Chapter 53. Letting Go

Joohyun traced the outline of his face on her fingertips and smiled when she diverted her eyes on the little girl holding a balloon on one hand and her teddy on the other. It was a picture she took when they were in Everland a few months ago.

She bit her lips and brushed the tears with the back of her hand. The pain had lessened but she was crying since it felt like she had been apart from him for a long, long time now. She placed the picture back inside her organizer then shoved it in her bag.

The last item to pack.

“I never would want to get over you…” she whispered into nothingness hoping he would hear it. The soft knock brought her back to reality and her dad peeked inside, “Hey… come in…”

“So you are really serious,” he smiled sadly as he looked at her bag.

“It’s just for a few days, appa,” she reached out and touched his hand, “Don’t worry, I will be back before you know it…”

“Is this about Yonghwa? I heard—“

“Appa, don’t tell me we were under surveillance all this time…” Joohyun pouted then smiled when he furrowed his brows, “It did not work out the way you planned, didn’t it?”

“Joohyunah…” he looked at her with those apologetic eyes, “Going away is not the solution to everything…”

“I know, but I have to. I need a breather,” she sighed. “Maybe when I come back I will be able to have a very logical solution to all these things.”

“He doesn’t want to break up with you?”

She was uncomfortable with that question so she just shook her head lightly, “Maybe the distance would make him ponder if he really wants me in his life…”

“Arasso… I can’t stop you, I know that, because eventually you will do whatever pleases you,” he touched her cheek and smiled, “Just come home, the sooner the better…”

~~~

He sat across the old man and watched him silently sip his tea. Yonghwa was not surprised when he got the call but what caused his discomfort was that Joohyun’s father asked to meet him at an opulent tea house nearby. He knew then that they wouldn’t be talking about work.

“Joohyun is leaving.” The cup made the faintest sound when it met the saucer and Chairman Seo continued quietly as he looked directly at the young man in front of him, “Have you heard?”

“She mentioned, yes,” Yonghwa could only answer in a small voice. Whatever this was about was making him worry. Not only that, the way the old man’s silence and small movements went on for a few minutes did not help at all. He waited— that was all he could do.

Chairman Seo was stalling. He knew it himself because he was not ready for what he was going to say. Although he had given his trust to Yonghwa long time ago, this revelation could ruin his reputation. But then again he was doing this for his daughter. He took a deep breath before asking, “Do you love her?”

“Yes,” Yonghwa replied with enough certainty. Euna taught him that a few nights ago.

“There’s something you should know about Joohyun.” He started right after he saw the conviction on Yonghwa’s expression. “What happened between you two was probably because of me.”

That caught his attention. Yonghwa listened.

“When her mother died, Joohyun found my wife’s diary. I didn’t know of its existence until I found it in my daughter’s things after she left for New York.” He hesitated for a moment but there was no other way to say this, “There were some things that I did in the past that I’m not proud of. Things that are mostly complicated for me to explain so I will go for the shorter version. My wife— I didn’t know it until I read her diary myself, all those time that she was alive, she kept this thought that I was in love with another woman.”

Yonghwa found himself fidgeting. She would speak in riddles sometimes and only this time that he was somehow putting her puzzle pieces together. He watched carefully as the older man was getting pensive and melancholic.

“That thought broke my wife’s heart but she never told me. In her diary, she said that it was hard loving someone who couldn’t give her the same love. She believed that I never loved her the same way I loved that… that other woman, my first love.” Chairman Seo absentmindedly reached out for the napkin and dabbed the side of his eye. He sniffed then continued, “I distinctly remembered she wrote that she didn’t want Joohyun to ever go through that— be someone’s second best. She suffered, my wife, she unnecessarily suffered from that thought. I loved her, of course, until now I love her and she was wrong in believing that she was only the second.”

Things were getting much clearer now. Somehow, Yonghwa was too caught up with his own past that he never thought about how easily Joohyun slipped into that jealous rage she went through. He nodded when the chairman looked as if he was asking for permission to continue telling his own story.

“I cannot undo the past. I wasn’t given that power to change the past. But you…” Chairman Seo gave the young man a faint smile, “You, Yonghwa… if you really love my daughter wholeheartedly, then do something. Don’t regret the same way I did. Look inside you for the answer. She’s scared but she loves you.”

What could he say to that? Most importantly, how could he convince Joohyun and relieve her from her negative thoughts about him. Then, he remembered what she said about forgiving and letting Ha In go. Yonghwa swallowed the lump that was blocking his throat. Was he ready for that?

“Yonghwa…?

He lifted his gaze to see the questioning look from the older man’s face. Yonghwa