http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cDOzrLpM8A

- One Direction

If you're pretending from the start

Like this, with a tight grip

Then my kiss can mend your broken heart

I might miss everything you said to me

And I can lend you broken parts

That might fit, like this

And I will give you all my heart

So we can do it all over again

Ji Hyo’s POV

“What do you want, umma?” I answered flatly. 

Knowing my mother, she probably cringed in response. “Yo – You’re still calling me umma?” her voice faltering a bit here and there.

“Or would you prefer me to call you your actual name?”

“No no. It’s okay. Umma sounds fine,” she replied me with an alarmed tone that I couldn’t help but smirk at.

“What is she saying?” Zelo whispered curiously. 

Ignoring him, I asked through the phone, “So why are you calling?” 

“Oh, um, well, um, you see, um,” she stammered. 

“Hmm?” I asked, trying to hide my amusement. 

There are three signs my mother does that hints to you that she’s mad. One, she mumbles incoherently under her breath. Two, she takes very deep breaths. And three, she starts clucking her tongue onto the inside of her cheeks. At that moment, she was doing it all at once.

My umma took a long, deep, much needed breath and exhaled dramatically through the phone and then continued, “Can we meet up? To talk,” she added the last bit hesitantly but quickly.

There was a long pause. I didn’t know what to answer. A part of me didn’t want anything to do with that woman but the other part was debating that she was, after all, my mother and I did miss her. A small groan slipped out of my lips as I felt all the energy I had left in me drain away thanks to the inner conflict I was currently dealing with that time.

Thankfully, Zelo, who sensed my discomfort, took the phone from my hands and placed to next to his ear instead.

“Yeoboseyo?” he spoke in Korean. 

What does that mean? I mouthed at him. 

Hello! He mouthed back, his eyes widened to add emphasis.  

“Oh nae. It’s me, Junjong, Mrs. Min,” Zelo chuckled shyly as he listened to whatever my mother had to say and occasionally nodded curtly in understanding — not that she could see him.

Idiot.

“Ah, jinja?” he perked up all of a sudden. “Nae nae. Ji Hyo would love to meet up with you!” he beamed from ear to ear and started bouncing on my bed happily.

“Y – Yah! I didn’t say that!” I tried to argue with him and grabbed the phone away but he easily pushed me away and held the cell phone as far away from me as possible.

“Aish. Choi Junhong,” I whined at was practically in the verge of throwing a fit.

“Yeah she will meet you there in half an hour. Don’t worry, Mrs. Min, I’ll personally make sure she does,” he said the last sentence with a playful smirk.

“Ju – Junhong!” I stammered.

“Okie-dokie. See you there, Mrs. Min. It was nice talking to you,” he giggled like a five year old and cheerfully hung up the phone. I glared hard at him with my lips pursed as he shot me a cute eye smile, hoping that it’ll somehow make me less angry than I was — it didn’t. 

“Let’s go,” he commanded and instantly took hold of my hand and started to drag me out of my room to the living room.

Me, who possessed a very stubborn character, rooted myself onto the ground and refused to move at all. With a sigh, Zelo decided that he had to resort to desperate measures. With one swift movement, he scooped me up bridal style and started carrying me out of the house.

“Yah! Yah! Yonggukie oppa! Himchannie oppa! Daehyunnie oppa! Youngjae oppa! Jongup oppa! Anyone! Help me!” I shrieked and started thrashing around aimlessly but failed in vain. Instead, everyone else just shot me and Zelo quizzical looks and went on with whatever they were doing, which made me scowl darkly at them.

At last, Zelo put me down onto something solid and stood in front of me. 

“You might want to hold on to my waist,” he advised but I scoffed in response.

“Why is that?”

“Eh. Suit yourself. But you’re going to have to hold on to something,” he threw his head back and laughed. 

“Wha —?” I started but stopped when I finally realized what I was on — his skateboard. But it was too late to hop off. In a blink of an eye, the skateboard starting moving in an increasing acceleration thanks to Zelo. The speed was increasing so rapidly, I eventually found my arms wrapped tightly around his waist in order to keep myself from falling off.

“You’re smirking, aren’t you?” I pouted. 

“And if I am?”

“Aish, you meanie!” I complained and smacked the back of his head before quickly going back to holding onto him tightly for support. 

Zelo only chuckled in response and kept on skating. The cooling wind ran through my hair and made it dance around my face. Zelo’s body was so warm and so comfortable too. And because of that, I found my eyes slowly dropping down and eventually fell shut, causing me to slip into much needed slumber. . . .

“Ji Hyo-yah~ wakey wakey~” Zelo cooed as be lightly tried to shrug my grip off him.

“Mmmmm,” I mumbled and held him closer to me whilst snuggling into him back, completely unaware of my surroundings.

“Ji Hyo, wake up,” he repeated himself. This time, with a firmer, stricter tone.

Grumbling to myself, I wiped away the sleep from my eyes and climbed off his precious, custom made skateboard. “Where are we?” I rubbed my eyes sleepily as my eyes tried to adjust to the light.

“We’re here to meet your parents of course,” Zelo beamed and ruffled my hair as though meeting my parents is one of the most normal things ever.

“"But why a hotel?” I muttered, mostly directing the question to myself.

“Probably where there staying now,” Zelo answered me anyways with a shrug. And with that settled, he grabbed hold of my hand and escorted me into the revolving doors of the hotel.

At the lobby of the hotel, stood my mother. I couldn’t resist grasping silently to myself at the sight of her. She has been getting thinner and frailer. Is she alright? Has he been eating well? My eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“Ji Hyo,” she smiled.

“Umma!” Without second thoughts, I let go of Zelo’s hand and ran towards her, engulfing her in a big bear hug. 

“I missed you so much,” she admitted. 

“Me too,” I smiled, relieved that she felt the same way. 

When we pulled away, I caught a glimpse of tears glazed over her eyes. 

“Umma . . . you’re crying,” I stupidly pointed out. 

“Ji Hyo, I hope you know how sorry I really am about selling you off like that.” Finally the apology I have been waiting for escaped my mother’s tiny lips. 

I smiled sadly at her and shook my head. “No, no. I'm fine with the engagement umma. Really, I am,” I told her honestly.”

“Oh jinja? So that means it’s still on?” Zelo, whom I completely forgotten was present at the scene, asked.

Both my mom and I nodded in response. 

“But what about your boyfriend?” my mother pondered out loud. 

“As long as I can keep my family safe, I’m willing to marry Junhong,” I lied to her. Truthfully, the only reason why I agreed to this at last was because I have developed towards Zelo.

“About Daehyun,” my mother started. “I'm really sorry about insulting him like that the last time we met. I really am. I promise to make it up to you two by letting you have constant contact with him even after the marriage.”

Both Zelo and I flinched at her sentence. 

After what seemed like hours of talking and catching up, we eventually bid our goodbyes. But just as Zelo was about to skate us home, his phone rang, the ringtone a familiar melody even I knew. 

“Seriously, Jun Hong? An EXO ringtone?” I teased. 

“Yah, don’t judge me,” he stuck his tongue out and answered the phone. In almost an instant, his happy, playfully expression transformed into a look of worry.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as soon as he put his phone back into his pocket.

“We have to go home, now,” he replied me and immediately started to move his skateboard at a rapid speed.

“Why?”

There was no reply. 

“Zelo-yah, what’s going on?” I pestered him and began to poke him here and there.

“Daehyun hyung is gone.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Uwaaahhh he's gone! On the side note, she and her mother are okay again! ^u^