No Love Allowed

Twenty-Four

Sehun stood from his crouched position by a painting, spine straightened. His heart beat in his throat. Slowly, like a burglar caught, he turned to face the woman who had spoken. At the back of his mind he wondered if he should have his hands up in surrender.

Suzy's mom stood by the door of the painting room in a aqua uniform, hands on her hips and a scowl on her pretty-yet-tired face. The years of taking care of Suzy were catching up with her.

"Mrs. Bae," he said, stammering her name slightly. She could kick him out. It was her right, since he had essentially broken into her home. Polices might even be called if she wanted. 

His obvious fear softened her slightly, although her shoulders remained tense when she said, "Call me Hyun-Sook. Mrs. Bae makes me sound so old."

He let out a sigh of relief. "Hyun-Sook."

"So," she said. "What are you doing here?"

Like a criminal confessing, the words came our of his mouth easily. "I rang the bell, but no one answered. I figured you were at work and that maybe Suzy was asleep."

"If you thought she was asleep, then why force yourself inside anyway?"

"Please," he begged. "I need to see her."

She rubbed her forehead, shoulders slumping, losing all their earlier tension. "What about disappearing from her life don't you understand? You're clearly unhealthy for her. She hasn't gotten out of bed since we got back from the hospital. The only reason I'm leaving this house is I can't miss any more work." The last part seemed like she was saying more to herself than to Sehun."

"Please, Mrs. . . . I mean, Hyun-Sook." He took a step forward. "I love her."

The words came out smoothly. No hesitation. And it tasted right. Felt right. He loved her. He would have wanted to tell Suzy first. That time in the car hadn't counted since he'd almost killed the both of them. But he knew Suzy's mom needed to hear it just as much as her daughter did. He saw that more and more the longer he stayed in Hyun-Sook's presence. She would do anything to protect her daughter. He wanted her to understand that he felt the same way.

"Her father loved her too," she said harshly. "One bad episode and he left."

He flinched. "I'd like to think I'm more of a man than your husband think."

"Sure, you're confident now. Wait until she act up again. Let's see how long you last."

Then Suzy's words when they were at The Cliff came back to him. "I can't see the future, Hyun-Sook, but I do know one thing. Whether I stay in your daughter's life or not should be up to her. Just let me see her."

"Can't you see what you've put her through?" Hyun-Sook indicated the paintings with a movement of her hand.

From where he stood, he turned in a tight circle. "All I see here is beauty. This one" - he pointed at the garden party painting - "is the first event we attended together. I thought to myself when she arrived in that blue dress that she was the most beautiful girl there. And this one" - he gestured at the Summer Swing- "was our first slow dance. If she'll have me, I plan on more slow dances with her. This one is my favorite." He bend down again beside the Fourth of July party painting. "Did you know she gave me a painting for my birthday? It's from this day too. It was of the two of us during our first kiss."

"You don't know what you're saying."

The quiver in her voice gave him hope as he pushed to his feet. "Suzy was wrong to stop taking her medicine. I get that. Her decision was a dangerous one. I certainly had nothing to do with it. Had I known about her condition -"