puzzle piece | jeong jaehyun

21

Yunhui heard the front door creak open, the familiar sound of stumbling footsteps echoing down the hall. She clenched her fists, jaw tightening as she listened to the unmistakable clinking of keys slipping from Seungmin's hand to the floor. The clock showed it was well past midnight, and Minhyuk had been asleep for hours now, his small frame curled up on her side of the bed, waiting for a father who never came.

As Seungmin staggered into the living room, Yunhui's anger reached a boiling point. She stood up, crossing her arms as she took in his disheveled appearance, the smell of alcohol thick in the air between them.

"Do you even know what time it is?" she demanded, voice barely a whisper but sharp enough to slice through his drunken haze.

"Minhyuk waited for you at school for two hours. He was the last kid left. I had to get a call from his teacher—do you even realize how scared he was waiting for one of us?" She asked, her own voice trembling at the thought of even standing up to him. Seungmin scoffed, rolling his eyes as he swayed slightly.

"You're nagging again. Always nagging," he muttered, reaching for the wall to steady himself.

"Nagging?" she repeated, her voice breaking under the strain of keeping it low.

"We have a child now, Seungmin. You can't just drink your life away and forget about him. He needs you—"

"Oh, don't even start," he cut her off, raising his voice.

"I never wanted any of this. You're the one who wanted the family, the kid. You're the one who dragged me into this mess and made us miserable." He said, his voice raising.

The words struck her like a blow, and she took a step back, stunned. She almost couldn't believe the words he was saying, not when his own mother was the one who had pressured them into planning for children even before they were married. Not when his family was the one that were hellbent on continuing their wretched bloodline when her own parents begged her to focus on her career and find a man much better than him—one that was actually capable of starting a family.

"What did you say?" she whispered, her eyes wide, as though if she kept her voice low enough, maybe Minhyuk wouldn't hear from the other room. Seungmin laughed bitterly, waving her off.

"You heard me. This whole... family thing, it ruined everything we had. All I wanted was you and me. I was happy, Yunhui. We were happy! And now, because of him..." He gestured vaguely toward Minhyuk's room, his face contorting in anger.

"Everything is about him...You threw away what we had just for him." He said—as if she even had a choice. What could she have done? Left the child stranded?

"Stop. Just... stop. He might hear you."Yunhui shook her head, voice trembling with controlled rage. Seungmin sneered, kicking over a nearby chair, sending it clattering against the floor.

"Good! I want him to hear. Let him know how much of a burden he is, how he ruined everything!" His voice roared as he walked down the hall towards the boy's bedroom, knocking over every little family photo that hung by the wall, thrashing anything that stood in his way as she hopelessly followed his trail. She rushed to grab his arm, pulling him away from Minhyuk's room.

"You can hate me all you want for what happened to our marriage, Seungmin, but don't you dare take this out on him—he's three years old. It's not his fault!" she hissed, her eyes blazing. He wrenched his arm free, with a dark, almost empty look in his eyes, watching her stumble back and land on the floor behind her. Her arm pricked by a long shard of glass from one of the photo frames.

"You don't get it, do you?" he slurred, his voice harsh and hoarse.

"I'm suffocating here. With you. With him. This isn't the life I wanted." Yunhui felt a tear slip down her cheek as she stared up at the man who she once loved with all her heart—but now her heart only belonged to her son. And he could see it, he hated it.

"Minhyuk is our son, and whether you wanted this or not, he deserves better than to be told he's a mistake." She cried, helplessly as she watched him straighten up at her words , turning as he kicked in the door of the boy who she had tried so hard to protect for all these years.

"I'll tell you what that little brat deserves.—"

Her eyes shot open as she gasped for air, sitting up against her bed with a hand clasped against her chest.

"Mommy" her son's voice repeated, eyes widened a little by her reaction and taking a step back

"W-what is it? Are you okay? What's wrong?!" She asked breathlessly, grabbing onto the sides of his arms and checking for any signs that he might be hurt

"It's too loud" he said, whining a little with a frown on his face, waiting for her own ears to pick up the sound of a drill. She let out a sigh, squeezing her eyes shut and trying not to shout a million curse words out in one go

"Do you want to stay here while I go tell him to be quiet?" She asked and he nodded, watching her stand up and put her slippers on, slinging a fluffy robe over her body

"Mommy..." He said, catching her before she left the room

"Yeah?" She asked, mid-yawn

"Jae and Jinnie are so annoying" he said bluntly and she lightened up with a laugh, nodding her head almost immediately

"I know" she agreed

"But they're really nice" he said before climbing onto the bed to get himself settled

"I know" she agreed once more, just above a whisper as she turned to head out towards the hallway