Hidden Past
A/N
~ ☆ ~ (refers to) a few years later
* (is for) weeks/days/hours or a short time later
Jin-Ae's POV:
I followed Jae Sang and the others to the car park, only to be flabbergasted by the sight of Seojun holding onto Mi Young's shoulder, but Mi Young looked like she was about to cry.
"I have to go." She spoke softly before gently removing Seojun's hand off her and walking towards us.
"Hi, what are you doing here?" she asked after Seojun shook his head in annoyance and walked away.
"What are you doing here?" we asked after blinking a few times at her sudden change of character.
"Turns out kitty came back, but I didn't get to beat him up and- "She grumbled before being cut off by Jae Sang.
"Maybe you can continue this story later after we get into the car?" he asked while checking his watch.
A black limo rolled in front of us and Jae Sang opened the door to let us in. We crawled in and sat comfortably except for Mi Young who was trying to make herself as small as possible and not touches anything.
"Bruh... just chill." Sighed Jae Sang as he relaxed against the black leather seat, Mi Young nodded and copied the action, but after a while, she was still sitting with her back straight, hands on her lap, hovering a little far away from the hand rests and on the edge of her seat.
"What's wrong?" I whispered to her since everyone else was distracted with the neon light decorations and the mini fridge.
"I realised that I didn't tell you something, turns out, kitty cat and I have known each other since preschool." She chuckled uncomfortably and I blinked into realisation at the secrets being unfolded.
She watched with wide eyes as Jae Sang pressed a button which brought up a divider between us and the driver, the boys were marvelling at the expensive vodka collection from Italy, I was currently eating a chocolate bar from France and the car had extra shelves and fridges containing other luxuries such as more expensive and unique candy, alcohol, wine, etc.
"So, you guys are close?" I asked as I held out another chocolate bar which she mumbled thanks and took. She chewed and nodded in response to my question.
"We were close." She clarified while pouring a shot of expensive Soju for herself. She held out another empty glass in my direction and I shook my head at her offer.
" He has changed a lot from since I first met him at yuchiwon (A/N kindergarten), that's probably because of the hardships he had to go through..." she began her story as the boys stopped playing with the wine bottles, and listened.
Mi Young's POV
Flashback:
I sniffled back sobs as I reluctantly loosened my grip around my Eomma's neck, and she gently put me back on my feet.
"I don't want to go!" I whined as tears started pooling in my eyes and I stomped in frustration.
"Listen, mommy has to go to work, so please be a good girl for mommy and we'll go get a huge box of cupcakes tomorrow for your birthday." She said with a tender tone as she kissed the tip of my nose, making me feel a little more relaxed.
"Is Abeoji going to come back for my birthday?" I asked in excitement. He promised me that he would come. Mom looked away for a moment and exhaled deeply. Wow, mommy is so excited that she can't breathe!
"Yes, Daddy is going to come." She said with a forced smile which I didn't notice at the time because I was getting distracted by a boy laughing.
" Can I come to your birthday party?" asked a boy around my age wearing brown shorts and a light blue T-shirt and had short black straight hair which contrasted with my bright yellow frock and long wavy hair which was styled into a long fish braid.
"See, you already made a new friend!�� she exclaimed enthusiastically, and I grinned sheepishly.
"Yeoboseyo! (hello) I see you've met my son, Seojun." Said a middle-aged man as he walked up to us and shook hands with my mom.
"Hello, it seems like your son is very confident." She complimented.
"Yes, it seems so, he gets it from his mother." Chuckled the man with a loving gaze to the boy.
"She said her birthday is coming soon, can I join?" asked the boy as he tugged onto his father's sleeve.
"Well that depends, do you even know her name yet?" asked his father with curiosity and a smirk settling onto his lips at his son's horrified face.
"What's your name?" asked the boy as he turned his attention to me, and I shyly backed away and slightly hugged my mom's leg.
"Seong Mi Young." I said feeling proud of myself for not stuttering and being able to recall how to spell my name when his father asked whether or not the 'Mi' is spelt with an 'I' or a 'Y'.
"I'm Kim Seojun. Now am I invited to your birthday party?" He chirped happily, causing a smile to tug on my lips.
