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It was finally the holidays. Areum and Sunoo had gone back to their hometown by cab to spend the holidays with their families along with Doyoung and Sunghoon too. Their parents still didn't know about their decent breakup and that was why they were getting ready to announce it.
Areum stood in front of her mansion's huge door with a cumbersome suitcase hanging in her hands. She nervously chewed on her bottom lips as she waited for someone to open the door after knocking on it several times.
She could hear the door was getting unlocked, straightening up her body posture. She peeked the moment the huge doors were opened by her one and only brother, Hyunsuk. Hyunsuk looked more handsome the last time she saw him.
Hyunsuk's eyes were wide open once he saw her. "Areum! Sis!" He exclaimed before engulfing her in a hug. The older missed her like crazy, he missed hugging her small and delicate frame, scolding her, asking her to make a sandwich for him and everything in general. He just really missed her.
Areum smiled before wrapping her arms around her brother, her tears almost falling but she tried not to. "I miss you so much, Hyunsuk!" She giggled happily.
"Me too, I miss you more!" He said heartily. "Come in, mother and father don't have any idea about you coming home today." He gestured for her to come in, helping her to bring her luggage in.
She entered the mansion as her eyes wandered around the place, examining everything in the room. Areum missed her home so much, the village too.
"Areum?" She heard a familiar voice called behind her from the kitchen.
The said girl gradually turned around to see her parents sitting at the dining table whilst drinking a coffee, something they always do. She always knew her mother was fierce but when her eyes connected with her mother's happy ones she couldn't help but immediately ran towards her and hug her tightly. She tried to forget about her relationship with Sunoo for a moment. She just wanted to enjoy the moment.
Her mother quickly hugged her before she could hug her father who was feeling joyous upon her arrival. They haven't met each other for three years and it was dreadful without their presence.
"I-i also have something to tell you," Areum murmured before she let go of her with a nervous smile.
Her mother raised a brow with a small smile, expecting something that'd make her happy. "What is it?" She asked eagerly and the sight of her mother getting excited made her feel bad.
Areum's smile began to fade deliberately. Her parents noticed that and the smile on their faces turned into a frown, confusion etched on their slightly wrinkled skin.
You might think she was crazy for announcing bad news to her parents when she literally just arrived. She only had two weeks of holiday and she thought it would be easier and things will end faster for good.
Mrs Choi crossed her arms over her chest with a grim expression as she looked over at Areum curiously. "What now, Areum?" She asked, there was a slight sarcasm in it.
"I b-buh-broke up with Sunoo and—"
The older hit her hand on the table before she got up abruptly whilst her eyes were glued to Areum's frightened face, a few utensils fell to the ground which made everyone in the house get startled by the sudden action.
"I was expecting you to come here with good news, not this!" She roared, panting heavily. "How should I tell this to Sunoo's family?!"
"Mother, they know about it already and they are fine with it. As long as we're happy with our decisions. Why can't you accept it?" Areum gazed at her with furrowed eyebrows.
If the marriage was for their business, Sunoo's family would be furious about their break up but they seemed to be fine with it. It was true it was for the business but somehow the only person who didn't accept their fate was her mother. As if there was something that she didn't tell her and it made Areum feel suspicious towards her.
Sunoo had called her regarding their decent broke up and Sunoo was surprised too at how his parents were just chill with it.
Mrs Choi faltered to her chair with her eyes blinking frighteningly. The action was enough to make Areum ask her. "You aren't telling me something," she murmured.
"You wanna know something? Fine!" She looked up at Areum whilst trying to breathe properly. She was still contemplating whether to spill it out but she got enough of the drama that was happening between her daughter and Doyoung.
"What ma?" The younger impatiently waited, sweats were trickling down her forehead.
"You know Doyoung's parents died because of an accident," she said, hesitating to continue. "I was the reason they died Areum! I was so stressed about the whole business going on with your late grandparents that time!" She confessed, trying to hold the tears welling in her eyes.
Areum's eyes widened as well as her father who had no clue about the accident. "Why didn't you tell me?" Mr Choi got up from his chair and stepped closer to her wife, caressing her back soothingly.
Mr Choi did notice something different about their car the night her wife drove off without telling him, although he didn't ask about the matter to her whilst she was in her mental state. She came back in the morning with a few wounds on her face, he panicked when he saw her but she told him that she needed time alone. He had a feeling that the car was fixed in a workshop already before her wife could arrive home.
"The car was fixed in a workshop before I came back home, I'm so sorry," she cried, sobbing into her hands.
Meanwhile, Areum was flabbergasted as she was trying to process everything. Everything made sense. Why her mother wanted her to marry Sunoo, the way grandma Kim and her looked at each other, and why she didn't even want to look at Doyoung.
