It's been a while since I wrote something that I'm happy with. Lately I have been stuck in starting a story, organizing it and later shoving it to the back burner because I don't know what to do with it anymore. I've been contemplating on my buying myself a low end laptop so I can write anytime, anywhere I want to. I now wonder if this will solve my problem. Hmmm......decisions...decisions...

I am now torn between buying myself a new laptop (I don't mind if it's low end) and a new digicam OR paying my damn credit cards and using it (again!!!when the hell do I get out of this DAMN CREDIT CARD DEBTS) to buy my grandma a small mini refrigerator. Sure she could live without one, but it would be so much convenient for her (and for us when we go to her home to visit) if she has one. Besides it would surely make her happy, even if she will deny it to death.

Shall I be a good grandaughter and buy her one or should act the selfish and self centered person and let my parents figure out where to find the money to buy her one. WAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Why can't I act ;ike a selfish brat just this once?

LONG ROAD HOME: MINWOO'S ROAD HOME

Long Road Home: Minwoo’s Road Home

Chapter 1

He tried his best not to cry, he knew that the more he cries the more she beat him up. It will be over soon he told himself. She’s already drunk and stoned that she won’t have the energy to beat him up for long. Minwoo can’t even think of a reason why she is beating him up, then he told himself she don’t need a reason to beat him up, she just does.

It was soon over and Minwoo tried not to move too much because if he does it might agitate her again and the beating would start all over again. The woman he calls “Mother” finally stopped, struggling to keep her footing, she picked the last bottle of soju on the table and drink all of it in one go. She passed out within minutes.

Minwoo waited a couple of minutes before slowly uncurling himself, every bone and muscle in his body protesting more from the beating it receive than anything else. He knew he has to leave this house before she woke up or she could end up beating him to death. Slowly he tiptoed out of the room. It didn’t help that he was limping and he himself is not sure whether she managed to break any of his bones like the last time she has one of this episodes.

With blooded hands he slowly reached to his secret hiding place for his few precious possession, an old Polaroid photograph of a young woman and an older man, an old calling card and a few loose bills. Still limping, he walked out of the tiny room he shared with his mother. He did not even took a last look at his mother, he doesn’t want to see, doesn’t want to remember the woman who gave him life but made every minute of it a living hell.

******

He walked as fast as his limping legs would let him, unmindful of his grumbling stomach and the bruises all over his face and body. The bus station for buses that leave for Seoul is quite far from where they live, but he managed to arrive a few minutes before the last bus left. Slowly he lowered his weary body on the last available seat at the back; Minwoo did not even look out the window to see his past fade away from sight slowly. He promised himself that no matter what happens he is not coming back. Instead he looked at the faded photograph, at the father who doesn’t even know that he exists.

Chapter 2

Lee Kwan Dae walked past the reception area without so much as a glance, Junjin’s soccer match is going to start in an hour and he wants to be there for the opening ceremony. It doesn’t really matter if he came in early or late. Jin never knows anyway. He usually is so concentrated on his games he never pays attention to the crowd. Besides that Kwan Dae never bothers to let his presence be known. He knows that Junjin sometimes felt pressure whenever he knows that he is there.

At one corner of his eyes he caught site of a lanky young boy around 10 or 11. He’s got bruises all over his face and he looked like he is badly in need of a bath. Kwan Dae muttered to himself, how parents nowadays don’t bother to teach their kids about the importance of appearance. He saw the young boy walking towards his direction. He can see that he was slightly limping and for reasons unknown to him he stopped dead on his tracks. He just stood there and watched the young boy slowly limped his way towards his directions. Under normal circumstances he would have walked away. He is a busy man after all and has neither time nor patience to deal with vagrants. But there is something about that boy that caught his attention. As he has suspected the boy stopped in front of him. Unconsciously Kwan Dae felt into his pockets for some loose change but did not find any. He was about to turn to Mr., Ho Dong his head of security when instead of asking for money the boy began talking to him.

“Excuse me sir” Minwoo said.

The burly man standing a little behind the man he believes to be his father started towards his direction. He knew he has to move fast or lose this chance.

“Are you Mr. Lee Kwan Dae?”

Kwan Dae motioned for Mr. Hodong to let the boy speak. If there is anything that can catch Lee Kwan Dae attention that is boldness and from what he can see this boy might just have heaps of it if he doesn’t anything else. He did not answer him but just looked at him in the eye.

“I’m Lee Minwoo, the son of King Shin Bin”

Lee Kwan Dae tried to search inside his brain for anything that would remind him of the name but he came up with nothing.

“So?” He said impatiently.

“I just want to give you this.” He gave him the faded photograph and old calling card.

Puzzled now, Kwan Dae took the photograph from the boy. It was a faded Polaroid shot. He saw himself seated beside some woman whose name and face he can’t remember at all. He looked at the boy again, thinking if he is some sort of hustler. But he looked too young to be one. He looked around looking if the boy is with somebody. Seeing nobody that looked suspicious he turned towards the boy again.

“Who are you and what do you want?”

