i was just going  over my favourite  actress of all time,Yoon Eun Hye’s photos  at soompi when i saw his name..there it was..right in front of me..memories from coffee prince started to awaken..i clicked it and there were photos..many of them,smiling..very manly..very handsome…

Then i felt this strong emotion..strange to my heart..the answer hit me strongly..

i miss Gong Yoo!

if a man like Gong Yoo proposes to me,i will shout YES!...because it will be love...

i read he is being released on 8th december,from the military…

i will wait patiently  for his next drama..

Take your time..love you!

]]> http://eirallina.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/strung-across-0-9-1/ Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:05:00 +0000 eirallina http://eirallina.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/strung-across-0-9-1/

Chapter 9

Gae, after some incentives, pounced on her. Despite of her being drugged, she knew that this wasn’t what she wanted. But fuck that. Right now, she just needed…

The feel of his fingertips dragging up her bare legs made goose bumps appear on her skin and the feel of his warmth against her cold flesh made her hornier than expected. Some good sex was what she need. Adding to that the teasings this morning after she was given some drugs to smoke, her mind was going overboard. She could feel his hard-on pressed up against her thigh, and feeling mischievous, Eun Hye started to grind against his body.

She was reward with him driving his tongue into her mouth in a frenzy of battling flicks.

“You are so going to regret this.” He whispered sexily into her ears, making her moan at the seductiveness of it all.

“Why is that?” She purred out.

He ran his hands down her back as he kissed her, driving his tongue deep into her hungrily awaiting mouth. With one swift move, he pulled the back of her shirt up and over her head. A waft of cold air passed by and she shivered. He stared at her naked figure for a few seconds, at her perky breasts that was now free from the confines of her shirt, and smirked. He had guessed correct.

Underneath that tight tank top of hers, she had worn nothing but her birthday suit.

As he came closer to her, she reached her hands underneath his white shirt to feel the ripples of his abs on her skin. He raised his arms as she pulled his shirt over his head and let the garment fall to the floor, exposing his chest to her. Eun Hye ran her hand through his short wet hair, down to his stomach, and stopped right when she reached his pants line. She kneeled in front of him. He looked at her and licked his lips.

She reached up and unzipped his pants, pulling them to the floor so that he was left standing there in his black boxer briefs where a firm erection was making quite a tent. She reached up and stroked him through the thin garment of his briefs. He let go and pulled Eun Hye up closer to him. Their bodies touched and she could feel the heat again that rose from his chest. With one gentle shove, Eun Hye fell back onto the mattress. He quickly joined her and picking up the pair of metal cuffs that he had took off her moments before, he clapped them around her slender wrists.

“Bondage…” She licked her lips. “How sexy.”

He lifted her slender legs over his shoulders and pulled her closer to him. Spreading her legs, he planted subtle but wet kisses in between her thighs. Each lick, each kiss, was reaching closer to her enticing treasure. And then… He took her in his mouth.

Eun Hye began to squeal as she licked her most intimate flesh and her hips began to writhe as she tried to bring herself closer to his mouth. She wanted to, at that very moment, to hold his head and push him deeper but her hands were cuffed and she could only endure his teasing. It was slow and agonizing and just as gratification came close, it slipped out of her grasp.

He removed his head and looked at her, all hot and bothered because of him. Oh how he liked it. Hyun Joong took off his briefs and threw it behind him. Eun Hye panted, mesmerized and aroused at the erotic sight of such a man on his knees stripping in front of her. Once he was free from all unecessary constraints, he pressed his penis to her lips.

“No…” Her voice and action betrayed her lust.

“Dumb answer, bitch.” Hyun Joong hissed.

A finger slide inside Eun Hye’s parted thigh and he shoved it in her. Eun Hye grunted with bliss as she felt his finger enter her. But all of a sudden, she screamed as his cock slid all the way into her mouth.

“Suck me off.” He instructed.

Eun Hye’s head began bobbing up and down. She sucked on him like she’d never sucked on anyone in her life, slurping and drooling like a pro. Hyun Joong’s hands came down to her panting breasts and went after her taut nipples. He played and pulled at the tender nipples as she sucked feverishly on his cock. When he pinched her nipple, she screamed softly around his penis and he slapped her for it.

Finally, Hyun Joong eased his grip on her aching nipples and slid his cock from between her lips.

“You suck very good.” He complimented before giving her lips a kiss that took her breath away, if not already. “Yoon Eun Hye, stop me now.”

Eun Hye gazed into his eyes. Beads of fresh hot sweat stuck to his face and his cheeks were covered with her sweet nectar.

“And if I don’t?” She panted.

Hyun Joong penetrated her. She gasped as he gasped, the sensations sending shivering pulses of pleasure up each of their bodies. Eun Hye arched her back languidly, squirming and moaning as he thrust into her again and again.

Hyun Joong gripped her waist in his hands and he thrust into her faster, his length sliding deeper into her. Eun Hye screamed in pleasure and wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him deeper into her body as she could. Bound and cuffed, she had no way of pulling him closer. But as if reading her mind, his mouth was suddenly on hers. She pushed her tongue into his mouth and pressed against him hard, their breaths coming faster and faster.

