Mission One: Marry You

without him

.

putting her books on the table, she sighed as she rested her head on the book. it's morning, the class will be starting soon. yet she got no motivation to do anything.

xiaoting comes sitting on the seat that is available besides her. she needs to admit that it hurts watching her friend breaking down like this. every time her friends offer help, she will say that everything will be alright later.

later... the clock moving too fast huh. too fast until it's been one month without talking to heeseung. one month she has been someone else that nobody knows.

"aeri! xiaoting! here i buy a coffee for you guys!" yujin who just got inside their classroom cheering for both of them, giving them the motivation to start class.

aeri smiled. "thank you. ah! and congratulation that your dress got chosen for international fashion week," it's hard to say this but her dress hasn't got chosen since her last dress was inspired by a place called a zoo.

everyone is worried about her but aeri, herself stops thinking and doing an effort for her future. the fashion she is interested in, everything seems odd. she hates to admit it but losing heeseung made her world fall apart. they don't know how to help her anymore.

she does laugh and smile when she's around her brother or friends but something inside her is missing something. that's not that hard to know what is it. for sure it was her husband.

not much different for that boy. heeseung currently staying with sunghoon. he's doing a part-time job as a barista other than doing the practical in the zoo to pay the rent with sunghoon.

being the genius kid he is, he never skipped class or lost his motivation but on the weekend, he'll go turn into himself to the high one.

yeah, he'll go to the bar and get drunk. saying stuff about love, telling how much he gets hurt but misses aeri. both of them suffer in silence.

"aeri, let's go shopping tomorrow? don't worry, food on me!" yujin asked her but kindly, she shook her head.

"i'm going to Ilsan," she replied as yujin pouted. yujin planned to help her cope but no use. she got another plan.

xiaoting looking at aeri with sad eyes. she feels bad. "what are you doing there? vacation?" yujin asked again.

and again, aeri shook her head. chuckle, watching her friends still not give up caring about her. "i got something to do and visit my father," she answered them as both of them nodded.

xiaoting was about to ask what she'll do but miss sunny comes in making the three of them go back to their place and greet miss sunny.

glad that miss sunny came, aeri doesn't know what question they'll ask. it's not like she doesn't appreciate her friends but somehow her business on ilsan is kinda, you know maybe personal?

––

"how was your day?" slowly pushing a mug with hot chocolate to her sister who has been so tired after being back from her college.

she pouted, "i miss heli and kiky," she answered as yeonjun smirked.

rolling his eyes, looking at her three cats that were busy cleaning up themselves. "and their father..." yeonjun continued.

not wanting to deny it, she nodded. agreed with yeonjun's statement.

after the day she asked heeseung to leave, yeonjun always by her side. every day, he'll ask her how she is and tell her that he is proud of her no matter what she does.

even though she knew it was all her fault.

sipping the hot chocolate while her eyes looked straight into her brother's face. she doesn't tell him yet about she'll be going to ilsan tomorrow. she badly misses her father, she wants to tell him something that has been on her mind recently.

"yeonjun.." she called him as his attention turned to her.

"yes?"

"i'll go visit father tomorrow," she said before taking another sip. "and i'll tell him i will do it," she continued as yeonjun frowned at her second sentence.

"do what?" yeonjun asked, hoping she would say what he expected.

"fixing my future," she's joking but that was serious for yeonjun. he got what she mean by that.

eyes still on her, stay widened making aeri gulp her saliva. "you- you want to–"

"do the operation. who's knows it'll change my life?" she cut him off while smiling. to be honest, she does not mean positively changing her life.

losing her motivation and stopping doing things in college because she feels like she will never make it.

"we both know what would happen if you do this. enough with mom, i don't want to lose you too," yeonjun sadly said breaking her heart. she doesn't want to lose his brother too.

trying her best to keep her sad emotion shown, she chuckled before speaking. "the operation might give me the will for life. if i didn't do it, you know what will happen in many more years right?"

can't hold it anymore. yeonjun grabs his sister closer and hugs her while sobbing. breaking down on her sister's arm feels like home. never in his life he be in her mom's arms, crying and letting everything out. that's why he treats his sister like she's the one and only girl he loved.

"but if it fails...?" he questioned her as she shook her head quickly.

"it won't. i promised," whispering the words to yeonjun's ear does not help. the boy crying mess but trying to hide his face on aeri's arm.

minutes passed as the boy let go of their comfortable hug. wiping his tears and chuckling. "i wonder what heeseung's reaction if he knows," in this situation, he still can tease her. "he will burn the entire mansion and shout how much he needs you,"

she's laughing out loud while playfully slapping her brother's arm. teasing aeri about heeseung is a daily bose for yeonjun. she never gets mad, she likes it to be honest.

it's a lie if she not wondering what he's doing right now. kinda hope that heeseung not looking for another girl to replace her.

"you don't want to meet him?" back to his serious face turning aeri into the sad one.

she nodded but then smiled sadly, "but he doesn't want to meet me,"

yeonjun doesn't say more. he is scared his words might hurt her deeper. as a boy, he was sure that the boy wants to meet her.