20 (Seventeen Jeonghan x CLC Seunghee) Ver. 2.0

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE: THEIR ATTACHMENT

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Seunghee's family formally filed a lawsuit of attempted rape against Chanyeol. They had concrete evidences and had taken legal actions to support their cause. But it was found out that Chanyeol was indeed the person with mental disorder and was currently taking medications for this ailment. With much regret and heavy hearts, the Oh family and Jeonghan watched as the accused was acquitted of the crime and was sent to a mental institute instead.

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It was just a few days after the reading of the verdict. It took a month for the case to arrive at an end they did not really favor.

Seunghee and Jeonghan were taking a walk for some fresh air. And somewhere along the way, they ended up at a nearby playground. Sitting on the swings, they talked earnestly.

"I'm glad, at least all is well now," Seunghee uttered.

Jeonghan was smiling. It's been a while since she had this precious smile on her face. It wasn't complete, but at least, she could smile again. After that incident with Chanyeol, it took her several days to have a proper conversation with him. He was so helpless those days. He didn't know if he would be able to help her get over it. She must have been too scared of even hearing that guy's name and he wondered what he really did to her. She only told the police and her family about it. Maybe she didn't want him to know more. Because if he did, he would truly kill that guy himself.

"Hey, I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect you once again," Jeonghan said.

"It's alright. Don't blame yourself. None of us knew about it. I'm just glad you came. I'm just glad you're right here."

"Seunghee..."

"But there's something I want to tell you right now."

Her face displayed a very sad expression. Jeonghan quite felt anxious.

"What is it Seunghee?"

She was staring at the ground. She was very glum. It was distressing until she said the words.

"I'm leaving."

It was a shock for Jeonghan. It was something he never predicted.

"What? Where are you going? For how long?"

"For as long as it takes."

"What are you talking about?"

It was chaos for him inside. He was so disarrayed looking at her, Seunghee was staring at him now. She was so hurt. She could see his pain. But she would not be able to do anything about it. It was her decision and tears just fell down her face.

"I'm sorry... I'm really sorry Jeonghan..."

He was broken but he could not bear seeing her hurt too. He calmed her down by caressing her face.

"Don't cry now... It's alright, it's okay Seunghee..."

But she continued to shed her tears for a while. And he tried to console her all the way.

It took sometime till she finally opened up to him again. They sat at one of the park benches by then.

Seunghee began talking, "We talked about things at home. I told them every single thing that happened. From that time with Seungcheol, till recently. It's taken its toll on me, everything that had took place these past few months. And I'm not taking it very well. It has affected me emotionally and in the last event, psychologically. I'm not well Jeonghan. I can't forget about all those things. My only escape is when I'm with you. My moments with you. My time with you. But it's not enough. So we decided. I decided, that I'd stay away from this place for a while."