From Past To Present, I Still Love You 36 Jaeun's Secre

As someone who strove to be perfect in all aspects, there was something that prevented her from reaching her goal. A thorn on her side that won't go away no matter how hard she tried. Luckily, avoiding this ingredient all-together, allowed her to live life normally.

She was allergic to garlic.

It may sound silly to some. Why would she make such a big deal out of a simple allergy?There were many people in the world with allergies, it was a common problem to have. Jaeun Moon wasn't alone when it came to her troubles. But due to her personality, she believed this allergy was a blemish to her perfect existence.

She had to be perfect.

She wasn't deathly allergic to the vegetable. Eating it wouldn't bring her in critical situation. But the problem about the vegetable wasn't the internal pain that it brought, but the hives that would arise on her skin from eating or touching it. Her glass skin could be ruined by a single drop. Red bumps would arise on top of her skin, turning the smooth surface into a valley of mountains.

Everyday, Jaeun visited the dermatologist to care for her skin, yet a single clove of garlic could ruin everything she worked for. All the money and time invested wasted. The redness lasted for a whole week, sometimes leaving scars. Her perfect visuals could be easily tarnished, bringing redness to her skin.

Not only that, but if her enemies were to find out about her allergy, she would go into serious turmoil. Everyone would go after her. People were blood-thirsty for flaws, Jaeun knew this the best out of anyone. After all, she was one to use flaws against others.

The only people who knew this secret was her family members. Everything else was kept under the bush.

Since garlic was a common ingredient in many dishes, Jaeun either ordered dishes not containing it or asked to have it removed. When people asked why, she subtly mentioned that she hated the smell and stopped all conversations from going further. Nobody questioned afterwards.

For example, at Bianchi she specifically picked a dish with no garlic.

Now, how did Yoona know about Jaeun's allergy?

It was simple. Jaemin had accidentally spilled the beans while they were on a date. They were at a restaurant and one of the dishes included it. While eating and chatting about how good the food was, the conversation casually flowed to make Jaemin expose her secret. He didn't think much of it as the past Yoona would never take revenge. She was 'harmless'.

Now, Yoona was going to use this information to her advantage.

To some, this type of 'revenge' may be weak. Jaeun had clearly publicly humiliated Yoona in front of everyone. Wasn't that worse?

However, the severity of the situations all depends on the victim and their views.

For Jaeun, getting an allergic reaction was one of the worst thing possible scenarios that could happen during the pinnacle of her school year.

If Yoona was in Jaeun's position, she wouldn't suffer the same way because her happiness was based on her relationship with others. Particularly her mother and friends. Due to her back up, she would easily be able to recover from this incident. Not only that, but she didn't put too much importance on her image unlike the other girls at school.

On the other hand, Jaeun lived for her image. It was the only thing she had. To her, the reason for her existence was to be praised for her beauty and power. She didn't have close friends like Yoona due to her terrible personality and morals. It was impossible to.

Her happiness relied on the sheer ecstasy she got from gaining attention.

This was why hives on her face would cause serious damage to her self-esteem. If people were to see her in a imperfect condition, she would lose this image in an instance. Her face would be plastered all over the internet. Nobody would live down her new face. There would be no end to the torment.

Who cares about the physical pain? The unspoken mockery lingering in their eyes was worse.

Yoona knew for a fact that this would hurt Jaeun. This was why this plan was absolutely perfect. It was a simple way to get back at the girl.

---

The minute Jaeun felt the garlic touch her skin, a terrible scream escaped her lungs. So high-pitched that everyone couldn't fight the urge to cover their ears. There was no pain at all, but to her, it felt like her skin was melting off from molten lava.

Not caring about the attention, she used her hands to quickly remove the garlic while jumping up and down. She looked like an utter fool.

The sounds of Eunha's giggles echoed through her ears.

"You bitch!" Jaeun's eyes blazed with anger. She pointed her finger straight at Yoona, ready to pounce. "How dare you do this to me!"

Yoona took a step back and raised her hands. "What did I do?"

"You-you-you," Jaeun began. However, she couldn't gather her words because she hadn't told a soul about her allergy. Yoona couldn't possibly know.

She let out another scream, unable to think of a response. Everything was falling apart. She could only see red. "I'm going to kill you!"

Jaeun deserved the pain coming from her. Bullying was no light matter. However while watching the scene unfold, Yoona couldn't help but feel a sense of pity. It was hard not too.

As they were best friends for two years, Yoona knew a lot of things about her former-friend. Things people didn't know about the rich girl. Secrets that could not be shared. She couldn't throw all those memories away so easily. At the bottom of her heart, she still believed there was a nice girl was underneath all those thick layers. How could the two have laughed together if there wasn't?

There just had to be some sort of reason for Jaeun's actions. After all, why was the rich girl so obsessed with her? Yoona really wanted to find out.

Alas, at the moment, everything was exciting to see.

Yoona repeated over and over in her head that Jaeun deserved it. The minute Jaeun chose to pick on Eunha was the second that she told herself to stop holding back. There was a limit for what she could stand for.

The Yoona before and after were different. It was hard to believe how much she's grown in the past few days.

Jaeun deserved it. Truly.

---

Outside of the restaurant, through the glass windows, two people were watching the scene unfold. Minhyun was fiddling with his wrist-wash, intensively analyzing the situation in front of him.

Due to rush hour, it took a while for the car to reach Bianchi. When they arrived, the dinner had already started and he didn't believe that walking inside out of nowhere was the best tactic. After all, Yoona didn't know who Minhyun was yet. There was no fruit in going through all that labor.

However, as the fights started to emerge, Minhyun realized that his reveal was coming soon. He looked over at Secretary Kim who was fiercely sending emails on the tablet to all relevant peoples involved in his superior's affairs.

"Secretary Kim."

He looked up from the mobile device. "Yes sir?"

"I'm going inside soon. You stay here," Minhyun demanded.

Although Secretary Kim wanted to protest, he nodded. There was no reason to interfere with the president's private affairs.

Minhyun looked back at the window, watching as Yoona took a step back from the Moon group daughter. From what he could see, the young girl was fighting back. It made him happy. She was finally standing up for herself in a different way; this time with more confidence and power. Now that she had the emotional support, she needed the financial ability to stand tall once and for all. This was his time to shine.

His heart beat loudly in his chest as he thought about his reveal. Finally. After fifteen years, he was going to make his entrance.

God. He'd never felt so nervous until now.

Chapter end