Cinderella - Apink Eunji

Final Chapter.

Departure day.

Jinhee's P.O.V:

"Got everything?" Siwon immediately lifts my suitcase and places it in the trunk of his car, flashing his biceps through his thin dress shirt. He's been stubbornly waiting for me by the front door of the Lee residence for about half an hour insisting that he send me to the airport even when I kindly refused yesterday.

"Obviously." I say playfully as I close the door of the house. I tug the door knob back ever so softly, an old habit of mine that I picked up every since I lived here. Mrs. Lee always told me to be gentle with my actions. Too bad Mrs. Lee can't say her final farewell because she has to help out Minwoo with his wedding today, I sulk while climbing into the passenger seat.

Siwon climbs into the driver's seat next to me and starts the engine. "Oh," He abruptly turns his head to me as if he has a sudden thought in mind. "Ready to go?"

I roll my eyes. "You say that now when we're about to leave?" And with that, we head off onto the main road.

----

Half way through the silent ride, Siwon decides to break the silence.

"Jinhee noona, I wasn't joking when I asked if you were ready."

I look over at him expecting to see a playful smile on his lips, but instead a grim expression reflects on me. An expression that looks familiar to Minwoo; they are cousins after all. I turn away from his intense gaze to focus on the road and not on other things.

"I'm ready. I was ready since I came back to Korea from continuing my interior design education. There's no turning back now."

"Is it because you don't want to or you think you can't?" He quizzes.

"What? I just want to take a break, relax, maybe do some additional interior design research to improve my-"

"You know very well what I'm talking about." Siwon speaks in such a harsh foreign tone that it makes me flinch. Oh boy, he's serious.

"Ok fine. About Minwoo? Like I said, there's no turning back now. He's getting married today so he clearly doesn't have any feelings for me-"

"What about your feelings? Enough about him, are you really happy that your ex-lover is your foster brother? Are you really okay with the person you love getting married with someone else?" The volume of his voice increases with every word with passion. "The answer is no, you're not!" He slams on the brakes so hard at the stoplight, my seatbelt locks into place for my protection.

Anger starts to boil in me, not knowing where it came from. "Look, Siwon, my relationship with Minwoo ended years ago-"

"Your relationship may have ended but your love for each other never came to an end."

His sharp words bring tears to my eyes. The more he says, the more he manipulates me, forcing me to believe in his words. Love...do I actually have lingering feelings for him?  "No." I shake my head, wiping away a teardrop that rolls down to my jawline with a finger. "Even if I still have feelings for Minwoo, it won't work out. It can't work out." I turn my attention to a traffic light timer that counts down when the the light turns green. I just want to quickly get to the airport, catch my flight, and leave. I need to get this stress off my mind.

10 seconds.

His long and slender fingers find their way to the bridge of his nose. He gives it one long squeeze as if he can manually block out all that stress in his mind before extending our conversation. "Jinhee. I know what you don't understand now. You need to realize that love has no time limit. Regardless of what happens, your heart will speak of the truth. The pain you feel right now is telling you to embrace your feelings."