"See you later, Jin-ah!" And then, his laughter filled the air, and all Jin-ah could do was watch him disappear from sight.
"Jeez, that idiot." Jin-ah sighed to herself and rolled her eyes. A moment later, Jin-ah heard footsteps. Her mother appeared, standing in the doorway of her bedroom and looking at Jin-ah.
"Were you talking to someone?"
The girl stared blankly at her mom before she responded.267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxXfJsN2wdo
"No, Mom."267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjJiJ94F9y
Her mother raised an eyebrow skeptically and approached her daughter. "Are you sure? You looked awfully upset, dear."
"Eh.."
Jin-ah's mother frowned, "Well, I guess I don't have the right to ask. You're sixteen." 267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcE9OKWpXKO
Before her mother could say anything else, Jin -ah interrupted her. 267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyYzdlYuRe
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"Actually, Mother, I wanted to talk to you about something.." Her mother stopped and looked at her with curious eyes. Jin-ah hesitated, but then sighed. Jin-ah wanted to ask her if she was okay with her dating Kang-dae. 267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHaLf3mt7H
Besides, she wasn't sure how her mom would respond.267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgR0k11D79J
Jin-ah sighed and grabbed her mother's hands.
"Mom...I'm dating Kang-dae."
"...Huh?"
"I'm dating Kang-dae."
"Give...give me a second with your father." Jin-ah's mother called her husband over, they whispered together, and left the house suddenly.
~267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPApvw4L8mK
267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0nplbvzBnk
SUNDAY, 9:47 PM.
Kang-dae's father, Ho-seok, had been arguing with Kang-dae's mother, Eun-u, at their comfortable home. People around Kang-dae's father would call him rich, but he didn't like labels. Kang-dae's mother loved the attention she received for his husband being successful at running a business - and a big name at that, at that. Kang-dae knew she was only married to his father for the money but he also didn't agree with the idea that his father worked all day everyday while his wife was home enjoying herself.
Kang-dae wanted to tell his parents about his relationship with Jin-ah In his opinion, that was something important enough to tell them, even though he knew his mother would not support his relationship with her. He hated that his father let her make all the decisions 267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvw4ku0m5tI
So, as the sound of Eun -u and Ho-seok arguing filtered through the closed door of Kang -dae's room he decided to take matters into his own hands and headed towards the kitchen.
"You don't ever listen to me, Ho-seok!"
"I do listen to you. What are you complaining about now?" Kang -dae paused when he walked into the kitchen. There, Eun -u stood by the table, glaring angrily at Ho -seok. Ho -seok glared back at her. Kang -dae sighed and walked i interrupting their argument.
"Hey, can you guys stop quarreling for a second? He spoke up. It sounded more annoyed than he intended. 267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RZr94xqmG
"We've got important things to discuss. I need to talk to you two."267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIB6t2gHsm
Ho -seok looked at him. Eun -u looked ready to continue yelling at Ho -seok, but he waved her off.
"...What did you want to talk about?" Ho- seok asked.267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAEYwaCHFoJ
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"I'm dating a girl."267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBHKJuO3TS2
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The room became quiet. Kang -dae glanced from his father to his mother. Both of them looked surprised at first. Then, Ho -seok began chuckling and shaking his head as Eun -u looked shocked.267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWtgtKna5xP
"I'm being serious, dad." He scoffed, giving his chuckling father a look. 267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzZJ8sieVf
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh. I'm just surprised. I never expected you to get a girlfriend. This is great."
Eun-U interrupted him. She glared at Kang-dae. "Is she a commoner?" Kang -dae looked at her in confusion.267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgMQuCONB4
"A commoner?" he repeated.267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvbih2i0H4V
"Yes. A person who has no talent whatsoever. A person who has no money or any important historical beings in their family."
He stared at her in shock. "Mom! Don't say that." 267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQbMvX5C4Y
"But what about that Bora girl you went to the festival with? She was beautiful and came from a family with almost as much money as us-"
Kang-dae scoffed. "This girl I'm talking about is Jin-ah. I'm dating her." Kang -dae watched as her mother suddenly froze. Her entire face drained of color. The only thing she could manage to say was: "Wh...what?" Kang -dae crossed his arms.267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReLfJSFzZE
"Yes. Now will you please stop questioning my decision? I know you don't want me dating her, but this is my choice."267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFaY6tEyAOm
She glared at him. "Kang-dae. I know she's been your friend ever since you both were kids, but...I cannot accept this!" 267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Rc2qLFQqL
Kang -dae stepped forward menacingly. "Excuse me?"
