✔️Living With Them

/Thirty Eight/

Irene's PoV

I looked at Chaeyoung who's in silent right now. I know she's concerned with Dahyun. And she's just stopping herself to let it show as she's afraid that Dahyun might misunderstand it.

"So what happened to you after the graduation? I thought you'll continue your art career? The last news I got from you is you got an invitation to a prestigious art company? What happened?" I asked

"I'll give you a deal Irene, in each question I'll be answering, you'll give me money." She said and look at me straight.

Seems she's not joking...

I pulled out my wallet and put a bill on my table.

"Is that enough?"

"For one question? Yes." She said and get it.

"So why?" I asked.

She picked a pen on my table and play with it as she started to speak.

"Arts is not my type. I don't like it since first. I don't want to spend my whole life in drawings and paintings." She said that made me frowned.

"What do you mean?" I asked but she flattened her palm in front of me.

I rolled my eyes and pull out another bill then she continued.

"It is my parents who wanted me in that field. They even enrolled me in a university where my wanted field can't be continued there, not afraid to spend their money for me." Chaeyoung said

"I'm confused."

"My parents are known for their nice and great paintings and artworks. That's why they wanted me to be like them. At first yes, I enjoyed it. My parents saw my potential in that field and enrolled me in prestigious art classes. But as I grew up, I found another thing that I'm so in love with. I told to my parents that I wanted to become a singer and a well-known composer. But they oppose my dream. They are watching me so I had no choice. I continue what they want. I draw and paint some stuff and let it come with a little touch of music. I expressed my love for music through drawings but still, I'm looking for my own dream. I want to do it freely. Then I met Dahyun, She thought me how to live on my own but still, it's not enough. Actually, I plan to enter the university and don't let my parents know that I shifted in the field that I wanted, but my parents won't let me, They want me to focus on paintings and drawings so they enrolled me in the university where I can't continue my wanted field, where I met the squad."

"Mom and Dad are watching me. I have choices at that time. Whether to leave my family so I can pursue what I really like or continue what they want and forget what is my dream."

"Dahyun said that you entered the university with her," I asked as thoughts are puzzling in my mind now.

"Yes, it's because I don't want her to be alone. At first, I know that the university doesn't offer a field where I can continue what I want. That's why I don't want to enter that university but I found out that Dahyun will enroll there so I agreed with my parents. That is the time Dahyun really needs a friend. So I stayed."

"Dahyun also said that as you entered the university you both forget what you are used to before?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's for our own sake."

"Why did you do that?" I asked, I mean.. Chaeyoung's family is not poor or rich.

"I was thinking to live by myself away from my parents. So Dahyun and I steal things to make money. We save it for our own goal. Mine is to get away with my parents while her, to let her mother do her treatment. But we stopped it as we got into the university. We are so happy that the university offers a kind of program wherein you'll receive incentives every time you complete the mission. That made Dahyun and I strive harder. Until the graduation came." Chaeyoung said and stopped.

She smiled bitterly and a tear came out from her eye.

"I felt a big betrayal in my own family. When the graduation came, where I decided to get my incentives so I can get out of my parents' shelter, I found out that they blocked it."

"Blocked?"

"My account has been blocked, meaning. All of my hardships to finish the activities that the university is offering went from nothing. I know who is the person behind it so I confronted them. And I was right, it was them who blocked my account. They don't want me to get out of their shelter as they are afraid that I'll do my own path. That is also the day when I got the offer from the prestigious company. So I declined it because of my anger for what my parents did. after that, I left the house without anything in me." Chaeyoung said without erasing her bitter smile on her.

"That's why I ended up roaming around Korea. I have no choice to continue what I'm doing before. I steal things to let myself live."

"Why don't you just continue your field? Writing songs and be a singer like you wanted?" I asked.

She laughed but I know it's a sarcastic laugh. Then she looked at me like she's saying "you don't know anything."

"That's my plan. I thought as I get away from them, I can do whatever I want to know but I was wrong. My parents are looking for me now. Do you think it will be good if they found me? If they did, I will be forced to go back there again. They will continue to make me feel the guilt and at the end, I'll be needing to forget my dreams." Chaeyoung said that made me frowned.

"W-what do you mean?"

"Before I left, My father was diagnosed with a heart diseased. He almost died as he founds out that I rejected the offer. It was his biggest dream after all. My mom put all the blame on me and I can't avoid feeling guilty about it. So before I could do the most regretful thing that I can do, Before I agree with what they want which is to continue their dream for me, I left them." Chaeyoung said as she tapped the pen down.