So Close Yet So Far - Mingyu x Reader

Chapter 20 - A Surprise in the Fields

            Mina saw all of their eyes widen as the room fell into silence. However, she only smiled.

"...What?" Her father asked.

Mina didn't falter in her statement. She said it again. "I'd like to end my engagement."

Now Mingyu piped up. "What?" he asked. Mina looked at him again, shaking her head as a cue for him to sit back and watch. She looked back to her father, who looked mortified. "I'm sorry, Father. I recently fell in love with someone else. Back home. We reconnected when I went back to visit Mother. I just...Mingyu isn't the man I want to be with anymore."

"...Was it the flower choice?" Mingyu asked. The unexpectedness of that comment had Mina chuckle a bit, and when she turned to Mingyu once again, he had a genuine look of concern on his face. "It thought they were really pretty and Christmassy."

"How did this happen?" Mr. Miyou asked. Mina smiled.

"We met at a party." She said. "It was really romantic. He introduced himself and when some drunken fool tried to bother me, he protected me. He told the guy off and stayed by my side the rest of the night. He and I only knew each other that day but he made sure I had a good time. He was so nice." Mingyu's shoulders dropped as he listened, biting his lip. Mina turned to Mingyu again, smiling sadly. "And then he took me to Tokyo Tower and we had lunch the next day. We had a great time. I knew then that would be the person I was destined to marry. That guy."

Her father looked stunned as Mina's eyes sparkled during her story. "Who is this guy in Japan?" Mina's father asked. For some reason, despite completely expecting her father to ask such a question, she had not spent any part of the ride preparing a response that would make sense. She pursed her lips.

"Taro Yamada." She said quickly. Mingyu immediately recalled the "drunken fool" from her Christmas party that was trying to bother Mina. He chuckled a bit in amusement.

"You can do better." He said simply, putting his hands in his pocket. Mina smiled.

"The point is, I don't want to be with Mingyu anymore. We have spent time together trying to make this work but...it seems we both love different people. And I know Mingyu won't end the relationship. He's too kind. So, I will. I don't want to be in a miserable marriage."

"It was absolutely the flowers that did it," Mingyu said under his breath. Mina pulled her ring off her finger, gently setting it on the table before her.

"I'm sorry, Father. I want to return home as soon as possible."

"Mina." Her father gasped, but Mina was already heading out the door. Mingyu watched her for a moment before his father called to him.

"Mingyu, what did you tell her?" He asked. Mingyu frowned. "Go talk to her and fix this."

Mingyu looked down at the ring that had been sitting on his finger since the engagement. He simply slipped it off, setting it beside Mina's. "No." He said simply, before walking out of the office and closing the door behind him. He saw Mina stop at the top of the step and hurried over. "Mina." He called.

Mina turned to him when she heard the footsteps. He looked grateful but also confused. "I told myself I wouldn't win your heart unfairly. Even when I tried to, I failed." Mingyu blinked. "I want you to be happy. I want you to smile. You can act well I'm sure, but you'll never truly be happy with me. That's just as miserable for me."

"Mina..." Mingyu sighed softly. "I'm-."

"Don't you dare..." She said quickly. "I should apologize. I've taken two months of your life that you should have been spending in bliss with someone else. I won't take her spot anymore. It hurts now, but I'll be okay." Mingyu nodded. "You should go find her."