Memoirs of a Young Love (Completed)

Chapter 10 - Uncovered

'Sir, please tell my father about this,' I heard Bin say. My father nodded and he made his way to the nurse's station to phone someone. I motioned for Bin to come and sit beside me as I wanted to ask him what happened.

'You didn't bid me goodbye earlier. What happened between you and Dad?' I asked him, while his eyes were sore from all the crying. 

'I'm sorry if I rushed to go home earlier,' he said between sobs. 'Your dad told me something that concerned my parentage. So I rushed to ask my mother about the truth. But then when I got home, I saw her lying on the floor, unconscious,' he continued.

I gasped at what I heard. It must have been hard on Bin seeing his mom that way. I could only hold his hand to make him feel that I understood what happened. He cried again.

'I can't handle if I lose her this time, Yej. I can't,' he said while choking in his tears. I grabbed his shoulders and made him lean on my own, while I pat his back. I couldn't help but cry with him. I wanted to know what he meant, but I did not press the matter just yet.

My dad went over to where we were and he sat beside Bin. He immediately turned to look at my dad before he asked him, 

'Sir, have you called him?'

My old man nodded and Bin thanked him for doing so. I wanted to ask dad what's going on but I figured to do it when we go home. But I don't think I could go home and leave him alone, waiting for his mother to wake up. Maybe I will have to ask dad to leave me here and I will go home tomorrow.

A few minutes later, there emerged a tall man, wearing a suit and tie. As I looked at him, he resembled Bin in some way, especially his side profile. Who came with him  was someone we did not expect. Kim Hae-il, the man who was in our school during the school fair. The one who came with the judge when I won the contest, and the one who tackled Bin in the soccer field that caused him to faint.

Why is he here? Are he and Bin related?

'Joo Hoon,' he called for my dad. Immediately my dad stood up and hugged him. Could he be?

I looked at Bin and he was looking at the newly arrived man. He was wide eyed and his gaze darted from the older man to Hae-il. He was trying to connect the dots between them.

'Jong Chan,' I hear my dad call him while he gave him a bear hug. He pulled away and my dad grabbed Bin's shoulder and said to the other man, 'This is Kim Young Hee's son. Your son. Hyun Bin.'

My eyes widened at the revelation. I could see Bin's tears once more, gushing out of his eyes like a waterfall. He went to the man named Jong Chan, his father. He looked at him tenderly before he embraced him, and the older man likewise cried. 

'I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry,' was all the older man could muster. Silence enveloped the waiting area and I could see Hae-il look at them before he bowed his head. Bin embraced his father for the first time, and I could feel how happy he is, even in this situation that his mother has not woken up yet.

'Dad, please help Mom. Please,' suddenly he went on his knees, begging his father to help him. Dad turned to me and told me that we should leave them first. I followed suit.

While we were in the cafeteria to get something, I thought it was time for me to ask the questions that have been lingering in my mind since we came here.

'Dad, how did you know Bin's father?' I began.

He took a deep breath before he answered. 'Kim Jong Chan and I are best friends since high school, and we studied together until college years. At that time, he was dating Bin's mom, Kim Young Hee. They were both in love, and I really thought they would end up together. They were an item until we graduated college, and it was then we found out that Jong Chan was betrothed to a family friend's daughter, Lee Mun Wha. When Young Hee learned about it, she fled to somewhere we didn't know. Jong Chan was ready to defy his family for her, but he couldn't find her anymore. He ended up marrying Mun Wha, because of family business merger. They had a child, Kim Hae-il, The one who is with him now,' Dad said, while pausing to drink his tea.

'A year later, Young Hee emerged and looked for me. At that time, I was to be married to your mother, and we met her. We invited her to our wedding to which she went. Jong Chan was there likewise, without Mun Wha and Hae-il with him, as they were in the US. I don't know what happened but what I learned next was Jong Chan was asking me for help again. Something happened between him and Young Hee and I bet Bin was a result of that. She probably stayed away because she knew he was married and it would cause a great trouble. After which, we never knew what happened, but we both were looking for them.

The day he brought you home and the first time I saw him, I was shocked. He looked so much like his father in his younger years. His eyes, nose and his dimples. I could never be wrong, and when he did mention his mother's name, I knew I found who we have been looking for. Jong Chan was like a brother to me and when I knew about Bin, I was so happy. Earlier tonight, when I told him about his paternity, he immediately rushed home to ask his mother if it was true. 

I understood if he was angry, at me, his father and his mother, but when he called up earlier I knew I had to do the right thing. I called his father, even before we came over and informed him that I have found who we have been looking for. When Bin asked me to help him, I was more than glad to inform his father about it. And that's why they are here.'

I tried to connect the dots about everything that my dad told me. Hae-il and Bin were brothers.

---
'So, Yejin, Bin. How are you guys?' Hae-il oppa asked us both. 

I glanced at Bin and he was smiling, his dimples as clear as day. I had to turn away from him because, I had a strange feeling in my heart that resurfaced the moment I set foot in this school earlier on. I didn't know what it was, but I was certain of one thing.

It was the same feeling that I had when I first saw him, twenty years ago, holding a soccer ball and placed it on his hips, prepared to put it to play.

I spoke first to wash away the nervousness that I had since I saw him. 

'Oppa, I'm fine. Thank you for recommending me to plan the wedding of your friends,' I said. He nodded and smiled at me. And if I am judgmental enough, I could say his smile was something sneaky.

He turned to look at Bin, who blurted out. 'You are a wedding planner, Yej?' My peripheral vision saw him with widened eyes as he looked at me. I took all the courage to face him before I nodded.

Son Ye Jin, your heart is thumping. Can you stop breathing and freeze this moment?

He looks the same, although he is a bit more matured now. But his eyes, nose and smile, they are still the same. The same features that stood out when I saw him. The same features that made all the girls swoon for him, especially when he's playing.

The same features that made me have a crush on him, back then. Back then.

'Hyung, maybe Yejin has someone else in mind. She's a wedding planner and she has a lot of connections,' I heard him faintly tell oppa.

'And so? I want to recommend you both to my friends. Yejin is a sought-after wedding planner, and you are a successful wedding photographer, albeit you are using the name that Dad gave you,' Oppa said.

I knew of a lot of wedding photographers as it is the nature of my work, but I never heard of him. I was curious and my eyes turned to look at Hae-il oppa. He smiled before he answered me.

'Haven't you heard of him, Yejin? He is the one and only Kim Tae Pyung. He owns KTP,' he replied.

'The most sought after celebrity wedding photographer,' I continued. 

I never thought he was the one.