Seventeen years later.
"And the winner for best Asian actor in a drama series goes to...."
Pin drop silence in the large overcrowded hall. The announcer smiled as she looked at the red card in her hands.
"Kim Taehyung"
A resounding applause filled the hall as Taehyung walked over to the stage adjusting his designer suit. He reached the announcer and smiled as he took the award from her.
As the applause continued, he strolled casually to the tall stand and grabbed the microphone. He flashed his typical boxy smile and began his short meaningful speech.
"It has only been five years since I actively started my acting career. I must say that I'm overwhelmed to be receiving this award. It means so much to me"
"I want to thank everyone who has been by my side till this moment. My family, friends, if it weren't for you all, i would never have reached this height"
He took a deep breath as whisperings filled the hall. "Thank you all so much"
The crowd clapped again and Taehyung got down from the stage trying his best to keep a smile on his face. Mrs Kim got up from her seat and hugged him tightly.
"I'm proud of you son"
Taehyung quickly spoke "Eomma, can I leave? We're done here right? Am I receiving any other awards?"
Mrs Kim shook her head. "No..I think you're done for today"
Taehyung nodded his head. "That's good... let's go"
He stood up and started to leave followed closely by his mother and a group of body guards. Outside the venue, Taehyung slowly walked towards his van. He entered, and Mrs Kim followed suit.
The van started to leave and Taehyung took a deep breath as he unfastened his tie. Mrs Kim looked at him closely
"Taehyung...are you okay? Do you need your meds?"
Taehyung waved it aside.
"Are you sure?"
He just nodded his head. Mrs Kim sighed. She brought out her hand phone and started to scroll through it.
She said absently "Rumors about your relationship with Jin ah, the daughter of RK group chairman have started to circulate throughout social media"
Taehyung sighed non chalantly "So?"
"What do you think? Isn't it time that we admit to it?"
Taehyung frowned "Admit to what?"
Mrs Kim sighed. "Admit to the fact that you're dating her"
Taehyung breathed heavily. He tapped his legs for several seconds before speaking.
"I'm not dating her. In a way, you're the one dating her. I have never liked her but you always forced me to hang out with her. Everything just has to go your own way"
Mrs Kim stared at him in disbelief. "It's for your sake. Do you think you'll be a star for the rest of your life? You're already at the peak of your career. From here on out, it's down you go"
Taehyung didn't say anything. Mrs Kim continued "Marrying a girl like her will secure your future. You'll have a stake in her family fortune and inherit her wealth"
Taehyung smiled. " The last thing I'll do is rely on someone else for my future"
Mrs Kim nodded her head looking down cast. "But you have to settle down. You can't be alone forever. Sooner or later, you'll have to start a family. You're almost thirty five and you haven't even dated someone properly"
"That's because none of them was worth it"
Silence filled the van. Mrs Kim peered closely at her son.
"It's been seventeen years Taehyung! Seventeen years! You have to forget about him. You have to let him go."
Taehyung sighed and looked through the window blinking back the tears in his eyes.
"He hasn't even tried to contact you since then. Not even once. Who knows where he is right now. For all we know, he might even be dead now"
Taehyung gulped as Mrs Kim continued. "Besides, he's only associated with bad memories. He wasn't good for you. Separating from him was the best thing that has ever happened to you"
Taehyung still said nothing. His eyes had turned red and he was still staring out the window. Mrs Kim caressed his arm.
"I'm only looking out for you. You came this far despite what happened to you in the past. It's better this way. It has been seventeen years already. You have lived fine without him all these while. I want you to continue doing so"
Taehyung said nothing. He was still looking out the window lost in his own thoughts. They finally arrived in front of his pent house. Before he left, his mother held his hand.
"I'll schedule a dinner appointment with Jin ah tomorrow evening. You have a photo shoot in the morning and a magazine interview in the afternoon. Prepare yourself. Tomorrow is going to be packed"
Taehyung smiled. "Thanks Mom"
Mrs Kim nodded her head. Taehyung climbed down from his van and entered his house while the van drove off with his mother inside.
Once inside, he ripped off his tie and dumped it on the couch then poured himself a cup of wine. He planted his newest award on the shelf in his trophy room and took a step back to admire it but he felt empty.
Lately, that's how he had been feeling. Completely empty. None of the euphoria he had during his earlier years stayed. Now, it his whole life felt like a routine, keeping up with fame was hard. He couldn't bring himself to enjoy anything
He suddenly found himself reaching towards his cupboard. He pulled it out and started rummaging through the old papers there till he brought out an old phone. He switched it on and relaxed back in his chair as he scrolled through old photos in the phone. He came across photos of him and his heart clenched with so much pain.
There was nothing like fate, coincidence or destiny. He had thought that somehow, life was going to bring them back into each other's lives again. They would bump into each other like in the movies and realize that they were meant for each other after all. But none of that happened, he lived his life with no trace of him. The years passed, he grew older, met new people, tried to give love a chance but they never crossed paths. There was no second chances for them and now, sitting here in this chair, he was even more convinced that there was nothing like Destiny. Destiny lay in one's own hands. if you just sit waiting for things to happen then nothing would ever happen. He had to go for what he wanted himself and stop relying on destiny so that night, without much thought, he had made a decision.
****
Mrs Kim had called her son's line early that morning but there was no response. All she got was a voice message. Worried, she went to his pent house only to find his place empty. Her phone had been ringing non stop. The company had been calling for Taehyung in other to keep up with his schedules.
Mrs Kim had been her son's manager due to his condition. She wanted to monitor him personally without intruding in his work. What better way than to be his manager. She had quit her job at the bank and didn't have any other children. Her husband could take care of himself so there was no problem. Since becoming his manager, Taehyung had never once given her trouble. He had worked diligently to become one of the biggest stars in the country.
