Crusty Love

Love meant not to hold all the time..

Chapter 14:  Truth

Years ago, Sooyeon and Soojung had been left by their parents after their company had been bankrupted. Sooyeon had been picked up to live with Mr. Lee Soo whom was a sister of Lee Ji Eun, her mother. It was such a cruel memory the two kids because they thought that their parents were irresponsible for them.

Sooyeon lived by herself under Mr. Lee’s command. She needed to do housework as a maid and looked after her single aunt. When she felt sad, she had no mother to comfort and she had no father to give her advices. For this experience, she could teach herself to live independence, not depend on anyone anymore. Reminding to her parents again, it was like her bad dream. She didn’t know where they were… and she wouldn’t find them either. She was used to be alone, without parents and her aunt was alike her mother.

That night Luhan walked his wife back to her house, and they were keeping the silence between them. Maybe this was a silent language that her aunt told? The girl thought.

As soon as they entered the house together, the first person they saw, was an old similar lady and the next to her, was an old man too. They were smiling to the girl cheerfully like they had found a lost thing for a long time.

Sooyeon glanced at them for a second, recalling the bad memory in her past. She almost fell down because of her weak legs, luckily Luhan faster held her tight.

He didn’t know why she suddenly became like this, but it might cause from the two old people in front of them.

“Sooyeon… my daughter..” the old woman began to come closer to her but the girl refused it.

“Who are you to call me daughter? I never know you..” she waved her head, was shaking about to say something. She hated her parents… she hated them so much…! How dared they come to her without feeling shame what they had done to her and her sister?

“I’m sorry, Sooyeon ah. Mom and dad forced to leave you… we owed much money from national bank. If we hadn’t done so, we would have been in the jail. Now, thing is going well. Our company is back like before and we are coming to get you with us…” the old man tried to explain her, as coming closer.

“Yes, trust us… mom promise, we will repay what you lost.. Sooyeon ah…”  the old woman held her hand, but the girl yanked it.

“No I don’t have parents… I don’t know what you are.. Leave me alone…!!” She screamed at them before running pass by into her room with tears.

“Yeobo… our daughter hates us right now… ” the old woman hugged her husband and cried out.

“You left her for over 12 years without telling anything. It would be weird if she was happy to see you come back.” Mrs. Lee stared at her own sister and her brother-in-law, with a pout.

Luhan looked at his childish image of his mother, and he just realized that her mother was good at teasing her own sibling.

“Give her some time, she needs time to accept your fault.” continued Mrs. Lee.

“How do we do now?” asked Mr. Jung to his sister-in-law.

“Let me try to speak with her… ” Luhan first talked into the conversation.

Mr. Jung and Mrs. Jung turned their eyes to the young tall man whom came with their daughter weirdly. At the moment, they had just focused on their daughter so they hadn’t noticed this guy. Who was he anyway?

Luhan seemed knowing what their curiousness was, so he bowed them to respect and introduced himself to his parents-in-law.

“I’m Xi Luhan, your nephew and also Sooyeon’s husband.” His voice was so gentle to them with a please.

“Her husband? Did Sooyeon married in this age?” Mr. Jung asked confusedly.

“Well, he is my son. I fed her since her young age. Marry my son, isn’t bad at all. ” replied Mrs. Lee

“I’m taking my leave now…” Luhan bowed the two people and also his mom and then he went to his wife’s room.

Sooyeon was sitting on the bed, hugging her knee and crying softly. She felt bad. It was a bad dream ever. She didn’t want to see her parents again or it reminded her to their selfishness.

Luhan silently sat on the bed, beside her. Slowly he patted her shoulder for comforting her as Sica immediately went to his embrace. She hid her face in his chest and kept crying. All she needed now, it was someone whom could accompany her.

“It’s alright… it’s alright..” he rubbed her back gently.

“It’s cruel… It’s cruel… they are so bad… I hate them… I hate them..” she kept repeating those words again and again, making Luhan sigh at first.

“Let cry it out… and after you cry, you will release all your pain..” he said as whispering near her ear.

“I hate how people leave me… I’m scared to be left again…”

“No matter, who left you… but it wasn’t me.. remember it.. ” he looked again at her face, and gently cleaned tears from her cheek.

“You are serious, you won’t leave me like them?” she asked, being an innocent emotion on her face while she was staring into his eyes.

“I won’t unless you don’t need me.” His warm word made her smile again.

Luhan didn’t know how long he had been here to accompany her on the bed. When he awaked again, she already slept in his embrace. He placed her to sleep in the bed properly, and not missing to cover her stick blanket.

Her eyes were swollen because she cried hard today. Seeing how weak she was, he wanted to protect her more… Starting from patting her hair, he decided to lay himself on the bed, placing his chin on the pillow next to hers. Unknowingly, he gazed at her smooth face and rolled his eyes to her soft lip..

Would he be marked as a stealer here if he just placed his lip on her lip? His wife was beautiful enough to mess his brain, betray his attitude.   

At last, he decided to be a gentleman, not a kiss stealer and just left her room.

……………………….

 After Mrs. Lee had always tried to explain Jessica about her parents’ forced situation all the time, and Luhan was a helper, advisor and listener to accompany her too. Jessica finally made a decision, trying to accept her parents. And today, their family had a nice dinner together including, Soojung whom just arrived in Seoul city to see her parents too.