“She told me that man is my father”

“Then she is lying, I don’t know this woman”

“She used to worked in a karaoke bar as a singer, she told me you tip really well and was very generous with the ladies”

“You want money?”

“No, I just want to see who you are…. Now that I’ve seen you I’ll go away now”

And with that Minwoo walked away without even looking back. He did not bother to take back the photograph. He has no need for it. He came here to look for his father, all he wanted was to see him in the flesh, and he did not expect anything else.

He did not notice that Kwan Dae was still standing on the same spot looking at him.

Chapter 3

Minwoo found himself in an almost empty park. It was almost winter season now and people are not exactly too keen in staying outdoors. He can feel his stomach grumbling again and he realized that he hasn’t eaten anything else since the morning of yesterday. It’s nothing new to him. His mother never exactly cared whether he has food to eat, so long as she has her soju she’s happy, that’s all that matters to her.

He tried searching for his pocket for some loose change and found a quarter. It was his last money. It was already getting dark and he has nowhere else to go. Yesterday was not a problem because he slept on the bus. He decided to use his last quarter to buy himself a mint candy. It was all that he can afford. Slowly savoring the mint in his mouth he slowly walked around the park looking for an inconspicuous place to rest his tired body.

He found an empty bench in the more secluded area of the park. Still moving carefully he manages to lie flat on his back. He can feel every muscles of his body complaining of pain, it doesn’t help that the clothes he was wearing are thin and worn and he can feel the cold slowly enveloping his body. He looked at the clear blue sky and wished that tomorrow he won’t wake up. He doesn’t want to wake, there’s no reason too.

Minwoo what are you thinking? He asked himself. She did say he did not know that she was pregnant and if only she knew a way to contact him she would have asked him for money. Then they wouldn’t be so poor. The business card she nicked from him the night he took her from the club for some private fun was for his office and apparently they screened all his calls. She couldn’t get through and when she tried to go there she was refused entry. And from that day she blamed Minwoo for being born, for cutting short whatever singing career she has, and for ruining her life. She made sure Minwoo knew this, made sure he pays for whatever sins she thought he committed against her.

Minwoo tried to change position only to realize that if he does the pain will return again. “She probably broke a bone like the last time” he told himself. Because he couldn’t stand the pain he went back to lying on his back. He whistled himself to sleep.

***********

Ho Dong watched the boy attempt to sleep on his side but immediately went back to lying on his back. From the little light there is he could see that he was in pain. He has been watching him for hours, from the moment he walked away from President Lee Kwan Dae, up to now. He really can’t understand why his boss wants this boy followed; surely he can’t believe this boy’s tall tale of being his son. But then his boss does have many sons, all from different women. He sometimes pities them for having him for a father. His boss is a kind man he knows that, but he isn’t exactly known for being a warm person. It sometimes baffles him how he manages to charm all his women. Well he doesn’t need to be charming not when he is already one of the riches man in the region, Ho Dong told himself.

He heard the boy whistling, but it wasn’t for long. “His probably asleep now” he told himself. He started the car, careful as not to make too much noise. Taking a second look at the now sleeping figure, Ho Dong saw that he was very still. Whether it was plain instinct or something else, Ho Dong found himself walking towards the boy.

He was cold to the touch, which did not surprise Ho Dong as the boy was wearing threadbare clothes. He was a police officer before he became Pres. Lee Kwan Dae’s head of security and personal driver. Years of experience has taught him to trust his instinct and his instinct told him something was wrong. His hand automatically went towards the pulse. He could hardly feel any signs of life in there. He immediately picked up his cellphone and dialed 911, this boy is not going to survive the night if left there alone.

********

Ho Dong was surprised when Pres. Lee Kwan Dae appeared at the hospital to personally check on the boy the next morning. After he called an ambulance to take the boy to the hospital, he called his boss. He was instructed to stay there and make sure that he is well taken care off.

“Is he ok now?”

‘The Doctor said he would have died if we brought him in too late” Ho Dong answered his boss.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“Apparently everything, he has a broken rib, his got bruises old and new all over his body, his nose was broken , his malnourished and suffers from dehydration, and Doctor’s are also testing for infections, his knees are…….” Ho Dong would have gone on and on if President Lee Kwan Dae did not cut him off.

“Tell the Doctor to perform DNA testing. I can have my blood drawn today”

Ho Dong did not bother to ask his boss why. There is no use asking him that whenever he uses that tone of voice. Immediately he left the room to tell the Doctor of his boss request.

It only took a couple of minutes for a nurse to draw blood samples from Pres. Lee and Minwoo. Ho Dong was instructed to go home and rest. A private nurse was commissioned to look after the boy.

Chapter 4

Minwoo knew there was something different the moment he opened his eyes. For one he was sure the bench he slept on last night was hard and cold. But now it was soft and warm, and the sky was too white too.

“So finally you’re awake” it was the same man who was with the man he talked to yesterday.

Minwoo attempted to get up but failed.

“Don’t move, I’ll just call a doctor”

Minwoo did as he was told because he couldn’t do anything else. His body simply refused to move.

