2 | Escaping Heartache
Because of You"Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward."
― C.S. Lewis
Jongin remained silent as if every word he could muster had been swiftly robbed from him.
With nothing left to say, Su Min headed home without having the urge to glance back even once. Regardless of how hard it was, she managed to find the courage and finally walk away.
She made her way around what seemed like endless and unfamiliar alleys until she eventually made it home. She opened the door and carefully stepped inside as if entering foreign land.
What appeared before her was an empty space that had once been a snug and cozy living room. How many endless afternoons had we spent here…she wondered, taking in the stillness…just talking about our hopes, our dreams, our future?
Not wanting to reminiscent about their blissful past, she pushed the thought aside and peeked through the other barren areas of her house, looking somewhat desperately for her parents. She needed to tell them and she needed to tell them now.
After searching for so long, she eventually found the pair upstairs in the attic, loading old books and documents into large brown boxes marked for shipment the following morning.
Noticing a figure standing beside the stairs that led down to the second floor, Mrs. Park looked up from the package she was happily taping shut and greeted her child with that cheerful smile of hers. "Well if it isn't my lovely daughter. How was your night dear?" she asked optimistically as she switched her attention back to the clear tape in her hand.
"I've thought about it again," Su Min blurted out, ignoring her question, "I'm going with you."
Hearing those words, both her parents instantly dropped what they were doing, and with arched brows and parted mouths, they simultaneously turned their heads in her direction.
Her dad kept his eyes pinned on her, blinking more than necessary. "What?" he asked after a few seconds’ delay, not entirely sure if he heard his daughter correctly.
Still dazed from her own hasty announcement, Su Min took a small gulp and repeated herself with confidence, "If it's not too late, I want to go with you."
Mr. Park opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, but not a single noise came out. Dumbfounded, he shifted the direction of his eyes to his wife, who met his gaze with the same confusion in her own. She then switched her attention to Su Min, holding it for a split second before looking back at her husband, who refocused his eyes on their daughter.
After overcoming the state of disbelief from her sudden request, Su Min’s dad cleared his throat. "I understand. I'll call the travel agency tonight and have the company arrange the documents needed as soon as possible," he informed her in a firm yet fatherly voice.
"Honey," her stunned mother butted in. "Aren't you at least going to ask why?" she asked nosily with a hint of concern. She did, after all, begged her daughter for weeks to change her mind the second she adamantly declared she was going to stay in Korea.
Su Min held her breath and waited. She loves her mom, she truly does, but for the first time (in a while), she pleaded in her head for her to shut up. This wasn't a night she could reason with her parents without bursting into tears.
"What for? If she wants to come, let her. I'm sure she has a good enough reason dear," her dad answered and flashed an understanding smile in Su Min’s direction before setting his eyes on the stack of documents next to him. Unlike her sweet oblivious mother, it was easier for her dad to read her thoughts.
Upon receiving his permission, she walked up to her old man and gave him a small peck on the cheek. "Thank you appa," she whispered before running down to her room to replace the address written on her own set of boxes—disallowing any possible change of mind.
|| …………… ||
Su Min entered her bedroom cautiously as if it was uncharted territory—this four-walled room that once housed all the memories she and Jongin shared together.
She sat herself on the foot of her sheet-less bed, creating a temporary dent on the mattress, and scanned the room, letting her eyes focus on the empty walls in front of her. Whether framed, taped, or hung using burlap strings and wooden clips, all three of them were once covered with a large collection of pictures.
From the night stand beside her, she picked up the camera they bought together and browsed through the images, deleting every trace of her first love…leaving only one—a picture where the two of them were the happiest.
She stared at the image in her hand and traced over his face with the tip of her thumb. If only time stood still, would we have remained this happy? She asked herself, wondering if their relationship had always been destined to fail.
Without a warning, she felt a drop of clear liquid land on the small screen, coincidentally magnifying his captivating smile. Her hand quickly made its way to her damp, flushed cheeks and watery eyes. It was only then she realized that tears were running down her face. Was I that absorbed in the moment that I hadn’t notice I’d been crying all this time? She wondered.
Su Min swiftly erased the trails
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