Chapter Nine

Seoul, Korea

Ji Yeon had left work early for the first time in months. She poured herself a glass of red wine as she slipped off her black heels. She swirled the red contents in the glass inhaling the aroma and bringing the liquid to her lips. She drank it savoring the flavor. It was a much-needed drink. The house was dark and lonely. Junsu had given her the house in their divorce battle in exchange she'd given him custody of their only son.

Ji Yeon knew it was the right decision. The house was lit up with multiple candles giving it a calming dark feel, similar to her mood.

There was a knock on her door interrupting her thoughts. Who would be at her door at this hour? She wondered. She looked through the peep hole of the front door. It was her sister.

"Hey," she said greeting her sister, Yoo Min.

"I brought wine but I guess you don't need it." Her sister eyed the glass in Ji Yeon's hand. Ji Yeon allowed her sister to enter shutting the door behind her. "Where is Ki Sub?" Yoomin asked curiously. "In America," Ji Yeon said sitting on the couch.

"What?" Her sister said shocked. "You really let him go with Junsu to America," her voice a little judgmental. She couldn't believe a mother would give away her son so easily. She was under the impression that Ki Sub was only visiting his father, not staying permanently.

"I had to do it, that was part of our settlement," Ji Yeon explained. "They've been there for six months."

"Why did you get divorced? You should have sucked it up," Yoo Min frowned in anger at her sister's failure. "It would have gotten better, I know it would have."

Ji Yeon tried to explain to her younger sister that it would not have gotten better.

"You don't understand." She was getting frustrated. It seemed like everyone blamed her for the divorce like she was the bad one. She had done everything to make him happy. She tried so hard to be what he wanted. It wasn't enough. He just didn't want her. How could she tell everyone that he just didn't want her!

Ji Yeon swept her bangs out of her face. "Unnie," Yoo Min said touching her sister's arm for comfort. She could see the distress in her sister's eyes.

"He doesn't like women." She had said it. The secret she'd been keeping for a long time. The reason they ended it. The reason she couldn't satisfy him. The real reason for their divorce.

The younger sister was in shock her mouth hanging open. "What?" She asked even though she heard exactly what her sister said.

"He's gay." She cried. "At first I thought we could make it work. It started as a marriage of convenience but Ji Yeon wanted more even though she knew he was gay. When she got pregnant she thought she was making progress with Junsu, but no. He would never want her in the way she desired him.

"Oh sister," Yoo Min said moving to hug her sister. "I'm sorry. I didn't know." She sympathized with her situation.

"But was it right to let him raise Ki Sub?" Yoo Min asked her sister, questioning her judgment. Yoo Min didn't think a gay man could properly raise a child. He would be exposing that child to other gays that would teach Ki Sub to lust for men. Yoo Min cringed at the thought of her nephew being gay.

"What if Ki Sub turned out gay?" Yoo Min asked Ji Yeon. "How can you let this happen?"

"Junsu is a good father," Ji Yeon stood up for her ex-husband. "He's far better than I am as a mother," she told her sister the truth. "I work too hard and I don't have time for Ki Sub. He will be fine."

" Ji Yeon," Yoo Min sighed, "I don't know, do you really want Ki Sub to be exposed to that?"

"I trust Junsu." She really did. "He wouldn't place Ki Sub in harm's way." Ji Yeon took a sip of wine from her glass. "Junsu was really happy when Ki was born." She said smiling. "Ki Sub has the love I've been trying to obtain from Junsu for the last nine years."

"You should think about removing him," her sister urged. "Aren't you lonely here with no husband and no kid?"

Ji Yeon chuckled at her sister's question. "A mother should raise her son." Her sister was adamant about her belief. "Ji Yeon promise me you'll think about it." Her sister insisted once more.

Ji Yeon nodded. She was lonely here. She missed having them around. However, she was busy with her job. Should she really rethink the whole settlement? Should Ki be with her? After all he was her son too.

Ji Yeon sighed drinking all of the wine from her glass. She set the glass on the table with a clink.

"What am I going to do?" she whispered. "What can I do?"