You're My Melody

Chapter 33: Follow Your Heart

JavairiaSaeed, sorry it took longer for me to update.. but here it is...

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Seohyun started crying the moment she left Jaejoong’s hotel room. She hailed a cab and when the driver asked her where she's headed she replied, "Anywhere far from here please."

The driver noticed she was crying so he asked, "Are you ok miss?" She didn’t know what to say to that so she kept her silence. The bewildered driver was nice enough not to ask any more questions.

Seohyun was far from ok. Her heart feels as if it was being torn into millions of pieces. It was even harder to breathe. He had her heart broken hundreds of times before but this was the worst feeling she had to endure.

When she realized her house is only a walking distance away she asked the cab driver to pull over. She decided to walk the rest of the way. However she hadn’t gone far when it started raining. It was as if the sky could feel her pain and it was crying with her.

She pulled her jacket closer to her body as if it could somehow lessen the cold feeling. But nothing seems to be working right. She was shivering and she was exhausted.

When she reached her front door, she found Yonghwa waiting for her. He knew what her choice was and he might be wondering about the outcome. She walked straight ahead without acknowledging his presence. She knew she was being unfair to him. But she’s not in the right condition to be talking to anybody. She picked up her key from the inside of her bag and opened the door. Yonghwa followed and settled himself inside.

“Your father called,” he told her. She didn’t say anything. It wasn’t a surprise. He had been calling her since morning only that she doesn’t pick up. She went to get some water and gulped it all down. The liquid doesn’t help either. Maybe alcohol will help. She checked the fridge but there was no alcoholic drink in sight. She slammed the door in annoyance and in the process she dropped the glass she was holding and the pieces shattered on the floor. The sound echoed like a broken heart shattering into pieces and the realization made her tear up again.

She tried to pick up the broken pieces of shattered glass only to have her fingers pricked by the sharp object. She felt the pain as soon as she saw the red liquid trickled from her wounded finger. Yonghwa immediately came to her rescue, grabbing the first aid kit and applying it to the wound. He had been in her apartment a few times so he knows his way around.

He settled her on a chair then reached for her hand so he can treat her wound. Surprisingly the wound on her finger doesn’t hurt as much as her wounded heart. A sob escaped her lips. “It’s so painful,” she said.

Yonghwa hugged her tightly trying to comfort her while knowing perfectly well why she was in pain. But for Seohyun it was useless. The pain is too unbearable that having someone to comfort her doesn’t make any difference with being alone. It’s ironic that the person to whom she couldn’t return her feelings was the one who was comforting her and trying to mend her broken heart.

“I’m not giving up on you, Seohyun. Please marry me…”

She shook her head. “I can’t. You deserve someone better.”

Yonghwa sighed but he nodded in understanding.

She went to meet Jaejoong hoping she was making the right decision. The fact that it didn’t end up the way she expected, doesn’t mean she can start over with Yonghwa again. She already made her choice although it might have been a painful one.

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Seohyun went back to Seoul the day after. Nothing changed much after the year she was gone. Other times she could have been happy that she was finally back home but today nothing could lift her spirits up. Her heart is still in pain.

Before she left the airport someone went calling her name. “Seohyun!” When she turned to look she saw Changmin running towards her.

“It’s been a while,” he said with a smile. Seohyun returned the smile but even his presence doesn’t seem to make her feel any better. Changmin gave her a tight hug and she hugged him back. It was comforting but somehow the gesture made her tear up. She wiped the tears away and forced a smile.

“Annyeong, oppa,” she said.

“I’m starving. Let’s go grab some food,” Seohyun went to Korea to meet his dad but she’s not really that excited to see him so maybe a few hours to spare wouldn’t hurt. Besides she missed Changmin too and maybe he could somehow help her ease the pain even a little bit.

They went to a nearby café and ordered food. Seohyun ate too little and Changmin was worried. “Are you ok?” She nodded. She couldn’t tell him she doesn’t have an appetite lately.

“Seohyun, tell me something.”

“About what?”

“The deal you made with your father.” Seohyun was surprised to hear those words from Changmin.

“How did you know?”

“Did you forget? I’m Shim Changmin. I know everything.” He gave her a smile before he turned serious all of a sudden. “There’s a rumor going on in SME that the only reason you agreed to marry Jung Yonghwa is because of a deal with your father.”

Seohyun felt worse. If people learned the truth then Yonghwa will be affected too and she doesn’t want to get him into this mess. He had been nothing but a good a friend.

“Don’t worry this is not a public knowledge,” Changmin added when she noticed her feeling down. “But Seohyun, what was the deal exactly?”

Maybe it was time to tell him about it. Besides the deal is off as far as she knows. She broke the rules the moment she ended her engagement with Yonghwa. “I will agree to anything my father tells me to do and in exchange he would leave Jajoong, Yoochun and Junsu oppa alone.”

Changmin didn’t say anything for a whole minute. He was thinking. Jaejoong knows she was forced to marry Yonghwa because of a deal she made with her father but he had no idea what the deal was exactly. If Jaejoong learned the truth, he will be devastated. The love of his life almost got married for his sake.  “You’re not engaged anymore, are you?” He asked because he needs to confirm it.

Seohyun shook her head confirming he was right. “I just couldn’t marry him.”

Changmin gave her a smile. “Good because otherwise you’re going to make a really huge mistake.”

This is the first time she heard someone telling her she was doing the right thing and Seohyun hoped she really is making the right decisions.

“What do you plan to do now?”

“Talk to my father and hopefully convince him to keep his side of the bargain although I couldn’t keep mine. I know it sounds pointless knowing my father but I still have to try.”

Changmin let out a deep sigh. “It will hurt his pride if Jaejoong hyung finds out what you’ve been doing all this time.  Seohyun, you’ve been trying to protect someone who doesn’t need protection.”

“But oppa you don’t know my father better than I do. You have no idea what he’s capable of.”

“Seohyun, SME might be a powerful company in South Korea but outside Korea, they are nothing. JYJ might be doing their business separately but technically speaking they are still part of TVXQ. And they have the full support of Cassiopeia around the world. Don’t give SME more credit than they actually deserve. Trust Jaejoong hyung a little bit more.”

The realization hit her hard. Here she was thinking she was doing something good for the person she loves and yet he doesn’t need it. He doesn’t need her and even love her. She just lost her purpose and now she have nothing.

“What should I do oppa?” She was desperate. She was hurting so much she couldn’t even make the right decisions.

“Do what your heart tells you,” he said.