Chapter 35

Yuri sat on Yunho’s lap while Changmin, Taeyeon & Jinwoon sat on the sofa across from miss Mihee. They were all staring at Yuri’s mother, silently listening as she told them about her life. How Yuri had ended up being adopted & what had cause Miran to end up in the mental institution.

"It was I who was meant to marry your father Yunho but I refused the marriage as I had already fallen in love. His name was Insik, Insik Kwon. I met him during my study year & it was love at first sight. My parents were furious when I refuse the marriage & told me that if I didn’t marry your father they would disown me & they did. I left the family & move to Syndey to live with Insik. Since I wouldn’t marry Jaebeom, my parents made Miran take my place. She was afraid of my parents & didn’t dare go against them, even though she was in love with someone else. I still feel guilty for bringing this upon her, I had left her to fix the problem, to take my place. God, how could I have been so selfish." Miss Mihee wipe a tear that had escape from her eyes.

Yuri rose from Yunho & wrap her arms around her mother, "Oh mom, you mustn’t blame yourself. It was a choice she made. She could have refuse but she didn’t so you can’t hold yourself responsible for her action. I know its selfish of me to say this but if you had accepted that marriage then Yunho & I wouldn’t be able to be together now. I’m so grateful to you for standing up to your parents, for following your heart." Yuri smiled at her mother & wipe the tears that were now flowing down her cheeks like rain. Miss Mihee took her daughters hands in hers & smiled at her.

"Miran & I kept in touch by mail. She had given me her lover's address so we could write to each other. She wrote to me about her marriage & secret affair with her lover. Yes, she still continue to see her lover." Miss Mihee saw Jinwoon’s mouth drop open after she reveal that news, "I tried to persuade her to get a divorce because I knew she didn’t love your father & was suffering but she was too afraid of my parents that she wouldn’t listen to my advice. Then one day, I receive a letter from her saying that Jaebeom had wanted a divorce but she had refused the offer, although she wanted to sign the papers so much. I wrote back & told her to sign the divorce paper so she could be free to live with her lover, to stand up to our parents, to follow her heart like I had done." Miss Mihee reached out for her glass of water & took a sip but she didn’t place it down afterwards but held it in her hands & stared down at the liquid.

"I received another letter from her after five long months of silence. In it she said she had fallen pregnant & was going to sign the divorce paper. The baby gave her the courage to leave this marriage & to go against our parents. She didn’t write to me after that, although I kept writing to her & finally I gave up after she didn’t reply to my eighth letter. Then three months later, I fell pregnant. Insik & I was so happy but our happiness didn’t last long." Miss Mihee took in a deep breath, experiencing the deep pain that she had thought she had forgotten but it all came back.

"I wrote to Miran, wanting to share my happiness with her, even though I didn’t receive a reply from her, I didn’t mind. I was too happy about my pregnancy to be upset. I have never been so happy because inside my belly, a little child was being created, created from Insik & my love. We looked forward to becoming parents. I remember we would sit on the front porch thinking of names for our baby. We agree on Hyukjun for a boy & Jungeun for a girl." Miss Mihee looked at Yuri, "Jungeun." Yuri softly spoke the name, "Yes, Jungeun." Miss Mihee said, placing the glass back down on the coffee table, "Insik & I decided to get marry before our child was born." Miss Mihee was interrupted by Jinwoon, "Hang on. That means you guys weren’t married. Man, & here I was thinking you guys were. I’m sorry, I'm just surprise that’s all, you know since you guys been living together for so long I assume you were already married."

"When we move to Sydney, we had a hard time finding work so Insik & I wanted to wait until we have a stable job & save up enough money before we would get marry & start a family. Yuri was an unexpected surprises. The morning of my wedding was the most painful day of my life. I remember waking up filled with happiness & couldn’t wait to become Insik’s wife. Insik was still deep asleep, lying next to me when I woke up. I remember leaning down & kissing him on the cheeks but as my lips touch his cheek, there was no warmth there but coldness. Fear grip me as I lean my head on his chest to find that there was no heartbeat, no rising of the chest, no breathing. I didn’t know how long I laid there with him, with my head on his chest crying." Yuri hugged her mother & cried along with her.

