Chapter 343 - The Music Teacher

*5 Years Later*

"Three," Jiwon counted. "Two. One! Ready or not, here I come!"

He opened his eyes and began to look inside the house. Stepping towards the pantry, he thought he heard a small giggle coming from behind the door. Slowly crawling towards it, he jerked it open.

"Gotcha!" he declared but there was no other there.

"ATTACK!"

Startled, he turned around only to be thrown back by a trio. Mirae and the kids jumped on him, tackling him to the ground. KJ fell on his back as they playfully assaulted him, giggling wildly.

"You lost!" Mirae announced. Jiwon gaped at her helplessly but could not do anything because his hance were held from both sides by her two minions.

"Daddy always loses!" A little girl laughed. She had the same eyes as Mirae and was delighted at her father's misery. The little girl looked so much like her mother that Jiwon sometimes thought of her as Mirae's doppleganger.

"Tch!" a boy scowled. "Dad, you're lousy at hide and seek!"

He also had Mirae's eye but was a replica of Jiwon with the same hair and cheekbones.

"That's coz he sucks!" Mirae laughed.

"You guys don't play fair!" Jiwon grumbled, getting up. He turned to his daughter and added, "Kwon Dasom, you're being too happy for your own good!"

Dasom giggled and let go of her dad's arm before giving him a wide hug.

"Daddy, you promised to take us out if we beat you in this game," she reminded him. "Brother Jade, tell him to take us out."

"Why do you wanna go out anyway?" Jade scoffed. "It's too hot outside!"

"We wanna go out!" Mirae piped in. "We can all have a picnic and I'll cook!"

"Then we definitely should not go out," Jiwon muttered. Mirae playfully smacked him. But seeing Dasom's puppy dog eyes pleading at him, Jiwon sighed.

"Fine!" he conceded. "We'll go for a picnic."

Dasom and Mirae cheered in joy while Jade pouted. He wanted to stay home and play video games but his annoying twin wanted to go out. He was the older one and yet, no one listened to him!

The family rushed to pack food and other essentials before heading towards the car. Jiwon revved up the engine and they drove off.

"Dad, when will you start teaching us the Beethoven?" Dasom asked. She was a music prodigy and had already mastered the basics of the piano. Jiwon taught her himself and the father-daughter duo were often so lost in their music that they played it for hours as a time.

"It only sounds like noise to me!" Jade said crossly. "I prefer to rap."

"And I prefer a quiet home," Mirae sighed. For the past five years, they had lived far away from their country, settling in Country C before the birth of the twins and had been living there ever since. Jiwon was a simple music teacher at a school he had established after moving to the country while Mirae worked as the CEO of her own security firm which catered to high profile celebrities and clients.

The children had no idea about their parents' famous pasts and lived a relatively lowkey life.

As soon as they reached the park, Jade and Dasom ran off to play with each other while their parents looked at them proudly.

"They're growing up so fast," she mused.

"Yeah, they are," Jiwon softly said. To Mirae's surprise, he kissed her cheek and added, "Thank you. For giving birth to these amazing kids."

She smiled and hugged him. They lazily watched their kids running around the park in excitement. Jiwon thought back to the past and it was a miracle that they had arrived at a point where they could find some form of peace.

After Dasom's death, KJ had decided to bury his nickname and take up Jiwon as his real name again. He was ready to leave behind the glamorous life and live in anonymity. After a long talk with Sunye, Hyun Jung and Jinhyun, he and Mirae had settle their finances before moving abroad. They were no longer in touch with Hyung Jung, Jinhyun nor the others. Even though the President was dead, there were still a few Cartel supporters who were out there, waiting for them to return. Those people kept an eye on all of Jiwon's old friends, so for the safety of their loved ones, both of them had erased themselves from everyone's lives.

Jiwon only stayed in touch with Sunye, sending ;her occasional pictures of their children. Sunye sometimes visited them, bringing gifts for the kids. She was the only one who was a link to his past life and since the Cartel never found out about her, they kept their relationship a secret.

Ash was sentenced to death for his crimes. None of them turned up for his funeral but Jinhyun had arranged for his remains to be cremated. Jiwon wanted to return to see his off his friend but it was Ash's last wish to be sent away in secrecy. Only Jinhyun knew where his remains were kept.

Hyun Jung and Somi had gotten married a little before Jiwon and Mirae moved away. After marriage, Somi announced her retirement from the industry and settled with Hyun Jung in Busan. It was a quiet affair and upon saying their final goodbyes to their friends, Jiwon and Mirae managed to make a home for themselves, away from their fame.

At first, the disappearance of the Nation's Idol created a huge controversy in the country. Jiwon hid out for almost two years before the news died down and people began to forget about him. The entertainment business was fickle and once someone was out of it, they would fade into oblivion. The fans sometimes wondered what happened to him but he had erased all traces of KJ.

He was simply Kwon Jiwon now. A music teacher, the proud husband of Jung Mirae and father to two wonderful kids.

"What's Jade doing?" Mirae asked after a while. Jiwon frowned and walked towards his son who was crouching down to pet something which turned out to be a kitten.

"What are you doing?" Jiwon asked.

"Feeding it some sausage," Jade simply said. "He looked hungry."

It was an orange tabby kitten with green eyes similar to the twins. "Can we take him home" Jade asked. "He looks so sad."

Jiwon sighed and smiled. "Why are you smiling?" Jade frowned.

"I just remembered an old friend," Jiwon simply said. Jade frowned so Jiwon added, "We can take him home."

The little boy's face lit up in joy and he picked up the kitten. "I'm gonna name him Jade Jr.!" he declared and ran off to show off the new pet to his sister who squealed. Mirae joined her kids in admiring the cat while Jiwon watched his family from afar, feeling content.

As he watched them he dwelled on how people who left them always found a way to come back to them.

First it was Mirae. Then it was Jade and Dasom. Somewhere in his heart, he hoped that he would run into Ash as well even if it seemed like a far-fetched thought.

But one can always hope. If he was able to turn back time, then maybe another miracle could happen. One can only hope.

…

The new kid looked nervous as he stood in front of Jiwon. He was the same age as the twins and had been sent away to Jiwon's boarding school for his education. The boy had no parents and was in and out of foster care before being sent to the boarding school for studies. Apparently, he showed some promise in music and was a naturally talented musician at that age.

The boy was looking curiously at Jiwon.

"Your file states that you're into contemporary music," Jiwon said, reading the papers in front of him. "Your previous school teachers praised your guitar skills."

The boy did not reply but simply nodded. For some reason, he looked very nervous in front of Jiwon and was blushing hard.

"What's you name?" Jiwon asked. From the looks of the child, he seemed to be a foreigner and Jiwon suspected that the boy was from the same country as him.

"Dong Seunghoon," the boy mumbled. "But people call me Ash."

Jiwon froze in his spot before smiling at the irony of fate.

"Are you KJ?" Ash suddenly asked. The little boy mustered the courage to ask this and Jiwon was surprised that this boy would know him.

"I…"

"I listened to EXOTIC's songs!" Ash claimed. "And the Idol King, Shin Jinhyun talks about you in his interviews too! He showed pictures of you and I got into your songs! You're amazing!"

Jiwon was taken by surprise but smiled.

"Would you like to learn music?" he asked.

"Hell yeah!"

"Tomorrow," Jiwon said. "Sharp at 6 AM. Don't be late."

The boy nodded and happily walked away, ready to face his new life. He was determined to go back to his country and one day, become the Nation's Idol. With a new zeal, he set off to work for his goals with Jiwon as his coach.