Chapter IV
Listen to you
The guys prepared a surprise birthday party for Sicheng. They are grownups now so they passed the stage where they reunited in an apartment to play video games and drink while talking nonsense and now, they dressed elegantly for the occasion.
Sicheng appeared with his fiancé an hour after the people arrived. She send them a message to let them know they were on their way.
Sicheng cried, like a little baby, he has never felt important in the group as he barely spoke sometimes but it looks like he is. They hugged as they laugh and . They have live so many things together and they are adding more and more to their book, is satisfying to find people that are destined to be there for you.
As the night passed, the guys kept chatting with each other as no one was interested in any girl on the party, not even Mark, which it’s surprising.
But Taeyong lend his eyes on one girl that arrived later on. She was Sicheng co-worker. He walked to her and started to chat comfortable as the guys just watched him from far away; talking about how good Taeyong is with girls.
“Mark what happened to you?” Yuta teased.
“Ah, let’s give him a chance”
After a while Jaehyun sited on a table only watching the guys dancing. He smiles although he was feeling gloomy and sad.
It has been a month since that day.
A day he will not forget. It will ever be erased on his memories.
It was weird for him to still thinking on that when he is someone with a very short memory.
He hasn’t seen or talk with Chaeyoung on the same among of time. She just disappeared.
He checked his pocket and took out a rectangular white paper that says “Call me if you give up” He breathes deeply and closed his hands like a fist, crushing the little paper in anger. He should have known better. He should’ve listened to Chae. He should’ve waited a little bit longer. He should’ve trust her. All the things he should’ve done cost him his happiness.
The party ended, they had an amazing time but they wanted to keep partying so they went to nearby club. Sicheng’s girlfriend let him go while she was going with her friends to her house.
They arrived to the club and rented a VIP section and order snacks and drinks. Also the guys invited some girls to come over.
Jaehyun didn’t felt very comfortable with that so he walked out to sit in the bar. He ordered another drink and some salty snacks and sited, he was listening the music and moving his head side to side with it.
“Why so serious?” A girl’s voice sounded behind him. And the person sited next to him.
“I’m not serious” He answered.
“You are… I can see it in your face” She softly hitted his shoulder.
He drank from his glass. “If you said so”
“And moody. Serious and moody not a very good combination for a hot guy”
“You are clearly drunk”
“A little but I can hear your problems. A person with that attitude has to have a lot of problems, even though it doesn’t really look like you have problems” She said referring to the expensive clothes he is wearing.
“I don’t want to talk”
“Ah, see? A person with problems doesn’t want to talk”
He took a deep breathe.
“Am I bothering you?” She laughs. “Endure it. So tell me, a girlfriend problem?”
His weak point.
He took the last sip of his drink, took a deep breathe to control screaming his at this girl and turned around.
“As matter of fact, yes!” He said.
“Ok… tell me, tell me” She faced him. “As you can see, I’m a girl and I can help you”
“I have a girlfriend and her father hided her somewhere that I don’t know and the only way to make her mine is go and find her… I don’t know what to do, I don’t know if I should go or not but since that day I can’t sleep, I can’t concentrate… I want to do it and at the same time I don’t know where to start… Happy?” He told the bartender to hand him another drink.
Did he heard himself?
She stayed in silence for a while and started to laugh. “Just look for another girl!”
“I don’t want another girl”
“What about if she wasn’t the love of your life and her father just made you a favor?”
“What?”
“You know, fate is a thing, also destiny. You were destined to meet me today”
“And I was destined to lose my girlfriend?”
“Exactly. Want to confirm it?”
“I don’t think so”
“Come on! You can try. My name is Seulgi” She stretched her hands at him.
“Jaehyun…” He took it.
“Ah… you said your name… You’re will try with me”
“No,” He shook his head. “I think saying what I just said brought a little peace to my mind and I’m thankful for that”
“See? My presence is not so bad” Seulgi smiled.
Jaehyun smiled at her back. “Yeah, thanks”
“So, will you give me a chance?”
He studied her features, her body, her face and she was actually a very pretty girl.
But…
No…
He wasn’t interested.
“No” He said. “Sorry… you’re really pretty though”
She let her shoulders drop. “Ah, at least I try it. You really love her, huh?”
Jaehyun looked at her. “Yes…”
She palmed his shoulders. “Good luck! Find her and kick her dad’s ” and left him alone.
Ah, he just can’t, he can’t not even if he wants to he just can’t. He has lost a lot of chances like that in the past because he can’t put his hands in another girl that is not Chaeyoung. He should admit how much he loves her and go to find her but damn, he still thinks nothing makes sense and doesn’t have any idea of where he should start.
Two days later, Taeyong called him to lunch in a café, just to chat and have a nice reunion between best friends. He went to look for him in his office and together walked to the place. They sited and chat while waiting for their orders.
Taeyong took his phone out and showed a picture to Jaehyun.
It was the girl from Sicheng’s party. He had a date with her the day before.
Taeyong got close to him. “What do you think?”
“You look pretty together”
“I know, right?” Taeyong looked at the picture. “I haven’t felt something like this since Jennie”
Jaehyun smile awkwardly. “You never told her about your feelings?”
“Na” He answers. “Even if I confessed she wouldn’t accepted”
He nodded in silence.
