Joy finished changing Areum's clothes into a sleeping pyjamas. Areum did not even look at Joy the whole time.
Joy can see the sadness in the little girl's eyes, how Areum avoids all possible eye-contact with Joy. She can still feel that Areum is scared of her and the aloofness between the two of them gives Joy the want to cry.
"Areum-ah..." Joy called, "Are you mad at Eomma?" She asked.
Areum shook her head, still not turning her eyes away from the opposite of where Joy is.
"If not, then why aren't you looking at me?" Joy asked in a soft voice, doing the very best she could to not cry, even though her voice broke a little. The stinging feeling of how distant Areum feels is too heartbreaking for Joy. That's why the thought that Areum will despise and will stay away from her if ever Areum finds out that huge mistake she did before makes her feel devastated.
Undeniably, Joy will break.
Areum is such a fragile little kid and Joy will forever blame herself for scaring Areum like that. "Areum-ah, please look at Eomma," Joy plead taking Areum's small hands which, thankfully, didn't bulge on Joy's touch.
But Areum did not do it, her doleful eyes were still focused somewhere and her lips is curved downwards.
It's so hard take... So, Joy put both her hands on Areum's cheeks and made the little girl face her, not resisting, "I'm sorry..." Joy said, more like a whisper because her voice broke again. Areum knew her Eomma so much that even though Joy is not shedding tears, she knows that her Eomma is sad.
This made Areum sad too.
Soon Areum is crying again and Joy pulled the little girl and hugged her so tight which Areum finally returned, "You know Eomma will never hurt you, right?" She asked while rubbing Areum's back, "Eomma is really sorry, Areum-ah,"
Areum nodded, her face is on Joy's chest which is already wet from tears and snots.
Atleast, Joy knew that Areum forgave her already. And Joy, she already learned her lesson and swore to teach Areum without scaring her like that, ever again.
ㅡ
Sungjae doesn't know but he's there again, some meters away from Joy's coffee shop, observing like a creep and waiting for something even him does not even know.
Hoping to atleast, get a glance of Areum...
He's been doing it for almost some weeks now and he got to realize some things.
1. Joy and Areum have a really great mother and daughter bond.
2. Areum is now going to school but there's something that happened that's why she's absent for today.
3. Joy almost do all the works as a parent; because
4. Hanseol does not live with them.
He sure saw Hanseol paying visits to the shop the other weeks but he suddenly stopped. Hanseol always go out with such rejected expression like he's going to cry or anything.
What actually happened? Sungjae is fully aware that he should never be there, and that him doing these things will surely make Joy call the police and sue him. That him putting his nose on his ex's business is not a normal thing to do for someone who's been cheated on and still on a messy relationship.
That one night his car brought him there after finding out something, he witnessed how Joy carried a sleeping Areum up to their house, every step is measured and checked so they won't trip or fall over. He felt really proud of her, of how responsible of a mother she it. It was so fulfilling to watch.
Swear, Sungjae almost ran over to help them... but reality slapped him. He's not part of that family.
That is Hanseol's and not his.
He walked back to his car, slumping his back on the car seat while clutching on the chest side of his shirt. It's so hard for him to breathe!
Sungjae is having all sorts of confusion in his feelings. The pain and happiness brought by seeing Joy again. The unexplainable feeling of anguish and jealousy knowing that Areum is not his. The dying need to see them everyday. The want to be part of them... He felt so miserable.
Those things that happened the other night which adds up to his confusion. The questions that Areum has asked made him fall even more into deep holes.
Does Areum not know about Hanseol?
Did that asshole hurt them?
Did he not toom responsibility?
Fuck.
He didn't gave up for this.
Soon, he felt a vibration on his lap. Someone's calling him. Looking at the caller ID, he sighed.
Tapping the answer button, he put the phone on his ear.
"Are you really not going to see me?" Sohyun asked, not even a hi or hello to start with.
"Sohyun-ah, I already told you. I can't do this anymore. I need space," Sungjae answered directly to the point.
He heard a scoff from the other line, "Are you really breaking up with me? Through phone? Seriously? Is this my worth to you?" The woman bombarded her with angry questions, screaming from the other line.
"And what are you even doing in that stinky coffee shop again?! Don't even think about lying to me because we share locations in our phones!" Sohyun is ballistic, she can't keep her cool anymore. "Are you breaking up with me because of that cheater?!"
The question is so provoking that he immediately answered, "And what about you then? Leaving your phone in your house and then going to your ex's apartment? Oh, is he still an ex tho?!" He shouted back, the soft Sungjae is gone.
It was silent for a while.
Sungjae saw it. He wanted to speak with Sohyun personally and since they share locations on their phones, it is said that Sohyun is in her house. So he went there. He wanted to talk to her about their relationship, about calling it quits since he believed it's not going to work anymore anyway.
Sungjae is sure that Sohyun is there because her car is parked on her driveway but when he entered her house, she was not there and her phone is placed on the table. So he waited secretly ㅡsomething is telling him to hide, and he trusts his guts.
After some hours, she returned but with a different car. Turns out it's her ex's, who's also there driving her back home. Not only that, but also a goodbye kiss before separating.
He would be lying if he'll say that didn't hurt him. Of course, Sohyun was his girlfriend and he loved her but since he came there to break-up, he guesses it's better that way.
But he's angry about that fact he's been cheated on again.
Why?
Is Sungjae became cheating's favorite toy? Was he not enough? Where did he get wrong?
That night, that's the first night he went to Joy and Areum.
He don't know why his insides told him to go there. He was supposed to go out and and drown himself through alcohol.
He was supposed to be looking for something to comfort his broken heart.
And he did found it there.
"So you knew?" Sohyun's voice is calmer than before, shaking a little bit but still heads-up anf prideful.
"Yes,"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Sungjae had the urge to laugh angrily, "You're being unbelievable, you know?"
The trembling in Sohyun's voice became more visible as she speaks, "What are we gonna tell the media then?"
A smile full of spitefulness made its way to his lips, if his eyes have lasers, his car's front glasses are shattered now at how his eyes are shooting out madness, "We tell them we broke it off. If you're worrying about me telling them that you cheated on me, I'm not that low," he paused, "And before calling other people a cheater, pleade check on yourself first,"
Maybe it's the anger that made his snap like that. He's not taking Joy's side, it's just he's had enough.
Or that's how Sungjae wanted to believe his actions.
The line stayed silent for so long that he was about to remove it when he heard Sohyun talked again.
"I'm sorry..."
He didn't reply and sighed deeply before ending the call.
Surprisingly it's hateful but not as hurtful as to what happened to him before.
Then he noticed that he recieved a message during the call so he opened the message from an unregistered contact.
This is Hanseol.
We need to talk, I have something to tell you.
It's important.
ㅡ
AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
okay.
What do you think of this Chapter?
And how do you think the next chapter will go? Give me your ideas!!! Maybe I can add them ;))))