Chapter 20

Heartbreak

“Kwon Yujin, come here!” Eunbi shouted angrily.

Yujin gulped and stuttered, “U-Unnie, nothing happened really-

Eunbi walked to her younger sister and grabbed her hand.

“I’m neither blind nor idiot for you to said that. I saw it with my own eyes!”

Yujin bit her lip, “Unnie…”

“Let’s go.”

Yujin had no choice but to follow her sister as she was being dragged out of the room. Minju couldn’t even lift her head and keep staring at the floor. Tears were b in her eyes and she shut her eyes. The tears rolled down her cheeks instantly. She heard the sound of the front door opened and the sound of Eunbi’s car engine revving outside. And soon it was silent.

“Min,” a familiar voice called gently to her.

She looked up and saw her cousin, Sakura, looking at her with calm expression.

“Unnie, I’m sorry…”

Her cousin didn’t say anything and simply pulled her into her arms. She returned the hug and sobbed harder on her shoulder.

**

Sakura and Minju sat in the living room later that night, after Minju had calmed down a little. Sakura brought her water and tissues.

“I know you want to yell at me,” Minju said suddenly.

“I mean, I deserved it.”

“I should’ve ended the relationship before it gets too far, I know it will get to this eventually but I let it happen. I lead Yujin on, from one date to another, from one kiss to another; I didn’t do anything to stop it. Even though I know it’s wrong.”

Sakura kept mum and let Minju talk.

“This is all my fault. Yujin is young, I should be the one who controls the situation but I was too weak to do it,” she continued.

She paused and looked at Sakura.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” she asked.

Sakura sighed, “Well, you said it all. But Min-

“The real reason why you didn’t break up with Yujin is…”

She let her sentence hangs.

Minju looked down, “Because I like Yujin. A lot.”

The younger girl sighed, “It’s not easy for me to admit that, but that’s it.”

“I might even love her too, I don’t know,” she muttered.

She looked away, staring at the window with such sorrowful look on her face.

Sakura nodded, “I knew it. You love her.”

She sighed, “But Min, you must let her go.”

“Yujin is doing badly in school and her family are worried about her. Her future is on the line. Plus, she’s a minor, and if you crossed the line with her, like how it almost happened today, her family could sue you if they want. They are a powerful family after all.”

Minju sighed, “I know.”

“And I’m sorry if my relationship with Yujin is causing a rift between you and Eunbi unnie.”

Sakura smiled, “Don’t worry about us, we’re fine.”

She continued, “If you really love Yujin, just let her go for a year. She’ll be 18 sooner than you know and we won’t say anything if you date her then.”

Minju shook her head, “If I break up with her, I don’t think we’ll ever get back together again.”

“It’s too painful for us both.”

**

Yujin and Minju meet up the next day at a park nearby their houses. They both sat on the bench, not too near and not too far from each other.

“Nothing has changed, right?” asked Yujin suddenly.

She leaned forward and clasped her hands together on her knees.

Minju sighed, “Everything has changed.”

Yujin turned to look at the older girl, “Don’t say that. I don’t want to let you go.”

“I love you,” she continued.

Minju was startled with her sudden confession and turned to look at her, but she was avoiding her gaze. She was trying to act cool again, typical Yujin. But no matter how she tried to act, it couldn’t hide the blush on her cheeks. She meant what she said.

“I… love you too,” Minju blurted out.

That caught Yujin’s attention. She sat up straight and turned her body to face her.

Minju bit her lip, regretting what she said and quickly adds, “But Yujin-ah-

She paused.

“This is wrong. Let’s just break up.”

Yujin shakes her head, “We can just set the rules, we can be careful. We don’t have to break up.”

“No. We will end up breaking the rules.”

“You don’t know that. We can try.”

“No Yujin, I don’t trust myself when I’m with you.”

“Minju-ah, please. There has to be another way.”

“This is the best for you.”

Yujin grunted, “But I don’t want to!”

Minju raised her voice slightly, “We don’t have a choice! It’s wrong no matter how you see it!”

“I don’t care! I don’t want to break up with you!”

Minju was at her limit, she scoffs and shouts, “WE’RE BREAKING UP AND THAT’S FINAL!”

Maybe it was a little too loud and too angry. Yujin looked at her, her usual cool persona slowly crumbled down. Her eyes were misty with tears.

“I-It’s not fair,” she muttered.

“If only I’m a year older.”

Minju looked at Yujin, her heart wrenching in pain as she saw tears escaping the younger girl’s eyes. She felt sorry for her. She did nothing wrong, except for being a year younger. She was actually the best person she ever dated. She’s funny and caring, she’s adorable and understanding too. And she loves her, a lot.

And now she had broke her heart.

Yujin was on the verge of breaking down but she toughen up, “So, are you going to date Kim Chaewon now that you got rid of me?”

Her tone was hostile and her gaze slowly turned hard. Minju wanted to wrap her arms around Yujin and calm her down. She wanted to wipe her tears away and kiss her cheeks, assuring her that everything is all right. Tell her how much she loves her.

But she can’t.

“Maybe you were just using me all along. Is that it?” asked Yujin.

Minju was speechless. The girl was spot on, but that was not the case anymore. In fact, ever since she met Yujin, her feelings for Chaewon slowly faded away.

“Wow, you