-30

Chapter Thirty

"Hee Young is a person worth breaking for."

13th of February 2015

“What do you plan on wearing?” Hee Min asked as she settled down on Hee Young’s bed, casually using her pillow to hug for a moment. Hee Young groaned, shaking her head as she stood in front of her closet, “I don’t know! I mean,” She turned around, facing her sister, “I don’t want to be there but at the same time I don’t want to… I don’t want to embarrass myself.”

Hee Min snapped her fingers, “How about a dress?”

Hee Young groaned, “I’m not a dress person…”

Hee Min laughed, motioning at herself, “You have a friend, here.”

The latter turned around and hid half of her body in the closet, burying her head in between the mass clothes hanging in there, “But I only have one dress!”

Hee Min smirked and got up, walking over towards the closet. She gently tugged her sister out and mumbled softly, “Not exactly,” Before rummaging through her closet. Hee Young stood there with furrowed eyebrows, noticing how Hee Min was opening a drawer here and there and somewhere in between that process, she was tearing her closet apart.

“Yah! Unnie! My closet is going to break like that!”

“Wait!” Hee Min huffed back in response when she finally saw that pastel blue clothing she was looking for. With a proud grin, she reached for it and managed to pull it out delicately. She let a sweat trail down her temple but it was worth it as she lifted up the dress. Hee Young’s eyes widened, “This was hiding in there?”

Hee Min smiled, “Yeah. I kept it in here when I helped you move into your dorm. I didn’t tell you because-“

“I’m not wearing that!”

“Yeah, that’s why I didn’t tell you.” Hee Min laughed, shoving it into her sister’s arms, “Wear this. I promise you’ll look pretty.”

Hee Young rolled her eyes, “My goal isn’t to look pretty.”

“Now it can be.” Hee Min winked, lightly tapping her sister’s bum, “Go change!”

“I’m on it!” Hee Young hollered back in frustration, closing the bathroom there for extra dissatisfaction because she has to wear a dress.

“Dude, Hee Young in a dress at your three o’ clock.” Lay piped from his side of the table, his eyes casually looking out of the window from the restaurant they were in. Currently, the two were at a restaurant just by the side of the campus where they could see people coming in and out from time to time.

And this time, it was Hee Young and Hee Min, walking towards the car Hee Min owned.

Kai scoffed, his eyes still staring at the menu, “I think I misheard you saying Hee Young’s in a dress.”

“Ow! What’s that for?!” Kai lightly hissed, clutching onto his shin as he glared at Lay. The latter who gave the hit reached forward, grabbing Kai by the chin to make him face the window where his words were indeed true. Hee Young was walking slowly but surely towards the car. She does not do so well in heels but she was trying her best – her sister had it all planned and apparently ‘that’s’ what she brought in a box – a pair of white heels that would miraculously match with the pastel dress she hid.

“Told you.” Lay grinned in triumph, leaning back against his chair as well as letting go of Kai.

The guy simply stared at Hee Young, jaw slightly cracked open as he stared at her – it was as if she was a celebrity that rarely came into town.

“Where the heck is she going dressed like that?”

Lay smirked, using his head to nudge at the window as he stared down on the menu, “Why don’t you go and find out?”

With a soft sigh after deciding what he wanted to eat, he asked, “What do you want to eat?”

A few seconds too late, he asked once more, “Yah. I asked you a question.”

And when he didn’t get an answer after a solid minute, he lifted his chin to find out his ‘friend’ was not in front of him. He looked out of the window, smirking when he was right, “That bastard really went out.”

“So where are you pretty ladies going?” Kai cooed, casually leaning against the car when Hee Young just got into the passenger’s seat. (Oh yeah, it took her a while to get there) As Kai expected, Hee Young looked at his way and purposely yanked the door close, making him stumble a bit since he was leaning against it. He recollected himself and bent over when Hee Min had the courtesy to wind down the window of Hee Young’s door.

“We’re on the way for a dinner.”

Kai grinned mischievously, “Can I join?”

