Edited!

I sank down on the fluffy bed. I’ve had this crazy argument with my father once before; about attending those parties meant for elites and grand business galas. He had assured me, by saying that those people wouldn’t be there. But that was one statement I should've never trusted; I had to face the consequences for being present bare face without the mask on at that one party.

I looked down at the small scar on my wrist, and those terrible memories replayed themselves in my mind like a never-ending movie. I wasn't sure about the mentality of Seoul citizens, but I hope that they're not like the people back in my town. I had been hardly surviving there, and I am definitely not capable enough to go through the same treatment here again.

I turned to look at the beautiful dress beside me. It was a mock-neck floral A-line dress with sleeves.  I was starting to feel that Jung unnie had outstanding fashion sense, since the color of the dress she had selected for me matched my skin tone perfectly.

I stood in front of the full size mirror in my room, holding the dress up in front of me. Indeed, it was looking nice on myself.  Now, I was feeling a little guilty for rejecting unnie’s offer when remembering how her eyes glowed as she held that dress in front of me, and how her face fell blank as soon as I rejected her.

She was being so excited for dressing me up, but I crushed her excitement for my own selfish reasons... How more heartless could I get? Time was ticking by too quickly, and there was only half hour left to leave for the said party. I fumbled with my bracelet while there was this internal argument oing on in my mind. My mom’s dejected face flashed itself in my mind, and immediately, I felt a pinch of guilt in the pit of my stomach.

I was about to get up from the bed when there was a knock on my door. I looked up to see auntie standing there, gazing at me. “Am I disturbing anything?” she asked quietly as she entered the room, closing the door behind her. I shook my head, shifting aside and giving her space to sit. She was already ready for the party, giving off an elegant aura around her. She took my hands in her own delicately, caressing the back of hands with her thumbs.

“You know, when I first joined this family, after being married off to your uncle, I had a phobia when it came to communicating with strangers,” she was looking straight outside at the orange sky. The sun was setting down that time, and it was indeed a beautiful sight. “My classmates used to bully me during my high school days. I was the class president, but they hated me for no particular reason....”

I felt a slight pang in my chest. Such an uncanny resemblence... I shifted my gaze to the side a little as memories flooded my mind. My eyes were burning up unknowingly when I remembered that incident, just that tears didn't roam down my cheeks like how it normally happens. “My legs would shiver while I'm standing in front of large crowd, so I started to be alone... like a coward.”

“But when I came to the city because of a scolarship to study here, I met your uncle. He was my first friend here, although he had to work very hard to earn trust from me, he never gave up on me,” she smiled a genuine smile as she looked at our hands which were connected together. I could tell that she was reminising about those beautiful memories of her teen days, as her mind seemed to be in deep thought.

Yeah, I wished I was like hers. Aunt was lucky; she made beautiful memories out of sad ones, and look at her now... The most blissful woman on the earth. But for me... for me, there wasn't any need to bring back those memories; all bad ones, and even if it was filled with joy, it would be bitter for me.

I gave her hands little squeeze. I also saw the faint blush forming on her cheeks, knowing that I had caught her in her own fantasy. Aunt turned to me with a slight but tender smile, “Leaving my story aside, what I want to tell you is, you need to give others a fair chance to befriend you. Not everyone is bad. But to understand that, you need to push your doubts for people away."

Push my doubts for people away... Then, I realized something. My doubts for aunt were already gone. I’ve accepted her whole heartedly, and I knew that the process was hard for her, especially. She had to suffer so many times due to my lack of response and still pretend to be excited every single time when talking to me, including the big smile present on her face without fail. 

Aunt wrapped me in her arms, pulling me closer, “Don’t worry, honey... we’re here for you. This is a journey of life, and we’re just travelers with you, to keep you company. You need to find your soul mate who will never leave your side till the end. So just open up to us, at least... And if you’re scared to fall down, then leave that to us. We're always to catch you, to heal you,” she loosened her hold on my h