Pitch My Heart

14th-Story

"Ryujin, how did you end up in Japan?"

"You know how my parents only did the bare minimum?" She asks and I nod.

"Turned out my dad was gambling their money away. He got addicted and continued even after losing everything. He joined a gang of some sort and then stole money from them" she pauses.

She looks down and I can tell it's hard for her to share this with me but I feel like I should know. Or at least I want to know.

"My parents tried to run away and hide but they weren't very good at it. My dad couldn't stop gambling so the bad guys were always able to find him. After months of continuously hiding from everyone, my dad suddenly died from a heart attack."

I carefully watch Ryujin's expressions and actions which is causing me to want to hold her. Her hands are on the table forming a fist with her jaw clenched.

I want to tell her that she doesn't have to tell me what happened but the selfish side of me wants to know.

"Even though he was gone, my mom and I were still being harassed to pay off his debt. This went on for a couple of years until my mom couldn't take it anymore and took her own life" she pauses again and I'm left speechless.

I feel like I should say something or try to comfort her but what can I say or do?

"When they were gone, I had to work to try to pay them off. Just because my parents were gone, it didn't mean I was free. I worked three jobs to try to survive and pay my dad's debt then one day my body couldn't take it anymore. I passed out and I woke up with a stranger next to me."

"A stranger?" I question and she nods.

"She turned out to be my aunt, Yuna's mom. I guess my mom listed her as an emergency contact but I just didn't know. Anyways, she took me in and that's when I met my grandpa who is, you know, the owner of JYP."

"That doesn't explain why you were in Japan" I frown.

She chuckles, "Still impatient."

"Well, if you get to the point sooner" I roll my eyes and she laughs.

"Are you gonna continue?" I scoff while trying to ignore the fact that hearing her laugh did something to me.

"I don't know. I think I change my mind. I don't want to share this story anymore" she states but she has a smirk on her face.

"I hate you" I pout and she laughs again.

"Stop that" I say without thinking.

"Sorry, were not in a place where we can joke around with each other" she becomes serious and I feel guilty all of a sudden.

"No, its okay. Sharing your past is hard so I understand trying to lighten the mood" I smile at her.

"So can you continue, please?" I add.

"After I was released from the hospital, my aunt took me in and that's where I met Yuna and the rest of my mom's family. My grandpa was so happy to have another grandkid and he was even more happy when he found out that I played baseball but he was quickly disappointed when I told him that I wanted nothing to do with that sport" She pauses again because our server arrive with our food.

She leaves and we say thank you but I'm not in the mood to eat right now. Ryujin doesn't feel the same as I watch her already take her first bite.

I decide to let her eat since she probably didn't get a chance to do that this morning. Maybe the girl she was with didn't have food at her place.

I try to eat food but I just don't have the appetite so I just patiently wait for Ryujin to finish eating.

Even her eating habits haven't changed. She still eats fast like someone is gonna take her food away if she eats too slow.