Special Chapter: Chunhua and Minho's Past
Three years ago.
The sky couldn't get darker than this.
A minute ago, it was all rays and sunshines, but the time Chunhua stepped her foot on the sidewalk, the sky frowned and started to cry on the previously quiet city.
Chunhua didn't fear rain. In fact, she enjoyed having her clothes drenched, her hair showered, her body moisturized, and the list goes on. Occasionally, she would dance alone in the vaporous atmosphere, then suffered from common cold in the aftermath.
But not today.
Today was her worst day. Not like her daily lives were great after all. For Chunhua, being able to sleep well at the end of the day would be absolute heaven for her, whereas it's one of the rarest occasion ever happened in her 14 years of living.
Her family was bundled with unpaid debts. Therefore she had to take part in order to help her family lifts up their quality of life.
But today she has lost her mother by the rising numbers of organized crime groups in South Korea. It's never easy to live in a foreign country, especially when you're short in incomes, just like the case of the Shunsuke's family.
Chunhua had been crying for hours. She decided to quit school and her dance academy since she didn't have enough money to pay them all. She only had an outdated phone within her. Hyunjin had been calling her for the ninth time of the day, asking about her departure from the dance academy, but she couldn't care less. She wanted to leave the boy. She wanted to move on.
She wanted to end everything here; on the road, underneath the rain. She wanted to end it all.
Her body fell limp as she found a bench for her to sit on. She was trembling. Although the rain kept washing away the tears, her eyes continued to pour more of them.
The rain could hide her tears, but it couldn't wipe her sadness away.
"If only I bring my umbrella..." She cried so much that her head hurts. But nothing hurts like a piercing sword in the heart. She was grieving over her beloved mother's death.
She had lost half of her life. She had lost her umbrella when the rain is pouring.
Behind the silence, the rain suddenly stopped. Chunhua looked up, only to be met with the most welcoming generous smile. A boy appeared out of nowhere to protect her from the heavy rain with his umbrella.
"What a pretty girl like you doing in the rain all by yourself?" The boy wiped her leftover tears from her cheeks. Usually she would run away when a stranger approached her with flattering words and touched her without her permission. This time is different.
"Thank you." was all her mouth could say, but it was enough.
The boy smiled upon hearing those words. "By the way, my name's Lee Minho. What's yours?" He offered his right hand, while his left hand was still gripping the umbrella tightly.
"Chunhua." She accepted his hand and shook it with a slight smile. It was her first time smiling that day.
"Now that's the smile I'm looking for."
That's how it all begun.
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Ever since their first encounter, Chunhua has gotten closer to Minho. They shared laughter and memories together. Several months later, they confessed their feelings and began dating every since.
Minho was Chunhua's savior. He helped her a lot during her hardest time. He even suggested Chunhua to study since she has quitted school. He taught her everything he learned at school, so the girl could catch up. On weekends, they would spent their day inside a cat hotel, taking care of cats when their owner is away either from vacation or important trip.
They're always so close, they never felt distant towards one another. At least that's how it was in the beginning. However, their closeness didn't last long.
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One year after they confessed their feelings.
Minho arrived home after a long day. Chunhua was sitting on his front porch, waiting patiently for the boy. They were supposed to have another movie night in Minho's but the boy was too busy with his school's project and his dance practice.
Chunhua welcomed the boy to his own house. "Hey, where have you been?" Her skinny legs were freezing behind her baby blue skirt.
Minho opened the door with his keys. "I'm sorry. I've been busy this whole time. I didn't mean to keep you waiting here but my phone got stolen, so I can't inform you." He sheltered the girl with his jacket.
Ever since Minho passed an audition for entering a dance academy, his life turned upside down. He would usually arrived home late at night after a long journey from the academy which located far away from his place.
"Tea?" Minho offered his girlfriend which she gladly accepted. They rarely met now, it's a saddening truth for both of them.
Chunhua plopped her body onto Minho's soft cushion, turning on the television.
"How's the academy so far?" She asked his boyfriend while sipping a hot Hibiscus tea.
"Great. I've met nice and talented people there. There's this one guy named Hyunjin who I think is incredibly talented and ahead of everyone else."
Chunhua choked on her tea.
