Don knocked on Jungha's door, waiting for a response. After a brief moment, he knocked again, "Jungha, can I come in? Let's talk about this."
"The door doesn't lock. If you wanted to, you could have just come in." Jungha said, sulking from the other side.
Don slowly opened the door, "You're not a kid anymore, so I respect your privacy. That's why I asked first."
Jungha sat at the foot of the bed, with his head down. Don did not like seeing his brother like this. He walked over and sat next to his younger brother.
"Jungha, you have to understand Mom is entitled to live her life. Since we were born, she sacrificed all she had to support us. But you and I are adults now, which means Mom doesn't need to worry about us as much as she did before. She spent most of her life living for us, don't you think she deserves to be happy too?"
Jungha spoke back, "Aren't we enough?!... Aren't we enough to make her happy…?"
Don shook his head, "When you're older… You will understand. Just try and see Mr. Kang with Mom. Mr. Kang and his daughter come from a broken family just like us. His wife left him years ago and he had to raise his daughter alone. You don't have to accept everything right now, but can you at least do it for Mom? That would make her happy."
Jungha took everything into deep consideration and answered, "Alright, I'll go…"
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The next morning, Jungha and his mother took the fastest bullet train to the next province. Mr. Kang resided in another city, far from where Jungha lived. In terms of scale, this city was two times as big as their home town. There were countless of contemporary skyscrapers that towered over everything. It was a center for many big and well-known corporations, a city of businesses.
They arrived at a European style mansion located at the outskirts. Two servants waited at the entrance. They led Jungha and his mother inside. Mr. Kang and his daughter waited in a spacious room for them with warm smiles. Mr. Kang was a well-groomed man in his late forties. He styled a simple yet lavish suit. The daughter who timidly stood next to him wore red framed glasses and a light blue dress. Everything seemed so fancy to Jungha, making him feel out of place.
"Its finally good to meet you, young man!" Mr. Kang exclaimed, bringing out one of his hands out to greet Jungha.
Jungha did not return the gesture and bowed instead, keeping an aloof expression, "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."
Jungha's mom headed to the young girl and introduced her, "This is Mr. Kang's daughter Reena. She's only in the sixth grade but is already taking high school level courses. I told her a lot about you, Jungha. She may seem a bit shy right now, but she's really excited to meet you."
"I prepared some sweets last night just for you Jungha, and Miss Yuen too. We all can eat it together," Reena said in a soft and quite tone.
Reena's innocent personality began to softened Jungha's tough exterior. She looked happy to see him. Jungha thought Reena must have been lonely being an only child. The four went to the dining room.
After conversating for an hour, Jungha's mother thought of an idea.
"You two must be bored sitting here with us. Reena, why don't you take Jungha and tour him around the house?"
Reena nodded, "Let me show you around. There are lots of things to see here."
They went upstairs and walked through an expansive hallway aligned with sculptures and paintings. Jungha followed Reena, admiring the luxurious works of art they passed by.
"All of these are treasures Father brings back from his trips. If you think this stuff is cool, just wait till you see my dad's studio! It's just down this hallway," Reena excitingly expressed.
The two reached Mr. Kang's office and Reena pushed open the heavy door. Jungha was taken back at how huge the room was. The place looked like it could have held grand banquets for at least a hundred people.
"Wow. It really is amazing."
Reena giggled at Jungha's reaction, "Let me show you around!"
Reena provided the history and meaning behind every display that peaked Jungha's interest. Finally, they made it to the end of the room where Mr. Kang's desk was. Something on the table caught Jungha's eyes. It was a small framed photo of Mr. Kang, Reena and another person whose face was glared out by the reflection of the light. He picked it up and saw it was his mother in the picture. Jungha noticed that Reena looked rather young in the photo.
"That was the first time Miss Yuen came along with father and I on our annual vacations," Reena mentioned.
Feeling a bit hurt, Jungha asked, "When was this taken?"
"It must have been taken three years ago. I remember I was only nine at the time. Father took us to a beach resort. Ever since then, the three of us go there every summer."
They've been together for that long…? Mom said she's only been seeing the guy since last year. It doesn't make sense. Jungha scoffed to himself.
In disbelief, Jungha continued to pry into the matter, "So my mom's been living with you and your dad for the last three years?"
"Well, even before Miss Yuen worked for Father, he had already arranged for her to live with us. I assume they must have been seeing each other before then," Reena started to blush, "Miss Yuen has always been so helpful to Father, and she's been so kind to me. I'm glad that she's going to be my mom, and I'm glad you're going to be my big brother too," the tone in her voice was genuine and pure.
Jungha's face became nothing but dark, clenching the picture frame so hard the glass almost cracked.
"Is something wrong Jungha?"
Jungha shook off the horrid thoughts in his mind, and replied in a calm manner, "Excuse me, I forgot I left something in the car outside."
He walked out of the mansion unnoticed and took the first train back home.
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It was nine at night and Mickey and Rain where in the living room watching television. Suddenly, Mickey's phone began to ring. It was Jungha calling him and he answered.
"Jungha? It's late, what are you calling for?"
On the other end of the phone, Mickey was greeted by a commotion of people yelling and talking.
"Mickey? Hey, its Hao. Some of us guys had a couple of drinks tonight and Jungha got a bit carried away. We tried to take him home but he insisted we take him to your place. We should be here soon if you want to come outside."
"What?! I'll be out in a moment."
Mickey swiftly got up and ran out of the house. Hao and Koichi were coming down the street and they were carrying a tipsy Jungha on their shoulders.
"Come on dude…. You can walk on your own now! Don't you know how heavy you are? We basically carried you all the way here," Koichi complained.
Jungha did not reply, he was full of despair and lifeless.
