Narrowing his eyes, Johnny tried to make sure that this was indeed the famous singer Rebecca. It didn't make any sense for them to know each other, after so many times watching her on television and listening to his friends comments, he would know. Wouldn't he...?

"You live here?!" a thin smile formed on her lips expressing the surprise.

"Yes..." ended up laughing by that completely strange situation.

"Who would say! I never thought I would meet you like this, I imagined something like you showing up on one of my fanmeetings or shows" now a slightly sad grimace. "But you never showed up in any of them."

"Ok..." he squeezed his neck embarrassed. "Sorry, but you've lost me."

Now it was Rebecca who looked at him confused.

"Not wanting to be rude, but how do you know my name?"

With brief seconds of silence, the girl started to laugh raising her hands to her waist.

"Hey, you almost got me with this one! Apparently you didn't lose your sense of humor. 'How do you know my name?' Hilarious!" she touched his shoulder lightly while laughing.

Johnny was certainly creating numerous theories in his head. Maybe she was crazy, or his mother was up to something with her influences and contacts in the media world. A trap, a test? He pursed his lips, analyzing the singer with an expressionless smile.

"Wait... You weren't joking."

"Well, I don't think so."

"Oh, damn..." she quickly walked away embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I thought that..." She froze, nibbling on her lower lip outraged.

"I would even believe you mistook me for someone else, the name being the same would be an absurdly big coincidence."

Finally, the elevator's door opened, clearing the way to the building's garage. Now both Johnny and the singer walked together to find their respective cars in the parking lot.

"Don't you even remember me?" seemed irritated. "Unbelievable..." stamped her feet even though her high heels were already showing her presence there.

"I'm sorry, my memory is not so good with the number of people that my parents made me meet. Did my mom introduce us in a party or something?"

"It's true that I know Mrs. Seo..."

"So it really was her."

Johnny was almost certain that it was all his mother's doing, but he didn't think she would send a celebrity this time. Was she becoming more devoted, first a passionate teenager, now a renowned singer?

"But..." she suddenly looked hurt. "We only met a few times when I gave interviews, and just that."

She reached out to touch Johnny's wrist, forcing him to look at her.

"It's me, Yuri ... Jang Yuri."

The tone of her voice showed one last desperate attempt to make him recognize her. Such an act made Johnny catch his breath to do his best to analyze that delicate and feminine face. As soon as his gaze fell on the small heart-shaped birthmark beside Rebecca's left eye, Johnny on impulse wided his eyes.

"Wait! Chicago, first year... The exchange girl...! Are you that Yuri?!"

"Yes!" a huge smile was expressed with sheer relief.

"This birthmark is impossible to forget! I don't believe that all this time I saw you on TV and didn't recognize you! I mean, you've changed a bit, but now it's so obvious."

"They always cover with makeup, that's probably why you didn't noticed it before."

"My God, Rebecca is that little Jang Yuri?!" ended up laughing.

"But... Did I change that much?"

"Not really. It's been so long since I've last saw you that I didn't even imagine it could be you. And we didn't see each other so often either back then. So, I never thought you would become a celebrity... That's amazing by the way!"

"Because of the contract, the company kept my training confidential. They wanted me to debut in the United States first, so I ended up in Chicago."

"Now it makes sense. I moved to Korea at the end of the year you arrived, didn't I?"

"Yes..." she smiled sadly, however a little anger was hidden behind that. "And it didn't work out too, they sent me to China a few months after my first single was released."

"And then you became a big hit" lightly squeezed the car keys while approaching the vehicle.

"I wouldn't say big, but yeah, something like that..."

"My friends will kill me when they find out that I have known you since high school" Johnny laughed already picturing the scene.

When she was silent, Yuri took a moment to analyze every detail in Johnny. He was taller now, stronger and more handsome than she remembered, but his smile wasn't as full of joy as before. She turned her gaze to his eyes, which looked back at her in a nostalgic expression that forced her to remember a colorful time.

"I'm glad to see you again..." she whispered.

"What? Sorry, I didn't hear you" he leaned against the car door.

