Recovery

Chapter Forty-Three: Father

"Your father?"

"Kim Tae?"

 "Why do you ask?"

"He told me I'd live a lavish life not too long before he passed."

Mr. Kim pursed his lips, nodding, "I did know your father. That's how I was able to take you into the house so easily. It also made your trip to the hospital a lot easier because he and I already worked out the logistics."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Mr. Kim frowned, "He didn't want me to. I'm not sure why myself, but he told me not to tell you if anything were to happen to him."

Chaewon heaved her chest, anxious of her next question, "Do you know what happened to him?"

"I do."

Despite his short answer, Mr. Kim's expression didn't change at all.

"Y-You do?"

"I know you killed him."

"I-I..."

"There's no need to explain yourself. It's what he wanted."

"He- He wanted me to kill him?"

"He felt that it was his way of repenting for the bad things he's done to you."

"B-But he didn't have to... He could have apologized...."

Chaewon's chest grew heavy. The memories of her and her father spending quality time weighted on her shoulders forcing the maid to the ground.

"He didn't have to do all this..."

Feeling somewhat guilty as an accomplice, Mr. Kim knelt down, rubbing Chaewon's back.

"Are you okay?"

The moment his word hit Chaewon's ear, the glass-like support that held Chaewon on the brink of crying shattered.

"No..."

Mr. Kim sighed, continuing his best to provide relief for his son's maid. 

"I'm sorry I couldn't talk him out of it. He said it was the only way he'd be happy."

"Why... Why did he have to change so much though?"

"I don't know. He was very hurt by your mother's passing. That's the only thing I can think of."

"How do you know my parents?"

"We used to be friends. You and Y/n actually used to see each other when you were real little. I doubt you'd remember that though."

"I did?"

"Mhm. You two were like the best of friends, but your father suddenly stopped contacting me, so I didn't get to hear anything about you."

"Then how did you two arrange everything?"

"He randomly appeared again and asked me to take care of you as he didn't think he had long left in this world."

"And you said yes?"

"I figured it wouldn't hurt."

"So you knew who I was from the start?"

"More or less."

"Why make me a maid?"

"I wanted to see how Y/n would react to it. He's known for being a beacon to those in his friend group, but that's only because the problems that he eased weren't his."

"So you gave him a problem?"

"I wouldn't say you're a problem. I just put him in a situation where he had to actually think about the repercussions of his actions. I was afraid he wouldn't grow as he never had any problems in life."

"That ended horribly."

Mr. Kim scratched his head, "I'm sorry about that... It still weighs on me that you could have died that day and it would have been all my fault."

Chaewon sighed, "I guess it's not completely your fault. You didn't cause Y/n to act that way."

"But I did put you two in that situation when you shouldn't have been there from the start."

"I guess... But I guess I should be grateful that you did that."

"Why so?"

"Because I was Y/n's maid, I had to interact with him and that eventually made things easier for us."

"I see. Are you feeling better?"

"A little bit."

"Do you have any questions about your father?"

"Was he a good person?"

"He was a great person." 

"That's good to hear..."

After a couple moments of silence, Chaewon stood on her feet with a heavy sigh.

"Thank you for talking to me about this, Mr. Kim."

"Of course. If you have further questions about your father, feel free to ask me."

"Okay."

After Chaewon exited the master bedroom, she found herself standing in front of Y/n.

"Is there something you need, Mr. Kim?"

"I want to talk to you tonight on the balcony."

Chaewon tilted her head, "The balcony? Why?"

"I want to get everything off my chest so we can move forward."

"Everything?"

"Everything."

"Okay..." 

"Hopefully this will let us move on from where we are right now and actually establish a real connection."

Chaewon lifted an eyebrow, "Are you saying our connection isn't real right now?"

Y/n gulped, "T-That's not what I mean-"

"I'm kidding. That sounds like a good plan. I'll see you tonight then."

Y/n nodded. Throughout the rest of the day, while Chaewon cleaned, Y/n laid on his bed questioning how he was going to prepare himself for the upcoming heavy talk. 

"I have to tell her everything. Everything... If I can get it off my chest and move on, then we can progress further and we don't have to be stuck in this cycle of discomfort. That's easier said than done though... How do I tell her about that?"

Y/n scratched his head, "I guess I should just sugar coat it as much as I can. If I don't make it seem like that bad of a thing, I'm sure she might be willing to change her mind about how disgusting I am when I tell her."

Later that night, Y/n mentally prepared himself with a shower, focusing on how he was going to tell Chaewon everything without ruining his friendship.

Do I have to tell her about the incident? I don't really want to bring it up, but maybe we can just... talk about it. If we both talk about our sides and learn something from it then I guess that counts. I just need closure from this, and I hope she can get closure from our conversation as well. That would be the best case scenario. If she doesn't, then I don't know how she will get her closure. Time I guess...

Eventually, Y/n moved from the shower, drying himself off before changing into something relatively thick to prevent jack frost from nibbling at him. 

Leaning against the railing of the balcony, Chaewon stared at the soft moonlit sky. To her slight surprise, the night sky twinkled beautifully. 

"Maybe one day I can become a star..."

"According to Jimin, we are all made of matter that once existed in a star."

Chaewon turned around with a confused expression.

"Sorry, I just thought that was the perfect time to say that. Anyway, are you ready?"

Chaewon nodded, "What did you want to actually start off with?"