Identical Episode 26

0
240

Kim ji (Kind)
I felt my feet shake as I stared at her with the phone in my hand.

Oh God! No!

?Kim? Are you there?
Gyeong called on the phone, making everything worst.

Oh God! What have I gotten into?

I quickly ended the call.

“M…Mum?” I stammered nervously.

“Who were you talking with, Kim? Who’s that?” She demanded and my nervousness increased.

“Its…I…Its..its…no one. I just…it’s a friend” I faltered helplessly and she gave me a beady look and drew closer.

“Why did you mention Kim nana? And who were you referring to as your sister?” She asked and this time around, her voice was cold.

“It…it was a mistake. I…I mean, I…I just. I…I wanted to call someone else and…”

“You told her your name was Kim ji” she said with her hand on her chest.

“Kim ji” she repeated and scoffed.

She batted her lips for a while and a tear dropped.

“You…you’re not Kim nana” she whimpered.

“You’re Kim ji. You’re my second daughter”.

*
Mi cha (Cold-hearted)
“You can handle this, right?” Jeremy asked as we sat next to each other in the car in front of the house.

“Yeah”,I muttered and opened the door, going out of the car.

I took in a deep breath and approached the house and when I got to the gate, I knocked.

The gateman opened up almost immediately and ushered me.in.

“Welcome home, ma’am Kim” he beamed but I didn’t even look at him as I proceeded towards the house.

The whole thing looked like a puzzle to me. Could it really be possible? Do I have a family? Are these people my family?

But what happened? How come I was dumped? Why didn’t I grow up with them? What could’ve happened?

So many thoughts kept flashing through my mind and I couldn’t even think straight anymore.

I got to the door and slowly pushed it open without knocking on it.

Jeremy had told me my dad wasn’t with my mum but got married to someone else and I think I just met them.

I saw a woman and good looking man in the sitting room, both standing like they were waiting for someone.

The man – could he be my dad? For real?

What if all these were true? Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Kim is just someone that looks like me, but we’re not related.

“Kim!” The man called with relief and I quickly adjusted to the fact that he was calling my name.

I didn’t say a word but quietly moved from the door and went closer to them.

“What the hell is this?” The woman squealed.
“Why are you…looking like a whore?”

“Kim” the man called, making me ignore the woman.

“What happened to your hair?”

“I decided to go for a new style” I replied calmly as I got closer to them.

“You fixed this?” The woman asked and tried touching my hair, but I moved away.

“Why did you fix this? It looks…weird” the man grumbled and I sighed.

“Well, I’ll change it tomorrow”. I replied.

“By the way, where are you coming from?” He asked.

“I went for a party with someone”.

“I got a report of you punching Mal-chin earlier today. Did that really happen?” He asked and I remembered Jeremy had said Mal-chin was the step brother.

“Yes! How dare you lay your filthy hands on my son?” The woman snapped and I turned in a flash to look at her.

“Call me filthy one more time and I’ll feed your tongue to the dogs” I drew closer to her and said, making her feel my breath.

Patently, she was shocked.

“Kim!” The man called and I looked at him.
“What is wrong with you?”

I moved away from the woman and diverted my face.

“I have no idea what happened. But I think he deserved what he got.

“I’m tired and need to rest” I said and took the stairs.

*
Kim ji (Kind)
I wept as I placed the photograph in front of her – the old picture Kim nana had given me.

She collected it with and more tears dripped from her eye to the picture.

“We didn’t mean to lie to you” I whimpered.
“Kim nana had…wanted me to reveal myself to you, but I was so scared and didn’t know what your reaction would be. I was scared you wouldn’t want to accept me…because you told her I was dead. I was scared you’d reject me and…I didn’t want that to happen. I just wanted to feel the love of a mother and that’s the reason I asked her for an exchange. It was meant to last for just two weeks.

“I’m sorry. Despite the fact I didn’t know you..I just wanted to know what it felt to be touched by a mother. I just wanted to experience your love for two weeks. I’m sorry for lying to you”
I bent my head and wept more.

“Oh God! Kim!” She wavered and came to hug me.

“I’m sorry mother” I wept on her chest as she rubbed my back.

“My little baby” she cried.
“You got it all wrong, dear. I’d never have rejected you. I’d never send you away. I’m so sorry”.

We remained that way for a long time, both crying on each other.

Then, after a while, she left me and returned to her seat, staring at the picture.

“Your father and I fell in love while we were still teenagers” she started morosely.

“We used to be the best couples. We ended up together and got married and…life was going on well for us. I got pregnant and gave birth to triplets.

“But few months later, I got to know your father had an extra family. He had a son.

“It broke me,,Kim; tore me apart. He cheated on me while we were dating and that was how the lady got pregnant for him.

“That was the source of the rift between us. The lady was trying to cause problems with her son and your dad…he started acting cranky at times, taking sides with her.

“The home I dreamt of was broken and I had to leave. I filed for a divorce and your father was able to convince the court to let him have one of the babies and that was you. So, I left with the rest of your sisters.

“Due to the shock, I didn’t want to be around him. So..I had to move away from the city – come over here to start my life afresh.

“But unfortunately, I lost the last triplet in the course of leaving. She was snatched from me by some hoodlums and that was like the biggest pain I had to face during that period. I did all I could to find her but to no avail and that was how I knew she was gone.

“Believe me, Kim; I did care about you. I loved you so much and never wanted to leave you behind with your dad, but I had no choice. After what he did to me, I developed so much anger towards him and that’s the reason each time Kim nana tried to ask me about him, I get angry and can’t talk about it. It wasn’t because of you,my dear. It was because of your dad”.

I stood like a bloated goat and listened to the story of my life.

My breath was wavering.

She stood up and came close to me, placing her hand on my cheek.

“I love you so much, Kim. And I’m sorry for letting you grow up without the love of a mother. But now, I promise to fix everything. I’m going to make sure we’ll never be apart again. Me, you, your sister – we’ll always be together from now on. I promise”.

I couldn’t say a word as all I did was shed more teats.

Those were the sweetest words I’ve ever heard.

She bent my face and planted a kiss on my forehead.

“I love you too, mother”, I said tearfully and she smiled.

“Get ready. We’re leaving for Seoul first thing in the morning. We need to find your sister” she said mildly and my eyes gleamed.

*
TBC.