Chapter Song: If by Park Jinyoung

[Yonghwa’s POV}

I can feel my heart thumping so hard, so loud that I thought people around me could listen. I take a deep breath and hold my chest with my right palm. My other free hand carefully went to the doorbell and with a nervous heart, I press the button.

*click*

Her mother’s face pops from behind the door. God, my muscles relax but still, I still can’t shake the nervousness off of my body.

“Yonghwa? You’re here?”

“Hello, Omonim.” I greet her and slightly bow in respect. Then, I pause, waiting for her to ask me to come in.

“Hello… Oh, come in. It’s extremely cold outside.”

It’s true, it’s very cold out here but my palms are all sweaty.

“Merry Christmas, Omonim.” I say and stare at Shinhye’s mother. I can’t tell from the expression of her face. Is she mad at me? Did Shinhye told her about all my mistakes? But if she already knew, she wouldn’t invite me into this house the first place, right?

“Merry Christmas too, Yonghwa-ya. I’m glad you’re here. So, want me to call Shinhye? But she’s probably asleep though…”

Her warm answer, now I feel guilty. She still doesn’t know. Her daughter hates me the most right now.

“No, no need. Can I go upstairs to her room? I need to talk to her.”

“Oh, sure… But she’s very tired today. Want some tea first, dear?”

“That’d be nice.” I answered with a smile.

***

The smell of this house, I missed it so bad. It still hasn’t changed that much, the furniture’s still in the same old places…

“It’s already late. Shinhye’s Appa’s already in bed. But it’s been a while since you came here, Yonghwa-ya… And I think everything’s going fine with Shinhye now, right? She seemed sad since autumn but I’m happy that she already moved on. Time heals and I’m sure you two are getting along fine, is it right?”

I sigh and sip the green tea on the table in front of me. Again, Shinhye’s mother’s words made me feel guilty. But she said that Shinhye’s already moved on? Really?

“Ye-yes.” That’s all I could answer.

“Since she’s seeing Soohyun, Shinhye appears a lot happier. That boy’s so nice, he even cleaned up after dinner just now. He’s handsome too.”

I snap at that name.

“That guy, he came for dinner earlier?” I ask, slightly annoyed.

“Yes. But Yonghwa-ya, you’ve been a part of our family for a long time, since you two were kids. You’re like my son. I hope we can keep going on like this. Do visit us often despite all that happened between you and Shinhye. I’m sure you two had moved on, right?”

I can only nod at her request. Suddenly, I feel helpless.

“Omonim, can I see Shinhye now?”

***

[Shinhye’s POV]

This red scarf, and also this b