Lies and Secret

Chapter Two

Choi Hyun Soo's Point of view

Lee Seung Gi and I sat quietly as he drove through the Han bridge, we have been sitting silently for more than two hours and the silence was beginning to choke me. The awkward and uncomfortable silence was so foreign that I had no idea how to handle it. I have never felt uncomfortable with Seung Gi before, like ever. So this awkwardness is all too new and I do not know how to handle it. I steal glances at Seung Gi any chance I got to see if he was also in the same situation as I was. His eyes are stuck on the road with both hands on the staring wheels, he doesn’t even look at me, not even once and I could understand why.

He crossed the line

He crossed the small boundary that we had subconsciously set for ourselves.

I lean into the car door with my head resting on the window, I have my hands tucked under my arm to keep it warm and so I could think. Maybe I shouldn’t even think because the second I let my mind drift off it sends me back to the moment Seung Gi placed a kiss on my forehead, I cannot lie that it didn't felt good because it did.

It felt really good and comforting and more than anyone, I knew the meaning behind it. maybe Seung Gi too felt that unseen attraction that kept on pulling us towards each other.

Fight it?

Oh yes I have been fighting it for long, ever since I met him, ever since I knew that I could feel this way for another man, I have fought it every second and every day of my life. You’d say the best way is to stay away from him, I thought so too; but that out of sight out of mind logics doesn’t work for me. Trying to be apart from Seung Gi is like trying to commit suicide. I can’t leave him, the more I tried the more I failed.

I just cannot live without him

I thought I was fine with just being friends with him, being that unlabeled item that would flirt forth and back but knowing that at the end of the day we could be nothing more than friends I was okay with that. Or so I thought

How did just a forehead kiss break down the boundary I had set so high and make me start thinking that maybe, just maybe there is a possibility that we could have a happy ever after if we let ourselves feel whatever we were actually feeling toward each other. Maybe at the end, maybe there is a variation that ends up with us being happy

If I left myself give in into this undeniable force of attraction, was there going to be a future for us? Lee Seung Gi means more to me that words could express, he is the yin to my yang and I don’t know if I am ready to let myself feel to the maximum of what I think I could possible feel for him. I have suppressed my emotions for this beautiful man. These emotions my society would never accept, this feelings that felt like the most beautiful thing might end up hurting one if not both of us in ways we would never recover from but despite all that would go wrong I thought about being able to put a smile on his face, I thought about having my days filled with someone that who would always buy me banana milk and someone that would listen to me despite my endless chat

And I want to be greedy, I want to just tell him how I feel about him, I turn to look at him and just want to confess these feelings I had for him “Lee Seung Gi” I take a deep breath “I …”

The sound of my ringing hand phone takes over the silence and I try to fetch it out of my suit pants as fast as I could. Here goes my chance of confessing, out the window and might never come back. I finally brought out my phone and checked the caller I.D

‘Mom (with three Purple Heart emojis)’

This alone is enough to remind me why I was here in the first place, I watch the phone ring in my hand contemplating if I should pick up the phone or not

What was I even going to say if I did pick up the phone?

I am not actually the greatest at pretending, when I am angry at someone it doesn’t matter who the person it, I tend to show my emotion likewise if I was disappointed, happy or anything in between but what was I going to tell my mom on the phone? I can’t tell her I know about ‘her secret’

I do not know anything, the little I know seems strong enough to scatter me and I fear for what she really is hiding

“You’re not going to pick that up?” Seung Gi’s voice brings back my attention to the ringing phone

“I should” I replied softly but still kept on staring at it till it stopped ringing then the call comes in again from my mom, twice after the first one but I still stared at it, the fourth time she called in a roll and I finally got the courage to pick up. I place the phone on my ear and took a deep breath before saying ‘hello’

“Choi Hyun Soo! Where are you?” she demanded over the phone. I can hear the anger in my mother’s voice piercing through the phone. I mean I did miss a very important party that according to her would help me when I take over the company. I don’t know exactly how a fancy party with adults who were only there just to come and show off their riches was going to help me anyways

“I went on a drive” my voice is low as I was to low on energy to try to sound anything more than confused. I turned and gestured to Seung Gi to find a place to pack the car. He could understand me even without saying a word as he brought the car to a halt

