"I've heard you were a great dancer," The man in his thirties said with a smile, "To be a great ballerina, what do you think one should have?"
Jimin blinked, pursing her lips momentaneously. She was wearing black jeans, black pumps, a red shirt and a black blazer, her brown hair caught up in a bun. Her eye-liner contoured eyes blinked for a moment, before her red lips curved up in a smile.
"Discipline is required. You need to have lots of discipline...You know," She briefly paused, "When I was a ballerina, I'd stare at my reflection in the mirror everyday. Girls my age would be studying or going out with their friends; but I would stare at myself in the mirror, wondering if I had to lose another pound or if I was okay. That stressed me and was something that made me unhappy."
"Does that mean you developed an eating disorder in the past?"
"No, the contrary. It just means that I worked harder. I ate the same quantity of food, but I would spend a lot more time inside of the dance studio, to the point of gaining blisters and making cuts on my feet everyday. That is discipline...And it's something you have to apply to yourself. I'm not telling girls they should all be skinny or not eating, not that. I'm just saying that, you have to practice a lot. And that requires a lot of time and dedication."
"So, you'd add time, dedication and practice to that list?"
"Yes."
Jimin slightly tilted her head to the side, seeing as the reporter kept staring at her with that playful smile.
"Then why did you drop ballet?"
She took in a deep breath, "I had the practice, the time, the dedication and the discipline. But I didn't have the vacation."
"That means you didn't like it?-"
"-It's not that I didn't like it...It's just that it wasn't for me. I loved ballet, but I had other dreams, other ambitions...I wanted to do so much more, not just limiting myself to ballet. I had a whole life ahead, and I didn't want to waste it."
"Was one of your ambitions having a family?"
She shifted on her seat.
"People can deny it but...Everyone wants to have a family. It's something that...It's something that fulfills you. Having someone who'll greet you with a smile when you come back home after a long day of work."
The reporter nodded, pursing his lips.
"...When did you first feel, 'I have a family to take care of and cherish'?"
Jimin smiled softly.
"...When I found out I was pregnant."
The reporter nodded knowingly, "I know this may be a little too personal," He said, seeing the feline nodding her head as well, "But...How did your girlfriend react to it? How did the two of you meet?"
"...We...Well, as you know, I went to Zürich to study Zoology," She began, seeing the reporter nodding his head, "She was studying music-"
"-She was a music student?"
"Yes," She nodded, "We met by accident. We were neighbors, actually...Our apartments were next to each other."
"There's something about you two that's been going around for some years and I would like you to confirm it, if it's not an issue, of course," He said, before pausing briefly, "Is it true that the both of you were living together?"
"...Yes. I moved in with her because of her economical situation. She had won a scholarship but her parents worked really hard to send her money every month. Sometimes, she wouldn't even get a proper meal because of the appartment's rent. Rent is really expensive in Switzerland," She said, seeing the man nodding in agreement.
"Did you think about the social prejudice back then?"
"Mmm...I just thought about it briefly. She was worried about it but-Honestly...If two people really love each other and want to live together, what is the problem? If someone loves people of his or her own sex, what is the problem? The only thing that should matter is...You love that person. That person is everything for you. You should be able to live with that person, as long as both of you are okay with it. If you want to be intimate with each other or not, then that is your own choice," She sighed, "Sometimes that is the right thing to do. It is a big step in a relationship, I do admit. But I do also think it is essential. If you plan on marrying someone, I think you should be 100% comfortable with that person first. Because, honestly, marrying someone you don't live with is kind of living with a stranger."
"Is your girlfriend a stranger to you?"
"There's a side of her that she never or rarely ever shows...but I think that that's the factor that keeps every relationship healthy. I think every relationship needs some mystery. Other than that, we're no strangers to each other. Our emotional bond is too strong."
"Emotional bond?"
"We've been through a lot of hardships together because of our social status and because of how society views unmarried couples living together and having their own kids in general...So, we've reached a point in our relationship in which sometimes, we just look into each other's eyes and we know what the other is thinking, without saying a single word. We're very emotionally connected to each other. And that is something that is very precious to me."
"Have your children strengthened that bond?"
"Definitely," She smiled, "No one should judge you for having kids out of wedlock. If you're in a stable relationship and you can raise your children with love and education, even if it's hard, no one should judge you for it. I find it honestly amusing that the politicians in this country all complain about the low birthrates, but then backstabs adoptive parents and single parents. I've been a single mother before. And I don't regret a thing."
"You don't regret having a baby at the age of 20?"
"...I will never regret it. That child was everything to me, and still is," She whispered, looking into the man's eyes as the cameras focused on her face, "While I could, I gave him all of my love. The only thing I regret is not being able to protect it. Protect that little treasure that life gave me. I should have taken more care of it," She muttered at the end, her eyes watering up.
