Thy Art | Park Seonghwa

2.4

Yeonjun was not exaggerating it when he said the workload would be unexpected. Yunhee had not need to rush from one place to another anymore but that was replaced by a branding report to write, designs to make and corrections to the ones she had made earlier. All were due by the next day and she could only sigh, realizing how this was what she signed up for. She had all the will though as she realized she was doing this for none but her daughter. And maybe to pay off their aunt for allowing them to take refuge in her apartment together with her.

Yunhee threw her bag on to her bed, letting the soft mattress catching it as well as the laptop inside, before walking closer to the crib which now, no longer has it cover as her daughter is getting closer to becoming 1. She was saving up to buy her a bed but judging from how small Eunbyul was, she knew she didn't have to rush it.

The soon 11-months-old girl was sleeping soundly by then, so soundly that she barely stirred when her mother picked up her, bringing the both of them to sit on her bed. Yunhee placed her daughter comfortably on the center of the mattress before she kicked her shoes off and laid herself beside her. The day was such a toll that she fell asleep 5 minutes after, still in her work attire, and certainly not comfortably but beside her little one.

It was 9PM when Jiwon came back. That was also when she stumble upon the sight of her sister and her little baby, sleeping side by side which was certainly the view she had yet to see in a while. In fact, it has been a while since the last time she had seen Yunhee asleep. It had been a tough call for her to whether or not wake the older up but as she saw the blazer still engulfing her figure and the mascara still thick on her lashes, she patted her gently on her arms.

Yunhee was not the heaviest sleeper. With the gentle pat, she was able to open her eyes, rubbing them after due to the change of light intensity. "What time is it?" she asked as she sat herself up.

"It's 9:13," the younger answered her with a smile, "go wash up and sleep properly."

The latter drowsily stood up, taking her daughter which was still deep in her slumber, into her arm to bring her back into her crib. "I think I'm pulling an all-nighter tonight. I have a few more things to finish," she said as she put her daughter down. She turned around after doing so, her eyes still a little droopy but she was able to see clearly how Jiwon's hair had turned from black to an ombre of brown and blonde. "Oh wow, who are you?" she asked her sister teasingly, earning an eye roll from the lass.

"Still your lovely sister, the last time I checked. Just a little prettier?"

Yunhee shook her head, "sounds like something Choi Jongho would tell you." The reaction coming from the younger had made her chuckle. Her cheeks were tinted pink and she was biting her bottom lip, not wanting to give a misleading reaction though she was already doing so.

"Oh shut up, for the whole day, all he's been telling me is how difficult and indecisive I am," she groaned, remembering how the boy was of no help at all when she was choosing what color she should go with. He had reasoned how she would look the same with all of them, but what she didn't catch on was how, for Choi Jongho, how she look, ombre or not, had always been pleasing to his eyes.

"Boy still doesn't know how to flirt, I see," Yunhee remarked before walking into the bathroom. The mirror was placed right by the door, just above the sink and her own reflection was what her eyes landed on first. She turned on the faucet, running the water on her hand before washing her face. Felt like it was forever ago that she was able to look at her own face, bare without anything on and the dark circles under her eyes had became more prominent compare to the last time she saw it. Her cheekbones weres showing a little more but the hair framing her face was a little less. Was this how being an adult supposed to be like? Because if so, she would do anything to be catapulted back in time to when they were all in high school. When everything was easy except for maths and when she was able to have freedom to feel what she had wanted to feel.

Yunhee got out of the shower, not feeling any more refreshed than she was before but she was glad the piece of glass hanging neatly beside the door was all fogged up and she could no longer see her own reflection. She quickly pull her pajamas over her head and walk out right after.

The room was quiet and she figured the other two lass inside the house must have been at the living room so she closed her bedroom door quietly and start heading towards the said location, only to see Jiwon with her cup of tea and her legs crossed on the couch. "Where's aunt Minju?" she queried, making the younger turn her head.

"She put up the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on her door, so she's probably painting." The brown-haired girl took her place on the empty spot just beside the blonde, bringing her legs up on the couch as she sat sideways.

"I went to eat lunch with Seonghwa today," she began, making the younger shift on her couch to look at her, "after he said that he will put the past behind and that we should be friends again."

"You really think you two could do that?"

"I don't know..," she trailed, "it scares me how every time he's in the room or when I'm near him, I could feel all the feelings I buried, screaming for me to let them out... and pushing them down each time has been exhausting but to free them would be wrong, right?"

"Are you saying it's wrong because he's engaged or are you saying it's wrong because you feel like you're cheating on him?" Jiwon pointed at the ring hanging on on Yunhee's neck and reflexively her hand moved up to touch the said object. "Yunhee, he's not coming back." Upon hearing what she was told, the latter could feel her eyes starting to burn.

"I know he's not," she quietly uttered as her eyes slowly darted downwards.

"Did you forget what he always told you?" upon the silence she received, the blonde continued, "he always told you, your happiness matters more than anything to him, didn't he? Are you happy right now?"

"I'm supposed to be. I have you, Aunt Minju, Eunbyul and I think that has to be enough for me."

"You can't keep lying to yourself. The last time I've seen you smile from ear to ear and laugh your heart out was before we left. You weren't even half as happy as you were with Seonghwa when you were with him," she pointed out.

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Yunhee inquired, her voice a little too quiet to be audible.

"Be honest with yourself. Start opening your eyes when Seonghwa shows you just how much he still loves you, stop trying to stomp your feelings to the ground and trust me when I said, if you two are meant to be, it'll work out."