Earning It || KSJ 🔞

Chapter 25: Cake

Kwon Boram's POV

My rage was too strong that I had to ask even my comfort, Jin, to distance himself from me so I could clear my mind. It's my birthday, but I do not mind the negative emotions filling me because it's a part of my wish and I do consider that sooner or later, I will be faced with this emotion the more we near the obtainment of my father's death justice.

It was traumatizing to see how my father mercilessly died. The car ran into him and had no attempts to stop at all. It just went straight ahead at a fast speed.

How could someone be so heartless?

I hugged myself as the cold wind embraced my body while I stood by the shore.

"Why are you here?" My mother's voice sounded from behind me and I had to look over my shoulders and look at her until she was standing beside me.

"I'm just trying to calm myself," I admitted. "Attorney sent Jin the CCTV footage of Appa's accident."

"Oh," was all she could say. Then, we were quiet for a while and I have no thoughts of what she had in mind.

When I told her that Jin had insisted on helping us with my father's case, she wanted me to tell Jin to not do it because it was too much and she thought it was not something he should not be concerned about. It's our family matter, and although Jin is welcome with us, she thinks that our own family problem is something he should not be worried about. However, the investigation has already been started when I told her that so there was no turning back.

"I wanna see it too. But, I don't wanna cry on your special day." She sighed.

"When did you leave the house?" I asked, changing the topic.

"An hour after you left. Taehyung picked us up." I nodded.

Then, there was silence again.

When my mother found out what Jin and I's past was, I had begun to feel uneasy whenever I faced her. Maybe it was a shame, especially because we never talked about it since then.

I did that for her, for them, but I still can't blame her for thinking of me as a slut because it was what I did. I was desperate. And more than that, I lied to her so many times about what Jin and I really were.

"I'm sorry," she spoke softly, breaking the silence between us. I looked at her, confused as to why she was apologizing. "I'm sorry for the hurtful things I said to you back then. I was in disbelief. I couldn't grasp the fact that you sacrificed yourself in that way. But I do understand that you were probably so down that time and he was the comfort that all you had from all the problems that Sagwa and I had given you."

She sighed. "Jin made you breathe again. I saw how meeting him made you relaxed. I saw the relief in you when he began to pay for my treatments after my cancer trapped you into a problem that had no specific certainty of resolution if it was just you to solve it financially. You were able to breathe and have time for yourself because your worries lessened. You didn't have to think about where to find the money for us. You didn't have to worry about what tomorrow awaits because you already know he was there to catch you. And the more I reflect, the more I realized that he was also an emotional support for you than just a man who gave you his gold. He was there to comfort you on the things you never wanted to tell us because we were the ones that were giving you those heartbreaks."

I bit my lip, speechless, and my tears were cornering my eyes. She was right. Jin was my escape. He was the person I could share my burdens with because I can't just tell my family that they were giving me a hard time even if I was already struggling so much. I had to show them I was okay because if I fall, they will too.