So I have a confession to make. The life that I live isn’t ideal, but I’ve come to realize I’m not alone. Rather, the life I lead is quite average. If I were to ask my fiancée, he would agree. If I were to ask my best friends, they’d also agree and relate with me.

 My life is comprised of overbearing parents who only mean well for their children, but eventually end up coming off as pressuring adult figures that are clearly not welcome in their children’s lives (mind you, these children are legal adults now too). It can be exhausting to deal with these parents and more often than not, you succumb to their nonsensical ideas just because that is the only way they’ll stop. Honestly, you give up altogether because it seems like you cannot live your own life without being continuously attacked for making the “wrong decision,” at least according to these parents.

That’s precisely how Kim Jongin ended up.

Two years ago…

            “Jongin, please, marry Jungah for the sake of our company.”

            “Jongin, I really think you should meet Jungah again.”

            “Jongin, give Jungah another chance; she has changed.”

            “Jongin, you loved Jungah once and I’m sure you’ll love her again.”

            “Jongin, are you hung up about Hye Su?”

            “Jongin, it’s not like Hye Su will return your feelings.”

            “Jongin, move on.”

            These were mere comments that Jongin heard on a daily basis from both of his parents and of naturally, like any normal human being would, he started to seriously reconsider and reevaulate his life. Maybe his parents were right. Maybe Jungah deserved another chance. Maybe Hye Su never shared the same feelings for him. At a certain point, Jongin let those comments penetrate his entirety and attack his self-esteem. So Jongin foolishly agreed to be wedded to Jungah...yet only such an agreement was not to further his own pursuit of happiness, but to sympathize with his parents. And that was where everything began to go awry.

            While Jongin (fortunately) had some grasp of understanding his actual feelings, his spontaneous transfer to Korea for work was done out of fear. Sure, one could argue that Jongin had returned to his homeland to confirm his parents’ words for himself – maybe Hye Su really didn’t like him, and maybe he was meant to wed Jungah. Nonetheless, his sudden disappearance from the United States was a selfish act in itself. Not once had he considered the repercussions of his transfer, and in turn, he had hurt not only Hye Su, but both Jungah and his own parents.

****

Cont’d from Chapter 27

            Hye Mi dropped me off shortly after we had our heart-to-heart conversation. I knew that both my parents and my grandma would be extremely excited for my impending transfer – especially my mother, as she now had a free place to stay at when she would spontaneously fly out to China. But to be honest, I was afraid. I hated change, because well, I’m not exactly the best at adapting to new environments, and being in a new place meant that I had to start anew. But considering my current circumstances, I was really embracing this idea of change.

            That was, well, until I saw Jongin later that night.

            His appearance at the front of my house was uncalled for and I was not even remotely prepared to see him, let alone talk to him. Since when did I begin to develop such alien and foreign feelings for my best friend? I no longer wanted to see my best friend – I just wanted to stalk right past him. And so I did…or at least tried to.

            “Hye Su, we need to talk.”

            My back was facing Jongin, but I had stopped in my tracks when I heard him call after me. I had no courage to face him; I was pretty sure I would start crying if I had turned around. Hell, my eyes were watering as I heard his voice. I was so thankful that the night had masked everything so well.

            “What do we need to talk about, Jongin?” I quietly muttered, but I knew he had heard my words as I heard him uncomfortably shift in response to my question. “You’re getting married, and there’s nothing we can change at this point.”

            “I know it was wrong of me to lead you on. I know it was wrong of me to just show up randomly back in Seoul one day and remind you of our promise from years back. I know it was wrong of me to lie to you.

            “But me coming back here was not a mistake. If anything, it was a blessing, no matter how twisted it may seem right now to both you and Jungah.”

            I whirled around, furious by Jongin’s words. “So now you’re stopping to consider my feelings? All this time you kept me in the dark about your marriage. Even if I was in love with you, it hurt even more to hear that you were getting married from your parents. And even then, why the f.uck did you toy with my feelings? One moment you would kiss me and another moment you would leave m