"You're adopted."

What? No, this can’t be true. This is nowhere near truth! I saw pictures of myself as a baby. I saw how I was less than a month and my parents were holding me in their arms. How can this possibly be the truth? Everyone says I look like mo-

“Mirae?” I snapped out of my daze and looked at my parents. “Are you ok-”

“How can you ask if I am okay?” I asked in a low tone, “I’m the one being told that I’m adopted. Not you.”

My parents became froze in their spot. Wait, am I even supposed to call them my parents? I grew up with different people in a different place with a different identity. I love them but what if they don’t love me? What if they were forced to adopt me?Also, what if they pretended to love me all along? And also if they are not my real mom and dad, then who are? Why did they abandon me? Why was I given up for adoption? Didn’t they care for me?

“W-who is my real mom and dad?”

Mom sniffed. "We don't know, sweetie."

"But we love you okay?" dad said, "You were the best thing that ever happened to us."

You were the best thing that ever happened to us- my dad used to say this all the time when I was a little girl. I never understood this phrase completely as a kid but now it's making sense. He was indirectly telling me I wasn't their child.

"But I'm adopted. I'm another person's daughter. How can you love me?"

Dad stood up from his seat and came to sit next to me. He cleared his throat and this time his eyes were very teary. He didn't hold back his tears any more.

"We... your mom and I were having difficulties to conceive a child. You know she has endometriosis. So, it was difficult for her to have a baby. Even though many women suffering from this disease can have children, unfortunately she was not able to. So, we adopted you."

Mom sniffed. "We fell in love with you as soon as we saw you. You were so small and cute and..." her lips broke into a smile which made me smile a bit. "We still love you, Mirae and always will."

Of course they aren't my real parents. They obviously didn't give birth to me and I don't share the same blood as them but they did raise me and love me like thier own child. I'm confused right now and I can't even think straight but even though through this, I know I love them more than anything. They are my parents. They raised me.

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I couldn't sleep well that night. And I was sure neither could my parents because from time to time mom or dad came to check on me and I had to pretend to sleep. I don't know why they were keeping an eye on me because if they are scared that I will run away from home, then they are wrong. When I was heading to my room tonight, I kind of overheard my mom crying that I might decide to leave them for good and I felt guilty because this idea did run through my head once but that was related to a different topic. However,  I'm not leaving this place. Even if my real parents are millionaires. Yes, I was upset at the beginning and it took me quite a while to set everything in my system but who wouldn't have? I may have been acted mean with them and I regret it more than anything. They gave me a life. They saved me. Shouldn't I be grateful that I wasn't left abandoned in the orphange like other kids who didn't have the similar fate as me?

It was around 2 am that my eyes started to become drowsy and I soon drifted to a dreamland. That night I had a pretty weird dream. It was about me adopting a baby. I saw that I was in a small office and there was a lady standing opposite from me but I couldn't see her face. I was only focusing on myself. I looked older, around 24 or 25 and mature and collected. The dream me was nothing like the real me. I looked more confident and I spoke with patience, unlike how I speak now. I was chatting with the woman about something which seemed to be important but I don't remeber it very clearly. Then after a while, another woman walked in and she was holding a baby in her arms. She smiled at me and I also smiled back.

"Isn't she beautiful?" she whispered and handed the baby over to me. The feeling was... I don't know how to describe it but it felt more than wonderful. I felt like a proud mom. Is this how my parents felt when they saw me for the first time? After that I woke up and felt more confused than ever.

Wait, does this mean I'm going to adopt in the future too?

"Mirae? Oh, you're up already," mom said as she entered my room and I nodded my head. I thought she just came to wake me up for school but turns out she told me it was okay if I didn't want to go to school today.

"What you learnt last night was very harsh, sweetie. We are very sorry. Your dad says you need some time, so maybe..."

"But mom, what about notes and act-"

"Your dad called the school and informed that you are ill. So, you might have to take some days off."

This is the first time my parents lied to the school saying that I was sick. Other times they wouldn't stand that I missed school unless I was really sick or something serious happened. But this is a serious situation.

"I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't go to of-"

"Mom, really? I'm not a kid, okay? Go to your office and lead a normal life. We three made up after the conversation last night, didn't we?"

"It's not that. I'm just scared that-"

"-I'll leave?" I finished the sentence for her and she nodded, looking worried.

"I'm not leaving you guys, mom. I'm staying here whether you like it or not."