Eun Hye moaned softly into his ear as he breathed upon her sweat slick skin and drove himself to the hilt and then some. Eun Hye moaned louder and louder until they became screams, her body shaking and trembling as he felt her orgasm rush over her body. When he felt his own rush over him, he threw his head back and exploded inside of her.

The two of them laid still, breathing hard.

Hyun Joong looked down at Eun Hye and slowly pulled out, his body barely able to move, yet he moved besides her and wrapped her into his arms. Clueless, Eun Hye snuggled into him closer, her breathing slowly calmed down as she drifted to sleep inside his arms. The sheets clung to their bodies and the smell in the air revealed their scantily clad doings.

The both of them had screwed each other and were screwed themselves, both literally and figuratively.

“`

“Putting your feelings in a glass bottle and letting it float out to sea had always been a favorite sport of mine. Why? It’s a practice for me to let go. I would put all the feelings I have inside, whether it is good or bad, and let it go. Occasionally, I would get some replies back. So, Eun Hye, when you have something to say, write it on a piece of paper and let it float out to sea. I’ll be sure to reply to you.”

I’ve known her for four years and we’ve been going out for all of those days. From these one thousand four hundred sixty days, I find that I know more about her than I do myself. She is a lovely woman indeed, the only one I have my eyes on since the day her sapphire blue eyes latched onto mine four years ago.

It’s going to be her birthday in several weeks. I’m going to propose to her. Wait for me, Eun Hye. All those promises I spoke to you about, as long as you say yes to me, I’ll do it. For you, I will. Just wait a couple more weeks and I’ll take you away. I promise.

END

The following is a work of fiction. The events and characters are fictional and the celebrity names/images merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrity is in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends.

© Eirallina Tran 2008. All rights reserved. Distribution of any kind is prohibited without the written consent of Eirallina Tran.

Story Started On: December 20, 2008

Story Finished On: December 27, 2008

Epilogue“

She was a vision in that dress. No one could surpass her beauty as the bride of Yoon Suk Hyun of The House. With a wedding party that held over 3,000 guests and a network of 5 million funding, it became the wedding of the year. Yes, Yoon Suk Hyun and the new mistress of the Yoon household truly did splurge on many things. But that was only on the account and cajoling of the mother-in-law, Yoon Eun Hye.

The wedding dress the bride wore on the wedding day was an extravagant collaboration between the retired-but-not-forgotten Garavani Valentino and Vera Wang as well as the exclusive designer to Kleinfeld Miss Pnina Tornai. This outstanding gown had received outstanding ovation and rapturous applause for its design and the woman who wore it obtained compliments after compliments. Kim Yoo Jin was the center of attention that day but the groom did not complain. In fact, he loved the attention his bride was getting.

The sounds of organs, pianos and harps harmoniously ruptured across the Church and everyone went silent as the double doors opened. Suk Hyun held his breath when his eyes settled on the sight of his bride. At one glance, everyone knew that Pnina Tornai had added her special signature corset design for the strapless corset on the bride’s body emphasized on the woman’s curvaceous bosom. Genuine Swarovski crystals and precious stones adorned the linings of the corset along the Alencon lace, giving it an abnormal quality of glistening shine in the light of the stained glass windows above. The hem of the corset was veiled by a ruching criss-cross layer of white satin and taffeta that flared out in layers of ruffles in a sense of style, glamour and beauty never seen before. The sophisticated dropped waist’s silk layer and A-line silhouette was a modern touch by both Valentino and Vera Wang. The gown itself cost several hundred thousand but adding to it a specifically designed diamond and platinum necklace as well as a Swarovski crystals hairclip in the shape of a butterfly that bounded Yoo Jin’s long soft wedding curls–it equaled an amount of over 2 million dollars. All paid and bought by the joined money of Park Yoochun and Yoon Eun Hye themselves.

Slowly, the bride approached the altar. Her eyes, though gleaming with happiness, did not glance at her groom at all. Instead, as she looked around at the guests, she spotted a man sitting ten seats away from the alter next to her best friend dressed in a plain if not worthy black suit. Her mouth dropped open when their eyes met and forgetting her own wedding, she rushed forward. The band thought she was in a hurry to meet her groom so they sped up the tempo of the music instruments but when they saw her run into the arms of the man, the euphony dwindled to a stop.

“Oppa, I didn’t know you were here!” Yoo Jin shouted when her friend dropped her down to the floor after spinning her around once. “Why didn’t you call me?”

“I would have told you sooner if I’d known you would react this way because…” Jun Jin chuckled softly and shook his head. Separating himself from his friend, he took Yoo Jin’s arm and ushered her back to the aisle. “Come on, I’ll walk you down the aisle or else I’ll be pummeled before the wedding’s even over.”

