Saturday, July 25th 2015

It had been two weeks since the hospital incident. I never knew what really happened on that day between my mother and Hyun. The doctor prohibited anyone to visit my mother for ten days according to hospital regulation, whereas Hyun could no longer be found.

Her desk had been cleared when I finally went to the office last week. Tiffany asked me worriedly about why she suddenly submited the resignation letter even if the project were in it’s critical point.

‘Was there anything she hiding from me?’ I thought silently.

I entered my mother’s room and put the flower on the table.

“Yonghwa-yah, is that you?” my mother called me as she woke up from her sleep.

“De, Omma. Sorry if I’m waking you up,” I sat beside her bed and held her hand.

“It’s okay. I have been sleeping too much.”

“How are you feeling today?”

“Much better. Sorry for making you worried these days.”

“It’s okay. I hope you get well soon,” I her hand assuredly.

Her sad eyes looked at me before she spoke hesitantly, “Yonghwa-yah, there is something I need to tell you right now.”

“Hmm.. About what?”

“Seo Joohyun.”

Then she started to tell me about the little girl she met in the orphanage years ago. She told me how much she loved the girl and promised to adopt her, yet she left when she knew the girl’s illness. Never crossed my mother’s mind that Hyun was the very same little girl she hurt fifteen years ago, until Hyun told her on that hospital incident two weeks ago.

“Please find her and apologize on my behalf about everything I have done to her,” my mother begged to me.

‘Where are you, Hyun?’

***

Sunday, August 2nd 2015

I drove my car to the ‘M’ Orphanage near the outskirts of Busan.

“Excuse me,” I knocked at the front door.

“De. Good afternoon, welcome to the ‘M’ Orphanage. May I help you, dear?” one middle-age woman opened the door and greeted me warmly.

“Uhm.. I have come looking for someone. Her name is Joohyun, Seo Joohyun. Is she probably here?”

“Ahh, you’re looking for Joohyun. Yes, she is here. Please come in and wait for a minute, I’ll call her,” the woman guide me to the receiving room and left me to call Hyun.

A few minutes later, I saw her entered the room and stood silently near the closed door.

“Hyun-ah”

“Good afternoon, Jung Yonghwa-ssi,” as she bowed politely.

.

She gave me a tour around the orphanage for a while before asked me to sit on a bench in the park outside the building.

“Ahh.. The weather is so beautiful, isn’t it?” she stared at the sky peacefully.

“How have you been?”

“I’m fine. How about you?”

“Fine, I guess.”

“How’s your mother?” she asked me cautiously.

“She is fine now. We will bring her home next week.”

“Mianheyo, Yonghwa-ssi. I’m really sorry,” she whispered.

“My mother had told me about everything. About this orphanage, about you, your illness, and her disappearence. She said that she is really sorry for leaving you fifteen years ago.”

“It’s kinda funny sitting here and talking to you on this bench where I usually spent my afternoon chatting and laughing with your mother fifteen years ago. She was like a mother to me. She told me that she would like to adopt me, and we would celebrate my tenth birthday on her house with her twins. With you and Sica Unnie. I loved her very much, Jung Imo – my Jung Imo.”

Her tears started falling as she told me her the stories between her and my mother.

“Hyun-ah” I tried to wipe her tears when she just stopped me and held my hand on her lap.

”The idea of having a family – a mother, father, sister, even brother was very overwhelming for me that made me looking foward for that day excitedly. Then suddenly the illness came and swept my dreams away. My heart broke into pieces that time. I tried my best not to make everyone worried by acting happily all the time. But here I am, sitting on the very same bench while crying over those painful memories with the man that almost became my brother. Fate has played with our lives, hasn’t it?” she smiled at me bitterly.

I hugged her tightly as she cried her heart out.

.

She pulled herself away from me as soon as she had calmed down.

“Hyun-ah, may I ask you one more thing?”

“Hmm..”

“Do you love me?”

“It was true that I was just using you for my selfishness. When I knew that you are her son and Sica Unnie asked me to meet your mother, I decided to go on with the show and pretend to be your girlfriend. Believe me, it was not for revenge as in the drama we watched, I just really want to meet Jung Imo once more. To chat and laugh with her once again. But as time went by, with every smile you showed, every gesture you did, and every love you shared, it became more more difficult not to fall for you, Yonghwa-ssi.”

“Saranghae, Hyun-ah,” I leaned forward and kissed her lips.

We kept kissing tenderly as if trying to heal each other’s wound, to convey our love completely as we were finally honest to each other. Just to forget the world we lived in – all of the problems we had. I rested my forehead against hers when we finally stopped our kiss.

Then, she said almost in a whisper, “Let’s stop this.”

“Huh?” I stared blankly at her.

“Let’s end our relationship, Yonghwa-ssi. Right here, right now.”

“What do you mean? How can you say that? Didn’t you say that you love me?”

“Yes, I did. I do love you. But we meet at the wrong time, when we still have so much pain in our own heart. Let’s heal ourselves and meet again in a less-complicated situation.”

“There is no right time or right place for love, Hyun-ah.“

“I think you should go home now, it’s getting late and I have flight early in the morning.”

“Flight? Where are you going?” I tried to hold my tears.

“To London,” she stood up abruptly and her heel, “I’ll go inside now. I’m sorry for lying to you all of this time, Yonghwa-ssi, and thank you for everything. I think it’s time for us to say goodbye now. Goodbye, Yonghwa-ssi, take care.”

Then she bowed deeply before started to walk away... from my life.

‘I’ll be waiting for you, Hyun’

***

Monday, January 1st 2018

I smoothen my shirt and walked hurriedly to the meeting room on the east side of the office. Today we had meeting with ‘S’ Security Company to discuss the latest data protection technology for our company.

Even if I had worked in this company for three years, I always didn’t like the meeting session. I rather worked overtime than joined a meeting especially if it took hours to finish. If Jonghyun was not the CTO, I probably fled away.

I entered the meeting room quietly and searched for my seat, when suddenly someone called me.

“Good morning, Jung Yonghwa-ssi. It’s been a while.”

I turned my head right away and saw her standing there and smiling at me brightly.

‘She is back, my Hyun is back’

.

“Here’s your drink,” I handed her a bottle of mineral water as we were standing on the rooftop after our meeting. She was coming as that security company’s CTO .

“Still addict to coffee, huh?” she commented on my drink.

“Yep. How’s London?”

“Great. But I miss Korea so much.”

“Don’t you miss me?”

She chuckled, “I heard that Jonghyun and Yoona have been married.”

“De, they got married last year. But you weren’t here for them.”

“Hmm.. Have you been married?” she asked me nervously.

“I’m waiting for the bride to come home from London.”

She turned and smiled at me lovingly like she always did, while I spread my arms widely and said, “Welcome home, Hyun-ah. Let’s become a family now.”

Then, she hugged me tightly and never let me go.

“I’m home, Oppa~”

Author's note:

‘A storyteller make up things to help other people; a liar makes up things to help himself’ –  Daniel Wallace, The Kings and Queens of Roam

It’s the end, everyone. Sorry for separating them for a moment in the middle of this chapter, because I think they need to forgive themselves first before start to love each other.

For all dedicated comments, subscribers, readers, all of you, thank you so much for your supports until the end of this story. I hope you enjoy this story and leave your final comment on this chapter.

See you later, everyone, and take care. (*deep bow*)

- minikittybdg –