Anyone But Him | JJK ✔️ (Completed)

Chapter 29

"Omma, stop standing up for him! That... That man  for what he did to you! He declared a divorce, for reasons that neither of us know. How can you still support him after all those nonsense? How can you act so... nonchalant towards it?" I could have continued, but at the look of my mother's face, I stopped myself. I almost felt regretful for speaking too much.

My mother's tears had stopped by now, having had another fresh wave, but now, it looked like it threatened to flow again. Her eyes — if it could be any redder — were watering up, the tears brimming in them.

"Chaewon," she started, but it broke, as if she couldn't make herself to continue. "You're- You're so blinded by the ma- mask that he wears, you don't know his true self..."

I raised an eyebrow. "'His true self', huh? So you're saying that he's good to your wife, but horrible to his daughter? Omma, how can you say that when the truth is right before your eyes? There's no point hiding reality, you know..." Then I stopped, wondering if I'd gone too far.

"You don't know all the facts!" my mother yelled, which caused me to jolt on the bed. There was a deafening silence before she spoke again, this time in a softer voice. "We met in university. He was a good man. He did so much for me — ate with me, walked me home, talked to me, made me laugh — when no one else did so. I was shunned in school, but he gave me the confidence to keep going.

"It was only a few weeks into it when I found out he liked me." A dreamy smile appeared on her face, as if she was reminiscing the moment, which I supposed was a good memory in her life. "Then I realized that my true feelings told me, I liked him, too." She closed her eyes, relishing the memory. A blissful smile appeared on her face, and I wished for it to stay, but sadly, it faded, a sad smile replacing it.

My mother turned back to me. "So don't judge a book by its cover, Chaewon. Your father may look harsh, but he actually has a very kind heart."

I sat there still. He was a good man. Was. So my mother registered that he isn't, not anymore...

"Oh, goodness," my mother said, glancing at the clock sitting on the nightstand. "It's almost eleven. You better sleep, or you'd have a hard time waking up tomorrow."

I pursed my lips. "Alright, omma." As much as I wanted to explain to her about Lisa, it could definitely wait till tomorrow when I came back from school, when my mother was in a better mood than now, right? "Goodnight."

***

I'd almost completely forgotten about what happened between Changmin and me last night after the movie until I caught sight of him next morning.

Giving me a grin, he sidled over to my seat as I dropped my bag onto the floor. My laptop, pencil case, textbooks and files were all inside. The laptop was the one weighing me down the most.

Changmin sat sideways onto my table as I took out books and files from my bag and slid them under my table for convenience. He didn't seem to know what to say; neither did I.

Watching me with an amused look, he said uncertainly, "So... what did you do last night when you got home?"

My hands stopped while they were reaching into my bag. Don't let him know, my mind reminded me to keep going and act normal.

My jaw clenched, my teeth grinding against each other until Changmin could definitely hear it already. If he did, he acted nonchalant.

"Um, I assume something bad happened?" he said, the smile fading to a monotonous expression. "Care to share?" He ran a hand through his dark hair.

I sighed, puffing up my mouth. I was barely aware of Jungkook's gaze hot on my back. "During lunch. I- I don't want to talk about it now."

***