A doctor entered and checked on him. He found out that he has been asleep for almost 3 days now. That the reason he could barely move is because he has bandages covering various parts of his body where his bones are broken. The doctor did not take long, just asked him a couple of question and then she left, but the man stayed and just looked at him.

“Sir, can I have some water please”

The man did not say a thing but gave held a bottle of water with a straw for him to drink.

After having his fill he went back to staring at the man who also did the same to him.

“How did I get here?…what happened to me?”

“I was going to ask you the same. How you managed to break almost every bone in your body within a few hours of your conversation with my boss?” Ho Dong knew he did not do anything to get hurt but still he asked the question.

“Oh, my bones are broken….must be because she hit me a little harder than usual.”

It didn’t take much effort on Ho Dong’s part to know how the boy’s mother mistreated him. He didn’t even need to show any sympathy because the boy doesn’t seem to want one. He was telling it in a matter of fact manner as if a mother beating her child until his bones are broken is the most normal thing in the world.

Little by little he managed to piece together a more vivid picture of the person behind the faded photograph. Minwoo said that was what the boy said his name was; that she used to be a singer in a high class karaoke bar. He doesn’t know much because she would only talk about her past whenever she gets drunk and high on drugs. He said that the photograph was something she showed him during one of her drunken state. He also said that she would usually beat him up whenever she gets drunk and blame him for all the misfortune that befell her. That Lee Kwan Dae would have bought her a house and a car and give her lots of expensive jewelry if she didn’t get pregnant with Minwoo.

Ho Dong knew that at least in that aspect Minwoo was right, his boss is indeed quiet generous when it comes to his women. But the woman was wrong in her assumption that he abandoned her because of Minwoo, on the contrary if he knew that Minwoo existed he would have given her all that she wants and more. Ho Dong knew his boss’ taste for women, he likes them with a touch of class, not necessarily rich but those that can carry themselves real well, he likes women whose beauty is matched only by their intelligence. He knew that every now and then he would stray from this types and bed women with questionable reputations who lack the class and refinement he likes the most but that relationship does not go beyond that of having a female body to keep him warm at night. The man simply has a high standard when it comes to his women.

The boy soon tired of telling him of his stories. He was asleep not long after.

Ho Dong immediately called his boss to give his report. He then made a couple of phone calls to some old friends of his in the force to check out on Minwoo’s story. It would only take a while before everything he said can be confirmed.

Chapter 5

Unexpectedly the boy’s story was confirmed. His mother does have a long list of criminal record. One of his informants said that the woman is a chronic drinker, that she’s into prostitution and there are rumors circulating around the neighborhood that she’s also into drug trafficking.

Ho Dong would have continued reading the report if his boss didn’t call him. It was still quiet early in the morning but he knew his boss is an early riser.

“Did you find anything?” Kwan Dae asked him.

“His story jibed with the report I got from my sources, drugs, alcohol, petty theft, and prostitution, name it and she probably got a record to show for it. The neighbors also confirmed that she does beat him up regularly especially when she’s drunk”

“That’s all?”

“Yes sir, that’s about it”

“Have the result of the test come in yet?”

“Yes sir, I already have it. I will bring it to the office later”

“Good do that. Thank you”

“You’re welcome Pres. Lee”

Lee Kwan Dae continued staring at the young woman on the faded photograph, asking him what drove her to do that to her own son. He still can’t remember her, he usually has a good memory of every woman that came his way but she is a big blur to him. He must have been so drunk that time for him not to remember.

**************

Lee Kwan Dae no longer knows how long he has been staring at the piece of paper on his hand. He was silently asking himself why he was surprised at all at the result of the DNA test. He wouldn’t admit it but he felt something for the boy the moment he laid eyes on him. It’s certainly not the look for he looked so much like his mother, but there is something in the boy’s eyes that caught his attention. His a fighter that one, his sheer determination to see him and then walking away without so much as a glance when Kwan Dae told him he didn’t know his mother simply impressed him. That fire, he can see that in his other sons too. Eric the quiet one, he has silently bore the burden of people talking behind his back for having so many half brothers and parents whose extramarital affairs would have made headlines if both of them do not take extra care to avoid a scandal. Dongwan who wouldn’t stop until he masters something he has set himself up to learn. He also has to do an emotional juggling act because both parents are barely civil to each other. Hyesung, the one after Eric who lives in America with his mother is the same. She said told him that not only is he is he doing well in school, he also manage to earn a black belt in Taekwondo, the youngest and only one in his year to do so. And Jinnie the youngest one, he may not have the fire his elder brothers have in their eyes, but his competitive enough and have the intelligence to match. It’s just that unlike them he grew up pretty much isolated from the burdens they carried, he grew up with him but most of his upbringing can be attributed to Mrs. Kim the head maid. Cho his wife accepted him in their home but pretty much left him to his own devices. So he grew under the care of Mrs. Kim who proved to be a blessing in disguise. Jinnie grew up well adjusted and well, happy and more playful as compared to Eric or Dongwan.

Lee Kwan Dae put the piece of paper in his pocket. He knows now that Minwoo is indeed his son. There are many details that need to be taken care of but for now, he has a meeting with Cho that cannot wait.

The End