Serendipity ( Kim Taehyung)

Chapter 31

The second day of intern was definitely better than the first. Her period pain was bizarre but she made sure to take some painkiller after some light breakfast that morning. Haru could not afford being limb and weak the whole day when she had tasks to be done by the end of the day. She managed to get every single assignment done on time and even her mentor complimented her for being so quick with her hands and brains.

Not minding to even grab a quick dinner from the convenient store since she is in a rush, she drove straight to her parents' house just for the sake of getting Haneul's stuffs from her room. The big house was surprisingly lit up when she walked in, and the maids are seen cleaning the dining table. She managed to ask if her parents just had dinner and when the maid said yes, it stunned her.

Her parents never really dined at the table especially this late. It is almost 8 pm and usually they would still be in the office or at home, but in their personal home office. Tiptoeing up the stairs, she plans to go straight to Haneul's room, get her stuff and leave right away. But then, when she  was walking pass her mother's office, she heard her mother's little sob coming from the room.

Slowly leaning towards the wall beside the opened door, she peeks through the space to find her mother, still dressed in her usual bold coloured suit, sitting on the couch in the middle of the room, her face in her hands.

"I am tired", her mother's voice sounded weak. "I am so so tired, I can't do this anymore"

Haru tries to scan the room, spotting her father standing at the window, his back on her, a phone in his hand while he speaks over the wireless bluetooth earphone in his left ear. He looks pretty engaged in the phone call, not realizing the way his wife is at the verge of crying at the couch.

Her mother seems to be struggling to keep her tears from falling, looking up suddenly as she fans her face, trembling red lips pressed together. And that's the moment she spotted her watching them at the door.

"Haru?", she gets to her feet in surprise. "Haru, is that you?"

Startled when her mother caught her, she turns to leave but her mother called her again, halting her steps.

"Haru??", she opens the door to her office, tired eyes looking at the back of her daughter. "I didn't know you were home. Have you eaten?"

She turns around, looking surprised and also slightly offended at the mother's question. "Have I eaten? Oh, wait, you remember? You suddenly remember that I exist? And now you want to act like you care—asking me if I have eaten?"

Her mother flinched at the sudden outburst, completely taken aback at her response. But she stays quiet, not knowing what to say in return.

"You don't get to ask me that question. You do not. I am actually surprised you remember how I look like. How amusing to think I assumed you had forgotten how your daughter look like anyway"

"Haru....I....", her mother sighs, too exhausted to think straight. "I..."

"I am leaving"

Haru didn't even turn when her mother called her again and again, completely ignoring her till she finally slammed the main door behind her. Taking one long breath, she stands there on wobbly legs as the overwhelming anger takes over her. Resting her head back onto the door with a loud thump, hands fisted on the sides, she fights the urge to burst into tears again.

She is caught off guard with the sudden encounter with her mom, whom she had not talked to for months already. It feels like her mother doesn't exists and she has been living of that for long. Thus when her mother, out of nowhere, spoke to her and asked the simplest question, it triggered a switch. The most sensitive switch that has been buried deep inside her head.