Luhan was always beside his wife to make she felt, she wasn’t alone. Looking into her eyes, Jessica could find her parents back but she seemed not excited at all. Her soft and smooth face was always shown Luhan that she wasn’t okay yet. It was like she still had something in her mind, and that may have caused from another man whom she loved all her heart. Sometimes, Luhan felt guilty to himself because he was looked pitiful, so he was chosen. Seem like; her heart didn’t have any space for him to grow his love plant there.

Soojung would return to live with her family back, while Jessica hadn’t made a decision yet. She kept staying with Mr. Lee, not going to Luhan either. Mr. Jung and Mrs. Jung couldn’t force her for the reason she had married off already, so she wasn’t Jung daughter anymore, but Mrs. Xi or a daughter-in-law of Xi Family.

Luhan always support her decision pleasingly. Of course, he allowed her to live at his mom’s house but not meant, he couldn’t move to stay there either.

Luhan was a kind of indifferent guy as he lived by himself long times ago. To the relationship between man and woman, he was so innocent like a kid. Since Jessica appeared in his life, he started turning himself into human emotion and now he was trying to be a considerate one even he couldn’t do it for 100% yet.

The dinner finished, Luhan walked his wife home because he preferred not to drive a car to save their moment to get in a peace.

“Seriously…” and guy began and the girl turned to stare at him to wait for his talk.

“I love to stay in this kind of moment… but maybe the moment I like, giving a pain to someone else.” He continued.

“Why?” the girl asked him confusedly.

He looked weird and his thought was always a mystery to everyone because they couldn’t guess what was in his mind. The true sad man, Luhan loved to hide things alone.

“I think you know it already…” he sighed, kept being in his poker face.

“You are chasing me too?”  Looking in his eyes, she finally got what it meant. He must have meant to Kris.

“I’m sorry…” he said softly.

“So don’t mention it again. I told you already… please give me the time…”

Although that word was unlike what she thought in her mind, to Luhan he was happy enough.

……………………..

A week passed by soon… the news that Baekhyun and Chanyeol won lottery because of Luhan, was cutting down too. Luhan finally had his peaceful life to avoid from those people.

Today, Senior Heechul announced all members in mathematic club to have an important meeting, so that included Luhan. As the result, Jessica needed to back home with alone. But before she could leave the school, another similar person went to block her.

Staring at the pale face girl in front, made her surprise with her sudden changed. Chorong was from a girl whom had a very pretty natural face became a zombie face; moreover, she wore a hat, covering her head and letting no one see her hair. She looked like an ill person in this appearance.

“I asked Suho’s sister to take me here without letting anyone know.. I want to meet you again.. please give me a second to talk..” her hand was cold and soft when she was touching Jessica’s hand.

Seeing her look alike a person who isn’t exist, Jessica nodded and let her in her empty class. She carefully carried Chorong to sit on a comfortable seat before she moved another one to side opposite her.

Chorong’s situation was worse, and she couldn't stop herself to consider Kris how he was, when the girl he loved became like this.

“Firstly I’m sorry to interrupt your relationship between you and Kris.. I’m really sorry… I didn’t know it… it’s my fault..” the girl cried and Sica was only silent and held her hand tight, letting the girl finish her talk.

“So how are you? Why you became like this?” she asked her to fill her curiousness about Chorong’s appearance.

“Actually, my hair was shaved to prepare for the operation tomorrow..” the girl had a soft pale smile on her face, trying to hold Sica’s hand.

“What? Are you sick?”

“I have cancer… the last cancer… it’s a kind of ulcer in my head. It’s bigger and bigger.. I don’t trust the operation… I feel that today is the last time I can see this world.. but I don’t want to regret things after I leave..”

“………” Sica only listened to her without saying anything.

“Because I know, I myself have less chance to success this try. I do love Suho.. so I didn’t want to leave a pain to him before I leave this earth… that why I made up the story between me and Kris to fool Suho. I wanted him to see me as a cheated woman so he would move on later.. Kris was please to help me… because we seemed like close friends now.. But I really didn’t know that my play caused you and Kris having a huge fight till break up… I’m sorry… I’m sorry Sooyeon… ” Chorong covered and cried out loudly.

It was like fresh water thrown to her face. Sica just awaked how she was stupid to leave Kris… Why this truth just came up?? Why??

Sica slowly moved close to Chorong and let her cry in her embrace, patting her back a little bit.

“It’s alright…. It’s alright…” her word was the same as Luhan’s when he had comforted her. Since when Luhan’s word, was influent to her?

“After Yura or Suho’s sister told me about Kris’s pain, I felt so guilty. Kris didn’t leave you on purpose but Suho threated him about your security because he thought Kris held me and you in the same time. That babo Suho, how come he does that?” Chorong kept crying all along, sending Sica her hot temperature.

“I’m begging you, Sica… Please go back to Kris… Don’t let him hurt like this… I’m begging you… Kris is alike my brother. I don’t want because of avoiding Suho being pain, and Kris instead his pain… I don’t want things like that…” the girl wiped her tear and grabbed her hand tight.

Back to Kris? That what she also wanted too… but how about Luhan? She should have told her the truth before she let Luhan made his move.. it was cruel to Luhan if she left him and backed to Kris..

“You knew, when I saw his fake smile and laugh to me while he was hiding his pain… my heart seemed like being cut into piece. He is soulless these days. Sometimes he is not conscious or focus what he was talked to. It’s like, he lost his soul already… and last night, I saw him crying alone near the corner of the hospital after he sent me a food with his fake smile. I tried to ask Yura many times, till she told me about the fight between Kris and Suho…”

Kris cried…?? Be kidding her? A strong man like him, how could it be?

“It was the first time