“Drive? You couldn’t go to a drive on a day that was less important? Your grandmother kept on looking for you; she wanted to introduce you to some directors but what? You went on a drive” my mom spluttered, disbelief in her tone. I can already imagine my mom clenching anything that was in her hand as hard as she could, it was a habit of hers when she got angry. “Come back here immediately! Right now before I lose my temper” she demands

I opened the car door and climbed out, my phone still pressed to my ears walking towards the rail, the night felt much cold than it has ever felt as I spoke “Mom” my voice wobbles. I wanted to ask her, I wanted to ask her to explain what I heard I just was so curious. Too curious and the curiosity was driving me insane “I saw Uncle”

She goes silent for some seconds then I continued

“Or should I call him my fake Uncle, he is not related to me anyways”

“Choi Hyun Soo” her voice is quiet

“Why? Why did you lie that he was your brother? Why did you lie that he was family? How many more lies are you hiding? Does dad know about this?”

“Choi Hyun Soo” she said again

“I heard you conversation, don’t lie to me. Tell me the truth”

There’s a long silence from her before she finally spoke “Go straight home. I’ll be there in half an hour; I’ll come to explain everything”

“Really? You’ll tell me the whole truth?”

“Yes. It might be time you heard it from me”

*****

“I’m sorry I have to send you home in a bus instead of driving you there myself” I said to Seung Gi as he got ready to take the bus

“It’s okay”

“I’m sorry for being angry at you this afternoon” I added “And also for making you dress up to a party you couldn’t even attend”

Seung Gi laughs “It was nice at least I got to dress up” he touched that beautiful forehead of his. He holds my hands in his despite the people around. I try to remove my hand from his but he holds me tightly

“I don’t know what’s going on with you and have you worried, I know if it’s something I should know you will tell me” Lee Seung Gi said as he squeezes warmly squeezes my hands

“I want to tell you” I replied “I don’t know everything yet. If i am sure about it I will tell you” I promised

He looks up at me, smiling and that smile is everything I needed to face my mother this evening. The bus finally arrives and I watch him get into the bus, the last thing he did before the bus left was waved. I didn’t do the same, I just watched him till the bus was out of sight.

Park Jisoo’s point of view

“Yes, it might be time you heard the truth from me” I lied to my son on the phone again.

I held the phone to my chest, clenching the hem of the fine satin dress I wore, breathing heavily. How much of the conversation did he hear? That bastard Kim Woo Jin wants to destroy my life

I have worked hard for over nineteen years to get to where I am, to become Choi Mingi’s wife, to become Choi Hyun soo’s mother I have done some things that I do not regret, If I had the choice to do it again knowing this is how it will be I would do it again without blinking or hesitating, I might just never have hired Kim Woo Jin but another different person

“Honey, are you okay?” my husband Choi Mingi asked me as he puts his arm around my waist

“Yes” I lied with a smile on my face

Ever since the day I first set my eyes on Choi Mingi that year in 2003 I have been madly in love with him, he was just the one I needed; his life was so different from the life I had grown up with in the village in Gwangju, he held a smile that brighten my universe and was the key to changing my life

I did do some unspeakable things to get him, to get into this family and I've successfully been happy only for Kim Woo Jin to appear out of nowhere to try to destroy me eighteen years later because of his greed. Now even my son Hyun Soo has gotten a whim of the truth

“Mrs. Park, congratulations” Some of my workers congratulates me with a smile on their faces and a wine in their hands as they passed

“You really did great on this one” Mingi complimented “Where is Hun Soo by the way?” he asked looking around

“He wasn’t feeling too well so I sent him home” I lied again

“Are you sure he really isn’t feeling too well or he just wanted to avoid this party. You know how he can be”

“He really isn’t feeling too well. You know what?” I turned to my husband “I should go home and check him”

“And leave your party? No that’s not appropriate, you have guest who came here because of you”

“My son is sick I think that’s enough reason to go home”

“I’ll go instead”

“No!” I think I might have said the ‘No’ too loudly as many heads turns to us. We had to give them an assuring smile for them to look away and focus on something else

“Honey”

“Mingi , I know you’re trying to help but I can do this I promise. I’ll check on him and be back before you get the chance to miss me”

He finally nods in agreement before placing a kiss on the cheeks “Stay safe”

The drive home was nerve wrecking as I tried to come home with a plan, how was I got to get Hyun Soo to stop being curious about this? he is my son I know him too well, he won’t just stop until I give him a good enough reason to and if he digs more into this situation it will burn him in ways he’ll regret for life.

