Chapter 41 – Belief

 

 

Only two days remained before Yonghwa sealed his fate and married a woman that he didn’t truly love. Seohyun was almost at her limit and she had no idea what more to do. Even though she wanted to believe with all her heart that Yonghwa did love her for real, she still had doubts. She told herself many excuses as to why he hadn’t made his choice. The most obvious excuse was that he was having too much of a good time with his new dad to care. At first Seohyun regretted bringing that man back into Yonghwa’s life, but now it seemed to be a good idea. She had never seen Yonghwa so happy before and it was good to see him finally fix the problem that had haunted him for 28 years of his life.

“Don’t you think Yonghwa hyung and his dad get along really well?” Minhyuk asked happily. “The hyung we know is a pretty happy guy, but he’s just oozing happiness right now. I can’t believe that he actually found his dad after all these years.”

“Yeah, it’s all thanks to Seohyun too. I’m sure hyung is happy that the girl he loves brought him the best present one could ever get,” Jungshin noticed. “It’s only been a week since they met and they act like they’ve been father and son for all 28 years of his life.”

“What I’m more surprised about is that Yonghwa hyung actually forgave his dad,” Jonghyun pointed out. “After 28 years of abandonment, I would have thought Yonghwa wouldn’t forgive his dad. I’m sure he has a lot of hidden resentment for the man that left him and his mother to fend for themselves when they needed him the most.”

“He wasn’t exactly happy when we met him you know,” Seohyun reminded the three guys currently sitting in the living room.

 

---------Flashback----------

 

“Yonghwa there’s someone here that wants to meet you,” Seohyun called through the door. Without even bothering to knock or receive acknowledgement, she burst through the door forcefully. Yonghwa, who was looking at a few patient charts, turned around with the same exact frown he would use all those years back. “Just warning you now, I didn’t want to bring this person here. He found me on the street and begged me to bring him here.”

“Yonghwa… it’s finally nice to see you again,” greeted the older male. “Do you remember me?” Instantly, the frown deepened into a scowl as Yonghwa met the man’s gaze. The clipboard in his hands rattled on the tile floor when Yonghwa began to rush at the man ruthlessly.

“You…” he growled through gritted teeth. “You… you… bastard! What the hell do you think you’re doing here?! Get the hell out of my sight now!” Seohyun took note of the same murderous look he had given Seung Ri back at the hotel during prom and decided to stay out of Yonghwa’s way. If she was right about her prediction, things were about to get messy.

“I know I have a lot of explaining to do son, but please hear me out,” Jung Seung Hwa begged. “Put me down and we can talk about it peacefully.” Yonghwa’s grip on his father’s collar tightened, showing no intentions of dropping the frightened man.

“Son?! You dare call the person you left for 28 years of your life son?! Not just that. I’ve learned to deal with these feelings that haunt me. Not once since I was a child have I ever missed you,” Yonghwa lied in a shaky voice. Seohyun could tell right off the bat that he was lying about not missing him. It was obvious to her that he had in fact missed having his father around. “I’m not angry at you because you abandoned me, I’ve always been fine on my own. But you left a sick wife behind and that’s unacceptable!”

“Yonghwa yah, please let me explain myself,” the man begged once more.

“Don’t call my name so casually! You have no right to treat me like a member of your family after what you did,” Yonghwa sneered. “Seohyun, throw this clown out of here. I appreciate you bringing me this piece of trash so I could tell him what he deserves.”

“Yonghwa… calm down,” Seohyun ordered gently. The girl standing at the sidelines walked up the man she loved and forced his hands off the man who claimed to be his father. “Stop lying to yourself, it hurts me just as much as it hurts you. Just let him explain himself please. Yonghwa, I can read you like a book and I can tell you’re not telling the truth right now. You’ve missed your father all these years, you just don’t want to admit it.”

“Seohyun…” Yonghwa whispered.