Mom smiled at me and gave me a quick hug before leaving. I stayed in my room until they left with my whiny little brother. Slowly I got off from my bed and headed to the washroom to get a shower. Usually in the shower I would be blasting off music and dancing but it was different today. You know how people say in the shower you usually have deep thoughts? Honestly speaking, I could never relate before because I concentrated more on enjoying the warm water. But today was different. Heck, I myself felt different. I suddenly didn't recognize my own self. After the shower, I had a quiet breakfast and then spent the whole day in bed. Around 3 pm, I got a call from Saeyeon who was obviously worried about me being sick.

"Hey, heard you're sick."

"Yeah... slight fever," I said.

"But the teacher said you have backpain..."

"Yeah and that," I said quickly and internally groaned. Really? Backpain out of everything? 

"But you were completely fine yesterday."

"Uh... yeah, I was."

"Mirae," Saeyeon said in a concerned voice, "I hope you are not lying about something."

I gulped. This is what I hated about Saeyeon. She had this ability to pick up whenever I was lying and no matter how much I tried to hide it, she would find out at the end of the day.

I chuckled a bit to cover up. Even though she is my best friend, I wouldn't want her to figure out that I am adopted. Most certainly not now. "What detective book did you start reading now?"

"Nancy Drew."

"I thought you said it was for little girls?"

"Well, I changed my mind. She is a cool person."

"Told you so." She just hummed and there was a silence hanging in the air. It was uncomfortable. " Hey, uh, I'll talk to you later. I'm not feeling quite well."

"Okay, but Mirae just as you know... I'm your bestfriend. You can tell me anything."

"Thanks, Saeyeon. I'll call you back later. Bye."

I hung up, rolled over on my bed and just closed my eyes.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

"Miwae, vake up." I heard Jaehyun say and he softly slapped my face. This kid...

"What is it?"

"You shleep a lot."

I glared at him but got up anyways. "Where's mom and dad?" I asked, stretching my body.

He ignored me and got off my bed, running out of the room. Probably mom sent him to wake me up. I glanced at the watch. 7:45 pm. However, after a while he came back.

"They're in the dwinning room... eating."

"Okay."

"Can I pway with your phone?"

"No, Jae. Go out. I need to take a shower." He grumbled and left me alone.

After I was done with showering, I headed downstairs to see everyone gathered in the living room. They didn't notice me so I decided that it would be perfect to grab some food and go back to my room. However, my brother saw me just after a few seconds and called my name at the top of his lungs.

"Mirae!" Dad chirped, "Just in time! The movie is about to start."

"Yeah, we even have the popcorns and corn-dogs ready," Mom joined in.

I didn't want to watch a movie and what confused me the most was how they were acting. They just told me a night before that I'm not their biological daughter. Should't they be more serious about the situation? Like, constantly trying to keep that topic up instead of watching a movie?

"Come sit."

"Uh... I'm not feeling quite well. Can I, perhaps, skip the movie night?"

Mom got up from the couch and walked towards me. She had a worried look plastered on her face. "Are you okay? You never skip movie nights."

I hesitated for a bit. I definitely was not okay. How can anyone even expect me to? I received a shock yesterday and you seriously can't expect me to forget everything and act normal. No, I just can't.

"I'm sorry and I know that we had this conversation yesterday," I began and I saw Mom's face falter. Dad joined too. "It's just... I don't know how you guys are pretending like nothing ever happened. It confuses me."

Silence.

"We are not pretending, Mirae. We just want to go back to our normal daily routine."

"Yeah, we won't let one news destroy our family bond."

I sighed. "I understand but I think I need more time. I'm sorry."

"Mi-"

"Movie started!!" Jae yelled excitedly and threw popcorn everywhere.

"Just give me a week to sort out things in my head," I told them and they nodded. With that I headed to my room. I felt horrible. They were trying to make me feel comfortable but instead I screwed it up. Again, I just couldn't pretend. I had to tell them. They might feel hurt but I need some time. I laid down on my bed and stared at the ceiling.

What has my life turned into?

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Hi everyone!! I'm back withe second chapter and I'm so sorry to be uploading it this late because I was out of my country and we didn't have wifi. I think I should have mentioned this before in the previous chapter and I'm really sorry that I didn't. Also, this chapter is quite short compared to the first one. I got a writer's block. Even though, I've decided the ending... I still have problems coming up with certain plots. Anyways, thank you for reading!!

And thanks to you for subscribing!! ( Can't believe that I have four subscribers already!!) ^^ Thank you so much!!

- Nora.