Crossing The Line (Seulrene)

A Mother's Point of View

Mrs. Bae had observed Joohyun for days and now she was certain Kyung-Mi was lying to her. Beyond the fact that Joohyun seemed happier, she came later after school, she was on her phone more often as well. The Joohyun from a few months ago was different from the daughter that was sitting close to her at the breakfast table. She became more and more suspicious to the point where she stopped by the school Friday afternoon. She waited in her car, scanning the students at were coming out from the main building. She waited probably an hour there but she was determined to understand the change in her daughter. It wasn't a bad change to be honest. Her grade even improved but Mrs. Bae could feel that she was slipping away from her and she didn't like that. She needed to act before it was too late.

Suddenly, she spotted her and straightened up on her seat. Her brows knitted when she saw her daughter with a group of friends. How did Joohyun suddenly become so sociable? She couldn't believe it. There was a point in life when she had only been just a child, where she had withdrawn into herself. She didn't know what happened at that time. She assumed it was just Joohyun being a sulky child but over the years it didn't improve. She had tried to push her to make friends at church or when they were out at the country club or her husband's work picnic. But no matter what she or Kyung-Mi did, Joohyun ended up purposely alone. She came to accept it and move on. After all, it was also a good thing that Joohyun was focused on school and her future career. Except that now, she seemingly had made friends and was happier than ever.

She leaned closer to her windshield, eyes squinted to see better. She recognized one of the girls as Park Sooyoung and she already didn't like it. Everyone at church knew about the Park's daughter. She didn't know two others but the last one, she had seen multiple times by now. Kang Seulgi. The supposed classmate appeared the closest to Joohyun. Her daughter was holding her arm, glued to her side, with a bright smile on her face. She looked at her as if they were best friends. Now, it was evident to her that Joohyun lied. She watched them bid their goodbyes and walk their own way. She took a deep breath before starting her car. Her mind of full of questions that she would need answers for.

-

She didn't have a talk with Joohyun however. They ate dinner that evening like nothing happened. Mrs. Bae kept glancing at her, wondering who was daughter was and why did she start to hang out with this crowd. She sat on her bed that evening with a curiosity that was devouring her. She needed to find out more on her own. She took her phone and typed Kang Seulgi's name. It took her so time to find the right one but the profile picture on her Instagram account was undeniably her. From her self-written profile, she learned that the teenager was into photography and she could see it as she scrolled down. The pictures were mostly of landscapes of the city or nature. Suddenly, one was very familiar. Her eyes widened when she saw how accurately Joohyun had painted that picture. It wasn't a photo taken from the internet nor was it the visual representation of a text. Her daughter had painted the picture taken by her friend. Now, it made a little more sense as to why Seulgi got the painting.

« Oh, my god! » She let out, putting her hand over her mouth.

« What is it, Dear? » Her husband asked from the bed next to hers.

She blinked, remembering he was next to her. She couldn't tell him. Not now at least. There was still much more than she needed to know and he was the type to get angry fast and ask questions later « Oh, it's just that one of my friends is pregnant » She lied.

« Aren't they all about our age? » He frowned.

She nodded « They are but it can still happen »

He slowly nodded before looking back at his tablet « I couldn't go through all of this again. They need luck »