Chapter 8

Daehyun hated how his father was very persistent in bringing him back home. He hated the place. The plastic smiles of his siblings.The way they looked at him in envy just because his father decided to give him every penny of his inheritance. He didn’t need his father’s money. He didn’t need a huge company to run. All he wanted was to live peacefully without his siblings trying to think of ways to kill him. Daehyun was the youngest in the family and his mother was his father’s last wife. After she died, his father never married again. His father expected a lot from Daehyun.

Daehyun’s other siblings liked to spend their father’s money lavishly and greedily that’s why his only hope was in Daehyun. All his father’s attention was on him and even though it was supposed to be a good thing, every little bit of fault Daehyun had committed was a huge thing for his father.

Daehyun had to be the perfect son.

He had to be different from his siblings.

But to him, it was too much.

He sought comfort in his mother. His mother didn’t pressure him and taught him how to be a better person. She was his light. It was also during his childhood where he met Baekhyun.

He kept both of them close.

But now they were no longer around.

As Daehyun headed for school, he spotted a black car waiting in front of the university gate. He headed straight inside hoping the car wasn’t waiting for him. He was out of luck when he heard his name being called.

“Daehyun.”

He stopped and turned to see his older brother, looking as cocky and confident as ever. An unfamiliar girl wrapping her arms around him. His brother was married so the scene disgusted him so much.

“What do you want?” he said in annoyance.

“Give up on the inheritance.” His brother said blatantly.

“I didn’t have it in the first place.” He told him.

“I sometimes wonder why father never gives up on you. You’re just illegitimate. Your mother was just another mistress.”

Daehyun kicked the door of his brother’s car, creating a large dent. His brother cowered in fear at the back of his .

“Good day to you Kim Junho.” He muttered and left his hateful brother.

Eunji didn’t think she would ever see her mother again. She didn’t know what to feel or what to say. Her mother had settled her things in her grandmother’s house and decided to stay there in the mean time. She said she had no place to go. She had lost her job and her boyfriend had abandoned her. Her financial support was gone and she had no idea how to live her life. She was ashamed of her for some reason. How could someone so confident before be this pitiful now? She always looked up to her mother when she was a child. Now, her mother looked like a broken shell.

“Eunji-ah..” she said in a calming tone. “I made hot chocolate for you inside, will you join me?”

“No.” she declined sternly.

Her mother gave a sad smile and looked down. She probably got the message she conveyed through her decline. She went back inside and Eunji went back to arranging flowers on display.

The feelings she had for her mother were probably hatred and disappointment.

Her mother had left her as a child. She left her with her father because she was too cowardly to run away with Eunji. Her mother was afraid that she might be hunted down if she took Eunji with her. She hated how her mother was a coward. She never felt any love from her mother. It was always her who made the effort and yet, here she is now.

She wasn’t ready to forgive as well.

Daehyun arrived at Eunji’s apartment that afternoon, seeing her carrying Kekemato like she was her child. She then placed him on the table and fed him a baby carrot. She caressed his fur happily and smiled like she never cried at all.

“I’m back.” Daehyun announced.

“Hey!” Eunji greeted. “Welcome back.”

“How’s school?” she asked.

“Well….I got scolded by my professor again for asking another extension but other than that, pretty mundane.” He told her. “You?”

“Same as usual.” She said.

Both of them didn't talk about their bad encounters with their distant relatives. They needed the time away from problems and staying quiet about it was probably as good a silence as they’ll ever have.

Daehyun grabbed his pad and started making his report. His professor always loved challenging him. He was the top student in class and so, teachers expected more from him than any other student. They gave him more work to do and more written reports to be done. He didn’t know if he should be flattered or pissed by the pile of work they gave him. Either way, it helped him take his mind off certain things and somehow he was grateful for it.

Eunji was in the kitchen, cooking their dinner. She still felt the pain and anger in her heart from her encounter that morning. She hated how her mother's cowardly attitude made her suffer. It was her weakness that made Eunji wounded and scarred in the past. It was her fault for marrying that brutal man. The man who was not even her blood-related father. The man that had scarred her for life. His face flashed in Eunji’s mind and she accidentally burned her self. She yelped in pain as the oil from the pan poured on her arm. Daehyun rushed to the kitchen and saw the damage on Eunji's arm. His face was full of worry.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” he gently pulled her hand and examined it.

“It’s nothing” she laughed shruggingly. “Its just a minor burn.”

“Idiot. Let’s get this checked. It looks big.”

“No, it’s alright, really.” She smiled.

Daehyun flicked her forehead and looked at her blankly. “Mah! You really like making me mad don’t yah?! Stop being freakin stubborn and just go to the hospital!” he yelled in dialect, which sometimes made Eunji laugh.

“Yeah yeah.” She agreed.