"What's up with you...?" Yunjin asked a very gloomy Minjeong. The smile she was wearing before now disappeared after seeing her best friend in such a depressive state. The black haired woman just looked at the older and then glanced back to her cup of beer, taking a sip of it.
"Jimin," Was all she muttered taking a deep breath, "She had a car accident."
Yunjin looked not so surprised with the news.
"Right, I heard about it in the news."
"Yes..."
Yunjin looked intently at Minjeong, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"Is she alright?"
"I don't know."
"How come you don't know?"
"Her father, remember?"
"Oh."
Silence engulfed both for what seemed long minutes. Yunjin noticed the awkward situation between them and decided to interrupt the silence and seriousness with a happy and joyful topic.
"Erm you know..." She began, making Minjeong look up at her, "Me and Kazuha...we can't have kids so we're adopting a child."
Minjeong looked very surprised at the beginning, but suddenly happiness for her friend's welfare began to grow on her and she smiled softly but brightly.
"Congrats, you really deserve it...things have been very harsh on you lately."
"Yeah, I know. We've been through a lot lately, so it's hard to focus on just one thing at the same time."
Minjeong nodded to Yunjin's wise words.
"And did you decide what child you're going to adopt already?"
"Yes."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Yunjin crossed her arms above the table, "He's 5 years old, and his name is Mi Joon."
"Was he abandoned?"
Yunjin nodded.
"Caught neumonia less than a day after he was born. He has asthma because of it."
The older sighed but then smiled.
"Must be a little warrior."
Yunjin breathed out a smile.
"You know what? I'm just going to show you a picture of him," She said, searching for her cellphone in her jeans pocket, making Minjeong even more curious to find out how the child was.
"Aha! I found it!" Yunjin said, after touching the touch screen a few times. She grinned and gave the cellphone to Minjeong.
"Here he is."
Minjeong looked at the photograph. She could see a black haired boy smiling cutely at the camera, holding a corn cob in his hands. The small dimples made his smile look even more adorable, and his deep brown eyes accentuated his youth.
Something shook Minjeong the moment she saw the boy's picture. It was a familiar feeling; something that she was used to; but she just couldn't point out her finger to it. She couldn't describe what she was feeling; as it was too strong but unknown at the same time for her.
"He looks like a good kid to me," Minjeong said, returning Yunjin's cell phone to its owner. Yunjin grinned and locked the cellphone's screen, before putting it inside of her jeans' pocket.
"You know...this might sound silly and pathetic...but he kinda reminds me of you."
Minjeong chuckled.
"You're getting crazy."
______________________________________________________________________
"Do you need any help carrying Miss Jimin, Jeno shii?"
Jeno shook his head, showing a quick smile at Suho, "Of course not. I can handle it myself, I don't need your help."
The butler looked at the younger man, feeling quite irritated at his voice tone and words. Still, he tried to dismiss it and sighed, looking away, as Jeno climbed up the stairs with his wife in his arms, who was in a deep slumber due to medication, heading towards her bedroom.
Jeno groaned after laying Jimin on her bed, in her bedroom.
"Fuck...she's heavier than what I've thought," He muttered, "Now I have to take care of sick people, as if it is my job."
He put the covers over her and let her sleep, quiet like a baby.
He sighed and sat on the armchair next to her bed, looking at her sleeping figure sprawled on the bed. A smirk slowly appeared on his thin lips.
"Jimin...Oh my beautiful Jimin..." He breathed out in satisfaction, "You don't have any idea of how happy I was when I got the news of your accident...Such a pity that I wasn't there to see it...and moreover, you could have just died and I wouldn't give a fuck about it."
He sighed.
"But you know, your father is so dumb that he thinks I'm the perfect husband for you. Maybe you're right, Minjeong would be such a better person for you."
"But you know what?" He began, looking at her, smirking softly, "She's not here to help you."
"And she won't be either."
______________________________________________________________________
The sound of the clock of her bedroom ticking had never felt so annoying for her.
Minjeong really wanted to fall asleep, but she couldn't.
She rolled over on the bed, burying her head on the pillow, trying to close her eyes; which proved to be an useless attempt of falling into a deep slumber. She couldn't, no matter how much she tried. At first, she thought it was because she felt too much heat, so she just decided to sleep in her undergarments; a thing she never would do; and although it felt good at first, it wasn't too long before she realized that it wasn't the problem.
It was more than obvious that she knew what it was from the very beginning.
It was that she just didn't want to admit it.
She wished she could be there, next to her, but she knew it was impossible. Not only because she was married to another man, but also because her father would make it impossible for her to even take a look at her.
Her eyes opened up and she was able to catch something on their corner.
She blinked softly and reached her arm up, grabbing the frame that laid on top of her bedside table.
She stared at it, leaning the frame against the pillow as well. Her eyes wandered around the picture for brief seconds, before they focused on the small baby wrapped in a blue blanket and his smiling mother, who was attently caressing his cheek, even though she looked exhausted and sick.
She just felt so horrible for missing such an important moment in her life, that she didn't even know what she should do.
"...Do you think eomma is okay, Jeongwoo?"
She knew that she was just talking to a picture and that her son wouldn't hear her; but she still wanted to speak to someone, or, at least, feel like she was doing so.
Minjeong bit her lip, and closed her eyes.
"It's so hard, honey. When you try to protect someone you love and you know you can't..."
At the end of her sentence she opened her eyes, staring at Jimin's smiling face with a bittersweet smile on her lips.
"Maybe your father is right. You would do better without me," She took in a deep breath, "But no matter how much I hate myself for hurting you all those years, I still can't stop loving you, Jimin. At the beginning I thought it would be best to depart from you, and let you be happy with Jeno but...I realized it will hurt us even more."
She bit her lip softly, as a tear ran down her face.
"You know that I love both of you, right?"
She breathed in shakily and brought the frame close to her chest, hugging it.
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, it was my fault..."
______________________________________________________________________
"Good morning, miss."
Jimin's eyes fluttered open slowly, and it wasn't too long until she was able to stare at the older man. She smiled softly and breathed out a smile, feeling a lot calmer than what she was the previous day. She was feeling so much pain that they gave her strong medicine before they took her home, so that was the reason why she was quite confused at first; but now that everything was clearer, she just wanted to breathe out in relief.
"Suho shii," She whispered, before she opened up her eyes, "Good morning."
The man smiled at her, before handing her a glass of water and some pills, "Here. You should take them."
Jimin groaned and tried to sit up on the bed, but hissed at the pain. The man briefly paused the items on the bedside table, before helping the young woman sitting up on her bed.
"Alright, careful. Do not hurt yourself, miss," He whispered, finally able to give her the things she needed.
She held the things in her hand for a moment, but he frowned as she made a sour face.
"Miss?"
Jimin took a deep breath, before returning the things he had given her.
"I want to throw up."
"Are you sure-," He looked at her worriedly as he saw her nodding, breathing in. The doctor had warned them about the side effects of some medicines, and it surely was the reason for her dizziness.
He sighed and nodded, "Let me help you get to the bathroom, then."