"I thought we discussed you going to find girls who can be of benefit to our company! Why are you dating that child?"
"Stop acting so ignorant!" he snapped. "You've always wanted me to follow your stupid rules. And I followed every single one of them for years because it was the best option for me. Let me live my life."
His words rang in Eun -u's ears as Kang -dae stormed out of their house without another word. Eun-u stood motionless, looking at the door as if she was waiting for him to return. She was trembling. Ho-seok had watched the whole thing happen. He was stunned silent as he watched his son storm outside his house and slam the door close.
"Kang-dae..." She whispered after a few moments.
"Eun-U, I apologize, but he's a teenager. We should let him live they way he wants to. It doesn't affect our business anyway."
"But that girl will ruin our lives! She's a commoner!"267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnqSTlFFU5t
"It's fine. Let him be for now. I'll talk to him tomorrow about it." Eun -U nodded silently and looked down. Ho -Seok shook his head as he went over to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders comfortingly.267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzCnDkOumT5
"Eun -u, why don't we have dinner together tonight?" he offered. "I'll tell Kang -dae to pick some other girl. He'll come around in time."
Eun -u bit her lip and nodded. They both sat silently at the table in silence until Eun -u suddenly said:267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZsHsUxK8k4
"Why is he doing this to us? Why does he keep getting away with everything?"267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyEUGkl9eBr
Ho -seok remained silent. He looked concerned, having to deal with his son's relationship decisions. 267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6J9gyOpyHI
"I don't have any problem with it. It seems like you're the only one who has an issue with this, Eun-u."
The furious and confused wife gave him a glance. "You're my husband. Aren't you supposed to agree with my decisions?"
"No, Eun-u. I think you should give our son a chance with Jin-ah. We've known her for so long - what if she really is the one for Kang-dae?"
"No, Ho-seok. This is unacceptable. I'm going to contact Bora's family. Besides, her family is wealthy."
"That Bora girl is not my cup of tea, Eun-u." He sighed, slumping into a nearby chair. Eun-u glared at him, crossing her arms. "Well, she is for me. Deal with it."
267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbAC1Uny7H6
~
Kang-dae was storming down the sidewalk, furious with his mother's reaction. 267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCmSZ6KNEJ
It took him some time to calm himself down from his anger. His heart raced with emotions he couldn't describe, and he kept thinking back to what his mother said earlier. 267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZb4uaIKjz
He groaned inwardly and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He unlocked it and went straight to his contacts. After checking the time on his screen, he quickly called Bon-hwa.
Bon -Hwa picked up after the second ring.267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpARsMSI2zL
"Hello?" 267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnrZrijozDH
"Bon -Hwa. Where are you right now?"267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwDNkvKd5Ze
There was a loud thud that echoed throughout the speaker before Bon -Hwa's muffled voice came on the line again. "In my house. Why?"267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuG0HXssH92
Kang -dae sighed in frustration. "I'm coming over."267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvaYWbpXuy8
Bon -Hwa's response was a short 'okay'. After that, he hung up and put his phone away. Kang -dae continued walking, lost in his thoughts. When he finally arrived at Bon-hwa's house, he opened his front door with an audible 'click.' Bon -Hwa, who was sitting on the couch, gave him an annoyed look.267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVzLxeyXAgN
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"Are you here to yell at me for something or is there something you really wanted to talk about?" He asked sarcastically. Kang -dae ignored his question and kicked off his shoes. He walked over to Bon -Hwa and stood infront of him.267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡluTMRoYMcN
"Are you alone here?"
"Actually, Kyong and Do-yun are in my room. They're just playing video games. They're not staying over the night though," he explained. Kang -dae let out a sigh. Of course they wouldn't spend the night. If his parents found out about them staying over, they'd probably kill him.267Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0PJKkBJV0
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Kang-dae huffed, sitting next to Bon-hwa. He crossed his arms, slowly looking over at Bon-hwa. "Can we...well," he paused, "Talk? I want to...talk."
