Strip Tease °jhs au°

11.

Yuri's POV

I smiles as I meet my aunt at the door. Aunt Jihyo raises an eyebrow, leading the way out of the hotel room. "What's got you smiling like that?"

"Hm? Oh, it's nothing."

"Who is it?" She pushes.

I roll my eyes, pushing the button for the elevator. "It's nothing, really. Just Hoseok debuted today and did amazing."

"Oh, Mr. Dancing shoes again. I mean, are you really surprised?" Aunt Jihyo shrugs. "The man dances for a living."

I nod in agreement. "Yeah, you're right."

The elevator dings and the doors open. We step inside, pressing the button for the first floor. We ride down in a comfortable silence and the floors flash above the buttons on the wall. The doors soon open and we step out into the lobby of the hotel. The restaurant is about 5 feet ahead, so we go toward where we can smell the food.

We sit down as a waiter appears with menus for us. "Good morning, ladies. May I start you off with something to drink?"

"I'll take an orange juice." I say.

"For me," Aunt Jihyo starts. "I'll take a coffee. 3 sugars and some creamer on the side."

"Okay. I'll have that right out." He smiles. "Take your time with the menus."

We both look at the menus in front of us, looking to see what food looks good. The food is always different in the States to what we normally have home in South Korea. We just order something similar to what we had on the first day.

Aunt Jihyo swallows down her coffee, pulling her phone out from her fanny pack. "So, the itinerary. Do you wanna go sight seeing first, or to see your mom?"

I look down at my fingers, taking a deep breath. "I wanna see my mom."

--

The cemetery is quiet; the only sounds coming from the birds chirping in the distance. I sit on the grass with my legs crossed as I look at the gravestone in front of me. 

Chaeyoung Bae
6/28/1970 - 10/4/1999
Angel mother to a beautiful daughter, Yuri.

I was turning 5 only a couple months after mg mother died. I don't like Christmas time for that reason. A tear slips from my eye and trickles down my cheek. Aunt Jihyo sniffles from behind me, rubbing comforting circles around my back.

"Hi mom." I say, sadness lacing my voice with each word I speak. "It's been 20 years. That's a long time for a girl to be without her mom."

Aunt Jihyo nods. "It is, Chae. But your baby is all grown up and just like you. I know you'd be proud."

The hardest part about me being out here is talking to my mom and not being able to get a verbal response. That only brings more tears to my eyes that fall without warning nor consent.

"Why did you leave me, mom?" I choke out, sobbing as my aunt holds me, silently crying. "Why didn't you get to see me turn 5? You weren't supposed to leave me all alone."

We both sit and cry a little longer, that question never leaving my thoughts, even at 24 years old. Why was my mother taken away from me so young? It isn't fair.

--

Hoseok's POV

I finish my dinner, taking it over to the sink where Jimin is washing the dishes. Jimin smiles at me. "How was it?"