"It's just a small gathering, not a party." My mom bashfully informed. Our family had been a little low on money during those times, but my parents didn't tell me anything and instead, they made me believe that I shouldn't get a huge birthday party because then there would be even more people to share the cupcakes with and yes, I was a selfish kid.
"But I still can come right?" he asked again with hope as his smile was slowly diminishing.
"Y-Yes and I'll even share the cupcakes with you." I agreed and she laughed at the mention of me sharing my beloved cupcakes.
RING!
The bell had rung, and we realised we were the only kids still outside and all the teachers were starting to clear away the decorations set up for the first day. Seojun waved to his Dad before he started walking away and I followed, but I stopped when someone put a hand on my shoulder.
"Are you going to be ok?" asked my mom with her protective maternal character showing. I glanced back at the scary classrooms full of students, but my gaze followed to Seojun who was waiting for me and I sighed making the nerves go away.
"I think I'll be ok," I concluded as I held onto Seojun's hand. Such a small thing like holding hands was an innocent gesture back then and now whenever a girl is even seen close to him in school, the rumours start. My mom smiled proudly as I followed Seojun to our classroom.
☆
"Hey!" I yelled in pain as I was shoved to the wall and glared at by a pretty girl as she nonchalantly chewed her piece of strawberry bubble gum.
"Here." She grinned as she pushed papers and books into my hands which were no doubt her homework. There is no way I'm doing her homework. I released my grip on the homework and let it fall to the school floor before marching away, but I was blocked by one of her friends.
"Pfft- so stubborn. No wonder your Dad avoids you and does extra work to get away from you and your mom." She taunted with a knowing smirk and I rolled my eyes at her foolish tactics.
"You know nothing about me or my family, so don't make baseless accusations unless the statement is that you don't have a brain, because even a primary student knows that it's true." I chuckled as her face became hot and red with anger. Just add a beak and a few feathers, then she'll fit right in at the zoo. My phone chose the wrong time to start ringing, especially since the call was from my Dad. One of the other girls snatched my phone out of my bag which they were currently dangling in their hands.
"Mi Young-ah?" asked the voice from my phone after the girl pressed on the speaker button.
"Yes, Dad?" I replied with another eye roll at the preppy pink long manicured nails poking into my shoulder as I was held back from grabbing my phone.
"I'm sorry but-"he hesitated. Please don't, just stop! "I can't make it for your birthday this year, because of work. I'll try to come for Christmas." He repeated the same excuse for every celebration he missed ever since he started his new job ever since I was 5 and started kindergarten. After 7 years he is still repeating the same excuse, but now, even I know that he is cheating on mom and sleeping with his boss.
"It's fine," I spoke without emotion before he muttered a quick goodbye, but he forgot to end the call.
"Now, where were we?" I heard a woman say in excitement as I fought against the paws which kept me pinned against the wall and desperately tried to get my phone. I was too late.
Moans and someone screaming my Dad's name could be heard before the girls snickered and ended the call. I hung my head low; my hair streamed down and covered the sides of my face as I kept my gaze and thoughts to the floor. Look at the tiles, think about the details, don't you dare shed a single tear in front of these bitches.
"Hmmm seems like someone's father isn't as awesome as she thought. Too bad, I thought maybe this year he would be able to try one of your delicious cupcakes." She chuckled as she took a bite of the cupcake, I packed in a paper bag to eat later.
"What's going on here?" a voice roared as I flinched but continued glaring at the floor. The moments later were mixed up and forgotten as I got lost in my thoughts and only got pulled back into reality by Seojun suddenly hugging me.
*
I sniffled as I bit into my new cupcake and Seojun watched me with concern. He called a Grab and he brought us to my favourite café.
"Are you ok, cupcake?" he asked as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear and smiled at me when he caught me eying the new special crème Brule cupcakes from France. I looked up when we were suddenly greeted by a waitress.
"Two crème Brule cupcakes please." He ordered as a smile crept onto my face.
☆
"Come on! Everyone can see how you're head over heels for Jeong Yuri!" I teased Seojun about his girlfriend and he blushed brightly. It had been two years and Seojun met Yuri when we were all about 12 years old, she was his first love, and he was sure that she would be his only love.
"Is it that obvious...?" he asked shyly with a sheepish grin, making me sigh and roll my eyes at the cheesy lovey-dovey sight.