“Don’t talk anymore,” she suggested quietly. “I’m also angry at this person who caused you so much pain, but just see what he has to say. He may be someone lower than a cockroach, but he’s still the man who gave life to you. I think you should hear him out.” Seohyun took his hands in hers and gave them a reassuring squeeze. Yonghwa finally relented and let the man say what he had to say.

“Alright, I’ll hear you out. Talk.”

“First I would like to apologize to you for leaving your mother in your care. I was never a good man to begin with and your mom was unfortunate enough to fall for me,” Yonghwa’s father began. “Before meeting your mother I was already a debt-filled man. I had so many gambling debts and debts for getting money in order to support you. Loan sharks were all over me and I had nothing else to do besides leave you. If I stayed, you guys would all have gotten hurt.”

“You expect me to fall for that? Cool story dad, why don’t you tell me the sequel,” Yonghwa sarcastically mocked. “The ‘I have to leave you in order to save you’ tale is overused and so fake. Just tell me you didn’t want us and you left.”

“Yonghwa, please listen to me,” he pleaded. “I f I truly didn’t want you I wouldn’t have looked for you all these years. Why would I be here if I didn’t want you to be part of my life?” Seohyun and Yonghwa had to admit the man had a point. If he had in fact left them just because, he wouldn’t be standing in front of them now. “After I left you I managed to get rid of some of the loan sharks and I looked for you. We all lived here in Seoul but for some reason your mom moved you all to Busan and I couldn’t find you. It’s not until I heard your name by chance that I realized you were back here.”

“This is all fine and all, but why would you come back? Why would you want to be a part of our lives at this point? My mom has been hurt far too much by you to take me back. I’ve been haunted by your absence for 28 years… how do you think we feel about this?”

Sobs began to wrack his father’s body and he let himself drop to the floor. The man got on all fours and began to weep loudly for his son’s forgiveness. The position he was in was the epitome of penance and atonement. “I beg of you to forgive me. I know I don’t deserve to be a part of your life, but I would like you to at least acknowledge my feelings. I never hated you Yonghwa and I’ve always wished I was a part of your life. I’ll leave now if you want. I’m glad I at least got to see you.”

“You’re forgiven,” Yonghwa interrupted. “Get up dad, I’m not going to humiliate you like this. Even if you’re the worst person in the world, you’re still my father.” Seohyun let out a small gasp when Yonghwa pulled the man off the ground and into a hug.

“You mean you’re going to forgive me?”

“I’ve waited 28 years for you to come back. I’ll forget about it all, just don’t leave again.” Yonghwa tightened his grip on the man as tears also began to run down his face. Seohyun realized that in the end, it was a good idea to bring the man back to Yonghwa’s side. Yonghwa was probably a little too quick to forgive the wretched man, but at least he would now have his father after almost 30 years.

 

----------End Flashback----------

 

“I don’t really approve of hyung forgiving that man, but I have no say in it,” Jungshin commented. “That person is not someone you should forgive right away. No matter how many troubles you have, one should never leave their family. Then again, hyung has been too hurt by this and I bet he just wanted to end all that pain.”

“I’m not too happy with it either Jungshin, but you should have seen his face when they finally hugged,” Seohyun remarked. Smiling, Seohyun remembered the sweet smile Yonghwa had worn once the two men brought each other into an embrace. “I’ve seen him happy, but I had never seen that smile before. We have no right to take away his father no matter how much we disapprove.”

“Speaking of the devil…” Minhyuk joked, forcing everyone to look out the window. “Looks like those two had a fun time tonight.” The older male had an arm draped around his drunken son, shuffling his way into the house.

“Hello everyone,” greeted Jung Seung Hwa. “Yonghwa here wanted to have a good old man to man talk over a bit of soju and he got a little carried away. I think he’ll be out for tonight so I’ll take him to his room.” All three younger boys nodded and allowed the man to carry their hyung up the steps. For an older and worn out man, he had quite a bit of strength if he could carry that limp body for so long.