But today, Today was the first. It was the first time Taehyung had disappeared without even informing her. She began to panic. She had no idea where he could have gone to. She noticed that his personal car was gone which meant he had voluntarily left on his own.
True to her thoughts, Taehyung was on his way to his old home town. He hadn't been there in sixteen years. Returning there would bring back so much memories.
After some hours on the road, he arrived there in the afternoon. He covered himself up to avoid revealing his identity as he located Lala's house but another family was leaving there. According to them, Lala's parents had relocated to USA while Lala was still living in town but she was now married with her own family
Taehyung smiled to himself. She must have married that nerd who put her in the family way. He got her new address and immediately went there.
Lala's house looked normal, nothing too fancy. When he pressed the door bell on the side of the gate, he waited for sometime before someone opened the gate. It was an averagely tall girl with a piercing on her nose, her hair dyed blue and she was avidly chewing a bubble gum.
She scanned him up and down and pointed at the mask on his face.
"Who are you?"
"Is your mom in?"
She rolled her eyes "I asked you a question. You look too suspicious with that mask on"
Taehyung wanted to say something else but someone's voice came up from behind the girl.
"Mimi, who's there?"
The girl rolled her eyes again "Don't know...just some dude"
The owner of the voice came closer and Taehyung immediately recognized Lala. She had become more matured with fine wrinkles on her face. A toddler was straddled on her hips. A young boy of about seven or eight stood beside her. She had become....so ordinary
"Who are you?" She asked viewing him with a suspicious glare.
Taehyung smiled and slowly removed his mask. Mimi who was beside him gasped covering her face in total shock.
"I can't believe it..." She whispered.
Lala blinked at him. "It's you?"
Mimi shrieked. "Mom, you know Kim Taehyung? The Kim Taehyung! What a betrayal!"
Lala ignored her and stared pointedly at Taehyung still in shock. "What are you doing here?"
"Can I come in first?" Taehyung smiled.
Soon afterwards, the two were sitted in the living room. Mimi kept lingering around them until Lala had to tell her to babysit her siblings. It was only after that did she leave begrudgingly.
Taehyung began wearing a big smile on his face "I still can't believe you are now so...."
"Ordinary?" Lala laughed
"Who knew I'd have it in me to be a full housewife..."
Taehyung raised his eyebrows. She continued "Don't mind that. I'm a writer now. I've published three books so far"
"That's good! How are they coming along?"
Lala shrugged. "So far...so good"
Taehyung laughed.
"Thank you so much. If it weren't for your advice, I would have made a big mistake in the past. I ended up keeping the baby and getting married. Though, my parents were highly dissapointed, It still worked out in the end"
"My husband has become my best friend. We have been able to understand ourselves as we grew to love each other. I didn't know just how wonderful he could be till I gave him a chance"
Taehyung nodded "You're obviously doing well with your marriage"
"It wasn't easy at first but we worked it out..."
She smiled. "Mimi is just like how I used to be. She's a rebel but she brought me so much strength. I can't believe there was I time I was thinking of not having her. Mother hood changes everything"
Taehyung smiled and Lala looked at him closely.
"I know you didn't just come here for a curtesy visit"
Taehyung nodded. "You're right. I wanted to know if you have news about Jimin"
Lala stiffened.
"Do you know where he is? What happened to him?"
"Why do you want to know? It's been seventeen years. You've been living well on your own all these while. Why are you looking for him now?"
There was silence. Lala looked expectantly at him until he finally spoke.
"I feel empty. It's like I have been pretending to be fine all these years when truthfully...I'm not"
"But it's been so long..."
"Do you know where he is?"
"What if I do? Will it change anything? Besides, I know Jimin doesn't want to see you again after the incident that happened to you seventeen years ago. He felt so guilty he had to leave you. Do you really think he would want to get back together with you?"
She sighed. "Think about it. It's been so long. He must have moved on..."
Taehyung's heart tightened. "I have to see him for myself. It's the only way I can get closure. I have to find a way to move on with my life. Meeting him is the only way I can be sure"
Lala shook her head. "You should just forget everything"
Taehyung was adamant "His address Lala. That's all I need"
Lala sighed and wrote down the address for him. Taehyung thanked her wholeheartedly before leaving.
His heart was pounding as he drove for hours to Daegu, to the address Lala had written down for him. Taehyung didn't know what to expect. He didn't even know what he was going to find. All he could rely on was hope, that Jimin hadn't completely moved on. That there could still be a chance. Seventeen years was a long time to wait.
It was evening when he arrived in front of the big building. Taehyung stepped out of the car and scrutinized the two story building. On the ground floor was a restaurant where people were coming in and out of. At the top floor, there was a huge sign board that said JT designs. Restaurant business at the floor, An architecture office at the top and according to Lala, it was a building owned by Jimin.
Taehyung stared open mouthed for a while. His heart was beating faster. He didn't know how to proceed. It took him all of his will power to take the next step inside the restaurant.
It was lively and full of customers but nothing was of interest to him as his eyes searched for any sign of Jimin. It took a while but the said person finally walked down the steps opposite him with a beautiful smile on his face. But in his arms was a little girl in cute pigtails and behind him was a pretty middle aged woman.
Taehyung saw that contented smile on the other's face and his heart sank at the painful realization. Jimin had moved on and he even had a family now. A wife and a daughter. He looked...so happy.
Taehyung hurt so much that he couldn't bear to stand there one more second. Coming here was a mistake. What was he thinking? He was so embarrassed and hurt. He turned and walked away.
Thanks so much for reading this chapter. Few more chapters to go. Love you all