"...It's hard for you to talk about your son."
Jimin bit her lip.
"...I was thinking about how he might just be watching this and he doesn't know who I am," A tear rolled down her left cheek, "And that breaks my heart."
"What would you tell him? If he was watching this?"
Jimin took in a shaky breath, briefly looking down and biting her lip.
"That he should never, ever doubt how much I love him. I don't want him to think I've abandoned him, that I've never cared about him. He's everything to me. And I miss him, every single day of my life," She breathed in, wiping her tears away with her fingers, "He should know that his mama and I love him and his sister more than anything else in the world. That there isn't a day in which we don't think about him. That we'll bring him home, someday...He should know that."
"I understand it's hard," The man said, nodding, "I have a baby daughter myself. If something ever happened to her, I'd go crazy."
"It's sad, you know," She took in a deep breath, "People tend to forget that I'm a human too. Outside, I'm Yu Jimin, the chairwoman, the rich chaebol...But I'm just Jimin. I'm just a mother, a friend, a girlfriend. I'm a person too. I have feelings. Only because I go to social events and laugh and smile for the cameras doesn't mean I don't suffer. I just contain it, pile it all up inside of my heart."
"You think people have certain expectations of you, then."
"Of course they do. They've always expected me to be a quiet person, that heiress who married someone from the elite who then took over her family's business and whom she gave three children to. People expected that of me. They didn't expect me to be that rebellious person who threw her family's name in the pits of shame. That heiress who became a single mother at 20, after her non-rich fiancé supposedly died in a car accident. They didn't expect me to be who I am today."
"Was there any moment in which you think you complied with what society expected from you?"
She pursed her lips, "Probably when I still was that quiet heiress in my debutante ball, when I started dating Lee Jeno."
"Lee Jeno was your husband."
"Yes."
"Something that has never been explained to the media is the reason why you divorced. What was it? Was it you, or was it him?"
"...It was me who filed for divorce."
"Why did you decide to divorce him? What was the cause of your divorce?"
Long moments of silence followed the journalist's question. A turmoil of emotions, feelings and thoughts ran inside of Jimin's mind. She was battling herself; wondering if she should confess all the horrible things he had done to her, or if she should keep quiet.
The camera pointed straight at her face, the journalist's eyes filled with expectation.
"...He sexually, psychologically and physically abused me."
She could not believe she had said so herself.
The man's eyes widened, and the whole room fell silent. People on the set of the show looked at each other in shock, some even talking to others in whispers.
"You mean," The man tried to find the correct words, "You mean Lee Jeno abused you?"
She gulped down.
"What name would you give to someone who rapes a woman 23 times in two weeks while spanking and insulting her?"
The man blinked, "Around 30% of the population of this country is watching this right now," He said quietly, "And...There's no words all those people or I can tell to describe what you've just said-"
"-If there's anyone who doesn't believe what I'm saying, I have pictures and hospital reports, because," She took in a deep breath, "That is something one can't forget. That is something that shouldn't be forgotten. To every girl out there who's been in the same situation as me," She looked at the cameras, tears falling down her eyes, "You're not at fault. It was never your fault. We live in a democratic country. We have the right to wear whatever we want to. We have the right of loving whoever we want, we have the right of giving birth whenever we want to. If a man or woman touches you without your consent or abuses you, it's not because you were wearing shorts. It's not because you were wearing a skirt. It's not because you're easy. It's those people's fault. It's their fault. They're abusive, mentally insane people who took advantage of you. It's not your fault. I know the police will ask you what you were wearing. I was asked that too. And that is one damn huge lack of respect for someone who's just been abused. To someone who'll have a trauma for life, to someone who may try to commit suicide. But it never was your fault. Even if you were drunk. It wasn't your fault."
The man took in a deep breath, looking at Jimin as one of the female staff from the show rushed to her side to give her some tissues.
"...What you just did," The man took in another breath, "It was the bravest thing someone has ever done on national television," He pursed his lips, "Thank you so much for what you said. Thank you."
Jimin looked around as the whole studio started clapping effusively. She bit her lip and wiped her tears, before she bowed down in respect.
____________________________________________________________________
Sooman felt a lump on his throat. He just couldn't glue his eyes off of the television. He just couldn't believe what his daughter had said in front of a whole nation attending her interview.
Lee Jeno had abused her.
He now began to understand a lot of things. He now understood why his daughter had lowered Jeno's position in the enterprise out of nowhere. He now understood her silence towards Jeno when they were still married and living in his house. He now understood why Jimin would silently cry. Why would she spend hours and hours locked up between the fours walls of her bedroom?
That man whom he considered the ideal party for his daughter had abused her.
Raped her.
Insulted her.
Hit her.
He was now thinking if that wouldn't have happened, if he had only let his daughter be with Minjeong from the very beginning. He was starting to wonder if he would have saved her from suffering the atrocities she had just explained.
