¨¨CHAPTER TWO;

¨REMINISCING¨

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I arrived at my house with my shirt already wet from the tears I had. I ran into my room, locked the door, and went into my closet and continued to cry. This was also another place that you would normally find me in, but only when I was heartbroken or wanted to get away from the world.

I just sat there, accompanied by a painful dark silence. I wished I never went; I wished I never even thought about going, I wished that they weren’t together.

Just then, I heard the main door of the house open. I heard footsteps, it was my mom’s, but then, I heard other footsteps. Wait… Did she-

 “Yeon Sung, I have a surprise for you!” my mother shouted excitedly.

Oh no… Please don’t tell me that-

 “Yeon Sung, come here! I want to show you something… or someone!”

I knew it…

“Coming umma!” I responded while still in the closet.

I fixed up my messy hair, put on my reading glasses on my face to cover up the redness and puffiness around my eyes, and changed my shirt so they won’t be able to see the water stains on my other shirt. I got out of my room, slowly going down the stairs and not making a sound so I could hear their voices clearly. Unfortunately, I didn’t hear anyone and the stairs creaked as I went down.

“Han Yeon Sung! There you are! What took you so long?”

“Uhm… I-”

“Nevermind that, now would you mind going into the kitchen and getting me a glass of water?” she said with a smirk on her face. I already knew what she had in mind. She wanted me to see my father and talk about them getting back together and blah blah blah... live together as a happy family... blah blah blah… It was something you would see in dramas, not in real life.

Obeying her command, I went and there I saw my father. He had a smile on his face and waited for my reaction. Unfortunately for him, I didn’t have one. I stayed still looking as emotionless as ever.

“Why is dad here?” I asked my mother even though I already knew why.

“Well….” She got closer to him and clung onto his arm, “Your father and I have decided to get back together.”

...I knew it “Oh really?”

“Yup, now I know I did wrong in the past and I know you won’t forgive me for it but please just give us a chance this time. I know how angry you must be right now and I get that but this time will be different” my father assured me.

I looked at both of them for a few seconds thinking about what to say next. Although it was not intended, I eventually started screaming and crying. “You say that this time will be different? HOW!? TELL ME!”

With wide eyes at my sudden outburst, my father tried comforting me. “Yeonnie… Listen-”

“LISTEN?! YOU WANT ME TO LISTEN? THE ONES WHO NEED TO LISTEN ARE BOTH OF YOU. AND YOU DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO CALL ME YEONNIE ANYMORE. You don’t know what it’s like to be made fun of for having a broken family. You don’t know what it’s like to want to break down crying every time someone asks you about your parents. You don’t know what it’s like to long for a loving and trustworthy father. You don’t know how disappointed I am to say that I am the daughter of a cheating father. You don’t know what it’s like to be me. YOU DON’T. So what makes you think that you can just come back and try to persuade me into accepting this re-marriage? How can I trust everything you say when all you did was ruin our family? Leaving umma in the past was probably the most foolish things you’ve ever done. Because of that, I had to live through five years of longing and fear of opening up to anyone. After what happened before, how will we know that you won't do it again?!”

They were speechless.

“I don’t need you ruin anything else in my life…” I said before turning and running towards the door with a heavy heart. I need to get away from this place. Someone take me away because I can’t take this pain.

With that, I left the kitchen accidentally tipping over a lit candle. A small abrupt flame formed and turned into a bigger one. I was already close to the door when the fire was already engulfing the room. I tried going back to my parents but the flame had already separated me from them. The only thing I was able to do at that moment was to listen to their cries of help and watch as their bodies disappeared into the sea of red. I heard my mom cry out, “Han Yeon Sung! Go! Leave us! AHH!! We’re s-sorry for every-t-thing.. Now go! G-go and… f-forget about us. AGH! We l-l-ove y-” And with that, I never heard her voice again.

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I tore up from the memory and got up from my seat aware that I was still at the cafe. I got my coat and scarf and went home. “Annyeonghaseyo eomeoni.” I greeted my foster-mother.

“Oh, annyeong Yeonnie” she said with a smile. “How was your day? You know that you have school tomorrow right?”

“It was fine; I just went to the park then the cafe. Yes, I know that I have school tomorrow. Speaking of school, have you seen my uniform?”

“Ah, I put it in your closet. Go to sleep early so you won’t wake up with such big eye bags” she joked and poked my eyes bags.

“Neh” I giggled and gave her a hug. She was the closest mother figure I had ever since that accident. I love her so much, I could tell her all my problems and she would help me get through them.

I walked up to my room. The other kids in the house shared rooms but as the oldest “child”, I got to have my own room. It was spacious and cozy. Posters and pictures hung up on the walls, clothes covered the floor, and books all around the bed and desk.

I washed up and changed into my comfortable pj’s. I jumped onto my bed and thought, School tomorrow. I hope this year will be better. I hope I don’t bump into him. I hope so. Fighting Han Yeon Sung. Fighting. In a matter of minutes, I fell asleep soundly and went off into dream land.

It seemed that today was just a day full of memories.

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