I Love You But Is It Too Late?

3. Desperation

Kang Chin-hae POV:

For five days, the house was quiet as my father didn't come home. I felt responsible as it was me who asked for some peace. I called him several times, but he kept repeating he was busy all the time and it had nothing to do with me. I wasn't reassured, so I tried to talk with my mother. Like usual, she blamed my father, but refused to tell me the reason.

It was the calm before the storm.

During those days, I received several messages from Han-jae. Although I wanted to talk to him more than anything, I knew he would understand something was wrong and make me spill the beans. However, I was too embarrassed of my family situation and wanted to bury it with me, so no matter how much I wanted, in the end I couldn't bring myself to reply to him.

Soon, I forgot about him as my world collapsed altogether on the sixth day.

That morning I woke up with a start as my parents were arguing again downstairs. I got myself free from the entangled sheets and climbed down halfway through the stairs to see what was the fuss about.

"DON'T YOU HAVE ANY PRIDE, COMING HERE?!" my mother yelled and threw the whisky glass she was holding to my father who dodged it and the glass broke as it crashed the wall behind my father.

My hands were tight around the handrail as my breath hitched.

"STOP THROWING THINGS RANDOMLY! YOU ARE A DOCTOR FOR GOD'S SAKE!"

"IT IS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU! GET OUT!"

"Just wait until Chin-hae leaves, then I will move out," he slumped onto the sofa.

"As if you care about him," she snorted and threw a pillow to him.

"I do more than you do!" he exclaimed, throwing the same pillow back to my mother.

"Tell me what's going on," I demanded as I climbed down all the stairs and stood at the entrance, "I am not a kid, you know."

"Later," my father said but my mother didn't agree.

"Why don't you just tell him? Don't tell me you are embarrassed to admit that you have a mistress?!"

"What?!" the word spilled from my mouth painfully. A mistress? My father having a mistress?!

"You heard me," my mother slumped onto the other sofa, "apparently, he has been cheating on me for a looongg while," she spit with anger. There was no sadness in her tone.

"Don't make it sound as if we were happily married," my father grimaced, "we don't even love each other."

Hearing their confessions, my knees went weak. Was it true? Although they always bickered, never had I thought that they didn't love each other. If it was true, then why didn't they just divorce?

"Is it true?" I managed to ask in the end.

"Every word," my father nodded and I didn't know what to do or say.

"So, now you know why I want him to f*ck off," my mother reached for the whisky bottle next to the sofa she was sitting on. As she threw the glass already, she got rid of the lid and directly drank from the bottle.

"Whatever," my father mumbled as he stood up, "I will see you later, Chin-hae," he said dejectedly and left the house.

I would do the same as I didn't want to see either of them, but my mother clung on me and didn't let me go. The rest of my days passed in depression and sadness.

[I am sorry.]

Lee Han-jae POV:

I came back to the dormitory one day before Chin-hae to collect my stuff. As I had already talked with the dormitory head, all I had to do was to collect my two and a half years and move to one floor down with a guy from the Mathematics department.

Once I opened the door, all the feelings I believed to suppress rushed back with full force and I felt tears welled into my eyes.

Indeed, I still loved Chin-hae, but I was broken beyond repair, so it was best for me not to see him more than absolute necessity.

Too bad... we were from the same major.

As it was easier to do, I tried to harden my heart and let the anger sweep the sadness. Maybe, I could forget about him if I hated him enough.

I took a deep breath and started to collect my stuff into luggage and boxes. When I was done, I looked around the room one last time and closed the door behind me.

Goodbye, Chin-hae.