Yoo Jin bit her lip to keep the laughter from coming as the music resumed its place and everyone turned back to the altar awaiting her. She glanced up at the groom standing on the side with a very stern father holding onto the Bible book in his head. ‘Sorry‘ she mouthed out to him but he ignored her. Yoo Jin frowned at this and pouted her lips, resorting to looking away from her groom. Jun Jin gave Yoo Jin a light kiss on the forehead before walking away when they reached their destination. The bride ignored her groom and turned to look at the father. Ever so gently, she swatted Suk Hyun with her bouquet of flowers. No one noticed but the groom himself. He seethed a glare at her but she just smirked.

‘I am so going to get you for this.’ Suk Hyun mouthed to her, his face hidden from the views of the guests.

‘Just go ahead and try.’ Yoo Jin retorted with a shrug.

The priest cleared his throat, commanding them to stop their nonsensical plays.

“We are here today in the presence of friends and family to witness the marriage of Yoon Suk Hyun and Kim Yoo Jin; Suk Hyun and Yoo Jin, you have been brought together by contract and as a result, have found an abiding love for each other. Together, you stand as one entity, bound by mutual trust and commitment, through which love and affection will continue to blossom for the rest of your lives…”

Suk Hyun gave the priest a glare. The priest cleared his throat again.

“Before Suk Hyun and Yoo Jin are joined in marriage, I am bound by sacred covenant to share with you the solemn nature of the relationship in which they are about to enter. Marriage involves the voluntary pledge of man to woman, and of woman to man, to the exclusion of all others, and is entered into with the desire, the hope, and the sincere belief that it will be a lifelong union. Will you please, as an expression that your hearts are joined together in love, join hands and exchange your vows.”

The bride and groom turned to each other. They had written their vows long before but now that it was time to actually announce it to the world with so many cameras flashing and films being taken, it was nerve wrecking indeed. Being the bold and brave, Yoo Jin closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, tears brimmed her eyes but she did not let them drop.

“I, Yoo Jin, choose you Suk Hyun as my best friend, my love for life. I promise you my deepest love, my fullest devotion, my tenderest care. Through the pressures of the present and the uncertainties of the future, I promise to be faithful to you. I promise to love you, to commit to you, and support you. I pledge to respect your unique talents and abilities, to lend you strength for all of your dreams. You have shown me what love feels like and for that I thank you.”

Yoo Jin paused for a moment, blinking away the tears that had streamed down her face. Already, members of the guests were just like her crying for they knew how much the couple had went through. Suk Hyun bit his lip, feeling his own tears coming. He raised his hand to wipe away her tears but the woman slapped his hand away, evoking laughter from the guests despite the situation.

“You are everything I need and at this moment I know all of my prayers have been answered and that all of my dreams have come true.” From the grip Yoo Jin had on his hands, Suk Hyun knew she was struggling with this. It made him want to just forget the wedding and bring her away somewhere to kiss her senseless. But because she was confessing her undying love to him, something he had been waiting to hear, he did not budge. “I praise God for you Suk Hyun: for all of your love and constant friendship. I know that our love is heaven sent and I promise to be here forever and always. From this day forward, you shall not walk alone. My heart will be your shelter and my arms will be your home. As I have given you my hand to hold so I give you my life to keep.”

Suk Hyun looked into his bride’s eyes and forgot everything. What he saw in front of him wasn’t the white walls decorated with pink roses nor the smiling faces of his father, Park Yoochun, and mother, Yoon Eun Hye. He only saw her. Taking her fragile hands into his own, Suk Hyun hoisted them up and kissed the back of her hand and looked up into her eyes.

“I still remember the very first time I lost myself in your eyes. You looked into me, as I unto you. And what I saw there, it terrified me. I, until that point, had never seen two eyes say so much. That hazel brown accent you laid upon me gave me a sensation of how delicate and fragile your heart was. Yet the darkened outline and depth of the gaze showed me the power and determination of your soul. At that very moment I knew. I knew my future had just stared me in the eyes. No one had known of this but the 2 weeks between our first meeting and the second, I had spent my time visiting all of the libraries just to find you. From that moment you have delivered me from my despair and completely rightened all of my wrongs.” Suk Hyun himself choked on his words at the middle of his long vow and he had to take a breath to calm himself. Yoo Jin smiled. “What I can say to you that I haven’t already said. What can I give to you that I haven’t already given; I’m not so sure. Is there anything of me that isn’t yours already? My body, my mind, my heart and even my soul. Everything that is me belonged to you long before this and it shall be yours long after this. I will follow you anywhere and everywhere you lead; hand in hand and heart in heart. And for this I pray. I pray that you accept my unconditional love and never ending devotion.”

Suk Hyun glanced at the priest and the old man nodded his head, snapping his fingers. At once, Suk Hyun’s best friend Kim Tae yang appeared before the couple in a Dolce and Gabbana hot blue suit that did not look anywhere near appropriate. In his hand was a small pillow layered with lace and rhinestones and on that pillow were two rings. The groom blindly took one of the rings without looking at it and tried to insert it onto his bride’s left ring finger. To his surprise, it slipped right in and dangled there. The ring didn’t fit. The ring didn’t fit! His eyes went wide and he glanced at Tae Yang.

