Chapter 51. Cry

She pretended to have that smile on her face as she talked to Taeyeon and hoped her sadness wasn’t echoed on her voice. Joohyun forgot the time while she wandered aimlessly around the park that afternoon until she realized she could do something more productive than this. Only when her stomach grumbled that she decided to drive back to the gallery. Lately, her life had been full of painful surprises and she just wanted to let everything go and free herself from all those sad thoughts. Maybe she should focus on her work at the gallery and offer more time at the Haven. She drove with a normal speed enjoying the lazy road in front of her. She was not in a hurry—no reason to be in a hurry anymore.

“Okay Unnie, be there in a jiffy… de…” she pushed her phone when another call came. And without checking who it was, she answered, “Yes, hello?”

The line was a little blurry that she could hardly hear from her earpiece. She wondered who the caller was so she carefully took her phone and saw Euna’s number. Her heart skipped since she could hear Yonghwa’s loud voice but everything was still incomprehensible. Euna’s voice came in—scared and unsure, “Euna? Hello? What’s wrong, sweetheart? Hello?”

Another voice came and she recognized it to belong to his mother. Joohyun frowned realizing Euna might have accidentally dialed her number. Something happened. A scratchy sound appeared and she decided to end the call. Her heart thumped so loud. Joohyun made a quick U-turn.

She berated herself since it was probably a family matter that she shouldn’t stick her in. But feeling protective of Euna got the best of her that in no time she was parking on the side of their house. The moment she got out of the car, she saw Yonghwa rushing to his own but he had his back on her that she couldn’t see his expression. Confusion flooded on her that she just noticed Mrs. Jung calling her.

“Eomoni, what’s going on?” She rushed to the woman then explained when the latter looked confused of why she was there so suddenly, “Euna accidentally dialed my number. What happened? Is she okay?”

Yeon Soo shook her head and massaged her temple as Joohyun shot her those question, “Euna, I’ll take care of her… but Yonghwa… please follow my son. I don’t know what’s happening to him.”

Joohyun looked back at the car that was almost out of sight and she absentmindedly nodded and got in her own vehicle. She didn’t know exactly why she was following him and it was too late to realize that she was indeed driving to get to him. It wasn’t what she needed especially this time— especially now that they drew the line. Whatever was happening should be none of her business but by the looks of it, Yonghwa needed her whether she liked to be needed by him or not.

The thought suddenly snapped. Why was she following him again? “What are you doing Joohyun? Just leave it; you have nothing to do with his life now. Why don’t you just go to Euna? At least to her you are someone… why follow the man that could never be yours? You are so stupid!” She berated herself over and over again as the highway stretched in front of her and that particular car sped dangerously fast and she was afraid to keep up.

To make matters worse, Yonghwa made a sweeping turn on that narrow way heading south and she followed along. It was clear that he hardly noticed that she was tailing closely behind him now.

“This will be the last time I would be tailing you, you stupid jerk! I am doing this for your daughter! I hate you so much Jung Yonghwa for making me feel this way! I really do! I hate you! I hate all this things that I am putting up just to be with you! ! ! I hate you! I hate you! Arrghhh!”

She screamed in frustration until it hit her— until she realized where he was heading. Then the path slowly became familiar to her, after all, she took this path so many times since coming back home. She froze on her seat. “Oh no… not here… Joohyun what are you still doing?! Turn around… for Pete’s sake! TURN AROUND!”

But she continued driving, slowly now as his car came into a halt a few feet from hers. She killed her own engine and watched him—observed him as he lifelessly got out of his car and walked uphill.

“No way I am going to follow you in there… just no way…” she sang once again but before she knew it she was also out of her car and walking with the same pace as him. Her feet suddenly grew a mind of their own and wouldn’t listen to her pleas.

She walked behind him keeping her safe distance and just watched as he effortlessly trailed the serene path of the cemetery. The place sent shivers through her body because she was not ready to make that visit herself. It was an ordeal—a torturing ordeal that she had to painstakingly take.

The muted silence would occasionally be hampered by the sounds of the chirping birds and the murmurs of the insects around. The lonesome trees lined in harmony as the greens spread across the field. The display of blue and green looked as if nature painted them to concur with the serenity it held in its heart.

Yonghwa stopped on the little corner and stared down into that unassuming mark. She could see from where she stood a few feet from him that he was crying. The afternoon breeze was getting colder, she caressed her arm and her eyes got lost on that form as she stood there watching him. Slowly, he bended down to sit on his heels and stretched out to touch the earth in front of him. Joohyun found herself moving closer until she stopped just a step behind him. She didn’t say anything for the mere fact that she didn’t know what to say.

“I tricked her to marry me…”

His voice stunned her for a moment and realized that he knew of her presence all along. But she remained silent, accepting the realization that she would know his deepest thoughts that moment. Joohyun knew it could break her that, whatever it would be, it would cause her to suffer with him.

She listened anyway.

“She wanted to go to America after graduation and follow her mother and sister there. But I could not live without her so I purposely had her pregnant. I pushed her to marry me when we found out that she was carrying our baby, but after the wedding she had a miscarriage. It was so hard but I really wanted her