After Dusk || Im Changkyun

34. My Sweet Son

Chapter Thirty Four

You continued to weave through the people in the streets, who didn't care much for the tiny girl in sunglasses that was dashing through the city. Your knee length dress flowed as you continued to walk along the sidewalks, your hair getting up in your face, trying your best to keep it back despite how long it was. You should really cut it. You noticed a hair tie that you didn't remember keeping on your wrist. You bit the top of it, your hands struggling to make a very messy ponytail while you ran across the blocks, slowly down as soon as the tired began to hit you. Your phone was still ringing, and you could tell that all three of them were calling you back to back, probably to coax you into submission.
You weren't going to take it though.
You made your way down the streets, eyeing the convenience store from all those months ago. You winced at the sight of alleyway, remembering the fear and terror that you'd felt at the situation.
You were so unbelievably grateful that Yuta had ran into him that day and you were even more grateful that Sicheng had found you there. You'd gotten so lucky that day. You couldn't count on luck all the time through, it wasn't going to save you in a desperate situation.
Your eyes landed on a familiar back profile. It was weird to think about but you could recognize those shoulders anywhere. You noticed the two others beside him, knowing immediately that you'd finally found them, not too far from the convenience store and not too far from the company building.
You used up one last boost of energy, throwing your entire body weight onto the man in the black t-shirt, denim jacket, and ball cap. His arms instinctively wrapped around you, almost dropping the almost empty cup of coffee in his hand. You held onto his shoulder, trying to catch your breath while you panted, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear while you gave him a tired smile.
That ponytail was useless.
"Peachy, I told you not to come." Yuta grimaced at you, yet his arm still found it way to your shoulder, lifting you up off Changkyun. His hair was dyed a lighter brown than before, and lacked the blonde highlights, unlike Taeyong who had returned to a full head of gorgeous blonde locks from a few months ago.
Changkyun's hair was still black, obviously.
"You're meddling into my life. I have the right to come where ever you're going." You crossed your arms at your chest, cocking your hip as you glared at the three men who was towering over you in a semi circle like formation.
You were still tired from all that running.
"We're not meddling, Y/N." Taeyong explained, waving his own coffee cup around in the air and he tried to come clear with you.
Him and his hand gestures.
"We're just-" He stopped to take a breath, leaning himself on Yuta who was standing rather still.
"We're just worried for you. We don't need you to get hurt anymore."
You understood where they were coming from. You really did. But you just couldn't let them do anything about it. You had no problems. No one was bothering you. You didn't want them to get into a mess they didn't need to get themselves into.
That man.
He knows how to hurt and he knows how to ruin.
You wish it on none of them.
You grabbed Changkyun's arm, pulling it down so you could take a sip of his coffee. These three were stressing you out. Changkyun whined loudly, taking the coffee cup out of his hand, stabbing your bottom lip with the straw and moving it to his other hand which he held above his head so you couldn't reach.
"You can't have caffeine. We talked about this, Eggo."
He lifted up his sunglasses so they weren't covering his eyes, pushing back his hair gently.
"Did you walk here alone?"
"Does it look like I came here with someone, Kyun?" You gestured towards the empty space around you, shaking your head at him in disappointment. He was supposed to be the overly smart one here.
"You know I don't like you walking around alone, Eggo." He sighed, exasperated just at the thought of you being on your own for even just a second. He began to bring his hand to your shoulder but you swatted it away, furrowing your eyebrows at him.
"You're acting like I'm going to get kidnapped. It's broad daylight. Nothing can happen to me." You exclaimed, getting slightly annoyed at all of this. Yuta stepped in, separating the both of you for zero reason. Maybe he was scared that you'd go off on Changkyun. You couldn't do that. Mainly because he had somewhat of a point.
"You know that we all mean the best for you, and look, we're not even doing anything. We're just taking a walk." He speed his arms out, making you look towards the city that seemed so busy everywhere but where you were standing. You were standing in the quiet street where the old company was. It was always in a rather sketchy location.
So close to the busy world yet seeming so far as soon as you stepped into it. There wasn't a single other person around, and despite all the people that you could see on the main road, all the cars that were zooming past, all the bright stores that were open and filling with customers, the four of you stood secluded on this street.
"What are the chances that the three of you. The three of you specifically, would be here, of all places." You pointed out, watching as they all looked at each other blankly, not knowing how to refute since you'd made such a strong argument. They couldn't make an excuse for it and you knew it.