"I've said I'm late. I need to go before I get scolded again."

"Oh, yes. I also need to go and pick up my bro-" he curled his tongue and stopped his mouth from moving quickly. "I mean, a friend of mine at work."

From her frown, Johnny remembered he was a bad liar.

"We're having a party with other friends today and he doesn't have a car."

He'd never imagined that Taeyong's situation would help him to lie in his entire life. With a pleasant laugh, that hidden any traces of that bullshit he was pulling through, Johnny waved quickly indicating that this was his cue.

"Well... See you later, then."

"Ok, see you" with a brief gentle nod she bid farewell too.

Johnny could hardly imagine what was really hiding behind that smile that so soon disappeared from Rebecca's face as she turned away.

With one slip, Johnny almost exposed his mother's secret in the blink of an eye. He knew very well the rumors that were circulating about her. He didn't want to compare Yuri with everyone who spread such stories, much less that, upon discovering the truth, she would come to the media for the spotlight. However, only one task had been imposed on him, to keep his relationship with Jinwoo in complete secrecy. Encountering his old classmate reminded Johnny of how bad his mother could be when things didn't go the way she wanted. The scar on his heart was quite deep and for that he swore that he would no longer take the risk of trusting anyone who could have the least amount of contact with the powerful lady Seo; not after what she got him through. And Rebecca, on the other hand, knew the woman well enough to become something of a worry if she was to discover everything; another great reason to keep the secret under lock and key.

On the road, humming random songs on the car radio, Johnny spotted a bakery across the street. Just imagining the warm sweets and breads inside was mouth watering. He then remembered his mother's rules. However, one time wouldn't kill anyone, it wasn't like she really had eyes inside his apartment. As soon as Johnny crossed the street to go to the establishment, he was surprise by a call from Jaehyun.

"Hey man, how are you?" Johnny answered.

"All good I think... Wait, are you driving? The call is a bit..."

"Yeah, you and your habit of calling me when I'm inside a car. But it's okay, I'm parking right now."

"Oh, ok... So, remember that I mentioned about working at my mom's friends' house?"

"The nasty ladies, yes I remember" removed his seat belt, however he remained in the car.

"I help Ten get some casual jobs too, right? You know, with that massage's business he has.

"Jaehyun, did you send Ten to work as a masseuse at those perverted women's house?! Man, that's a no-no."

It didn't take long to Johnny managed to hear Jaehyun's laughter on the other end of the line. He laughed so hard that he made the other laugh too.

"This is very mean dude, you know he's afraid of women."

"I didn't think about it when I offered the job... God, wait a minute..." Jaehyun tried to compose himself. "He arrived at the woman's house and pffff... Wait, wait... Ok, ok, so, when Ten entered her room to- to start the massage... She was naked and uncovered just waiting for him to arrive."

"What the-!"

Now both Johnny and Jaehyun had a laugh crisis.

"Poor thing, he was so scared that..." it was proving impossible to control his laughter. "Oh, wait, let me calm down for a sec..." Jaehyun tried to breathe and started over. "He was so scared that he ran away..." by the noises, it looked like Jaehyun had tripped over something.

Johnny was barely able to answer because he was laughing so hard. The two friends were already squirming with their eyes filled with tear and sudden abdominal pains. When Jaehyun finally thought he was calming down, Johnny forced him to suffer a little more by adding:

"Imagine his face!"

"No, stop! I'm going to die like this!"

It took long seconds for them to be able to control their emotions and breathe normally again. With a few giggles and wiping tears from the corners of his eyes with his left hand, Johnny was the one who recovered first.

"So..." Jaehyun continued. "What I was actually trying to say was, she felt really embarrassed and made up a story for the others ladies. Now they don't want my friends working for them anymore."

"How great, she traumatizes Chittaphon with a glimpse of the hell and I'm the one who loses the job" Even annoyed by that, Johnny couldn't help the brief giggles that still insisted on coming out.

"But look, my dad liked the idea of you working on the resort team."

"Really?! This will help so much that you can't even imagine!"

