Withered - Chapter 28: Chapter 28

Chaeyoung prepared breakfast every single day for Mina before going to his college but it always left untouched by the girl. Mina will ask the maid to make her another one. She's thankful to have the maid with her in the morning, at least she has someone to talk to. It's true that what she'd witnessed before make her somehow mad. She quickly brushes the feelings off when the maid is so friendly and treats her with kindness. Though the maid knows nothing about what happened to Mina and Chaeyoung, she's not that blind to realize the tension between them.
The maid knocks on the door before she comes in with a tray of food, placing it on the bedside table before she sits. Mina smiles at her and closes the books that she's been reading. She looks over the food and frowns seeing an eggplant penguin on top of the dish.
"Why don't you throw it away?" She grimaces.
"Mina ssi, he's been doing this for the past two weeks. I-I really feel bad for him. How about you give it a try? It looks delicious better than my cooking" She assures, trying to help in some ways.
"He....hurts me" Mina says giving the maid bitter looks before she averts her gaze.
"......Can't you forgive him?"
"I will not pardon and forget what he had done"
The maid sigh silently then sits closer to Mina."Forgiveness doesn't mean you are excusing the other's actions. By forgiving, you are accepting the reality of what happened and finding a way to live in a state of resolution with it." She taps the younger's palm and the back of her hand lightly. "It isn't something you do for the person who wronged you; it's something you do for you" The maid adds and smiles sincerely.
Mina hangs her head low, fidgeting with her finger "If it's something I do for myself and if it can help me heal, then---" She looks up and stares at the maid "---Why is it so hard?" Her voice crack when the last sentence escapes her mouth then followed by a tear falls from her right eyes, tracing her cheeks. Mina knows it very well, she is not that dumb to not notice Chaeyoung's effort. But she just couldn't. It just too hard, too heavy, too overwhelming.
The maid automatically pulls Mina into a hug. Feeling sorry for the latter overall situation. Though she knows nothing, Mina's eyes could tell her how much she's in pain and the maid is fully aware of it. "....Because it requires feeling willing to forgive. Sometimes you won't because the hurt went too deep." She caresses her back when she feels her shoulders wet from tears."People are not attempting to forgive someone before they have identified, fully felt, expressed, and released their anger and pain." She pulls away and again smiles at Mina.
"So, rather than giving him a cold shoulder and silent treatment. Both of you should sit and talk about it. Express your anger, shout at him, punch him, tell him how you feel; betrayed, hurt, pain. And after you're done, you'll feel much better and decide what you have to do next. Believe me." She advises.
Mina leans against the headboard, not giving any reply. She settles down the plate, putting it on her lap before taking a bite. "Yeah, it's better than your cooking" She says playfully. The maid pouts before joining Mina at her laughter.
*  *  *  *
Chaeyoung's face lit up with a broad smile as he walks out from a stuffed animal shop. Piggyback ride a giant teddy bear that as big as him. He places it on the passenger seat and put it on a seatbelt before jogging back to the driver seat. Once in a while, he will glance over, pat its head and again smile sheepishly.
He just wants Mina to have something to cuddle with at night, recalling how the girl hugged her knees when the thunder cracked a few days ago. He's hoping that the bear can be his replacement to take care of the girl in her room, to keep her safe. Though he knows his action wouldn't change Mina's perspective over him, or how his intention might be misunderstood by the girl. But, he buys the toy, purely because he cares.
He also adds a bouquet of flower in his daily list to buy after classes end. Red roses, and why he choose it out of all, simple. It is traditionally a symbol for love and shows deep appreciation to the recipient and your feeling la towards them. Thanks to the florist who patiently have to suggest and explain every single type of flowers for him. It became a habit that each day he will come back home with the new flowers and arrange it in a vase, on Mina's bedside table. While the old already withered one, he will bury it in their backyard.
Chaeyoung arrives at home then puts the white teddy bear on the couch along with the flowers. He heads to the kitchen after hearing a familiar voice.
"Woah! You cooked a lot" Chaeyoung compliment seeing the wooden dining table fully packed by foods. The maid jolts a little then turn around feeling embarrassed as she was humming or more likely singing a song, not realizing his presence.
"And, you should be a singer" He adds giving her two thumbs up. The maid only chuckles and mumbling a thank you before turning back to the dish she's cooking. He walks closer and peeks from behind, asking if she needs a hand.
"It's okay. I'm almost finished" The maid says then steals a glance towards her side after hearing a rumbling sound. Chaeyoung presses his lips as he looks down in embarrassment.
"I haven't eaten all day haha" He confesses while giggling.
The maid smiles secretly before scooping the soup."How about helping me with the taste? If it's okay" She says handing the spoon to Chaeyoung. He smiles before nodding his head. A hungry cub he is, hurriedly taking a sip causing some to spills and burns his mouth.
"Ouch! Hot! Hot! Hot" He cried, putting the spoon in the sink while fanning himself. The main worriedly run over him and turn on the faucets, she takes a clean napkin and wet it before dragging him to sit on the chair.
"Stay still, please" She glares at him when he back away avoiding the girl's face that approximately touch his. He winces when the cold water makes contact with his skin. She wipes his face and leans forward, gently blowing the red marks beside his mouth. Chaeyoung looks up and unintentionally caught a glimpse of her lips. He quickly averts his gaze to somewhere else.