“How about you eat a bucket of-!” Hee Young’s curse was apparently halted when Hee Min planted a hand over , “It’s actually a family dinner, Kai.”

He smirked once more, wiggling his eyebrows at Hee Young, “I can mix well with families.”

Hee Min chuckled and Hee Young took this chance to nudge her hand away from , “Just mind your own business, damn it.”

Kai shrugged, inching his hand forward to ruffle her hair, “Whatever you want, princess. I’ll see you tomorrow, anyway.” He took a step back and gave a minor bow, “Take care.” He then waved at Hee Min, “Bye noona!”

Hee Min gave a polite nod and Hee Young was left to wind the window back up as Hee Min took off from the side of the road.

“I didn’t know the both of you were dating.” Hee Min chuckled, eyes focused on the road but she spared a glance at her sister who was clearly still fuming, “We’re not dating.”

Hee Min couldn’t help but find this a perfect chance to , “Princess, hm?”

Hee Young groaned, clenching her eyes out of obvious frustration, “He’s kidding!”

Hee Min gave a shrug, “It didn’t seem like he was. In fact, isn’t that what he used to call you?”

“I think we’re going way too deep into the past, unnie. Let’s go forward and by that, I mean it literally,” Hee Young pointed forward, indicating that the light had turned green.

Hee Min rolled her eyes, “Always trying to be the smart .”

“I don’t need to try.”

“Oh yeah, because you’re already an .”

“Rude.”

“You're the one to speak.”

It was for a fact that it felt like something had died around here. Not literally but the feeling was what it felt like. The feeling of not being welcomed and the feeling of being forced to be here – it wasn’t nice at all. For once, she really felt like she should’ve stand firm on not changing plans just for this dinner. She would actually like to see how the principal would abuse his power and soon after, she’ll start a riot.

And it’ll be one hell of a riot.

But since there was nothing she could do, she went on with it.

She was silent during all the small talk – concerned my , she spit in her mind.

Her mother kept asking questions and Hee Min knew that Hee Young doesn’t want to answer anything. Even when they wanted to order what they’d like to eat, it seems like her ‘father’ has it all planned and he ordered beforehand. That’s when Hee Young didn’t want to answer anything – anything at all. Including the little questions she could’ve answered, Hee Min kept answering for her.

Her mother definitely felt the tension lingering in the air but what else could she do? Deep down inside, she knows the reason why Hee Young was acting that way. It didn’t help either that suddenly her mother asked, “H-Hee Young-ah… What’s that on your shoulder?”

Great. Out of all the days I chose to wear a sleeveless clothing…

Hee Young simply shifted on her seat, moving to place a hand on it as her elbow rested on the table, “Nothing.”

Apparently, Hee Young isn’t the only one who’s dreading the dinner.

“Hee Young, your mother asked you a question.”

Hee Young looked up to the person to her left and raised an eyebrow, “And I answered.”

He clenched a fist on the table, “You were not answering. You were avoiding the question.”

She scoffed and she could see how her mother tried to get him to shake it off. Getting Hee Min here along with Hee Young was already a hard thing to do. The least she wants is to push them further than they’ve already have – but they have no idea how distant they truly were, especially Hee Young. Hee Min reached underneath the table, giving Hee Young’s hand a squeeze – some sort of reminder to not do anything stupid here; they were out in public.

“I’m just trying to save everyone the sob story, alright?” Hee Young breathed out, tired of actually arguing with someone who will never understand how his ‘beloved future wife’ used to be. She even doubts that he knows of her alcoholic problems. And if he does, he’ll never know of the horrible things she’s done because even she herself doesn’t know . She doesn’t know anything because all these years she’s never given a to even find out.

And when she did, she didn’t.

“Oh please, Hee Young,” He scoffed, moving his hand from his fiancée’s grip, “Do tell us what that mark means on your shoulder. Was your boyfriend too rough on you in the past?”

Her mother gawked, nudging him by the shoulders this time, “Dong Min!”

Hee Young’s grip on her sister’s hand got tighter and Hee Min doesn’t like the change of vibe. She really thought they could at least have a proper meal without going at each other’s throats but clearly this wasn’t going as well as she thought it would be. Actually, they were already halfway through the meal and the last course was dessert but… chances are dessert won’t be served in time.

