Catch 22 - JJK (21+)

Chapter 38 - Rebound

ARIA

"Mom! W-what are you doing here?!" I finally managed to sputter once I'd gotten over my initial shock.

My mother was the last person on earth I'd expected to see at my door today, or any day for that matter. How silly of me to think she would have actually left me alone when she'd dramatically disappeared from my life over a year ago. I should have known it was too good to be true. If anything, I should be shocked that it'd taken her this long to slither her way back into my life again.

"Nice to see you, too, Aria. Aren't you going to invite me in?" She asked, a ghost of a smile hidden beneath her usual stoic expression. She appeared to be in a better mood this visit, but I knew her too well to buy into her bullshit.

"Well, as you can see, I'm on my way out. Does it ever occur to you to call before you just show up at my door unannounced?"

Of course not. Because that would require respect for other people and their boundaries. Something she was too entitled to care about. She'd never allowed a lack of permission or invitation to stop her from barging into other people's lives. Especially mine.

"Oh please, as if you would have answered the phone or the door if I'd given you a heads up." She tsked, shaking her head and waving her hand dismissively as she pushed past me and invited herself in.

Great.

I set my things down and took a deep breath and a long sip of my coffee in an attempt to steel myself for whatever the hell my mother had come all the way back to Seoul to say. I knew this charade could only mean one thing. She wanted something, and I was pretty sure it was something I didn't want to have anything to do with.

"Anyway..." She cleared her throat, avoiding eye contact as if that would make her intrusion any less awkward. "It's been a while."

"You mean since you declared my death and disowned me last year? Yeah, I guess it has. I find it rather interesting... better yet, a miracle how I've come back to life so suddenly."

"Oh, Aria, are you still upset about that? That was ages ago; it's water under the bridge. I'm willing to forgive you for the way you behaved last time," she responded with a little shrug.

For the way I behaved? I almost laughed out loud until I realized she was actually serious. I didn't bother defending myself or calling her out for her behavior because she was never one to take accountability or apologize for her actions. I'd learned from a very young age that Seohyun was always right, so arguing with her would be an absolute waste of energy.

"How very gracious of you," I replied dryly, making an effort not to roll my eyes. "Why are you here, Mom?"

"Well..." she paused, pretending to be preoccupied with fluffing my weekly bouquet of white roses that had been delivered about an hour before. "I'm here to give you one more opportunity to make things right. Your father and I have been very patient with you, Aria. We've allowed you to have your fun, but now it's time for you to stop this nonsense and end this sham. This is your last chance."

She'd now moved on to fluffing the pillows on my couch, busying herself with unnecessary tasks in an effort to continue avoiding eye contact. I could have played dumb and asked stupid questions like, "What sham?" Or "Make what right?" But I knew exactly where this conversation was headed, and I wasn't in the mood for games.