Thirty-Nine
His ReplyYoon Jae stops the car in front of the Sung family's house. I look at the view outside, trying to distract myself from the possible outcome of this talk. Truth is, I’m afraid. Well, I’ve always been afraid but not like this fear that I have now. This one makes me weaker and weaker.
Yoon Jae holds my hand.
“Are you ready?”
I give him a halfhearted nod, telling him that whatever happens, I'll always be by his side.
We go out of the car and walk towards the house. My heart beats faster with every step, taking with it my highest hopes of happiness. His hand is tightly clasped in mine. He preses the doorbell twice and Mrs. Sung opens the door for us.
“Yoon Jae-ah, Kang Joon Hee.” she says with a smile. She looks at our intertwined fingers.
“Come in.” she adds.
We walk to the living room and sit on the couch.
“What brings you here?” Mrs. Sung asks.
“I break free from his hand and compose myself. Yoon Jae looks at me for a while then answers Mrs. Sung.
“We came here to explain everything. Where's aboji?”
she hesitates and looks at the the floor. I freeze when I see Mr. Sung come out of the bathroom, wiping his dripping wet hair.
“What are you doing here?!” he yells.
Yoon Jae grabs my hand immediately, locking his fingers with mine. I swallow the lump in my throat. Mrs. Sung rushes towards us. Mrs. Sung stands up to calm her husband down.
“Can you please listen to what they have to say? Can you?!”
Mr. Sung sits on the couch and stares at us with utter disgust. I felt like my heart is being ripped into a million shreds.
“I'll give you a minute.” he says.
“Aboji...” I start.
“Appa, I know for you this is wrong.”
I give Yoon Jae a defeated stare. He really likes to do all the talking.
“But I want to tell you that I love Joon Hee right from the start. It's always been him, even if I married your daughter. Before she died, she wanted me to go back to him. She wants me to be happy...”
Then Yoon Jae's eyes land on me.
“With the person I really love.”
I felt my knees melt at that. I slowly smile at him and clasp his hand tighter.
I hear Mr. Sung breathe out a heavy sigh. I don't know if he's given up or just tired. He stands up and leave us all hanging. I felt my heart drop at that.
Mrs. Sung smiles at us.
“Boys, I'm happy for you. Just be there for each other, okay?”
We stand and hug Mrs. Sung tightly. At least with her, we got our approval.
She gave us kimchi and jjajangmyeon before we go. Yoon Jae holds my hand as we walk to his car.
“Someday, aboji will accept us.” he says.
“I know, and I hope so.”
He smiles. “Don't worry, I'm here by your side.”
I stop walking and hug him.
“Thank you.” I whisper.
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