MENDED (DaraGon fanfic)

Chapter 30

Dara left the YG building and walked around with no specific place to go. The file that Mr. Yang gave her was tucked underneath her arm.

She went in a convenient store after seeing a stand full of chocolates from outside. She got two bars of sneakers and a bottled water and paid using Jiyong's card (he has provided Dara her own card for her to use whenever they're not together).

She decided to go to the Han River park to refresh her thoughts. There's just too much that's boggling her and she just doesn't know where to start.

When she reached the park, she looked for a quiet place and sat on a bench, placed the folder beside her and opened a bar of chocolate.

"I missed you." She spoke to the chocolate and took a bite. "Yum, yum." She savored the taste.

After finishing her chocolate, she drank a portion of the water from the bottle and started browsing the file again.

"Both Jiyong's parents are known in the area of business. They both have their companies they own... chains of businesses even... Uwahh!! That probably explains all the expensive things Jiyong's receiving every month." Dara exclaimed.

"It says here that Jiyong's mom will be coming back after so many years because she's personally invited by the head of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to hold a speech for aspiring business owners... and even already existing businessmen and women... That's how big his mother is in the US. Wow!!... And his father's also not someone to be look down upon. Owner of one of the world's known event organizer who already served the US president... and yet they've never given even a single minute of their time to their son? They probably got too engrossed with their work. Too bad, they missed how their talented son grew up." She said with only the birds present to hear her comments.

She saw the contact number for both Jiyong's mom and dad.

Dara sighed. "What should I tell them? How can I start the conversation?... My head's gonna explode now..." She stood up and walked back and forth in front of the bench, looking at the pictures of both Jiyong's mom and dad printed on the file that's scattered were she was seated previously.

"I should do this... for Jiyong... This is for Jiyong, Dara. Just stay focused. You know you can do it." She cheered for herself.

She stared at her phone and battled between calling Jiyong's mom or not. She called the number in the end.

***********

"Hello, who's this?" The voice on the other line sounded authoritative.

"Hi Ma'am..." Dara felt very nervous.

"I'm sorry. I only use this number for personal purposes... I'm not sure how you got my number."

"This is Miss Yu's number, right?" Dara verified.

"Who am I speaking with?"

"I'm Jiyong's friend."

The line became silent.

"Miss Yu?"

"Who are you? You probably are from David's camp who would like to bring me down. Well, let me tell you this... Using my son's name won't distract me."

"Oh, Ma'am... Sorry for making you feel that way... My name's Dara and I'm really Jiyong's friend. I'm in no way connected to your ex-husband." Dara explained. "I mean no harm Ma'am... I'm only doing this for Jiyong's sake."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sorry if I'll come to strong with what I'm about to say..." Dara started. "When you left, Jiyong became an empty soul... He can't see his worth because he felt how unimportant he is when both you and your ex-husband left him at a young age. He grew up building a wall and locking himself into his own world... he had bad fights with gangsters probably to release his pain... He needs an explanation from both you and your ex-husband Miss Yu. It might be the answer for him to move on and open himself to everyone."

"I'm sorry, I don't have time for this... I'm gonna hung up now."

"Miss Yu... Please give your son a chance to hear that explanation. He's now used to not having his parents with him... he has already gotten used to that... but the pain is still there. If you can only see him now... He's very talented but he fears the crowd. He doesn't want to get any recognition because he fears another rejection. Please help him move on Ma'am. I beg you."

"I'm sorry... I need to go." Was the last words Dara heard. The line got disconnected.

Dara sat on the bench, drained from all the energy that she used for putting up that courage to talk to Jiyong's mother.

She sighed.

"Why can't they see Jiyong's worth? It's her son we talked about but it seems nothing to her."

She closed her eyes and hugged her phone to her chest. Her head was clouded with so many thoughts.

She rested her head on the back rest of the bench, looking up at the sky filled with stars. The moon's as if smiling at her.

"What should I do now lovely moon? Please help me." She ruffled her hair. "Aaahh... I need to make Miss Yu agree to talk to Jiyong."

She closed her eyes again.

Jiyong's image popped up on her thoughts. He was smiling brightly at her.

"Yah right! Seeing you will help me think straight Jiyong." She said.

***********

Dara left the park and decided to go back to where Jiyong and her parents lived when they were still together. It's now an abandoned house looking dark and scary.

She went in and checked if she can find something. Things were covered with white cloth.

She saw Jiyong's room and got in. She stumbled upon a box that Jiyong kept hidden when he was still a little boy. A piece of paper caught her eyes. It's what Jiyong has written when he was probably just 7 years old. Jiyong was crying that time and hid inside the cabinet while his parents were yelling at each other again. It was painful for Dara to watch him during that time... and even now.

Dara read what's written on the paper.

I wanna feel my mom's embrace.
I wanna be cradled in my father's arms.
I wanna hear compliments from them.
Forever, I'll be longing for these.
Lord God, help me PLEASE.

There were other things inside the box that reminded Dara about how it was for Jiyong growing up with his parents and when they left him. Things that helped Jiyong forget the pain temporarily. The once that stayed with him all throughout his childhood.

Dara cleaned the window pane and sat on it. She looked out the window and stared at the moon.

"I'll try calling Miss Yu again tomorrow... When she comes back, I'll give her this letter that Jiyong wrote. Mr. Yang's right... Jiyong needs to get an explanation. It may help him move on from the pain." She said, talking to herself.

Breeze of fresh air from the open window cradled Dara to sleep while she was still seated on the window pane.