Start Again

Chapter Twenty-Six

Joon Soo

"You promised you'd be nice," I said. Audrey was currently sitting in the living room with my father. I had pulled my mother aside to my bedroom to have a word with her.

"I am being nice." She crossed her arms over her chest and refused to look me in the eyes.

"You call telling my girlfriend she can't date be being nice?"

"I didn't yell at her. I didn't call her any rude things. I didn't look down on her."

"You asked her a million and one details about her wealth and status just to determine whether she meets that weird model of the 'perfect wife' in your head."

"So what if I do? Can you blame me for wanting the best for my son?"

"Telling me I can't date the first person I've ever dated and loved is best for me?"

"Love fades."

"I don't care if it does. Right now I love her. I will continue to love her. And even if that love fades, it won't change the fact that she's my best friend."

"Baek Hu is my best friend."

"Baek Hu was my best friend throughout school. We rarely talk anymore." I put my hands on her shoulders, and shook her gently until her eyes met mine. "Eomma, give her a chance. Audrey really understands me. She's beautiful, she makes me laugh, and she wants what's best for me."

"I get it, Joon Soo. It's nice to be caught up in your first love. Fine, go ahead. Date for a month or two. But sooner or later you have to end it. Once love fades, who knows if she will remain faithful. She may start looking after other men. Men with an actual job."

"I have an actual job."

"You don't get paid."

"Actually... I got offered a job at a newspaper. I will get paid."

"Why don't you tell me something great like that rather than saying you're dating that thing?"

"Thing? Eomma, apologise now. I won't have you say that about her."

"No."

"Eomma! I will leave."

"She's not a good influence. She doesn't have money. Her parents are divorced, which means she will probably leave you if she's not satisfied. She's probably only dating you to stay in the country, and once she's married you and gained permanent residency, she will leave you. And most of all, she's already made you cry, get drunk, and stay out late."

*

Knock, knock, knock. "Joon Soo? It's Eomma. Can I come in?"

"Go away," I mumbled. I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling. Two days until Audrey leaves. I will never see her again. I can't contact her in Hoju. I don't know her address or home phone number.

The door opened and Eomma came in. "Are you crying?" She sat down on the bed, staring at me cautiously.

I hid my eyes behind my arm, subtly wiping my tears away. "No."

"What's wrong, Joon Soo?"

"Nothing."

"Talk to me."