Flowers & Weeds
Family? You & Me
Daehyun blinked.
He tried to remember to breathe.
It's a lie.
Just a stupid article filled with false info.
The laptop recived the brutual pressure of the B.A.P member's hands as his anger inclined with every word flashed across the screen.
Daehyun's eyes didn't want to believe the video clips and pictures flashing all so boldly on the web window.
It's all a lie-
A prank right?
Keep scrolling.
It's all fake.
Daehyun kept scoffing and glaring down each and every evidence of what could only be false-
It had to be.
Right?
"Jung Family to announce National Heiress' Husband"
Scroll.
"Jung Minhee planned to be a bride for a lucky guy."
Scroll, scroll.
"Korea's princess arranged to meet her prince."
SLAM.
"Daehyun-ah.."
Yongguk sighed, patting his dongsaeng on the back.
"Don't break the laptop."
"Is this some kind of a ing prank?!"
Daehyun snapped, trying not to falter towards the news- No- the bluffing words.
Yongguk stayed silent, hoping Daehyun would find some self control over his emotional outburst.
"This is BULL!!!"
Daehyun blurted, trying his best to hide the weakness in his voice as his shattered heart was being trampled on with the flash of word after word in his head.
"..Hyung. Can we raise a cat?"
Daehyun suddenly asked, inhaling a deep breath and controlling his anger.
"I think Jongup and Youngjae has cat allergies but uh.. I'm down with it."
Yongguk mumbled, scratching the back of his head in pure confusion.
"Why'd you ask?"
"At least I get to retrieve my cat from misery since I can't get my own damn heart back."
Daehyun lowly grumbled, snatched the car keys, and made his way to the door.
"Come back by 9 o'clock! We got a full schedule! And buy some ramen!"
Yonggu managed to yell as the door slammed shut.
Of course Yongguk should be more concerned of his crazy member's outrageous actions-
He was practically running into fire right now.
But seeing his face, the pain-
Yongguk couldn't hold him back, and he knew it.
*Makes me want a girlfriend*
Yongguk chuckled, turning off the pesky TV and sliding on his headphones.
____ Minhee's POV _____
"There's Samsung's heir, LG's grandson, ooh Minhee! How about international princes?"
Mom's meaningless words passed by my empty ears-
Going through one ear, spilling out the other.
Umma is having a "son-in-law" spree, having her own fun of choosing who I would live with forever.
While Mother doted on this heir and that world-famous actor, I absent-mindedly slipped out the mansion's backdoor and aimlessly headed somewhere-
Just anywhere away from this suffocation.
As I stopped my feet, I opened my hazy eyes to realize I've come to Babo's little memorial grave I made with the help of the family maids.
My knees soon gave out, and I sat in the heaps of dirt and sobbed.
"Babo-yah.. I'm glad you're in a happy place now."
I smiled, tasting the saltiness of my streaming tears as it seeped in between my lips.
" I'm n...I'm not happy Babo. I'm being forced to live with someone I won't love. It's never gonna be the same."
Seemingly helpless, I wiped at my endless little girl tears like an idiot, hating myself more and more as the options were narrowing down and time was running out.
Suddenly, I heard a shuffle and warmth enveloped me.
I felt the weight of my body handed over to a strong boulder, feeling the strong arms hold me tight.
I opened my eyes, only to be faced with the tear-blurred view of a familiar shoulder.
The figure had bent down to my ground-level, and is hugging me ever so safely.
I took in the sweet scent involuntarily as I gasped, followed by a croacked hiccup.
I must be seeing things-
He can't be here.
He's busy.
"D-Daehyun.. Oppa?"
I whispered, afraid that if I spoke a bit louder, this sweet image of him will disappear.
"You idiot. You're the one crying on a cat's grave."
He mumbled into the top of my head, where his lips were buried in my messy bangs that covered my forehead.
More tears silently gushed out -
Not tears of sadness, but happiness.
Relief and joy.
As if he was filling my empty heart up to the brim that the excess emotions were spilling past my glazed irises.
I allowed myself to cling on to his shoulders, wrapping my arms around his back.
"How are you here-? How did you find me?"
I threw questions after questions, mumbling incoherently as I touched Daehyun oppa's face-
To make sure I wasn't dreaming.
But he was there, a smile planted on his lips.
I gazed at his bloodshot eyes, as if he had been crying too.
"Were you crying?"
I let out a teary laugh, tracing the outline of his left eye and the beauty mark right below the upward curve of his eyes.
"No- were you?"
He asked back, sitting on the ground with me as he sat behind me, stretching his legs around my back, and the outside of my own legs with his.
"I guess we're both liars."
I joked, letting my weight fall on to Daehyun's chest as I leaned back.
Silence consumed us, and the little forest seemed like the world to me.
A world where time stopped, and the person you wanted to see appeared before your eyes.
"Our Babo's gone isn't he?"
Daehyun oppa asked with a choked cough, his hands trembling as it held me.
"H..he passed away in his bed."
I shuddered out a sigh, knowing how disapppointed Daehyun oppa is of me for losing the most precious family member he ever had.
"I'm sorry I couldn't care for him better."
