Chapter 14 - Home.

“Thank you, Mr. Kwon.”

Namjoon stopped by the campus earlier this morning to use the studio to finish off his self-composed song that he has been working on for quite some time now. Even though it is currently the summer break, students are still welcomed to use the facilities whenever they need to. He accidentally bumped into Mr. Kwon, their twenty-six year old Creative Writing And Composition lecturer, while on his way to the studio and the two ended up having a one-on-one lesson for hours.

Beside being a lecturer, Mr. Kwon is actually an award-winning musician, having written and produced songs for a number of famous celebrities including Se7en, Epik High and Psy. Therefore, Namjoon could not feel more honoured to have him to personally identify both the good and bad points of his song. He has learnt a lot in his classes but he has definitely learnt a thousand times more today, while spending almost five hours in the studio with the man.

“No problem. Anything for my favourite student,” Mr. Kwon chuckles as they walk along the empty hallway.

“Your favourite student? I’m pretty sure that’s Chaerin noona, not me.”

“Hmm… you’re probably right.”

Both men then laugh at Mr. Kwon’s shameless confession. He is a young lecturer after all. It isn’t that he has a crush on his student or anything, he just simply admires her talent. And that is all. To him, at least. Namjoon likes to think otherwise and he always has to refrain himself from teasing the older male. After all, he is still their lecturer and there is a line that he should never cross.

After talking for another few minutes, Namjoon once again thanks Mr. Kwon for helping him before bidding the man goodbye. He then continues to walk, heading towards the parking lot but his feet immediately stop when he hears a faint sound of music coming from the dance studio nearby. Instinctively, he saunters carefully towards the door and his heart skips a beat when he spots a familiar figure dancing her heart out. But he cannot help notice something different in her eyes, they seem really sad and broken.

Minzy is too engrossed in her dance to even notice the presence of someone behind her, watching her intently as she channels all her feelings and emotions into the dance. Therefore, when she finally spots a figure from the reflection on the mirror, she shrieks like she has just seen a ghost or something. She has also lost her balance in the process and landed on her , hard, emitting another loud and painful yelp.

Panicked, Namjoon immediately rushes over and helps her get up. “Oh my god, I am so, so sorry! I really didn’t mean to scare you like that!”

“It’s okay, I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

“Positive!”

“You know you can always talk to me right?”

That's it. That is when she knows that Namjoon was not only concerned about her hard fall. It is not that surprising, though. That guy can read her every move and expression like an open book, which she finds both amusing and creepy at the same time. Besides, he could have probably sensed something was wrong throughout the time he was watching her.

Namjoon notices how his friend suddenly tensed up beside him and sighs. The last thing he wants is to make her feel uncomfortable. So he decides to just let it go. He does not want to push her. If she wanted to talk, she would. Whenever she is ready. The only thing that he wants Minzy to know is that he will always be here for her if she ever needed a friend to talk to, that’s all. And Minzy could not be more grateful for his understanding. He really is a great friend, indeed.

“Thank you, Namjoon. I really appreciate that.”

“Hey, that’s what friends are for right?” Namjoon replies with a wide smile, showing off his signature dimples, “And uhh, are you done? ‘Cos if you are then I can give you a ride home.”

“Yeah, but you really don’t have to do that.”

“No, I insist.”

“Well if that’s the case, just take me to the nearest bus stop.”

“Fine, fine. You don’t want my help, that’s okay. I understand,” Namjoon suddenly fakes a sulk earning him a hard slap on the shoulder, “Geez, woman. I was just kidding! Come on, I’ll take you to the nearest bus stop.”

***

‘Don’t keep it to yourself for so long, it will eat you up inside.’

Namjoon’s final advice rings in her head over and over again. It was already mid-afternoon when he dropped her off the nearest bus stand. They had taken a longer time than expected as Namjoon forced Minzy to accompany him for some ice cream. The latter could not refuse, especially not when he bombarded her with his retarded aegyo. That guy just wouldn’t stop and she could not do anything else to stop him other than to say yes, very much to his delight.

And now, Minzy finds herself frozen on the back seat of a bus, going around in circles with nowhere in particular to go. She has taken the right bus, alright. It’s just that she does not want to go home just yet. Her mind is still in a tangled mess and being stuck at home will probably not help at all. So she decides to just stay still and clear her mind, and maybe use the time to think through things carefully as she observes the busy streets of Seoul.

Minzy is taken away from her trance when her phone suddenly vibrates. She fishes the device out from her pocket and is shocked to see 29 missed calls and 13 unread messages. She was so busy in her thoughts to even realise that her phone vibrated all this while. Depressed, much? Minzy then goes to check the missed calls and more than half of them are from Eunmi. Not surprising at all. She is probably just worried. Then she checks the text messages and again, most of them are from Eunmi. Afraid that the girl would go loco over her sudden disappearance, she instantly types in a reply, telling her that she is doing fine.

Minzy continues to check the remaining messages and a smile immediately forms on her lips when she comes across a familiar name – Gukkie. ‘Stay strong, Mulan.’ is what he said. His text is short yet it still warms her heart, making it do some flips for a moment. He did not even ask her if she were alright because he probably knows and is confident that Minzy is more than capable of dealing with her problems sensibly. If anything, she feels rather grateful and it also actually helps lift her confidence level up another notch.

However, her mood goes back down again when she spots another familiar name on the list. With a heavy heart, she clicks on it and instantly regrets her decision. It’s her brother, updating her about their father’s condition. The grip on her phone tightens and Minzy groans inwardly as she squeezes her eyes shut. The images from earlier start running through her head once again, repeating themselves like a broken record.  

