Why Two Worlds Collided

Ashes of Dreams

Yun Hee was running very late for the dinner that night. The fault is totally hers, so there is no chance for her to complain. She was the one who went to her mother's orphanage, just to get rid of her boredom and lost her track of time there. That is why, she was rushing the rushing the driver to hurry up. She took out her phone and saw tons of missed calls and texts, most of them were from her mom and Yun Yeong. There was also a call from her mother-in-law and one voicemail from her sister-in-law. She played the voice text and immediately felt a smile creeping up on her face as soon as she heard the voice of Aiden.

"Auntie, where are you? I have to show you my new invention. Please come soon."

Aiden Oh, a 4 years old science geek, who was ecstatic to have Yun Hee in the family, finally having someone who understood his love and passion for science and shared the same interest as him since all his family members had business background. He accepted Yun Hee very easily and became close with her in no time. Now Yun Hee had become the person he would show his tiny inventions, be it through video calls or face to face meetings.

Yun Hee checked all the missed calls and unread texts, but found none from her so called husband. Sighing, she put her phone inside her purse and leaned her head on the headrest, looking outside through the black tinted window.

Once she reached her destination, she got out of the car and saw the warm looking two-storey house where she had spent her childhood. She went towards the door and rang the doorbell. The door opened immediately, revealing an angry Yun Yeong holding the door and an anxious looking Chanyeol behind her, trying to calm down his pregnant wife.

"Were you thinking of arriving once the dinner was over? Doctors are supposed to be punctual, but look at you. So casual even after being so late. Even Sehun had arrived an hour ago. The kids were pestering me to the point of making me insane. Your dearest spoiled niece even told me that I had two options. Either I had to bring the baby or I had to bring you. What kind of conditions are that?", she huffed out, seeming totally frustrated.

"Babe, calm down. You need...

"Don't 'Babe' me, you moron. You were clearly having fun discussing politics while I had to go through all the tortures. You were doing no help." Then Yun Yeong faced Yun Hee again and was about to give her another lecture when Yun Hee hugged her and said, "Hello to you too, Yeongie. You seriously need to control your mood swings. They are terrifying. Lets go inside before the dinner truly ends." 

She ushered Yun Yeong inside, leaving a gaping Chanyeol behind to close the door, without even greeting him. Once they reached the hall, Yun Yeong went towards the common room. She was about to follow her when two pairs of tiny arms wrapped around her waist, stopping her from moving forward. She looked down and saw Ara and Aiden looking ate her with shiny eyes, jumping up and down gleefully.

"You are finally here. We were waiting for so long. Come with us. We tell you something." She would have really followed them if it was not for the voice that came from behind.

"Kids, you can have your aunt all you want, but now she has to come with us elders. After dinner, she will be all yours. For now, go and play on your own, okay?"

The kids agreed and ran upstairs to continue whatever they were doing. Yun Hee turned around to see her mom standing there with a tray full of waffles. She walked towards her and was about to hug her, when her mom stopped her, showing her the waffles. Both of them burst out into a laugh.

"Mom!"

"My Baby! I missed you so much."

"I was gone only for two days though."

"But they felt like ages."

They laughed again and then Yun Hee asked, "Where are the rest of them?

"Sehun is in the common room, so are the rest of them."

"I didn't ask about him."

"Well, i felt like telling you, so I did. Besides I feel very guilty for interrupting you honeymoon phase by arranging this dinner. I am sure you guys must be desperate now, right? The feeling of being newly married, I miss it. How is life, honey? Is he a good husband?"

Yun Hee hesitated for a while, before replying with a smile, "Yes mom, he is a very good husband."

"Aww, my baby is hesitating and blushing. You must have had a very blissful first night, huh? How romantic! Now lets go and meet everyone." Saying this, her mom made her way towards the common room.

"How can I tell you that the hesitation was not because I was shy, but because I was preparing myself to lie?" Yun Hee sighed and slowly made her way to where everyone was.

 


 When she reached the common room, she saw her mother serving waffles to the people who were clearly divided into two groups. One group consisted of Mr. Lee, Mr. Oh, Sehun's elder brother and Chanyeol who were discussing politics. The other  group had Mrs. Oh, Yun Hee's sister-in-law and Yun Yeong who were fawning over Yun Yeong's baby bump. She noticed the absence of the Parks, already knowing that the elderly couple had gone to a business trip. The second group had another member who was inactive in their activities, Sehun. Yun Hee knew that he was there just to accompany his mother, worry and protectiveness visible in his eyes.

Yun Hee smiled and announced her arrival. The first one to react was Mrs. Oh, Yun Hee's mother-in-law, who squealed like a child and was about to run to her if it was not for Sehun holding her back. She pouted at him but it vanished as soon as  Yun Yeong went to her and hugged her.

"You are not supposed to run like this, mama. You had your attack just a few months ago. How can you be so careless?", Yun Hee complained.

