Maybe You and I

thirty eight

Chapter 38

"Haejin-ah, hear me out... please?" Jaemin knocked on Haejin's bedroom door for the nth time that day. "Love, please?"

"I need to be alone... please?" Haejin said in a whisper, and if Jaemin's ears were that bad, he would not have heard it. "Just.. let me think."

He sat on the floor while leaning against the door of Haejin's room. "Think about what?" I screwed up again... big time.

"Our relationship—everything, Jaemin-ah..." She said while sobbing. "I tried to ignore what they said about you while you were in London but seeing that and realizing everything, I don't know anymore...."

Deep silence occurred between the two of them. Haejin was finding the courage to tell Jaemin everything, while Jaemin was teying to find the right words, because even the simplest words can't find their way to his mind.

"You don't know what?" He decided to ask. It was a risky question, but it's worth risking, especially for her.

"Maybe you and I... aren't meant for each other."

Jaemin's tears fell, "A-After all these years... h-how can you say that?" Scared by the thought that everything might end that night, he pondered every courage left in his body, he stood up, "L-Love, I know that I... broke your trust too many times already but please..."

Haejin, who was as devastated as Jaemin, just listened. Her mind was telling her not to listen and just cover her ears, but her heart tells her to just listen to everything. "Please listen to me..."

She slowly nods, even if Jaemin couldn't see her.

"Everything was a misunderstanding, Love..." Jaemin started. "The girl I'm with earlier? She's my sister."

Haejin lifted her head up and headed towards the door. She held the knob and was about to turn it but Jaemin suddenly spoke, "We were supposed to meet with Jihoon-hyung earlier but you saw us and had the wrong idea..."

She finally turned the knob and saw Jaemin seated on the floor. He stood up when he saw her and cupped her face, "Love, I would never do what you're thinking to you..." he said while teary-eyed.

Haejin smiled and held his hand. "I know..." She nodded.

***

"So how did you find them?" Haejin asked while swinging their hands.

The two were walking at the park. After the incident at their apartment earlier, they decided to go out and breathe fresh air. It was growing darker, and the hues of orange and yellow colored the sky. The cold wind of November was also felt as they continued walking.

Jaemin took a deep breath, "Remember the letters?" He asked and Haejin nodded. "There was this one day when I was supposed to pass some papers to Yeeun-noona's office but she wasn't there when I arrived. I just placed the folder on her table but then I saw some envelopes which looked like the ones I receive. I also saw that they were all addressed to me."

Haejin looked at him, surprised, "Wait, so is she the one sending you all those letters all along? And the money?"

The boy shook his head, "No, but she said that she was the one who sent it when I got to London. Jihoon-hyung and Chanyeol-hyung are the ones who sent it while I was still here in Seoul." He said and sighed. "Noona said Chanyeol-hyung found me when I came with Mark-hyung to their office. He did some background checks and new that it was me."

"How did you react when your sister told you?" She asked. "You can choose to not answer when you want..."

They entered a restaurant and went to their seats.

Jaemin ordered food for the two of them while Haejin was just staring at her boyfriend. She still could not believe that he already found his family after all these years. She knew how she suffered, especially when his adoptive parents died.

"Are you okay?" Jaemin asked when he noticed that Haejin wasn't talking. "You became quiet..." he placed his hand on top of hers.

She smiled and nodded, "I'm just happy for you."

"You aren't mad at me anymore?" Jaemin asked.

She hummed, "Well, just at the fact that you didn't tell me sooner." She sighed. "I know that you're scared but you also have to trust me, okay?"

He nodded, "I'm sorry, Love..."

"Don't worry about it now, okay?" She asked and tilted her head to the side, "Wait, you haven't answered my question earlier, though." She said and Jaemin squinted his eyes, as if he was trying to remember what she asked earlier. "How did you feel when your sister told you everything?"

Jaemin took a deep breath before answering, "At first I was mad and hurt, because all these years, I've been longing for them..." he looked down. "But I didn't know the reason why my parents gave me away." He said and pressed his lips into a thin line.

The waiter arrived and placed their drinks on their table.

Haejin took a sip from her milkshake, "Did she... tell you the reason why?"

Jaemin nodded and smiled at her, "Apparently, our dad's business was about to go bankrupt and mom just gave birth to me that time... they didn't want me to suffer, that's why they gave me away." He paused, then continued, "I had every right to be mad at them, but I chose not to be mad, because like me, they had their reasons, too..."

Haejin smiled and leaned on the back rest of the chair. She crossed her arms since it was cold inside the restaurant and smiled at him, "It feels like I'm talking to another person." She chuckled.

Jaemin chuckled, "I don't know if that's a good thing, but thank you, I guess." He smiled.

"It's a good thing. You changed. For the better." She smiled. "And no need to thank me, okay?"

"If I have to thank you everyday, I would." He said and smiled at her.

She could have sworn that she saw Jaemin's eyes twinkle when he smiled. "Why?"

"Because you never left me." He simply said. "Almost everyone doubted me when I was in London, but you didn't believe them and never doubted me. I'm so lucky and thankful to be your boyfriend, Haejin-ah."

She covered her face using the sleeves of her sweater and just looked down because her cheeks were burning. "Can you stop?!"

Their orders arrived and Jaemin could only chuckle at his girlfriend.

"Let's eat?" He asked and she nodded.

-tbc.