Cinderella's Fate | 🤍 seongjoong 🤍

Chapter 20

Seonghwa's POV

    The next morning, I was feeling lighter on my feet. The rest was well deserved as I felt all the muscles of my body feel relaxed, and my head was feeling a lot better. In fact, I was so relaxed that I breezed through my morning routine humming a song my mother used to sing.

    The song was referring to a promise that will be fulfilled 'till the end. My mother used to promise me that she would be there for the most difficult moments, and the fact that I was able to find a small part of her memories in the journey had i started.

    Flying down the stairs , I greeted a sleep-deprived Yunho, dressed in a suit, who greeted me back with a groan. The coffee was already brewing as the machine got, making a low rumble as it grounded the coffee beans. I went up to the kitchen to prepare a quick breakfast: egg rolls, chopped up vegetables and cooking up some bacon to go on the side.

    The room was filled with the sizzling of the pan where the bacon was gradually browning, along with the chopping of vegetables. Silent footsteps shocked me out of my concentration to realise that it was Yunho, who had walked into the room to help me with the eggs, in which I gladly took the offer.

    The aroma had woken up Mingi who was still in pyjamas , hair flying everywhere , rubbing his eyes with his sweater paw.

He must have slept in Yunho's clothes.

    He joined us at the table, digging in to the food , that i already served. I was cooking the last portion before i joined Mingi with Yunho in tow. He was holding a cup of coffee, an Americano and didn't utter a word and neither did Mingi .

I guess they are too tired to have a conversation.

    After the great breakfast, I cleaned up all the dishes with the help of Mingi this time as Yunho had to prepare his suitcase.

    I let my mind wonder as I soaped up the plates, wondering if the couple was ever going to ask for my whereabouts.

    The task wasn't difficult, so we were able to finish so that Mingi could kiss goodbye to his husband. I also waved goodbye while holding my backpack and wearing my cloak.

    I needed to make sure that this time there would have been progress on my journey, and maybe my mother's diary would have been helpful. In fact, I was prepared to spend a lot of my day there, so I had stashed the bag with packed food that i had found in the fridge.

    Like a flash, I arrived at the river in no time, since I had got used to the path to get here quickly. Setting myself down on the rock from yesterday, I waited for Hongjoong, as I had sort of promised to keep him company for our next encounter.

     No , it was not a date, since I solemnly did not have the time or energy to do so. Also, I was hoping that the boat he had acquired would have been helpful to get to the other side of the forest.

     I waited for Hongjoong to show up by reading through the few entries in my mother's diary; I didn't allow myself to get ahead, as it would have overwhelmed me emotionally.

     A while passed, and the was no sign of the silver haired boy. I got ready to walk in the forest and find another was to cross the river.

"About to leave ?"

I heard a voice from behind and looked back with a smile. It was Hongjoong.

"Well, they say distance can save a relationship."

"Oh, already can't resit my looks?"

I rolled my eyes at the question before walking back to my spot.

"So, where is your boat?"

"After my money as well? Isn't that enough? You took my heart, too."

    I glared at him, as he was testing my patience and there was a limit to these type of jokes. He took the massage and answered my question. We walked through the forest to get to the boat, Hongjoong taking the lead for once.

We walked in silence before he decided to break it.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?"

What kind of question was that?

"Oh... Just future plans?"

"Tell me more"

    I raised an eyebrow. I want sceptical to tell him anything. Even though he isn't here to take me back to that hell house, he could share some of the info I'm giving to someone who could force me to go back there.

I remained silent, contemplating on what to say, but he spoke before me .

"I'm sorry, I keep making you uncomfortable", he said.

I was about to object, but he spoke again.

"I guess ... I can't excuse my actions, but I had never been able to communicate with people, since they all have expectation of me. But i still want that. You know?"

He looked at me briefly before, looking back at the path.

What was that about?

The thumping of my heart reached to my ears.

"But that not a decision that I can make. Because... Well, it will make my parents angry."

"But why can't you?", I found myself saying, "You are a grown adult"

"It's complicated.", he responded, scratching the back of his head, "My job? Has a factor for meeting people"

"What job do you do?", I asked. A slight cough passed through the air.

"Something to do with law."

"Like a lawyer?", I asked, confused.

"Y-yeah"

Silence followed as we kept walking.

"We're here", Hongjoong stated.

    The boat was by the river, the wheel tied by a rope that went around a tree trunk, so that it would have prevented it from getting carried by the current.

    He got in, and held his hand out to me. He had a smile , a shy one to be exact, as he held out his hand . But I had no time to duel on his facial expressions and what it could mean, so I took his hand and allowed myself on the boat.