Mina: I’ll just stay here.
**Mina said as the officer appeared at the lobby to usher Chaeng into the visiting room.**
Chaeng: Are you sure?
**Mina’s lips twitched.**
Chaeng: Hmm… all right. I’ll be quick.
**Mina’s brows abruptly went up, which confused Chaeng instantaneously.**
Chaeng: Uhm… what’s that?
Mina: Huh?
**Chaeng pulled Mina’s hand on her side and squeezed it.**
Chaeng: Something’s bothering you, and I can feel it.
Mina: Hmm… I don’t know. Is this a good idea? You know, to see him again? Aren’t you scared?
**Chaeng stepped closer to her and rested her left on her waist, circling her thumb around.**
Chaeng: I am. What I’m just thinking right now is, he can’t do anything to me anymore. That he’s already behind the bars.
Mina: It still scares me, Chaeng. Just thinking about him terrifies me.
**Chaeng pulled Mina’s right hand and let it rest on her cheeks. She closed her eyes for a second and savored the warmth of Mina’s hand.**
Chaeng: It terrifies me, too. All I think of right now is someone’s already watching his every move, and that he knows that. For sure, he’ll be more careful with all his actions.
**Mina sighed, surrendering on this conversation.**
Mina: Okay, I’ll just wait for you here.
Chaeng: All right.
**Then Chaeng let go of her hand and walked towards the officer waiting at the door.**
**The officer led her to a long narrow lobby covered with washed gray paint. There’s nothing to see on both sides except for several rectangular windowpanes on her right, almost closed to the ceiling.**
**They stopped at the end of the lobby where a gray door with an upright rectangular windowpane set in the middle. The officer beamed a smile before he grabbed the knob and pulled it.**
Officer: I’ll be just behind the door, Ms. Son. Knock if you need something.
**Chaeng returned his smile.**
Chaeng: Thank you, officer.
**A small squared room divided into two greeted her. The opposite part has its door and chair facing the glass division. Everything between the two rooms is identical. The chair, the door, and the built-in narrow table at each side of the glass separator.**
**The other side of the room is still empty. Bam hasn’t arrived at the visiting room, yet. Chaeng thought. So, she pulled the chair tucked under the table, sat, and waited for him. Little she knows, the heel of her right foot keeps on tapping the concrete floor. She’s not even hearing the flapping sound echoing in the entire room ‘cause her attention was at the door, waiting for Bam to appear.**
**Her breathing has brief gaps. She’s almost gasping for air every second. Then the door opened, which made her tightened her fists on the table.**
Bam: Hi.
**Hi? Why does it sound like nothing happened? She thought. She didn’t answer. She remained seated upright, pressing her lips.**
**He hasn’t combed his hair yet. Well, it’s not something new. He also wore that messy hair on the first day he arrived at the hotel until the day they last saw each other in the cabin. But what’s new to him is the dark circle on his eyes.**
Bam: How are you?
**Chaeng just stared at him. No words were coming out from her, even if she has a lot of things to say to him.**
**Bam nodded glumly after he didn’t receive a response from her.**
Bam: I’m sorry. This might not be enough.
**He looked away and gazed at his hands while Chaeng sighed.
Bam: It’s just…
**He went back to staring straight into her eyes. Chaeng still has said nothing, though her body has loosened up already. And her breathing went back to normal.**
Bam: Well, I guess I’m just so blinded by what I feel for Mina. And… and hadn’t assessed if my action was right or wrong. I know, Chaeyoung, that it’s not a valid reason. That what I did to you is something wrong, whichever angle you look at it, right?
**He sighed audibly and leaned his back on his seat but his shoulders remained hanging before him.**
**Chaeng again noticed the circles in his eyes as his chin is now pointing at her. He’s no longer this emotionless guy sitting at the old pastry shop or the cabin. His cheeks and body have sunk tremendously, too. It’s just a few days, right? Chaeng thought.**
Bam: Hmm… you’re still the same, Chaeyoung. You still don’t talk.
**He sat upright and leveled his eyes on hers, but his back is still on the backrest of his chair. He’s keeping the distance, though they’re already separated by the glass pane between them.**
Chaeng: You almost killed me.
**Bam smiled sheepishly.**
Bam: I know sorry isn’t enough.
**He bowed his head to hide whatever expression he’s carrying with him.**
Bam: It’s acceptable if you won’t be able to forgive me. I might have the same thing if I am in your shoes.
**Indeed, it will be difficult to forgive him. But Chaeng couldn’t understand why her heart suddenly softens. Just witnessing his current state makes her feel that she’d already given him what he deserved.**
Bam: Anyway, why you’d like to see me?
**Chaeng almost forgot the reason she’s here. All her questions slipped away right after Bam appeared in the room.**
Chaeng: Oh… I want to ask you something. Something about the secret you mentioned when we were at the cabin. I’m wondering what it was.
**Then she saw it again. No apparent emotion in his eyes. It’s just staring at her blankly.**
Bam: That…
**He gulped. And then a bead of sweat slowly crawled down the side of his neck.**
Bam: It’s just nothing. I… I just want to mess around.
**His smile was brief. Always brief. Unlike those smiles, Chaeng saw when they were alone at the cabin. It’s broad and teasing.**
Bam: So… that’s the only reason you came here? To ask me about that?
Chaeng: Yeah. I just thought it’s something important.
