Broken melodies

SHAME

Chapter 16 

Hey Jaewon, where were you? Jaehyun asked. "Oh, I went to school. One of us has to go since our exams are near," Jaehyun replied. "Ohh, I almost forgot about that. It's been a week since I haven't been to school," Jaewon said. "Don't worry, Dad told me that they have already talked to the principal, so it's fine," Jaehyun assured him. "And what about Jiya?" Jaewon asked. "Well, nobody knows the truth in school, but they had to tell the school authorities, and they promised to keep it a secret," Jaehyun explained. "Well, do my parents know about this?" Jaewon inquired. "No, they don't, but Minhyuk does," Jaehyun replied. "What? Why him out of all people?" Jaewon asked, annoyed. "Well, who else is gonna help you through this? I know you don't like your elder brother, but he took care of it properly. To be honest, I don't know why you even hate him. He has always been there for you when your parents never were," Jaehyun said, which angered Jaewon. He whispered, "You don't know anything," with teary and angered eyes, and left. "Yahhh, Jaewon-ahh," Jaehyun called after him, but he didn't stop. So Jaehyun gave up and sighed, "This guy," he whispered. 

Aunt, why are you sitting outside? Ahh, Jaewon-ahh, the doctor is doing her check-up," Sohyeon replied. "Ahh, okay," Jaewon said, nodding. "Ahh, Jaehyun, are you already back from school?" she asked, and Jaewon looked back and saw Jaehyun coming towards them, but he just ignored him. "Well, how is she now, Mom?" Jaehyun asked. "Ohh, the doctor is doing her check-up," she replied, and Jaehyun nodded. Jaehyun was about to speak but got interrupted. "Doctor, how is she now?" Sohyeon asked in a concerned tone. "Ohh, she's a very strong girl. She's healing so fast. We thought she might get PTSD after everything she's been through, but she's fine. It's like she's holding onto the hope of living and achieving her dreams so strongly that she wants to forget all the bad memories and keep moving forward. Jaewon, you're lucky to have such a strong girl like her. If it was someone else, they might have lost it all already, but that girl is something else," the doctor said, patting Jaewon's back, looking at Sohyeon and Jaehyun with a smile, and then left.

Sohyeon, with tears in her eyes, went inside. "Aunt, Jiya,"said with a smile. "Ohh, my baby Sohyeon," ouldn't hold back her tears and ran towards her, hugging her. "You are so strong, just like Hyori." "Mom, stop crying. We are here to console her, and look, she is consoling you," Jaehyun said with a judging look, which made both Jiya and Sohyeon chuckle. "Hey Jiya, how are you?" Jiya looked behind Sohyeon, and Jaewon was standing there with a soft smile and a tired look. "Jaewon, come here," she said. Sohyeon moved aside and gave them their space, then went to stand near Jaehyun. "Sit," Jiya said to Jaewon. "I'm fine, but what's wrong with you? You look pale, and your eyes look tired, like you haven't slept for so long," Jiya said, touching Jaewon's face. "This guy forgot to sleep, eat, and all he does is cry," Jaehyun said, looking out of the window. Sohyeon gave a smack on his arm. "You come with me, you jerk," she said and dragged him out of the room. "Mom, wait!" Jaehyun shouted. "You old lady." And they went outside.

"Is it true, Jaewon?" Jiya asked him with a concerned look. "Ohh no, not at all. You know Jaehyun, right? He ne..." Jaewon was saying, avoiding eye contact with Jiya and rubbing the back of his head, when he got interrupted. "Lies," Jiya said. "I know he never lies." Jaewon just froze and looked at Jiya with eyes full of tears, and hugged her. "I am glad the doctor told us how strong you are, and we are all proud of you. I'm glad you are safe. I'm glad you are still here with me. I'm glad you are still mine. The fear of losing you was so much that every thought of it was scaring me. I just wanted to be sure about your health."

"Look at me, Jaewon," she held his hands and said with a soft smile and teary eyes. "I never imagined that I would ever find someone like you who would love me and care for me so much. And here you are. I'm thankful to you, and see, I'm fine and healthy. Even the doctors said it, right? So why are you still worrying? Nothing is going to happen to me, and I'll never leave you. I'm yours and only yours. After everything that happened to me, you still accept me as I am. I used to always think about what would happen if you found out about this. Would you think I'm dirty or trash? Would you leave me? These thoughts used to scare me. I even thought about ending it all and leaving everything, even you, because it was nice and hard at the same time to even look at you. I always hated myself. But you, you never did. You are still loving me just like before. Thanks for everything, Jaewonahh. I love you," and she burst into tears. Jaewon hugged her tightly and said, "Never think like this ever. I promise you, I'm never gonna leave you or hate you. It wasn't your fault, so don't hate yourself, please." Then they looked at each other, and he brought her face close to his. "Let's promise to stay together forever," Jiya nodded and said, "Forever." They smiled and kissed. Sohyeon and Jaehyun, who were about to enter the room, saw the scene in front of them and decided to close the door without disturbing the couple.