“Dude, that’s the wrong ring.” His best man whispered.

Suk Hyun glanced at the pillow once again and chuckled at his own stupidity. He had grabbed his own ring instead of Yoo Jin’s. Nodding his head and blushing furiously, he made sure he grabbed the right one and slipped it into his bride’s finger. The 18K white gold wedding ring featuring four pave and two bezel set diamonds fit perfectly.

“Please wear my ring as a sign of our love…” The groom looked into Yoo Jin’s eyes. “… And the world will know that I am yours and you are mine.”

Yoo Jin took the ring from the pillow and gently slid it into Suk Hyun’s ring finger. As she did this, her face couldn’t hide the joy she was feeling inside and her face beamed with a pink glow. The priest looked from the bride to the groom and then back before his eyes focused on the two of them at the same time. A smile broke out on his face and he nodded his head.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. Go forth from this day with gladness in your hearts. Mr. Yoon, you may kiss your bride.”

At last. The moment everyone has been waiting for. Without further ado, Suk Hyun pushed his best friend/brother-in-law out of the way and pulled his wife into his arms. He swooped down and gave her a passionate kiss that had people cheering and screaming, the cameras snapping, and reporters speaking frantically above the commotion.

Among the crowd, Yoochun slowly slipped his hand over Eun Hye’s cold ones. Her head turned and looked at him in surprise. Her son’s wedding had moved her to tears and her mascara ran like wiggly lines down her face. But he found her beautiful. As always.

“Eun Hye-ah.”

“Mhmm?”

“That day when we left each other… Did our love really die?”

Eun Hye shrugged.

“Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don’t know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of withering, of tarnishing. If you could have tried to understand…” She squeezed his hand. “You would see that there’s a place in my heart where your fingerprints still rest, your kisses still linger, and your whispers softly echo. It’s the place where a part of you will forever be a part of me.”

“Umma!” Someone called.

Yoochun and Eun Hye looked up and ducked as something went flying towards them. Out of reflexes, Yoochun raised his hand up to catch the small silver object. Eun Hye glanced at who threw the item.

“Yoo Jin found it for you. Thanks her later.” Suk Hyun winked at his parents, turned to his girlfriend, and scooped her off her feet. “We’re off to our honey moon!!”

Yoochun and Eun Hye waved their hands to their kid. When the crowd departed along with their son and his newlywed wife, they turned their attention back to what Yoo Jin had thrown at them. He opened his hands and there, sitting on the palm of his hand, was that bracelet he had given her years before.

“You kept it.” Yoochun said.

“Mhmm, I did.”

Eun Hye tore her eyes away from Yoochun towards the now empty church. All the wedding guests who attended the wedding was outside waving to Suk Hyun and Yoo Jin good bye.

“E-Eun Hye.” Yoochun’s voice broke as he called her name. “Is it too late?”

The woman in question turned to look at him and smiled.

“Often times we say goodbye to the person we love without wanting to. Though that doesn’t mean that we’ve stopped loving them or that we’ve stopped to care. Sometimes goodbye is a painful way to say I love you.”
He frowned.

“Is that a yes or a no?”

Eun Hye giggled.

“You tell me.”

END

Pacing.

Yoochun was pacing around. His mind was completely and utterly locked out from everything knowing that things had never been the same from what he originally thought. He had been lied to. After so many years in hiding, she told him of the truth from 25 years ago and the thought was more than enough to make him break down. He spent countless hours and days of his life to mourn the loss of his son and the parting of his lover because of his repeated mistakes. But now?

He understood that he had wanted her to abort Jun Pyo–Suk Hyun? But he had regretted it as soon as the operation ended and the abortion was a success. Why did he regret it? Did he regret because of the guilt that was eating him, was it the guilt of him putting Eun Hye through such a bad thing, or because he truly, truly, truly loved Jun Pyo? All those letters that Eun Hye had written for Jun Pyo–that diary–he still kept it with him. Like a treasured possession, he would occasionally flip back and forth and read those lines. He recognized the slow pain and the strangeness of being a father without being a father. It did not make sense to others but to him, it made perfect sense.

During the Star King filming years back when a mini version of Dong Bang Shin Ki came out to greet him, it was a beautiful memory. It was too cute the way mini Yoochun introduced himself and did one of his signature moves, making him smile with his effort. It was a sweet memory but also a bitter one because as all these little details happened… He felt jealous because his son could have been like him. He could have really had a mini version of Yoochun. If he could have said it again, he wanted to be everything to Jun Pyo—a scolding father, a sweet friend, and athletic basketball teammate, and a great mentor. But whenever those thoughts appear, he would remember that the words of how he felt could no longer reach Jun Pyo.

But now?

He could right his wrongs. He could start over. He could be someone to him. It might be that he’s too late. But things were different. Between Suk Hyun, Eun Hye, and himself, things were starting to fall into the right place. For him, without the existence of Eun Hye and Suk Hyun in his life, things had never been right. He could pretend, he could be smiling, he could cry, and get on with relationships. But that would be lying to himself.

