Chapter 3
Off I GoJieun eagerly ripped the taped envelope off and then reached over to the table by her bedside. She pulled open a drawer and took out a letter opener, with which she carefully cut open the envelope. She pulled out a neatly folded letter and started to read.
Jieun,
I will first start off this letter by saying that I am a coward. A real man would be able to tell you this face to face rather than doing so through a stupid letter, but I am just a boy. I am just a boy and you are just a girl. We are young and it is inevitable that we will make dumb mistakes in our youth-mistakes from which we learn a lot about life, people, and ultimately ourselves. But some mistakes aren't ones that you can look back upon in old age and laugh at-some are ones that should never have been made in the first place. I know you do not love him, and I beg you, please do not make this mistake.
You deserve so much more than to be with someone who will make you content. You deserve to be with someone who will keep you happy-someone who will take care of you and love you and not set any rules for you to live by. You deserve to be in love, and you deserve to marry for love. I know that you are afraid that you might never get another opportunity like this, to be chosen by someone who can offer you financial security and a life that you can be satisfied with, but you shouldn't just settle for the first person who chooses you. Who loves you first may not necessarily be the same one who loves you most.
I will be more than happy to love you and cherish you the way that you deserve... Somewhere in between the laughs we shared and the secrets we exchanged, I realized just how much I love you. And it is because I love you so much that I must let you know that there are better people out there than the man you're about to marry. Maybe I am included amongst those better people and maybe I'm not, but all that matters to me is that you make the decision that is right for you-not for him, not for his family, not for your family, but for you.
Don't live for them; live for you.
Waiting,
Wooyoung
A tear rolled down Jieun's cheek as she set the letter down on her lap. To live for herself...it was something that she had never dared to dream about. Her mother had raised her to be the perfect housewife, with no greater desire than to please her husband. Now it was clear to her that to go through the wedding would be a mistake. Wooyoung was right. This was her life. She deserved love, and she didn't want to simply settle down with someone who had chosen her.
There was a knock on the door and before Jieun could respond, her mother entered.
"What is taking you so long?" she demanded, irritated. "And do stop crying! Your mascara is running, and you look like a raccoon. Honestly, Jieun, I raised you better than that-to look like a common, poor bride all tearful at her wedding."
"I-"
Jieun paused, staring at her mother. She felt like a little girl again, fearful of what she was about to say. Then again, this was how she usually felt in her mother's presence.
"You what?" Her mother strode over to the mirror to powder her cheeks.
Jieun her lips and took a deep breath before continuing. Her voice shaky, she said, "I'm not getting married."
A tear rolled down Jieun's cheek as she set the letter down on her lap. To live for herself...it was something that she had never dared to dream about. Her mother had raised her to be the perfect housewife, with no greater desire than to please her husband. Now it was clear to her that to go through the wedding would be a mistake. Wooyoung was right. This was her life. She deserved love, and she didn't want to simply settle down with someone who had chosen her.
There was a knock on the door and before Jieun could respond, her mother entered.
"What is taking you so long?" she demanded, irritated. "And do stop crying! Your mascara is running, and you look like a raccoon. Honestly, Jieun, I raised you better than that-to look like a common, poor bride all tearful at her wedding."
"I-"
Jieun paused, staring at her mother. She felt like a little girl again, fearful of what she was about to say. Then again, this was how she usually felt in her mother's presence.
"You what?" Her mother strode over to the mirror to powder her cheeks.
Jieun her lips and took a deep breath before continuing. Her voice shaky, she said, "I'm not getting married."
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