Chapter 41 - Heartache

The first snow of winter has finally fallen. Every year, Minzy would join the kids of her neighbourhood outside to welcome the snow. She would always remember to bring her camera along and snap several pictures. Not only she enjoys taking photos of the magnificent scenery as it unfolds, but also of the children playing merrily together while their parents watch them from a safe distance with a content smile on their faces.

Sometimes, she would also join the youngsters play. The kids especially love it when she plays hide and seek with them, in which she would always be the seeker. Although she is very good at it, she would pretend like she is having a hard time finding them because she knows that the children would be upset if she found them all too quickly.

This year, however, is different. Rather than bolting out the door like she would usually do, Minzy remains curled up in a fetal position on the bed. She does not even have the energy to get up and shut her phone off that is continuously ringing on the nightstand, let alone leave the room. All she wants to do is just lie there and do nothing.

It has been a week since the concert. Her duet performance with Namjoon immediately became the talk of the town, or even the whole city, as the news of their successful collaboration travelled fast like a wildfire. Talent scouters from all over the nation have expressed their interest in recruiting them into their agencies, just like what she had initially hoped for.

She should have been celebrating with her partner by now, or thinking over the various contracts people have offered, but no. Instead, here she is, lying on the bed lifelessly, staring at the white walls surrounding her. Her eyes are swollen from hours of shedding tears. Crying seems to be a newfound hobby of hers and the girl has cried way too many times the past week that her tears are running dry.

A week has indeed passed. But it has been such a long and torturous week for Minzy. Why? Because it has also been a week since Mr. Gong passed away. He has left the world. Their father has left them. Her daddy has left her. “Daddy,” the girl mumbles with a sob, “I never got the chance to call you daddy.

The first couple of days were actually not that bad. It was still quite bearable, mainly because the reality had not quite sunk in just yet at the time. A huge part of her was still hoping that all of this was just a lie, merely a bad joke that would blow over soon enough. Every single day, she wished that things would go back to normal again after she woke up.

But they never did. Because it was not a joke. It was real. And that reality hit her hard, like a slap in the face.

The day of the funeral was especially difficult for her. The girl had been holding back her tears for days, partly because she had not accepted the fact yet but also mostly because she wanted to stay strong for her brother. However, when Mr. Kim – Mr. Gong’s personal assistant for almost twenty years – walked out of the funeral home carrying their father’s photo, a tear unconsciously rolled down her face. And when Daesung finally came out with a tear-stained face as he carried a jar that contained their father’s ashes in his hands, the girl just could not hold it in anymore. She burst into tears, sobbing loudly in the embrace of her sister-in-law.

Why? Why did it have to be this way just when things were getting better? Why did god have to take her father away just when they finally fixed their broken relationship, when she finally got the chance to feel his love and care, and when the three of them could finally be a real family again? It is just so unfair. So, so unfair. Both to her and her brother.

Minzy chuckles bitterly as she rolls over on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She knows that it was quite immature of her to put all the blame on god. But who else could she blame? Mr. Kim? Mrs. Song? Her brother? Nah, how could she possibly blame them when they were the ones who stayed by her father’s side all these years. Thinking about it, it was her who left. It was she, the reason why her father’s health deteriorated in the first place. Another bitter laugh chokes at the thought.

It was all her, afterall.

Her phone suddenly rings again, preventing her from dwelling on the misery further. She turns to the side and eyes the phone with skepticism. It has been three days or so since she locked herself up in this hotel room. When Minzy found out about Yongguk’s whereabouts during the concert night, she just snapped and grabbed a couple of her things and took off. Not that she was running away again, though – by all means, no.

The girl just needs a time off from everything and everybody, that is all. And she knew that she could not possibly have that if she were to stay at her apartment because they would surely try to reach her in one way or another. So that was why she opted staying at the hotel for a few days. This way, nobody would know where she is and she could have all the time to herself and reflect. Besides, she did inform her brother and Eunmi beforehand that she was going to be away for a while and that they need not to be worried.

But after everything that happened, who would not be worried?

After so much thought, Minzy decides to finally check her phone. Note, check her phone. She is not going to answer any calls or reply any text messages. Especially not Yongguk’s. She needs more time to think about that, about what he had done. To say that she was disappointed is a massive understatement. She felt betrayed and hurt and somehow, she also felt cheated.

The man might have his reasons as to why he suddenly left and went to see Jihye. She knew that he would not voluntarily see the other woman unless there was a really need to. Even still, she could not help but feel betrayed. In the end, Yongguk still left her – albeit not permanently – for his ex-girlfriend. That small bit right there was enough to tear her heart into pieces. For some reason, she felt abandoned. She felt unwanted. Call it trauma, if you will.

As expected, her inbox and voicemail are flooded with her boyfriend’s name. A small sigh escaped her lips as she reads through the texts he had left her. None of the message shows a sign that he is angry or upset that she suddenly went missing in action. Instead, he is just worried about her. He misses her. Truth be told, she misses him too. So much, in fact. A part of her suddenly feels guilty for leaving without a word. Thinking about it, she is not much different from Yixing when he left her in the past, is she? Minzy never knew that she could be such a hypocrite.

She continues to scroll through her unread messages and stops at her brother’s name. Out of the twenty plus texts she received, there is only one from him. It just shows how much respect the man has for his sister and her privacy. Although he is probably very concerned for her well being at the moment, he understands that his sister needs some time alone. Different people have different ways of coping, so he respects that. So instead if showing his worries, he decided to tell her that he is there for her, he always will.

‘I love you, baby sis. Always have and always will,’ is what Daesung’s message says. And those two sentences are enough to open Minzy’s eyes and wake her up from her depression. How could she be so selfish? How could she not think about her brother, how he is feeling? Of all people, he would have probably been the one to be the most affected by the death of their father. After all, he was the closest to the old man. Instantly, the girl replies to her brother’s message.

