Conglomerate Clan • Seulmin

Chapter 6 - Inauguration

A warm and soothing aroma from the chamomile tea relieves her stress and slowly Seulgi feels relax and comfortable. She rests her back on a cushioned Lawson sofa inside Jimin's bedroom and turns her gaze to him who sits right next to her. She smiles softly as she tries to reassure him that she is alright now but worries is still all over his face. Though he says nothing to her, she feels his sincerity and affection. It really touches her heart how he takes care of her and tries to comfort her. He is a perfect definition of action speaks louder than words.

In the other hand, Jimin sees Seulgi starts mouthing 'I'm alright' but he doesn't buy it. He looks deep into her eyes as he tries to figure out what's inside her beautiful mind. Many hours spent with her and he learnt something from those times, for sure, she always smiles and says she is alright though she is not. She always hides her pain just to erase others' worries away. She selflessly suffers in silent because she doesn't want to add problem for others and he hates it. He wants her to share it with him and let him help her or at least let him suffer with her. But then it hits him hard, he realizes all this time he has been suffered alone and drowned in pain silently. He understands now, to make her opens up, he should be the one who does it first. Thereafter, he reaches out his hand and takes his photograph with his mother. He stares at it for a while before he hands it to her.

"My mother, beautiful, right?" Jimin asks as he watches Seulgi sees the photo.

A smile appears on Seulgi's face as she adores a gorgeous woman who gave birth to such gentleman like Jimin. She slightly nods at him as she agrees. Even it's just a picture, she feels a motherly aura from his mother's smile and it warms her heart. The next second, she hears a sigh comes from him and immediately she turns to face him. She is a little bit taken aback by his expression. It shows sorrow and distress and he looks hurt. She is ready to open her mouth when suddenly he starts opening up his past.

"My mother died in a car accident" Jimin begins.

Seulgi hears it from his father but in fact the whole country already knows about this. At that time, it was the most shocking news because Jimin's mother was loved by everybody. She was almost as famous as celebrity. She was a fashion icon and a trendsetter. She was the only daughter of super rich conglomerate but at the same time she was the most polite and down to earth people of her species. There was no reason to hate her at all.

"But---" Jimin pauses immediately and sighs "---actually it wasn't an accident" He continues.

Seulgi stares at him and this really surprises her. She then listens to Jimin's explanation and it feels like a hard slap when she hears that his stepmother was behind his mother accident. This reality makes her understands what kind of relationship he has with his stepmother. She slowly touches his shoulder and caresses it gently just to show her support. He continues his story and it breaks her into pieces. He tells her everything and even his feeling towards his father who treats him as a doll, not as a son or even a human. That moment, her heart already shatters and she breaks down in silent. All this time, she has been lived in her own bubble where family is the most precious thing in life and family is the only place to go back whenever she lost, but inside his bubble, there is no such term like that. It truthfully hurts.

"Jimin---"

At first, Seulgi wants to say something to encourage him, but once she calls his name, her voice cracks. Jimin puts his attention to her and witnesses how a single drop of her tears streams down her beautiful face. In hurry, she erases her tears away because he sees it fall from her eyes. She looks down to hide her sadness but he lifts her chin up and they make an eye contact. Honestly, he never expects this kind of reaction from her. He feels her empathy.

"Why did you cry?" Jimin asks.

"I didn't know---" Seulgi shakes her head as she bites her lips and then continues "---it just hurts me somehow" She says and blinks her eyes a couple of times to avoid her tears to fall again.