Not Your Lover (2PARK✔️)

Step Five: Wandering

the photo has nothing to do with his outfit in the chapter, or the setting of the chapter, i just think he looks super peaceful and happy

Tell Me by Infinite, another super-group that I will never stop talking to you about if you ever bring them up, not gonna lie

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A long call with my mother doesn't straighten anything out when I return to the banquet hall. Delivering the still sleeping Hyemi to her father takes precedence over my call, and by the time I get Mother on the phone, it's already almost ten at night her time.

She picks up anyway, sounding wide awake. "Hey, love. Lawyer Changmin just left our offices. He said that you've gone over your contract with Stone already."

She sounds positively chipper, most likely sipping on a glass of wine in front of her computer, her assistant out making a run for late night snacks by now. "Mom, why the hell would you and Dad sign me into a contract deal like that? I have a job, and the rest of my life in Canada!"

I glare at a few funeral guests as they saunter out of the banquet room, passing me as they move to the main entrance. If I hadn't let Hyemi just keep my jacket after setting her down in a chair, I'd be leaving by now.

"Well... Woojin be honest with me. How much do you actually want to be here?" She sounds disappointed as she asks me, if her sigh isn't evidence enough. "You can't tell me you actually want to return anytime soon."

"Mom, this isn't about whether or not I want to go back, this is about you going completely around me and entering me into an obligatory contract that I'm not even allowed to leave!" I kick out at the wall, my phone painfully close to being thrown down the long hall.

"You should really be a bit more grateful," she says casually, the sound of typing on a computer's keyboard clicking away in my ear. "You don't know how hard it was for me to convince your father to let you stay in Seoul. It's a good thing you've got yourself such an amazing mother."

"No, no. Don't even try to guilt trip me into liking this idea. I can't stay here, and you know that!" I lower my voice as more people filter outside, passing me with wary expressions. "Mom, please. Jihoon is here-"

"Oh I know!" She giggles to herself. She giggles.

"You know!" I scoff, stalking back down the same hall the board room is in, isolating myself from the rest of the gathered. "Mom, you know?"

"Well of course, love. You can't expect me to put you into some kind of company without doing the proper research. I have to know who will manage you, who you'll work with, whether you'll receive the proper protection-"

"Mom, please." I sigh, covering my mouth with my free hand to catch a sudden gag. "Mom I-" I gag again, glancing around furiously for a familiar sign to identify the restroom. I shuffle a few doors down, shoving my way into the marked room and hurling myself at a stall.

My phone falls to the ground at my side as I expel the contents of my stomach into the toilet, my nose and throat burning. I can feel my lungs gasp for air, my body heaving and keeping oxygen out of reach.

I groan as my stomach empties completely, my fist pressing against my lips to wipe the trail of spit that drops down my chin disgustingly. My phone's screen is still lit up with my mother's face, the call still ongoing and her tinny voice calling to me all the way from Vancouver. I flush the toilet before slumping against the thankfully clean ground, snatching up my phone with another groan.

"Mom?" I mumble into the receiver, pulling myself up off the floor.

"Woojin, sweetheart? Are you okay?" She sounds genuinely worried, and I imagine she's even placed down whatever other business she was handling earlier in the call. "I know you've been stressed lately. I was hoping this trip home would give you some time. Really, baby, I only brought up the contract with your father because I know how hard you took coming to Canada-"