want them to leave, do you?”

“Haha, no I don’t.”

“Appa would be mad if he heard you.”

“If you’ve been married for as long as your father and I, you’d find that it’s okay to look at other people. You just have stare at your spouse a little bit longer.”

She looks down at her side where I’m stocking a glass cabinet with ornamental paperweights. I see her winking at me. What a sleazy woman.

“Omma, why do you love Dad in the first place?”

“Why are you asking me this?” She doesn’t sound offended by it, but she’s clearly surprised. I smile back shyly, and she humours me.

“When I was younger, I could have any boy I wanted. I was the prettiest girl in my grade, and my family owned a very successful business.”

She was evidently the most modest girl in her grade, too.

“My parents tried to marry me off to the boys from wealthy families. All of them were snobs. Your father was a humble man, and hard working. But he made me happy.”

…

We’re at a ramyeon place near the outskirts of metropolitan Busan. The restaurant itself is a bit of a hole-in-the-wall, and not necessarily in the charming way. From the looks of it, we’re the only people here.

“Where is this guy?” Jackson says impatiently.

“He said he’ll be here soon.” Seunghoon responds.

In that moment a man with a briefcase walks into the restaurant. He’s short and stout, and looks to be in his late forties. His glasses are these less-than-fashionable frames, and otherwise look a bit too small for his round face. Sharp eyes squint through the lens, eventually spotting our table. He walks towards us with a bit of a waddle to balance his shape.

“Hello, my name is Donghyun.” He greets us enthusiastically. “I'm sorry to keep you all waiting.”

“Why are we meeting here, ahjussi? It’s so empty.”

“We’re meeting here,” Donghyun replies, “because it’s empty.”

…

“So you specialize in these sorts of cases, ahjussi?” Jaebum asks.

“Yes I do.”

Donghyun takes a sip of water before stirring his ramyeon with his chopsticks. Ironically enough, he’s the last one to arrive but the first person to get food. He takes a ravenous bite, bowing and apologizing for his hunger.

“My job is to make sure that people in the entertainment industry are protected from company abuse and illegal contract termination. A majority of the cases I take are related to people Jinyoung and Mark.”

His tone is optimistic, but wary enough so he doesn’t appear to be cocky.

“Sometimes we end up suing the company for compensation. Sometimes we secure alternate living situations for endangered individuals. In this case, we’re drawing up an agreement to ensure that the clients receive monetary compensation in the event of a