twentytwo

"Where were you?!"

Yeoreum had her shoulders jerked at Mrs.Kim sudden loud tone. 

And Jongin instantly hold Yeoreum by the hand tighter - feeling her tensing up. 

"You weren't in the room - and - and - Jongin - "

"I'm sorry. We went to the rooftop." Yeoreum confessed and the mother breathed out heavily. 

Calming herself down, she pointed to Jongin's room. "Take Jongin to his room."

Jongin frowned at that. "No. Why should I go?"

"Let me and Yeoreum have a talk, Jongin."

"Are you gonna scold her or something?"

Yeoreum quickly tugged Jongin's arm to silence him up, but Jongin seemed rigid from his mother's order. 

"I'm not going."

"I'm the one who asked her to go. You should scold me, don't scold her."

Mrs.Kim had parted at the sudden confessions. 

Jongin asked her to go? 

Outside? 

Out from his zone?

"You..." her worried thumping heart went slowed a bit as she stared intently at the two. 

Her eyes noticed their linked hands and she glanced at Yeoreum. 

And the girl looked troubled for a moment before she heaved a soft, 

"We're very sorry."

"I should tell you beforehand, but - "

"Is it true? Jongin asked you to go out?" the mother asked, cutting Yeoreum's words immediately. 

And the girl seemed contemplated at first and Jongin quickly backed her up. 

"Yes, I did." he said.

Eyes looking blindly at nothing as he tried to make sure her mother wasn't so angry with Yeoreum for the things that she didn't do. 

"How?" 

He could hear his mother breathed out shakily - probably still shocked by the fact that he was going out. 

"You couldn't even go out from your room."

"Auntie..." Yeoreum gently said and Jongin felt his arm being pulled gently. 

"Let's calm down first. Let's talk while sitting down."

And Jongin finally noticed that he and Yeoreum were still standing near the entrance. He walked alongside with the girl, letting him guided him even though he could memorized the steps on his own. 

Then, when he was seated down - his mother went asking again.

"Now, answer me."

Jongin didn't know whether the question was meant for him or for Yeoreum - he couldn't detect where the voice was directed to. 

But, he went answering anyways -

"I can go outside." 

His heart thumping as he revealed that. 

Was he excited at blurting out the facts to his mother? 

Maybe. 

Maybe his mother would be happy for his little achievement. 

"I can go outside if Yeoreum is with me." he tightened his hold on Yeoreum's hand that he hadn't let it go just yet. 

"This is not the first time."

"We once go grocery shopping together."

Mrs.Kim stared blankly at her son. 

She didn't know whether to be proud for the fact that he could go out. 

Or be mad at the fact that the two youngsters didn't bother to say anything to her. 

Yeoreum, noticing the woman's displeasure, quickly muttered another soft apologies. 

"We - we really didn't mean - "

"Why didn't you tell me?" Mrs.Kim looked at her before glancing at her son. 

Jongin gave a soft sigh in return. 

And Yeoreum hated the tense air that was lingering around. 

It felt so heavy. 

When Jongin wanted to retort, she gripped his hand in return - tipping him that she would do the answering for them at that time. 

"I'm sorry. We should tell you, but we didn't."

"It's a wrong move and we're very sorry."

Mrs.Kim sighed at that - trying to calm herself down. 

Before she pressed her lips into a thin line and muttered, 

"Do you have anything else that you two have been hiding from me?"

Yeoreum swallowed hard. 

"I never gave Jongin the diet plan that you always prepared."

Jongin tensed at that. "Yeoreum..." he gently whispered under his breath. 

"The groceries that I bought before were for Jongin, not for me."

"And I also gave him coffee."

Yeoreum could hear Jongin cursed meekly under his breath and she could feel his mother went staring at her with a hard look.

Mrs.Kim swallowed hard. "Okay..."

She said it softly. 

"Jongin, go to your room."

Jongin gritted his teeth at that. "And what? You gonna scold her?"

"You gonna take her away from me, again?"

"I already told you - "

"No, go to your room." the mother said again - this time, she stressed more on her words. 

"We'll discuss this tomorrow."

But Yeoreum could see the woman's gaze on her and she understood - she understood it too well. 

"Let's go, Jongin." she tugged the guy's arm away. 

"But - "

"It's okay, we gonna discuss this tomorrow." she convinced him and with a sigh, he reluctantly followed her. 