“You still thinking?”

Yoochun perked up and looked at the doorway. There stood Sang Hyun dressed in a sharp but casual suit, savoring a glass of wine that he had in his hands. As he caught Yoochun’s attention, Sang Hyun approached and closed the door behind him to give the two of them some privacy that Yoochun desperately need.

“I’m screwed.”

“You were calm and collected at that dinner when Eun Hye told you. Why are you a freaked out bimbo of a cat now?” Sang Hyun frowned.

“Because it still didn’t sink in.”

“How old are you now?”
“Old enough to know that I got a son who is getting married.” Yoochun retorted back.

The two men walked and plopped themselves down on the sofa.

“I can’t believe you didn’t notice it at all.”

Yoochun took a deep breath and buried his head in his hands.

“It’s not that I didn’t notice. I did but I was silent about it. I mean, I recognized you the first time we met. I recognized you as that doctor. But the both of you brushed the thought away and I didn’t think any thing of it until several days when I visited the hospital.”

“So why didn’t you say anything?”

“I saw things but I felt that it was a contradiction to everything that I’ve known. I held on to that one single moment 25 years ago when she told me she adopted him and didn’t see anything else. It’s just… shocking.”

Sang Hyun sighed.

“What exactly do you want to do? There are only two options for you.”

“Accept Suk Hyun and Eun Hye as my family members or leave and ignore what I had just learned.” Yoochun listed. “I know. But I wonder.. Is it too late?”

His companion shrugged and then Yoochun also shrugged.

“You never tried in the first place.” Sang Hyun said, leaning back against his chair. “Twenty-five years ago and now. Even though you love them a lot, you never tried to help them in time of need.”

“You can hide the pain that you feel and make others believe that you can move on, Yoochun.” Sa Rang had said when she handed him the divorce paper. “But you can never deny the truth to yourself that the people who has failed you and hurt you is still the same people you’ll always choose to love. After all this time, you still love that woman who left you, don’t you?”

“You did what?” Suk Hyun swiveled around and stared at his mother. His harsh voice softened and he took a deep breath as if he would burst out in anger if he didn’t. “Umma, you… You told him?”

“Yes. I told him about you.” Eun Hye replied with a quirk of an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with that?”

“After disappearing for twenty five years, do you expect me to accept him so easily?”

Both Sang Hyun and Yoochun stopped at the threshold of the door. They looked at each other. Eun Hye recognized their presence and gestured for them to enter. Suk Hyun tensed up as Yoochun approached the dining room table.

“Suk Hyun…”

“What do you plan to do?” Suk Hyun interrupted. He got up from his chair and stared straight at his father. “What are you going to do knowing that I’m your son all this time and you never even realized? You can’t tell me to accept you, you know.”

“Suk Hyun.” Eun Hye berated.

“Umma. He never accepted me so why should I accept him?”

“You’re right.” Yoochun said. “I never learned to accept you. Because I thought only from my point of view rather than Eun Hye’s, I only thought about my loss and not her own. I only cared about my problems and my issues and did not take into consideration who I may or may not have hurt. I am sorry about that. I had never tried to accept you but I’m willing to try now. Can we?”

Suk Hyun stared at his father. The anger that boiled up inside of him was subtle but for years now it had been simmering, waiting for that moment to just burst. Now it did. Taking several steps forward, he clenched his fist and delivered a punch to Yoochun’s stomach. Eun Hye and Sang Hyun gasped at the sight but stood their ground.

“That’s for leaving umma, who loved you so much.” Suk Hyun hissed. His fist came into contact with Yoochun’s jaw as he came up for air. “That’s for abandoning me.” Grabbing Yoochun’s shoulders, the young man kneed his father’s solar plexus. Suk Hyun pulled back and looked at his father, who was holding his stomach in pain. “And that… That’s for taking forever to get here.”

The pain was so worth it.

“I’m glad you made it, guys.” Eun Hye smiled as the couple entered the wedding boutique.

It’s been a week since they’ve officially separated and this was the first time they saw each other since then. So far, everything looked and sounded good. Since the wedding was less than a month away and no preparations had been done on both sides of the family, Eun Hye had invited all the close family members over for a shopping spree. Dresses for the ladies and tuxedos for the men were the requirements for the garden wedding and they needed a whole day’s worth.

Dressed comfortably in jeans and a polo shirt with a leather jacket, Sang Hyun was absolutely radiating with brightness as he escorted his girlfriend Min Ah inside. The last time she saw him, he had a huge long wormy stubble as a mustache but now it was shaved off, draining out about ten years off his physique. His long overdressed hair was trimmed and cut to a more well-kempt style. Min Ah, adorning a shirred waistband pleated dress, paired well with that man for she had changed him greatly. They were happy together no doubt.

“Hey, Eun Hye.” Sang Hyun greeted her with a hug.