“Appa…” Yonghwa slurred. “That hottie right thurr, yeah that y gurrrl… I love that one.” Seohyun blushed in embarrassment as Yonghwa pointed a finger at her and gave the most awkward wink of his life.

“Yah! Shut up and go to sleep,” Seohyun yelled at Yonghwa while his dad continued to carry him upstairs. A fit of giggles erupted from the three playful males in the living room upon hearing their older brother say ridiculous things while drunk. Yonghwa never got drunk too often and it was very enjoyable when he did.

“Yonghwa yah,” his dad called affectionately. “I’ve been thinking about something. I still had a few debts on a house I was paying for your mom to live comfortably in. Since you’re getting married you probably wouldn’t want to have your mom living with you.”

“Oh, yeah, yeah house for mom,” he mumbled. “Debts? You know what fixes those right up?”

“Loan sharks?”

“Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, money. You know the paper with the little numbersh on it,” Yonghwa giggled and let out a hiccup. “Herrre, take this and go buy mom the biggest house you can find. Money? Psh, I don’t need that . Just go do whatever you want with it.” Yonghwa pulled out a small bankbook with all of his financial information in it. Yonghwa’s dad let a mischievous smile grace his features once he got his hands on the book.

“Alright, I’ll let you go to sleep now. I’ll be sure to put your name on the house so you can say you gave it to your mom as a present,” the evil father lied.

“Oh, yeah… preshent for mom. Appa, tell that pretty gurrrl to come up here and keep me company,” he ordered stupidly. “I like herrrrr.”

“You’re drunk, just go to sleep.” Before Yonghwa knew it, he was knocked out cold. Yonghwa’s father laughed at the drunken young man mockingly as he made his way to his new room. “I feel bad for doing this to a son of mine, but I’m too screwed to care right now.

“Jung, how is the plan going?” Seohyun’s father asked once his number was dialed. “I assume since you’re calling me that you made some progress.”

“My son is a complete idiot,” he insulted. “I was planning on getting him drunk and getting the bankbook out of him by asking, but I didn’t even need to do that. Yonghwa drank so much that I’m surprised he’s still alive. The pabo just handed me his bank account information as if it were the most normal thing in the world.”

“Excellent. Now, just go on with the plan as intended. You’re going to have to get caught in the act, but I’ll get you out. I can’t afford to fail now. I assume you’ll end this by tomorrow?”

“Don’t worry about a thing,” Yonghwa’s father assured. “I’ll end this as soon as I can. Yonghwa believes in that girl with all his heart though. While he was drunk tonight he spilled his whole story with her to me. Do you really think this will work?”

“People don’t change; you’re a prime example of that. Money is what makes this world go round. If you don’t have it, you’re nobody. People will do anything for money, even hurt their own children. I mean, look at what we’re doing. Enough talk, just go do what I asked you to,” the man on the other side of the phone ordered. “Seohyun was a rich girl once and Yonghwa is now pretty wealthy himself. They’re already on rocky terms and money will only make the rift between them larger. Just don’t screw this up.”

“I’ll try my best.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Yonghwa hyung!” Minhyuk yelled. “Wake up! Dude, comon, there’s a huge problem.” Yonghwa’s eyes slowly pulled themselves open and tried to adjust themselves to the light. A glance at his alarm clock told him it was already 1:00pm and he had slept for a longer time than he was supposed to. Luckily he had almost a whole month off due to his wedding being the next day.

“Aish, my head is spinning right now Minhyuk so keep it down. It feels like I drank a swimming pool of alcohol,” Yonghwa complained. “What’s wrong now?”

“Some people are here saying that we don’t own this house anymore. They’re saying we have around a week to get out of here before they kick us out,” Minhyuk explained. “They say this house and all that’s in it belongs to your dad and Seohyun noona. Want to tell us what’s going on?”

“What? Minhyuk that makes no sense,” Yonghwa groaned while rubbing his head. He was much too hungover to be dealing with those kinds of problems. “Are you sure they’re not just playing some stupid joke on us?”

