Johnny was feeling like a porn star as he cleaned the kitchen with nothing but a towel on. He could say with certainty that the feeling was far from good. Made an effort not to get naked and get caught off guard by Yuri as he mopped the mess he'd unintentionally made. Luckily it was still fresh so it wasn't too difficult to clean.

Half the job was done until, just as Johnny got up to clean the sink, Yuri walked into the apartment.

"Thank God, It's very uncomfortable to walk around with a towel in other people's houses you know?" he put his hands on his waist.

Yuri quickly handed him the clothes she had grabbed from his apartment while her eyes conveyed concern.

"What's wrong?" he took the raglan and jeans. "You saw a ghost or something?"

"You need to go back to your place right now."

"But..." he stopped briefly. "Why? What happened?"

"Your mother is there waiting for you."

And that's how Johnny found himself face to face with his mother in his living room. The woman's fierce gaze sought to frighten him, he would not deny that he indeed felt a bit small at that moment, although he feared more the consequences that would fall on Jinwoo's shoulders. He preferred not to say anything, much less explain himself, he believed it would be much more advantageous to just answer whatever his mother was going to ask him.

Sitting on the couch, Johnny stared at the floor while the woman stared at him.

"Here" she handed him an envelope "it's for the end of the month. Be ready by then."

Johnny grabbed the paper and, as soon as he discovered what was inside, an irritated sigh escaped his lips.

"Are you serious? Again?" he threw the one-way plane ticket to Australia back on the table.

"I let you handle things your way, I even warned you what would happen. Well I'm disappointed."

"You're disappointed?" he laughed "You got to be joking."

"Jinwoo can't be exposed to the media, but there you were doing the one thing I told you not to do."

"Careful with what you say." Johnny's voice was low "You won't like my answer."

"You were everyewhere with that singer and now she knows your door's password too? What do you think you're doing?!"

"This has nothing to do with you. It's my business, you don't need to pry."

"That's how you talk to your mother?!" she raised her voice "I'm not asking, I'm letting you know. At the end of the month a car will be waiting for you and you better be ready to leave."

"No."

"No?"

"I'm not going." he put his hands together.

"Stop being stubborn!"

"No, listen what you're saying! Can't you see that controlling me on a whim of yours only made my life miserable?! I won't let you do the same thing to Jinwoo!"

"What I did, I did to protect you!"

"How is isolating your only child, pointing out what he should or shouldn't do is seen as protection?!"

"All of this wouldn't have happened if that girl hadn't filled your head wih fibs!"

"Why do you always bring her up whenever we talk about what you did?! Unlike my father and you, Sea was the only one who really supported me!"

"Where's your respect for your mother?!" she raised her hand to slap him.

"Yeah, hit me like you always do to impose your authority!" he felt his eyes water.

She lowered her hand slowly, already regretful and her lips trembling as tears streamed freely down her cheeks.

"I don't care what they say about me." she resumed now with a weak voice.

"Sure, you controlled anyone who might say anything."

"No, not that... I didn't come to send you away because of your friends."

Johnny looked at his mother wanting to question her, but he kept quiet.

"I don't care if you're dating, having fun, whatever, with this singer... But I see the way Jinwoo smiles when he's with you."

At this instant, Johnny faced the walls frightened. Did she really install cameras inside his place, he though.

"He's happy... Even you seem happier."

"Where do you want to go with this?"

"If your friends were a reason for me to send you away, Johnny my son, you would be gone already."

"So why now?"

"All this... The agony, your heartbreak, what I did... No, there's no excuse for the way I treated you, but please understand I was desperate!"

"Just tell me what you mean!"

"It was her from the beginning. When I saw that she was back and you were beside her again..." a sigh "I can't let her get she wants"

"Wait, are you talking about Sea?"

"I didn't lie to you the first time. It wasn't a nervous breakdown, I told you the truth... That girl just wants to use you."

"That makes no sense, why would she use me?" he clenched his fists "Why do you hate her so much?"

"You loved her so much, finding out the truth would destroy you. My heart couldn't bear to see you like that! Our situation was terrible and everything that happened to us was her fault!"

"How can you blame someone else for you having an affair?!"

"Johnny, I don't blame anyone for my choices, not ever! Don't get me wrong, they took advantage of my weakness, right when my relationship with your father was lukewarm. It was all a scheme!"

"That's going too far."

"Stop being stubborn and listen to me! I know I made a mistake, and I also made the wrong choice keeping you from the truth. I wanted to protect you, instead ended hurting you more than anyone. But I love you, and I'll be even more selfish to ask you to forgive me someday! You are my son, and Jinwoo too! There is no greater joy in my heart than seeing you together as a family!"

At the same time that Johnny didn't want to believe those words, something in his chest burned for him to trust his mother.

"I don't blame you for not believing a single word that comes out of my mouth... I know you still talk to her, so just ask. See what she has to say. We know the Collins family is in Korea."

She stood up, wiping her cheeks with the back of her right hand, grabbed her purse and walked to the door.

"I don't want my boys to suffer... Not anymore. No more wrong choices. Talk to her. Think about that too." she pointed to the plane ticket "I'll be available to talk whenever you want. I'm tired of pushing you away when what I wanted most was for you to be with me. You can come back home too... I'll be there to hug you whenever you want. The doors have always been open, and I wish every day for you to walk through them" she left.

Johnny couldn't describe clearly what he felt at that moment. A strong agony filled him and the sadness of a long time returned to haunt him. All of his life misunderstandings surrounded the same girl: Sea Collins.

He took a few minutes to clear his mind before knocking on Yuri's door again.

"Johnny!" she looked worried "Are you ok? What happened?"

"Sorry, can I say something first, please? Otherwise I fell like I'll never tell you the truth."

Yuri fell silent as soon as the word 'truth' was said.

"I remembered" he briefly lowered his head "I remember that day and I know now what I did to you" reconnected his eyes to hers "It was a misunderstanding... You were wearing the same dress as my ex-girlfriend that night. I was drunk and confused the two of you... I didn't mean to-"

"What...?"

Johnny pressed his lips together.

"So you're telling me that... You said you loved me for mistaking me for someone else?"

"I never meant to hurt you. I... I'm sorry."

Johnny leaned on the door to get in, however he was stopped by the singer.

"Yuri?" he tried to open the door again.

She gripped the doorknob and shook her head, her eyes filling with tears.

"You never liked me...?"

Such a question made Johnny's heart break.

"Yuri, wait, that was back then!"

"Ah, I'm so dumb..." she closed the door as soon as she started crying.

"No, no, no, Yuri, don't do that" he knock the wood lightly "Ypu're not dumb, it's not your fault, it's mine, please, I'm sorry!"

"Stop saying that...! Just please go away!"

"Yuri, let me sort things out. Please let's talk." he leaned his forehead against the door "Don't do this to me, Yuri, please."

"I want to be alone." he could hear her sobbing.

"How am I going to leave you alone knowing you're crying? Yuri, please open the door"

"Go away!"

That pierced Johnny's heart and he walked away even though he didn't want to. Again that feeling of desolation hit him, the pain, the sadness was all back and more and more terrifying.

He was alone again.

Hot tears streamed from his eyes without permission and he no longer cared. From his pocket he pulled out his phone to make a call.

"Johnny? I didn't expect you to call me today"

"Sea, can we meet?"

Now all Johnny wanted most was the truth. He was hurt enough already, it wasn't like it was going to destroy him even more.

Isn't it?