“Ah, it takes one to know one, don’t you think?”

It ticked him off.

“Where are you been all your damned life? Where did you learn such language?!”

“Oh, you’re asking me?”

Hee Min held onto her sister’s hand, shaking her underneath the table, “Hee Young, stop it!”

Dong Min’s lips parted to utter some more words but her mother had tried to stop him. Well, she tried.

“Please, just stop. We were supposed to have a family dinner!”

“She’s not going to be my daughter. I don’t know what you see in her that you want to make it up to her so much when you’ve not done anything-!”

It fell quiet, too quiet when Hee Young stood up with the screeching of her chair. At least, the four were in a ‘private room’ but it didn’t help either because surely people next door could easily here there’s a feud going on in here. Instead of replying, she turned to look at Hee Min with a look. Hee Young let go of Hee Min’s hand and mumbled softly, “I want you to tell her what this means,” Hee Young tugged at her dress, revealing the scar that made Dong Min’s eyes go wide and even her mother’s. The mark was slightly bigger than they thought it was and it wasn’t so pretty, either.

Hee Min shook her head, mumbling softly, “S-Sit down, Hee Young. We’ll talk things out.”

Hee Young actually fought with the struggle to speak, her eyes unable to focus properly because suddenly her eyes at functioning. It’s like there was a mix of blur and hotness welling up in her eyes – she hated this feeling.

“I don’t want to,” She was firm yet there was a pinch of fragileness that coated her voice. She glanced at Dong Min, shutting him up as he couldn’t even say anything anymore, “Not anymore.”

Not even Hee Min could do anything when she tried. She held onto Hee Young’s hand, urging her to stay and the two parents, or, soon to be parents, could see how much Hee Min tried. But that didn’t work out as well as they thought it would either. Hee Young was persistent, snatching her hand back and leaving the room soon after with a soft thud of the door that indicated she closed it properly. Hee Min looked back and faced forward, disgusted with how Dong Min actually converses with Hee Young – she understood why he would have but he doesn’t know of the terrible times Hee Young has suffered alone.

He doesn’t and he’ll never know – not with that mindset and attitude.

And if this is how he’s going to be… even she doesn’t want to be a part of this.

“I think it’s going to be crazy for me to say this but… mom,” She turned to look at the woman on her right and the woman could only swallow nervously as she waited for her daughter’s words. Dong Min was doing a good job at keeping quiet; that was quite a surprise.

“Back in the day when you… when you had those problems, you don’t remember of anything you were doing, did you?”

The woman simply shook her head and Dong Min had this look on his face.

Hee Min clicked it well; ah… he doesn’t know at all…

“W-What is she-?”

“Sh,” She could only hush the man beside her, prompting Hee Min to go on.

“And… you’d never wonder what happened the night before? The broken glass… the drips of….” Hee Min found herself choking on her words and she couldn’t go on explaining, “You didn’t bother questioning anything?”

Her mother shook her head with already a tear rolling down, her words coming out in shaky breaths, “I-I’ve always thought I had rough guesses but I was too afraid to actually find out. I wasn’t sure if it was me or if things happened the night before during… when I was…”

“That mark you saw on her shoulder… that was the night she left.”

Dong Min raised an eyebrow, “L-Left?”

Hee Min got up politely but her words were enough to pin the both of them down, “The night that she left home – the night she… ran away. That’s the night she got that mark.”

Dong Min still wasn’t satisfied, “That still doesn’t answer anything-“

“During that night,” Hee Min raised her voice, unable to stand with his stubbornness and his impatience. Now she knows how he could tick Hee Young off so easily. “Only Hee Young…” She then gazed to, “And mom were there… you two were the only people at home.”

At the very least, Dong Min was a fast one.

He slowly turned his head to the woman beside him, his eyes slightly furrowed, “You… You did that…?”

She was left to be frantic, her eyes blinking down the tears as she shook her head, “N-No! That’s impossible! I couldn’t-!”