"Yeah, it looks like it won't take as long as I thought. My dad hired another person to help with the work, maybe two or three more months. How long can you keep on with the money you've saved?"

"I have enough to..."

Johnny believed he had the answer on the tip of his tongue, however now he no longer lived alone and with that the increase in expenses was inevitable.

"A month and a half maybe...?"

"What do you mean?! Haven't you spent a few months without spending half your salary? What happened to the money you saved?"

"Emergencies surfaced..."

"Shit... Okay, let's think of another way out. I will see what I can do too."

"Ok... Thanks, man."

"Hey, know that you can stay at my house as long as you need in case something happens."

"I hope I never have to think about accepting this invitation."

"Hey, why not?"

"I had a conversation with Winwin. You shameless punk, scaring the boy with those obscene scenes."

"What?! What did I do?!"

"You know very well what you did."

A brief silence stretched.

"So, what's last for me to say is: congratulations on losing your virginity, Jaehyun."

"Stop it...!" he ended up laughing embarrassed. "I just called to let you know about it, now let me hang up before you start to delve into your perverted thoughts."

"You did indecencies in front of Sicheng and the pervert is me?"

"I didn't even do anything, stop it."

"Yeah, yeah, of course you didn't. But ok, we'll talk later, I need to go now. So, thanks again."

With the farewell, it had been Johnny's opportunity to spend some change at the bakery. He wondered if that would make Jinwoo happier after one more tasteless dinner they would probably have to eat. While waiting for the cashier to finish, Johnny had another idea to. He had been fired, he would have no patience at all to hear his younger brother complain or curse him due to the bad taste of the food, so he decided it was better if he cooked dinner from now on and he'd worry about his mother after she found out.

Johnny parked near the elementary school and decided to follow the rest of the way on foot in an attempt to not come across Yuta. However, his plan had went down the drain the instant he saw Jinwoo playing with his Japanese friend. In a sigh of pure tiredness, Johnny tried to get the child's attention by waving hands. The gestures started out soft and very discreet until he was irritated by the situation and started to almost stage a scene of madness.

"Hey...! Jinwoo...!" the impatient whispers became louder slowly. "Damn... Oi, Jinwoo!"

Unintentionally Johnny ended up screaming. Covering his mouth desperately, he hid behind a tree knowing that both his brother and Yuta were now staring at the corners in search of the supposed owner of that voice. Unfortunately, Jinwoo didn't realize his efforts and remained where he was. What was left now was a very difficult mission for Johnny to complete. With a quick glance, he noticed Yuta approaching to check who would be there. Crouching down, the taller one quickly came around the tree as Yuta looked on the bushes. As soon as he saw an opening, he ran closer to Jinwoo hiding among the thickets trees around that long courtyard. The boy was playing next to the seesaws. A little closer, Johnny tried again.

"Jinwoo... Hey... Over here...!"

"Hi!" the boy smiled coming closer. "What are you doing there, hyung?"

"Shh..." he stretched out his arm, calling his brother to approach a bit more. "Let's play Secret Agents?"

"What game is this?"

"We go get your backpack and leave quietly before he sees us" lightly pointed to Yuta.

"Is the teacher playing too?!" he laughed happily, but quickly imitate Johnny's gesture pressing his index finger to his lips. "Shh, let's be quiet."

When Johnny gave the signal, he and his brother ran into the elementary school looking for class 6B. They said goodbye to the young teacher and when they prepared to leave, Yuta was on his back by the door. Jinwoo laughed excitedly for being playing with his older brother, which was actually just an escape to avoid being exposed.

"Byul" Jinwoo called a little girl who played with a doll next to them. "You like the handsome teacher, don't you?"

The little girl smiled sheepishly, and if they weren't for hiding from Yuta, Johnny would probably squeeze her for being so cute.

"He said he wants to play with you, why don't you go there?"

With that, the little girl ran excitedly after Yuta. The perfect opportunity. With agility, Johnny reached his brother, holding him in his arms, and fled from there the moment Nakamoto bent down to pay attention to little Byul. With loose laughs of pure adrenaline, Jinwoo hugged Johnny's neck and leaned on his shoulders.