"H-hyunjin?" The name Hyunjin caught her off guard. Minho never told her which academy he's entering, she didn't expect it to be her old ones.
Minho nodded. "Yes, Hwang Hyunjin. Do you know him?" He patted Chunhua's back softly so she'll stop coughing.
"No, not at all."
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Their relationship continued to cease as time went by. They rarely met, nor sharing a warm conversation.
One day Chunhua went to Minho's room to pay a surprise visit. She was welcomed by a beautiful tall woman by the front door. She wanted to have a serious discussion with Minho.
She went to Minho's bedroom only to find the boy's watching a gay movie so intensely.
When Minho realized that Chunhua has been standing there, he immediately turned off the television with a panicked look plastered on his face.
Minho didn't expect to see Chunhua laughing her ass off.
"It's okay, Minho. Keep watching."
Minho signaled the girl to sit next to him on the edge of his bed. She followed him.
Minho cleared his throat. "You must be here for a reason. Tell me." He stretched his muscles, waiting for the girl to talk.
"I wanna end things here." She stared at Minho's eyes. "Our relationship. Let's end it."
Minho listened, mouth agape with incredulity.
"Why?"
Chunhua tapped Minho's shoulder to relax him. "I've been thinking lately." Her eyes wondered around Minho's room. "One: you made me smile. Two: you gave me your umbrella. Three: you taught me everything I didn't know."
Minho was beyond confused. "That doesn't explain the reason you dumped me."
"Minho, you're a nice person. The nicest one I've ever met after my mom. But I'm not like that at all. I'm a bad person. I'm a bitch, a slut, a whore, I'm the worst person ever existed on the planet." Chunhua felt her warm tears running down to her cheeks again. Minho's hands were fast. He wiped them away.
"Don't ever degrade yourself."
"Thanks, Minho. You're such an angel, I don't deserve you." She sniffled as she tried to speak. But Minho was patient. He let her talk.
"There's more about me that you didn't know. I have secrets and I can't tell you that. That's why I never felt like myself when I'm around you." She let out another round of tears and continued, "I thought being in a relationship with you will change me. But I'm still like this. I felt bad for using you, I don't mean to."
He wrapped his hand around her. "Shh... I know."
She continued, "Our relationship will forever be platonic. We care about each other, but as I saw you each day... I know I'm not the one. We're not each other's fate..."
"You gave me your umbrella because you're a nice guy. If thousands of people are suffering the same thing as I did, of course you're gonna give them the exact amount of umbrellas. You've been living your life that way. But who's gonna give you an umbrella when you need one? You're raining alone this whole time, even if you're with me. And I can't withstand that reality. You're hurting yourself too much."
Minho blandly stated, "If that's the case, wouldn't it be wrong to leave me alone in the rain?"
"No." Chunhua pulled Minho's face for a kiss. They warmed each other's lips as they kissed in ease. It wasn't a kiss filled with lust nor sweetness. It was more of a good bye kiss for them. Their last one.
Chunhua ended the kiss as she tried to catch her breath.
"You don't like the kiss, right? It felt somewhat wrong, didn't it?" Minho was confused by Chunhua's words but he listened nevertheless.
"Find someone that will make you happy. Find someone whose lips taste better, the one that makes you crave for more. It doesn't matter if it's a she or he. I'm happy as long as you're happy. Unfortunately, I'm not your source of happiness, we're just twisted." She got up from his bed, preparing to go home.
Minho held her hand. "Wait." She turned his direction back to Minho.
"I'm glad I gave you my umbrella that time. I'm glad that I confessed my feelings to you. For everything that happens, I'm glad for each moment." Minho opened the door for Chunhua. "Farewell, Chunhua."
At this moment Minho couldn't exactly understand all the informations he was given, though he believed that he'll understand everything when it's time.
He trusted Chunhua, thus he let her go.
Chunhua smiled at the boy. She was glad that they both could comprehend with the situation very well.
"Thanks for saving me."
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o God, this chapter is uGh... As I have said before, Chunhua is a special character. But I won't spoil her past and her relation to Hyunjin since I'm planning to write a seperate book for the SeungJin couple. Btw thx for 200! Love you all so much ♡♡.
~ (๑′ᴗ‵๑)I Lᵒᵛᵉᵧₒᵤ~