Hyunju was staring at her mother, crying. 

 

"Ho-how do we tell Hyunju? I can't tell her. I can't."

 

 

"Omma, what will you tell me, what is it!?" Hyunju rushed to the said woman and questioned her. But nothing happened. It was like she was a ghost or something. Her mother didn't even move a muscle. Strangely, she saw herself, the little Hyunju peaking in the room where she heard her mom, talking to her dad, crying. 

 

 

"O-omma, why are you crying?" the little Hyunju asked her eyebrows meeting at the center.

 

 

"Don't worry I got this." his father said and excused the little girl and himself to the living room so that the little girl won't see her mother crying. Hyunju followed the little one and her father. 

 

 

"Hyunju ah, appa has a problem…" he said as he knelt down to level her little daughter who was currently her thumb. 

 

"What's the matter appa?"

 

 

"Appa will be going somewhere and I do not know who will take care of omma and you." 

 

"Why appa, where will you go?" she pouted. 

 

 

"Hmm.. somewhere really far.."

 

 

 

"Will I get to see you again?"

 

 

 

"Maybe it will take a long time before you see me again."

 

 

"Why appa? Why will you leave us?" tears started to fall from Hyunju's eyes.

 

 

"Shh.. Don't cry.. Here's the thing, do you remember every time appa wears white and puts on a black belt?" he hushed his little girl as he wiped her tears off of her face. The little girl did not have any attempt to stop crying yet she nodded in response. While Hyunju was still there, rooted onto her place, watching and listening to the conversation.

 

 

"You wanted to try it right?" he asked again and the little girl nodded once more. 

 

"Okay, appa will teach you if you promise me that you'll stop crying." 

 

"Promise me that you will come back and I will see you again then I won't cry. Promise!" Little Hyunju wiped her tears as she handed her pinky finger to her father.

 

"…Promise. Go, get yourself ready then." he said as he crossed Hyunju's pinky finger with his. Don't listen to him! You shouldn't have listened to him!  Little Hyunju ran off to her room and got herself ready. 

"Why did you do that? Why didn't you tell your daughter the truth?" her mother asked as soon as the little girl was nowhere to be seen. 

"I don't want to hurt her. She's too young." 

 

"What?! Why didn't you tell me?" Hyunju shouted at her parents but nothing happened. She tried shaking them, forcing them to speak, but nothing happened. It's like she wasn't existing. She really wasn't existing. 

How could you appa! 

 

 

 

You told me I'll see you again!

 

 

 

You told me you're coming back! 

 

 

 

You lied to me appa! 

 

 

How could you! 

 

 

 

How could you!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"How could you!" Hyunju opened her eyes as she caught her breath. Staring at the ceiling, she sobbed. Not forgetting what day is today, she jerked down from her bed and turned to face the wall clock. "It's 2:30 am." 

 

Carefully tiptoeing her way downstairs, she rushed out, not wanting to wake anyone. She walked downtown to a shop she visited for years until now. 

 

 "Hey Hyunju, I thought you weren't coming?" a man in his 40's smiled and greeted at the counter. 

 

"Good morning Mr. Do! There were things I took care of before going here. Sorry for making you wait." she answered as she handed a cup of coffee. "Here, I brought you coffee to start your day."

 

"Oh Hyunju, you didn't have to, but thanks.. So, baby's-breath?" 

 

"Yes please." And Mr. Do went out of the counter and carefully picked out a bouquet of baby's-breath. She received and paid for the flower and thanked the man as she went to the exit and made her way up to a hill which was a 30-minute walk away from the shop. 

 

She have done this for almost 5 years but she can't resist the urge to cry as she read the name engraved on the marbled plate. 

 

 

박 현정

 

 

(Park Hyunjung) it read. She balled her fists as she knelt down. 

 

"How could you appa, how could you." 

 

"You told me I'll be seeing you again."

 

"You promised me." she buried her head to the plate and it got it drenched with her tears. Park Hyunjung was diagnosed having tuberculosis; critical stage. Hyunju cursed herself for being so young that time, not having any idea that her father's about to release his last breath while she was just all rainbows and butterflies with matching unicorns above. 

Clearing her thoughts, she shook her head as she took out her phone and checked the time. "It's 4am.." she murmured. "I have classes at 7 you know that, right?" she asked no one. "I'll be leaving now, appa." Hyunju stood up, placed the flowers her father personally liked, and bid him the grave goodbye. 

 

 

 

"Oh great." she said when she was almost half way back to her house. Of all days, why forget her umbrella today! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Luhan!"

 

"Luhan!" he heard continuous knocking on his door. 

 

"What!?" he shouted, burying his head on his pillow. He hates being disturbed in his sleep.

 

"Luhan, the doctor is waiting for us for like an hour now." her mother said. 

 

"I don't want to go there. My eyes are perfectly fine with my glasses." he shouted back. 

 

"Hurry up and open the door Luhan! We do not have much time! My and your father's flight is in two hours, we're going to be late!" Luhan, annoyed with all this shouting, stood up, wore his glasses and opened the door. "What? I said my eyes are fine!"