“Hyung, what did you do last night with your dad?”

“I got drunk and we just talked about…” Yonghwa trailed off before remembering faintly that he gave his dad his bank information. A quick search of his pockets indicated that he had in fact given away his bank account to his father and he had been scammed. “!”

“Your own dad did this to you? Yonghwa, what the hell are we going to do?”

“I don’t know Minhyuk, but let me check my account online and see if this is really true.” Yonghwa endured the throbbing pain in his head and rushed over to the laptop on the desk in his room. After pressing keys in rapid succession, he confirmed what Minhyuk had told him was true.

“Hyung… this thing says that all the money in your account went to Seohyun noona. This is unbelievable. Seohyun noona isn’t someone like this.”

“Minhyuk, leave me alone for a bit,” Yonghwa commanded in a shaky voice. The fact that both his father and Seohyun had just stolen everything he had worked hard for was putting him in a blank state of mind. It was just impossible to believe that two people that were supposed to be on his side had done that to him. However the facts were there. Yonghwa’s father had taken the money and the bank statement online says the money was transferred to the account of Seo Joohyun. He didn’t know any other Seo Joohyuns so it had to be the one he knew.

“Ah Yonghwa, thanks for calling,” mocked his so-called father over the phone once Yonghwa called him. “I assume that you’re calling me because you figured us out?”

“You bastard! What did you do to Seohyun? What the are you trying to pull here?!” Yonghwa asked angrily. No matter how much indebted Yonghwa was to the man that had given him life, this was unacceptable. “I was an idiot to have trusted a piece of trash like you.”

“Oh shouldn’t you be saying that about your little girlfriend too?” the man laughed mockingly. “She’s the mastermind behind this. Have you noticed how she’s not at home right now? Seohyun was the one who brought me to you at first remember? How is it that I stole your money when all the money is in her account? She only promised me a small amount. If you want to get all the stuff you lost, go talk to her.”

“You’re lying!”

“Am I Yonghwa? Maybe you’re just lying to yourself. The facts are all there so it’s your problem if you believe them or not. Seohyun looked for me for all these years, brought me to you, and had me scam you for all you’re worth. Remember, that girl was once rich. People love money the most in this world. After all those years of hardship she faced without money, I guess she just finally gave into her greed,” he lied. “Why not just forget about her and get married to the girl you were planning on marrying? After all, you can’t trust someone who does this to you.”

“ you, you old bastard!” Yonghwa cursed. “I don’t give a about Seohyun right now. I’ll deal with that when the time comes. You had the heart to come to my house and use me like this? I can’t believe I ever trusted you. Looking back at it now, I’m glad you were gone all this time. Thanks for doing my mother and me a favor for ditching us!”

“It hurts me to have to do this for money, but I have debts too you know,” the man continued to mock. “It was nice knowing that my son grew up to be someone of importance in this world. Maybe next time once I solve all my debts I can come back and be a real dad to you. At least I got the pleasure of seeing you act like a fool for a few days. Goodbye, son.”

“Hello? Hello!?”

“Yonghwa, what happened? What did he say about Seohyun noona?”

“Minhyuk, do you know where she went?”

“Um, I think she said her mom called her to go check on something important,” Minhyuk supposed. “I think your best bet would be to find her at her old house. Have you found anything out? What the heck are we going to do?”

“Minhyuk, you ask too many questions,” Yonghwa pointed out. He rapidly threw on some clean clothes, grabbed his car keys, and headed out the door. Doubts began to swarm his mind once again and this time there was even proof to back them up. “Minhyuk, call this person.” Before running out, Yonghwa took a pen and wrote down a phone number on a piece of scrap paper.