I mumbled, feeling the shame trickle inside myself for letting all three of us down.
"He died happily in bed. He's safe, happy, and painless. I couldn't have asked for anything more Minhee-yah."
He stated, smiling to make me feel better.
"How are things?"
I asked, the breeze in the hidden backyard picking up as if to console our loss.
"For B.A.P, we've never been better. For me, I'm dying inside."
Daehyun sardonically chuckled, the bitter aftertaste of his words lingering at the tip of the tongue-
Ready to spit acrid words to wake Minhee's ridiculous senses.
"I heard you are g..getting married."
Daehyun clenched his eyes shut, feeling his postion become inappropriate as the words shot out.
"D..Daehyun oppa.. It's not what I want.. "
Minhee weakly mumbled, whimpering as Daehyun suddenly unentangled his arms roughly around her cold frame and started to stand up.
"I'm not even sure why I'm here. I came to get Babo, but he's in a happier place now. I'm sorry for my cat's death, and have a happy wedding Minhee."
He spoke in a monotone voice, as if the words were materialized and recorded, and he forcibly pressed 'play'.
"B-but Daehyun oppa-"
Minhee called out to the turning Daehyun.
"It's not even what I asked for!!!"
She yelled louder.
*Don't go*
She wanted to scream out.
____ Your POV____
"What DO you want Minhee? You don't even think about me for a moment yet you want me to consider your own damn requirements all the time!"
Daehyun's eyes were brimmed with fresh tears, threatening to spill out into an endless waterfall if he continued.
As Minhee wrapped her arms around him, continue he did.
"But you're what I want"
Minhee sobbed, burying her teary face in Daehyun's chest.
"Don't go."
She repeated-
She remebered Babo in his final moments, when she begged him to stay with her, yet the cat left anyways.
Fate is so cruel.
*Please, I'll do anything. Don't take him away.*
Minhee begged, kneeling and pleading to every single source of mercy she could grab ahold of.
"I won't be rich anymore- I won't get married- please don't leave."
Minhee cried and cried, feeling Daehyun's tears drop into her hair.
"Don't leave."
She chanted, as if the words were the only things keeping her hold on the unstable sheet of ice her sanity was walking on.
*Oh God*
Daehyun inhaled, hoping his own tears would stop-
"I never left Minhee. You know that."
He spoke, his eyes closed shut in hope to get himself together in front of this girl.
After many moments of tears and spilling confessions, Minhee's breakdown soon subsided and shrunk into a minor hiccup.
Daehyun's forced smile felt bitter-
He'll have to let her go soon.
She'll find a man who will treat her like a princess that she is.
Unlike a clumsy crybaby she is when she's with him.
He wasn't meant to be with her afterall.
*Beep Beep*
An alert noise rang through the silence, and Daehyun sighed at the reminder of him to step back into the cold reality.
"I have to go now Minhee. I'll come back when I can. Stay strong, arasseo?"
Daehyun hugged the fragile girl, feeling the despair course through the air at this time of short, temporary seperation.
"Hwaiting Jung Daehyun."
Minhee smiled, her voice cracking weakly.
Daehyun gave her one more nod, and sprinted into the direction he had snuck in from, not daring to look back.
For if he did look back, he wouldn't have wasted time conisdering begging on his knees in front of Mr. and Mrs.Jung to plead to stop their plans of eloping his precious Minhee with another.
He wouldn't have been able to stop himself from screaming out to the world that the girl always was, and forever will be his.
He can't let her go like that.
_______ Jihye's POV________
"Dad.. Dad wake up"
I spoke, easing my coughs from irritating the migrane my Father is guranteed to have after all the bottles of beer last night.
Yes, I have stepped into the Lion's den of depression.
My Father had never left the States even when my Mother took both me and Youngjae to Korea, frustrated of Dad's lazy and incomprehendable ways.
But among my family members, Dad tries his best to act sane around me.
For I am probably the only one who cares about his sorry .
"Aigoo my precious ddal* (daughter)"
He mumbled, hissing as the consciousness welcomed a sensation of painful stabbing in his skull.
The hangover has hit.
"Drink water and get up."
I coldly stated, slammed down the glass cup and made a beeline towards fresh, pure Oxygen away from his room's stench.
I stepped outside into the mid-September air, clicking the lock screen button on my phone to check for any incoming messages from businesses that is not known to the fact that I'm on "vacation".
My breathe hitched as the clear lock screen's wallpaper hit my eyes, and two familiar notifications popped up.
"Two Missed Calls : Himchan"
Shuddering out a breathe, I managed a smile upon my face as I carefully looked at my lock screen-
The face of Himchan.
I haven't had enough time to change it ever since the last time I was in Korea.
Minhee had gotten me into B.A.P, and I had been a closet fangirl of Himchan ever since then.
But seeing him-
Knowing him-
Every memory brings back a pain I can't identify.
A pain that keeps me from letting go completely, even if it's the smallest thing such as purposely making me leave my wallpaper as it is.
*How are you doing Himchan?*
I smiled to the sky, wondering if he could hear me.