“But you did, mom!” Hee Min found herself shouting – the only way she could get her point across. She hated to admit it but she’s not been fighting for Hee Young enough and now was her chance to do so. Being the older sister, she wants to take care of Hee Young the right way. All this time Hee Young has been fighting her own battles and now, Hee Min wants to help; she needs to.

She’s the only family member Hee Young could count on.

And Hee Min would be lying if she didn’t say the same.

“How else do you think Hee Young would run off like that?! She was afraid of getting killed one day!”

Not even the sobbing of her mother would stop her because Hee Min came too far to back down.

“Do you think a sixteen year old would run away like that just for ‘freedom’? She had to live on her own because she’s had enough of everything. You wouldn’t change and every single time, you’d be stubborn to blame Hee Young for the that you’ve caused.”

Dong Min found the heart to say something because regardless, the woman beside him was his be wedded wife, “H-Hee Min, please calm down-“

“And don’t you ing tell me to calm down,” Hee Min turned to look at the man in front of her. She lowered down her gaze and tone but her words managed to stand a point, “I don’t care of what you do to me but don’t you ever do a thing to Hee Young. She may be rude and she may be sarcastic but for a person that young to go through so much? I’d like you to know everything she’s been through before you try to think she’s just another stuck up teenager.”

Hee Min shook her head with a soft, disappointed chuckle, “But I’m not going to tell you because… even if I do, you’re not going to change the way you look at her.”

Hee Min took a step back, towards the door with her eyes still set on them, “And that’s fine with me.”

“We’re not going to attend your wedding. I mean,” Hee Min rephrased her words, “My apologies for tonight’s dinner that turned out to… be a disaster but just know that if you’d like someone to blame, put it on me.” She then gazed to her mother who still couldn’t keep herself together – she was a sobbing mess, “She’s had enough blame for her to last a lifetime and it’s time you both know that.”

“Good luck with your marriage – I really mean that. But I also really mean what I said that we’re not going to attend the wedding. We’re just not going to.”

In that night, the two sisters remained in the car of a parking lot. It was dark and it was cold but it didn’t matter. Bottled up emotions were released and unsaid words were finally said. Broken thoughts and broken feelings were mended in such a short period of time because having one another felt like a blessing in disguise.

Hee Min held Hee Young in the best way she could, crying silently as the two couldn’t take the tormenting feeling bottling up for so long.

There were so much tears being shed in the car but it didn’t matter. There were so many thoughts running through one another’s mind but as of now, they were all cleared – they were all talked about and things were at least out in the open for both sisters.

It didn’t matter how painful tonight was nor how tormenting it was because they had each other.

And as long they had one another, there was nothing to be afraid of.

At least, not now.

Minseok sighed once the movie ended and despite everyone leaving the place, the two couldn’t help but just stay back as the credits rolled in. One by one, everyone started to empty the room until it was down to the two boys left in the back row. “If only what happens in the movies happen in real life…”

Lay turned to look at Minseok, seemingly understanding where Minseok was going with this, “M-Minseok-ah… not everything we want happens the way we want to, you know?”

Minseok shook his head with a small laugh, “You don’t understand, Lay – Yixing, you don’t.”

Lay turned to face Minseok, patting him on the shoulder, “You can trust me. And at the least, I already know what you’re talking about.”

Minseok’s eyes gazed up to Lay’s, seemingly terrified with where Lay was going with this.

“You like Hee Young, don’t you?”

Minseok almost immediately looked away, nudging Lay’s hand off his shoulder, “So what if I do?”

Minseok gazed down to his hands, where he played with them numbly, “She’s still the only one I want – the only one that’s always been there for me no matter what. I’m betting my happiness on her regardless of what you tell me.”

Lay sighed, taking note of the sadness as well as determination in his voice. He does truly understand where Minseok was going with this but not everything you plan goes exactly as planned. Lay learnt that the hard way and he doesn’t want Minseok to get hurt. Despite only knowing each other in such a short period of time, he seems to be able to click with Minseok in a way. And in another way, he doesn’t want to see such a happy guy like Minseok get crushed.