To: My annoying oppa

From: Mingkki

I’m coming home, our home.

p/s: I love you too, oppa, forever and always.

Not more than thirty seconds after she hit the send button, a new message comes in. A small smile immediately creeps onto her lips upon reading the familiar name.

To: My crazy Mingkki

From: Daesungie

You better, kiddo! Or I’ll skin you alive!

p/s: Mina is cooking a feast just for you, so hurry! Jinwoo is already drooling like a dog in the kitchen!

Minzy cannot help but chuckle after reading the text. Her brother seems to always have his ways to cheer her up no matter what, and she is very thankful for that. The girl has the best brother she could have ever asked for, how can she not be thankful, right? One thing, though… how dare he compare her nephew with a dog? Oh he is so going to get kicked in the ! Just so he waits!

With a lighter heart, she then sets her phone aside and studies her surrounding. Her small luggage is standing at the corner, untouched. Then she looks at the outfit she is wearing and the girl can only shake her head in disbelief. She is still wearing the same one she was wearing on the day she came here. And as if on cue, her stomach grumbles loudly. Damn, when was the last time she consumed any kind of food? She could not even remember, herself.

It is time to man up, Mingkki! The girl cheers mentally before getting up to head to the bathroom for a much needed shower. It only takes her a little over half an hour to finish washing up and get ready. After she is done putting her used clothes into the luggage, she immediately grabs her phone and goes out the door, saying goodbye to the hotel room and hopefully, to all the misery she has been through the past few days as well.

As soon as she steps out of the hotel, Minzy hails a taxi and jumps into it with more confidence than when she got off of it a few days ago. Sure, the pain is still there but there is nothing much she can do about it. It is not like she can revive her father from the dead or anything. All she needs to do is learn how to deal with the pain and move on with her everyday life as normal as possible. It may take days, or weeks, or even months, but she needs to start somewhere somehow, right? Besides, she is not the only one going through it, her brother is too. And she knows that he will be there for her, just like how she will be there for him.

Before going straight back to the house, however, the girl decided to stop by that candy shop not that far from her father’s home – their home – for a while. Jinwoo mentioned that he was craving for some M&Ms last time at the funeral. But since everyone was busy, and was probably not in their right minds, nobody did anything about it. Therefore, she is going to buy him tons and tons of it! She can only imagine how hyper the kid would be once he eats the sweet treat. But that does not bother her that much. There is no harm in spoiling him every once in a while, right?

An excited grin adorns Minzy’s face as she enters the store filled with sweet and sugary treats. She cannot help but feel like a child again somehow. Being in a Willy Wonka factory has been one of her dreams while growing up, and this is the closest she could get to that. There are so many choices available and for a second, she freezes on her spot, slightly overwhelmed. And then she remembers why she came to this place in the first place – to get her nephew his favourite candies.

Moving towards that familiar aisle, the one that she visits more frequently for the past couple of years, she then grabs as much M&Ms as possible and dumps them into the basket before heading to the counter to pay. People around her are quite astounded by the amount of chocolates in her basket but she just replies their shocked stares with a smile. What caught her attention while she is queuing, however, has got nothing to do with any type of sweets or chocolates. In fact, it is the two people standing side by side just outside the store.

Jihye and Yongguk.

And suddenly, all the awful feelings from before come back – that tight ball of sadness and anger in the pit of her stomach. Why, of all times, did she have to witness this? Just when things are slowly getting better. Just when she is ready to forgive him. Minzy knows that she cannot simply jump to conclusions but right now, her emotions seem to take over her rational mind.

The girl is too distracted observing the sickeningly sweet smile of the ex-girlfriend to notice the forlorn expression on her boyfriend’s face. She also fails to notice the presence of another man just a few feet away from the pair as she purposely bumps into the two individuals’ shoulders and hops into the taxi that has been waiting for her.

Startled, both Jihye and Yongguk turn around to see the culprit that nearly knocked the pregnant lady down without saying sorry. The latter is so close to cursing at the woman until he realises whom she really is. Oh, no. She probably thinks that I’m cheating on her or something. The man mentally scolds himself for being rather careless. However, before he could react any further, the taxi has already zoomed off into the distance.

Feeling guilty, Jihye and Yixing could only stare at the man with apologetic eyes. It was not their intention to worsen the couple’s relationship, not at all. Yixing makes a mental note to talk to either one of them, or better yet both of them, in the near future and set everything straight for once and for all.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Author's Note: You're probably tired of this but, once again, I'm terribly sorry for the very, very late update. Just when I thought my schedule was clearing up, I was assigned to more projects instead. I didn't mean to make this sound like an excuse but it's simply the truth. I used to only have2 one-and-a-half-hour classes to teach every week but now I have 4 new classes to teach. So I have a total of 6 classes. It may not seem that many to you but the amount of work and time preparing those lessons is tremendous. Life as a teacher is definitely not as easy as some people may have imagined. So I hope you can be more understanding. Don't worry, I've finished 3 chapters (including this) and I have 3 more chapters to finish. A new chapter will be published by the end of the week, hopefully. Once again, so sorry for the long wait and thank you very much for putting up with me all this while. I really appreciate all your love and support. Each and every single one of them! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! See you soon!

Much love, A.

p/s: If you haven't alread, please do subscribe, comment and upvote! ^^

[Update]: Due to my carelessness, I accidentally published this chapter instead of another one. This chapter was previously labeled as Chapter 39, however, it's actually chapter 40! If you've read this earlier, make sure to go back and read the actual Chapter 39! So sorry for all the confusion!

Story by: afagyel | Poster and background by: Tomoe Graphic Shop