49
My Strange Oppa
All the kids in the neighbourhood were now in their homes and the streets of Seoul were quiet and peaceful. The only sounds were the engines of cars passing by and ringing bells from byclists.
“The swing!” You squealed as you spotted the playground and ran to it. You plopped down on it.
Jinyoung laughed and ran behind you. He began to push you gently.
The warm air from the day soon turned into a chilly, frost breeze. The silence made your mind wander. After spending a day like this with Jinyoung, how can you possibly leave him? He’s the one that makes you happy. He was the one that made you realize who you really were.
As much as you loved your Dad, you loved Jinyoung even more. You let out a sad sigh and closed your eyes.
“What are you thinking about?” Jinyoung asked, breaking the silence. He stopped pushing you now, as he waited for the swing to slow down.
You didn’t open your eyes. “I’m thinking about….. about you.”
“About me? And you let out such a sad sigh?” Jinyoung teased.
You cracked a small smile as you shivered slightly from the chilly air. “Of course not… I’m also thinking about—”
“Your Appa.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement.
The swing had stopped now, and Jinyoung came behind you. He wrapped his arms around your shoulders tightly. Instantly, his embrace warmed your whole body up.
You opened your eyes, “how did you know?”
“I’m thinking about my parents, too.” Jinyoung sadly said. “You know you’re lucky to have him.”
You froze instantly. *I’ve been so selfish all this time, complaining about my father to Jinyoung oppa when Jinyoung has neither of them.*
You gently touched his arms with your hands. “What happened to them.”
You could feel Jinyoung’s smile a bit. It wasn’t a happy one, but the sad, reminiscing one.
He cleared his throat and began speaking. “My umma was very sick, and my appa loved her a lot and he wanted to do whatever he could to get treatment. We didn’t have a lot of money, and so my father borrowed some money from the loan sharks so that my mother could go into the hospital for some treatment.”
You stiffened at the mention of loan sharks, but you didn’t interrupt him.
“He wanted to do whatever he could to get her better, but the loan sharks wanted the money back before he could even earn it, and my father didn’t have enough time… so then they killed him.” Jinyoung squeezed his eyes shut, repressing the tears.
“My umma loved my appa a lot. One day she wanted to see him, and my aunt wouldn’t tell her why. It wasn’t until one day, my aunt was overwhelmed with guilt when she told my umma. At the moment, my mom looked at me.” Jinyoung smiled a bit at the memory as he re-opened his eyes, tears coming down his face.
Your eyes were wide with pain as you turned your head to look at him. Your tears were spilling out as well as your heart choked in pain.
“I was only 5 at the time, and I didn’t know why mother began crying, but she did.” Jinyoung began to choke on his words.
You wiped his tears with your thumbs gently as you listened intently to his story.
“She held her arms out weakly to me, she told me she loved me and that I should never feel alone. She told me to always be a happy boy, even through tough situations, no matter what, I must remain happy and I must have hope. Because without hope, there is no light.” Jinyoun swallowed hard and then he gazed at you.
He chuckled a bit in embarrassment. “The next day, my aunt and I came back, but umma was gone. My aunt gave me a sad look, and I already knew at the time.” Jinyoung cleared his throat. “And that’s that. Now I live with my aunt.”
Jinyoung smiled as he wiped your tears. “Babo, why are you crying?”
The tears couldn’t spill. Immediately, you wrapped your arms around his neck as you sobbed into it. You could smell his scent, and you hugged him tighter. *I don’t want to leave you either.*
Jinyoung patted your back soothingly. HE was comforting YOU. “But now I have you. I knew from your Freshmen year, the moment I laid eyes on you, you were the girl I wanted to spend my life with.”
You opened yoru eyes, as your heart felt like it stopped beating in your chest. You pulled away from him as you searched his face. Your hands cupped his face.
Jinyoung beamed brilliantly at you. “You know, I didn’t want our night to end like this? To have you shed tears because of my sad life?”
You shook your head.
He smiled as he caressed your cheeks with his thumb. His eyes were glassy from repressing the tears. He pressed his forehead against yours. “I just want to get straight to the point, Sang ~~~~~~ will you be my girlfriend?”
A part of you expected this, another part denied that he would. *Ottakhae? My heart hurts so much.* You looked into his trustful eyes that were filled with nothing but love.
“Yes,” you answered.
Jinyoung beamed at you. He quickly pulled away, and then went to the front of you. You were stil sitting on the swings.
Jinyoung bent down to your eye level. His phoenix like eyes stared into your big, brown doe eyes.
“I love you, I love you, I love you.” Jinyoung smiled. “Thank you for making me the happiest boy alive!”
“I love you so much more,” You whispered.
Jinyoung tilted your head up and gazed into your eyes. A romantic silence passed between you, and then without hesitance, Jinyoung slowly leaned towards you. You closed your eyes, and the moment he pressed his lips against yours, you swore you could feel the fireworks.
You wrapped your arms around him and pulled him even closer to you. *I love you… I love you. I am so selfish for saying yes, but I need you…. please forgive me when I leave you.*
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