Don't Let Me Fall✔✔

Chapter 47

"What's going on here?" My dad asks as he steps out of his office.

"Take a seat Bom-seok. There's something I have to say," Min Seo orders. We all gather around waiting for her to start. She paces back and forth as she starts rambling. "So much has happened I don't know where to begin. I did some horrible things, and I understand if you all ask me to leave after I say what I did. I should have come clean a long time ago, but I was scared. Now everything is a mess, and I'm the only one to blame."

Namjoon gets up and rubs her hand soothingly. "Min Seo, this family has been in debt to you for a long time. You put up with the horrible things Seoyun did for years. Whatever you have to say, we will listen to you."

Jin gets up and holds on to her other hand as a reassurance that everything will be okay. "He's right. You saved my life, and Mother loved you unconditionally." Min Seo let's out a sob and looks away from Jin.

Namjoon hands her a tissue and moves her to sit down. "How about you start at the beginning," he suggests.

She wipes her eyes and takes a deep breath and begins. "It all started when I moved from Boseong to Seoul. I was only 15 at the time. It was different times back then, and since my parents couldn't afford to send me to school they sent me here to work. I met Kim Eun Jae when I came to the mansion to be interviewed for a job here."

"Met?" Jin asks.

Min Seo gives a slight nod. "Yes, met. Your mom and I are not actually related," she confirms. "We met as we waited to be interviewed and became friends quickly. I was hired as the cook's assistant at the time and Eun Jae was Mr. Kim's main caretaker. That's how she became close to Bom-Seok," she says motioning towards my dad who is in shock as he looks at Jin.

"You're the son of Eun Jae?"

"Yes," Jin replies. "Who were you to her?"

Father cracks a sad smile and cups his face with his hands. "We were in love," he responds. "We started dating a couple weeks after she started working for my father. We kept it a secret for a year until I finally decided to tell my parents. My mother didn't approve of us, so I moved out and took Eun Jae with me."

"I'm assuming it didn't work out?" Jin questions.

"It did at first, but we were so young when we decided to move in together. She was 19 and I was 21 at the time. My mother didn't approve of our relationship, but Father was sick and I was the only heir. Even though I disobeyed her, she still allowed me to take over the family business so Father could properly retire. So I moved in with the woman of my dreams and was still able to inherit my dad's business. I thought I won. How terribly wrong I was. 

I was constantly buried in my work and Eun Jae always felt alone since I was never around. She also had to deal with the cruelty of our society who always had something bad to say about her. I tried making it up to her through expensive gifts, but she wasn't interested in any of it. Eventually, she got tired of my absence and the comments from the snobs we met at parties. We fought coming back from one of those parties, and she told me she wasn't going be with someone who showed no interest in defending her. She didn't want to be with someone who wouldn't give her the time of day. I told her she was overreacting and that she wouldn't actually leave me."

"But she did," Min Seo stated to which he nodded.

"The next morning I woke up and went straight to work like I always did, but when I came back she was already gone. That was the last time I ever saw her."

"You didn't try going after her?" I ask remembering that horrible morning when I walked into Jin's room to see it empty. I don't think I'd ever be able to let him go without a fight.

He shakes his head and looks down. "I was stupid. I thought she needed time, and that she would come back eventually, but I never saw her again."

"After Eun-jae moved out of your apartment she used the money she had saved up from working here and moved into her own place. She got a job at a restaurant where she met Kim Jae-woo. They started a relationship after six months of working together," she smiled softly as she recalled the memory. "He was exactly what she needed at the time. He was patient and kind. He really loved her." She then snaps out of it and turns to my father apologetically, but he waves her off.

"Eun-jae deserved the best. I made her go through too much," he says.

Min Seo nodded in agreement and continued. "Anyways after Eun-jae left, Mrs. Kim tried bringing in Seoyun into the picture. She tried setting both her and Bom-seok up many times in over a year but failed."

"I really wasn't interested," father replied scrunching his face in disgust.

"But you caved in eventually," Min Seo added. "You both got really drunk one night and as adults we can only imagine what can happen between two people when there's alcohol involved." We all looked around in disgust. I did not need an image of what happened between my father and Seoyun that night. "About a month later Seoyun told Bom-seok that she was pregnant, and that he had to take responsibility for what happened. They had no other choice but to get married, and that's where the lies started."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Father asked.

"It was towards the end of Seoyun's pregnancy when  your father's health was declining and the doctor only gave him weeks to live. So he finalized his will. Mrs. Kim found out about it and told Seoyun that the mansion along with part of his fortune would go to Kim Eun Jae, and when he passed away Seoyun automatically had someone go after Eun Jae. 

Eun Jae was admitted in the hospital when this happened. She had just given birth, but when she saw that there was someone after her, she fled the hospital and rushed to see me. She told me she had to leave the city and I offered her a place to stay back in Boseong. I gave her the address of an old friend's apartment back home and told her that if she told the owner that we were sisters they would give her a discount. That night she also decided that it was too dangerous to take her baby with her, so she left him behind to me. She asked me to find him a home. I didn't  know where so I kept him in my room where I would constantly check on him. A week later as I was folding laundry I found a fake pregnancy belly in one of Seoyun's drawers." Father's face falls in disbelief as she continues.

"Seoyun wasn't actually pregnant. She lied because she knew that if you thought that she was then you'd be forced to marry her." Min Seo tells my dad. "When I confronted her I came up with the idea to let pass the baby I had in my room as her own. I told her that I was looking after him because the church the baby was dropped off didn't have room for him. She bought the story and faked going into labor. You flew back home that same day. Your smile finally reached your eyes when you held that baby. You were so excited to name him. You took one look at him and said he looks like a Kim Namjoon."

Min Seo smiles as she recalls the memory. The room goes silent My dad starts shaking with tears pouring out of his eyes as he stands up and walks towards Namjoon embracing him in a bone-crushing hug. "I don't care if you're not genetically connected to me," I hear my dad whimper. "You are my son."

I feel my body going numb processing her confession. That means Namjoon is the baby everyone had been looking for. Eun-jae's first born and Jin's older brother. My gaze falls back on Min Seo when I hear her voice again.

"There's something else you all need to know."

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I really hope this chapter connected some of the dots. The rest of Min Seo's truth will be revealed next chapter.  Just want everyone to process this first lol. If there's any confusion please tell me😭 I'll clear it up as long as it doesn't spoil the next chapter.  I love you all💜