Chapter 31

She was gonna be what?

I looked at Seokjin's fuming figure in shock. He had predetermined this, and was getting all mad because I didn't know?

I was a tolerant person, but if there was one thing I couldn't stand, it's when someone threw an adult tantrum.

"Excuse me?" I cocked an unfriendly eyebrow.

He rolled his eyes, "As if you didn't know. This is how the business world works."

I scoffed, "Again you've gone back on that 'business only' attitude? I thought we worked through this months ago."

"Yubin, everything I do relates to my job. This included," he harshly stated.

"Really? And what ever happened to separating your personal and work life?" I questioned.

"You can't seriously be fighting me on this!" He threw his arms up exasperatedly.

I was in utter disbelief.

"Of course I'm going to fight you on it! You're taking the future of our child's life and micromanaging it!" I furiously fired back.

I was all for compromises. And I was more than willing to agree to listen to him tell me why he wanted that, but he kept instigating shouting matches. I was a pregnant woman who's dealt her whole life with people who tried to get in my way. I pushed back if someone pushed me.

"What does it matter?! The whole point of her being my child was for the business!" He shouted.

"Oh really?! So nothing else mattered to you?! Was this whole thing just to get an heir for your stupid company?!" I spat back in rage.

That seemed to momentarily catch him off guard.

"Of course not. I'm doing this to protect her, why can nobody see that?!" He huffed.

"I don't know what you're trying to protect, but it's certainly not our daughter. What happened to having dreams? And childhood innocence?!" I argued.

He rolled his eyes, "If I could survive without it then so could she!"

"I know you're not trying to inflict your damaged childhood on our daughter," I huffed.

He seethed, "And you aren't?! All I'm doing is protecting her. If you let her go on some silly little dream tangent, she'll get hurt. I've lived this disciplined and perfect life and look where it got me."

I couldn't believe my ears, "Look Seokjin, I don't know if it's because you're angry but you sound insane. Are you even listening to yourself?"

"Everything I'm saying is valid and you know it."

"I REALLY DON'T! See this is the exact thing that pisses me off about you! You've been like this since we first met, and I thought maybe it was loosening up but I was clearly wrong!" I yelled.

"Oh please! Do enlighten me!" He chided

"Gladly! Since I've stepped foot in this house, you've constantly micromanaged me! I mean hell, you gave me a set of rules in the beginning so you could maintain said discipline! I was pregnant for god's sake, what person just drags a stranger out of work and says that they'll live with them for a certain amount of time?! But when you started easing up, I swear I saw something switch in you. But there were always those side remarks that I noticed. I noticed them alright. They may have been jokes, but maybe they make sense. Telling me that Suyeon had to come out as perfect as you? You're trying to micromanage her too, and she's not even here yet! You're so damn obsessed with everything going your way and keeping up this perfect farce that you lose sight of what's right in front of you!" I denounced angrily.

He went silent.

Dead silent.

His eyes shook when he looked at me, and I could tell by the way that his expression dulled that I may have overdone it.

I let my anger get the best of me and I hurt him.

I took a tentative step forward, reaching my hand out to him. I needed to imitate the mature conversation.

But he took a step back.

And he looked at me with a hard expression. I knew I wasn't gonna like the next words out of his mouth.

"Well maybe I'm doing this because I don't want her to end up like you."

And just like that, any and all sympathy flew out of my hormonal and already agitated body.

Anger flared up inside of me.

"And what's that supposed to mean, CEO Kim?" I huffed.

Part of me wished he had just decided to drop it and do that thing where the anger dies off and with a disappointed sigh, we both sit down and try to figure it out. But part of me was also fuming and I wanted to know what he meant.

And that's unfortunately exactly what I got.

"It means that I won't let my daughter grow up weak-minded like you," he said plainly.

I felt my whole world shatter.

Weak-minded?

That's what he thought I was.

Curiosity, anger, and anxiety overwhelmed me, and I could feel the obvious discomfort from Suyeon from how she wiggled around.

"You're whole life you 'dreamed.' And then you dropped that dream and aimlessly figured out to care for you're family. My daughter is not gonna grow up being unsure of her life or being so weak-minded that every choice she makes is for everyone but herself. She'll have the confidence and perfection to know that she's at the top. She won't have to work hard to get to the top. She'll have to work hard to maintain it. Dreams are just pathways for disappointment. You'll live your life regretting that choice. I won't let her live with regrets. She'll be set for life. People will respect her. And she won't have to struggle. If anything, she'll deal with struggles that make her seem more high tier."

I clenched my palms into fists and fought the hurt tears that were ready to burst.

Every choice I made me give up a little of myself. But I did it because I loved my family. I wanted to repay them for trying to give me the best life as possible and never letting me doubt that they loved me.

If sacrificing my dream was what I had to do to repay them, I'd do it over and over again in a heartbeat.

