FORCED ʲʲᵏ ✓

1| One Last Wish

❝I understand your feelings too. Well, it's written on your face.
Things like appearance — it's as if it doesn't matter.❞

- Good Day

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"It's going to be alright," was all Jihye could manage to say as she sat beside her boyfriend and enveloped him into a tight hug. She knew how much support he needed right now, and just a hug could be a lot more comforting than a thousand words.

He wrapped his arms around her, and snuggled his head in the crook of her neck. She felt him shaking, and wet drops fell on her shoulders. ''His condition got so much worse, Jihye," he mumbled.

"Don't worry, Hyun. He'll get better." Jihye tried her best to be encouraging. "You need to stay strong as their eldest son."

"I'm trying to," he whispered.

''I know," Jihye said, running her hand through his hair.

"Jeon Jung-hyun?" They broke apart at the nurse's voice.

"Y-yes?" Junghyun stood up.

"Your father's condition is a bit more stable now. He'll be permitted to talk to you soon," she said and gave them an assuring nod before walking away.

"See? I told you!" She smiled and held his hand.

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"It's a good thing all of your family is here," the doctor said. ''I have some news, and I'm afraid it's not very good."

Jihye tightened her grip around Junghyun's hand, and saw her mother put her hand on her childhood friend, Mrs. Jeon's shoulder.

"Mr. Jeon's condition is a bit better now. But we're not sure if he's going to recover fully," the doctor said with a grim expression.

"What do you mean?" Asked Mr. Park, Jihye's father.

"He might not have long to live." Mrs. Jeon burst into tears and Mrs. Park tried to console her. But the correct words were hard to find.

"The best you can do for him is to keep him happy, so that he isn't anxious about anything. He doesn't need any kind of stress right now."

Junghyun just stood still, and removed his hand from Jihye's grip. While she struggled to find her voice, Junghyun muttered, "Kookie ought to know," before walking out of the room.

Jihye didn't know what to do. She looked at her father who slowly motioned her to go after Junghyun and followed suit. She reached the hallway of the hospital to find her boyfriend sitting on a chair nearby with his phone in his shaking hand.

"He won't survive for long," he sobbed into the phone and Jihye knew who was on the other side. After a few minutes, he put the phone down, and she sat next to him.

"Jungkook says he'll be here in a few minutes," Junghyun informed his girlfriend. "What are we gonna do without him, Jihye? What are we gonna do when he–he's not here anymore?"

He just couldn't bring himself to say the word dead.

Jihye remained seated in silence, because she herself did not know what the answer to that question was.

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"Jihye, dear!" Mrs. Jeon greeted her with great enthusiasm as she got inside the house. "So nice of you to drop by."

"I promised I'd drop by from college, didn't I?" Jihye smiled back at her.

"And I like a girl who keeps promises," she said, ruffling Jihye's hair.

"You have to see whose daughter she is," said Mr. Park who was already seated on the sofa just beside his highschool classmate, Mr. Jeon.

"Hey, she's my daughter, too!" Laughed Mrs. Park.

"Well, she might be your daughter, but she's not your girl,'' teased Mr. Jeon. "Am I right, Junghyun?"

Everyone in the room laughed at that, and to Jihye's embarrassment, so did her boyfriend. ''Speaking of that, I have to say something very important,'' he continued on a more serious note.

"Go on," said Jihye's mother.

"We all know how much Jihye and Junghyun love each other. They're happy in each other's company." Jihye looked straight at Mr. Jeon, not quite understanding what he meant.

"And as much as I'd love to pretend it's false, I know I don't have much time left," his next sentence caused a wave of sadness and grief to wash over all of them.

"Can you not?" exclaimed Jungkook, the one and only beloved brother of Junghyun as he walked into the room. He had already changed into regular clothes from the outfit Jihye saw him wearing in college the same day.

"It's true, Jungkook," his father said. "And I want just one wish fulfilled before that."

"What?" Junghyun's voice was barely audible.

"As my eldest son, I want Junghyun to take over the business. Jungkook hasn't finished college yet and I don't want him to get engaged in all this just now."

"I have no problem with that," Jungkook replied.

"What about you, Hyun?" Mrs. Jeon asked, causing us all to look at her. ''Remember, son. It's not just business."

To Jihye's surprise, Junghyun looked very pale. "I'm not sure I understand you, Mrs. Jeon." She shot her an inquisitive look.

"According to our family's tradition, a father can hand over the business to his son only after his marriage," she explained, causing Jihye's eyes to widen. ''It's like a rite of passage, being followed through generations.''

Then, it was all just silence. No one said anything, as if it was too precious to break.

''Well, someone's getting married," Jungkook nudged his brother. "I bet we all know who the bride is." He looked at Jihye teasingly, but she was far from okay to even react.

Jungkook's mother glared at him and he immediately realized he had said something wrong.

''Jihye, we don't want to put any kind of pressure on you. Take your time, think about it."

"You too, guys. Don't rush, we'll accept it even if you say no," Mr. Jeon said, addressing Jihye's parents. But the slight smiles on their faces told her they didn't need much thinking.

Everyone was okay with it; they wanted them to get married and live happily ever after. But little did they know, Jihye wasn't even sure if she was ready.

As she stared across the room, she found only one face that had the same expression as hers. Only one face, that showed the same insecurity and doubt.

It was Junghyun's.

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Do you think the story line is going by too fast for the first chapter? Let me know what you think ^^