"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.224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGq2uIpj3bj
"No, Mom."224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVzGUNbUfh
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." 224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡefTyQiK6tQ
Before her mother could say anything else, Jin -ah interrupted her. 224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpLVzvmIQWU
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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. 224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDA1HsFdapb
Besides, she wasn't sure how her mom would respond.224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqiuTQNIkSq
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.
~224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmCqs4R5PrO
224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR3PHjJGLH6
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 224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhVNohyK56U
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. 224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1LhBN6ZRn
"We've got important things to discuss. I need to talk to you two."224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKb8fpxyAK
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.224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkqUjO3ggU
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"I'm dating a girl."224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84TjFReSaB
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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.224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwdEKmwUL7V
"I'm being serious, dad." He scoffed, giving his chuckling father a look. 224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡquCNj1ujPO
"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.224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0rANzROFJ
"A commoner?" he repeated.224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Bh2Gp3AOY
"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." 224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2DrXvi1SdG
"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.224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPwaIUI9ZP9
"Yes. Now will you please stop questioning my decision? I know you don't want me dating her, but this is my choice."224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaBMFiSbLLw
She glared at him. "Kang-dae. I know she's been your friend ever since you both were kids, but...I cannot accept this!" 224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz3i4YCTMoM
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!"224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYst8DVuBWb
"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.224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLUncmXXCwa
"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:224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz46kMclU0B
"Why is he doing this to us? Why does he keep getting away with everything?"224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJGVoQm8HV
Ho -seok remained silent. He looked concerned, having to deal with his son's relationship decisions. 224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoACb41tBkb
"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."
224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9RAf9qGPQ
~
Kang-dae was storming down the sidewalk, furious with his mother's reaction. 224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Wl15dDxeg
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. 224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhOs68ZUJYf
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.224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKlJA1r8T0A
"Hello?" 224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3N4pXdrBdN
"Bon -Hwa. Where are you right now?"224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡelPoQAsFWo
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?"224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHcs6S1SN35
Kang -dae sighed in frustration. "I'm coming over."224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqjQrne5iH
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.224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFvKnTHh6A1
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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.224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuY6RrZQda9
"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.224Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb2jAMD7b9M
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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."
