29. Fate Of Jealousy

"Dad, I never expected you to agree to this ridiculous arrangement. Allowing Yeon to go live with those strangers doesn't necessarily mean he will be safe there too..."

"Mijin dear, we do not have much of a choice when it comes to this issue. Your brother being fated makes everything different. I'm feeling overwhelmed as it is with the current turn of events...we'd been one sidedly focused on finding him a pair we forgot to pay attention to the fact that we'd started perceiving his scent...that should have been a clear indication he'd already been fated a long time ago. Therefore, as his elder sister, I ask that you show support to this matter regardless of whether you agree with it or not."

"...but dad, Yeon hates him, and so does Niel and I..."

"Even so, your brother has to be with him. They both need to be together. Besides, one of the father's is a doctor and the other manages a succesful pharmacy. How lucky can Yeon be to have been fated into such a capable family? He is in the best hands as opposed to staying here...unless you would like to take care of a half marked fated adult at constant risk of going into frequent heats, who has no control over how much scent he lets out. Not to mention, moody, traumatized, extremely sturbon and depressed."

"Babe, your dad is right..." Niel cut in seeing how frustrated Mijin was. "We have been wishing to be fated and have done extensive research to know the state of our future together. Yeon will soon be calling out for Stan and Stan will keep on being drawn towards Yeon, wanting to protect him. We couldn't take care of him in his state before. Additionally, the investigation is still ongoing and both of them being in one place makes it easier for the police to do their job. I also believe a change of environment will go a long way in improving Yeon's mental state..."

"For once your man-boy has said something relevant. There is no more need for you two to be staying at your brother's place any longer..."

"Dad..." Mijin had feared this was going to come up soon. It was true that there was no need for her to stay at Yeon's apartment now that he will be no longer living there. There were still four months left before Yeon was done with collage but the apartment's location had been very convenient. That area was densely populated with a lot of activities happening around...a prime location to get information of who was where and what was happening. Getting an apartment in that exact location was next to impossible. Besides, it was in close proximity to her place of work by both taxi and train.

Niel watched his girlfriend struggle to find a reason for them to continue living at Yeon's place. At most, he'd been the one who'd benefited the most staying at Yeon's. No rent, peace of mind and he'd get to stay with Mijin and Yeon...especially Mijin. That place and the three of them together had been his home.

"Seems it will rain seagulls today seeing that for once you have nothing to say, objection or otherwise." Standing up, Mijin's father walked towards his room after informing them he was late for work.

Once alone, Mijin looked at Niel and asked, "What should we do babe? We need that place..." She cut herself short when she noticed Suzzie sitting behind Niel. She was quite petite and her silence had somehow amplified her camouflage. "Suzzie, I thought you left with mom?"

No one would expect for her to appear enthusiastic especially after realizing she'd wasted her time coming here. Even so, she masked her disappointed self well by putting on a brave face. "Your mom asked for me to spend the night since my place is quite far..."

"Where do you live? Niel and I could take you there..." Mijin asked with no intention whatsoever to meet up to the words she spoke out.

"I...haven't been in the country since Yeon and I separated. Remember, we broke up because I was going to get married?" The air in the room suddenly felt too thick to cut with a knife. "I had booked a hotel room but your mom insisted I cancel which I did..." Looking down, she added, "Even so, after all I've witnessed, I feel out of place being here."

"Serves you right. You broke my brother's heart. You were his first love who did a great job at ruining his trust in people. Up to date, he's been unable to date others properly..."

"Babe..." Niel tried to intervene but his intentions were met with a glare warning. In moments like this, Niel would let Mijin vent out all her anger until she was done, especially now that she seemed extremely stressed and agitated.

"Don't interfere babe, you weren't there when I had to bring my brother back from depression!" Returning her glare to Suzzie, she vented, "How dare you shamelessly show up years later wanting to pair up with my brother? Whatever happened to your so called marriage? How much did my parents pay you for this? Huh?"

"Mijin enough!" Her dad appeared, his voice still thundering in the living room. "I will not condone such behaviour from you towards someone who had good intentions to save Yeon."

"...but dad!" Mijin shouted back, frustrated by her father's irritating support for Suzzie.

"The only butt I want to see is yours walking out." Mijin's dad turned his gaze towards Suzzie. "I'll take you to my place of work. It's quite a specious gym with executive rooms for you to rest in briefly considering you came from a long trip to save my son's face. I'll inform my wife to meet us there so please pay no heed to my arrogant daughter since she is unwelcome here from today until further notice."

Niel tried to speak on behalf of Mijin but he wouldn't have it. "You must be suffering a lot to think you like such a mess of a human being. I pity you the most."

