Soojung and Jinri tried to recollect their relationships to each other and tried to calm themselves.

“Soojung-ah, you had grown like a real woman already…” Jinri tried to ease the surroundings.

“No way… then, right now, after these times, Jong In never tried to break up your marriage. He even married a widowed. He really loves you.” Soojung looked at Jong In still lying unconscious.

“You really love him. I’m sorry…” Jinri smirked a little bit. But, she was also hurting… she remembered her manuscript. She carried it with her just in case she could hand it over to someone. And now, she was trying to give it to Soojung.

“What is this?” Soojung never got a clue to what she was up to. She knew that Jinri took Creative Writing as a hobby and had many books published. She became quite famous and many people from around the world tried to read her novels which were quite good and very inspirational.

“That’s the story of our life. I don’t why but I just got the hunch that you should be the one keeping it.”

“What’s up with you?” She laughed quite a bit, “Then, can I read this to Jong In? I mean the last parts…”

“I’d gladly let you too. Wait, I’m also going to Yejin-ah. I must tell her the truth.”

“I too also thought that she was Jong In’s child. Well…Taemin-oppa and Jong In quite looked alike. Until I had sensed my oppa in Yejin, she really did grow up to be quite a remarkable woman. Not like us, ahjummas, grieving for the dead and wanting time to come back.” Soojung tried to flip the pages of the manuscript.

“Jong In became her father. No, he is her father. But, I have to tell everything to her. So, she would summon all her courage to face her real father, in the grave.” Jinri tried to open the mineral bottle that fell in the tiled floor moments ago.

“Time really flew so fast. And now, I see myself loving a man that is married to a despicable woman. I really did age quite a lot.”

“We all did. Now, I’d be taking my leave. I have to catch up to Yejin.”

Jinri took out her cellphone from her bag and tried to contact Yejin. But, she was unresponsive. She tried to call her husband, and now he picked up.

“Where are all of you right now?”

“Ah…mother, we’re in the…” Yejin’s husband tried to catch his breath. He looked anxious and sweating all over as she passed his phone to his wife.

“Eomma?” With a questionable look, Yejin tried to look up at the sky. “Don’t you think that I don’t know about the truth?”

“Wait..up. I’ll be going there.”

Meanwhile, Soojung while looking at the window, tried to read the few passages just after Taemin’s death. She looked puzzled, it was nicely written but she couldn’t help but to feel hurt. Writing something meant putting all your soul into it, getting immersed and sometimes, it was really hard for the author to write an autobiography. Why? Because the memories kept on popping out of her mind, she might even go insane.

Those were Soojung’s thoughts. But, she needed to read it. So, she could also remember how her pure heart became so ruthless such as the ‘she’ now.

‘And now, I’m speaking as if I’m really going insane, everyone left me so cold. I am alone in this room, in the seaside house, the house of our dreams; I never once heard happiness coming to my direction. It was really hard for me after his death. I could still here his voice clearly in my head.

And now, I found my head spinning. Swirling with the wind, I had some crazy thoughts. Just after I had my monthly check-ups, it all happened. I was always feeling nauseous; I’m even throwing up at the middle of the night. After that check-up, a miracle happened. I’m pregnant. My heart was thumping like crazy at the time, “This child was a gift from above.” Those were my positive thoughts. But, the only problem is, how I would raise this child.’

Soojung smiled as if she got too aroused of reading. “The girl who was constantly bullied at school had become a woman of this caliber. She sure got so matured.”

‘Taemin was gone so were his family. Soojung was left behind. She was taking care of Jong In. I noted how the two of them suited each other and I had loved to see them having a family of their own.

Until one day, Jong In came to my doorsteps. Carrying a load of delicious foods and fruits for me, he was the first one to know I was pregnant. I welcomed him with open arms, as if I really got too lonely by that time. He smiled softly and entered.

Even I could still hear his brave words, “Jinri-yah! My feelings for you haven’t changed. I wanted to marry you and live with you. I promise to never, ever let go of you. I won’t desert you.”

Then, before I knew it, I needed him more than anyone else. We got married and he became the father of my child, Yejin. She was really like her father, playful and kind, as well as smart and clever. No one knew of this secret, this was between Jong In and me.’

“Aish….you’re really an idiot, Kim Jong In. Even raising her child, what are you really?” Soojung ruffled his hair. “Well…I’m also an idiot. After everything that happened, I always stick with you. I’m really an ahjumma right now.”

‘Even if he left me without even saying something directly to me, he gave me Yejin. I am still constantly grateful of him. He became a part of me, a part of my life that will never be replaced.

But, the man who took care of me worked hard and earned a lot for me. He became so haggard-looking yet he always smiled. He was too scared that I would want him to leave my side. I never thought that I could have feelings for this person.

