Within These Shadows || Park Chanyeol/Do Kyungsoo || Book 1

17

"Mae!" Chanyeol called out to Mae, as he reached her.

Mae turned around to see the tall boy running up to her. "Chanyeol?"

"Where's Jay?"

"She took off." Mae's voice cracked.

"What? I'll go after her!" Chanyeol was about to run again but Mae stopped him.

"Don't. If you run after her, things will only get worse. She needs space and time. Let her go." Mae's eyes brimmed with tears.

"I'm so sorry, Mae. I wish I could help," Chanyeol's voice was hoarse and sad.

"It's okay. Let's go back to the restaurant. Things are bad there too."

Mae felt helpless at such moments; she always did. Even after years, it was hard to handle Jay's breakdowns. But she had to cope up with it, she wanted to. Jay needed her; she needed her the most in the entire world. A world where Jay felt no one's warmth, Mae was her only home.

*

"We sincerely apologise for the disturbance that occured a while ago. Joesonghamnida (I apologise)," Kyungsoo bowed ninety degrees to all the customers in the restaurant. He was also thankful that they were all understanding enough and didn't mind much.

"Ajeumoni (aunty), please take a seat," Kyungsoo held the crying woman and helped her to the nearest chair. "Min Ah-ssi, turn the sign on the door to 'closed', please." Min Ah nodded her head and did as asked.

Jeon Min Jae, who had been standing shocked for a while, fell on the floor. The events of the day were running through his mind. He was finding it hard to understand if he had really said all those words in his right mind or was it the influence of the alcohol. It couldn't be? He had been keeping those thoughts inside him for so long that he finally burst out. But he never stopped to wonder, if whatever he knew, was right or wrong. After all, he had never seen his mother shed a tear in front of him or his sister; she always smiled and never complained, despite being tired the whole day.

Kyungsoo got up and walked over to where Min Jae was. He crouched down and looked him in the eye. "Min Jae-ssi, life isn't fair and we all know it. Even the happiest people get struck by fate's cruelty at some point. But staying stuck on it like a gum, and believing adamantly that things won't get better, is stupid. Just the way, doing nothing about it and expecting things to get better all by themselves, is also a fool's dream. You hate your life, do something about it. Try to figure out how you can make things better for yourself. Your mother did; she had nothing when your dad had left. She could've easily chosen to give up; it was the easier path. But she didn't, and no matter how hard it was, she chose to walk on the right path. Because nothing comes for free in this world; not even happiness. You want to be happy? Change yourself and your life. Don't blame someone else for your own failure."

Kyungsoo got up and walked back to Min Jae's mother. "Ajeumoni, are you okay?"

"I'm okay, Kyungsoo-ssi. I didn't think I'd have to listen to my own child accuse me like this after sacrificing so many years of my life for him. But it's okay; I've gone through tough times before, I can handle this too." Choi Hye Rin sighed.

"Eomma…" Min Jae's voice cracked. "Eomma…" he crawled over to his mother's feet, placed his head on her knees and started sobbing loudly. "Eomma mianhae! (I'm sorry!) Eomma mianhae!" He wailed. "I was being an idiot. I said so much to you, eomma! Mianhae! You don't deserve a loser of a son like me, eomma!"

Choi Hye Rin didn't hold back her sobs anymore. She patted her son's head and cried with him.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, adeul (son)."