7 Years Ago

“Jal meogeosseumnida!” Seohyun shouted after finishing dinner’s meal with her parents at home. It was unusual for them to have dinner together after Seohyun was starting to work. She worked late most of time since she was kind of new employee at her office.

“Joohyun-ah, are you going to work tonight after this?” asked her dad when she was still eating her chocolate flavour ice cream as dessert.

“Yes, appa. I can go home early today because I take my work home. Why?” Seohyun was curious because his dad was kind of suspicious.

“Do you have time like only ten to fifteen minutes?” asked her dad again while her mom was doing the chores.

“Nee..ee,” Seohyun answered in hesitation. “Appa, it is not like you. I smell weird things when you are talking like that.”

Seohyun gave up for not giving her dad tantrums because she surely knew there would be something when her dad talked in serious tone like that.

“Let your eomma finish doing the chores. I want to talk to you together with your eomma.” Her dad told, and they waited for her mom until finished doing the chores.

Few minutes later, her mom was already done with the housework after the dinner. After that her dad asked her mom to sit beside him, and he started to ask in his deep voice.

“Joohyun-ah, are you in a relationship with man right now?”

“Aniyo. Waegeuraeseoyo, appa?” Seohyun smelled fishiness in this talk.

“Hear my explanation first, okay? So, I have a friend that I know since my college days. We’re friends because we joined the same football club, even we were from different department. So, I met with him again recently. We’ve met several times after that, so we were already kind of talking many things including our child, and in my case it should be about you, Joohyun.” Her appa tried to explain everything.

“And then?” asked Seohyun with her curious face.

“Appa, be straight forward please. I can’t even have any longer patient again,” her mom talked to her dad trying to look annoyed.

“Hmm…I have observed you recently and talked to your eomma if you are meeting any men right now. But eomma said you are busy with your work nowdays and I think you have no time for meeting one of them. So,” her dad hanged his words again for a moment that made Seohyun impatient.

“So?” asked Seohyun impatiently.

“So, I have an intention to introduce you to my friend’s son. We are not talking about arranging a marriage between both of you. We only want you to meet him and introduce yourself to each other. That’s all.”

Seohyun could only exhale loudly because she is kind of holding her breath before. She thought his dad wanted to tell her serious problem like he had any kind of health problem and such things.

“Appa! I thought you want to tell me about serious problem like about your health or something. You make me worried since you have that serious face of yours this time.” Seohyun gave her rants to her dad.

“Wae? This is serious problem for me. I don’t want to hurt you, dear. And I don’t want you thinking that I am an old style appa that force his daughter for an arranged marriage. No, I am not like that,” her dad was back to his usual playful behavior.

“Still, you want me to marry the son of your friend, right?” Seohyun still asked in suspicious.

“Hmm. . . if it is possible, why not? Appa wants you to marry a decent man, Joohyun-ah. By that, I won’t be worry about your future ahead since you are my only daughter.”

Seohyun understood her dad and mom worry about her since she was the only child in their family, moreover the only daughter. She was raised protectively since she was a child. She knew that her parents would not give their precious daughter to any kind of men.

“Okay. I will come, appa. It’s pleasure to meet appa acquaintance though. When will we meet them?” Seohyun made sure that she did not mind about her dad idea.

“I will tell you once my friend and I decide the date. Okay?”

“Okaaaaay… Can’t I continue to eat my precious ice cream?” Seohyun made puppy eyes to her parents.

“Yaaa! You are not five years old again. Why do you have to make that face?” her mom yelled as she throwed napkin to Seohyun face. That night continued with Seohyun cuddling to her parents like a child and teasing to each other like any other happy family.

---

 “I want you to go with us in this weekend.” His father straightly talked to him when he crossed living room. He could see from the side that his father holding newspaper while his mom drank whatever in that glass.

“Sorry, I can’t come abeoji. I have schedule for meeting client outside the city.” He told in cold manner.

“Cancelled it. I want you to come whatever reason you have.” His father talked in colder manner than him.

He just did not understand his father, so he did not answer and just went straight to his room at the second floor. He heaved long breath after closing his room door. Actually, he wanted to see someone who meant a lot for him, his love. Someone who could calm him on his stormy days aside his three friends.

He just could not see his love freely like old days since his mother mendled in his love life like this. His mother was being cautious after he told him about his love works. She just told him to break up with his love before his father knew about it.

But, he just could not do it. His love was precious to him. If only his mother knew about it, maybe she would understand. But, he never had chanced to explain it. His mother always ignored him when he was about to tell his reason to be with his love.

What it was wrong with his mother when he told his love was a ballerina, he still had no idea about it. He remembered that his mother was stunned a moment, then with her straight face she answered he could not date anyone related to that field.

So he convinced his mother to meet her. Yes, they were met and Yonghwa was kind of relived when his mother and his love could manage conversations well. But, not until his mother asked about her family background.

 “Hyun Min Joo?” asked my mother to his love.

“Yes. She is my mother. She was also a ballerina. I think you may heard her name somewhere because I just known she was a well-known ballerina back then. But, she already passed away when I was in my teenage age. I used to live with my mother after my parents divorced. After my mother gone, I moved with my father again until I graduated from high school.”

Since her explanation, his mother was never once smilling again to her until the end of their meeting. When he and his mother was in the car, his mother only said word that hurt him the most.

“Break up with her.”

That was the final word his mother ever said to him. Usually his mother heart was softer than his strict and authoritative father. Sometimes she would defense him from any accusation or command from his father. But, this time was different.

“I will not tell your father about this, but you must break up with her. We will find you other girl who is more suitable for you.”

“But, why? What does she do wrong? I can’t understand,” Yonghwa showed tantrum to his mother.

“You do not have to understand. You have to break up with her before I tell your father about her.”

“I do not want to break up with her. That is my final answer.”

Since then he never talked