23 times.
2 weeks.
The numbers just repeated inside of his head over and over again.
...
"Sooman ah..."
The young man looked at his wife, who was sitting by his side on the bed, looking down at her daughter with a wide smile as she breastfed the little baby, her flowy black wavy hair cascading down her naked upper body.
"...Yes?"
She looked back at her husband with a smile, not even bothering to cover her body up, as he had seen absolutely naked many times before. To him, she looked beautiful; even if she loved and had bore the child of another man.
She sighed and pursed her lips.
"Jimin's father can't protect her because he can't stand a chance against your father but...if something ever happens to me," She breathed out a soft smile, "Would you protect and defend Jimin as if she was your own daughter?"
"Haneul ah-"
"-You need to promise that, Sooman ah," She took in a shaky breath, cupping his cheek, "I know you will never forgive me for what I did. I know how much it pains you that Jimin isn't yours but...You were the first person who saw and held her after me, and I also know you love her more than anything else," She pursed her lips, "So please do that for me."
She caressed his cheek with her thumb, "You love me, although I can't love you back. I see you as my brother, as a really good friend of mine...You know that I love someone else. I even went to the extent of giving birth to his child," She lowered her voice tone, "But you know you can have me. I know this hurts you but...When we're making love, as you say it...I physically enjoy it but it's meaningless to me. Because I can't love you in that way. But you love me. So I do it for you, because you deserve so much, Sooman ah. Believe me, that I tried to be the best wife to you, but I can't lie to my heart," A tear fell down her cheek, "I can't love you back the way you love me but...Jimin can. Have you seen the way she looks at you?" She sobbed and smiled, "She giggles when she sees you coming from work. Because you love her as your daughter, and she loves you as her father."
She kissed his cheek, before she leaned her forehead against his temple, "I trust you. I know that you'll make her happy, even if it will take you a while to realize how. Jimin loves you already. So please, love her as much as you do now for the rest of your days. Protect her when I'm gone."
...
"The number you've tried to reach isn't available at the moment-"
He hung the call and put the telephone down on his desk, before he looked up at his wife's portrait.
"...Haneul ah..."
He immediately looked at the side, hearing as the door of his office opened up.
He straightened up, staring in disbelief at Minjeong, who was standing by the door frame, holding Minji in her arms as she looked back at the older man seriously. The young female took in a deep breath and looked down at her daughter with a smile, making the baby look up at her as well.
____________________________________________________________________
"You shouldn't have driven here on your own...God knows what that crazy bastard could have done to you," Sooman said to his daughter, seeing as she was firmly locked in Minjeong's embrace, sitting on her legs.
"...I'm okay," Jimin muttered, laying her head against Minjeong's head, "See? I'm in one piece."
"...Your father is right," Minjeong whispered, caressing her arm with her thumb, "It's dangerous. You can never know what that guy can do to you-," She looked at the door, hearing the bell ring. She sighed and hugged Jimin tighter, "At least you're safe now."
The door opened up and it wasn't too long before Ning came in, accompanied by Chanyeol, Giselle, Wooyoung and Jihyo. Ning ignored Jimin's father, and just sat by the older's side; not forgetting what her father had once done to her family.
"...Unnie," Ning said, looking at Jimin worriedly, "Are you okay? We were watching your broadcast at Wooyoung's place and when you said that-We were so worried for you, unnie," She looked at her older sister, "Are you okay too?"
Her sister nodded, but Jimin just kept silent. Giselle approached her, bowing to Jimin's father, and kneeled by Jimin's side.
"You should have called someone to pick you up. Jeno is crazy."
Jimin blinked, quickly remembering something.
"Ryujin," She muttered, "Where's Ryujin-?"
"-I already sent your cousin to pick her up," Sooman said, calming his daughter down, "She'll stay at your uncle's place. She'll be safe there."
Chanyeol cleared his throat, looking at Jimin, "It's already been considered the biggest scandal of the year, Jimin ah," He began, "There's thousands of comments and posts involving you and Jeno on the internet. And I can assure you he's getting the burn of his life."
"You've basically tarnished his image," Wooyoung added, "There's dozens of pictures and videos of him with women being uploaded on Naver every hour. People are analyzing every single gesture of his in those pictures and videos to show evidence that he's an abusive man."
"You're burying that son of a bitch six feet deep," Tiffany bluntly added.
Jimin took in a shaky breath, "Let's bring Minjeong's parents, Mark, Chaeryeong and Heeseung in too-"
"-Unnie-"
"-I agree. Let's pick them up and reinforce the security around this house." Sooman quickly said.
Minjeong looked at Jimin's father seriously, as if doubting his words. Her older brother also stared at the older man questioningly.
"...I'm not joking. That psycho tried to kill my daughter-in-law. I don't feel safe having my family spreaded around."