Chapter 65

Breakfast would have gone on completely quiet if it weren't for Jinho telling everyone of his exciting list of things-to-do with his favorite brother today. The boy was oblivious to what had happened last night unlike Lin who, knowing the tension in the house, immediately went out after breakfast. As a result, Kris got hogged by Jinho for the rest of the day—which Yeojin was thankful for. At least, Kris could momentarily be distracted from the tension.

Yeojin stayed with her mom in the room. She wasn't sure who was comforting whom at this point. Her mom gently Yeojin's head which was resting on her lap as she laid on her side. The movement of the older woman's hand was so gentle it almost lulled her.

"You're mad at me for slapping Kris, aren't you?" Her mom asked, and she hesitatingly shook her head. 

She wasn't mad at her mom for that, but she couldn't say she was fine with it either. Truthfully, it just somehow... hurt her.

"You know," her mom continued, "there are times when I regretted not stopping you from getting married. Even though it wasn't like I can't be around you anymore, it just... You're still so young and it felt like I have lost my baby to someone else. Even though our family has known the Wu's for a long time, it didn't mean I was all up for giving you to Kris."

Yeojin sighed and momentarily closed her eyes. Back then, she only thought of helping the Wu's when she offered herself to be Kris' wife. She didn't really think of the effect it would give to her family. To her mom.

Her mom tucked strands of her behind her ear. "Still, I trusted Kris. I knew he was still the same good boy inside even if he acted cold. That's why it hurt me so much to know what he had done to you. But I was wrong. In my anger, I only thought of your feelings. I overlooked his feelings and forgot that he never asked to be ed this role of a husband so suddenly too. I forgot what his grandpa had told us about the real reason of your arranged marriage."

Yeojin gulped. She never told her mom about the truth because she didn't want her to be worried. But now she fet guilty for not telling it herself.

Suddenly hearing soft sniffs, Yeojin sat up and found her mom already shedding some tears. She scooted closer to her mom and held her hand. "Mom..." Yeojin sighed and wiped away a tear that rolled down her mom's cheek.

"I didn't mean to be that cold toward him," her mom continued with sobs. "I just wanted him to open his eyes and realize what he has been doing all these years"—her raised hand lovingly Yeojin's face—"so he could appreciate you better. Because I wanted you both to stay together. But when you told us of your feelings for Sehun— I felt like I had been selfish toward Kris." Her gaze was casted down to their intertwined hands on her lap.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Yeojin regretted her confession. She didn't really think it through last night. It was only after she left the living room did she regretted saying it. But she didn't want Kris to be thought of as the bad guy. If anyone was to be blamed, she should be included in the list. "I'm sorry, Mom. I'm neither the perfect daughter nor the perfect wife."

"No, no, honey!" Mrs. Kwon cupped Yeojin's face. Her warm hands kept her head up. "It's alright. I understand. I just wished I wasn't too hard on Kris." She pulled Yeojin into her arms. 

The moment Yeojin rested her head on her mom's chest and hugged her back, she couldn't keep all the frustrations for herself at bay. All these mixed emotions suddenly overwhelmed and pressured her so much that her chest tightened causing her to feel suffocated.

"My baby." Her mom patted her head as she began to cry. "My, my!" Her mom choked on a sob but tried to sound calm, slowly rocking her from side to side. "All these complicated feelings— It must have been hard for you, huh? It's alright. It's alright. I'm here. I understand. It's alright."

 

Yeojin woke up to dinner on bed prepared by her home. She didn't realize she had fallen asleep after that conversation with her mom and had skipped lunch. All the pent-up feelings and frustrations must have knocked her out. But at least, they were all finally released, and Yeojin felt much more relieved now.

Her mom told her that Kris had taken Jinho out to the theme park since the afternoon. Yeojin wondered if her mom had finally reconciled with Kris.

As if reading her mind, her mom told her, "I do feel guilty for being too harsh on Kris, but I'm not going to make it easy for him. I haven't fully forgiven him. He was still wrong!"

"Mom—"

"So I'm gonna have you all to myself!" Her mom declared  while hugging her, and Yeojin could hear the playfulness in her tone. "He can't have you back that easily after what he did."

Yeojin laughed. "You know what, Mom—just between us—I did want to slap him too back then."

"Right?" Her mom giggled along with her.

After dinner, Yeojin spent the rest of the night with her mom sharing stories and telling her everything she had been keeping away from her mom all this time. That night she slept with her mom again. But sleep didn't find her that quickly. She figured it was probably because she had been napping all throughout the day. So while her mom had already fallen asleep beside her, Yeojin played with her phone and chatted with Sunhee, hoping it would make her sleepy soon.

Her chat with Sunhee was interrupted when a message notification popped up.

