SEVENTEEN

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Previously on SEVENTEEN......

           He steeled himself as she turned around and saw that he was there. He paid little to no attention to her reaction and opened his mouth. "Hello, mother." Wonwoo said. "How's it going?"

                                                   +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 

                     "Wonwoo." Was all that his mother could say. And Wonwoo had to stop himself from smiling at the pure satisfaction that he got from the fact that his mother was shocked to see him. "What are you doing here?" She asked him. And she was looking around at her friends, more likely than not seeing their reactions and trying to think of something off the top of her head to explain this. "I thought that you were busy studying abroad dear." She told him. And she even had the nerve to walk up to him and link their arms together. "You never told me that you were coming home or I would have prepared for this better." Wonwoo wanted to gag. "Well, sorry mother, but I wanted to surprise you." He told her. He had a smirk on his face and to anyone else it would look like a son who's happy that he was able to pull one over on his mother. But Wonwoo could tell by the look in his mother's eyes that she saw through it as what it really was. A smirk of victory. "Are you surprised?" He asked her coyly. His mother gritted her teeth into a somewhat ghoulish smile in his opinion and plastered on a happy tone for the guests. "Oh! But of course!" She said in a fake jovial tone. "I'm so happy you're here." She said. "Now, if you excuse us for just a moment my dear friends." His mother said. "I would like to catch up with my son in private." And she roughly grabbed Wonwoo by the arm and dragged him off to another room.   

                     The two of them walked in silence through the rest of the guests that were filling up the room off to one of the private hallways. Both he and his mother checked both ways to make sure that they were alone before moving on. His mother had him reach up and pull on one of the light fixtures on the walls. A section of the wall broke away and moved back and showed a little secret passageway. She dragged him through and the wall section closed behind him. The two of them walked in silence for a few more minutes down the long hallway before coming to a stop at it. In front of them was a door, his mother reached into the pocket of her black dress coat and pulled out a key chain. She flung through them before stopping on the one that she was looking for. A little silver key, with a black and purple skeleton on the end, with shining red eyes. Mrs. Jeon inserted it in the lock and opened the door. She pushed it back and motioned for her son to enter before her. Wonwoo walked in and was still trying to keep up his unbothered facade. His mother was right on his heels and closed the door behind them. She reached over to the wall and flipped on the lights. In the room was a small table and a couple of chairs. It was very barren, though that much was to be expected. This was the room that his family conducted business in whenever they went out of town and came to Busan. Him and his mother were just staring at each other and eventually his mother broke contact and motioned for him to sit. The two of them sat down and it was like they were preparing for a face-off. Wonwoo just hoped that he had enough power to win this one.  

               "So, I assume that you didn't just come here tonight for a social call?" His mother questioned after about 5 minutes of the two of them just sitting in silence. "Well, you've thought right, mother." Wonwoo answered her. "I came here tonight for a special reason." He told her. His mother hummed and looked down at her hands. Wonwoo noticed that she was playing with her rings. And over the years he has come to realize that his mother only does that when she feels the least bit anxious. It was a way for her to keep her cool and yet look bored and indifferent to the world going on around her. "Well." His mother said. "Spit it out already." She told him. Wonwoo chuckled at that. "All these years.." He said. "All of these years, and yet even now you still don't give a shit about me do you?" He asked her in a low voice. His mother didn't respond to his question. She just looked at him, and that was enough of an answer for Wonwoo. "I'm here for some information." Wonwoo told her. "And I believe that you have what I'm looking for." That got his mother's attention.