[June 2010]

[Author POV]

Mrs. Kang grasps her hands tightly as she watches her daughter from afar. She didn’t want to tell her, but her daughter should know. She doesn’t regret telling Jiyoung, but she’s a little surprised that her daughter seemed to handle it well.

“Dear…” Mr. Kang whispers from their bedroom. Mrs. Kang looks back at her husband. Mr. Kang gestures for his wife to come to their room. With a sigh, Mrs. Kang runs over to her husband’s open arms.

On the other hand, Jiyoung stares silently out the window, watching the clouds slowly pass by.

Why can’t everything move smoothly like those clouds? She thought silently. Jiyoung moves her fingers across the window, feeling the coldness. She feels the exact same thing right now. Cold.

She wanted to hate her mother, for telling her this. But she knows she can’t. She’s 20 years old; she should be old enough to handle this without any childish fits. But her heartbreak makes her feel like she’s a teenager again, making her feel like she’s 16 years old.

“Was I really ready for this?” She mutters quietly to herself. “I thought I was already prepared.”

An urgent knock from the front door disturbs her train of thought. Jiyoung blankly stares at the door, hoping it isn’t the person her heart hopes for it to be.

“Jiyoung! Open this door, please!” She hears that smooth voice shout.

A sob escapes her frowning lips. She doesn’t want to see him, but she knows that she has to face this sooner or later. And Jiyoung’s heart just can’t seem to handle a later.

“I guess I wasn’t ready after all.” She whispers before slowly rising up the couch and answering the door.

~O~O~

Jiyoung wasn’t stupid and clueless as everyone thought of her to be.

She knew everything that was around her. She knew about the tension and anxiousness whenever Mi Sun was mentioned around Daesung. She saw all the sadness mixed with guilt swimming around Daesung’s eyes. She already knew about Mi Sun living with Daesung before, and apparently, she had a feeling Jiyong wasn’t really dating Mi Sun.

Being the daughter of a powerful businessman has its perks. With just calling the right person and having the right amount of cash, you can get anyone to do a background check on a particular person. Yes, Jiyoung did research about Daesung. She was curious as to why Daesung would leave so much with a flower in his hand, even though she knew he tried so hard to hide it.

There wasn’t really much information as to what happened to Daesung and Mi Sun, so this left Jiyoung puzzled. But then, after Daesung rejected Jiyoung weeks ago, everything was slowly starting to click.

She knew what Daesung and Mi Sun’s real relationship was.

“I’m really sorry, Jiyoung. But—“

“Don’t.” She interrupts him. She turns her head and looks out the window, feeling her eyes tear up. She clears and looks back at the man who she fell in love with. “Don’t apologize and don’t make another lame excuse.”

“But, Jiyoung—“

“Daesung,” She starts. She places both of her hands on his and looks at him straight in the eyes, feeling her heart shatter as she feels him slightly flinch at the contact. “No more excuses, Kang Daesung. You love Mi Sun unnie, don’t you? Tell me the truth, complete honesty.”

Daesung searches her eyes, guilty at seeing her sadness floating around. With a gulp, he nods his head slightly. He watches as Jiyoung closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath. Daesung opens his mouth to say something, but she opens her eyes once more. Jiyoung, taking up all her leftover strength, cracks a small smile.

“Then you stay with Mi Sun unnie.” She simply says.

“But…” Daesung mutters out, speechless.

“Oppa, I love you so much.” She states. But continues as she sees the panic rising in his eyes. “But, Mi Sun unnie loves you, too. She’s loved you way before me. And you love her back. I already know everything, oppa. Please know that I understand everything.”

“Y-you knew?” He croaks out.

She nods. “Oppa, it was obvious from the way you never looked at me when unnie was near. We both know your eyes were clearly on her. I saw the way your fingers and arms would twitch, how the look on your face gave away that you wanted to hold her even though you were with me.”

“Jiyoung, I’m really sorry… But I can’t let Mi Sun go.” He bows his head.

A bittersweet smile shows on her face. “I know that, oppa.”

Tears were already staining her clear face, but that didn’t stop her from telling Daesung everything from her heart. Yes, a part of her doesn’t want to let go, but the other side—the mature, kind side—of her tells her that it’s time to let go. She takes her hands away from Daesung’s.

With trembling fingers, she slips off the engagement ring on her slender finger. With one hand, she takes Daesung’s hand, doing her best to ignore his wince. She flips his hand over, palm side up. With one last look at the beautiful ring, she drops it into his palm.

As she closes his palm, she says, “I want you to give that to unnie. Please tell her that I’m okay with everything. And that I thank her for being my friend.” Jiyoung stands up, wiping away her tearstained face. She looks down at a quiet Daesung and flashes another tight smile.

“Mi Sun unnie must be waiting for you. I know how much you want to spend time with her right now. Go. I’ll just tell both of our parents’ that the wedding is off.”

In that instant, Jiyoung’s heart broke.

She sob escapes as her own words hit her hard. She bites her bottom lip and looks away as Daesung rises up from the couch. With a gulp, Daesung pulls her into a hug. Jiyoung stiffens at his suddenness, but soon relaxes as she lets out a sigh. She closes her eyes and buries her head in his chest, wrapping her weak arms around him.

For just this moment, Jiyoung would like to have it. She’s letting him go, but that doesn’t mean she’s fallen out of love with him. She knows it’ll take time for her heart to heal. But she gently smiles as she thinks about Mi Sun. She knows Mi Sun’s been through worse than anyone else. Jiyoung knows that Mi Sun deserves a caring and faithful man like Daesung.

True to her words, Jiyoung lets go of Daesung and tells him goodbye.

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A/N: Letting the person you love go , doesn't it? :') But since it's for a good cause, you must be happy one way or another...

Yeah, so this chapter was all about Jiyoung with a little bit of Daesung. Don't worry, I don't like having people heartbroken in the end *hint hint* ;)

Comments are welcome! I treasure them~