Six hours ago…

Minzy paced back and forth as she nervously looked at the big wooden door in front of her. She has not set foot in this house ever since that day – that painful day that she wished she would not have to go through nor remember ever again. But here she was, standing on the front porch where she used to play, contemplating going inside or running away before everything was too late.

This house used to be her sanctuary. It was where she grew up, surrounded by the people she loved and cared about. She might not have a very close relationship with her parents but she still shared a few good memories with them. Her brother and her late grandmother were the ones whom she spent most of her time with. They were the ones who taught her how to walk and talk. They were the ones who had been with her through every step of the way.

But unfortunately, their grandmother left the world due to old age when she was only eight years old. Both Minzy and Daesung were devastated with the death of their beloved grandma. That woman was more like a mother to them than their real mother ever was. She took care of them, she showered them with love and affection. And things got even worse when their dad suddenly decided to ship Daesung off to Japan to further his studies right after their mother died in a car accident around seven years ago.

Minzy was only thirteen at that time and she had not felt so lonely in her life before. The people she loved, that she cared with all her heart, left her all alone just like that. They did not even give her any warning, they just disappeared. As a young kid, she could not understand half of what was going on with her life. She was confused, very confused. And to top that off, she did not have anyone to turn to. Why? Because they all left her!

She spent most of her teenage years as an angry and depressed kid. She would often lock herself in her bedroom, doing nothing. Sometimes, she would rebel against her father’s words just to piss the old man off. In her book, that man was all to blame for everything that had happened. In her book, that man was evil. And her speculation was proven right when he had humiliated and disowned her right in front of a whole lot of other people during his 60^th birthday bash.

Two years have passed but the pain persists. No matter how hard she tries to forget it, the bitter memory is still very vivid in her mind. Every night, before she goes to sleep, fragments of that day would come back and haunt her. However, as enraged and upset as she is, she could not bring herself to hate her father. At least, not as much as she used to. And that is actually quite surprising, even to her, herself.

Maybe because she has grown more mature now that she is an adult. Maybe because she has learnt how to accept certain things just the way they are without any question. Maybe because she has learnt how to let go and move on. Or maybe deep down, she still has a little space in her heart for her father. Blood is thicker than water, they say. Sometimes, no matter how unreasonable or stupid a person is, at the end of the day, he/she is still family and they will always have a soft spot in our hearts no matter what.

And that was, most probably, the main reason why Minzy decided to knock on that door.

Minzy lets out a heavy sigh as she puts her phone back in her pocket. A part of her is very grateful that her brother has taken the chance to inform her about their father’s condition, even though he knew that the father and daughter are currently not in good terms. The old man despises her so much. So, so much that he would not even let anyone mention her name in front of his face. And knowing him, she knows that Daesung could have been in such a big trouble for doing so.

Time passes by so quickly and before she knows it, the sun is already gradually setting. Damn, she has been on the bus for three freaking hours! Minzy can only chuckle to herself at the realisation. After a while, the bus finally reaches her stop and she gets off. To her bad luck, however, the rain suddenly pours down heavily as soon as her feet touch the cemented ground. Minzy mutters a few cusses as she pulls out an umbrella from her bag. Well, at least she has gone out well-prepared.

Fortunately for her, her apartment is only a five-minute walk from the bus stop. Oddly enough though, Minzy seems not to be that bothered by the heavy rain at all. Instead, she seems to take her time, relaxing her mind at the sound that the raindrops make on her umbrella. Somehow, she finds it rather calming and so, she ambles her way along the broad pathway towards the apartment building.

But what’s waiting for her at the main entrance of the building is greatly unexpected. There he is, sitting on the stairs almost lifelessly, his whole body soaked from the rain that is pouring heavily around him. Minzy gasps for a mere second before rushing towards the man and immediately covers him with the umbrella she is holding.

“Gukkie, what are you doing out here under the rain?”

TO BE CONTINUED.

Author's Note: I'm sorry it took me so long to update this chapter. I had a major writer's block for the past weeks. I don't know what has gotten into me exactly but I feel rather demotivated lately. I have always wanted to be a writer, although i know I am nowhere near that just yet. I am stil trying my best to improve my skills. And growing up with parents who are writers themselves kind of put a lot of pressure in me as well.  Not trying to brag or anything but my father is a very talented writer. His works have been published and featured in several magazines and whatnot. And he has even written a hit rock song for one of the local rock legends (Debunga Wangi by Lefthanded, I'm sure some of my Malaysian readers would know the song). My father is my number one role-model but unfortunately, I think I didn't inherit his talents. I am good with musical instruments (I play a total of 8 instruments, including traditional ones) but I am just not that good of a writer. My father once said that I should stay away from this field and adviced me to just stick with my instruments. HAHA! But the thing is, I love writing and I want to reach out to people and probably help make a change through my works. You get what I mean? Unfortunately for me, narrative writing is not really my specialty. You can ask me do a ten-thousand long research report and ace it but whenever it comes to narrative, I always find myself stuck. Haha! Damn, I didn't know it could be this difficult. Or maybe I am just thinking too much about everything. Haha. /shrugs. Anyways, enough of my ranting. You're probably not interested to know anyway. XD Back to this chapter, if you're wondering what exactly hapened during Minzy's visit to her "house", don't worry because it will be revealed in the next chapter. Though, I'm not sure when that will be published. I'll try to update as soon as possible. Hehe. And say AY if you know who Mr. Kwon is! ;) Lat but not least, thank you for your endless support, guys. I love you!! xx

Story by: afagyel | Poster and background by: Tomoe Graphic Shop