"Can you please go home? I'll walk you back." Changkyun grabbed your hand, his eyes begging you as the shined over with worry. He looked desperate for you to leave and it was very good at making you give into his wishes but you couldn't go.
"Kyun, I love you so much, but you know I can't do that." You placed your hand onto of his that was still holding onto your other one.
"I love you too, so can you please just listen to me? What are we going to do if we see him here? If it was just us three, he probably wouldn't think too much. He'd only recognize Yuta, but if you were here too, there's no doubt that he'd approach you." He added, his voice gentler than usual. It was the kind of voice you'd hear whenever he'd try to coax you into doing something or how he'd speak before he'd fall asleep.
You were confident to say that he wasn't going to fall asleep in the middle of the street.
"I'll go. I'll go alone. Just, promise that you three aren't going to do anything stupid." You looked to Yuta, who was tapping his foot impatiently, his pink shirt waving gently in the early spring breeze. You pointed at him, raising your eyebrow as you said,
"Especially you, Uyu."
Yuta groaned, stomping his foot down on the ground like a child as he cried,
"Oh, come on! I even wore the shoes with spikes just in case we saw that bastard walking around." He turned his left foot, showcasing the little spikes that were pointing out of the heels of his shoe.
Where on earth did he even buy that.
"Language." Taeyong uttered quietly, but loud enough for all of you to hear.
"Would Sicheng want you to do that?"
He gasped at your words, clamping a hand over her mouth dramatically as he lowly responded, a bit too offended,
"Don't bring him into this." He defended, holding his phone close to his chest, probably because his wallpaper was none other than Sicheng.
"He's in Beijing anyways, and he's been there for the last month. He won't know what I do here."
Not the best viewpoint, but a viewpoint nonetheless.
You always seize to surprise, Nakamoto Yuta.
And your phone rang.
Changkyun grabbed your phone from your hand in a millisecond, looking at it quizzically as soon as he read it.
"It's Saera."
Saera? She never called you. Only if you had work to go to or if she wanted to ask you about a random thing about teenage Doyoung.
Changkyun took it upon himself to answer the call, muttering a small "hello" as he put the phone to his ear. He immediately reeled it back, and you watched both you and Taeyong wince as you heard Saera's insanely loud voice echo through your ears.
The phone wasn't even on speaker.
You snatched your phone back, holding it a bit farther away from your ear for the sake of your hearing.
"Where are you? Did I not tell you to tell me when you leave your apartment? You're not at Changkyun's either. Where the heck are you, Choi Y/N?" Saera exclaimed, completely out of breath. You looked to the three guys who were curiously watching you, looking at you like a little pride of lions cubs.
"I ran into Changkyun, Yuta, and Taeyong on a walk. Why? It's not like I have anywhere to be today?"
"You do now. Chairwoman Oh wants to see you. Right now. Where are you? I'll pick you up but we have to hurry."
Great. As if your day couldn't get any worse.
Time to meet Changkyun's mother. Again.
Life was throwing so much at you all at once again. You'd just been freed and now you were already being loaded with one thing after another. In any other scenario, you would've been grateful for all of the work.
But Changkyun's mother.
You still hadn't spilled to him yet. He was understanding about Rena but you weren't so sure about how supportive he'd be with his mother.
Speaking of Rena, she'd most likely have landed in Korea by now. You were meeting her tomorrow.
Because the days were just getting busier, you swore you were out of the house more than Changkyun was, and he was a very busy man.
"There's a convenience store not too far away from the complex. I'll meet you there."
And you ended the call.
You looked down to your outfit. The simple pink dress wasn't enough to walk into a fashion company with. You looked around at all of them, taking in their rather simple outfits, hoping that there something you could snatch to add onto your outfit. All of their clothes were plain and simple, not offering much. That was until a lightbulb lit up in your head as soon as you looked to Changkyun. You snapped your head at him, pointing directly at the man.
"Take off your jacket."
"Excuse me, what?"
"I said take off your jacket." You demanded, Changkyun staring at you wide eyed, crossing arms around his chest protectively.
"Baby, we're in public. You can't be like this." He whispered into your ear, making you slap his arm harshly and roll your eyes at him. You edge off his ball cap hit your forehead while he leaned back up, reeling himself away from you.
