Dramatically | BL

19 - Cage of love

IN-WOO'S POV

It's 11 A.M. I slept for too long and yet I feel sleepy. Maybe, I can sleep for 5 more minutes? It's Sunday afterall.

But ofcourse 'someone' had to tear apart my plan. Someone here refers to Park Min Jae.

I opened the door upon hearing the doorbell, knowing very well who the guest was. But to my surprise, it was not Jae. It was mom.

"Mom", I said politely.

She smiled and opened her arms. I hugged her tightly.

"Where were you? I called & messaged you day & night but there was no response from your side. I was afraid, so afraid", I almost bursted into tears.

She patted my back,"It's okay! Mom is here now. Will you not ask me to come in?"

I pulled away from the hug,"I was taken aback by your sudden appearance. Please come inside mumma."

"How is everything at college?",she sat on the couch.

"Going great", I filled water in a glass and served her.

"Made a girlfriend or are you still single?", she asked.

'I made a boy-friend instead!', said my inner voice.

"I am single", I answered,"Enough with my inspection now. Tell me where were you?"

She sighed, "Your dad created a mess."

"What happened?", I sat beside her.

"We are in a debt trap. That's all you should know", she said.

"Mom!! we have nothing to do with that man or his debts. He abandoned us long ago. He ran away with that darned woman. Why should we clean up the shit he did?", I said in frustration.

"We are married legally, so he is still related to us. Whatever he does will come at us", she replied.

"That man ran away without any official divorce. What a scumbag!", my jaw clenched.

"He is your dad. Mind your tongue", she hit me.

I groaned,"Ow! Mom how can you take his side in this situation? Do you still love him"

"You would never understand why I am being so pathetic", she exhaled deeply.

"Why?", I asked.

"Because you have never loved someone. When you do, you will get me. A person in love is like a small bird, locked in a cage. The cage of love. The key of this cage belongs to your lover. You cannot escape until the owner sets you free", she said looking at the showpiece of cage which was hung on my balcony.

"Your theoretical hypothesis are out of my knowledge", I rolled my eyes.

"I told, you would not get it", she laughed.

"Whatever! But you should have atleast answered my call. Why switch your phone off & vanish away?"

"I didn't switch it off. I just lost it. A month ago, those loan sharks came to the bar. After my performance, they followed me to my changing room. I asked what the matter was. That was when I came to know about your dad's debts. I tried to negotiate but they misbehaved. So, I called for help. Luckily, someone was passing by & they came to help. But those jerks got into fight with him. With trembling hands, I opened the window secretly when their attention was not directed at me. I used that as an opportunity to escape. It was raining really hard that day. They ran after me. I was dialing the emergency number but because of the scary situation, the phone fell from my hands. They were too close now. So instead of picking up the phone, I focused on running. Somehow I managed to hide in a secluded alley. Since then I have been lost. Fortunately, I met a kind woman. She gave me clothes, food & shelter. I called you so many times through her phone, but you were unreachable. Did you change your number?"