Icy-Shock (Completed)

37. Questions

Heartina...

Yesterday, that ahjumma took me inside and told that the person with me was different from the Choi Young she knew, yet looked very like him and she asked me to be very careful. Choi Young was one of the greatest persons whom I have met in my life. Just because an old lady tells me something, I must not suspect him. But, my mom also told something about 2 kids alike. Though I thought I mustn't suspect him, I was surprised that the doubt about him was growing within me. I wondered why? I decided to ask it to his friends. The next 2 days of our trip passed quickly and I did not get a chance to ask to Yoon Min Joon and Go Nam Soon about Choi Young. We came back to Macau and on that evening, there was an awarding ceremony where Go Nam Soon was getting an award for the "BEST MALE MODEL" of the year award. When we landed in Macau, I saw many banners regarding this award giving fest. I had not been to such a big fest before with a lot of film stars and other celebrities. I was eager and excited.

Go Nam Soon came to me that afternoon happily.

"Heartina"

"Nam Soonah!" I smiled.

"I am going to the beauty parlor. Want to tag along?"

"Sure. At what time?"

"In about half an hour"

"Ok. I will get ready to go with you", I said casually and I thought this was my chance to inquire about Choi Young to him. I got dressed up and came down when Choi Young came down too.

"Going anywhere Heartina?" he asked.

"Yes Young, I'm going with Go Nam Soon to the parlor", I smiled.

"Be careful", he said.

"We are also going to meet my groom and he will be there at the party today", I teased smiling.

"What?" he asked in a tense voice.

"I am eager to meet him", said Nam Soon.

Young looked furious and then controlled his emotions quickly and mumbled "Do whatever you want!" and left. Go Nam Soon and I had a hearty laugh and started towards the car. Once we were inside, I decided to start my inquiry.

"Go Nam Soon", I called.

"Mmm..."

"Do you know Choi Young from child hood?"

"Yes of course. We were friends right from kinder garden"

"I see"

"Why?"

"Just because... I wanted to know if you have seen any changes in him before 2-3 years or before that. I mean in his behavior"

"No. Not at all."

"Think well and answer me Go Nam Soon. Were you always together?"

"We were always in the same place. If one of us were in Seoul, then all were there in Seoul and if in Macau, all stayed together in Macau. We rarely separate and that was always for the sake of our families. We visit our families once in 3 months at the same time so that we would not miss each other. Sometimes we all have friendly parties where we bring our families too."

"Hey... What you tell me is after you have grown up. What about your teenage? Were you all together from your school?" I asked him.

"No. Wait ... wait, it was about 4 years back when Choi Young went to visit his family and did not come back for 4 months as his mom was ill", he said thoughtfully.

"Are you sure that his mom was ill?"

"Yeah! We did not visit her as Choi Young told us it was a sort of contagious disease and visitors were not allowed. His mom had a nasty infection from some bacteria. Since he was an intern in medicine, he was able to treat her right from his mansion", he recalled.

"OK. When Young came back did you notice any changes in his behavior?"

"I noticed some changes but may be not... Heartina why are you asking all these? Is there any problem between the two of you?" he asked suspicious of me.

"Not at all", I smiled and I didn't know what to tell him and then "I just wanted to know more about him, his family, his character, his childhood etc. Min Joon and you are the only ones who knew about him thoroughly both in and out, so I asked you", I said innocently with a childlike smile. Of course, he believed me and so, I started asking him again.

"Think well and answer Go Nam Soon"

"Wait...when he came back, he was more mature than before. He stopped attending gatherings, functions and all happy events..." he trailed and I smiled.

"OK what else?" I smiled

"Also, he became a bit silent and kept watching people a lot. Yoon Min Joon, Cha Eun Sang, Kim Ji Won and I thought his mother's illness brought some maturity within him. Before that incident, Choi Young was the liveliest, talkative and happiest member of the gang. He loved adventures and travelled a lot with us and spent lavishly. That one incident changed him completely.

We all thought if we left him alone for some time, then we would get our previous Young back. But unfortunately, he is not seen anymore and the silent, solitary Young is here with us and we became accustomed to him. The only behavior common in him is the helping tendency. This new Young is all quiet and well-mannered but that sort of aloofness is not between friends right? So, I think this is the only change I have seen in him", he said sadly.

He parked his car in front of the beauty parlor and it was a men's parlor and so I decided to hang out in the park nearby. I went and sat in the park bench watching the scenery. My mind started to wander wildly.

Go Nam Soon described Choi Young as a totally different person from the one with us now. Who is the real one? Then the 4 months in the middle was the time taken for the new Choi Young to master the old Choi Young's character and activities. If so, then why should a new person replace the Old Choi Young? How come they have the same faces? Then suddenly, I remembered the phone call from my mother where she told me she saw the photo of Choi Young and his twin. Then, if my guess was correct, the person here was Choi Young's twin brother. What happened to the previous Choi Young then? My head started to ache due to bubbling questions. Only if I knew about his family, I would be able to come to further conclusions and so I must ask Nam Soon about Young's family on my way back.