The awkwardness is unbearable for Chaeyoung. It doesn't seem right though he knows she just trying to help, and there's nothing wrong with it. But, he's just a bit uncomfortable with the situation they are in right now. "I-I think that's enough. T-thank you" He stutters, lightly pushing her by the shoulder. The maid then notices what she did, swiftly apologizing.
"No-no why are you saying sorry," Chaeyoung says panicky. "I should. What a clumsy stupid person" He smiles.
"No. You're not"
He brings his orbs up to stare at her with that questioning looks. She grins at him before adds, "I mean, you're kind-hearted, considerate, courteous, reliable, honest, creative, charming, attractive, sincer---"
"Okay, okay I got it, Stop. You're embarrassing me" He shyly cuts in, covering his face. "Well, I am an angel then" He playfully making fake wings flipping up both his hands, with a hint of a joke but the girl only stares at him. "I haha I'm just kidding"
She wanted to say something deep but simply couldn't phrase it properly. And ends up looking like a fish with mouth opens and closes but nothing actually came out. Chaeyoung's brows furrow as he stands up, checking the maid if she's alright.
"A-are you sick," He asks, putting his hand on her forehead.
Before she could finally gather her courage and form words, Chaeyoung's eyes twitch breaking their eye contact. She watches the way his lips lifts upward. The way his dimple crinkles. The way his crooked teeth shown. The warm glow his happiness gives. That is the beauty of a true and genuine smile of him that his eyes shine brightly and it is enough for the maid to knows who's that smile belongs to. That rare smile can only be caused by one person.
She could hear her own heart, breaks at the fact that she's still trying to accept. She presses her lips together before turn her heel."Good afternoon Mina-sii" She bows.
"Did I interrupt something?" Mina asks with deadpan looks before taking a glass milk bottle from the fridge. Chaeyoung rush towards her when he finds her struggling to open the bottle cap.
"Let me do it for you" He pours the milk into a cup before giving it to Mina. She stares at him then wordlessly walk away leaving clueless Chaeyoung. He tilts his head in confusion before shrugging it off. Well, he kinda used to that kind of treatment, though this time Mina's eyes scream something else and not the disgust and hatred look she always gives him. He sighs then search for the maid. Where is she? He thought
The maid locks herself in the bathroom. She starts to regret her decision working in the house. It's not entirely her fault, in this world, there's a thing that's out of our control. For example, who our heart chooses to skip a beat. How we can't stop staring at them, how we can't get them out of our mind, how we want them to be happy all the time. And then we realize that we're deeply, totally in love with that person.
"Stop beating so fast! Out of all people? Seriously? Wake up" She put both her hands on her chest. You have work to do. Know your boundaries, keep your distance. Okay? She mentally scolding herself.
*  *  *  *
The night that is shrouding the world in front of Chaeyoung in pitch-black darkness giving him a melancholy feeling. It's already midnight and he's lying on the couch, wide awake. Two weeks already passed, he wonders until when Mina is going to ignore him and how much more effort he needs to puts. He glances to the teddy bear, hiding behind the single armchair, he's not even brave enough to give the bear to her yet. After staring blankly for hours, he forces himself to sleep with a final conclusion; He will try harder.
Just when Chaeyoung is about to drift into dreamland, a sudden scream pierces the night. Echoing through the house. Chaeyoung jumps out of the couch still half-conscious. His brains shutters for a moment, every part of him goes on a pause while his thoughts catch up. The scream can be heard once again, desperate, terrified. Chaeyoung's ears straining for more sounds, more clues as to where it comes from and when he realizes it comes from upstairs. The only things cross his mind is Mina. He mindlessly runs though he has no clue as to what he'll do when he got there, or what might happening, it just that he has to get there, fast.
He barges into the room, panting then witness Mina in the corner of the room, hugging her knees. His eyes widen and pulse quicken upon listening to Mina's hysterical scream while her body shakes in fear. After a wash of cold, he steps from the shadows, kneeling in front of her. He gently places one hand on Mina's shoulder, but the girl flinch at his touch then looks up. Slapping away his hands when he tries to help her.
"Express your anger, shout at him, punch him, tell him how you feel; betrayed, hurt, pain."
"Why," Mina croaked. "Why did you do that?" She asks, staring right into his eyes. Chaeyoung avoids her gaze, knowing what she meant. He couldn't look back. Mina pulls his chin so they face each other. "How could you do that. You! Out of all people" Her body was wracked with great sobs and she shook like a leaf.
"I-i'm sorry"
"It's all your fault" She punches him on the chest rapidly while Chaeyoung let her do what she wants, it's not even painful compared to how he feels inside. "Because of you! Because of what you did to me. I'm damaged" She cries with a rawness to it like the pain is still an open wound.
Chaeyoung pulls her to his chest where she sobs unceasingly, hands clutching at his shirt. Her tears slowly soak his chest He's still repeating the same words again and again as that's the only thing he could say at the moment. How sorry he is. She stays until her crying subsided, hands already falling helplessly on both sides. She collapsed with her head lay on his chest. When he finally looks at her, her beautiful eyes are swollen and sore.
Chaeyoung waits until he's completely sure that the girl is in deep sleep before picking her up bridal style. She puts her down slowly and tucks her into bed. He wipes the remaining tears on her face then sits on the bedside chair.
After debating with himself, he finally holds Mina's hand. Why is it so cold? He thought. He pulls out and about to check on the heater when Mina suddenly grabs his hand.
"Stay..."
He leans back while looking downwards wearing that bitter smile, aware of who she meant by that.
"..Chaeyoungie"