"Mhm, but you have nothing to worry about! She must he bat shit crazy to not love you like how you love her!" I exclaimed while ruffling his hair slightly because I liked how it looked when it was messy.
"Where is Soon Jin? He should be here by now." Said Seojun in worry for our new best friend.
"He's probably late, which is weird since he's normally early... maybe we can go find your girlfriend, then find him and we can eat lunch together?" I asked and he nodded.
"Now come on! Just wait until she sees the gift you bought- "I stopped running and dragging Seojun along after we came to a corner and guilt ate me up as we saw the sight.
Jeong Yuri was making out with Ang Soon Jin, but that didn't break my heart. The genuine shock and sadness vibrating from Seojun were painful I looked up to his face to see a single tear run down his cheeks. I kept my hold on his hand and squeezed it when his dark eyes met with Soon Jin and Yuri's pleasure coated ones.
"I-I can explain! This isn't what it looks like!" yelled Yuri after she saw the Swarovski bag in Seojun's hands.
Seojun opened his mouth, but he couldn't say anything. It was like a fish trying to gasp for air. He started shaking violently and I saw him bit his lip and scrunch his eyebrows to hold back the tears.
"Seojun, Mi Young, I didn't mean for any of this to happen I just- "mumbled Soon Jin, but he was cut off by a stinging slap to the face.
My hand stung and my heart ached for my heartbroken best friend as I glared at my new enemies. Yuri took this chance to flee, but I caught her by the wrist, and she gasped in fear.
"At least say a genuine sorry," I whispered, but Yuri just threw my handoff and ran away, leaving me fuming with anger.
"Look, this is the past now, let's just forget this ever happened, right Mi Young?" chuckled Soon Jin nervously and I nodded.
"Right, we can forget this ever happened." I gestured to a circle around us and Seojun, making Soon Jin's eyes widen in fear and guilt.
"Oh, and also this," I said while kneeing Soon Jin where the sun didn't shine. He doubled over and groaned on his knees in pain. I looked to Seojun who was still fighting his tears, I took his hand and led him to the school roof.
"Doesn't the view look nice?" I asked, trying to cheer him up as we watched birds fly in the sky and the puffy white clouds floating against the light blue sky.
"Y-Yes." He managed to choke out as another stray tear fell and so did others. I pulled him into a hug and let him sob, soak my shoulder and cling onto me tightly. However, he was never the same after that day.
☆
"Hey! Why did you have to break her heart?!" I yelled angrily as my friend Sarah held onto me and cried. The whole two years later, he was busy playing with all the girls in our year and he didn't make any exceptions for my friends either.
"It was fun while it lasted." Sighed Seojun contently as he puffed out smoke from his cigarette.
"Stop it! You can't just continue to ruin yourself like this!" I screamed as I barged into Seojun's private apartment to find him in the middle of being pleased by one of his favourite whores which he picked up from a nearby strip club.
"I can do whatever I want and besides, you don't have to tolerate me for long since I have to leave Seoul for a few years." His voice came out strained as the stripper continued to rub herself against his crotch and proceeded to slowly unbuckle his jeans. I blinked in astonishment as they continued to ignore my questions and frustrated shouting and continued the show. I huffed angrily and left. However, after stomping a little further away from the building, the tears started spilling.
Back to the present:
He left the next day, without even saying goodbye and only after 3 years he came back. He spent his first year here ignoring me and breaking hearts, but slowly we started to talk a little more, because of Ha Joon and Baek Hyeon being in his friend group as well as mine and then Jin-Ae arrived.
"So?" I nervously asked as they all stared at me after I ended the story. I didn't give any details; I just gave a quick summary and skipped the parts about my drama.
"Wow... I thought he was always like this." Sighed Baek Hyeon and I nodded. Everyone thinks the real him is this.
During that time which he found out he was cheated on by Yuri, he also found out that his mother left him, his father became a drug addict and Seojun was forced into becoming the mafia prince. Yuri cheating on him pushed him off the edge and I've never met the old Seojun ever again.
The car stopped and the driver opened the door for us.
"Follow me, I think Mom and Dad are waiting for us in the lounge." Said Jae Sang, breaking the awkward silence which had started after storytime ended.