You Don't Know Me ➳ Taesan [COMPLETED]

Twenty

That night, during supper, Jaehyun sat with his father at the dinner table as usual. Much to Mayor Myung's surprise, Jaehyun wasn't eating as much. He seemed to be distracted by something, it seemed there was so much running in his head.

'Jaehyun?' his father asked him.

The young man looked up at his father. 'Yes dad?'

'What's the problem?'

'Nothing at all.' He forced a smile. 'I think...well...eating with one hand is a struggle.'

'I don't think so...you licked your plate clean last night.' There was a slight exaggeration, but Jaehyun had managed to finish last night's dinner. 'And wasn't it pottery day at school? I didn't see any pottery from you...'

'Well, I didn't attempt it.' He placed his fork on the table. 'It's not easy trying to do pottery with one hand either, you know that.'

It was true, but that wasn't the Jaehyun his father knew. He was a persistent and hardworking young man – that was how his father raised him. He was one who never gave up regardless of circumstances, so typically, he would have found a way.

'Jaehyun...I've known you since you were born. You can't lie to me...'

Jaehyun shifted slightly in his seat, now realizing there was no point lying. 'I don't think I can talk to you about something like this...you wouldn't get it.'

His father slightly chuckled and raised the glass of wine to his lips. 'It's about love, isn't it?'

He nodded in trivial embarrassment.

'Love isn't a new concept to me, in fact I know a lot more than you. What's going on?'

It took a moment before Jaehyun spoke. 'It's about AJ. AJ is a great person, she's so pretty and well...she's perfect for me. Even when I was 10, I knew AJ is going to be the girl I'll end up with. And she didn't seem interested but it didn't matter because I knew it would only be a matter of time. But now...she likes another guy. I don't even know how to feel dad, it hurts.'

'Hmm,' his father nodded thoughtfully. 'I obviously understand that's got to be painful for your teenage heart. But these are things that heal with time. As long as you haven't done anything to lose her, I see no problem in this. Being rejected is just a redirection...simply means she isn't the one for you. There are plenty of fish in the sea.'

'But I wanted...this fish.' He mumbled.

Mayor Myung laughed. 'Of course, for now you do. But then you'll grow up and you'll realize that love is beyond appearances...it's about connection. If she doesn't want you, you're not meant to be connected. But you'll realize you'll enjoy your life more with someone you're connected to.'

'Hmm,' Jaehyun was not convinced, he simply looked back in his plate. 'I don't know dad. Have you even ever been in love before?'

'Of course, I have...once probably. It never worked out but look at me now.' He raised his arms to express triumph. 'I'm a happy single father and there's nothing more I could want. It hurt me too back then, but I had to realize there's nothing I could do but move on. Pretty soon, you'll feel the same way too.'

'I hope so,' Jaehyun spoke, now looking out the window into the sky. Somehow, hearing his father speak about it to him made him feel like he was wrong. Being mean to Taesan simply because Amy-Janett liked him was not going to help anyone, including himself.

...

'Thank you so much Mrs. Kim,' Taesan's mother said on a Saturday afternoon as she opened the living room door. Taesan was sitting in the living room, reading a book he did not particularly like out of boredom.