Even if he was now lying on his deathbed, waiting for the time that Death would visit him on his deep slumber, I wanted to say my thanks to him. And, such words as ‘I love you’ and ‘I had learned to love you.’ But, I was also too scared. Because, my love for him won’t amount to how much he gave me. This love of mine was meant for us to only be friends.

Graveyard

The atmosphere in the graveyard made the air so heavy. It was already sunset and Yejin took a lot of time just to visit her own father in his grave. She looked happily; finally her mother was able to tell her the truth. She looked for a place to rest as she watched Yaera playing around on a nearby park.

There came her mother, Choi Jinri, with her dignified look still remaining after all those years. Yejin now wanted to spend time with her mother. She was always a nagging mother to her. Yejin couldn’t believe that she could keep up with her.

“Where’s Yaera?”

“Playing around…”

Jinri chose to not be beside her Yejin.”So, when did you know all about this?”

“Ever since when I was in high school… Appa told me and at that time, I cried so much that my face was unidentifiable already.”

“And…I as your mother, was not able to realize your pain.” Jinri looked down.

“Eomma..is father a really good person? Was he rich and popular to girls?” Yejin for the first time in her life was really curious about her father.

“Yes…so much that… I was only lucky to snatch him away…” She chuckled softly.

“Oh…Eomma…can you look for Yaera?”

“Neh. Then, I’d be on my way.”

Yaera was happily playing with her ball. She looked happy as she waved her dirty hands on her grandmother. She looked so happy even though she didn’t have any time to spend with her.

She tried to kick the ball and it flew to the other side of the street, Yaera tried to run for the ball. She looked obviously yearning for it, as Jinri called for her name again.

“Yaera, don’t run. You shouldn’t cross.” Jinri ran after her. Yaera picked up the ball and happily waved back at Jinri. But, Jinri was unlucky.

At the time Yaera had successfully crossed the street, a truck coming from her direction hit her. Her body flew to the air and dropped at the grassy plain where Yaera was previously playing. Next to the graveyard, Jinri looked at the whole world swinging around her. “So, this is what it felt to be dying. Finally?”

With her arms stretched as if getting crucified, she looked for her child, Yejin and then to Yaera who was oblivious of what happened. Then, with her head filled with blood streaming from her forehead, she closed her eyes.

Funeral Rites

Jung Soojung tried her best to stay quiet inside the hall. She looked at Yejin and Yaera, as well as to the husband. She looked at them pitifully while clenching the handle of a wheel chair.

There was a man with her, who had recovered from a . Soojung couldn’t help but to look at the man with her. Heavy with years, Jong In couldn’t even smile anymore. The lower part of his body was paralyzed. There was  nurse with her and also, Soojung taking care of him as well.

“Jong In-ah, let’s go.” Soojung tried to push the wheelchair to Jinri. There was picture of her smiling at both of them, it was her picture when she was just eighteen years old. “Look…she always smiled like that. Remember?”

Even if Jong In couldn’t hear much already, he knew the meaning of it and nodded thoughtfully. He struggled with some words, “I…love..you…”

Krystal smirked a little as she heard him saying it. There was a pain on his heart as she finally read the last paragraph of the manuscript,

Though time had passed and finally, I looked like an ahjumma already. The days felt like years and the years felt like decades already, I really got so tired of living. If my days would not continue to move forward and my life would continue to a total halt, then I would want my remains to be buried next to him. So, we could fulfill our promise to each other.

This lifelong promise that someday…even if the skies got dark, the lands got torn apart, the oceans got dried, we would be able to meet again. Even if the struggles were as hard as hell, we would still move on forward. We would still start a new life with each other.

Years passed by again, as Soojung tried to publish Jinri’s and Taemin’s memento. Their life and their love for each other made the readers happy, sad, regretful and grieving for them. Their Love, it was the title. It was theirs, not hers, maybe she had assumed this.

Of course, no one would know if they really got to meet each other again. Just like Romeo and Juliet, after reuniting in the end and having their gold statues stand by each other, no one could answer what happened next in the afterlife.

But, still hopes still remained. The seaside house that was once deserted by Jinri after Taemin’s death and marrying Jong In, still became her permanent home as she wrote her life.

The house was burnt into ashes just recently by Soojung’s orders. She wanted the two to live on the minds and the hearts of the people to whom their love story would become an inspiration. 

THOUGH THIS WAS SHORT~

I really tried to make it one of my most memorable fanfic ever

SO, I am really hoping a lot for this. I really did put a lot of effort into making the most out of my ideas. Though life is so conflicting, we all should struggle. Because, then and there, we would find our  own happiness. Even on little things that we do, our hearts would always be filled up with hopes for the future.

Annyeong~

.the end.