Love Under Pretenses | Winrina

26.

“We're here now,” Minjeong said, breaking my focus from my phone. I glanced out the car window and realized we had arrived at my house.

“Thank you for the ride,” I said, leaning in to give her a sweet kiss on the lips. Her face immediately flushed, and I let out a soft chuckle at her adorable reaction.

“I-i always do this for you, but no problem” she replied, her cheeky smile making my heart flutter.

She's so cute.

As I got out of the car, I waved goodbye before she drove off. The moment I stepped inside and opened the door, I was immediately confronted by my dad, whose face displayed a mix of anger and frustration that I couldn’t quite decipher.

“What do you need now, Dad? Please, not now. I’m tired,” I said, trying to brush past him. But he grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks. I turned to face him, quickly shaking his hand off mine.

“You still haven’t ended things with that useless woman?!” he shouted, his voice dripping with disgust. “I’m telling you, Jimin! That girl is not just a distraction from your work, she’s a problem for this family! Think, for God’s sake! I raised you to be smart and educated! You’re wasting your time with a girl who has nothing to offer this family!”

My vision blurred with anger at his hurtful comments about Minjeong. No one—especially not my father—had the right to speak like that about the person I love.

“Dad, what the fuck is wrong with you?! Don’t you realize how strict you’ve become?! I can’t even pursue what I want anymore because I’m constantly trying to meet your expectations! I’ve been sacrificing my own desires just to please you! I don’t defy your wishes because I want you to be proud of me and appreciate my efforts! Please, Dad! Just let me be happy for once!” I shouted, my voice cracking as tears streamed down my cheeks.

“I don’t care!” he barked, his eyes narrowing with disdain.

“There are no fools in the Yu family, Jimin. You’re a disappointment. So get your act together!”

I froze, his words slicing through me like a knife.

A disappointment?

He thought I was a disappointment to our family?

Just because I fell in love?

The pain in my chest was unbearable.

My own father thought I was a failure—a fool—just for loving someone.

And the worst part?

He saw me as a disappointment to the family.

“You’re not the dad I knew when I was a kid,” I said, my voice breaking, laced with both anger and heartbreak.

“You’ve changed.” I said, my voice filled with hurt and anger. With that, I turned and stormed off to my room, my footsteps echoing with defiance.

I could hear him shouting my name, but I ignored him, locking myself away in my room.

The weight of his words shattered me completely. It was like my heart had been torn apart, piece by piece, by the very person who should have protected it.

I didn’t care anymore. I couldn’t.

It hadn’t always been like this between us.

Back in elementary school, we were inseparable. I felt pure joy whenever I was with him. He would do anything to make me smile. I was his little princess, the center of his universe. But now? Why had everything turned so cold?