"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.263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpN93TRs0OC
"No, Mom."263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Yh3ntynvd
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." 263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pDVLe0vWr
Before her mother could say anything else, Jin -ah interrupted her. 263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWrBxOIWfA
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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. 263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaauzexYoGV
Besides, she wasn't sure how her mom would respond.263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojOHth8WBD
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.
~263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5h8YYFmLkw
263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmBf0NLIgLo
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 263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFFgAwV9Tt
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. 263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9KVHnqPYlx
"We've got important things to discuss. I need to talk to you two."263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNcxFHnv0v5
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.263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdoRQGx8h0A
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"I'm dating a girl."263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8xpXP5B1c
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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.263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZoqIEoNYD
"I'm being serious, dad." He scoffed, giving his chuckling father a look. 263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEeYbSPzTK
"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.263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHKy3ES5V6o
"A commoner?" he repeated.263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD59ZL3kQfu
"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." 263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOjQ9ge5D0D
"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.263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQw0jRAazRZ
"Yes. Now will you please stop questioning my decision? I know you don't want me dating her, but this is my choice."263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpykPQOOhWK
She glared at him. "Kang-dae. I know she's been your friend ever since you both were kids, but...I cannot accept this!" 263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqpkN1hXUq
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!"263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPcYbvyAOXy
"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.263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfqg9DmSmCg
"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:263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9OE3eoCjmS
"Why is he doing this to us? Why does he keep getting away with everything?"263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLQLHWzxBL6
Ho -seok remained silent. He looked concerned, having to deal with his son's relationship decisions. 263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9r4Jd3A0IA
"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."
263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh40tyxDINm
~
Kang-dae was storming down the sidewalk, furious with his mother's reaction. 263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXUypn6XgjW
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. 263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVJtPV7Q32
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.263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhf59yKjMyw
"Hello?" 263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFZ3gcYeMs
"Bon -Hwa. Where are you right now?"263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRCzZTLhTq
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?"263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZ8cr1jUfr
Kang -dae sighed in frustration. "I'm coming over."263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEj4YttsZVK
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.263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnw69upoh2
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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.263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYeS6uMfk2z
"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.263Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbvPE0fgOAd
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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."