“Hey.” Eun Hye turned to Min Ah and after a silent exchange, the two of them exchange kisses on the cheeks. “Good afternoon Min Ah unnie.”

“Afternoon.” The two of them pulled away and Min Ah’s eyes looked around the wedding boutique. “Where is Suk Hyun and Yoo Jin? I haven’t had a chance to congratulate them on their engagement.”

“Oh they brought friends over so they went their separate ways. My son’s in the men’s section with his buddies and Yoo Jin with her girlfriends by the ladies.” Eun Hye replied. “Come to think of it, Yoochun’s also with Suk Hyun. Why don’t you join him, Sang Hyun?”

“Naww, it looks like he’s coming over to join us.”

Eun Hye raised an eyebrow and turned around to see that indeed Yoochun was coming over to join them.

“Waah, Yoon Sang Hyun!” Yoochun chuckled as the two men exchanged a friendly handshake. “I haven’t seen you in a while since we met, eh?”

“Yeah, I’ve been pretty busy here and there.”

First noticing the stranger holding on to Sang Hyun’s hand, Yoochun raised an eyebrow and introduced himself.

“Hello, my name’s Park Yoochun.”

“I’m Shin Min Ah.” Min Ah replied with a nod of her head. “It’s really nice to finally meet you in person, Yoochun-sshi.”

“Oh? Has someone been talking about me?” Yoochun glanced teasingly at Eun Hye.

Sang Hyun chuckled.

“My boyfriend’s been praising you nonstop, right love?” Min Ah tugged on Sang Hyun’s arm.

He nodded, embarrassed. Sang Hyun still had to get used to the fact that Min Ah was finally his girlfriend now.

“Eh?” Yoochun looked confused. “I thought he was your boyfriend, Eun Hye.”

“Didn’t you hear?” Sang Hyun glanced at Eun Hye questioningly before turning to Yoochun. “We broke up already.”

“Aniyo, I didn’t hear. Not at all.” Yoochun glanced at Eun Hye.

Eun Hye in turn glared at the two men and crossed her arms.

“Ya, ya. Don’t look at me like I’m at fault. What am I, a celebrity or something? I don’t have to report my relationship status to you all. Buzz off.”

“Don’t mind them, Eun Hye.” Min Ah put a hand on Eun Hye and began steering her away from the guys. “Let’s go find a dress to wear to your son’s wedding. And you know, Yoochun-sshi probably wanted to know because he thought you were taken. But you’re not anymore so he should make his move.” Min Ah glanced back at Yoochun and winked. “Come.”

“I saw that, Shin Min Ah!” Eun Hye snapped.

“Palli ka.” Sang Hyun shooed the two girls as they giggled out of sight.

After hours and hours of looking around several different wedding boutiques and many other shops, everyone split up to their respective pairings. Suk Hyun and Yoo Jin along with their bridesmaids and groomsmen went to a near by restaurant for lunch. The four adults went into the same restaurant except they were at a different table and in different private rooms. Eun Hye had insisted that Sang Hyun and Min Ah sit in the same table as her but as per their words, they wanted privacy.

Therefore, Eun Hye was alone with Yoochun once again. It wasn’t odd really but very uncomfortable. Being alone with Yoochun made her feel like she was the girl from 25 years ago, giddy and nervous at all times with her heart palpitating like she was having a heart attack. She didn’t like that feeling at all.

“I’m done.” Eun Hye said, looking up at him from the other side of the table. Yoochun had evidently finished his food as well and long before she did it seemed. She blinked. “You’re fast.”

He chuckled and nodded.

“Yeah, I’ve always been a fast eater.”

Eun Hye frowned at the statement.

“Not really. Unless you want to say something, you’ll be eating like a snail to savor the tastes.” She crinkled her nose. “Do you want to say something?”

“Both Sang Hyun, Suk Hyun, and Min Ah said something to me today.” Yoochun started. His eyes gazed only at the woman in front of him. “They said you wanted to talk to me?”

Twenty-five years and so much had happened in her life. She gave birth to a beautiful baby boy who was, in a few weeks, getting married. Her parents divorced a short while after Suk Hyun reached his fifth birthday. The course of her dreams, a fashion designer, were strewn astray due to monetary problems but within years it turned into something different. She was now a CEO of an entire enterprise. She struggled and survived through all that. Surely she could face the wrath of Park Yoochun, right?

“You know…” Eun Hye began, choosing her words carefully. “You had never doubted my love for you because I had always showed it, said it, thought of it. Not because I had to but because I felt it and wanted you to know. I did little things to show you how much you meant to me. Yet at the end of that journey, I felt so lonely.”

“That’s because we broke up.” Yoochun replied. “Had it been different, had he lived, I’m pretty sure that you wouldn’t feel that way and neither would I.”

“Had it been different….” Her voice trailed off as if she was debating whether or not she should elucidate on the problem that had plagued both Suk Hyun and her for the last 25 years. “What would you do?”

Yoochun raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

“If you found out that Jun Pyo was still alive… Would it really be different? What would you do?”

A pause.

