The things we do for love (Twice FF| Completed|Book 1)

27. Goodbye, old pain

Chaeyoung and Minji were cleaning up his mother's stuff. He looked through the photo album he found. It had more blank pages than photos. He kept that aside to take it with him. Next he picked up a red woollen fabric, attached to a ball of yarn, that was only half knitted.

'She was knitting a scarf for you,' Minji said.

'I'll take this,' Chaeyoung said.

'She was also planting strawberries for you in the garden but she couldn't look after them. The weeds killed them.'

He walked out to the garden and trod on the overgrown weeds that killed all his mother's strawberry plants. He looked at something that looked like a strawberry plant. He crouched and looked closer; it indeed was a strawberry plant. He grabbed a plastic bag and shovel, and transplanted the strawberry plant into the plastic bag.

After finally taking care of everything, the three headed to the subway. Chaeyoung brought his mother's photo album, the half knitted scarf and the strawberry plant with him.

'Three tickets for Daegu,' Momo spoke to the person in the ticket booth.

'Only two,' Jeongyeon said. Momo and Chaeyoung looked at him surprised.

'I'm going to Seoul. I'm going to amend my relationship with my... mother,' he said. Momo immediately hugged him.

'I'm so proud of you for taking up that step,' she said. Even Chaeyoung smiled at him. Jeongyeon was now confident enough to send away Momo alone with Chaeyoung. The two of them headed to Daegu while Jeongyeon headed to Seoul.

Jeongyeon's heart beat faster as Seoul came to sight. It had been a while since he breathed the air of Seoul. A feeling of nostalgia crept into him as he walked through the gate of the house he was born in. He rang the bell and his mother opened the door. She was shocked to see him. He looked at her shocked face, the face he had tried to avoid for the past 14 years. She turned her back to him and walked inside, afraid that her son would be irritated for having her near him. But she was wrong, she froze like a statue when she heard his voice.

'Mom,' he called her. Tears escaped her eyes without warning. She slowly turned and looked at him.

'Jeongyeon-ah,' she said in a shaky voice.

'Mom,' he said again.

'I thought I would have to die before I hear that word from your lips. I don't deserve forgiveness for what I did to you, but I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for what I put you through.'

'I have come to tell you... that I forgive you.'

She staggered to the couch because it was dreamlike and plopped down weeping. Jeongyeon sat down beside her.

'Did you never think about me before going to that man?' he asked. Today, he wanted answer. It was a question that haunted him often.

'Of course, I did. I had to make a decision. And because I loved you all, it was a tough choice. I chose the one who needed me the most at that moment, Jeongyeon-ah. He was dying and he had no one to look after him. He was a man I once loved, I only wanted to take care of him in his last hours. Your father tried to stop me from going and we had a fight so I ran away. I had a promise to keep. Your sister, Seoyeon, was born because of my mistake. I was vulnerable because of the fight with your father. I was glad for the part that I was able to nurse them when both of them were sick in their deathbeds. My only resentment was losing you.'

'You gave birth to Seoyeon alone? And brought her up all alone?'

She nodded, 'I did.'

'Did you ever regret leaving us?' Jeongyeon asked.