My Turn to Cry - EXO 

Chapter 49: Puzzle Pieces.

It was silent. The atmosphere was so silent that Chen realized that something was very off. He knew that the people he assigned to work in the testing facility of their hospital were the ones who were always talkative, despite the fact that the environment they worked in practically made it hard for them to make noise. Their expressions were stiff as well, and even though they tried so hard to make it as natural as possible, the strangeness was still hard to miss.

Meeting up with the head analyst didn’t make things any better. The female had tried to keep calm, but the fidgety state she was in was very apparent. It only heightened the suspicion and anxiety that was growing in Chen; more so once the female analyst signalled for him to enter the office.

Pulling his hands from the pockets of his white lab coat, Chen walked further inside the laboratory, casually giving smiles in response to the unusual stares of the staff. As he reached the office of the head analyst, he stepped inside, then took a seat in front of her table and acknowledged her with a nod. The female did the same, all the while pushing a white folder towards Chen with a small smile. The male only took a glance at it before raising an eyebrow.

“It seems like our staff already knew the results.” Chen scoffed, giving the head analyst an unpleasant look. “I wanted to see the results after dad did, you know. I don’t even know if I should be relieved or irritated about this.”

“Well, everyone was dying to know. Don’t worry, your dad saw it first out of everyone,” the head analyst defended, causing for Chen to snort.

“And his reaction was?”

“One of pure elation.” The female beamed. “I think… you’ll just be the same.”

Clicking his tongue, Chen then took the folder in his hands. The object was very light, but in contrary to it, his hands felt heavy. Seeing the participating individuals’ names typewritten on the front only made it worse. He was nervous of what he was about to see, and his heart was becoming more and more constricted with each second that passed by, but he knew that prolonging things would only make him suffer more.  

“I really hope that your assumption’s true.”

Giving the head analyst one last look, he took a deep breath and gave her a smile back, opening the folder in one swift movement.

Jaera walked to school in silence. She was late, but she really couldn’t have cared less at that moment. Morning classes were cancelled for the high school seniors’ graduation orientation anyway, and besides, she had enough things to worry about. She was still staying in the public bathhouse of their neighbourhood, and she was already running out of clean clothes. Good thing is that, she was able to go back to work, so food wasn’t a problem. Baekhyun and Chanyeol even added a few amount more to her salary. A part of her was relieved, but the remaining half of her was distressed, knowing that she couldn’t live like that forever.

The pain she felt wouldn’t vanish in an instant, and she was still hurting, but she knew that sooner or later, she would have to stand up again. She had lived before without the presence of Lu Han, so surely, she could still continue living like he wasn’t a part of her life. She wanted to forget about him, to be rid of the pain she felt because of him, but it was easier said than done. Reality was still the same; Jaera wouldn’t be able to erase something that was already etched in her heart.

Each day that she woke up inside the bathhouse made her remember all of the times that she spent in the condo with Lu Han. Those times made her feel different emotions; anger, annoyance, sadness, envy, excitement, and happiness. But the best feeling that she had was love. It was one that made her realize that she had friends and a family, that she was truly cared and loved for.

Remembering those memories, she knew that it was impossible to forget. Moving on would be easy, but letting go would be much more difficult.

Especially when one of the people involved, the one she didn’t expect to see the most, had chosen to face her courageously. Jaera still didn’t know how to feel towards her, but she wouldn’t forsake the female of her right to speak; more so since a part of her as well, still longed to hear her voice again.

“Jongmi,” Jaera called, standing in place as the female approached her near the school gymnasium. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have classes?”

Hearing Jaera, a soft chuckle came from Jongmi’s lips. It greatly amused her how the girl could stay so calm in front of her, in front of the one who hurt her so badly. “Stop making me feel worse than I already do. You know why I’m here.”

Jaera only stayed silent, not knowing what to actually say. This urged Jongmi to continue. “I’m here to apologize for everything that I did.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for, Jongmi.” Jaera answered back. “I hurt you before, so it would only be reasonable for you to do what you did. We’re just even.”

Heaving a sigh, Jongmi gnawed at her bottom lip. “I may already look like a two-faced to you right now, so might as well put it this way,” Jongmi paused for a second before speaking again. “I just want to be rid of the guilt that I have before I go back to Canada where my real family is.”

Jaera’s eyes widened as she looked at Jongmi in confusion. “Real family?”

“I’m not a real Kim,” Jongmi replied. Though once she realized her words, she quickly amended her statement. “Okay, I’m a member of the Kims, but I’m only from the branch family[1]; I’m only a relative, Chen and Kai-oppa’s cousin.”

Completely dumbfounded by everything she was hearing from Jongmi, Jaera’s mouth fell open and her thoughts went haywire. “Y-you’re not their real sister? But I thought—“

“I already told you before that my other cousin is the real fiancé of Lu Han-oppa, right?” Jongmi gave Jaera a stern look. “Well, that’s because I’m not the real Jongmi… but that’s not the point now.” Despite wanting to reveal everything to Jaera, Jongmi refused to give a lot.

Besides, that’s not the reason why she had met up with the girl. “I’ve done a lot of things to you, a whole lot of things to hurt you, and though you may not believe me when I say that I regret getting carried away by my envy and anger, I still want you to know that… I’m sorry.” Jongmi might have said that she was just doing it for the sake of her guilt, but honestly, she wanted to save the real person that Jaera knew of her. She wanted to save their relationship; she wanted to save their friendship. “I’m really sorry.”

Jaera didn’t know if she was stupid or just plain inconsistent, but hearing Jongmi, and seeing the sincerity in her eyes, the anger and pain that she harboured suddenly vanished. It’s as if the cold hard wall that has had been building up inside of her suddenly crumbled. A big part of her was lifted, and it made her feel a lot better.

“You were really a good friend to me, Jaera, and I am very thankful for having to meet you again after years of not being able to.” Jongmi continued. “Expect that even if I’m already in Canada, you’ll still hear news from me. I don’t just let someone off that easily once they get attached to me… even if I have a personal hatred towards that person.” Jaera nodded slowly.

Seeing as there was still hope for her, although with much uncertainty, Jongmi breathed heavily. “And please listen to what Lu Han-oppa has to say.” Jaera already expected for the topic to be brought up, so she remained silent. “He didn’t do anything wrong. I saw his message on your phone that night and I was just so desperate that I… I ended up forcing myself on him.”

Not wanting to talk about the matter anymore, Jaera finally spoke. “Look Jongmi, I don’t really care about him anymore—“

“But I do.” Jongmi cut her off. “Lu Han-oppa may not have the same feelings for me, but I still love him.” She then looked at Jaera seriously. “Same goes to you. A part of me might hate you but you’re my cousin, and the familial bond we share still gets the best of me.”

Hearing Jongmi’s last statement, all the thoughts pertaining to Lu Ha