But when I did have a different dream. One that fueled my passion for most of my high school career, it was one of the most fun times of my life. Dreaming about what life would be as an adult. How I'd nail my first interview and get a good job.

That was the beauty of a dream. It was never about the end result. It was the beauty of a utopian reality where I could see myself in the best light possible.

I knew what Seokjin and I really needed right now was just a moment to cool off and talk.

But I was hurt. And he was too. We needed more than just time to cool off. We needed breathing space.

I gave him one last long look before brushing past him and quickly walking up to our room.

I threw a few articles of clothing into a backpack and slammed the room door behind me.

That same feeling of being trapped that I felt in the beginning was returning. I couldn't be in a home that felt more like a holding cell.

"Where are you going?" Seokjin asked, his tone instantly softening when he saw me with the bag.

"To give us space," I said, while throwing my laptop into my bag so I could continue my work.

"Baby no-"

"So now you're gonna talk to me like that? Yeah, fat chance Kim."

I stepped up to him, staring him right in the eye. I couldn't help but notice how glossy his eyes looked. He was gonna cry at any minute, and to be honest, so was I.

But I wasn't gonna let him see me when I was being 'weak-minded.'

"Don't follow me. Don't get your little drivers or security people come either. I will personally smack all of you if you try it."

He reached out for my hand, his finger gently cascading against my arm.

But I flinched away, defensively putting a hand on my stomach. I could tell how much that hurt him.

Guilt crept up into me. I did add fuel to the fire, and I wasn't gonna torture him or break up with him. I think we both just needed space to regather our thoughts. But right now, I wanted my baby to be around people who'd support her making her own choices.

"I'll...see you later...I guess," I mumbled sadly before slipping away and heading out the door.

I knew Seokjin was silently hot on my heels, but I just walked faster and got to my car.

I knew he would probably scream at me for driving when I'm this pregnant, and I probably would've too, but I needed to get away.

I started the ignition and got out of there as fast as possible, catching a small and depressing glimpse of Seokjin dejectedly watching my car drive away.

I gripped the steering wheel, refusing to let my tears fall. I just put on music to distract me from the overwhelming ache in my heart.

I safely drove to my sister's place where my mom was temporarily staying due to separation anxiety because of my father's death.

I just needed to be in a place with the people who I loved the most.

I gingerly knocked on the door, my hand cradling my stomach which had been uncomfortably paining since the fight.

Chanhyuk opened the door with a very shocked expression. I mean I'd be pretty surprised if my very pregnant sister-in-law showed up on my doorstep looking like a hot mess without her partner helping her.

"Noona? Oh my god, are you okay? Why are you here?" He questioned.

I sighed, "I'm not really in the mood to answer questions, but to sum it up, I got in a fight with Seokjin and I needed breathing space. Now can I please come in."

He quickly nodded letting me into their house.

Eunbi and my mom had been on the couch talking about something but when they noticed my presence and the solemn mood that followed they instantly got up.

"Unnie? What are you doing here?" Eunbi asked.

My mom cupped my face, "Is everything alright? Why isn't Seokjin with you?"

Ahh why couldn't people stop mentioning his name?

It—

It made my heart hurt.

So much so that I burst into fat childish tears.

No matter how necessary they were for a healthy relationship, I'd always hate fighting.

Always.

Especially since it was with someone who I truly loved.

Seokjin POV

The bed was empty.

She packed up and left.

Would she break up with me? Would someone better sweep her off of her feet? Would she hide the baby from me?

After all, I was nothing more than the sperm donor.

I felt, empty without her. Just as the bed had been without her.

Hot tears ran down my face and I just let them.

As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I had screwed up. Big time.

But then at the same time, I was only thinking of the thing she had said that had hurt me. She thought I micromanaged her, and she hated that. She hated something about me.

I wanted to run after her. I knew where she'd be. She'd go to her sister like she always did.

But she told me not to follow her. And maybe she was partially right. Maybe I did have a problem with micromanaging her.

If I couldn't respect her enough to give her space when she asked for it, then what kind of a lover would I be?

So I dismally curled my body on the bed, suddenly realizing why they said you could have a house without having a home.

A mansion filled with tons of rooms and looked proper was all fine and dandy until you realized how big it was without anyone to share it with.

My home.

My Yubin.

____________________________________I attempted to be angsty 🥴

I know we all might be angry at one or both of the main characters, trust me I feel you, and I don't mind if you comment about that, but I want you to realize that fights can be very healthy in a relationship so long as they're not frequent and the fight doesn't demonstrate a power imbalance. Jin and Yubin fought for an arguably silly reason and maybe Jin could've listened better, but Yubin also didn't keep her emotions in check. However, they both did something healthy by respecting that the other needed space. Sometimes it's good to breathe for a moment and coolheadedly solve a problem.

With that long rant in mind, thank you for reading and I hope you'll find the last 4 chapters entertaining :)

Also...look at me go with 3 consistent updates ✊🏼 I'm on a role yall