Taewon-Paths are Meeting Again

My irritation ebbed a bit.

'I should get going now,' I said.

I headed towards the kid's room.

'The exit is that way,' the mother pointed out.

'I'm going through the tunnel.'

'Tunnel?' she asked, confused.

'Oh, there's a tunnel that connects our houses,' I explained. 'That's how we used to come back and forth to hide here before you guys moved in.'

'That tunnel has to be filled in then,' the mother said.

'You can do it but then the maintenance people might not keep their mouths shut and people will find out that you have a secret passageway to reach the house of Korea's top idols,' I said. 'That's gonna attract a lot of attention. You don't want that do you?'

The mother bit her lip. 'If you're worried about three men living next door, then be assured,' I said. 'None of us will ever harm you or your kid.'

She bit her lip. 'It's just the whole idea of our houses being connected. It's not right.'

'Don't fret about it,' I said. My phone vibrated. I took it out to see a message from my niece, Shae. That gave me an idea.

'Hey, you'll need a new babysitter, right?' I asked.

'Yeah,' she said. 'It's gonna take a while to find a good babysitter but I can't keep that ahjumma.'

'Kid, bring me a pen and paper,' I ordered. The kid scurried off only to return a minute later with a paper and pen. I took it from him and wrote down a number on it.

'This is my niece, Shae's number,' I said, handing the paper to the mother. 'She lives nearby and she was asking for pocket money. If she can babysit your son, she can earn some money and you'll get a good babysitter. Don't worry, she won't leave the kid alone.'

The mother looked at the paper, debating whether to accept the offer or not.

'Oh and give me your phone,' I said.

'Why?' she asked suspiciously.

'Just give it.'

She handed me her phone. I saved my number along with Joonjae and Jan's ones on it. I dialed my number from her phone to save it as well before handing it back to her.

'What's your name again?' I asked.

'M-mia,' she replied.

I typed in her name and saved the number.

'I saved our numbers in your phone,' I said. 'If there is any emergency, give any of us a miss call. If we're not available, text us. We'll see what we can do. Well, I'll be off then. Come on Mona.'

'Bye ahjusshi,' the kid waved. I waved at him. Mona followed me down the tunnel.

I was almost near the end of the tunnel when I heard someone calling me.

'Taewon sshi!'

I turned around to see Mia.

'I can't accept your help,' she said, handing me the paper. 'I'm sorry.'

Unbelievable.

'Are you trying to be some sort of super woman?' I snorted. 'Do you really think you can handle him on your own?'

'No,' she said. 'Till now, I had to take help from a lot of people to raise him as a single parent. I don't think I could have come this far without them. And don't get me wrong. I am truly thankful for what you did for my son. But...'

'But what?'

'I can't take help from you,' she said. 'Nor from your friends. It's wrong. I won't be able to take it.'

Wrong? What was she talking about?

'Why do you think it's wrong?' I asked slowly. Mia took a deep breath.

'There's something you should know...'

After a while, I stood there, stunned at what Mia just said.

'You work for TNT?' I asked. She nodded.

'I work for Soo-Yon sshi and Cheng sshi as their fashion designer,' she replied. 'But when we moved in here, we really did not know that you guys would be our neighbors. We really, weren't stalking you guys. It was all a strange coincidence. And after what you did for my son, I just couldn't hide this fact.'

Was she telling the truth? My mind was conflicted. The girl standing in front of me, whose kid I looked after just moments ago, was an employee of T-Net. Somewhere in me, I was boiling with anger. Not towards the girl. But at T-Net. Whenever I crossed path with T-Net, it always took something from me.

The girl sensed my dilemma.

'Taewon sshi,' she said. 'I'm sorry for not telling this earlier. I never thought I'd meet you again. I felt really indebted for what you did. Which is why I had to tell the truth.'

'Does... Soo-Yon and Cheng know about this?' I asked.

'No. I never thought things would turn out this way. I should tell them-'

'Don't,' I said sharply. 'You don't need to tell them.'

She stared at me.

'I work for them,' she said. 'I'll have to tell them that I live next to D3.'

'Mia sshi, have you ever mentioned D3 in front of them?' I asked.

She hesitated.

'I did in front of Cheng sshi,' she finally answered.

'What was his reaction?'

'He was angry. Told me never to mention D3 again.'

'What do you think will happen if you say that you live next to us?'

She thought about it for a moment.

'I'll be fired,' she realized.

'And can you afford to get fired from your job right now? With a kid to raise all on your own. Can you afford to lose this job?'

She shook her head.

'Take my advice, keep your professional and personal lives separate. Nowhere in your job description does it say that you can't live next door to idols. Nor are you obligated to tell TNT about it.'

'I'm not,' she said. 'But you guys are ex-bandmates on bad terms. I have to tell them-'

'That is our matter,' I said sternly. 'You don't have to think about it. Right now, think of your kid and how to raise him. TNT doesn't need to know about your personal problems or who is helping you. Getting yourself fired for our feud is completely dumb and stupid.'

Mia was confused. She knew it was important to keep her job. Honestly, even I was not fully sold on the idea of keeping this matter a secret from Soo-Yon and Cheng. But some matters are best to be kept a secret.

'TNT will never find out about this,' I assured her. 'And keep Shae's number. You need a babysitter for Deen. Think about him and his future. Don't let our issues get in the way.'

That seemed to have worked. The mentions of Deen's future made her more determined. She nodded and took the paper from my hand.

'Alright,' she said slowly. 'I'll not concern myself with those issues. And thank you for your help.'

'Just don't leave the kid alone anymore,' I said wryly.

'I won't,' she smiled. 'Never gonna repeat that mistake. Ever. Thank you.'

She bowed in gratitude before turning away. As she walked away, I felt the weight on my chest getting heavier. Was it right to discourage Mia from revealing the truth to Soo-Yon and Cheng? I wondered. The wound inflicted nine years ago was still fresh. None of us wanted to cross each other's path again. Not after what happened...

I clenched my fists in a ball. Why were our paths meeting again? Why now?