Until they were in his room that he said again. "Stay with me."

Yeoreum softened. 

"Stay with me tonight."

"Okay." She urged him to sit down. 

"But I need to make a call first, to my mother."

"I'll come back, okay?" 

But he gripped onto her hand quick before she could even pulled it away. 

"Yeoreum..."

She chuckled at that. "I'll come back."

And Jongin was uneasy.

When Yeoreum walked out and shut the door, he was uneasy. 

He knew his mother wouldn't let them go that easily. 

And he stood up, calculating his steps as he tried to guide himself. 

He opened the door gently, and in secretly.

Immediately - he heard the two. 

"Why would you do that, Yeoreum?" his mother hushed her tone, but Jongin could hear it well. 

It was a trait that he had picked up the moment he went blind. 

His hearing senses heightened. 

"I'm sorry." Yeoreum muttered. 

"I trusted you." the mother said again, sounding dissapointed. 

"I'm sorry." Yeoreum muttered again, pleadingly looked at the woman. 

"Auntie...I really have no ill intentions on Jongin."

"Everything that I do, is for him..."

The woman frowned. "For him?"

"Auntie..."

Yeoreum started with a gentle tone - pleading to the mother. 

They both were sitting on the couch, facing each other as they tried to talk it through. 

"Everything that I have prepared for him, you're saying that you can do better?"

Yeoreum shook her head at that. "No, I can't."

"Everything that you have prepared for him is obviously the best thing for him. But..."

"He's not exactly happy with it, auntie..."

The mother sighed at that. "If I'm waiting for him to be happy with how he is right now, it's gonna be forever."

"Better have him be healthy rather than wait for him to be happy with it."

Yeoreum frowned at that. "Auntie..." 

"But he's happy with this." She said, pointing at the topic that they were discussing on. 

"He just wanted to be treated normally."

"You treat him like...like he's incapable of everything."

"Jongin is visually disabled, he's not incapable of everything."

"He can feel. He can taste. He can sense."

Yeoreum took a deep breath, trying to calm down her own thumping heart. 

"Do you have any idea how happy he looked when I gave him what he wanted? What he craved?"

"I fell for that innocent side of his."

Mrs.Kim looked away when the girl confessed on her feeling. 

The girl looks so sincere about it that she somehow felt embarrassed by looking at it. 

"Auntie...I just want him to be happy."

"Don't you want the same?" 

It would be a lie if she didn't want Jongin to be happy. 

What mother doesn't want her own child to be happy? 

But... 

"I guess I'm just...scared." she confessed. 

And her heart got heavy when Yeoreum hold her hand gently. 

"I'm just really scared if he gonna be hurting again. Nobody is by my side if anything goes wrong with him."

"Nothing is gonna go wrong with Jongin." Yeoreum said, convincing the woman. 

"I'm here by your side auntie, and I'm gonna be by Jongin's side too..."

Mrs.Kim chuckled inwardly at that. 

Gently, she soothed the girl's hair. 

Somehow, she was softened. 

"Now, tell me how you got Jongin to come out from his room..." 

Yeoreum grinned prettily, before she slowly began with her story. 

And somehow - unknown to them, Jongin closed the door gently. 

Gosh. 

Yeoreum peeked from her door, looking at how the house was pitch black and Mrs.Kim probably had sleep already. 

Gently, she closed the door and tiptoed once again. 

Her fingers gripped on the doorknob and opened it slowly, afraid to awaken anybody. 

But the guy in the room wasn't even sleeping to be awaken in the first place. 

He was sitting on his bed, looking inside the darkness blindly as he rested his back on the headboard. 

And Yeoreum softened at seeing his figure. 

"You're late." Jongin had his ears perked at her steps.

"I was contemplating whether to go to the guest room or not."

Yeoreum sat beside him on the bed, somehow distancing herself from him a bit. 

"I need to make sure your mom is sleeping." she said tugging the comforter closer to her because she was cold. 

"Why aren't you sleeping?" she whispered. 

"You said you're coming." Jongin had his hand moved, tracing for her on the bed and frowned more. 

He knew she was on the bed. 

He could feel the bed dipped from her weight.

But, where is she? 

"Yeoreum?"

"Here." Her hand grabbed his hand that was searching for him and he frowned. 

"Why do you seemed so far away?"

"It's because I am."

Jongin