"Im Changkyun, just take off the jacket." You lunged towards him, trying to grab at his pink and yellow flower embroidered denim jacket but he expertly dodged you, making you reach out for air.
"I have no buttons for you to unbutton like you did that night."
"Who unbuttoned what at what night?" Yuta grimaced, glaring at Changkyun who instantly looked like a deer in headlights.
He'd just gotten himself into a situation he didn't need to be in.
You saw a familiar car pull up at the convenience store. You could recognize that van anywhere. It was Changkyun's Rolls-Royce. You noticed Leo in the front seat with Saera beside him.
You may be getting older but your vision had yet to fail you.
While Changkyun stared at Yuta innocently, you took the chance to curl your fingers around the fabric of the jacket and pull it off of him, making him stumble backwards at the force. You took the jacket, putting it on yourself, noticing that it was so long on you that it almost reached the bottom of the dress. It didn't though.
It looked nice.
The Rolls-Royce pulled in closer to you, blocking the view of the road connecting the street to the rest of the city. You took your chance while no one could watch, placing a hand on Changkyun's shoulder, lifting yourself up slightly, placing a small kiss on his cheek.
"Bye. I got to go."
He stared at you, completely stunned while you ran into the car and jumped into the back seat, watching him stand completely frozen while Leo perfectly backed the massive van up and drove into the city traffic.
He's acting like you don't kiss his cheek every waking hour.
What a drama queen.
"Be thankful, Y/N. Saera, you too. What would you have done if I wasn't at the company building at that moment?" Leo scoffed, nudging his gold circle glasses higher on his nose bridge by scrunching it.
"Thank you, Leo." You smiled despite knowing that he couldn't see you. You perched your sunglasses atop your head, making sure your hair looked nice in the rear view mirror.
"Is she always this spontaneous?" You asked Saera, who looked to be scrolling through about a hundred emails. You didn't know how she was managing to read them so quickly but then again, she had almost three years of managing expertise under her belt prior to becoming your manager. To think that she'd been by your side for almost a year.
It was crazy how fast that one year passed.
It might've even been the best year of your life.
If you ignored the legal procedures and the contract negotiation at the beginning of it. Oh, and of course, that last encounter you'd had with your old manager the day before you officially left the company.
You'd rather not remember that.
"Apparently, she is. They literally called me ten minutes ago and told me that she wanted to talk to you for a while."
The chairwoman wanted to talk to you?
"I didn't know DI used celebrity marketing. They built themselves up just by fashion shows. You must've done a whole lot to get them to use you." Leo chimed, spinning the wheel with one hand while using the other to brush back his curly ash black locks.
You were surprised that he wasn't asking why the hell you were working with Changkyun's mother. Leo and Changkyun had been manager and artist for as long as he could remember, they were close to put it briefly. And that was until you remembered.
None of them knew exactly who Changkyun's parents were.
You'd found out after extensive google searches and putting together common evidence, but it was safe to assume that the average person wouldn't think that much. Though you couldn't help but wonder how they couldn't be at least a bit suspicious.
Changkyun was almost a carbon copy of her.
Someone out there must've made the connection.
"Is there anything specific you know about the chairwoman of DI, Leo? Kyun's been around a while, I'd suppose you know stuff that the average person doesn't." You asked, a sudden burst of confidence and curiousness rushing through you. You wanted to know how much he knew.
To your dismay, he simply responded,
"Her ex-husband was a scientist. That's all I know. It's not like Changkyun has worked with DI. No one really has."
You sighed, leaning your head back on the leather seats and taking a deep breath.
This was sending a sick feeling to the pit of your stomach.
You couldn't keep hiding this from him. It was killing you inside.
"Hey, Leo. Just, don't tell Kyun about this for me please?"
"Why not? There's nothing wrong with it."
"I don't want him to get jealous. He'll be on my back for days." You blatantly lied, knowing that that excuse would make a whole lot of sense. It was very Changkyun.
"Okay then, Y/N. Whatever you want." He sang, whistling to the song that was playing quietly on the radio. You stared mindlessly out the window, placing your small hand on the glass as you pressed your face up to it, watching the cars pass by and the April sun shine down on the entire city.
Spring was the best season in the city.
It was never too hot and it was never too cold. It was always just perfect. You remembered when you were younger, you used to take Donghyuk and Lila to the ice cream shop downtown whenever it got too hot in the practice room. You wouldn't get one for yourself but you'd always manage to grab an extra for Yuta before having Lila walk back home while you and Hyuk went back to practice.
