Chapter 12: Ensnared before even on the streets.
Just by hearing the slight shift in her tone, I could already picture her on the other end of the line, perched on the edge of her plush sofa back in our hometown, her brows knitted together, her warm eyes wide and filled with curiosity, even though she couldn't see me.
While she wasn't a real relative of mine, Sarah Noona had always possessed a kind of maternal radar that could detect emotional distress from three states away. It was both a comfort and, at times like this, a massive inconvenience.
Sarah Noona was always one to be fiercely, relentlessly overprotective. Honestly, her smothering brand of care was one of the key reasons I'd decided to strike out on my own in the first place, to put several hundred miles between my studio apartment and her watchful gaze.
I just couldn't handle the constant, loving observations, the daily check-in texts that felt like wellness audits, nor the way she'd remember every minor complaint and bring it up weeks later.
Back then, I believed that I needed to succeed or fail on my own terms, even if those terms currently included eviction and mysterious brain-software.
"W-What are you talking about? Of course I am!" I tried my best to stitch together a perfect, convincing lie, forcing a lightness into my voice that felt as brittle as old plastic. "It's amazing news! I'm just… surprised, that's all. It's late, you caught me off guard."
"Julian Park," she said, and I could hear the gentle but immovable scowl in her voice. It was the full-name treatment.
"I've known you since you were a child picking dandelions and calling them sunflowers. I've heard you laugh with a skinned knee, cry over a lost toy, and lie about finishing your vegetables. I'm pretty sure I know exactly what you sound like when you're trying to keep something from me."
"Noona, it's nothing, really—"
"Julian," she cut in, her tone shifting from concerned to proactive. "Here are your options. You either tell me what it is right now, over this phone, or I will get in my car, drive through the night, and come over there to find out for myself. Don't think I won't."
"C-come over?!" I stuttered, nearly jolting upright on the lumpy couch, some hot cheese splattering on my thigh causing me to wince.
before I knew it, I found myself in a state of panic. 'Wait, I don't recall ever giving her my current address before, though… did I?' My mind raced.
'Maybe she got it on a form years ago? '
Noona was close to my relatives so I didn't think that such a thing wasn't possible, I mean, who knows, Perhaps she found out in a passing conversation?
But I'd been so careful to maintain my independence.....
"Your silence better not be your answer," she pressed, her voice taking on a teasing, dangerous edge. "After all, I'm sure Ophelia wouldn't mind a little late-night tech project. Finding a current address from a phone number is probably child's play for her these days. She's gotten quite clever with that computer."
"But that's… that's uncalled for!" I groaned, my free hand coming up to press against my forehead. I could feel an annoying headache beginning to bloom behind my eyes.
I didn't expect her to bring up her daughter in this, Noor did I expect her to label her as some kind of tech savvy.
"Well, so is hiding things from your Noona," Sarah replied, her tone showing no signs of shame or remorse whatsoever.
It was the voice of someone who had changed your diapers and therefore felt entitled to all your secrets, forever. "And what will it be? Ophelia's room is just a few steps down the corridor from me. I can hear her music playing right now. It would only take a minute to ask…"
"Fine! Fine… I'll tell you." I gave in, Resistance was not only futile but would likely end with me on the loosing end, after all, the only time I'd won against Sarah was when I left home without telling her and even after that, I had to console her over the phone back then so I couldn't quite call it a win.
'I was hoping I could give these strange missions a try for a few days, see if they led to some actual, usable cash or a solution, and quietly resolve the issue with the landlord on my own,' I thought with a deep, internal sigh of defeat.
'But I know for a fact Noona isn't playing around. When she said she'd come for me, I don't think she's lying at all.'
So, I told her. I kept my voice flat, downplaying the drama, but I laid out the facts. The mounting tuition, the choice between books and rent, the six months of arrears, the eviction notice now taped to my door like a shameful badge. I painted it as a temporary cash-flow problem without adding any extra reason for her to worry.
Of course, I completely left out the mission parts, with the glowing panels, and the whole "I pretended to be a gangster to save a teenager from peer pressure" episode.
Wouldn't want her throwing me into a psychiatric rehab center for sudden-onset delusions, now do I?
Some secrets were for self-preservation. And I was sure Noona didn't notice a thing because I didn't lie about it, after all, she only asked me to tell her my problems.
There was a long pause on the other end of the line when I finished. I could hear the faint sound of her TV in the background.
"Is that all?" she finally said, her voice softening from tactical to tender. "Julian, why on earth didn't you say something sooner? I always told you trying to handle college completely on your own was too much, too soon. Well, no matter. It's settled."
My heart sank. I knew what was coming.
"There's a perfectly good spare guestroom here at my new place," she declared, her tone brooking no argument. "It's just sitting empty, collecting dust. You can simply stay with me and Ophelia from now on. No more worrying about rent. You can focus on your studies. We'll have family dinners. It will be perfect."