"Sir...it's fine, I can still rebook my room again..." The tension in this house was killing Suzzie as she politely turned down the offer extended to her. This was far from what she'd hoped things would turn out. When she was leaving the country after her breakup with Yeon, Mijin had followed her to the airport, tackling her inside the airport washrooms where there were no cameras to capture her violent behaviors. Suzzie remembered boarding for her flight, the airport staff asking her repeatedly if she was mentally fit to take that flight. She'd looked like a mess despite her efforts to hide what had transpired between her and Mijin...even now after several years, Mijin still hadn't learned to control her temper.

"I will hear none of that. These two idiots will be out of this place by the time we get back. My wife and I want you to stay as long as you like and in memory of how close you were to my son since high school, continue to consider this place your home just like before."

Turning to Niel, Mijin's father asked, "Why do you allow her to remain spoilt? At which level did your inferiority complex begin to overpower your ability to speak up for yourself? If you still intend to pair with my daughter, in your current state, I'm afraid you'll remain a man-boy in my eyes and I'm sure this is the same image you give out to others."

Returning his gaze back to Mijin, he added in finality, "Leave your keys with the neighbors. In addition to that, you have one month to get yourself a new place to stay. I will not condone your unfathomable behavior just because you're the pride of this family."

After Mijin'd dad left with Suzzie, the two looked at each other, both wearing blank faces. Niel for one was more surprised to see a scared Mijin. She has always been the bravest one of them two, a go getter, loved taking risks and more confident. Her father was right through, despite Mijin's temper being just as bad as her father's.

"Babe, we should leave..." Niel finally broke the loud silence.

"What about our arrangement? What about my work?"

"The lease at that place will expire in four months. We can use that to buy time as we search for another place and..."

"I'm not going to pay our rent Niel. You have to get a part time job if we are to move in together. You're doing the same course as I did so I can pull a few strings at my place of work for a paid attachment..."

Niel only kept quiet and stared at his girlfriend. This wasn't the first time she had suggested the same and he'd discouraged her from having such thoughts with the excuse that there was at least one place they weren't together. If they weren't spending time in the same house, they would either be spending it outside or whenever Mijin would pass by campus to see him. They'd only been apart when she was at work, or in search of a fated mate.

"Why are you looking at me like that? You heard my dad kicking us in a month's time. Four months is barely enough time to save up to lease another place too, or at least extend the lease on where we are now with the owner of that building. Perhaps the idea of getting a job repulses you?"

Niel thought that maybe it was time he stood up for himself...and right now felt like the right time. This day had been full of unpleasant happenings so adding another wouldn't do much to an already ruined up day.

"Babe...you and I both know how people ridicule me on campus...and I'm glad Yeon and especially you have stuck by me. Still, they are aware of how open our relationship is." Niel said as he tried to remain temparamental. Mijin had always been the one proudly speaking of their open relationship.

"So what, people will always find something to say no matter how a good life you live..."

"That's not the point. I can stand those on campus...it's the one at your workplace I'm more worried about."

"I've only been intimate with two of my coworkers and you know about it! Why are you acting like you haven't been sleeping around too? It's not my fault I can't stand your scent babe."

Mijin regretted her last words as soon as they came out but it was too late to undo what had already been done. She knew how sensitive Niel had been about that topic, often asking her if there was something wrong with himself. Many a times, Niel had bought expensive perfumes from pharmaceutical companies that manufactured universally acceptable scents, meant for couples that had a problem similar to his.

"I'm sorry Niel...at times like this, I envy those that are fated. In this current situation, either of us could have calmed the other down..."

"I don't want to do this arrangement anymore." Niel declared, hoping he sounded as confident of his decision as he looked. This was not the first time though that he'd thought of ending their open relationship and reverting to how they used to date two years ago.

Mijin's face showed a mixture of anger and disappointment. "Niel, what's come over you? Why change your mind when we've already done it for nine months? Our agreement was one year and you accepted..."

"I accepted it, but I've never been okay with it...I'm tired of pretending..."

Grabbing both of Niel's hands, Mijin moved closer to her boyfriend to get a clearer look at his eyes but was surprised his eyes weren't wavering. She had been the only one to notice this weakness. Whenever Niel got nervous, he'd waver his eyes yet at the moment, the conviction he showed began tearing a piece of her from inside, and the realization of that somehow upset her further.

"If you insist on extending it, I don't think I'll be able to see you for sometime Mijin."

"You called me by my name babe...are you breaking up with me?" Mijin asked as she raised one of her palms to rest on her boyfriend's cheek.

"I'm sorry but I can't do this anymore. Not like this at least"

"You've never acted this jealous to the point of giving an ultimatum."

"I am...in fact, I've always been jealous Mijin so it's better for you to tell me now what your answer is."