Chapter 3

She woke up with a jumpstart, she looked around her disoriented while massaging her head until her eyes stop at the sleeping figure next to her. Her eyes almost budged out.

Yonghwa?

Her eyes scanned the unfamiliar room

Motel?

She peeped under the covers

No clothes?

!

She pulled her hair and began cursing inwardly as she surveyed the room for her clothes. She vaguely remembered what happened to them last night, they kissed, rode a cab and that’s it, pieces of her memory are still missing and so does her bra.

She felt like screaming, of course they didn’t just play rock paper scissors, strip poker? Yeah probably …if she knows how to play poker!

She was starting to have panic attack when Yonghwa moved, she literally held her breathe, she waited until she carefully got off the bed and picked up her scattered clothing. She had to push Yonghwas head a bit with her point finger since the strap of her bra was under it and went to the bathroom. Where in the world are they? And what would she say to her parents since they know all too well that she went out with Yonghwa. She wrapped a towel around her and sat at the toilet. She opened her phone and saw the messages and missed calls from her parents, how in the world will she explain herself?

You’re 33 years old for crying out loud Seo Joohyun, you don’t have to explain anything!

But I slept with a man!

So!? It’s Yonghwa! And it’s not as if it’s the first time you guys did it! Remember when you two….

Shut up self! He’s about to get married to someone else! I’m officially a !

Yeah, a crazy who has conversation with herself, in a motel, inside the bathroom, on a toilet.

She quickly called her mom and just told her she’s fine and she can’t explain things right now and she’s about to go home.

Next thing she knows, she was sprinting out of the establishment without looking back and flag down a cab. On her way home she realized they actually went to the next town, atleast in between the craziness they were wise enough to do the unthinkable outside their town. Where nobody knows them. As she was trying to digest the happenings last night, she found herself sobbing until it turned into a gut wrenching cry, she apologized to the crab driver who looked alarmed looking at her through the rear view mirror. She almost flew to her room as soon as she arrived ignoring her mother who was asking her tons of relevant questions. She kept crying as she took out her small luggage and began putting her clothes there

“I need to leave eomma I’m sorry, I’ll call you as soon as I get home”

“Joohyun what happened? You’re scaring me”

She sagged on her bed and looked at her mom with tears in her eyes “I’m scared of it myself”

Her mother was shaking as she sat next to her “Did something bad happened to you?”

She cried even more as she threw her arms around her mother’s shoulder “No but I did something bad to other people”

Her mom, in spite of being confused hugged her back “what are you talking about?”

“I’m sorry I can’t explain it right now I just need to leave” she abruptly stood up and finish off her packing, after she’s done, she stood at the top of the stairs when she heard Yonghwa talking to her mom

“!” She was about to retreat when yonghwa was suddenly at the foot of their stairs looking at her. He immediately climbed the stairs two steps at a time and dragged her inside her room and closed the door

“Why did you run off?” he asked trying not to shout

She steeled herself by her window “What do you want me to do?! Wait for you to wake up and celebrate?!”

“Atleast we could’ve talked about that happened!”

“What do you think we are doing right now!”

“I was just lucky enough to catch you or else you’ll be on your way back to Seoul”

“Well I don’t know what to do!”

“Yeah and running away is so mature” he replied sarcastically

“And you think what we did was mature?! Yonghwa do you want me to spell it out for you!? I slept with a guy who is about to get married to someone else!!!!  Who in their right mind would do that?!”

“It’s me Joohyun, why does it sound like I’m a stranger?”

Little did she know, tears began cascading down her eyes “That’s what makes it even worse! That it’s you! You who I have loved for so long and unknowingly still love, you who chose to break my heart, you who changed me, you who is about to get married to a girl named Jenny! Can’t you see!? My stupid heart still loves you after all these ing years! Loving someone you can no longer have is the saddest situation a person can be in! I was doing fine Yonghwa! I really was, I have everything under control but then I was stupid enough to come back and by some of luck you’re here also!” She dropped to the floor and covered her face with both of her hands and began sobbing hard.

Yonghwa kneeled in front of her and tried to pry her hands away from her face of which she defiantly resisted. He can’t do anything now but envelope her into his embrace.

“Please stop crying, I hate it when you cry” he whispered in her ears as he squeezed her. “Please Joohyun, the last thing I want is to make you unhappy once again, What do you want me do?”

She cleared and looked at him “Please let me go”

It was his turn to look at her straight in the eyes “Anything but that”

Her eyes then showed panic “what do you mean?! Let me leave right now, forget it ever happened, go back to the US and get married, be happy and forget about me, forget about us!”

“Why do you badly want to forget about what happened?!”

“because it’s what’s right, it is what is expected, It’s wrong in all angle, that should not have happened in the first place”

“If I let you go will you be happy? Tell me what you want Joohyun and I’d follow it, this time the ball is in your court, this time you make the call for both of us”

“Yonghwa, what I want is irrelevant! You have a fiancée waiting for you, you are preparing for your wedding! How do you supposed I make a call for that? Please leave, leave me and never come back, be happy