Fixing your gaze on the passing scenery outside the car, your mother stole glances at you here and then. *Should I talk to her about it? If it's something that's stopping her from being happy, then it's something worth discussing about.* Your mother pursed her lip in determination and waited for the next red light to get the chance to face you and talk.

When the red light came and the car took to a halt, your mother turned to you and placed her hand on yours. "My baby, is there something wrong?"

Your absent-mindedly shook your head. A soft sigh was heard from your mother. *Seems like I'm going to have to be straightforward with this then.*

"The reason why you've been down and rushed out of the buffet just then… Was it because of that boy?" By the looks of how your body stiffened, your mother was sure it was because of him.  "~~~~, are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

You sniffed your nose. The memories came rushing back again, an emotional tsunami washing over you. The red-light turned green and your mother had to fix her eyes on the road again. "Honey, I'm a woman. I can multi-task. So tell me what's been going on with you and that boy that's been upsetting you. Don't worry, I won't get into a car crash."

You tried to clear your throat from getting all choked up but it didn't work. "Umma… He was… He was my first… boyfriend…"

Your mother let out a gasp but closed as soon as it escaped. "And then?"

The sniffing of your nose already foretold that the story didn't end happily. "I've had a crush on him for so long. And then one day… I finally confessed to him. Umma, I finally confessed to a boy that I was secretly liking for two years. And just like that, he accepted me."

If you could see your mother's eyes, they were softened and full of pity. *Something is going to go wrong…*

And just like she predicted, something did go wrong. "I was so happy being his girlfriend. Till one day… I found out that him accepting me as his girlfriend was all a joke. It was a dare from his friends, and as soon as two months passed, he would dump me. Umma, I'm a joke. He didn't take me seriously… I was only a subject of a game…"

The small space of the car was soon filled with the sounds of your weeping. Your mother's heart ached at the sight of you crying but something bugged her at the back of her mind. *The way the boy looked at ~~~~… He didn't seem like he was playing around with her… Hmm…*

Just when your mother was about to voice her opinions, her phone rang with a message. "Honey, can you pass me my phone so I can read the text? Thanks."

Digging through your mother's bag, your barely just made out the shape of the phone through your tear-blurred eyes. "Thanks dear."

Resting the phone on top of the steering wheel, the car stopped at a red light, and your mother took the opportunity to read the text. As soon as she read it, her face lit up. *This is definitely going to cheer ~~~~ up. There's nothing better than this.*

"Come on, ~~~~-ah. We're going to get you home and get you cleaned up. We can't have your eyes all puffy from all the crying, right?" Your mother brightly smiled at you and tilted her head. Her smile suggested that she was hiding something but you just brushed it off. You were too emotionally tired to deal with anything right now.

So you just nodded and your mother quickly shifted gears and drove towards home.

By the time you got home, the sun was already half hidden over the horizon, shooting rays of orange, yellow and pink across the cloudless skies.

*Hm? The lights aren't on. But there're always someone in the house…* Nonetheless, you wearily waited for your mother to open the door.

"Go on, princess. You first," your mother held the door open and waited for you to step in first. *Why is umma so strange today…*

The moment you stepped into the pitch-black house, the lights immediately and streamers went shooting across the room.

"Huh!?" You jumped at the loud noise and cheering made by the maids and butlers. "What's going on?"

When the last streamer floated down to touch the marble floor, a figure walked down the polished staircase.

Squinting your eyes, you tried to make out who it was. But your yet-to-dry tears wouldn't allow you to. The figure got closer and closer, and you slowly started to recognise the person's features.

"It can't be…" You turned to your mother for confirmation. "It is," she replied, with a comforting smile.

You turned towards the figure again and beamed brightly. "Soojung-ah!"

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I'M SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN TWO WEEKS!!! *sniffs*

Please forgive me >< I'm not gonna give any excuses so you can all just… Yeah… I don't know… Mob me at my apartment or something.

But really. I'm really really really sorry >< Please forgive me *bows*

& I'd also like to say a special thank you to jazzyterr46 for making me the beautiful poster voluntarily ^^ Thank you so much! I love it <3