Ice Block 1 [22.46]: are you still up?
[sent 22.46]: yeah. why?
Ice Block 1 [22.47]: is your mom still awake?
[sent 22.47]: no
Ice Block 1 [22.50]: come out. I'm outside.
[sent 22.51]: why should I?
Ice Block 1 [22.51]: because I haven't seen you since breakfast.
[sent 22.52]: so?
Ice Block 1 [22.52]: I miss you

A smile she couldn't hold back curled on her lips. Carefully she got up from the bed, glancing at her mom to make sure she was still asleep. She tiptoed her way to the door and out of the room. She was just closing the door when a hand suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace. Just from the scent, she knew right away that it was Kris. Being enveloped in his arms, she felt like immediately melting into this warmth he emitted. It was as if the left-over frustrations melted along.

Yet, she couldn't help but to think of that confession she made. She reckoned that she was inconsiderate of Kris in that moment. Apologizing was the right thing to do, but she couldn't apologize without bringing that confession up. Wouldn't it hurt Kris again if she brought it up? She really didn't know what to say.

"Are you okay?" She softly asked as he rested his chin on top of her head.

"I have never found your mom to be scary until yesterday," Kris replied with soft chuckles and Yeojin hummed. "I know I was wrong"—he sighed—"but how long is she going to keep you away from me?" Yeojin just shrugged. "Yeojin..."

"Hm?" She pulled back a little to look up at him. The moment she tilted her head up, he kissed her and her eyes dropped to a close.

A cough startled them and they immediately pulled away. Yeojin's eyes rounded in surprise seeing her mom at the door. "M-mom!" Heat rapidly rushed to her whole face.

"What are you two doing this late?"

Kris cleared his throat before he took a step toward her mom. "Mother, I want to apologize again. I'm really sorry for what I did, for how I have been treating Yeojin. But I have changed. I won't ever hurt her again. I understand that you're her mother, but she's my wife now; no matter how young she is. You can't keep her away from me. I am responsible for her now. You can't meddle too much with our marriage."

Yeojin panicked inside. That was certainly not something someone should say to a woman who had been carrying her kid for nine painful months and raising her for years. 

Her mom raised her brows though everything else about her countenance screamed no other emotion. "Meddle too much? You're saying I can't take care of my own daughter anymore?"

"That's not what I meant. Of course you have every right to care for Yeojin and to make sure of her well being, but this marriage is ours to take care of. We've worked our way out of this problem and have been doing fine."

"Ya!" Yeojin exclaimed through gritted teeth while trying to pull him back.

"Oh really?" Her mom sounded sarcastic as she approached Kris. 

Yeojin just remembered her mom had not fully forgiven him. When her mom raised her hand, she flinched fearing Kris would get slapped again.

"I know," her mom said—surprsingly—with a smile as she gently caressed Kris' cheek. "Forgive me for being too harsh on you yesterday." Kris didn't look any less surprise with wide blinking eyes. "I'm sorry I overlook all your recent efforts to be a better husband for Yeojin. You're right! You've changed!"

Kris slowly nodded and Yeojin felt a wash of relief. Her mom proceeded to hug Kris and patted his back prompting Yeojin to smile from ear to ear.

"You've been doing well, my son." She pulled away and raised a finger in front of him. "But I'm still not letting you have her tonight." 

His lips curled into a lopsided smile. "Of course, Mother."

"I'll let you two finish whatever you were doing earlier though." Her mom winked and Yeojin felt her cheeks getting warm again.

"Mom!"

Sehun leaned back on his chair, taking a break from writing the essay about why he chose the university he was applying to. Somehow, it was hard to write this essay. He didn't choose the university. His dad did.

Crossing his arms, he sighed and tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling. In that moment, Yeojin crossed his mind just like every other time he let his mind wonder. 

"That idiot!" He clicked his tongue but a smile curled on his lips.

All his life, he never questioned his parents' decisions for him nor had he disobeyed them. Except for that one high school year with Emi, he remembered. His life path was already laid out for him by his parents, especially his dad. He never second-guessed it because he liked how it would save him all the hassle. But then Yeojin came and he let himself get involved in her life. He let himself get tangled in a hassle of someone else's life.

Really, it was a stupid thing for him to do; now that he was reevaluating his life choices. Stupid. And heartbreaking. But did he regret it? Probably for the heart break, he thought. But not for everything else he had gone through with her. She was just like this warm ball of sunshine in his dull life. He couldn't regret having someone like that in his life. The last person that felt like that to him was Emi. Yet, Yeojin felt like so much more.

Sehun suddenly thought of what she said about standing up for something we really care about. He wondered where she got the courage to speak up like that.

His gaze darted to the screen of his laptop displaying his essay. 

"Have you told your dad you want to be a doctor?"

Sehun gave out a scoff. "Why should I? I don't want to waste my energy on any argument. It's no use. He would be against it," he bitterly told her.

"You would 't know what your dad really thinks if you don't tell him."

Sehun tilted his head back again and squeezed his eyes shut at the memory. "You drive me crazy, Kwon Yeojin!" He then mentally cussed before abruptly standing up from his chair. Despite the burdening thoughts of worst outcomes, like someone finally free of chains, he walked toward his dad's study room with light steps.

He took a deep breath as he laid his hand on the door handle. With a click, the door opened, and Sehun stepped inside. "Dad, I have something to say."

Can you guess how many chapters we have left?

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