Haein sat on the edge of the couch, nervously wringing her hands. She had rehearsed what she was going to say to Soobin for days, knowing it wouldn’t be easy. Soobin needed to know something was wrong, even if Haein wasn’t ready to reveal the full extent of her illness. But every time she tried, the words got stuck in her throat.
Soobin walked into the room, her usual air of indifference palpable. She glanced at Haein, sensing something was off but too absorbed in her own world to pay much attention.
“Mom, if you’re going to lecture me, just get it over with,” Soobin said flatly, sitting down across from her.
Haein took a deep breath, her heart pounding in her chest. “No, Soobin, I… I wanted to talk about something important. About me.”
Soobin raised an eyebrow, clearly uninterested. “You? What about you?”
“I’ve been... unwell,” Haein began cautiously, not wanting to overwhelm her. “There are things happening to me that you don’t understand yet. And I haven’t been able to—”
Before she could continue, Haein felt the now-familiar sensation, a pull in her mind, like time itself was slipping away. Her vision blurred, and she grasped at the fabric of the couch, trying to hold on, but her surroundings shifted.
Suddenly, she wasn’t in the living room anymore. She was in her office, but the date on the calendar was wrong—years in the past. The desk was cluttered with papers she didn’t recognise. Her hands trembled as she looked around, disoriented.
“Not now...,” she whispered, trying to ground herself in the present, but the world continued spinning away from her.
In the real world, Soobin’s eyes narrowed as she watched her mother. “Mom? Hello?” she asked, waving a hand in front of Haein’s face.
Haein blinked, trying to focus, but her mind was lost in the hallucination, distant memories overlapping with her present reality.
“Mom!” Soobin’s voice grew louder, her annoyance turning into concern. “What’s wrong with you?”
Just as quickly as it began, the time slip ended. Haein’s surroundings snapped back into place—the couch, Soobin, the present. She blinked rapidly, trying to reorient herself.
Soobin’s expression shifted to confusion and frustration. “Seriously, what was that? Are you just going to space out on me now?”
Haein swallowed hard, the words she’d been meaning to say completely lost. She shook her head, struggling to mask the terror that lingered from the time slip.
“It’s… nothing,” Haein muttered, her voice quieter now, defeated. “Just stress, like the doctor said.”
Soobin scoffed, rolling her eyes. “If you say so. But you’re acting weird.”
Haein nodded, forcing a weak smile. “I’ll be fine.”
But deep down, she knew she wasn’t fine. And as much as she wanted to tell Soobin the truth, the moment had passed, leaving her trapped once again in her silent suffering.
YOU ARE READING
Pieces Of Us
Random"Pieces of Us" follows the tumultuous relationship between Baek Soobin, a sixteen-year-old who lives a life of luxury and rebellion, and her mother, Hong Haein, a powerful CEO known for her cold, distant demeanour. As Soobin continues to push her mo...
