THIRTY FIVE

Her eyes squinted when she lifted her head to be welcomed by the sunbeams that leaked through the gaps of leaves above them. Seohyun smiled as her earliest memories with this particular tree flooded her senses. Being naturally quiet, she would retreat under the shades every afternoon after her classes were over. When she moved to Paris, she was homeschooled like her Unnie because they had to take up other classes in preparation to what their mother had arranged for them. Later on, they went to boarding school but soon after, Hyoyeon insisted on staying with their mother, thus they went back to being taught at home.

She loved this tree, she could stay under it all day—all weekend if she could and her mom gave her that space and, when she was out there, it was understood that she wanted to be with herself. However, this time, Hyoyeon joined her as they sat on the picnic mat she spread a few minutes ago.

Her unnie brought with her a bottle of wine and, surprisingly, a jar of homemade cookies. “It’s quite not right,” Seohyun mumbled as she munched on her second cookie but she didn’t really mean it and Hyo just scrunched her nose at her.

“Everything’s good with warm cookies, kiddo,” she grinned wide. She missed her baby sister—they missed each other, actually. The smile on her face lessened after she took a quick sip from her glass, “You seemed very serious with your boyfriend, Hyunnie. Do you think he’s serious about you too?”

“I do, Unnie…” Seohyun nodded not bothering to look at her Unnie but trained her eyes on the broken cookie that got stuck inside the jar.

“I checked on him, you know?”

“You did what?” Seohyun grunted as she finally directed her attention to her Unnie, forgetting the cookie all together, “Is this why you asked me to come here?”

Hyoyeon gave her that no-nonsense look, “Aside from everything else, yes. Do you know what kind of family he has? Has he introduced you to them yet?”

“No… not yet.” She hesitated feeling nervous by the ominous atmosphere Hyoyeon was creating, “Unnie—”

Hyoyeon laughed, “Hey, loosen up, little girl! I’m only doing this for mother. You know she would have done the same.”

“Speaking of, do you think Mother would agree?”

“You know the answer to that.”

Seohyun didn’t like the wink her sister gave her and the smirk that followed. Despite the autocratic nature of her adoptive mother, she knew that Euna Kim  would let her do whatever makes her happy but would advice her against her relationship with Yonghwa. It wasn’t a secret that it was what happened to Minho, he didn’t just changed management— it was her mother who suggested that it was time for him to grow and move on—to a different management and away from her youngest daughter.

She winced especially knowing that her mother would read Yonghwa’s bad label. But what could she do? She was bedridden and it was breaking Seohyun’s heart. Sometimes she just wanted her mother to get up and run their lives the way she did when she was stronger.

“Look at me…” Hyoyeon snapped her sister out of musing and continued waving her hand lightly, “Umma moved heaven and earth to find me the most suitable husband. A husband for the sake of having a husband, someone who would be powerful enough in case I need or the empire she built a strong wall to lean on. Someone who would never be in any kind of terrible situation that could drag me and our name down.”

Seohyun nodded. That was what her mother did and she remembered how Hyoyeon cried silently when she learned that she was to marry someone she barely knew. All those years, Seohyun feared that for herself but with her past, she concluded that whatever her adoptive mother decided on would be for her happiness.

Hyoyeon lifted her gaze from her glass to her sister with a tiny smile, “You have always been her youngest daughter, Seohyun. She wanted the same for you. Being with Yonghwa, hiding your relationship, not to mention his background, Mom will never agree but you will decide.”

She was right on all accounts and Seohyun grimaced at the thought. Then again, they were passed the point of accepting the chaos of where they both stood hidden from the rest of the world. But what her unnie was saying still had that painful effect coiling inside her stomach.

“Do you want to know what I found out?”

Seohyun looked at her Unnie unsure if she did. Whatever it was that she found out, she knew she should let Yonghwa tell her, but something inside her wanted to know so she gave her unnie a small nod.

“Yonghwa’s grandfather on his mother side was a well-known philanderer and he left his family for his mistress. Mrs. Jung is a fierce woman and never forgave her father. Every girl that got linked to her sons is well checked,” Hyo took her hands.

Her jaws tightened. The words seemed to spiral in her head making her dizzy—making her think of the uncles, of her mother laughing, of the pain of being beaten, of the looks of disgust their neighbors gave her mother, of the looks of pity she got from them. She hated those memories. She hated being frowned upon. She, too, hated certain words as she was growing up learning the realities of the world, shredding the innocence in her.

And if Yonghwa's mother has the same aversions as hers and knowing Seohyun was a product of one, then—

“I’m not saying this to make you feel upset but she would dig… she probably did already, we’d never know. Although mom has taken you under her wings and adopted you legally, there are still papers. Do you understand?”

She nodded.

Hyo continued, “She is not a person to mess with, Seohyun. She adores her sons to distraction. Your man was in the dating circuit for quite his time in the industry before you came. I know he has been loyal to you and that’s what I am happy about. And Taeyeon seemed to have taken a liking on him too. You know how hard to crack that little nutshell is, huh? Everything that comes out from is how good Yonghwa is for you. I haven’t seen that in real-time but I trust Tae’s judgment. But Hyun, think about it, okay? In case you’re thinking about the future with him.”

She nodded silently knowing Hyoyeon only meant well and she could only be thankful that she was sympathetic of her. The facts she said made her gulp feeling the swirl of emotions coming back to her. It seemed that the past is still going to haunt her until she has nowhere else to go or to turn to. Seohyun felt Hyoyeon’s arm on her shoulder and she took a big sip from her glass.

She was so young then but it was overwhelming to think that she could still remember the pain and the numbness that followed every time her real mother would forsake her. She held back the tears until she was able to go back to her room and she cried for a good deal of moment until she fell asleep. It was late at night that she woke up again and remembered to check her phone.

A smile curled on her lips reading his messages and noting he called her a few times so she decided to send him a reply knowing he would call.

“Sorry… just checked my phone. I miss you, I can’t wait to see you,” she hit send.

Seohyun giggled as her phone rang in no time. It was as if he was really waiting for her message. Swiping the answer icon, she cleared but he beat her into tal