Hotel Blue Moon (Inspired by Hotel Del Luna)

Chapter 23: Pieces of a puzzle

Sometime in 1995...

Min So Ra was an obedient child, just like how her father would describe her. Coming from Jeonju to Seoul for school was challenging, especially when her parents refused to support her. She always dreamed her life would change, and when she met her best friend for life in one of her part-time jobs, she knew she was on the right track.
"I wish I could escape this reality altogether, Ha Eun." So Ra mumbled, laying down in the soft grass by the Han river.
"I wish that too, but not when I'm married and have a son." Ha Eun laid her head beside So Ra's. "You should totally do that. Travel the world, meet cute boys.." Both the girls giggled, looking at the metro passing over them. 
"I hope you could come with me someday too." So Ra mumbled, with whatever hope a twenty-five-year-old could have.
She didn't know her life would change, and that too because of a boy. 

It was a rather slow day in the cafe, So Ra was by the till bored to death. Even with no customers, she has to stay until someone relieves her shift at 8 pm. She kept looking at the clock, hoping time would move faster. Right then, the wooden door to the shop opened, a guy dressed like a college student stepped into the cafe, looking around as he entered.
So Ra quickly adjusted her posture. The man stood in front of her, scanning the menu card on the desk. 
"Good morning, how do you do?" So Ra greeted awkwardly. The boy smiled and bowed, and continued to look at the menu.
"Can I get an iced Americano, please?" The boy looked directly into her eyes. So Ra looked down at the register, embarrassed. 
"Can I get your name, please? For the drink, I mean.." 
"It's Kim Chung Ae, please."

After that day, Chung Ae frequented the store quite often. What started as a conversation with a regular, grew into courtship and eventually romance. So Ra felt like her life is slowly getting better, with Chung Ae by her side. For the first time in So Ra's life, the world seemed brighter.
Her parents, however, did not feel any fondness towards Chung Ae. Him coming from a not well-off family, only added fuel to fire. They opposed the wedding with all their might, but So Ra did what she could do to save her love; throwing away her family and settling in Seoul.

Life had other plans for So Ra, though. So Ra's parents tracked her down, and forcibly removed her from Chung Ae. She would later learn from the grapevine that Chung Ae was summoned for his mandatory military service, and then supposedly died in combat, all the while looking for her. However, there was a part of Chung Ae in her, which she would not find until a few weeks after she heard the news of Chung Ae's passing.

*

"Wait.. you are pregnant?" Ha Eun almost spat her drink out. So Ra nodded, her eyes welled up.
"I don't know if I can.. abort this child." So Ra wiped her tears. "Not when this is the only connection I have to Chung Ae."
"But the guy your parents want you to marry.. would he agree?"
"Of course he wouldn't. That's why I need to either run away or keep this a secret. I tried running away far too many times that they don't even allow me to get past the neighborhood." 

Ha Eun instinctively held So Ra's hand. She felt pity for her only friend and felt bad there wasn't anything she could do for her. 
"I know I cannot hide this baby for long. He would probably take tests and what not to see if the child is his. So I have come to a decision."
So Ra clutched Ha Eun's hand as if she would fall off a cliff if she let go. "I want you to take the child away as soon as it is born."
"Take the child? Are you crazy, So Ra?" Ha Eun panicked, understandably so. Her own home life was in shambles, but So Ra doesn't know this. So Ra's pleading eyes moved her heart, but how she could rip a child from its mother?
"I don't want the child to live in the same world as I, not when the man I will be with would probably get rid of her, to some dump. You can give it a better life than I possibly could, Ha Eun. Please, do it for me." 
"I don't think.. how can I do this to you and your child? Can't you just run away? I will take you somewhere with me." Ha Eun tried to reason. So Ra shook her head sadly.
"If I come with you, then you will be hunted down with me. I don't know what they would do to you in that case. But this baby," So Ra placed a hand on her stomach, looking down. "This is a liability. They would want to get rid of it, and you will just be doing them a favor."