Chapter 88: Meeting Someone

The next morning at 11 AM Jin arrived at the location and gave Diana a call."I'm here," he said.

"I'm arriving in a few minutes There was too much traffic on the way here," Diana's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Take your time. I'll be waiting here," Jin replied.

While waiting for Diana he looked at his surroundings to pass the time. From one look it was clear that this was a very well-maintained place.

'Just what is she thinking of calling me to such a place? Does she want to take care of the elderly during her holidays and wants me to help her?'

Jin mused.

There was a bench nearby so Jin sat on it. It felt like Diana would take some time.

'I should scold her for being late and express my anger. It's even better if it's in public since she would definitely feel aggrieved,' Jin thought to himself while gazing at the water sprinkling out of the fountain.

He had already made up his mind this morning that he'd be breaking things off with her today.

His feelings for her will only increase if he doesn't take action. He clearly remembered how happy and content he felt last night after his call with Diana.

'It would be better for both of us', Jin said under his breath.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Diana bent forward to enter Jin's vision and said with an apologetic smile.

The moment Jin saw her his previous musings about scolding her vanished instantly and held his breath for a second mesmerized by his appearance.

She wore a white and blue floral print Georgette top and complimented it with jeans.

A simple yet elegant look that made one want to not waver their eyes away for even a second.

Just like how it was for Diana, Jin too had been missing and thinking about her a lot during these five days.

The only difference was the fact that while Diana accepted her feelings Jin suppressed them.

The suppressed feelings however sprang back the very moment he saw Diana right in front of him. With that the memories of their intimate episode flooded his mind.

"...Stop staring at me like that, it feels embarrassing," The incessant gaze from Jin made Diana too more self-aware about herself and she commented softly. seaʀᴄh thё NôvelFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"Y-yes…sorry," Jin was brought back from his stupor with her words and he forced his gaze sideways and said.

Jin expected Diana to accept his words and move on but her next words caught him off guard.

"Do I look good?"

"Very…" an instantaneous response came from his mouth and the next moment a heart throbbing smile appeared on Diana's face.

'This is becoming troublesome,' Jin thought in his mind as he forced himself to remain calm.

"I'm glad you think so. I deliberately dressed in blue since you liked it last time. Shall we go then?" Diana asked.

"You still haven't told me why you've called me here though," Jin responded in a mild manner while trying hard to not get swayed by his emotions.

"Let's talk while walking," Diana said and forwarded her hand towards Jin to help him stand up.

Jin ignored her hand and stood up on his own. Seeing this a subtle furrow appears momentarily on Diana's face.

'Did I do something wrong?' She thought to herself while retracting her hand.

She didn't do anything wrong. Jin just felt that if he held her hand right now then the torrential feelings raging inside him would make it nigh impossible for him to break things up with her later on.

"Let's go then," Jin said to Diana who didn't let Jin see her thoughts and led the way.

While passing through the corridor of the nursing home Diana was greeted by several elderly and nursing care assistants.

"You seem to be well-liked by everyone here," Jin said after seeing that.

"Well, it's been a few years since I've been coming here. So it's natural to form good familiarity with everyone," Diana said while they were walking towards the other end of the corridor which was an open area.

"A few years?" Jin asked with surprise.

Diana nodded with a neutral face. Her previous smile was no longer there on her face and was replaced by a melancholic look.

"When I was in my 5th grade my father got into a car accident…" she paused as if to recollect the tragic times and continued, "It was a horrific accident and he suffered grievous wounds.

Fortunately, due to God's grace, the doctor managed to save him…I had never been so happy as I was at that moment when I heard the news that my father was alright.

However…it was not the end. Starting then my father's mental health began to deteriorate with time. In the initial years, it didn't pose much problem but as time passed the severity increased…to the point that he even struggled to recollect my name,"

Seeing the intense sadness on her face Jin's heart grieved. He wanted to comfort her but he knew that he couldn't…no words were enough to comfort what Diana was feeling currently.

By now they had exited the corridor and were walking in the garden behind the nursing home.

"It was Alzheimer's. He had been hiding it from me until he couldn't. By the time I found out it was already in its late stage…a

Since the symptoms were likely to intensify even more with time I was forced to shift him here three years ago and I've been visiting him on weekends ever since…so that's how I got familiar with everyone here" Diana finished her words and stopped in her tracks.

Her eyes were focused straight ahead and drew Jin's attention. He too followed after her gaze and his eyes landed upon a person under a tree who was sitting in a wheelchair. A nursing assistant was there with him to give him company.

"Is that…" Jin asked.

"Yes, that's my father. I wanted you to meet him and fulfil my promise." Diana said.

"Promise?" Jim inquired.

"Yes. When I was a child before dropping me off at school my father always used to make me swear that if I ever fell in love with someone the first thing I needed to do was to make him meet my father…it started as a joke but after repeating it so many times it has been ingrained in my mind and it's also the only promise I've ever made with my father," Diana said and turned towards Jin.

"Therefore I wanted to make you meet him today Jin. I thought about this a lot during these five days and was finally able to build up enough courage yesterday to call you,"

Looking at her earnest gaze Jin soon retracted his gaze and replied, "Let's go then,"

'I can't do it today…she would be in tatters if I broke up with her today.' Jin thought to himself as he shelved his plan of breaking things off with Diana.

"Alright," Smile returned on Diana's face as she replied and led the way.

Jin caught up with her and the two soon arrived near the tree.

The nursing assistant saw Diana and smiled at her. She nudged the shoulder of Diana's father and said, "Mr. Woods see who has come to see you,"

Diana's father who seemed to be engrossed in his own thoughts all this while was stirred awake by the nursing assistant's words.

He raised his head to look at the two approaching figures. His dull eyes gained a sudden spark all of a sudden and he said almost instantly "Shouldn't you be busying yourself with your work Kevin? Why are you loitering around with a chick?"

His words surprised Diana and the nurse as it was very rare for him to speak coherently. However the one who was the most surprised and shocked was Jin.

'How…' Jin was still trying to comprehend everything.

"Dad! Can you speak normally now?!" Diana asked with great expectation and renewed hope.

"Dad...Dad?..me?" Her father repeated what Diana had called him a few times. The clear eyes once again became confused as memories tussled against each other in his head. He clutched his head in pain and started groaning.

'It must be just a coincidence. Yes it must be,' Jin thought after seeing the current state of Diana's father.

The nursing assistant immediately took Diana's father to his room to help him calm down.

With a shattered sense of hope Diana watched her father being taken back to his room as a sense of loneliness engulfed her heart.

At that moment she felt a warm hand on her shoulder which pulled her towards itself.

She lifted her head to see Jin's expression which was filled with sympathy and understanding.

"Thank you," Diana said as she rested her head on Jin's chest while being comforted by his warmth.

That's how Jin's first meeting with Diana's father went. Someone who held the key to solving the puzzle