Chapter 26

Yuri closed her eyes & sighed in despair. She bought her hands up to covered her face. She could feel her heart giving her a great bit of horror.

After putting Chunghee slowly in his crib, Yunho walked towards her. Taking in a deep breath, he noticed with a lurch of anxiety that her face color wasn’t good. He asked her worriedly, “Yuri. What is it? Please tell me.” His eyes were fixed on hers, deeply & smoky.

Yuri managed to shake her head weakly. She didn’t say anything. She started to sob silently. However, she was shocked when he pulled her into his embrace gently. She leaned her head against his broad chest as he put his arms around her. She felt his tender kiss on her forehead & hugged him back tightly & as he stood like that, so close to her, with her head on his chest, she could hear his heart beating fast as hers. Should she tell him the truth? They were standing quietly for a long moment. The silence was demanding. Demanding that she give him an explanation about what had just happened.

Breaking away his embrace, Yuri looked into his eyes. She sighed before she said softly, “I need to be alone, Yunho Oppa. Would you please go home now?” Her voice was gentle, yet weak as she was pleading to him.

He stared into her eyes which were shimmering with tears, this time were desperate tears. He couldn’t go home with a big question in his head, “Tell me first what’s going on then I’ll go home!” He demanded, a reasonable answer from her.

Yuri shook her head weakly. She turned her head away from his gaze.

He looked gravely into her eyes, “Is there something wrong with Chun?” “No.”

“So what is it?! Don’t make me go crazy with this puzzle look!” He said, raising his voice a little bit. He lost his patience.

His hand was still holding hers tightly. She stared up at him, “If you care about me then please leave now. I need time to be alone. Please, Oppa.” Her eyes were pleading again. Yuri blinked back the tears as she made the statement.

He let out a deep sigh & looked at her again. He knew she was stubborn. If he forced her to answer then it would be possible that they would get into another big fight. He swallowed. What was happening to her? He sighed again, & said weakly, “Okay. I’ll leave. I know you still haven’t trusted me fully. Call me if you feel better okay?” His voice was gentle, full of emotion.

Yuri stared at him with teary eyes. She could feel that Yunho was hurting. His eyes were looking at her in pain. She knew he was hurting as she didn’t fully trust him. She couldn’t stop her sobs anymore. She saw his face twisting in pain.

“Shhh, don’t cry. Please don’t cry. I’ll leave now.” He paused & stared at her deeply, “Goodnight, Yul. I have a wonderful night today. Thank you.” He said softly, & kissed her cheeks tenderly.

She couldn’t stop her emotion which was suddenly blown up. She ran to him & hugged him tightly from the back, “I’m sorry. I hope you could understand.” Her anguished whisper was the only sound in the bedroom. She could feel him shaking, too. They stayed like a statue for a few seconds before Yunho turned around.

“Apology accepted. I understand.” He said, trying to keep his voice under control. He paused to let out a deep sigh, “It’s time for me to go. See you tomorrow morning.” His voice was husky even though he was trying so hard to say it with his deep voice.

He walked towards his son’s cot, “Bye Chun.” He said, after kissing his son’s cheek lightly, “Bye Yul.” He turned, without waiting for her answer & strode out of the doorway. She watched him go in silent. Tears were blurring her sight.

Their final parting was unemotional but she knew his heart was breaking, as was her own.

Yunho heard Yuri closed her bedroom door as he was going down the stairs. He closed his eyes & sighed. She doesn’t trust him. After all these months, she still doesn’t trust him. Stepping on the last stair, he spotted Mimi reading a magazine in the living room. The television was on but she didn’t put her concentration on it. She was busy reading the magazine. However, he knew she wasn’t paying attention to it. He put himself on the sofa next to her. He took the magazine from her hand & closed it. Mimi let out a deep sigh secretly. She knew Yunho was pleading to get an answer. Her guess was right. Yuri didn’t tell him what the reason was, “Mimi, what’s going on? Tell me. Yuri is driving me crazy with her stubbornness.”

“Sorry, Oppa. It’s Yuri’s life. She will scold me for intruding in her life if I tell you.” She took the magazine from his hand & opened it again.

Yunho put his hand in front of her. Youngmi was the key to know about Yuri’s suddenly changing mood as she was the one who told her about it, “Please, Mimi. I can’t go home like this.”

“She will tell you. You just have to wait.”

“I can’t wait.” He replied stubbornly. His eyes looked at her, demanding for an answer.

Mimi turned her eyes to see his pleading look. She sighed. She kept silent for a while, thinking hard whether it was wise to tell Yunho or not. She hesitated because she knew what he was asking. She cleared before saying, “Promise me first that you won’t tell her that I told you otherwise she will kill me for sure.”

He nodded.

She closed her eyes as if she was having a big rock in front of her. Yunho looked at her impatiently.

“He’s here. He came back to see her again.”

Yunho knitted his eyebrows as he didn’t get her meaning, “Who is he?” He asked dumbly.

Mimi looked at him in despair. She muttered weakly, “Yoongi, her fiance. Yoongi was here to give her a surprise. He didn’t tell her before but came straight from Australia. He was here but Yuri was nowhere to be found. I tried to contact her via your mobile but it had been turned off. He said he would be back tomorrow.” Yunho’s face turned pale. His face was as white as a sheet of paper. He shivered. He couldn't believe that Yoongi would come soon into their life. He hadn’t prepared himself if Yoongi wanted to take Yuri to Australia now. He closed his eyes as he suddenly felt a big fear crossing his mind. What if she agrees to go with her fiance? What would he do with Chunghee who needed her right now? He couldn’t let her go for the sake of Chunghee & himself. Now or later. Coldness crept around his heart, squeezing it like an icy fist. His hand grabbed the edge of the table in front of him to steady his unbalanced body.

“Oppa.” Mimi called him softly.

He turned to looked at her.

“You promise not to tell Yuri that I told you about Yoongi, right?”

He nodded weakly & let out a deep sigh. He got up, taking his car key after making a mess on his hair.

“Thank you for telling me. At least I know why she behaves like that. Goodnight, Mimi.” He muttered in a soft voice, as if he was losing all of his energy.

“Goodnight. Drive carefully & see you tomorrow. You will take Chun to your parent’s house tomorrow, right?” He nodded again, without any expression on his face. Mimi sighed again, in despair. She bit her lower lips, regretting what she had told him but he deserved to know the truth or it would be another misunderstanding if they met here tomorrow or later. She closed the front door after watching him go. She went back to the living room to continued reading her magazine.

After Yunho left her room, Yuri went to her bed, fell down onto the mattress & stay there like a zombie. Yuri started to cry, staring at the roses from Yunho. How could she face Yoongi if her heart had fallen in love with another man without her consent? Yoongi was so nice, trying to give her a surprise. However, too many surprises made her heart weak. She glanced at her son who was sleeping peacefully in his crib. What if Yoongi wanted to take her now to Sydney as he always yearned for in their conversation via phone? She didn’t have any reasonable reason to reject him right now. Her school haven’t even started yet. She didn’t have a job at the moment. As Yoongi said, she could continue her study in Australia but he didn’t know that the real reason that was making her stay in Seoul were Chunghee & Yunho. If she told Yoongi about them then she would feel like she was a cold-blooded heart woman, ignoring his true love. She had betrayed him.