Prostitutes,Money And Love

Chapter 29 /People Change,Both Bad And Good/

I halted in my footsteps,now wondering where on earth I was. Who cares,actually? I steadied my breathing and walked towards a bench before sitting down.

I ran a hand down my sweaty hair,snorting in disbelief. That picture...the 'family' portrait. Why bother putting it into your wallet when you don't give a single fuck about how we're doing. Out of so many places,I had to find her at that very house. Fate...what a joke!

"Hey!"someone shouted and I turned around to find Jaebum,panting heavily with his finger pointed at me. He ran towards me and rested himself on the bench. "Why...why...why did you run away? Do you n-not want your...job?"he asked,catching his breath.

"Sorry."I shrugged and looked up to the sky,shaking my leg in annoyance. I wanted to see her again but not like this. I wanted her to explain to me why she has been missing. For fuck's sake,she can't even recognise me! And what on earth,she was dressed up to the nines. Her hair was style and she was dawned in branded clothes and yet she didn't want to find us? We've been suffering for so long and she's been having it great. I bet appa's doing the same,eh?

"You suddenly seem like you don't care about the money you're earning from this job."

"Shut up. Leave me alone. I need to think."

"Precisely because you need to think that I'm staying here."

"For what? To annoy me. Go get a life,Jaebum."

"No,to make sure you don't think like a fool and do something stupid. Not on my watch. I hate you but you're Mark's girl. I'm obliged to."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "So you genuinely do not care for me? As a human being but only because you're obliged to? Well,I get it. It's not that surprising because you know that woman."

"Woman..."his voice trailed off,with a questioning tone. "Aunty Lee."

"No,bitch Lee."I snapped back coldly.

"What did she ever do to you? She's one of the nicest people I've ever met. She's-"

"Nice? She's nice?!"I screamed and laughed hysterically. "Open your eyes and look at her. If she's nice,she wouldn't be enjoying life right now and would be trying hard to find her children that she abandoned for no good reason!"

"She has children?"he asked,confused.

"It's no use talking to someone like you."I shaked my head and got up.

"Wait."he grabbed me. "She's your mother?"he asked warily.

Silence. Silence. More silence.

Then,he pulled me into a hug. A firm,warm hug. Without words,he just hugged me. No remarks,no nothing. Just his steady breathing and his arms around me.

I let out a scream and grabbed his shirt before burying my face in it,cursing as I sobbed uncontrollably. He patted my head but I just continued hitting his chest,like he was my sandbag. He didn't flinch or made a sound and just looked at me with eyes full of...care. Genuine,sincere care.

"Are you going to...acknowledge her?"he asked warily.

I didn't let go because I didn't want to. It felt heart-warming. "Depends. I have to discuss this with my siblings."

"But you'll be seeing her more."

"WHAT?"I pushed him away abruptly. "Why?!"I exclaimed.

"She's staying at my house while she renovated her own."he explained.

"I can't...I don't want to see her,for now. I can't face her right now. She makes me sick. She's even renovating her freaking house and I'm living in an infested 'apartment'. I wouldn't it even call it that!"

He kept quiet. "I could arrange a meeting for you."

"No,"I paused and looked at him with a smile. "I'm gonna stalk her."

+++

"This is dumb."Jaebum sulked and pulled his cap down.

"I didn't ask you to follow."I snapped back and pushed my sunglasses up before putting on my mask. Disguises,check.

"She's just going to shop. There's nothing worth spying about."

"She's waiting for someone. Maybe it's my father."I mumbled to myself and dragged Jaebum along to the coffeeshop she just entered.

"What do you wanna drink?"he asked,browsing through the menu. "Or eat? There's waffles and pancakes and-"

"Shush,child."I said and pressed my finger against his lips before turning around again. I regret letting him follow me.

A man in his late forties entered the coffeeshop and greeted her rather warmly. With a kiss actually. But that isn't my father...

"Jaebum?"she suddenly got up and approached us. COVER BLOWN WHAT DO WE DO??

"Hi,Auntie!"he said and gave her a hug. "Who is this fine girl here hm...oh,the babysitter?"

"She's Hyun."

"Nice to meet you."I mumbled.

"Are you...on a date?"she asked.

"What-"Jaebum was about to tell the truth but I cut him off in time. "YEAP!"I giggled. "It's been going on for quite a while actually so I hope you can keep it a secret?"I smiled fakely.

"Of course,my dears!"

"Also,Mrs.Lee."I called and Jaebum gave me a look. "Do you have any children by chance?"I asked and Jaebum kicked my foot harshly. I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists to make sure I wouldn't scream out in pain. You're getting it back ten times worse,you jerk.

"Uh...no actually."she replied unsurely.

"Oh I just wanted to ask since I'm a babysitter. But then again,who are the children in your wallet?"

"Uh..."her voice trailed off but Jaebum stood up. "Auntie Lee,I hope you can excuse us. We're running late for our movie."he lied and dragged me out of the shop.

"Fuck off,why did you do that? I was THAT close to breaking her."

"One,I'm not your boyfriend. Be glad I played along and keep this a secret from Mark. Two,that's definitely hot your father. They got married only last year. Three,what are you doing? What are you going to do after you break her and reveal yourself,hm?"

"I..."

"Precisely,you can't do anything. Settle it calmly."he advised,grabbing my shoulders with assurance.

"What if it doesn't end like how I want it to be? I always dreamt of a happy reunion. But now...she's not even with my father and she denies about my existence. All that money I spent on her...it's all wasted,"I scoffed in disbelief,tears already streaming down my cheeks.

Jaebum froze and was speechless. "What? Your first time seeing a girl cry?"I sniffed.

"No...first time seeing you break down like this. Willingly and without a care of the world."

I snorted and wiped away my tears before punching him in the arm. "Let's go."

"Wait."he said. "I promise I'll try to help you."he continued and held out his pinky finger. I raised a brow.

"Have we suddenly become 5?"I joked while wrapping my finger around his.

"We are if you want to."