Letting out a laugh, I shook my head at my unrealistic fantasies of hopes and pretended to go in.
Recently, these thoughts are the only things keeping me sane.
Just.... Thoughts of him.
______ Youngjae's POV ______
"Umma.. Sh..she came to me... I should have known a long time ago but... I didn't want to."
Youngjae confessed, resting his head against the glass wall that seperated him from his innocent Mother.
"Who came Youngjae?"
His Mother spoke calmly into the wall phone, which let the two communicate from the opposite sides of the wall.
"Jihye noona."
I looked directly into my Mother's unwavering eyes, as if she had predicted this all along.
"H..How is she?"
She gently spoke.
We both know that Jihye noona hasn't visited Mom in a long period of time.
"She.. She's working for the Jungs."
I calmed myself, hoping not to erupt into a complete frenzy of anger as the bitter family's name rolled off my tongue.
"That's my girl."
Umma only smiled, a tear rolling down her frail cheeks.
"I taught her well."
She chuckled.
"She's working for the enemy Umma!"
I stared at her, dumbfounded.
Th..this is ridiculous!
How could Mother just forgive Jihye noona like this?
Her own daughter was working FOR the people who put her in jail.
"Youngjae... There are no enemies. I chose this, and Umma's happy."
Mom faintly spoke.
"How can you be happy? You're trapped behind the bars for a crime you did not commit!"
I blurted hastily into the phone-
Staring at my Mother's lazy smile as she only looked back at me with her placid expression.
"You'll understand in time, Jae, that I am paying for all the blessings I do not deserve."
Umma had closed her eyes, and the policemen had come into the communication room to shoo me away as the time struck the end of our meeting.
*Kkaddok!*
My Kakaotalk alert went off, and I stood in the middle of the parking lot to check it.
Jongup :
Apparently Minhee's getting into an arranged marriage. It's all over the news.
First, I was thrilled-
She won't be bothering Daehyun much longer.
Then-
My heart thudded.
.
Everything-
Everything I was planning-
is going wrong.
If the princess gets married, most likely to another powerful family with a kingdom of lawyers, Mom will totally be buried under, forgotten-
Unable to be dealt with.
Losing my options, I was faced with the one I was avoiding all this time.
Swiping across my contacts, I stopped on a number.
Pressing the "call" button, it rang for endless moments until she picked up.
"...Y..Youngjae-yah?"
My own sister's voice sounded so fragile.
"Noona. Come back home. Things have gotten out of hand, and I need your help."
I paused, taking her silence as the cue to continue.
"Minhee's getting married. Jaebal* (please) noona..."
"I'm on my way."
She spoke, no doubt traced in her voice.
"Youngjae-yah?"
She called my name.
"Hmm?"
I answered, taken a bit by surprise as she used the tone we did when we were little.
"Thanks for calling me."
I could hear the smile in her voice.
"Eung* (yea). Ppalliwah* (come quick/ hurry home)"
I answered, and the line went dead.
Why was I scared to call her?
Why was I reluctant to call her my own Noona?
Nothing had changed-
Just my own ed up mind started turning cold to everything.
Then I realized that's exactly why I am who I am today.
A singer.
Because back then, when my family was splitting into pieces of dust, singing made me forget about the pain.
Helped me fantasize that if I kept singing, Mom and Dad will be the same again.
Jihye noona wouldn't cry again.
"움직일 수 없어, 어둠속에서, 느낄 수가 없어, 눈물이 흘러, 너란 기억속에 갖혀있어 - No, 제발 나의 손을 잡아줘, 깨어날 수 있게, please don't go
( I can't move anymore - in the darkness. I can't feel anymore - tears are falling down.
I'm trapped in a memory called you
No- Please hold my hand right now
So I can wake up, Please don't go)
[ Trans. of 'Coma' _ B.A.P ]
{ same trans. I used for Managing You & Me chapter. 21... :) }
I sung, the bitter lyrics coursing through my pained heart.
Even sad songs made me happier than I was.
Even miserable songs seemed happier to me back then.
So far, it was working great.
I'm a rising star singer, and I've got a great future ahead-
But why... Why does it have to be now that I finally admit that all the singing was just for my passion, just a placebo for me to decieve myself outside of reality.
Why now out of all the times?
______ Your POV_______
Mrs.Jung watched the scene from her window.
Hmph.
That boy has grown up as a fine singer-
But he didn't desert his rebellious side.
*Have your moments.
You will never be able to lay another hand on Minhee ever again, and she won't let you
This is the only responsibility I will take for your actions, and you better treasure this moment*
The elegant lady thought, shattering all delicate reputation she had for herself.
She had been growing herself on top of a secret, and a part of it is thanks to Daehyun's obidient contribution she had set up between her son and him.
"Our family's growing on top of each other, isn't it?"
Mrs.Jung spoke into the cold air, her usual guest.
Sipping on her day drink, she bent down the metal clasps to seal her sympathy and useless emotion away forever.
Standing up with the small document envelope in her grasp, she sighed and looked back towards the window facing Minhee, who is now standing alone, staring into the direction the Busan country boy has ran into.
"It's about time to snip out the weeds in this overgrown garden."
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