“To be honest, when we lost Jun Pyo, it was hard on me too. I regretted not thinking it through. I was stupid and because of my stupidity, you had to go through one of the most devastating times of your life. And I wasn’t there to help. Sometimes when I look back at the past, I wondered… That time you were crying alone because of me, if I had ran straight to you and talked to you, would you still have been by my side? I also wondered… If things had been different–that if you choose not to abort and leave me to give birth to him—would he hate me? Because I had thrown him away without a second’s thought and ruined his mother’s life, would he feel bitter? He could have been a brilliant boy. With your nurture and my teachings, he could have been a great boy. I just didn’t see that. And now I can’t anymore. That’s what hurts the most.” Yoochun cleared his throat. “You ask me if Jun Pyo was alive, what would I do. I don’t know. But more than ever, I would be utterly embarrassed and ashamed to even face him. I bet he would be a good man because he’s not me.”

Yoochun grinned.

“Yoochun-ah.”

“Mhmmm?”

Big moves often signify new beginnings. With Suk Hyun’s wedding coming up, she needed to clean the slate up. Why? It was for the sake of her own self, Suk Hyun’s and even Yoochun’s. Eun Hye looked down at her tea and nodded her head, squeezing her eyes shut as she said the words.

“Jun Pyo is alive.” Through lids that were cringing from her confession, Eun Hye’s eyes lingered on Yoochun’s face and saw the scandalous look within. “Suk Hyun… He’s Jun Pyo.”

Yoochun took in a gasp. His contours of his cheeks blushed, the depth of his nose crinkled, and the softness of his eyes hardened. It seemed as if the air got sucked out of him, the warmth evaporated, and his senses died.

“What do you mean? Suk Hyun… What do you mean Suk Hyun is Jun Pyo?”

“Up to this point, I think you’re smart enough to figure it out yourself.”

“W… Why didn’t you tell me anything?”

Eun Hye smiled.

“Yoochun-ah, ta–”

“Umma!!”

The door to their private room slammed open and it seemed like hundreds upon hundreds of people entered when it was really only Suk Hyun, Yoo Jin, and their friends.

“Yoochun-sshi, you ready to go more tux hunting?” Suk Hyun asked. His eyebrows wriggled comically. “I’m depending on you to find the right tux for me!”

Yoochun stared at Suk Hyun. The flow of Eun Hye’s words mixed with Suk Hyun’s appearance and the throng of feelings that were suddenly thrown at him through made him susceptible to the pain he had long tried to bury.

Ringing in his mind was the impact the fragile glass socks made as it shattered to pieces.

Chapter 5

\\ The Flavor of Life //

They had been together for 7 long enduring years. But as the two parted, no feelings were felt. 7 years and the feelings had gone cold. Whose fault it was, they didn’t really care.

“Got everything, Sang Hyun?”

Eun Hye asked as she walked down the stairs towards the man rummaging through his black suitcase. Surrounding him, there were other suitcases of various sizes. But those suitcases were being slowly carried out to the car by butlers who appeared to help him. He was moving out. For good. The man flashed a smile at her.

“I think I got everything.” He replied. After looking at the lobby of the mansion one more time with its magnificent chandeliers, long drafty halls, and her, Sang Hyun took a deep sigh. “Yup, that’s everything.”

“Will you still attend Suk Hyun’s wedding in April?”

“Dahyunaji! Wait, April? I thought you’re having an outside wedding. It’ll be all rainy in April.”

Eun Hye giggled and nodded.

“You know what they say. April showers bring May flowers. I want a grandkid some time soon if not already from the way they give each other bedroom eyes during breakfast each morning.”

He laughed.

“That’s what you get for letting Yoo Jin stay over.” Glancing down at his watch, Sang Hyun winced. “Alright, I gotta go. See you later.”

A pause.

“San–”

“Eu–”

They looked at each other and smiled shyly as if this was their first time meeting. A moment later, Eun Hye and Sang Hyun simultaneously expressed what they wanted to say.

“Did you ever feel anything?”

Laughing quietly at their joined question, the couple who had just broken up with each other a few moments before looked down at the floor in embarrassment. Sang Hyun looked up at Eun Hye first and a smile broke onto his face. Compared to their first meeting so long ago, she had aged. He had aged more. But despite all that aging, all that maturing lines of wrinkles and of the heart’s blood flow—it was not the same as before. It was never the same after that operation.

“I did.” Eun Hye said, looking straight at Sang Hyun for her answer to his question. “In the beginning, the attraction was there. But then… Things went wrong. I don’t know how or what but something went wrong.”

“It’s because we know too much of ourselves. The secrets that we kept for each other threatened it–you with your fake abortion and me helping you lie. Despite the attraction, there was no firm foundation in which we could build for us and for our future. Which brings us here right now standing in front of each other and saying good bye in the most odd sense of sort. It’s not really a farewell because… We already said good bye to our relationship when I cheated. We simply lied to ourselves, saying that we could make it work. But I’m done and we’re through.”

Eun Hye nodded her head in agreement.