“What if it’s not with her, Minseok-ah? I mean,” Lay his lips nervously, knowing a single wrong word could trigger the wrong emotions, “What if she likes someone else?”

“I’m still going to try.” His tone seemed unfazed, unaffected by Lay’s words.

“Minseok, I think you’re being too protective-“

“So what if I am?” Minseok spared a glance at Lay, showing him that fiery look in his eyes before he looked away, “She’s the only person that’s ever came to my side when everyone pushed me down,” He shook his head, wiping away the tear that rolled down unexpectedly, “How can she expect me to not fall in love with someone who’s done so much for me?”

Lay couldn’t help but press his lips together, feeling his heart ache just seeing Minseok having a small breakdown even before Minseok had made a move just yet. Lay placed a hand on Minseok’s shoulder once more, giving him a firm squeeze, “You’re going to break yourself like this.”

Minseok shook his head, closing his eyes to exhale deeply before he said softly, “Hee Young is a person worth breaking for.”

“So how was the movie?” Kai asked, casually walking with the two who somehow took longer than expected in the movie that was supposed to be just two hours. Lay shrugged, “I think I fell asleep halfway.”

Minseok chuckled, “It wasn’t as good as it was.”

“Hey, I need to use the bathroom real quick.” Minseok announced, giving Lay a pat on the shoulder before he left to attend to his needs. Kai and Lay gave a nod, waiting at where they were. The two boys were left to lean their backs against the wall and Lay was the first one to sigh.

Kai turned to look at the person beside him, raising an eyebrow, “What’s up?”

Lay shook his head, “Minseok likes Hee Young.”

Kai nodded, “Yeah, I know.”

Lay turned to look at Kai, being very direct as of now, “And you’re still going to try to take her away?”

Kai furrowed his eyebrows, processing his words, “Wait, what are you talking about?”

“I see the way you look at Hee Young,” Lay nodded, using his head to point at where Minseok walked, “And whether you want to believe it or not, it’s the same way MInseok looks at her.”

Kai somehow managed to laugh, finding this amusing, “Look, I know that I spend an awfully a lot of time with her but she’s my dance partner – it’s only logical that we spend time together-“

“For ’s sake, Kai,” Lay groaned, throwing his head back and that really made Kai shut up. Lay turned to look at Kai, giving him a look that somehow showed anger – it made Kai even more confused.

“Minseok is really going after her. Hee Young is more than just a ‘best friend’ to him and if you don’t like Hee Young, stop being a to mess things with two other people.”

Kai clicked his tongue, using his head to point at where Lay pointed earlier, “So you’re telling me to give Hee Young to Minseok? One, I don’t own her. Two, that’s not how life works, Lay.”

Lay let out a deep sigh, closing his eyes for a moment before he opened them to stare at Kai, “Then tell me, do you like Hee Young?”

Kai his lips nervously, shaking his head once, “I mean I don’t hate her-“

Lay raised a hand up, halting Kai from speaking any further before he said once more, firmer than before, “Do you like her?”

Five, ten, twenty seconds went by and Kai couldn’t give an answer – let alone speak. Lay shook his head and took a step away, “You see? You can’t even answer that question whereas someone else is already ready to give their all for that one person.”

It was Kai’s turn to sigh – he was getting more and more confused, “Why are you even telling me all this?”

“Because I know you like her. And you’re so ing confused that you can’t seem to see that.”

“So-“

Lay cut him off, “So between the two of you, someone’s going to get hurt in the end.” Lay shook his head as he looked over his shoulder, making sure Minseok wasn’t coming back just yet. He faced forward to Kai once more, “And now? I’d rather MInseok not get hurt.”

Kai found his right to speak, “Just because Minseok likes Hee Young, means I have to keep my distance from Hee Young? That’s not my problem.”

“It is,” Lay breathed out, looking into Kai’s eyes once more, “It is if you like her too.”

Author's note; Longest chapter so far. //oops. Ah, thank you for the response so far, it felt better, tbh. Also, thank you for the upvotes and support. Have a nice day!