Chapter 22

“It isn't right”

"Mom, please calm down," pleaded Yoo Jin while taking shelter behind her father, "can't we talk about this?"

"Talk about what? How you have decided to become the most disgraceful daughter of all time?" yelled Jeong-Yeon.

"Honey, let us all talk quietly," said Se Hyeong in a gentle voice while approaching his wife, "why don't you sit down again." Jeong-Yeon looked at her husband and let out a huff of air, whereafter she sat down. When Yoo Jin saw the coast was clear, she slowly walked over and sat down on a chair opposite of her mom."

"Alright, let us all be civilized now," said Se Hyeong. He was still standing in the middle of the two women, keeping a close eye on them.

"Who wants to go first?" asked Se Hyeong and shifted his look between Yoo Jin and Jeong-Yeon. The room was filled with silence and in the end Yoo Jin held out her hands, gesturing towards her mother.

"You go," she said and leaned back, mentally preparing herself for what was to come.

"Fine," said Jeong-Yeon and leaned forward in the sofa, "I think you are being very irresponsible. You have been unemployed for a year and a half. All your energy should be focused on finding a job. You simply don't have time for a boyfriend right now and besides, when the time comes for you to choose a life partner, it should be someone who can support you and lives up to certain standards, not some child you has to take care of." After reaching the end of her speech, Jeong-Yeon leaned back in the couch again and Se Hyeong nodded his head whereafter he changed position and looked at his daughter.

"You can talk now, Yoo Jin," said Se Hyeong and Yoo Jin took in a deep breath.

"Mom, I know what my main focus should be and I think about it every second of every minute of every day," explained Yoo Jin, "Taehyun isn't distracting me from this, he is encouraging me. He isn't a child who needs me to take care of him. In fact, I feel like he takes care of me a lot more than I take care of him." Yoo Jin turned her head and instead looked into her father's eyes as she continued:

"I love him." 

A smile appeared on Se Hyeong's face and Yoo Jin suddenly felt at ease looking into her father's eyes, but when she shifted her eyes to Jeong-Yeon, there was no sign of a smile on her face.

"You must be kidding me," said Jeong-Yeon and Se Hyeong again turned around, looking at his wife.

"You are 8 years older than him, how can he take care of you?" continued Jeong-Yeon, "and if that really is the case, then that is much more reason for you to stay away from relationships right now. You need to grow up. It is time you start acting like an adult and get your life together." Yoo Jin held everything back while listening to her mother talking. Every word felt like an arrow piercing through her chest, right in the middle of her pumping heart.

The longer she held back, the more she felt the tears pressing against her eyelids and she started blinking continuously. Every fiber of her body wanted her to act. They wanted her to yell out or get up and leave, but while clenching her fist, she stayed put in the chair and took in everything her mother said.

"I think Jeong-Yeon has finished talking," said Se Hyeong after a while of silence, "do you have anything else to add, Yoo Jin?" Yoo Jin let out a sigh and tried her best to hide away all her frustration. 

"I know… I might be a disappointment to you…" said Yoo Jin and continued blinking, determined not to cry in front of her mother, "I might be a disappointment, an embarrassment in many people's eyes. But not in the eyes of Taehyun. He loves me in spite of the pathetic person I am. He believes in me and supports me and he always tells me everything will be okay. I don't deserve him, but still, I can't give him up." Yoo Jin stopped talking for a second while getting up from the chair, taking a step closer to her mother.

"I really wished you and dad would give me your blessings, but even if you don't, I will still be with Taehyun," said Yoo Jin in a firm voice, not breaking eye contact with Jeong-Yeon for even a second, "despite what you think, I am an adult and I will make my own decisions, whether you agree with them or not." Yoo Jin turned around and walked out of the living room, leaving her parents behind while she walked towards the staircase.

"You do know it isn't just about our blessings," yelled Jeong-Yeon, making Yoo Jin stop in her tracks, "what do you think everyone in the neighborhood will say?" Yoo Jin turned around, one foot on the stairs while she watched her mother standing in the entrance to the living room, Se Hyeong staying behind. He had obviously given up on interfering at this point.

"I don't care about the rest of the neighborhood, they don't even have to know. This is my life," said Yoo Jin, still feeling confident in her arguments.

"They are already talking, Yoo Jin!" yelled Jeong-Yeon and Yoo Jin widened her eyes, "they have been talking for a while, saying they spotted you with a young boy. But that isn't even the problem here." 

"What?" asked Yoo Jin, trying to hide her fear, as millions of thoughts went through her mind, trying to think of where people could have spotted them.