“Lee Min Jung? Who is that hyung?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just tell her that my dad ended up being a piece of trash and that Seohyun got involved in this. I hate to ask her for a favor after she’s saved me so many times, but I need her help. Ask her to look for my dad,” Yonghwa ordered. Minhyuk nodded hesitantly and allowed Yonghwa to run to his car. In a few moments the revving of Yonghwa’s engine was heard and he sped off to fall into Seohyun’s father’s trap.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Father, what the hell do you want? I already asked you to never call me. Mom told me that it was something very important so I came for that,” Seohyun explained. After almost six years of not seeing her father even once, it was very uncomfortable to be in his presence. As usual, he hadn’t gotten rid of the air of arrogance that hung around him. Had her brother been in the house at the moment, she would have been much more comfortable.

“Is it a sin to want to meet with my daughter after all these years?” her father asked while standing up from his desk. “You and Soo Hyun have left us pretty neglected since you left. Your brother doesn’t even come back to visit your dear old mother anymore.”

“Enough with the games father, just tell me what you want,” she ordered in an acidic voice. “I’m not in the mood for your word play. I’m a busy person just like you are so let’s get this over with.”

“Excuse me sir but you can’t come in like this!” yelled the familiar voice of Butler Lee out in the living room. “Sir! Sir! The master will not be pleased that you’re doing this!” After a few more shouts from the old man who took care of the house, the large double doors to the office crashed open, revealing a very angry Jung Yonghwa.

“Ah, Assistant Director Jung, so nice of you to join us. How have you been these past few years?” the arrogant gentleman behind the desk greeted in a phony voice. “May I ask why you are here?”

“Yonghwa, what the heck are you doing here?” Seohyun asked in surprise.

“Explain yourself now.”

“Oh, I assume that you found us out,” her father began, leaving Seohyun confused. A smile found its way onto his face upon realizing that the two young people in front of him had fallen into his trap. “My daughter and I knew that you still have feelings for her. However, due to her kind nature, she didn’t have the heart to finally tell you off. In order to get you away from her, we had to resort to this. I’m sorry things didn’t turn out well for you Mister Jung.”

“Father what the hell are you talking about? Yonghwa explain what’s going on right now,” Seohyun commanded in confusion.

“See even up until now my little girl can’t bring herself to hurt you. She’s denying it all because her conscience is eating her up right now,” the father kept explaining. “As you can see, the Seo family is done with you. Kindly leave and never come back to our house. My daughter has no intentions of ever being near you again.”

“Father, what are you blabbering on about? Yonghwa, explain what’s going on to me please! Father, why are you spewing all these lies?”

“Come now, Joohyun ah, there’s no reason for you to deny this to him. Just tell him that you got tired of living like a poor person like he once was. Tell him that for money you will do anything. Why don’t you just confess to him that you used his father in order to hurt him enough for him to let you go?” the man continued to lie.

“No…” Yonghwa responded quietly.

“No what? No you can’t comprehend the situation? No you can’t believe that someone like your ex-girlfriend and father scammed you in order to hurt you? You disappoint me Jung Yonghwa. I expected a Tokyo University graduate and Assistant Director at a hospital would be much smarter than this,” Seohyun’s father mocked.

“No… I don’t believe anything you’re saying.”

“What?” the arrogant person laughed. “The proof is all right there. I’m sure that you already checked your bank accounts and noticed that Seo Joohyun was the one that took all your money. Every single detail of this situation adds up. How is it that you couldn’t connect the dots? How is it that you can’t realize that my daughter wanted to completely sever all her ties with you?”

“You’re lying…” Yonghwa barked. “You miscalculated in setting up this trap. I believe in Seohyun more than anyone in this world. Sure I doubted her once or twice when I believed your lies once, but I won’t fall for that stupid trick again. Sure your entire story sounds 100% true, but I will never believe it!”

“You sure are a stupid person Mister Jung. The proof is all there and the story all adds up. My daughter has loved money since she was young. Money is worth more in this world than love is. Will love feed you? Will love help you afford the luxuries in life? Why do you think my daughter took all you had from you? She’s just another human that loves money!” he hysterically explained.