 

"What fine? Look, your glasses are taped up! We need to replace that or better yet, you could undergo the laser eye surgery." her mother said. 

"Fine..." He looked back at the mini cabinet beside his bed to look at the time. "…but not at 4 in the morning!" he shut the door and locked it at his mom's face, irritated on how early it was to be disturbed in his slumber. 

 

"Luhan! Don't you dare sleep! Open the door, now!" Luhan did not bother listening to her mom. He needs sleep more than anything else now. So, he pressed his pillows and comforter firmly on his ears. 

 

"Let him be. He will come to the doctor when he's ready." he heard his step father. "Bu-but.." "No buts, now let's go before the plane leaves us." 

 

Luhan was thankful enough to his step dad. The house turned silent as he heard the engine started and left the house. Tossing and turning on his bed, he cursed for he cannot continue his sleep anymore. Suddenly, he heard raindrops fall on the roof and tilted his head only to see drops of rain by his window. The temperature went low so he jumped out of his bed, opened his locked door, and made his way to the kitchen in search for something warm to fill his now growling stomach. Surprised enough that her mother left nothing but meat and vegetables in the fridge, he grabbed his hoodie and umbrella and then made his way into the rain to the nearest convenience store. 

 

 

"2 cans of hot coffee please." he said. 

 

"Here." the cashier handed him 2 cans of coffee and his change as she looked outside the window. "What on earth will a girl like her will do at this hour, soaking herself in the rain?" the cashier said. Luhan was curious enough to whom the cashier, a woman in her late 50's, was referring to. As his jaw dropped by what he saw, he quickly grabbed his change and ran outside with his umbrella. 

 

 

 

"Oh you scared me, geez!" Hyunju said as she was protected from the rain by an umbrella. 

 

"No you scared me. What the hell were you doing out here with this kind of weather, and look, I can squeeze your clothes. You're soaked!" Luhan scolded Hyunju. "Come on, let's get you home." 

 

After taking a few steps from where they were, Hyunju spoke: "Stop scolding me, you're just jealous!" She teased the older as she stole then threw the umbrella, making Luhan wet as well. Knowing Luhan, she made a run for it.

"Yah! Hyunju get back here!" Luhan shouted as he tagged Hyunju. It was a fun scene. Since it was early in the morning, no cars were crossing the streets, making the two free to run and tag each other in the pouring rain. They were playing for quite a long time, not noticing the the clock struck 5 am. Feeling a bit tired, they went under a shed and sat down, catching their breaths and squeezing their soaked clothes. 

 

"That was fun." Hyunju said as she dried her rain-wet face. "Yeah. You want coffee?" Luhan remembered the ones he bought from the convenience store earlier and offered the other to his best friend. Hyunju grabbed the can and opened it. The coffee was still hot though, so Hyunju blew into it. Staring at Hyunu, he felt it again. 

 

This stupid heart, why do you keep on thumping this hard! He found her really cute, watching her blow into the can, take a sip, then burn her tongue, and blow into it again, take a sip, then--

"Hey, aren't you drinking yours? If not then I'll take it." she said, not knowing that she interrupted Luhan's thoughts. 

"Wha- No of course I'm drinking this, I bought it anyway!" he gulped, mentally cursing himself for gaping at the sight. He quickly opened the can and took a big slurp from it, forgetting that it was hot. "Ah!" there, he burned his mouth. "You're such a child." Hyunju chuckled. "No wonder why you don't call me oppa, you always think of me as your dongsaeng." he pouted, still recovering from burning his mouth. "It suits you, really." Having at least a little mercy, "Come here." she said. Luhan almost forgot how to breathe when he felt Hyunju's breath, blowing onto his lips. His eyes widen in shock as the girl kept blowing. "Don't move, this'll help. My father always do this whenever I burn my mouth." 

Luhan adjusted backward saying, "Oh, is that why you were up this early?" Hyunju nodded. "Oh, I'm sorry I was not there to be with you." he said. "No, it's fine actually.. I think we should go now." Not wanting to go through the topic more over, she dropped the conversation and they made their way back to their homes. The usual, Luhan dropped Hyunju by their house before returning into his. 

 

 

"Hyunju!" 

 

 

 

"Yes?"

 

 

 

"Meet me up at the playground after school and your taekwondo classes." 

 

 

 

"Wha- Why?" 

 

 

 

"Bye Hyunju ah! I'll see you at school!" Luhan waved as he turned and made his way back to his house, leaving a clueless Hyunju by her doorstep.

 

 

 

---

A/N: Now, Hyunju's past is partly revealed! Yeah, partly, because you should wait for another revelation. ~(@^_^@)~ I find the chapter quite sad, how about you?  Was the last part considered as a cliffhanger? hahaha, better stay tuned to know what'll happen next!

 

Deeply hungry for comments, so please do comment so I would know how you find this story. Thank you anyway and welcome my new readers and subscribers! ^^