1. Chapter 1 #4
“…I actually have some news myself,” he starts, clearing his throat, taking a sip of beer with a side eye.
Min-Joon is the type to always put others first, at the expense of himself. Hates to be an inconvenience, which is why his current hesitation is urging the beer I just sipped back up my throat in anticipation of what he’ll say next. I put my beer down and turned to face him.
“What is it?” I prompt; my shoulders grow stiff. My first thought is. But apart from dealing with years of back pain, she hadn’t mentioned any serious health issues the last time we spoke.
That, and Min-Joon had always been an open book; if he was hiding something, it was because it was going to impact me in the worst way.
“I got the research team offer. They want me to start next week,” he blurts, then chugs down his beer as a source of comfort for spilling the news.
The Research project?
Then I remember that a few months back, he read about a research team back in South Korea who were looking for candidates to join their research into curing Diabetes. A subject very close to Min-Joon’s heart, as he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of six.
It was part of the reason he and I met. I’d needed an outlet for my frustration and chose to direct it towards the children who’d been ill-informed to stay away from the child who had an insulin pump, the very reason they picked on him.
Having to live with the limits of having one, I knew that getting to be a part of this kind of project was important to him. He likes to say he applied to be a part of that project on a whim.
But even I could tell how spaced out he’d been waiting to hear back, rejection or otherwise, so when he got the call today, he was just as surprised as I am right now.
I turn to him, ready to return the excitement he had just offered me, because that’s what friends do when I reflect on what he just said.
“Wait.” I belt out in realisation.
“Next week?! As in mere days from now?” I raised my voice to blend with the panic that was running through me.
“Yeah… now, I know this is sudden, but don’t panic; I do plan on coming back here, and it’s only a two-year program…
unless it gets extended, and I’ll help you find care for Theo before I leave.
There is also the possibility of it not reaching its two-year mark, so I could be back sooner depending on how much progress we make by evalu-” he explains, but I block him out, knowing the new plan I had in place was now in the toilet.
“But I just got a partner…” I huff in disbelief,
“Who’s gonna look after Theo?! With my new working hours and my international cases, I can’t do it. I literally don’t have the time anymore.” I ramble, viciously raking my fingers through my hair.
“Oliver, chill. I don’t leave till next Friday, and I’ll help you find a nanny to-” Min-Joon starts, but I abruptly spring to my feet.
“A nanny?! I can’t let some stranger look after Theo. You know how he reacted the last time I tried that, and what if word gets out? Or worse, if they find out he’s my mother’s child, the press will-” I snap, trying to keep my tone at a reasonable volume, so I don’t wake Theo.
“Oliver, it’ll be fine; you have the money, hire one of those private, live-in nannies and if you make them sign an NDA. Anything they say will come back to bite them in the ass.” Min-Joon says rationally, but at the same time, how dare this bastard ditch me and move back across the country?
He doesn’t say anything after that and just lets me pace back and forth, trying to figure everything out.
“I’ll have to call Nigel, but this won’t be easy, Joon.
I mean, you know, Theo, he’s very particular; he’s a picky eater, he doesn’t like change, and he hates being around new people.
How am I going to find someone I’ll trust enough to be around my kid for more than five hours a day, and all weekend at times when I have to fly out?
” I voice, though - he just leaves me to talk it out with myself.
After five minutes of constant pacing, I downed the rest of my beer and flopped back into the space next to him. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, feeling slightly calmer as I turn and finally congratulate my best friend.
“Don’t worry, I know how much you’ll miss me. Two years will fly by before you know it.” Min-Joon laughs during our second bro hug today.
“Shut up. I’m not the fucker who’s going to tell Theo you won’t be looking after him anymore.” I smirk smugly, pulling away from the hug.
“You’re gonna throw me under the bus, just like that?” Min-Joon looks as if I’d just thrown him to the wolves - which I had.
“Yup!” I nod with no remorse, pulling myself off the sofa to grab another beer. Then we talk through how to approach the whole live-in-nanny thing before Min-Joon leaves for work.
I don’t even wait until the front door closes and dial Nigel’s number, aware of how grumpy he’d be that I’m calling at 9 pm because he was off the clock, but he’d dealt with far worse in the past.
Once he picks up, I blurt out the words.
“We have a problem.”