**Bam looked down again while Chaeng watches his every expression and action. It’s like she’s talking to a different man. He rarely stares at her. He’s always looking down, his cheeks sunk, there are dark circles in his eyes, and even his clothes tell her he’s not taking care of himself.**
Chaeng: Are you… are you even eating well here?
**That question lifted Bam’s head with a wrinkled forehead.**
Chaeng: I mean, you look so… unwell.
Bam: Well, I guess it’s because my dad already abandoned me. You know, it’s the worst thing I’ve received from all these stupid things I’ve done.
**Then his eyes turned red and welled with tears.**
Bam: I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be emotional. But that made me realized how stupid I am. My dad’s trust means a lot to me.
**He wiped his eyes with the back of his right. Chaeng reached the bottom of the glass in front of her. If there’s no glass division between them, she might have rushed to him already. Caress him so he’ll feel better.**
Bam: Anyway, uhm… I guess I have to go now. Sorry if you thought that there’s something important with what I’m about to tell on that night.
**He stood up, making a rumbling sound from the feet of his chair. He pointed at the door before he turned his back towards Chaeng. Chaeng stood up instantly.**
Chaeng: I’ll… I’ll be dropping my charges. I’ll sign the private settlement that your lawyer’s offering me.
**That ceased Bam from exiting the door. Instead, he reeled and eyed Chaeng. The bottom of his lips twitched on the left.**
Chaeng: Just promise me one thing, please.
Bam: What’s that?
**He mumbled.**
Chaeng: That you’ll stay away from me and Mina. Or anyone close to us.
**Bam took a while before he answered. Of course, Chaeng will make sure that everyone is safe before Bam finds his freedom again.**
Bam: I promise. I’ll be… I’ll be flying back to Canada and won’t come back here anymore.
**Chaeng let out a heavy sigh and nodded. At least he got the answers she needs before signing the papers between him and her.**
**Bam whirled again and exit the door, while Chaeng stayed standing until Bam was no longer in her sight.**
*****
Mina: Should we meet Atty. Min? Drive to his office, maybe?
**Chaeng has talked little after meeting Bam. Her answers were monosyllabic, and it confused Mina so much. But Mina doesn’t want to question her silence. Maybe they’ve talked about something that Chaeng hasn’t figured out how to tell her yet. What she doesn’t like about this silence is, it makes her think that she’s not needed in this situation.**
Chaeng: Hmm… okay. Let’s see him now.
**Mina steered at route 35 and squeezed herself into the traffic. They’re almost at the center of the town now, and cars just keep on appearing in every intersection they passed by.**
Mina: Why don’t you tell me what you’ve talked about there?
**Now she regrets she didn’t sit beside Chaeng in the visiting room and listen to their conversation.**
Chaeng: Oh, that. Why do I feel guilty for putting him in jail? I know I shouldn’t. But when he entered the room, if you only saw him, he looks like a different person. It’s like he’s not eating properly and having enough sleep. Of course, he isn’t. What do I expect?
**She answered her own question. Then she whirled to her left, which made Mina glance at her for a second before going back to the road.**
Chaeng: And he didn’t ask me to drop the case. He just sat in front of me saying how sorry he was with everything. He even cried when he told me how his father had forsaken him because of what he did.
Mina: His dad, did?
Chaeng: Yeah. I guess that’s the one that triggered me to say that I’m accepting their settlement. You know, dropping the case.
Mina: Are you sure about that?
**They’ve talked about it several times already. Before they slept last night, and even before they arrived at the station.**
Chaeng: Hmm… I think so. I mean, I asked him to stay away from us and from everyone around us. Then I will drop everything, and he agreed with it. I know it’s just words. That there are still possibilities that he’ll do it again. But the way he looked at me tells me he’s telling the truth. And that he’s sorry about everything.
**She paused and leaned her head at the headrest, while Mina slowed down as the stoplight turned to red.**
**Mina pulled Chaeng’s hand and rested it on her lap.**
Mina: If you think dropping is better than seeing him behind bars, then I’ll support you on that.
**Then she held Chaeng’s hand tighter. She almost lost her at the hands of an old friend, and keeping her safe is her priority now. But if Chaeng wants to forgive the man who almost killed her, then the only thing she can do is to support her with whatever decision she’ll make.**
Chaeng: I’m sorry. I’m sorry if I disappoint you with my decision.
Mina: Of course, not. I know you have reasons for choosing that.
Chaeng: I… I don’t know why I made that decision.
**She chuckled and shook her head.**
Chaeng: If something happened again because of my poor decision making, you’re free to blame me, okay?
**Mina wrinkled her forehead before she kicked the accelerator again. Just two intersections more and they’ll be at Atty. Min’s office. She already planned the conditions she wants to indicate in their settlement paper. Now, whether or not Chaeng agrees on it, she’ll still insist on putting it as part of the conditions.**
Mina: I won’t blame you, no matter what. Remember that, okay? But I have one wish from you, and that’s allowing me to put something on the settlement paper. I want to make sure that he’ll give us the distance we need. Or else he’ll get arrested regardless if he commits another crime or not.
**She said firmly. And Chaeng just willingly nodded with everything she just said.**
A bad decision Chaeng. Tsk! Tsk!
ReplyDeleteAuthornim can you pls keep episodes longer?? I mean I miss your episodes and I don't want to finish reading that fast
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