“You’re a very capable person Mister Seo. If you could only put all your energy in doing productive things for this world you would be a much bigger success,” Yonghwa pointed out. “Throw what you can at me, I’ll take it all. Even if you have enough money to buy the favor of the devil himself, I’ll never give into you. I’ve doubted Seohyun far too much to continue to do so. Even if the entire world is against me, I know Seohyun will have my back.”

“Yonghwa…” she gasped quietly.

“Bring the most skilled lawyers and prosecutors money can buy here. They’ll all probably conclude that Seohyun had in fact done in this, but I won’t believe them. Even if god himself comes down to this planet and tells me that Seohyun is guilty, I won’t believe it,” Yonghwa confidently told the people in the room. “I thank you for actually taking the time to look for my father. Thank you for making me realize what kind of man he was.”

“Why is it that you have such a strong belief in her? She betrayed you! She stole from you! She used your father to do all of that!” he claimed wildly. It was easy for both Yonghwa and Seohyun to tell the man had been beaten. The fact that such a composed man was acting so rashly indicated he had just put his last cards on the playing field and lost.

“Sure let’s say she did all of that. Seohyun betrayed me, stole from me, and used my father against me. If she had done all of that, which I know she didn’t, I would still care for her. If you have nothing else to tell me, then let’s just drop this. I hope I never have to see you Mister Seo. I apologize for storming into your house like this. Let’s get the out of here Seohyun.” The stunned girl nodded and quietly followed Yonghwa towards the large double doors that had been broken into moments ago.

“Don’t think you’ve beaten me! I’ll never let you be happy with my daughter ever!”

“What daughter?” Seohyun finally spoke up. “Last I remember, you had no children. Seo Joohyun is no longer a part of this family. Goodbye Mister Seo, have fun living your life as the lonely and miserable wretch you are.”

“Miss, you shouldn’t barge in here like that!” Butler Lee yelled out in the halls. “Aigoo, I’m too old for this kind of stuff. Just go ahead, the master is having a meeting with Master Yonghwa.” Just as Yonghwa had done a few moments ago, Min Jung burst through the doors and threw the poor excuse for a father he had onto the ground. Blood covered his face as he clutched his twisted arm in pain.

“My guys caught this bastard and managed to get him to cough up all that he stole. Are you guys okay?” Min Jung asked in annoyance. The girl proceeded to throw a glare at the man on the floor and then at the person still standing behind the desk. “You guys sure have some screwed up dads…”

“Thanks for bring this trash here Min Jung,” Yonghwa thanked referring to his father. “We were just about to leave so let’s get the out of here.” Min Jung noticed how much anger Yonghwa was feeling for him to be cursing like that and realized it was best they got out of there. As much as she wanted to teach those two old fools a lesson, things could get quite scary if Yonghwa went wild.

“Son, forgive me for doing this!” the bloody bastard on the floor begged without an ounce of shame. “I didn’t mean to do that stuff. That man over there blackmailed me into doing so.”

“Son?” Yonghwa laughed in a scary tone. It almost sounded like he was about to kill the man begging for mercy. “You’re not a father to anyone. Even if you were blackmailed into doing this, a parent will give up anything for a child. The fact that you looked out for yourself and not me proves you’re not my father. I hope I find my real father someday, because you sure as hell aren’t him. Oh, by the way, have fun in jail.”

“Jail?! Why?!”

“Don’t you remember all those debts you had? Shall I put you in jail for evading all those people? Or perhaps you would like me to call up those loan sharks you owe money to? I’m sure you’ll enjoy jail a lot more,” Yonghwa scorned. “You’re lucky you can’t go to jail for pulling this stupid stunt with Seohyun’s father. I will admit you almost had me a bit, but you didn’t take into account how much I truly care for her.”

“Yeobo… why are you still doing these kinds of things?” Seohyun’s mom asked disbelievingly as she entered the room. “I knew something was up when you called our daughter to come visit us. I know eavesdropping is wrong, but I’m worried about her more than I worry about you. Why is it that you can’t let her be happy with this man? Yonghwa cares for her more than we do as her parents.”

