Sinful Passion

twenty-eight

Changmin was acting eerily normal for all that had transpired.  He continued going to work, he continued coming home sporadically, though sometimes, he spent a little more time in the house.  Whether this was to keep an eye on Mina and Chaeyoung, or to wait for the first opportunity to punish either one of them, no one knew.  But other than that, he hadn't said or done anything that rang any alarm bells. Which made Mina even more anxious.

But Mina was suffering for an entirely different reason.  Chaeyoung was very obviously avoiding her, and had been doing so for the past few days now, ever since their relationship had been exposed to Changmin.  Chaeyoung refused to let Mina do anything for her anymore, avoiding her as much as possible around the house. She left for school every day without saying goodbye, and returned home late only to go straight to her room.  They hadn't talked at all. They hadn't discussed what their future would hold. They hadn't comforted each other. Mina felt herself slowly going crazy, being in such close proximity to Chaeyoung but feeling so far away.

Chaeyoung, on the other hand, secretly hated doing this.  She hated having to avoid Mina, she hated not being able to talk to her, not being able to hug her, to kiss her, to just hold her and be with her and forget about everything else.  Chaeyoung was so messed up. Her family dynamic, no matter how dysfunctional it once was, would never be stable and secure anymore. And to top it all off, she was at risk of losing Mina forever, the one person she knew she loved with all her heart, and that she couldn't live without.  Chaeyoung knew Mina had technically been cheated on, and that Mina was also going through a lot, but here she was, in her own little bubble, too weak to do anything about it.

'Think about what's best for you and Mina.'  Sana's advice rang clear in Chaeyoung's head.  Chaeyoung didn't mind having to hide her relationship with Mina.  It didn't matter, as long as she got to be with her. In fact, it made it even more special, because Chaeyoung felt like she and Mina were just in their own dimension all the time.  But now that Changmin had found out, and the potential consequences were so disastrous, Chaeyoung was forced to reevaluate everything she thought she knew. 

Why am I being punished for something that's supposed to be right?  The question kept resurfacing, even though Chaeyoung didn't want it to.  If there was no hope left, and if the entire world really was against her and Mina's love, then was it just better if they went their separate ways?

Chaeyoung hated the thought.  She hated the fact that she was even entertaining it.  But it was logical. She gave it some serious consideration, even though every passing second of doing so made her feel like throwing up.

Then one day, Chaeyoung finally returned from school at a normal time, and Mina was ecstatic, to say the least.

"Chaengie!  You're home!  I... here, let me take your bag," Mina said, fumbling slightly as she helped Chaeyoung put away her things.  The younger simply stared at Mina with an unreadable expression, not saying a word. Mina grew nervous.

Finally, Chaeyoung asked," Can we talk?"

They sat in the living room, and after a moment, Chaeyoung asked," Dad hasn't done anything to you, right?"

Mina's eyes widened in surprise.  "Nothing bad, no... It's the same with you too, I hope."