No F.U.N | Choi Seungcheol

27.

Meanwhile, Jeonghan breathed in shakily. He did not expect Yuri to blackwall her brother because of something he'd said. Guilt seeped into him and Jeonghan opened his ears wide. He had to figure out if he truly was the reason behind her actions or if there was another story to it all.

So, Jihoon began, "Honestly, no one in our family has any kind of idea what Yuri thinks of her mother. You can call it hate but is there really all there is?" He shook his head, "It's complicated and there's a reason for it."

"I believe Yuri first came to my family when I was ten and she was six years old," He recalled his memories, a little hazy along the details, "Aunt and Yuri showed up at home one morning. My aunt gave a lousy excuse of visiting her home country after a long time. It was all very suspicious but my mom was excited to see her estranged sister after a long time. At Aunt's request she put on some tea on a stove in the hopes she would sit and refresh her childhood memories."

Jihoon remembered how bright the scene had been and the unusual joy he witnessed on his mother's face, "Of course, no one had any idea about the truth. Yuri had I were looking at this new toy in my room and my dad was away for work. Mom was excitedly talking from the kitchen when we all suddenly heard the door slam and a car pull out of our driveway."

If Jihoon was good at something he hadn't already commercialised, it was his storytelling. And this time, the details grew vivid with pain and emotion. He showed a resigned face, "By the time any of us could make sense of the situation, Yuri's mother had disappeared and abandoned Yuri for life."

"It was only until later that we found out Yuri's mother had taken a flight out the very same day. She had intended to leave Yuri from the start. There was no return ticket for her daughter." Jihoon spoke.

Seungcheol levied a deep breath, having heard some of it before. Yuri had once briefly mentioned that her mother, albeit alive was dead to her. Yuri had refused to speak of her mother unless necessary and Seungcheol did not pry or inconvenience her. He hadn't realised that there was such a painful explanation to it. Slowly, he parted his lips to ask, "So, what happened to Yuri after? Did she live with you?"

Woozi shook his head no, "Yuri lived with us for about six months during court proceedings. She was still a foreign born but since my aunt was Korean by birth, she was allowed to hold dual citizenship. For those six months, I remember, Yuri waited resiliently at the door, waiting for her mother to come back for her. It's what makes Yuri so hard to predict, you know? She loved her mother too much. But my aunt never came back and soon after, Yuri moved to a boarding school by choice."

Seungcheol's frown deepened. He had steeled his heart so he could listen to it but it was difficult to do so without catapulting. He instead directed his attention to a very confused friend, sitting next to him.

Jeonghan grew unsure the more he listened to Woozi talk. Sitting with his arms crossed, he wondered if the girl he knew and one he was hearing about were the same. The tenaciously bright Yuri he knew did not seem like she had lived such a difficult childhood and guilt blossomed in the corner of his mind for having judged her. Jeonghan had already admitted his fault in messing with her, but now, he felt worse.

Jihoon continued his story, unaware of the thoughts that ran in he minds of his two friends. "Still, Yuri's mother left her with a letter and a bankbook. There was enough money to care for Yuri so when Yuri brought up private schooling, my parents indulged her wishes. Within a week, she was gone." Jihoon thought about it, "Honestly, we all expected to see her on holidays or otherwise. I thought the girl who waited by the door from morning to evening would keep checking in to see if her mother had returned. But Yuri never returned home or inquired about her mother after that. Maybe she gave up on her search? I don't know." Jihoon shook his head honestly.

"She kept in touch with mom and won her trust to manage her own finances but for a long while after that, I didn't see her. She simply became a topic of news in our house. Mom would show me pictures she'd clicked every now and then in hopes that we would all not forget her. I'd hear about her from time to time, that she'd bought an instrument or left for overseas to take English classes but I didn't really pay much attention. I could barely remember the kid that stayed with us for a few months after all." He shrugged, frowning. Jihoon wasn't especially fond of the truth but he had been so self-indulging growing up that rumours and words spoken in passing barely ever registered as memory.

Nobody interfered.

"Eventually, we moved out, I joined Pledis and it wasn't until our debut that I heard she was auditioning in different places as well." He explained. Everyone else knew the story after that. Yuri had gone from training at Big Hit to shifting into composing and eventually debuting through a small independent company. "The adult Yuri I met was always so different from the crying child left on our door that her and I never looked back to our time in Busan. My parents were happy to see her again and so was I. And that was enough for all of us."

Seungcheol nodded, the pieces falling into place. His girlfriend had layers to her that he hadn't quite understood before. The reason behind her actions then and now were beginning to make sense. "So, she met Jung Min in school, lent him money and is somehow connected to her mother." He tried to understand, "Do you think she stopped inquiring about her mother because of Jung Min?"

"Maybe." Woozi shrugged, "This Jung Min kid I don't like much anyway."

"Yes," Seungcheol agreed wholeheartedly. His blood boiled in anger every time he thought about the sly man, "Yuri doesn't like him but I don't understand why she keeps covering for him. I keep thinking that Yuri's trying her best to hide her past from me." He frowned the more he thought about it. It didn't make sense,"But why?"

"I don't understand what goes on in her head sometimes." Jihoon explained, "And with her mother in the mix, I can't tell. What if Yuri wants her mother back in her life? That woman is not good for Yuri."

Jihoon had scoffed at Yuri's antics before. And for the first time in the conversation, Jeonghan could finally agree with something. "She might not show it, but she's as thoughtful as she is playful, that girl." Jeonghan remarked. "I'm sure she'll make the right choice."

Jeonghan ended up earning stares from both his friends. "What?" he held up his palms in front of the two, "Did I say something wrong?" His compliment and deep insight on Yuri lightened the room's atmosphere. It was true but it was also rare for Jeonghan to extend a word of praise to someone he had judged so harshly before. It called for change.

"You of all people, is saying that?" Seungcheol had just spoken, a smile returning to his lips when the three heard a knock on the door. The manager let himself in, surprised to see the three huddled together so early in the morning. Albeit stunned, the manager quickly explained that it was time for them to get ready and pack. Their flight was in three hours.

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Updated: 24.03.2024

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