Adoption (Gone Wrong) » Bang Chan FF

Chapter 33 : The Realisation

Haein locked her room's door with a soft click as she leaned back against it clutching her chest. She felt a wave of conflicting emotions within her. Her mind was full of so many questions but she couldn't find an answer to even one. Why was she having such a hard time accepting Chan dating Mia?

Her eyes darted around the room trying to think of a way to solve her dilemma. She needed to talk to someone about her feelings. She definitely couldn't talk to anyone who knew Chan. Her mind raced with all the possible people she could talk to.

Haneul.

Haneul always had solutions to everyone's problems. Perhaps she could help her. Haein instantly made her way towards her desk grabbing her phone. She texted Haneul asking if she was free to talk and once Haneul gave her the green sign, she dialed her number.

"Hi, Haein," Haneul's cheerful voice rang through her ears. "Why did you suddenly wanna talk so late?"

Haein's breath got stuck in her throat. She couldn't figure out how to start the conversation but she knew she had to tell her one way or another.

"Firstly, I'm really sorry for bothering you at midnight but I've been really stressed with something and I needed to talk," she started hoping Haneul would understand.

"Don't apologise now. It's your right to vent to me whenever you need as a friend. Just let it all out without hesitation," Haneul assured her through the phone, concern evident in her voice.

"There's something I never told you about me..."

"Okay..."

"My parents are in jail. I live with an old family friend," Haein started telling Haneul everything about her past. How she ended up living with Chan, their bonding over time, her growing a strange soft spot for him, him suddenly dropping the bomb on her by telling her about Mia and her feeling extremely uneasy by Mia's presence.

"Woah, woah, woah, that's a lot to process. You've been going through all this shit for the past one and a half year?" Haneul was obviously shocked. She tried to process all this info just dropped on her brain. "And this Chris guy, who's been taking care of you after your parents got arrested, is suddenly just dating a chick and you're bothered by it?" She further asked. Haein had skipped the part about "Chris" being an idol for obvious reasons.

Haein sighed and replied closing her eyes, "Yes."

"I don't know, Haein. But by the way you say it, it sounds like you've grown an infatuation with him..." Haneul stated with a hint of awkwardness.

Haein's eyes widened in disbelief, "No, it can't be... Do you mean to say...?"

"Yes, Haein. You've begun to fall in love with him."

Haein dropped on her bed in shock. Her jaw dropped wide as she struggled to form coherent words. Love? Haein couldn't be in love with Chan. Yes, she did love him but it was totally platonic, wasn't it?

"No no no, you're bluffing," she said with denial. "I don't think you understand. I'm not in love with him! I can't be! The real reason has to be something else."

"Then what else? Do you have any other logical explanation for this? Haein, I know it's hard to digest but the way you're reacting comfirms my suspicions. You really do have feelings for him..."

Haein fell silent. Her brain replayed all the good and bad times she'd spent with Chan. Even when she refused to accept it, a part of her screamed declaring her love for Chan. But along with the satisfaction of realising her love for him, also came a mountain of guilt. She had crossed a boundary she was never meant to. Especially when Chan never viewed her that way and he was taken. She felt disgusted by herself as the realisation dawned upon her that she had become the other woman in his life.

"Haneul..." she gulped. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"In any other scenario, I'd have told you to keep your distance and move on but in your case it's impossible since you two see each other almost 24/7. The only option for you now is to just accept your reality and move on. It's gonna be tough, yet it's your only choice. You can't act too suspicious either. We don't know how he might react if he got the slightest hint about your true feelings... You get what I mean?"

"You're right..." Haein paused for a moment thinking about all the possible outcomes of revealing her true feelings. She could see the disgust in his eyes already. "If he found out, he'd hate me. I'd lose everything."

"I'm glad you get my point. I just want you to know if you ever need any help, I'm right here. I'll try my best to help you."

"Yeah, thanks. I'll keep that in mind..."

...

After the call with Haneul, Haein laid in her bed unable to sleep. Her guts twisted in her stomach as all sorts of thoughts and emotions swirled around in her mind. How did she get herself into such a mess?

She felt nauseous as well as heavy headed. She got off her bed walking over to the drawer containing the first aid box and medicines. She quickly popped out a tablet of painkiller chugging it down with a glass of water.

She then again laid back on her bed trying to get some sleep hoping that some time in unconsciousness would help her feel better.

...

Chan was also up late in his room that night working on his laptop habitually. He yawned feeling exhausted. Despite his exhaustion, his body wasn't willing to get any sleep. He checked his phone one last time to see if Mia had left any more messages or not. But there was nothing except the last "goodnight, Channie<3".

He pushed himself off his bed as he started heading out towards the kitchen to fetch a bottle of water. While walking down the hallway, he noticed the lights in Haein's room on. He felt slightly concerned. He peeked in through the partially open door not wanting to wake her up in case she was asleep.

He saw her sleeping form on the bed looking ever so peaceful. He walked over sitting down beside her with a little smile on his face. He caressed her hair, moving it out of her face. He could notice the fatigue on her face. He shook his head at her carelessness of leaving the lights on while sleeping.

Suddenly he felt a pang of nostalgia hitting him. He thought of all their memories together. He was grateful for having her in his life. He thanked his stars for blessing him with her presence. Most people would say he saved her. Little did they know she saved him too. Her existence alone filled him up with unexplainable joy making him forget about all his pain and he vowed to protect his bundle of joy, his family, his little sister, his Inah.

He was glad Haein had begun to get along with Mia. He wouldn't have gone further into his relationship if Haein forbid him to despite how much it would've hurt. But that was not a worry anymore. Two of the most important women in his life getting along well was all he'd asked for. He hoped his life would finally be filled with nothing but happiness again. He was only missing one type of love in his life and now he had that too.

He pulled the blanket over Haein's body tucking her in nice and warm. He reached for the light switch flicking it off. He gave her one last glance before getting up and leaving her room.

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A/n : I know many of you are feeling agitated by Chan dating another girl but please realise that he's done nothing wrong. He can date whoever he wants. Mia is NOT a villain or an antagonist. She's just another character important for the storyline. So don't hate her.

Also genuine question, after 33 chapters of the story, how do you think the ending's gonna be? Or how would you like it to be? I just might take some inspiration from your predictions. Hehe. (Also, don't worry. The story is nowhere near the end. This book is gonna be like 60-70 chapters long at least, the longest I've ever written. Hope you guys don't mind.)

Keep those votes and comments coming if you don't want this book to also go into one of the uncompleted projects.