ՏTᗴᑭ ᗷᖇOTᕼᗴᖇ

Chapter 2

It usually only took about 20 minutes to walk from Hobi's house to mine. 10 if I was running. Today I was in no hurry.

As I made it to the front porch. I looked at my phone to see I'd dragged it out to 45 minutes and there was already a message from Hoseok checking if I was still alive. I chuckled and messaged back before going into the house.

I made my way to go to my bedroom but was frozen as I got to the staircase window. I glanced out to see dad and Aera in the backyard. Dad was down on one knee, ring box in hand in front of where Aera was sitting.

I felt unable to move when it suddenly hit me, this was happening. This was actually happening and there was nothing I could do about it.

These thoughts immediately vanished when I realised where she was sitting, Mums seat. I couldn't controlling my rage. It felt like a force stronger than myself was dragging me out to the yard. Every step I took making me more and more infuriated, I tore. open the patio door with such ferocity I thought I'd torn it from its hinges.

As I stormed over I could see Aera holding out her hand admiring her new diamond.. "IN MUMS CHAIR! IN MUMS FUCKING CHAIR!!" I screamed as I went barrelling towards them.

They both turned to me obviously completely unaware of my presence until this moment.

"What? Seokjin?!" Aera looked at me completely bewildered but i could see it in his face, dad knew. As I got close enough I started to pound my fists into his chest, "How could you?! How fucking could you do that to her?!"

My father grabbed my arms in an attempt to stop my onslaught but I tore my hands from his grasp. "Oh Jin-ah, I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking.."

"DON'T! DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME
JIN-AH! DON'T ACT LIKE YOU GIVE A FUCK ABOUT ME!"

Aera looked at dad and then back to me clearly confused.. "Look at the engravings!" I snapped at her coldly without ever taking my eyes from my father.

Aera turned in her seat looking at the head of the chair:

'SOOJIN'

My mums beautiful name was engraved into the wooden plaque. She looked at the other 'Hyunjin'.

She turned back to me. "Oh Seokjin, I am so sorry! I had no idea, I'm sorry. Maybe it's best I go?"

She asked looking at my father. "Yes, why don't you just fuck off back to your mansion you skanky little whore!" I hissed at her.

"Seokjin!" My father harked, using at tone I had only heard a handful of times in my entire life. I stepped back, tears threatening to fall from my eyes. How could he do this?

"I'm going to go." I barely heard her. over the pounding that was forming in my head.

"No Hun, please just sit down. I'll deal with this" The rage flared within me once again.

"If she sits down in that fucking seat I will tear her head from her shoulders!" Never in my life before had I exhibited any violent tendencies but if she sat in my mums chair again I would. The rage was fuelling me and I wasn't quite sure where it would lead.

"I'm going!"

Aera started to make her way back to the house. Stopping as she passed me, the pain from tonights events clear in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Seokjin. If I had known... I'm just sorry." I didn't remove my eyes from my father, refusing to even acknowledge her existence. As I heard her enter the house my father turned to follow her.

I sunk to the floor, throwing my arms around my knees. I looked at my mother's name etched into the weathered wood before lowering my head and finally letting the tears fall.

I'm not sure how long I sat there. As the sharp cold wind hit my back I rose to my feet and retreated to my room. As I lay on my bed I realised in my haste I had lost my phone. All I wanted was to call Hobi and have him come get me.

As I creeped down the stairs to look for it I could hear voices from the front porch. I spotted my phone on the counter and raced over to get it, hoping to get back upstairs before they came in but my efforts were halted at the mention of my name.

"Jin, sit down, we need to talk." I turned to face my father's intimidating form. Although he was never one to shout or scream at me my father was an imposing figure at 66 and built like a line backer. I sat on one of the bar stools and my dad stood against the cooker opposite.

"How you spoke to Aera tonight was inexcusable. She was humiliated by you on what should have been one of the greatest nights of her life. Instead of in my arms, the woman I love, the woman I am going to marry, is in her car completely inconsolable. She won't even come back in here." He paused.

"She thinks you hate her."

"I don't hate her. I don't care about her enough to hate her." I spat back at him. He took a moment before speaking again..

"I'm sorry you feel that way. Tonight didn't go the way either of us : expected."

He was taking his time, clearly planning his next move. "I just want you to know I didn't plan it this way. We were supposed. be at the restaurant but they called to cancel, I wasn't going to do it at all then until we could rebook but then I saw her and I had the ring, it just felt right to do it no matter where it was but I realise now how wrong it was to do it while she was sitting there."

I didn't respond, I just wanted out of here and figured the quickest way to do that was to let him talk.

"Seokjin" I know you miss your mum."

I tensed. I really didn't want to talk to
him about mum right now.

"I miss her too, more than you could ever know but she's not here anymore. I still am. I never thought I would love again after her but I have found it. Aera is a good woman who just wants to be a part of your life, she doesn't want to take your mum's place and she never will, for either of us, but making room in your heart for someone doesn't mean having to push someone else out. It just means growing your heart bigger."

I looked at him and could feel the sincerity in what he was saying. I knew he loved her and knew they were going to be together no matter what I thought of it. I knew I needed to find a way to accept this. It was inevitable. I just couldn't right now.

"OK. Can I please just go to bed, my head feels like its going explode and I need time to process all this." I needed to get away from here.

"Of course, we'll talk in the morning about the move, we need to start making some plans, OK?"

"OK." I had no fight left in me, I felt completely defeated.

I fell into my bed, ready and willing to be taken over by the darkness.