Chapter 3

What else can she do when the evidence is presented right in front of her face. She can deny and make up a story but she’s afraid the past is already catching up to them. She knew that she had to start doing something. She knew the second she decided to come home, things can get pretty complicated and it did. Yumi waited for her to answer when their doorbell rang. Her daughter checked the screen to see who it was and was puzzled to see the face of creepy man aka Mr. Jung Yonghwa. Her unnie left earlier, was he looking for her?

“Hello Professor Jung I’ll be right down”

Joohyun closed her eyes. It is catching up very fast. Faster that she could’ve expected.

“Mom I’ll just see what Mr. Jung wants” Yumi said before going out. Joohyun mutely nodded, the picture was lying in the sofa right next to her, bit by bit, no matter how hard she tries to stop it, tears fell. She closed her eyes to channel her grief. She knew why he came. She knew he came for her. A minute after Yumi left, she came back, indeed with the man.

“Please come in Mr. Jung, my mom is in here”

Joohyun stood up ready to greet him. They exchange stiff bows, if Yumi felt tension, she didn’t say anything about it and instead tried to make the atmosphere lighter

“Mr. Jung I’m not in trouble am I?” She asked

Yonghwa smiled “Of course not, I just wanted to ask your mom about something”

Her forehead crease but just nodded  “Great, I’ll leave you two if that’s okay, grandma’s out and I’m looking after grandpa”

“Sure honey” Joohyun replied. Yumi bowed and left

They just stood there looking at each other. Joohyun took a deep breath and motioned for Yonghwa to sit. And he did, beside her where he saw the photo in question. He held it in between his fingers. He smiled a little as Joohyuns breath hitch.

“What happened? You left” he whispered.

“She’s beautiful” she answered

“I looked for you” he shifted his gaze from their photo to her and she looked back

“I had to”

Yonghwas vision started to blur as he stared at the woman he solely gave his heart to. She still looks the same but older. Her hair is shorter than of the last time he’d seen her. It was still as clear as the sky, the memories of their last moments. She was hugging their unconscious daughter in the hospital bed. Haneul was 2 then. They were surrounded by tube and machines. Their daughter was barely alive and was on life support. The doctors said they can’t do anything about it and just wait for a miracle. They suggested they have the child move to a childrens hospital in Japan where a certain doctor specializes in head trauma. But they have no means. They were a young couple living on a daily basis, depending if the band will be given a gig. They were both in college and have a child to feed. Joohyuns family is not well off, Yonghwa was disowned.

The accident happened so fast, the little family was riding the bus home when a 16 wheeler truck lost it’s break and headed straight to them, They both saw the bright light at their side. Yonghwa quickly held Joohyun and pulled her out of their seat, Joohyun bent her body to cover the sleeping baby in her arms but the impact was massive, the bus rolled a number of times. 8 people died that day. 15 were severely injured and that includes them. They were in the hospital for 2 weeks but Haneul isn’t waking up and is in a deep coma. They waited. When his parents came to see Haneul and offered to shoulder the medical bills he was grateful that he and Joohyun cried. The day they were leaving. Joohyun had to take the next flight because she said she forgot something very important that they must bring to Japan.

She never came.

He waited. Minutes, Hours, Days, Months, Years, Decades.

She never came.

“I went back for you. I left Haneul in the care of the nurses and looked for you. I went to your house in Mapogu but no one was there. I even came here. I went to our apartment but I found none. It was like a nightmare Joohyun. Can you imagine everyone you knew, who has been a part of your life everyday suddenly disappeared? It was like in those sci-fi movies. I thought I had gone crazy. No wife. No friends. No one. I was lost”

 It was painful. He thought he was no longer hurting but its unbearable now seeing her like that. For so many reason he can’t seem to point out and yet he was just there looking at her as tears trickle down his own face.

“When Haneul woke up, her first words were Eomma. She was crying as she screamed for you. I wasn’t able to pacify her. She cried day after day. She refused to eat. She wants her mom. She developed depression and had to see a psychiatrist at such a young age.” She was a small child, her development was slow. She only was able to sleep alone when she was 8.”

Joohyun held on to her chest as she imagined her little baby in pain, from the injuries and pain from her not seeing her mother.

They let the pain take over the both of them as they both cried for the same reason. The grief of longing, the grief of not knowing what the future holds. The grief of why’s.

“I never have gotten over with what happened to us. To our little family Joohyun” he wiped the side of his eyes “I didn’t know why you never came back. I was afraid something happened to you. I had nowhere else to look for you. I had no one. I was scared at the same time knowing I’m now alone and that Haneul only have me. We stayed in Japan for the next five years after Haneul woke up. A year after coming back here in Korea, I accidentally ran into Jungshin, we had coffee and that’s when he mentioned something in passing. That I must’ve felt awful with what my parents did to you. I was puzzled and that’s when he knew I knew nothing. I tried to get more details from him but he abruptly left. I went again to your old house in Mapogu but they said that you guys are not living there anymore. I even came here just in case, I knew you had this home rented after we move to the apartment after Haneul turned 2 but saw a woman come out. I don’t know her so I assumed that maybe you still had it rented. I confronted my family about it and they said you left us to be with another man. I just knew you won’t do it. You’re not that type of person. They said you’re too fed up with the way we live our life. Poor and unsure. That the man you went with was rich. I knew they’re lying so I had to find out myself. I had someone track Jungshin and Minhyuk and even Jonghyun if one of them knows it, then I bet the other 2 does. It was Minhyuk I was able to find. And he told me everything. I was hell mad at my parents at first I was mad at you but eventually I came to realise that as p