“No, I won’t! I can’t let her suffer!”

“What suffering? Yonghwa is a man with money now. Why would she suffer? You’re causing her more suffering with the things you cause. I was holding it in before, but now I can’t,” the angry woman began. “Joohyun, I’m sorry I didn’t stop your father when I could. I promise he won’t let him get involved anymore. Lawyer Kim will start the divorce process as soon as he can. It’s embarrassing to be divorcing at our age, but you asked for it. I can’t live with a man who puts money before his children.”

“Divorce!? Ha! Don’t make me laugh. You think that will affect me?” the arrogant man ridiculed. His face however, didn’t match his words. It was obvious to everyone in the room that he had been cornered and this was his last stand.

“Yeah, I think it will father,” a new male voice jumped in. “Need I remind you that every single share of our company was transferred to my name once I became the president. Nothing we own even mentions your name. If mom divorces you, you’re done for.”

“Soo Hyun oppa!” Seohyun chirped happily before throwing herself onto him. “You’re finally back in Korea? When did you come back?”

“I came back a day ago and went to see my wife. Although I’m glad I finally got to come back to see this. Father, will you ever learn you lesson?” Soo Hyun scolded. “Seohyun, Yonghwa get out of here. I would rather you not get involved in this more than you have to.”

“Oppa will you be alright? I’m a part of this too so let me stay here,” Seohyun suggested. Soo Hyun ran a hand through her hair and squeezed her once more. Seohyun took that as a sign that he was trying to protect her and nodded quietly.

“I don’t know where went wrong with you,” Seohyun’s mother spoke towards her husband. “You know how hard it is for a rich person and a poor person to be in love. You were one of those poor people once too. My father tried so hard to break us apart and we finally got approval by getting pregnant with Soo Hyun. Do you want your daughter to try something like that too?”

“I… I…” stuttered the now defeated father.

“No, don’t talk. Since you knew what it was to be poor back then, I’m sure you’ll have no problem adjusting to it,” the angry mother pointed out. “Joohyun honey, leave this house forever and be happy. This place has been nothing but hell for you for the past 28 years of your life. I’m also at fault for letting this happen and I need to be the one that cleans it up.”

“Mom, please let me help you,” Seohyun suggested once more.

“Ani, just go find Yonghwa and help him get through this. No matter how much he denies that it doesn’t hurt him to have his father betray him, he’s hurt. It seems that he left while we were arguing so go find him,” the caring woman ordered. Seohyun didn’t want to leave her family in such a disorganized state, but she knew her mom was right. She hadn’t even noticed Yonghwa had left, but she had an idea where he was going to go.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Just as Seohyun had thought, Yonghwa had headed to the spot that he always went to when he had to think. It had been 10 years for her since she had been there and it felt a little nostaligic. The old swing that had been his source of comfort for his entire childhood was still standing in the same place it had been when they were in high school. She let out a small giggle at how she realized how easy he was to read, but refrained from smiling further at the situation. For Yonghwa to have come to the swing, he must have been feeling terrible.

“I know you’ve been following me,” Yonghwa pointed out. Instead of arguing with him Seohyun sat in the swing next to him and remained there quietly for a few minutes. The gentle creaking of the rusty chain links was the only sound besides the wind that reached their ears, but the silence wasn’t too awkward.

“Yonghwa, are you okay? Well, I know you’re not but… ugh… um…”

“I know what you mean,” he chuckled, yet didn’t drop his dejected attitude. Something about the situation gave her the same feel as the time they had been out here for his birthday. Only this time she didn’t have anything prepared in order to liven him up. “You know I what I would always tell myself while swinging on these swings?”

“Huh? Oh, what?” Seohyun answered as she came back to reality.