“I called her yesterday, just to talk to her and see how she was but she didn’t answer me”
Still, a silently Jaehyun.
“A friend told me she is dating another dude” Taeyong made a fist. “Ah… I couldn’t stand it. Seeing her with another dude… ah… is not my taste”
Seeing her with another dude…
You really love her, huh?
He looked at Taeyong but he couldn’t hear what he was saying. It looked so unimportant at all for him. The only important thing he heard was that – seeing her with another dude – he feels spiritually and physically related to what Taeyong just said.
He used his right hand to look for something in his pocket.
It stills there.
Jaehyun was checking the final touches for his upcoming project and report presentation. He soon will go inside the chairman’s office, just two weeks more and he hopes his project will be approved. He feels ready to go in right now but he can pressure things and rushed them too much. Time to the time. And that make him wondering… Chaeyoung’s dad would change his mind with time?
He for sure will keep seeing Chae even if he doesn’t have his permission but why it turned out that way? What a horrible first meeting they had… but let’s be honest, it wasn’t his fault , was the old man’s fault: his irrationality, his sudden rage because his daughter as a boyfriend and his impulsive desire of offered him money so he could let her go. Why? That’s the only question he asked himself. Why? Why being so rude? Ah! He’s kind of regretting what he did.
From the corner of his eyes he saw his secretary entering his office. And his thoughts trailed out.
“Jae?” His secretary come in. “There’s someone looking for you”
“Who is it?” He frowned.
“Chaeyoung’s father”
Say what now?
He stood up from his leather chair and told his secretary to let him in. He checked if his office was organize enough, maybe to show her father he is clean and got everything under control? He doesn’t really know why he checked the office.
Mr. Park went in, “Nice office”
Yes! The organization worked.
“Thanks, Sir” He responded.
“Can I sit?”
“Sure” Jaehyun stretched his hands to the chair right in front of his desk and proceeded to sit as well. “Do you want something to drink?”
“No thanks. I’m fine. I’m just going to be here for some minutes”
He is starting to get nervous and his looks started to intimidate him.
“I want to talk to you about my daughter”
Will he give him a chance?
“What about her, Sir?”
“I don’t trust you”
Silence.
“So, you need to show me that you care about her”
Jaehyun felt the need to say something. Why is he always in such a defense mode when he's in front of Mr. Park? “I think I have showed her that many times, Sir”
“Yeah, well… that’s not enough”
He frowned, clearly angry. Control yourself Jung Yoonoh.
“I want to challenge you”
Challenge him?
“Find my daughter and you can have her”
Find?”
“I hid my daughter in a place where only if you paid a lot attention to her, you’ll know. I’m serious. I’m not playing games”
“Why is that even necessary?”
“Because I don’t trust you. And as I said before my daughter make tragic boyfriend choices. So I test you, to show her the real you” He made a pause as he stood up from the chair. “If you find her I will not interject in any situation on your relationship… if you don’t and give up, I’ll find her a worthy husband in the future. Someone who is not you” He walked to the exit not before leaving a rectangular white card in Jaehyun’s desk. “There’s my number and my United States direction. Call me if you give up so I can pick up my daughter” And he disappeared after crossing the door.
Uh… what? Is this serious? Why does it feel it is? He stayed in silence, his jaw tighten, repeating in his mind each word Mr. Park said and his expression that didn’t soften. His heart is beating so fast. He can’t think straight, he was so confused, his mind was blank. He is not a tragic choice, he is actually one of the best, how can he prejudge him like that? He didn’t even gave him a chance to share moments with him, he doesn’t even know him or even know all the things he has done for Chaeyoung over these months. He took the little paper and analyzed it. It was in deed a United States direction and number, he live in America for four years, he can still recognize. He putted the piece on his pocket and let himself fall on his chair, still in shock.
He did remember the pants he was wearing today was the same he was wearing that day. And also notice that the paper still intact no matter how he washed it to erase it from his life.
It was a sudden situation. One that he never expected to be involved. Since that day he never let go of that thought, he never forgot that day but he also never could make his own mind.
Find her? Where? How can he look for her without having a single clue or a hint. Besides this was too extreme and too much. He’s got a job, he got a life… how can he lose all of that for a sudden outburst from her father? He spend all these days just looking at the damn rectangular little piece of … just thinking and debating with his inner self. Should he? Should he not? But every time he was about to make a decision he chicken out and let it go so it can be a next day problem.
He knows that maybe he will sacrifice so many things but he wants her, he is in love with her, he loves her, he misses her and being without her makes him feel lonely. He can’t see himself with another girl and now… that Taeyong has brought the thing up and that girl made him listen to himself about what is happening…
HE CAN’T AND WILL NOT STAND CHAEYONG BEING WITH SOMEONE ELSE BECAUSE HE LOVES HER.
Taeyong kept talking without noticed he was spacing out.
“Taeyong?” Jaehyun mumble.
“So… what?” Taeyong asked.
“Give me your phone”
Taeyong looked on his pocket and took out his phone.
Jaehyun dialed a number. He waited for some seconds until, “I will do it”
His friend frowned but it didn’t took so long for him to realize what Jaehyun was talking about.
Oh … this got so real.
He will do his best to go and find her.
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