"Now, only you can convince her, since she doesn't listen to us", her sister-in-law said. "Hey, dear!" Then she also hugged Yun Hee.

Then Yun Hee hugged her father, greeted her father-in-law and her brother-in-law. She went towards Sehun to greet him, who, to Yun Hee's surprise, hugged her when she went closer. She was about to retract out of shock, when she felt his arms tightening around her. Then she heard him whispering,

"Just play along. My mom doesn't need another attack."

He retracted from the hug and said in a sweet voice, "What took you so long, honey? I was starting to miss you?" He pouted after that.

Grimacing mentally at the fake intimacy, Yun Hee stuttered out, "I am sorry, Hun. It will not happen again." Yun Hee smiled internally, seeing his eyes darkening at the mention of the nickname he hated so much.

Then she turned towards everyone and voiced out her reason for being late and apologized to them.

When Mrs. Oh heard that Yun Hee had went to the orphanage, she gasped dramatically and said, "You went to the orphanage, that too alone? Didn't you promise me that you would take me with you whenever you would visit the next time? Not fair. I really miss the kids."

Then Mrs.Oh turned towards her husband and said gleefully, "Honey, do you remember the first time we met our Yun Hee was at the orphanage? She was such a charming young lady. Remember, how we told each other that her future in-laws would be the luckiest in the world. Who would have thought that fate would let us be the lucky ones? Fate surely works in a magical way."

Mr. Oh just nodded, being the serious man he was. But he also remembered the day they had met Yun Hee for the first time, the girl who had done so much for them.

 


 

"Do we really need to go? I mean, this is supposed to be a bonding time between you and your in-laws. Your son is getting married to that family, so you need to be there? But we are not needed, so what will we do there? Wouldn't they mind if we join?", Mr. Oh tried to reason.

"Your family has been a friend of ours for years. You guys are more like a family now to us. Sehun, Chanyeol and Jongin have grown up as brothers, so don't you think you should also see what kind of a family our son is getting married into? I have told Kim and they have agreed. The Lees are very friendly, so don't worry about offending them with your presence. Please come. We would really appreciate it", Mr. Park said, in a convincing tone.

 And that's how they ended up going with the Lees and met the family of Chanyeol's fiance in their house. They could not meet the girls, since the elder one was busy wrapping up her impending works ahead of her wedding, while the younger one was waiting for them at the orphanage as they were told. But they could tell that the girls were well-mannered since their parents were very genuine people.

When they were at the doorstep of the orphanage, they could hear all the chaos the kids were making inside. When they entered, they saw all the kids gathered around the hallroom playing with a girl who was around the age of twenty. The girl was so immersed into playing with the kids that she didn't hear them coming. It was as if she had also become a kid with them. Mr. Oh turned to his wife, only to find her looking at him, both having the same smile on their faces, indicating that they were thinking about the same thing. They liked the girl.

They heard the Lees smiling apologetically and saying, "Please, don't mind our daughter. She just loves the kids a bit too much." Then they called for her, saying her name sternly. The girl finally noticed them but from the look of her face, it was obvious that she knew everyone present there except the. That's why she greeted the Parks and the Kims politely, then turning to introduce herself to them. They heard the Kims asking her why she didn't visit them lately and saw her smile sheepishly before saying sorry. They got to know that the Kims knew her because she was friends with Jongin.

The Lees told their daughter to show all 6 of them around the orphanage, to which she obliged immediately. They toured them around the building so passionately as if it were her own home. The whole time, she talked about different things and that's how they got to know how she is completing her graduation at a medical school in the US and many other things about her. She chatted with them as if she had known them for ages.

After the tour, the Kims excused themselves and took their leave, since an emergency turned up and promised that they would meet again. Then the remaining elderly couples had some little chit chats, with Yun Hee occasionally joining them. They saw her getting scolded a few times for not sitting gracefully in front of the guests, for stealing food from her mother's  plate, for chatting with them animatedly but she never took them to her heart and continued what she was doing. They found the girl so full of life, that her attitude seemed pleasant to them rather than offensive.

That day, they concluded that Yun Hee would bring immense joy to whichever family she would get married into. But it wasn't until the next meeting that they got close. They happened to meet the Lees coincidentally in a restaurant and the Lees invited them to have a meal with them. Yun Hee was also there. Things were going perfectly  well when suddenly Mrs. Oh felt an unbearable chest pain. The whole ambience felt tense as Mr. Oh demanded her to be taken to hospital, but Yun Hee requested him to calm down and treated Mrs. Oh on her own for a few minutes before making her stable, her being an intern of cardiology helped her in that.

