II

“What?”

“I have a problem.”

“What is it all about?”

“It’s something that I can’t solve.”

“What is it all about?”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“I said, WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT?!” Kai was suddenly startled by Baekhyun’s change of voice.

“It’s about Krystal…and Seyoon,” he replied softly.

“What?! Don’t you tell me, you made the two of them your girlfriend at the same time? Dude, that’s rude.”

“No, it’s not like that. Well, close enough but not like that. What I meant is that I am in a huge trouble. My parents wanted me to marry Seyoon before the graduation.”

“What?!” he stood up getting the attention of everyone in the classroom.

“Shooosh…”

“I mean whaaaat…? What will happen between you and Krystal? Have you said it to her yet? What does she says?”

“You ask many questions. No, I haven’t and never will be. Besides, I will never agree to that marriage thing.”

“What about Seyoon? What does she says? I’m sure she will surely disagree to that marriage.”

“That’s what I thought but after her grandpa’s death, she suddenly agrees on thatmarriage.”

“What?!” Again, the class looked at the two of them as if saying ‘get the hell out’. Baekhyun and Kai went at the end of the hallway to talk without any future disturbances.

“I don’t know. Out of the blue, she suddenly said yes. I really don’t know what’s running inside her head. It’s hard to guess especially if she gave you that gloomy blank face all the time.”

“Do you think it must have been her grandpa’s last wish before he died?”

“That I don’t know of.”

---

Seyoon still didn’t know what to do. After the funeral, things went back to the way it was, at least. She and Kai were strangers to each other again. As the time passed, she felt like she had been constricted by the pressure of the arrange marriage. But, she was thinking of what her grandfather said the last time that they talked before he died.

~*~

Even though Seyoon knew that the arrange marriage would be impossible to happen, she was still distracted by the thought of it coming true. But what’s important right now for her was her grandfather’s health. Every time the class would end, she would rush to the hospital to visit her grandfather. As expected, he was sleeping soundly when she got there. Suddenly, she heard a very mellow voice.

“Seyoon…”

“Yes grandpa?”

“Thank you. Thank you for taking care of me.”

“No, you don’t have to thank me. It’s my own will to take care of you. After all, I am your granddaughter.”

“The ‘smile’…” she heard him said softly.

“Uhhmm…?” she asked in confusion.

“I wanna see you smile again.”

“Smile? Am I not smiling right now? What do you want? An aegyo smile? A beautiful smile? A teeth-shown smile?” she asked her grandpa while trying to pull smiles she had or she never had tried before.

“No. I want to see your genuine smile. A smile that the real Seyoon would have.”

“Real Seyoon.” she said in a very low voice. ‘The real Seyoon? But, I am the real Seyoon. At least, that’s what I wanted to believe,’ she thought.

“You seemed to worry a lot Seyoon-ah. Is it about the marriage?”

“Ah…Don’t worry about it grandpa. I’ve already made my decision. I won’t agree to the marriage. I want to live my life with my own choice and decision.”

“I know…I know that the real Seyoon would always live the life the way she wanted it to be. After all, you’re my granddaughter. We’re very much alike.” Her grandfather had a little chuckle. She could see him struggle with every words he uttered. Although, she would like to end the conversation to let him rest but she couldn’t. She would like to hear his words. That’s the only time that she felt peaceful inside.

“Seyoon-ah, are you happy?” her grandfather asked out of nowhere.

“Happy? I’ve…always…been…happy.” She answered with a stuttering voice and a fake smile. But no matter what she did, she knew that her grandfather could see through her. He was the only one who could understand her. No, he was one of the three people who could truly understand her: her grandfather, her older brother, and Kai. But that was before. Kai was now a stranger to her. He didn’t know her anymore and neither did she know him. Or was it because she chose not to know him anymore?

“You’re still young. You’re still in the age where everything is possible to happen. You shouldn’t let others affect you. You should not be afraid to express yourself. That’s the only way you could understand yourself and let the others understand you as well. So let me ask you again, are you happy right now?”

“I am…Am I?” she just looked at her grandfather. He never replied to her again after she noticed that he had fallen asleep. ‘Happy…Happiness…Were could I find that happiness? Should I let myself be down like this forever? I don’t know’ she asked herself.  All that she knew was that she felt the happiest when she was with him, with Kai.

The next few days, she found herself sitting on her dad’s office.

“So, what brought you here?” asked her father, who was always busy for the company. While talking to her, he had been signing a lot of folders piled in front of him.

“I…I’ve made my decision.” Her father suddenly stopped what he was doing and looked at her. “I’ve decided to…marry Kai.” Yes, she knew. She knew it had been a selfish decision by her selfish and foolish self. Maybe…maybe this was the only way she could find her happiness. Maybe…

~*~

Kai was on his way to the music room when suddenly a familiar voice approached him.

“Kai…I would like to talk to you…”