Love In The Ice

#15: Aftermath

The morning after... before sunrise...

Both Jaein and Jaejoong couldn't sleep the whole night after they parted ways. Jaejoong was too excited from his success in his love declaration, and having Jaein accept his love relatively easily. And he couldn't wait for morning to come so that he could pop over and see her again. As Jaein had forced him to leave the house last night, citing inappropriateness as the reason, as she didn't want her cousins to see her together with him. He had agreed reluctantly, but made a pact with her to meet for breakfast early in the morning.

Jaein, however, was tossing and turning the whole night for another reason. She HAD to leave today, and despite her heart wishing to stay to be with Jaejoong, she had to leave to return to her school and her lessons. There was no way that she could stay. But she didn't want to tell him last night and deprive him of his rare moment of joy. She did whatever she could to make him happy, hoping that it will leave him something nice memory of what they shared to reminiscence over when she's not around...

After leaving a note to her cousins, and a note to Jaejoong (left in his mailbox), Jaein left the house early before dawn so that Jaejoong wouldn't know that she had already left. As she knew that he would definitely stop her from leaving if he saw her leaving. Especially after last night, he must have thought that she would be staying with him. But Jaein was a stubborn girl, she didn't like to depend on others. She didn't depend on her parents' money before, so she was most definitely not going to depend on her cousins or Jaejoong for her expenses. She would go back to school, and her part-time tuition job to earn her own keep.

If she had time, she would meet up with him...

If things didn't work out, it probably wasn't meant to be...

And, if something was meant to be, nothing can break it apart...

If it wasn't meant to be, then the slightest thing will crack it...

And then there's nothing worth being upset over...

He just wasn't The One...

With these in mind, Jaein hypnotised herself to leave her cousins' house, and her first true love...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1 year later...

Jaein had already graduated a month after she left her cousins' house, but she didn't teach at Jaejoong's school. In fact she didn't teach at all. She went back to work at her parents' company.

"Why?", you might ask.

"Where is Jaejoong?"

"Aren't they together still?"

Jaejoong is no longer in the scene. At least in Jaein's eyes. As he never contacted Jaein after she left. She took it that he didn't want to continue in a hopeless long distance relationship with someone whose 6 years his senior, that seemed to have no future. She didn't take it too hard. She took it in her stride, but her heart was already shattered a second time. And she didn't want to open herself to another again. And to heal her heart, she moved somewhere else.

Somewhere far away from where her bad memories were...

She moved to another country.

She moved to Singapore.

Based at her parents' company in Singapore, she switched jobs, homes and country to stop herself from ever thinking of Jaejoong.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the other hand, Jaejoong had also graduated from his school, and was entering university, while working part-time at his parents' company to gain experience, as he studied. Much like Jaein, he was turning to work to numb himself from the pain of thinking of her.