"You're very smart, huh?" Johnny commented as soon as he was putting the seat belt on his brother sitting in the back seat.

"It was fun!"

"Just because we weren't caught" he tried to recover from the adrenaline that still hit him.

So soon the two of them were already inside the car, Johnny left driving by the usual path. The pleasant aroma of stuffed bread inside the bakery's bag, that had been left on the seat next to the driver, awoke Jinwoo's palate, who, every minute, tried to check what was there.

"What did you do at school today?"

"I learned new numbers! And we sang with the teacher!"

"You're a music fan, aren't you?" a smile was expressed on Johnny's face when he remembered the video he recorded of his brother dancing.

"What smell is that? Is this snacks?"

Johnny knew that one day he would give in and pamper his brother just for the way his adorable voice was.

"If you're a good boy, we'll share them. All right?"

"I'm a good boy" one smile.

As little as the journey back home extended, the older son of the Seo family noticed how much a night of taking a shower together changed the way the little one saw him. Confidence was growing.

They were already in the garage of the building ready to proceed to the elevator. Reaching his brother's hand, Johnny didn't notice the curiosity of Jinwoo with whom was right behind them. Being used to the neighbors, even hearing the footsteps, the eldest didn't care so much.

"Today we are going to eat bibimbap" Johnny smiled at his brother. "Feel honored, your brother here has never cooked for anyone before."

"Mom said you don't know how to cook."

"How would I know how to if she refused to teach me or pay for any classes" he shrugged. "I had to take charge of my own destiny now that I live alone. But I assure you that, if I haven't died to this day, it's all good."

"Mom said that the people in the kitchen will do it for me. I don't need to learn."

"Our mother is a hopeless case, Jesus..." he murmured. "Jinwoo, we don't learn anything if we let other people do everything for us. There are things we must do on our own."

As they entered the elevator absentmindedly, Johnny finally recognized who was next to him the instant he turned to face the metal panel.

"Yuri...?!" a chill suddenly took his spine and his heart skip a beat.

The girl stared at them. Johnny had a stunned expression as she entered the elevator together with them.

"Is he your brother?"

"Yes, and hyung will give me snacks later!"

Jinwoo seemed really happy, making Johnny distressed and unresponsive. Suddenly, Rebecca's surprised expression turned into a thin smile that hid something.

"Really? How nice of him" after commenting, she looked at Johnny.

"Yuri, can we talk for a bit in my place...?" Johnny tried not to frown.

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

"Ok then, let's go."

It didn't take long for them to be inside the cozy and luxurious apartment of Jinwoo's older brother with the singer following them. All Johnny could imagine at that moment was how his mother would kill him. Perhaps a hitman or maybe she would prefer to do the job herself. Rebecca on the other hand remained calm just talking to the little boy.

"Jinwoo" Johnny called him. "Here, why don't you choose a snack and watch some TV while I make dinner?" held out the bakery's bag to the boy. "You remember what which channel you like, right?

"Can I really do that?!" even if he had asked, Jinwoo reached the bag full of snacks and ran like a rocket into the living room.

"Only to eat one, do you hear me...?!"

"Ok...!"

By the time he could hear the TV speakers turn on, Johnny was able to give full attention to the girl in front of him. Her expression made it clear that she was up to something.

"So the rumors about your mother are lighter than the actual truth, huh? So, a child out of wedlock?"

"First, I want to make it clear that I can't either confirm or deny anything."

"And in order not to damage the image of the family that owns the largest airport network in Seoul, your parents decided to keep the staging of a perfect wedding?"

"Yuri, what do you want?"

Johnny knew how the conversation would end by that moment. He feared being cornered and felt a certain disappointment the moment he learned that Jang Yuri, the sweet airhead, as his friends in Chicago used to called her, was about to threaten him.

"Do everything I ask you to do, including being my personal trainer, and I promise not to tell anyone anything."

Even though it didn't seem much alarming, Johnny was sure just by the look in Yuri's eyes that he got himself in hot water. However, what the former football player didn't expect was that a much more complex adventure had just begun.