"Sorry Mickey for bothering you this late at night, but Jungha wouldn't cooperate unless we took him here," Hao clarified.
"Yeah… all he would keep saying was, Mickey…Mickey…take me to Mickey! I don't want to go home!" Koichi mocked, "It was kind of annoying."
Mickey walked to Jungha and shook him by the shoulders, "Jungha wake up! What's the matter with you?"
The sound of Mickey's voice easily lifted Jungha's spirit. Jungha gazed up to see if it really was his friend. Hao and Koichi handed Jungha over and Mickey tried to keep grounded while holding him.
"He's all yours," Koichi teased.
"Thanks Mickey, take care of him, okay? He's had a rough day. Good night!" Hao said.
Mickey and Jungha were now alone. Mickey brushed Jungha's arm off and spoke in a stern tone, "You reek of alcohol. How much did you drink?"
"Mom lied to me…" Jungha muttered to himself.
"What?" Mickey replied, unable to make out what Jungha said.
Jungha kicked and empty can with full force as he yelled out, "My own mother betrayed me!"
"What's going on out here?!" Rain exclaimed, coming out from the house. She then saw Jungha, "Jungha? Why are you here? Did something happen?"
With no response, Jungha sat down on the steps to cool down.
Right then Jiang came out of the house to see the commotion, "Is there a fight happening out here, and why is your friend here, Mickey?"
Mickey went to sit by Jungha, "You're supposed to be out of town with your mom. Did something happen?"
"She tricked me, Mickey…Everything she ever done was a lie. She never cared about me."
Intrigued, Rain tipped toed down the stairs and sat by them. Jiang followed and crouched down the step above them. Jungha explained everything that happened and what he discovered. After he finished telling the three, Jiang was the first to speak up.
Jiang let out a long grunt as he stood up, "Well bro I know it sucks, but you just got to move on," Jiang proceeded to head towards the street, "It's late, you should stay the night at our place. I'm going out tonight with my crew, so you can sleep on my bed."
Jiang then got in his car and drove into the dark of night.
"It's getting late, we should go inside," Rain suggested.
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This was the first time Jungha would spend a night with Mickey. The mere thought of being alone together in such private quarters caused Jungha's mind to run wild. Though the two were in the same room, Jungha was out of reach from Mickey. He was laying on Jiang's bed, across from where Mickey slept.
"Mickey, isn't the floor not comfortable? Come sleep on the bed, there's enough room for the both of us," Jungha deviously insisted.
Focused on sleeping, Mickey quietly replied, "I like being on the ground, and go to sleep it's late."
"But the surface is hard and cold! Jiang is not even coming back tonight, he won't know!"
Mickey sat up and hushed Jungha, "Keep your voice down. We don't want to wake anyone up. Even if there is enough room, why would I disrespect my uncle by sleeping on his bed, when I have a bed of my own already?"
A notorious smile grew on Jungha's face, "If that's 'the case," he leaped out of the bed, "I should respect your uncle too, by not sleeping on his spot!"
In two quick strides, Jungha dived down onto Mickey's bed and struggled to get under the covers.
Mickey let out a loud gasp, "Jungha, stop-!"
Jungha immediately placed his strong hand over Mickey's mouth, silencing him, "Shhh… you don't want to wake up your family, do you?"
Mickey pushed Jungha's hand away and gasped for air, "Fine… Let's just go to sleep," and he turned to face the wall.
Jungha began poking at the boy's back, "Mickey… I don't have a pillow. Can we share yours?"
"I only have one pillow, go grab Jiang's."
"You think I'll fall for that? If I leave, I know you won't let me back in your bed."
Jungha scooted closer to lay his head on top of the pillow. Mickey grew irritated and shoved a hidden pillow he held, to Jungha.
"Here! Use this one to sleep on and stop bothering me." Mickey snapped.
Amused, Jungha mischievously wondered, "Ey? You have another pillow? But you said you only had one. What else are you lying about, Mickey? Since you don't have that extra pillow to hug, you can hug me instead."
Now at his wits end, Mickey spoke in an annoyed tone, "Jungha, it's late. Do you really want to push the limits of my kindness?"
Jungha quietly chuckled and apologized, "Alright-alright, I'm sorry. Can't you be a little bit more compassionate to me? You know I'm really hurt right now?"
"Don't use your family issues as an excuse for your immature behavior," Mickey said nonchalantly with his eyes closed.
"You know Mickey, you and I are the same now."
Dumbfounded, Mickey tilted his head to look at Jungha, "How so?"
Jungha placed both his arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling, "We both don't have a mother or father who can love us anymore. Now you won't have to endure that feeling of emptiness alone anymore, because I know your pain now."
Mickey thought it was a kind and silly gesture for Jungha putting it in that way. A small discomfort tugged in Mickey's chest, wishing for a way to ease Jungha's wounded heart.
Pretending to be unamused, Mickey pointed at Jungha's forehead, "Don't be stupid. Your mom still loves you. Maybe you should have confronted her instead of storming off."
Jungha spoke back with a shaky voice, "You think she loves me? How could she have done something so cruel like that if she loved me? Mickey… my whole life I looked up to her and when she left, I missed her every day. The only way I could sleep at night in the last three years was telling myself that she was working to support my brother and I. Then I find out she has been living a second life with someone else," Jungha paused, "I feel like an idiot, cheated and played. Am I just a mistake of my mother's past that she wants to forget?"
Mickey took in a deep breath and exhaled. He was already drowsy, and in this state, he was susceptible to expressing his feelings. He gently laid his head on Jungha's chest and placed his hand over Jungha's heart. Mickey could feel the soft beat of the organ pumping faster, the longer he kept his hand there.
"Jungha, you were never a mistake. I'm glad your mom brought you into this world, because of that I got to meet you…" Mickey said as he faded into a deep sleep.