“I’d always tell myself that I would find out how to stop time hehe,” he joked with a weak laugh. “I knew that if I never grew up I would be able to just stay swinging on these swings for the rest of my life. If I grew up I would have to deal with the troubles of the real world and I didn’t want that. For some reason one day I began telling myself that if I swung high enough, I would be able to see my dad again. What a joke right?”

“Yonghwa, don’t do this to yourself,” Seohyun pleaded. “Let’s just go home and fix up the problems my dad caused.”

“I was so happy that my dad came back even though I acted like I wasn’t. I didn’t want to forgive him but that inner child of mine that missed his father made me do it. That week I spent with him was the happiest I’ve been in a long time,” he explained. The sad smile on his face was enough to break anyone’s heart that saw it. Seohyun looked away from the crying man in order to avoid tears forming in her eyes too. “Even though it was fake, I don’t regret a second of it. Although, I do regret having brought you into this mess.”

“Yonghwa, I this wasn’t your fault this happened. Both of us could sit here and blame ourselves the whole day and not get anywhere,” Seohyun reasoned.

“I can’t believe that I ever thought that my family could ever get back together,” Yonghwa laughed at himself. “You’re right about this. I promised myself that I wouldn’t let these feelings get to me anymore. Since you’re so eager to go, I think you should walk back to your house and get my car.” Seohyun smiled a little upon hearing his usual jokes and seeing the sad smile leave his face.

“You know, I gave up my family today. I know it’s not exactly same, but we’re in the same boat now. Yonghwa, you may never be able to get your family back together, but I know something that’s just as good.” Seohyun made a small hop off the swing and made her way towards his swing. Small delicate hands took a pair of larger ones and pulled the boy up from his swing. “We’re both family-less now. If you’ll let me, I’ll be your family from now on. I know you’re going to get married to Shin Hye tomorrow, but you still have a chance to back out.”

“Seohyun, you’re really persistent,” he continued joking.

“If you allow me to I’ll give you all the family you want.” The woman brought him into a gentle hug and squeezed him tightly, as if saying she would never let him go. “Together we can form a family that will make up for the mistakes of our parents. We’ve learned so much from their errors and we can work together on forming the perfect family. I don’t want to pressure you, but I can’t hold it in anymore. I told myself I would be strong enough to let you go, but I can’t do that.”

“Seohyun, I…”

“No don’t tell me what you’re going to do. You’ve shown me with your words and actions today what your intentions are. I hope you know what you’re doing and you’re sure that it’s the best choice. I’ll see you tomorrow at the wedding,” Seohyun bid farewell. “I’d love to stay and chat with you but it seems like you have a lot on your mind. Just as you believe in me so strongly, I believe in you. Let’s hope that we’ll be okay regardless of what happens.” Yonghwa wanted to explain to her what he had decided upon, but he knew she wouldn’t let him. Reluctantly, he allowed the girl that had consoled him so many times to leave him to think.

“Seohyun, you should have let me tell you what I was going to do. I’m sure I made the best choice now.”

 

 

Author’s Note: Wedding day next chapter! Sorry for no update yesterday but I woke up a little late and didn’t really have time to write. I can only start writing at around 7-8am or 9-10pm. If I try writing at any other time it comes out pretty crappy. I don’t know if I will be able to update over the weekend. My cousin is a big stupid idiot and thinks it’s cool to come live at my house over the weekends and just distract me. Hopefully I can make him not come over and screw up my update.

So both dads were taken out with one stone. Sorry if it was a little too easy and unbelievable, but hey this is fiction isn’t it? *sings Beast’s Fiction*. Anyways, so wedding day next chapter, so I’m a little nervous. I feel like this chapter was a little crappy because my brother was blasting music while I was writing it so I feel like I made mistakes. I will try my best for you all. I’ve been planning out what I will do lately and I’m stuck between two ideas. I have one idea for my short story, but I’m debating which of the two long ideas I will use. At least they will be different from this story and my first one. They will be a little more lighthearted (well you’ll see what I mean when they’re out).