Back to December

Today I had an appointment with Aunt Sooyoung. She called me last night, saying there was something important she wanted to tell me. Maybe it was about Y/n’s wedding with Irene? Ah, wasn’t it already obvious? I didn’t know if Aunt Sooyoung had given her blessing for Irene to become her daughter-in-law. I was just curious why Aunt Sooyoung wanted to meet me again.

After waiting five minutes at the café, Aunt Sooyoung finally arrived. As usual, the woman who already had two children looked very stylish. Everything she wore—from head to toe—was always from famous brands with sky-high prices. Even so, Aunt Sooyoung never showed off her wealth.

Aunt Sooyoung smiled when she saw me. I stood up as she reached my table. Suddenly, she hugged me tightly and said,

“Forgive Mom, okay.”

“What’s wrong, Auntie?” I asked, confused.

Aunt Sooyoung released her hug. Her eyes were teary. I became even more confused. Was there a serious problem in her family? But why would Aunt Sooyoung want to meet me if it was a family matter? What was really going on?

“I don’t know what to do, Hyo,” she said softly.

I helped Aunt Sooyoung sit down first, then sat to her right. She took a tissue and gently wiped her wet eyes.

“Imo—”

“There’s something Mom wants to tell you, Hyo. Mom feels you should know about this,” Aunt Sooyoung interrupted.

I stayed silent and waited for her to speak.

“Do you already know that Y/n is getting married?”

“I know,” I replied softly.

There was silence for a few seconds before Aunt Sooyoung continued.

“Actually, Mom has been against this marriage. Mom doesn’t like Irene. She’s not a good girl for Y/n, Hyo. Mom once saw her being intimate with another guy, even though she was already with Y/n at that time. When Mom told Y/n and his father, Y/n just stayed quiet. Meanwhile, Y/n’s father accused Mom of lying. That’s why Mom looked for you back then. Mom wanted you to get back together with Y/n.”

I reached for Aunt Sooyoung’s hand and gently held it. “Jihyo should be the one apologizing to Auntie. Not Auntie apologizing to Jihyo. Jihyo is the one at fault. Jihyo can’t get back together with Y/n.”

“Mom isn’t forcing you either, Hyo. Mom is just frustrated with Y/n’s father’s decision. After you broke up, Y/n’s father really wanted Y/n to marry Irene,” Aunt Sooyoung explained.

Then the story about Irene continued to flow. Y/n and Irene’s relationship had been arranged by their respective fathers. Y/n’s father, Uncle Lee, told Aunt Sooyoung that Irene had liked Y/n since high school. Of course, Y/n didn’t know about this.

Upon hearing the news that Y/n had broken up with me — from which I could tell that Irene already knew who I was — Irene asked her father to let her get close to Y/n. Somehow, after a few months of getting closer, Y/n and Irene became a couple. Aunt Sooyoung tried to respect Y/n’s decision, even though she was still hesitant because she didn’t know Irene very well yet.

Until Aunt Sooyoung saw Mina with another man. Aunt Sooyoung tried to make Y/n realize and asked Uncle Led to stop the arranged marriage. In other words, Aunt Sooyoung didn’t want Y/n to marry Irene. Unfortunately, Irene’s father was one of the biggest investors in Uncle Les’s company. Uncle Lee only said that such problems could be resolved amicably. Maybe Aunt Sooyoung had seen it wrong and there was no need to prolong the issue. After all, if it was true, couldn’t people change their behavior for the better?

“Mom realizes that Mom can’t force your relationship back to what Mom wants. But Mom wants Y/n to be happy, Hyo. Even if in the end he’s not with you.”

The atmosphere fell silent again. I didn’t know why Y/n chose to stay quiet when Aunt Sooyoung told him about Irene being intimate with another man. But honestly, what Aunt Sooyoung wanted was the same as what I wanted. I wanted Y/n to be happy, even if it wasn’t with me.

I hugged Aunt Sooyoung from the side. “Once again, forgive Jihyo, Auntie… Jihyo also hopes Y/n will be happy. Just be sure he can be happy with Irene.”

“Are you that sure?”

Thud!

That deep voice made my heart jump. I immediately released my hug and looked up. I don’t know since when Y/n had been standing behind me. From the expression on his face, I could guess that I shouldn’t be here. Did Aunt Sooyoung plan this meeting?

“Y/n?” I called softly.

“Oh, you’re here already,” Aunt Sooyoung replied.

“Did you deliberately ask me to come here to meet her?” he said coldly.

“Sorry, Mom lied to you. Mom thought you two should talk before you can’t meet again.”

I smiled bitterly at that. There was nothing wrong with what Aunt Sooyoung said. Even after we broke up, I had barely met Y/n. Let alone once he was married? Maybe this really would be our last meeting.

“Thank you for your time, Jihyo. Mom hopes that even though you’ve broken up, you won’t hold any grudges after this. Mom will always pray for the goodness and happiness of you both,” Aunt Sooyoung added.

After gently pinching my cheek, Aunt Sooyoung left me with Y/n. I caught a glimpse of Aunt Sooyoung smiling at her eldest son while patting Y/n’s shoulder. Once Aunt Sooyoung was no longer in sight, an awkward atmosphere enveloped the two of us.

“What you said to Mom is true.” I started the conversation.

Y/n stayed in his position. I faced forward, playing with my fingers on the table while thinking about what I should say to him.

“You really let me go for her?” Y/n asked, emphasizing every word.

“I let you go a long time ago,” I said.

Y/n sat down in front of me. I didn’t dare look at him and chose to look down.

“I still can’t accept your reason for breaking up with me, Hyo. Are you sure I can be happy? Do you think I’m marrying Irene because I love her?”

"Then, why did you accept him?" I shot back.

"Because I had no other choice!" he said, his voice rising slightly. "There's no one I love besides you. So why would I look for someone else?"

"Y/n!"

"I don't know if I'll be able to be happy in this marriage of mine. Or whether my feelings for her will ever change someday. But there's one thing you have to remember, Hyo... If we meet again later and my feelings for you are still the same, don't blame me if I want to come back to you."

"Y/n... Don't say it like that," I whispered.

"I hope you'll be happy, Hyo," he said while extending his hand.

I stayed silent and stared bitterly at the hand the man was offering.

"Hi, I'm Y/n," he said again with a smile.

Suddenly, that strange feeling came over me again. The feeling of when I first met Y/n. When December felt like a beautiful spring. A month I always wanted to revisit at any time. And the memories flooding back into my mind successfully made my tears fall in front of Y/n.

I miss those times.