Those were the days.
You couldn't believe that was practically a decade ago.
The fluffy clouds floated in the blue sky, the occasional skyscraper shooting up and piercing it. Despite all the car horns and the clashing sounds of the square, you could still distinguish the occasional laugh from outside, whether it have been an old couple, or a group of high school students, or just a few friends that seemed to walking along the streets for fun, you could always hear laughter even while in the car that was racing down the roads.
You enjoyed it.
The van came to a screeching halt. Leo really liked parking like that. Saera slipped out of the passenger seat, opening the door for you before grabbing a random bag that you hadn't noticed was placed next to you and shooing you inside the massive glass building.
You ran into the lobby quietly, almost throwing yourself at the reception. The receptionist took one look at you instantly spread a welcoming smile onto her face, her beautifully tucked bun being the first thing you noticed after her smile. You remembered your own hair, remember how much of a tragedy your dark brown head was with that sad excuse of a ponytail. You ripped the hair tie off your head, ignoring the fact that you were pretty sure you'd just pulled out a good chunk of your hair, letting it flow down onto your shoulders and in front of the front of the jacket.
You didn't realize that "I.M" was embroidered onto the chest pocket.
Only Changkyun would put his own name on his clothing.
She led you up the same elevator you'd ridden all those weeks ago, and you did the same thing of holding on tightly to the bars and closing your eyes shut, counting slowly in your head until you heard the elevator ding. Saera followed closely behind you, more staff members tagging along behind as the receptionist led you towards the chairwoman's office. You hid your hands in the pockets of Changkyun's jacket since you could feel them beginning to tremor.
You entered the room alone.
"Good afternoon, Y/N. I apologize for asking you here on such short notice." She said as soon as you walked into the lovely office. The room was spacious, perhaps the size of Yuta and Taeyong's living room. A smaller jeweled chandelier hung from the top, lighting up the entire room despite the fact that the back wall was a massive gray stained glass window. Her desk was almost the same size of the width of half the room. Her own jet black hair was tied neatly into a braided bun, a small wine colored beret clipped into the side of it while two strands hung out loosely, matching the color of her heels. Her outfit was a muted beige blazer with a small flower poking out of the chest pocket.
You couldn't expect any less from a fashion designer, could you?
"Would you care for some tea? I have some steeping." She pointed to the small glass tea pot that was sitting by the small living room setup she had in the middle of her office.
You guess this is what it was like to be the founder of a multimillion dollar company.
You carefully nodded, smiling at her as she gestured towards the couch beside where she was standing, urging you to sit silently. You did just as she wished.
You looked to the tea bag that was hanging out the fancy looking glass teapot.
Tea Forté Formosa Rooibos Tea.
The exact kind that Changkyun always had sitting around on his kitchen island.
"I love your oversized denim jacket. It's a nice touch to the plain dress. The yellow embroidery really enhances your complexion." She complimented, making you grin at her.
"Thank you." You adjusted your dress, pulling it a bit past your knees,
"I stole it from your son." You muttered to yourself, hoping that she didn't hear you.
The chairwoman sat down across beside you on a singular lounge chair, pouring out the tea into these beautiful red tinted glass teacups.
"I just wanted to get to know you, Y/N." She handed you one of the teacups. You thanked her quietly, taking yours hands out of your pockets and
carefully in to the both of your hands, sipping it slowly, savoring the fruity taste.
Also, this stuff was scarily expensive.
You preferred buying a random black tea from the grocery store. But Changkyun wouldn't let you have most types of tea because of the caffeine. He was annoying like that.
Who cares if your hands would start to shake?
They always did either way.
"I knew your late father. I found out just recently that you're the daughter he so eagerly talked about."
That caught your attention.
"I met him in a convention. He was there on medical standby. My son was only six years old at the time. He tripped on a wire and sprained his left ankle and your father just happened to be there."
You smiled to yourself while you sipped the tea, wanting to laugh out loud.
How ironic that he'd done the exact same thing but as a grown adult.
The same ankle too.
"My sweet son." She cooed, the corners of her lips tugging up as she imagined his face.
"I went to the same college as your parents, though it was in the year above them. They were such an envied couple on campus. There were thousands of people in the school yet you'd always hear them mentioned when it came to couples."
