Strangers ~ A Taemin Fic

Chapter 27

     I stand frozen, my heart immediately picking up speed at the sight of the man from my childhood. "Yuki, darling, it is you!" He exclaims, Taemin's head rising from browsing to find me pale beside him.

     "P...papa?" I whimper, tears filling my eyes as he smiles widely before cupping his mouth.

     "Oh, my beautiful daughter Yuki. Hana! Hana, come quick!" He calls into the doorway before limping over to me. "Oh my god, it is you, isn't it?" He asks, his wrinkled face tearing up as he takes one of my hands in his.

     I nod, unable to speak at how he reacted to seeing me after 8 years. "These...are your parents?" Taemin then asks, accidentally in Korean, as my mother shows up next. She hadn't aged a bit since the last time I saw her. She was the parent that resembled me the most, and Taemin could clearly see that.

     "Yuki!" Mama gasps before hurrying past papa where she hugs me. "My darling, what on earth are you doing here?" She asks, my eyes still shot open and my mouth dry. "And you have a man...pleasure to meet you," she says, breaking the hug to the hug Taemin.

     I blink hard in embarrassment. "You...own a jewelry shop now?" I ask in a cold tone. Just because they were showing this side of them, doesn't mean I could possibly forget them abandoning me and my dream in a foreign country with no money in my pocket.

     "Oh...why, yes," my father replies, eyeing Taemin a bit before his eyes shoot open. "Hold on, you must be from Yuki's new dance video!"

     "No...papa, it's not mine. The song and choreo belong to him," I sigh, pressing my palms to my face as Taemin just smiles politely while keeping his stance beside me. "Wait...how do you..."

     "Oh, Taemin, that's the name right?" My mother tries to recall from their introduction not even a minute ago. "Yes, I see him on the news with Yuki. You two are apparently dating? How wonderful!"

     Everything was happening too fast for my liking. I hadn't seen them in 8 years and in those 8 years, they found out my fame, my relationship, and they opened a jewelry shop apparently.

     "Mama! Papa!" I shout, silencing them and regaining their attention. Tears were filling my eyes at this point and I made sure to not hold them in this time. "After 8 years of sending your daughter to Korea with no money or even a goodbye...this is how you approach me and my boyfriend?!" I snap, crossing my arms in anger.

     They exchange glances, Taemin trying to continue to gaze at jewelry in order to leave me with them. 'God, I respect him so much for this.'

     "Oh...Yuki, darling," mama starts, holding her cupped hands to her mouth in thought. "Yuki, your father and I have changed and regret that decision to this day because we do still love you and..."

     "You've only changed because I've proved you wrong!" I interrupt, my cheeks burning hit in anger and sadness. "I was in debt...when you two could've sent me an amount of money that meant nothing to you at the time and everyday...I had no one. I was stuck hating myself because I was trying to prove you two wrong. For 8 years! 8 years I was working so hard to prove you wrong!"

     "Yuki..." my papa says in his gentle tone that he had only used on me as a kid. I had never heard him speak it to anyone else but me. "Back then...your mother and I had very different views on this industry of yours. We knew we couldn't convince you, so, out of anger, we let you go which must've been he hardest thing for us to do," he explains, fat tears rolling down my cheeks before hanging on my chin and dropping onto my coat.

     "You had no right," I shake my head, quickly wiping away my tears that I was afraid showed my weakness. "You never supported women in music and now I'm the best female background dancer in the industry..." I pause, clearing my throat and walking over to Taemin continuing to mind his own business.

     "Yuki, we went bankrupt after you left. Your mother had to sell everything and the only thing we kept was every single picture and item of yours," my father quickly says, tears also streaming down his sagging cheeks. He had aged so much while I was gone. "And we are beyond proud of you for your accomplishments. You can speak Korean, dance, have a boyfriend, an amazing job, and you did it all on your own..." he pauses to hold my mothers shoulder close to him.

     "If we had money, we would've sent you more but we apologize for not doing so," my mother bows in shame. I watch as my father does the same. My heart hurt and I wasn't sure if it was because of now or the past. I became so emotionally unstable after I left. I had no one to trust and focused more on winning than surviving. I was broken...

     "I..." I choke out, swallowing the lump in my throat in hopes of clearing it...but it only grew. "I'm sorry...but I can't," I murmur, turning around and hurrying outside.

     I press myself against the wall of the building where I let my tears flow. Taemin hurries out to find me there and pulls me into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but I couldn't," I gasp for air, allowing his grasp to loosen on me.

     "Shh Shh, don't apologize, I understand," he hushes in a soft, low tone that gave me the chance to calm down. "This must be a lot right now. Let's go back to the hotel."

     "N-no. We have to still go to..."

     "Darling, please don't fight me on this. You'll only grow more anxious if we stay. Please, Yuki, let me take you back to the hotel," he begs, his eyes full of worry that shot back on my hazed ones.

     I nod and we walk quickly back to where the crew was waiting. He ordered them to take me back to the hotel, coming up with a good excuse that I was feeling sick. And it was true...I felt as if someone had just shoved something down my throat...something unsettling.

     When we got back to the hotel, I immediately lay on the bed where my thoughts ran. I couldn't think of anything else except my parents.