Hold Me

Fourteen

After the first shock and Charlie explaining to the stranger that she had lost her memory, they agreed to meet a few hours later to discuss this.
"You sure? You trust man?" Jimin asked when they were in the hotel room.
"Do I have a choice? Also, I need to know who I am!" Charlie rested her head on Jimin's shoulder, breathing deeply. "Jimin, just don't leave me."
Jimin lifted her face and placed a sweet kiss on her lips. "Never!" He whispered when they broke apart.
Over the following days, Markus constantly tried to get Charlie away from Jimin, and the latter did not like it. He felt more and more protective. The look he saw in the man's eyes was nothing but calculative.

It was on the third day when Jimin could not take it anymore. Without discussing it beforehand with the couple, Markus had booked a venue and invited many people he thought Charlie would recognize. However, the whole evening had been very traumatic for Charlie, with all these unknown faces telling her about her previous life. The peak of the evening was, though, when her parents appeared and blamed her for putting shame on the family for leaving her husband.
Jimin could see the remorse Charlie felt in her eyes, and it ached his heart to see her like that. She tried to talk to her parents and make them see that she had found a new love, but all they said was that she was married and should give her husband a second chance.
For Jimin, it was hard to tell Charlie what to do. He loved her, that was for sure, but he had learned from a young age that you should respect your parents and their choices. Therefore, he advised Charlie to give Markus a chance.

The next day, Charlie met up with Markus alone. She had already decided that Jimin was the one for her and that she would ask Markus to divorce her. However, she had not expected Markus to bring out the big guns.
Early in the morning, Charlie's so-called best friend from her past picked her up at the hotel. They drove to her parents' house, where her mother was waiting for her on the front porch with a big smile.
"Today, we finally will make it happen?" she exclaimed before she pulled Charlie in her arms.
"What? I don't understand," Charlie was confused when they directed her to the first floor into what seemed to be her bedroom as a child. Then she was blindfolded with the words: "We want to surprise you."
More and more people surrounded her, and she felt fear creeping inside her. In the distance, she could hear her phone ringing and asked for it to be handed to her. At first, her mother refused, but after the caller wouldn't cease to bother them, she gave her the phone.
"Where are you? You okay?" Jimin's sweet voice resonated close to her ear, and she immediately felt relieved.
"At my parents. I'm okay," Charlie reassured him, yet Jimin sensed something was off.
"You sure?"
Charlie sighed and used the only Korean words she could recall at that moment.
"dowajusillaeyo! jebal!" Her voice was soft but so full of fear that Jimin immediately jumped into action.
"I come! Don't worry!" He replied to Charlie before the call ended abruptly.
Jimin immediately opened the app he had installed already in Korea to track Charlie's phone in case of an emergency. They both had it on their phones. Charlie had instantly agreed to the download, understanding that her boyfriend just wanted to make sure that she was fine.

Back in her bedroom, Charlie felt overwhelmed as she was put in a dress and her hair was made. Everyone gushed as they told her to spin for them. Yet, Charlie felt more and more lost, the anxiety inside her rising when they guided her down the stairs. Outside she was told to climb into a car that instantly drove off. Charlie's palms were sweating, and her heart racing. She was about to ask the driver for help when a female voice next to her told her to stay calm, and soon her dream would come true.
The car stopped, and still blindfolded, Charlie was guided up several stairs. Inside the building, her ears were deafened by the sound of an orgel. Finally, they lifted the blindfold, and Charlie felt overwhelmed, standing at the entrance of a big church.
"Come on, my darling. Let us finally take the big step." Charlie looked to her side, where her father took her hand and laced it with his arm.
The music started, and Charlie was guided down the aisle. Markus was waiting close to the altar, but with every step, new images flooded Charlie's mind. This was not the first time she had been here. It all came back in a rush, and Charlie stopped in the middle of her walk. Her father tried to urge her to walk forward, but she just closed her eyes and stood still.