Bad News

Aeri asked her to keep this a secret, once her parents and Mori wouldn't be able to notice it, and her sister promised that she would do it as she asked, but just if Aeri told her when and how exactly that happened. So, she did as her sister asked. Jiah was mad at Seojin, however, Aeri made her promise that she wouldn't do anything stupid because he wasn't even worthy of it.

When Tae-tae was two, Aeri decided to hire a tutor for him, because he was incredibly intelligent for his age, and she saw his hunger for knowledge becoming bigger and bigger as time passed. And her fear became real when he started to ask about his father.

Seeing her sister desperate with her son's question, Jiah told Tae-tae that his father was a bad guy, who hurt his mother's heart and was far away from them. To Aeri's surprise, her three-year-old toddle understood and never asked about it again, something that even got Jiah by surprise, but he took as a mission the task of finding his mother a new boyfriend and a father himself.

Of course, he didn't tell anyone, because he was smart enough to know that people would try to stop him from trying. Nevertheless, as time passed, his aunt discovered his plan and supported him with it, saying that it would be their secret, and told him to try being more discreet or Aeri would find out.

But to his dismay, none of the guys he tried to unite his mother with, captured her heart, it was as if she had a really tall and thick wall around her heart. Neither of them could even make her cheeks flush. And that made him admire the fact that his father not only managed to make her cheeks redden but won her heart and even had a child with her.

Regardless of the fact that he was a bastard for breaking it, hurting her, and making her cry, and that he would never forgive.

He also realized that his mother was a workaholic, and she only cared about him and her work, she never gave free time to herself, and her whole life revolves around him, her career, and him again. Tae-tae was thankful that he wasn't the only one pissed because of that, his dear aunt fought with his mother from time to time because she didn't take care of herself. She always said that he was a genius and could take care of himself better than she did to herself, and that was something to be ashamed of.

Taeyoung wouldn't use those words, but he shared his aunt's way of thinking, his mother was indeed a mess when it came to herself, she only took care of her appearance when working, and once she had to be around a lot of famous actors and actress while directing her movies, but when she was at home, she was like a clumsy teenager.

And then, that happened.

···

When Aeri went home that day, after closing the deal about her new film, which she wrote the script two months before that because her son asked her to make a story about herself, she found her sister desperate and crying on their couch, and her son hugging her.

"Sis? What happened? Why are you crying?" She left all her things on the ground after locking the door and knelt in front of her sister, who was still crying and looking at her with teary and lost eyes. "Jiah? What the hell happen? Please, talk to me!"

"Our parents and... Mori had an accident..." Jiah spoke sobbing and Aeri fell to her knees, with her hands shaking and feeling numb.

"How?" She managed to ask and Tae-tae seeing his mom in that state, came to her and hugged her with all his love.

"It was a car accident, the other car was in the wrong, and it seems that he came out of the accident unharmed, he's not even in the hospital anymore. But our parents and our brother... Aeri, they're in a very critical state. Dad and mom were very healthy before so now is not very bad, but Mori... he's in between life or death."

"Fuck!" Aeri looked at her son and apologize for cursing, but he only nodded and pet his mom's head. "Who called you, sis?"

"Dr. Park Sung Hae, sis. Remember him?" Goddamnit, I wish I didn't.

"We studied at the same school, but he graduated four years before us. And I also meet him briefly when I started at Harvard, but he was already finishing his medical specialization, and he didn't recognize me. He's Seojin's cousin. Anyways, that's not important. He's going to be responsible for their surgery?"

"Yes. He's probably operating Mori right now," Jiah stared at her younger sister's worried face and said carefully, "We need to go back to South Korea, Aeri. Today! The faster possible."

She sighed and nodded. "I know, I know. Call Taylor Mackenzie, Jiah."

"Who?" She stared at her sister's face, blankly.

Aeri swallowed a curse. "I always forget how you are terrible at remembering their international names. I'm surprised you don't forget yours," she mocked. "I'm talking about Nam Eun-sook, dumbass! He's the only pilot of our family who's in the city. Tell him to prepare our jet, as we will be returning to South Korea as urgently as possible, and today! And if he asks when we're going to come back, say that we don't know."

Jiah nodded, swallowed her tears, and picked up her phone, which was under the couch because she let it fall after her call with Dr. Park. "What are you going to do now, sis?"

"I'll call Ashlyn and ask her to postpone everything I have to do and agree with the offer I received to make a film in South Korea, so I'll be able to continue working while I'm there." Ashlyn's her personal assistant.

"The one I told you to accept because it was the adaptation of a very famous novel and you denied?"

"Yeah, sis, that one. Now, shut up and call Taylor."

Jiah sighed and did what her sister asked once and for all.

"Mommy, what can I do to help?"

"Remember the contract I signed today, to start producing the movie you asked me for?"

He nodded. "Yep. The one about yourself."

"Exactly. So, mommy needs you to call Mr. Hargreeves, the guy who signed the contract with mommy, and tell him that we'll need to postpone the project for a month, and then I, myself, will start to select the native actors from South Korea who are fluent in English, for the film."

Tae-tae ran to his bedroom to get his cell phone and do what his mother had asked, while she was trying to call her p.a. but her shaking hands weren't helping. Jiah noticed her sister's state, knowing that she was trying to put on a strong front for her son, but inside she was falling apart.