Wow.
Your parents knew Changkyun's mother.
What were the chances.
"My son hated doctors, yet he took a liking to your father instantly. He probably doesn't even remember it now. I'd be surprised if he remembered me." She said the last part solemnly, her voice fading as she stared blankly at the tea that was swirling gently in her own cup.
"If I may ask, what happened to your son?" You asked carefully, examining her facial features as soon as the words spilled from your mouth. She snapped out of her daze, looking up at you with a guilty smile.
"I wasn't a good mother to him." She started, placing the cup down on the table and resting her hands on her crossed legs.
"I was so busy with work. I never had time to raise him. My ex-husband wasn't around, and when he was, he was nothing but terrible to him. I never did anything to stop him because I was being just as controlled as he was." She breathed out, tapping her long nails against her belt. You leaned in closer slightly, being careful not to spill your tea.
"I tried to give him attention when my ex-husband wasn't around. I tried to show him love, but once he grew, he became numb to it. My son had raised himself despite the fact that he had both parents around. I still haven't forgiven myself for that."
Well, this was certainly different from what you'd heard from Changkyun. Actually, no it wasn't. It was just what he'd said but in a different perspective.
"My ex-husband treated him poorly. He'd be consistently reprimanded for the smallest of things, whether it was breathing too loud, speaking at the wrong time, being anything that wasn't perfect. But he was perfect. Everything about him was perfect. I wish I'd told him that."
He still is perfect.
"I was married off young by my parents. My ex-husband and I had a rather large age gap. I was twenty one and he was twenty nine when we got married. I had my son the year after that."
Your mother was young when she had you too. She was twenty three.
Your age, ironically.
"He was my world from the start. Even despite all the abuse and all the arguments I'd gotten in with my ex-husband, as long as my son was there, I was okay." She smiled tenderly, looking as if she were reminiscing the past. You could see her eyes glassing over just at the thought and you sat in silence, wondering what you should be doing with all of this new information.
She really loved Changkyun.
"To this day, I'm apologetic that he grew up listening to us argue all day long. He would start bawling even at the sound of someone's voice raised. As he got older, he became more and more numb to it. His expressions went cold, his tendencies were cold. Everything about him was gone. He was just existing. Soulless."
No wonder he didn't raise his voice at people. He was scared of it. He was scared of people hurting the same way that he did.
"My ex-husband was worse and worse to him as he got older. He needed his son to be perfect. There needed to be no flaws in him so that he could take over their family business. My son, he was so intelligent. He'd been intelligent since he was a child. But as his intelligence grew, my ex-husbands expectations for him did too."
That was what Changkyun was talking about. Him being a pawn in his father's game of chess. A mere sacrifice for the better of the king.
"The abuse went from verbal to physical. I'd watch silently from the corner, tears streaming as he'd get hit, insulted, pushed into walls. He'd never react though. He'd always let himself get hurt. There were few times I tried to stop it, but that ended with me getting the same treatment."
You were seeing your own story in Changkyun's mother's. It was hurting you. It was hurting you knowing exactly what Changkyun had to endure as a child as well.
He was a child.
He didn't deserve to be treated like that. He deserved to go out and play and live life. Not stay inside and work until he was the best of the best.
"One day, he finally snapped. He shouted at my ex-husband. He'd kept himself so calm, but he finally cracked one day. My ex-husband slapped him, hard. And that was it. He left. I should've stopped him that day. I let my son walk out of my life and I didn't do a single thing about it because I was too scared of what could've happened to me. I was so scared of getting hurt that I let my own child get hurt instead. I should've put him first. He is my son after all." She looked back at you, wiping a single tear that she'd noticed began to trace down the side of her cheek. She smiled painfully at you, you returned the same pained smile,
"I haven't seen him since. He's a big shot now. He made it. He pursued the dreams I didn't know he had. I'm so proud of him. He probably hates the idea of me now, but if I could take it all back, I would. I wish I could tell him that. I just hope that he's doing well."
"He is." You accidentally blurted out, not knowing what in the actual heck you were saying. That was a mistake. You were just so invested into her story. You just saw a mother that loved her son and wanted to make it up to him. But you were making another mistake.
"Pardon me?" She placed a hand over her heart, and you went to take her other one in both your hands comfortingly as you confidentially said something you were sure you were going to regret later,
"He's well. Changkyun is more than well."

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o.O