"You know I am right and you know it isn't right for you two to be together. That is why you hide your relationship," said Jeong-Yeon, "shouldn't you be with someone you aren't embarrassed to be with? You might think I am judgmental, but aren't you too?" Yoo Jin stared at her mother and Jeong-Yeon stared back at her. After a minute had passed, Yoo Jin just turned around, without giving any reaction or response to her mother's statement earlier. Instead she walked upstairs quickly and confided herself in her room.

It didn't take more than a second from she closed the door behind her, until the tears poured down her face. She threw herself on the bed and buried her face in the pillow, hoping her mother wouldn't be able to hear her crying. 

But it was almost unimaginable to think she wouldn't hear, because with time passing, her crying didn't die down, instead it became louder and more heart wrenching. After some time, Yoo Jin didn't even know what she was crying so hard about, if it was really all about Taehyun or if it was because of everything she had been building up over the last 9 months. But she just couldn't stop.

She cried and cried, until she reached a point where it felt like no more tears would come out. She felt numb to the pain and the emotions in her heart and for a while she just laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling like a zombie. But after a little while, she remembered all the agony and all her struggles and again the tears started streaming.

In one of her many crying breaks, staring up at the ceiling, Yoo Jin felt her phone vibrate and when she lifted it above her face, she saw Taehyun's caller ID on the screen. Almost instinctively, she rejected the call. 

You know it isn't right for you two to be together. The voice of Jeong-Yeon echoed in Yoo Jin's head and with another tear sliding down her cheek, Yoo Jin turned off her phone.

***

"Good morning," greeted the teachers when Yoo Jin walked in to the Teacher's office.

"Good morning," greeted Yoo Jin back and tried her best to smile while she went to her desk and sat down.

"So," asked one of the female teachers, whom Yoo Jin still couldn't seem to remember the name of, "how is going?"

"Um, fine, thanks…" said Yoo Jin, "everyone is really nice."

"It seems like the kids like you too," said the woman, "especially the boys." Yoo Jin looked up in surprise, trying to read the expression on her face while fear spread throughout her body.

"I…" stuttered Yoo Jin, not really sure how to respond.

"I am kidding," said the woman and playfully hit Yoo Jin on the shoulder, "don't get all tense."

"Oh… I am sorry…" said Yoo Jin with a forced smile on her face.

While Yoo Jin wished for some kind of escape from this awkward conversation, the door to the Teacher's office opened and both woman turned around and watched as Taehyun entered.

"Can we help you?" asked the woman formally and Taehyun looked at her in surprise.

"Um… I just needed to speak to Teacher Choi," said Taehyun, "I… I needed help with some math problems."

"Is that so?" said the woman and looked at Yoo Jin with a smirk, "I guess I will let you be then." After winking at Yoo Jin, she quickly walked away from her desk and Taehyun walked up to Yoo Jin instead.

"So… Taehyun…" said Yoo Jin, acting like his name didn't just roll of her tongue, "what did you need help with?"

"Here," said Taehyun and put a piece of paper on the desk, the sentence "are you okay?" written on it. Yoo Jin looked up and saw the genuine worry written on his face, and she made sure to send him a reassuring smile.

"Well, this is easy, look," said Yoo Jin and scribbled down the answer "I am fine, don't worry."

"Thank you, but I still don't understand," said Taehyun and added "but you didn't answer your phone last night? We were supposed to call each other," onto the paper.

"I am sorry, I didn't explain it well enough," said Yoo Jin and wrote another sentence.

"It wasn't an easy talk, afterwards I was so tired I just shut off my phone and went to bed."

"How did they respond?"

"They were okay. But I think we should lay low for now, not tell anyone."

"Why?" 

Yoo Jin looked up and noticed the woman eyeing them from across the room.

"I think you have gotten the hang of it now," said Yoo Jin, "but let me show you one last tip." Yoo Jin scribbled down another sentence and looked up to see Taehyun's reaction.

"I just don't want people to ruin what we have. I want you all to myself. Is that bad?" A faint smile appeared on Taehyun's face and once again, he leaned over the desk and wrote the last sentence.

"No, I want that too."

Hello everyone!

How have you been? I hope you are all having a good time and staying warm in this cold winter month. 

I hope you liked this chapter, we finally got an explanation as to why Yoo Jin didn't call Taehyun after her talk with her parents, but it didn't seem like she was completely honest with Taehyun.

What do you think will happen? Will this have an effect on their relationship later on? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments down below.

Take care and stay safe!

Love, Annalise~