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"We don't want you to do that."
"It's not right. We tried so hard. We even got all the applications ready for you. It's-"
"Have you ever asked what I want to do? Have you ever asked any one of us that?"
Her eyes were slow-moving today. Maybe due to the swollen red lids after crying so hard yesterday. The smell of a strange unfamiliar aroma hit her nose and the girl looked around her. There were no longer grey boring wallpapers around but white and blue running over the whole room. Even the bright colours could relax her immediately despite the fact she was in an unknown room.
She went ahead and stretched herself when something tugged at her right hand.
Jayoung then looked over to the right to see Minseok lying next to the bed below with his body on his left, his hand clutching hers, and his head uncomfortably rested on the huge pillow.
The whole night?
With a gentle squeeze, she studied his left hand. Rough digits. Faintly wrinkled skin on the back. Fingers when all straightened revealed to have holes and spaces in between. Middle finger slightly crooked at the top. Fingernails with a few tiny white spots and the end of them were rugged as if he had scratched something destroying the smooth edge.
"Jayoung-ah..." his tired eyes caught her stare and the man sat up, leaning his body on the bed; his face was close while he studied her posture and expression.
The girl didn't say anything, letting him use his free hand to stroke her hair. Her palm gripped his a little harder and he didn't even hesitate to return the grip.
"I'm so sorry. I should have known better. Why –"
"Oppa, it's not your fault." Jayoung could barely raise her head, so she just lay there looking up to him.
"No, I ... I wanted to protect you, but – I didn't want to be like my parents, but I did exactly just that." His morning voice was deep and hoarse. His eyes begged everything to stop. "I can't believe it. I'm still my parents, trying to do what's best for you without your..."
"It's okay." It was incredible to feel how smooth his cheek was. Her left hand tried to brush tender touch so he could understand. "It happens."
Parental instincts were strong and she knew that. The first time she met his parents she could tell they were different from hers. Although both of their parents wanted them to pursue higher dreams, she knew their intentions weren't the same. His parents were protective of him while hers were protective of their reputations.
When he leaned into her touch and closed his eyes with a broken sigh, she was brought back to the first they 'kissed' at the altar – if lips barely touched and faces turned away in an angle that nobody could tell they actually kissed or not. The same broken sigh before he leaned in. She first thought he was irritated with the wedding ... with her, but she realized that it was far from that.