"Your father died in his sleep. His heart had collapse during the night. I...I wasn’t aware that he had a heart problem since he had never told me, always wanting to protect me. God, he left without giving me a chance to say goodbye. His death shook my world & I couldn’t accept his death that I began to live in denial because with his death, he took my soul. I don’t remember anything after that because it was like a nightmare. I woke one day to find myself lying in the hospital, without any knowledge of who I was. It took me five years, five years to recover. By then, my daughters had been given up for adoption." Miss Mihee screamed out with anger & pain.

"Daughters?" Changmin asked, "Yes, I had given birth to twins & I had never got a chance to see them, to nurse them, to watch them grow. I was denied all this but I had no one to blame but myself. If I had only been strong & accepted Insik’s death then I would still have my daughters with me now." Miss Mihee cried, "When you recover, did you look for them?" Changmin asked her, "Yes, but the detective I hired had told me that my daughter had died." Miss Mihee said bitterly, "I was heartbroken & couldn’t stand to live in Sydney anymore. This is when I left & decided to find Miran. Arriving at Miran lover’s house, I was told Miran was no longer living there, that Mr. Lee had divorced her after finding out that the child she carried wasn’t his. It turns out Mr. Lee wasn’t capable of ever producing childrens. He found out after Miran gave birth to two little girls. Miran’s daughter were born attached to each other & had to be operated to separate them but one of the child didn’t survive the operation. Eunah died in the operation room & Eunbi died eight months after. The man she had love had turn his back on her. She had lost both of her daughters. Miran became crazy after that & was admitted to the mental hospital. I don’t know what Miran & I had done to deserve this harsh punishment." Miss Mihee blew her nose on the tissue that Taeyeon had handed her.

"I don’t understand. Why did the detective say your daughters are dead?" Taeyeon asked. Miss Mihee stood up & walked over to the fireplace, lean on the mantle & shook her head softly as if to clear her mind, "Yesterday, when I came to visit my sister, Rei a nurse there informed me that a young group of male & female had come to visit my sister. She said one of the female in the group had even claimed to be her daughter. She handed me a piece of paper with your name & phone number. I gave your names to a detective & hired him to find out what he can about the two of you. All these years, I thought my daughters were dead but it was all a mistake. The detective I had hired in Sydney had mistaken my daughters for Miran’s daughters. When this detective I had just hired told me that Yuri was my daughter, I nearly fainted. I was shock to find that my daughters were still alive & had to ask him if he was certain as I didn’t want to built my hopes up. He said he was certain. Having Yuri’s name, he had track down information about the adoption & believes that the information are correct. I wish I had my other child's name, too. I pray that one day we will all be united." Miss Mihee took in a deep breath as she finished her story.

"I know we will be united mother, you have found me & together, we will find my sister." Yuri said, smiling at her mother, "Wow, we had sisters. God, how are we going to tell father this that his daughters are dead." Jinwoon said, looking at Yunho, "It will be heartbreaking for him but we have to tell him. He needs to know. I know he will survive this tragic news." Yunho said, running his finger through his hair, "Did one of Miran’s daughter have a birthmark below her shoulder?" Taeyeon asked, "Yes, she did. I found some picture of Eunbi in Miran’s bedside drawer at the hospital. How did you know?" Miss Mihee asked her curiously, "Yuri has the same birthmark there too, that’s what had lead Yunho’s mother to believe that Yuri was Mr. Jung’s daughter. I think Miran had sent the photo of Eunbi to Mr. Jung, not long after she lost the child & became depress & lost her mind." Taeyeon replied.

"Well, its what I think happen anyway. God, I feel so relieve now that everything has been cleared up. These past few days has been so horrible that I never want to go through this ever again." Taeyeon said, getting up & stretching her arms out, "Yeah, that goes for me, too. I don’t want to go through this kind of suspense anymore. I just pray that no more horrible surprises will pop up from now on." Jinwoon said, "Amen to that!" Yuri, Yunho, Taeyeon & Changmin cried out at once, & they all began to laugh.