Echoes of the Rain

Hatred

Yohan's mother’s soft voice lingered in the air. “He always smiled, always hid his pain behind that bright smile to fool everyone, didn’t he?” Her words were heavy, but her tone was gentle, as if she had long accepted the truth but couldn’t stop longing for him.

Yuri bit her lip, trying to hold back the emotions welling up inside her. She shifted her gaze to the flowers, their vibrant colors a stark contrast to the weight in her heart. She had seen that smile countless times, the same smile that never betrayed the storm within Yohan.

“Yuri, how are you? It’s been a while,” came Seema’s voice, breaking through the tension. Yoonsoo’s wife approached with her usual graceful demeanor.

“Good…” Yuri managed to respond with a polite smile, though it barely reached her eyes. She didn’t know what else to say. She was here, but why? Why had she been invited after all this time?

“So… why did you invite me?” Yuri asked, turning her attention back to Yohan’s mother.

His mother gave a soft, knowing look. “Let’s go to my room and talk,” she said, her voice gentle but insistent.

Yuri nodded, and the two made their way up the stairs. The house felt eerily quiet, each step echoing in the vast space. Yohan’s mother’s room was modest but filled with personal touches—pictures of Yohan from different stages of his life, small trinkets he had gifted her, and a soft, familiar fragrance that reminded Yuri of simpler times.

As they entered the room, his mother gestured for Yuri to sit on a comfortable chair near the window, which overlooked the garden where Yohan used to spend his time. The sunlight streamed in, casting a warm glow over everything, but it did nothing to ease the ache in Yuri’s heart. She sat down, waiting for the conversation she knew would be difficult but necessary.

Yohan’s mother sighed as she took a seat on the bed, her hands folding in her lap. “Yuri, I know this is hard for you... for all of us. But there’s something I need to talk to you about. Something Yohan wanted.”

Yohan’s mother’s voice trembled slightly, but there was a strange calm to her words. “I have only a few days now. The doctor informed us. But it doesn’t scare me at all. This suffering… it’s finally coming to an end. This heavy burden I’ve carried for so long, I’m finally going to be rid of it.”

Yuri’s body tensed at the revelation. She stood abruptly, her face tightening. "So this is what you wanted to talk about. If you're done, then..." She moved towards the door, ready to leave, but then the words she least expected froze her in place.

“He appears in my dreams.”

Yuri’s breath caught. Her hand hovered on the doorknob as her mind raced.

“Yohan…” his mother’s voice softened.

Slowly, Yuri turned back, her eyes narrowing with both curiosity and the deep-seated anger she had harbored for so long. Reluctantly, she returned to the chair, facing the woman who was once a central figure in Yohan’s life and now, a source of her deepest pain.

“Yuri… I know you hate me… I understand that,” Yohan’s mother began, her voice faltering under the weight of her guilt. “But I need you to know... I’m...”

“Hate?” Yuri cut her off, her tone cold and sharp, her eyes filled with years of bottled-up resentment. “Hate is a very small word to describe what I feel towards you. It doesn’t even begin to cover the anger I have for what you did… for what you let happen.”

Yohan’s mother looked down at her hands, the silence between them growing heavier with each second. “I see...” she whispered.

Yuri’s heart pounded in her chest. “Is that all you have to say?” Her voice cracked slightly, not from weakness, but from the enormity of the emotions she had kept hidden for too long. “I see… indeed, you and Yohan share the same blood. Always hiding, always pretending that things are fine when they’re falling apart around you. Always protecting your own pride.”

Yohan’s mother winced at Yuri’s words, but she didn’t defend herself. She only nodded slightly, as if accepting the truth Yuri was throwing at her. The room fell into a heavy silence again, but this time, it wasn’t just the unspoken words that lingered—it was the pain, the regret, and the years of hurt that both women carried with them, though in different ways.

Yuri's words cut through the air like a blade, cold and unforgiving. "Let's act like we didn't know each other's existence, like we used to." Her sharp voice pierced deeper than Yohan's mother expected, and the older woman's eyes filled with a silent pain as if the weight of those words lodged themselves in her heart.

"Please, Yuri..." Yohan's mother pleaded, her voice cracking with desperation. "Don't carry this hatred with you. It will only hurt you, reminding you of Yohan... Yohan wouldn't—"

"Enough!" Yuri's voice snapped, her face turning away, refusing to hear the name that had once brought her joy but now only deepened her grief. "I don’t want to hear anything from you."

Their voices escalated, vibrating with emotion that was too intense to contain any longer. As the tension boiled over, Seema burst into the room, worry etched across her face.

“What happened, Mother?” Seema's eyes darted between Yuri and her mother. Before anyone could answer, Yohan’s mother's breath grew shallow, her chest heaving with short, rapid gasps. The panic spread across the room as Seema rushed to her side.

"Mother, calm down..." Seema urged, calling out for help. In moments, the house staff hurried into the room, quickly moving Yohan’s mother to her bed. Yuri stood frozen, the weight of her words hanging heavy in the air.

Yohan’s mother lay on the bed, her breathing uneven but stable for now. Even in her weakened state, she reached out towards Yuri, her fingers trembling. "Yuri... let it go... I... I never meant for things to... please..."

But Yuri didn’t respond. She stood still, every part of her wanting to leave that room, to shut out the voice that reminded her of everything she lost. The tension between her anger and grief was pulling her in every direction, and now, all she wanted was silence.

Seema watched the scene unfold, torn between comforting her mother-in-law and understanding Yuri's anguish. The room felt suffocating, filled with a grief that neither of them knew how to resolve.