Since then, Yun Hee had become a constant vistor of their home. Mrs. Oh would call her everyrtime she would be in Korea for holidays to make her taste her new recipes and Mr. Oh would complain to her about his wife being careless, despite of being a heart patient. They could sense how their son and Yun Hee never got along, since Sehun would always end up avoiding her if they ever happened to cross their paths, they loved Yun Hee nonetheless. Though that happened very less since Sehun lived in his penthouse with his girlfriend.

But things changed drastically when Sehun's girlfriend left him for some unknown reasons, making Sehun totally depressed. They put up with his heartbroken self for a few months before Mrs.Oh collapsed because of a heart attack, not being able to take the stress anymore. Though she survived the attack, it was a major one which left an emotional impact on her . Being so much near death, she realized that she could not let her son rot in this state anymore. So one day, she called him inside the hospital room and made him promise that he would marry the girl she would choose for him. He obliged anyways, not wanting to go through the emotional turmoil he had to face when he was on the verge of losing his mother again, thinking that he would somehow convince the girl to break off the engagement.

And that's how they happened to approach Yun Hee, hoping that she wouldn't decline, which she really didn't. Well, at first she did, already knowing how much Sehun loved his girlfriend, but had to accept in the end, when she saw the ever cheerful Mrs. Oh pleading her with folded hands. This action of hers - sacrificing herself, made the Oh couple forever grateful towards her and made them love her even more. 

When they talked about this proposal to the Lees, they surprisingly agreed, proving how much they trusted them with their daughter, since they knew how much they cherished their daughter. This is how, after 3 months, they got Yun Hee as their daughter-in-law.

 


 

The dinner went really well, though the whole family was constantly teasing Yun Hee and sehun, since they were the newly wed couple.

Currently, Sehun and Yun Hee were on their home, sitting quietly inside the car Yun Hee had brought with her, since sehun had travelled with his father earlier. The whole ride was eerily silent, none of them saying a single word. When they reached their home, Sehun flung the door open and got out of the car as fast as possible, just like how he did on their wedding night. Yun Hee just rolled her eyes and slowly made her way towards their house. Once she entered, she made sure to bid farewell to every servant for the day, giving them the permission to leave for the day. When she was done, she went to their bedroom and found her husband lying on the bed, already changed in his pajama. She went to the closet, changed her clothes to something comfortable, cleaned her face and went to lie on the side her husband had left empty on the bed. She assumed that Sehun was fast asleep and was about to sleep herself, when she heard him saying,

"You have my parents totally wrapped around your fingers, something Jieun was never able to so. You have really left no way for me to be free from this marriage, haven't  you? So clever of you to do so."

Then he turned to lie on his side, his back facing her, making her realize how close yet how far he was from her.

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anikasen
The story has a new cover, yay... The credit, once again, goes to none other than, Pearllin.

Comments

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OnCloud9withEXO
#1
Chapter 40: I really hope oneday you will update. Cz this story deserves an ending ♡
real__katepark #2
Chapter 40: Update please. Omg this story is so good. I've cried so hard. I need a happy ending for them. 😭
Qexora #3
Chapter 40: oh no😭please dont fight
Ankita_123 #4
Hi Anika! Hope you're doing well. I'm really worried about you. Doesn't matter when you update the story, please just let us know that you're healthy and doing fine. Praying for your family's well being. Please notify!
OnCloud9withEXO
#5
Chapter 40: I read the full story again >< hshsgdh hELp. Oh I love this story. I was always been a er for arranged marriage AUs and this is so well written.

I wanna upvote it but it says i need 10 karma points or smtn. Anyone knows what's that and how to earn it? 😅 Idk how this aff thingy actually works.

Anyways I hope you update the nxt chap soon ^^. I can't wait to know what's the actually reason of Jieun to meet a psychiatrist 🤔

Another thing! If it's okay then may I ask which country are u from? *-*"
OnCloud9withEXO
#6
Chapter 40: Hey there! I'm not someone to put comments as I'm comfortable being a silent reader but this story is good enough to make me say that I love the way you are keeping the pace in the story and plot. It's not like the other arrange marriage AUs that I've read before. Not those typical ones where they would make the male lead look like jerk, arrogant etc.sehun is such a gentleman here with some flaws ofc,his efforts to make this marriage work. The female character too. Not like those fragile type of ones. I like OCs witha strong character which you put very smoothly in Yun Hee's character. I love the way you portray their feelings, you are making their character development go slow which I prefer.

Keep your good work♡ I really like this story^^. Hoping to get an update soon><
Ankita_123 #7
Chapter 40: Hi Anika! Hope you are doing well and everything is good on the health front, specifically. We're missing you. Be back soon. But prioritize your physical and mental health over everything, please!! Also, you can drop updates about yourself and what new is happening in life as well whenever you feel like putting it out. Take care!
ntsgstn #8
Chapter 40: i’m reading this while listening to Baekhyun’s Cry For Love. the pain!!!
Haru97
#9
Update please 🥺
Haru97
#10
Chapter 40: Ewch m'y heart is crying