I don’t want that

I do not want that, I did not go through hell just to end up hurting Hyun Soo, we are so close to achieving our goal, in less than six month he will be done with high school and go to college for four years by the time he comes back he would have the choice to either work in his father’s company at JK Holding or in my company at CH tech. I was so close to giving him all this riches, connection and power that I had work for. Choi Hyun Soo finding out what I really did to get to this position would break him and he wouldn’t want to take over any of the companies. I have to come up with something to make him never doubt me again and a way to get rid of Kim Woo Jin.

“Were you ever going to tell me?” This was the very first thing Choi Hyun Soo asked me as soon as he saw me coming walking towards the house

Hyun Soo had his arm crossed on his chest, resting on the entrance of the door, he is still in the suit I bought for him and looks like he was freezing

“Let’s talk inside” I suggested

“No. Let’s talk here mom”

“Do you want to freeze outside? I don’t think your anger is enough to keep you warm” I walked pass him, opening the door into the mansion we call home. Hyun Soo doesn’t say anything but only follows me as I walked down to the study room. He closed the door beside him grabbing a seat before asking me again “Were you ever going to tell me?”

“How much of the conversation did you hear?” I asked. Threading lightly

“Everything”

I took at deep breath and grabbed the whiskey Mingi hid in the first drawer, I took a cup, poured in the whiskey and took a sip out of it

“Uncle killed someone” Hyun soo’s voice cracks “Should I even call him uncle, since he is a fake”

“There are a lot of things you do not know and trust me you do not want to dig any further. You’ll only end up destroying things”

“Mom, the person I thought was family turns out to be a lie and a murderer you expect me to just forget about it?”

“Yes”

“Mom!”

“Everything I do, I do it for you! To protect you and to protect this family, you just have to focus on your studies and get ready to take over the company; nothing else is your business”

Hyun Soo stood up from the chair and walked towards me, he had one of his hands inside his pocket and another constantly going through his hair “Does dad know? Does he also about it?”

“No and you are not going to tell him” I stood up and walked closer to my son, I take his hands into mine, looking straight into his eyes. Pleading and begging him to just let this go, everyone has a secret they want to protect with their life, I have one (maybe more than one but still) if he tries to dig into it, it is going to ruin this family.

This ‘all too’ perfect family

We are the society’s model as a family, a son who is one of the top five best student in his school, his father who runs a multimillion company, his wife who Co owns and founded a multimillion tech company and not to mention other branches and sections, we have other partnership and innovations. A year ago we were interviewed by a world class magazine and appeared on Television, Choi Mingi, Choi Hyun Soo and I was labeled the perfect family. I cannot allow our image of perfect be broken by Kim Woo Jin. I must keep the image of a perfect family no matter how fake it was, no one would know it’s a façade if you don’t tell them anyways

“You are not going to tell me anything, are you?” Choi Hyun Soo asked

“No, you just have to trust me”

He takes his hands away from mine; pacing the room with his hand on his head “I can’t just let it go. I keep thinking about it to what extent is a lie, to what extend is the truth”

“Choi Hyun Soo calm down” I tried to calm him down, I knew this would happen, I knew if I didn’t try to tell him something to calm him down he wouldn’t stop “Fine! You don’t have an Uncle” he stops pacing “I don’t have a family; I hired one to make myself look good. Your grandmother will never let your dad marry a woman who wasn’t just older than him but was also an orphan. I had to”

He stood there in shock, mouth wide open and eye popping open. I took a step towards him but he took a step back “it was all a lie? Your Parents, grandma and grandpa were not real?”

“Yes” he never even met them and only saw pictures of them. A year after the wedding I lied to Choi Mingi that my parent had died just to cover up loose ends

“What else are you hiding?”

“Nothing else I swear” another lie, my lies are too deep and it was better that he just thought this was it

“Mom, how could you?”

“What did you expect me to do? I was already pregnant; I didn’t want to raise you as a single mother. I had to” He looks at me, trying to wrap his head around what I just told him “That is why Woo Jin is threatening me but I will take care of it. You just have to trust me, pretend like you didn’t hear anything”

“Mom. Who did Uncle Kill?”

“None of your business”

“Mom” he pleaded

“Unless you want to be the one to destroy this family I suggest you stop here. I’ll take care of it. Trust me. I’m the only one you should trust”