Secrets Untold: BTOB Minhyuk x CLC Elkie

Chapter 16 | Back In The Day

Chapter 16 | Back In The Day

Ilhoon came back a few more times to the music shop before he and Elkie would start planning for the new secret service agency. He's almost done writing the song. He also surprisingly got along well with the old man who owns the shop. Today, though, the shop is closed. He drove back to his place and then called his sister, Elkie, but she wasn't responding.

#

"Why do you have a picture with my mother?"

In the picture, Elkie's mom was smilingㅡhitting her with a wave of memories. She had almost forgotten how her mom's smile was like, the real happy one. The chairmanㅡnoㅡChung Hoon was kissing her forehead with the same happy smile.

She gasped for air. "Explain this..." she said, her lips trembling.

Chung Hoon ran his hands through his face. "Just calm down. We'll talk about it."

"Then talk!"

"Not hereㅡlet's... talk somewhere else."

He drove the both of them to a park. Fresh air. Fresh view. But she was still unable to think. It was just all too much to take.

"We may be more connected than you know."

Elkie looked up at him. "You knew all this time?"

He nodded quietly.

"Since when? Since you found out I was a double agent?" she asked.

He shook his head with a faint smile. "Since the first time I saw you."

Her head spun a little. She grasped onto the bench they were sitting at. "What do you mean?"

"You look so much like her," he said, swallowing hard. He stared off into the empty air, his hands on his knees, holding on tightly as if for support. "For a while, I thought you could be my daughter."

"Oh my God... you are... you are..." Ilhoon's real father.

"I was your mother's lover."

A tear rolled down her cheek. Her eyes hurt from trying so hard not to cry. It still hurt to hear that until nowㅡthat her mom wasn't satisfied with her husband, or Elkie herself that she had to find another person to love.

She swallowed. "Was... she happy with you?"

Chung Hoon nodded. "I thought so." he replied, "We met back then at my music shop. Having a secret service wasn't even in my head at that time. I just loved music, then one day, your mother walked inㅡand I loved her."

She felt her heart continuously sinking.

"Your mother loved art and music, but she was unhappy when I first met her. We made each other happy, yet I didn't know she had a family until the day she cried to me, told me she was pregnant with my child and that we can't raise the child together because she has a family of her own already."

Elkie wiped off the tears on her face frustratedly. They just won't stop coming.

"She left me then. I never saw her again. I tried to find herㅡand though I felt like I knew her a lot, it turned out I knew so little of her whereabouts."

"I'm not your child." she said firmly yet calmly.

He nodded. "I know."

She turned to him sharply. "You know? Do you know who your child is?"

He shook his head. "Unfortunately, I'm still looking for her... or him." he said, "I found out you are not my daughter when I investigated about you, but I could only go so far. There wasn't another child in your family registry."

"What?" she asked him in disbelief.

"You heard me right, Elkie." he said, his eyes suddenly pleading. "Why are you the only child? Where is... my child?"

"That's not possible! Ilhoon is... registered as our family, my brotherㅡ"

"He? He's a boy?"

Elkie looked into his eyes, suddenly welling with tears. She looked away. There was so much relief and happiness on his face. She didn't know how to feel. She always secretly resented her mother's other lover for ruining their family yet she loved Ilhoon like his full-blood brother. Now, she felt bad for this man, all these years he had been looking for his childㅡbut he didn't even know the name or gender of who he was looking for.

"Yes," she replied.

"And... his name is Il Hoon?"

She nodded.

In the corner of her eye, she witnessed him cry for the first time.

"Jung Il Hoon," she confirmed. "So he was named after you. Chung Hoon. Il Hoon."

"Can you... tell me more about him?"

"Well," she said with a little chuckle. "He's stubborn, workaholicㅡhe cares a lot, loves a lot. He loved music, too. And he used to have many girls going for him until he became too dedicated on impressing my father."

"Seems like I have a handsome son?"

"You'll be surprised," Elkie said. "He's a great agent, too."

His eyes widened. "He is?"

She nodded. "He helped the team succeed on our last mission."

He shook his head sadly, "I didn't even know..." he said, "Does he... want to know me?"

"I don't know," she replied honestly. Ilhoon didn't really make it clear. "But you should meet each other. I'm sure he'll be gladㅡto find out his father is a good man."

Chung Hoon smiled at her. "I'm so sorry for not telling you this before. I just didn't know how, or if it was the right time."

And it's alright.

She forgave him.

And her mother.

#

Ilhoon watched as Sungjae and Changsub wrestle each other. He rented out a small place for them when they need to meet or train. Peniel was busy on his laptop, while Elkie stared off quietly into the distance. Hyunsik, Eunkwang and Minhyuk haven't come yet.

He tugged on Elkie's hair. She flinched. "Hey!" she sneered.

"You better not be overthinking where we should get the money of building a new agency!"

"I'm not! We'll figure that out."

"Then why are you so zoned out?"

She sighed. "Justㅡa lot of things are going on."

"Are you sad about SM closing down? You really got attached to that company, didn't you?"

Elkie was about to reply when Eunkwang and Hyunsik came with take-away coffee for the whole team. They sat around the table for today's first meeting: finding a location for 20Space, that's what they're going to call the new agency.

"Where's Minhyuk?" asked Eunkwang.

"Don't know," Ilhoon replied. "He wasn't picking up his phone!" he said, pointedly looking at Elkie.

"He doesn't?" she asked.

"Nope, and he always comes late anyway. I texted him about the meeting."

It's been days since Elkie found out the truth about Kim Chung Hoon, since the last time she saw Minhyuk in the meeting room of SM for the announcement. She had been too occupied about her own problems that she almost didn't notice what's going on with Minhyuk.

"I'll go, pick him up." she said, getting up.

"Waitㅡbut the meeting?"

"I'll bring him here immediately."

Ilhoon frowned. "Okay."

She marched off the place and drove over to Minhyuk's apartment. She pressed the doorbell about five times before the door opened, revealing a pale Minhyuk; sweat was dripping off his face and the dark shadows around his eyes couldn't be missed.