“Will you have plans to marry Min Ah any time soon?”

“I have plans for that, yes. But not any time this year. I don’t want to compete with Suk Hyun. He’ll have a fit like a princess that he is.”

“I’ll tell him that.”

“Please do. On the same note, would you be reconciling with Yoochun?”

She cocked an eyebrow and he copied her teasingly.

“Why would I reconcile with him?”

Sang Hyun shrugged.

“Because if you don’t, he will be attending the wedding as a guest and not the father of the groom. And besides, I know what I saw and what I was wa—”

“Do you really have to speak like that?”

“Fine. I saw sparks flying and rainbow halos around your head with fish flying about that time. Better?”

Eun Hye cringed.

“Sang Hyun.”

“Eun Hye-ah, it’s not easy to start over and give someone another chance because if it hurt once, it will hurt a thousand fold more if that person disappoint you again. But sometimes, you just have to take the risk. And I know you still love him.” Eun Hye lowered her eyes. “That’s why we never got married. I won’t complain though. Through you, I found Min Ah. You gave me that little push three years ago. Now let me push you in the right direction.”

As if he was debating with himself, Sang Hyun took one step back and then two steps forward before embracing his girlfriend in a brief hug that spoke of the want to let go and the desire to be free.

“Farewell, Sang Hyun.”

“Good bye, Yoon Eun Hye.”

Sang Hyun broke the embrace by pushing her gently away from his arms. He was letting her go. With a final nod to his ex girlfriend, he turned away from her face and sauntered out the double mahogany doors of the mansion. He never looked back. Not even once.

Eun Hye stared at his shadow long after it disappeared. No emotions were spread on her face to signify any sort of pain, any sort of regret, or anything that might account for her loss. A moment later, she turned back and went up the stairs like it was any normal day. And for her, it was. It was a happy day. Why? The both of them were finally free and today, they will be walking to their own individual futures.

“She’s going to meet him.” Suk Hyun pulled himself out of his hiding place behind a wall.

Stepping out of her own hiding spot behind him, his girlfriend raised an eyebrow.

“Who?”

“Umma. She’s going to meet him.” Suk Hyun reiterated with a faint smile on his face. After running his fingers through his blonde hair, the young man threw his hand up in the air as a form of celebration. “Yes!”

“Ya!” Yoo Jin hissed, slapping his arm. “Who is she going to meet?”

Suk Hyun grabbed the hand that was hitting him playfully and pulled his girlfriend into a soulful kiss that had her silenced.

“My father.”

Without anyone’s knowledge, a twinkle of silver sparked at the bottom of the stairs.

Yoochun looked up as the bell to the cafe rang and found a smile appearing on his face at the woman who entered. Garbed in a beautiful but simply navy blue scoop-neck satin dress under a contrasting white cardigan, Eun Hye had her long hair pulled up in a cute knotted bun on top of her head. She looked like a Japanese doll with a lot of rebel in her dress. He tried not to draw attention to himself and waved his hand up in the air for her to see as she looked about the cafe looking for him. But unfortunately, she was searching at the wrong side so he had to do something different.

“Eun Hye!” He hissed.

Her head swiveled around and as her eyes landed on him, she put a hand to her mouth and giggled into it. Of course she would. People were looking at him weirdly. But it was okay now. DBSK had retired about ten years back to welcome the new generations of singers. None of the youngsters recognized this person. Granted, he still appeared in public events and advertised here and there. But he was no longer in SM, no longer DBSK, and no longer Micky. He was himself now.

“Sorry I’m late.” Eun Hye said as she plopped down in front of him.

He chuckled and shook his head.

“I hope you still like brésiliennes because I ordered some for you.”

“Omo, brésiliennes?” Eun Hye gasped. “I haven’t eaten one since forever!”

Yoochun simply sipped his dark coffee cup and eyed her.

“Well, you’re in luck then. Here they come.”

True to his words, a waitress appeared right in front of their table and set down a tray of brésiliennes piled up together in a form of a pyramid with the top lavishly decorated by drizzles of powder sprinkles. Just the sight of it made her stomach rumble with excitement. Yoochun raised an eyebrow and chuckled at her. She just rolled her eyes at him.

“Enjoy your treat.”

With a nod of her head, the waitress walked away. Yoochun watched as Eun Hye quickly dig into the plate of pastries and popped into her mouth one round nugget of a brésilienne. She closed her eyes to savor the chocolaty delight it delivered and sighed happily. Just for the fun of it, the man cleared his throat. Her eyes fluttered open and blushed a deep red seeing the smirk on Yoochun’s face.

“You’re still the girl who’s addicted to brésiliennes.” Yoochun said.

She crinkled her nose.

“A woman. I’m a woman now, about to be old in a couple of years.” Eun Hye corrected.

“Okay then, old woman. Want to tell me what you’ve been doing for the last 25 years? I mean, we did get together today for that, right? To catch up on life after breaking up?”

She rolled her eyes.

“Do I have to start first? You go!”

He glared at her but then sighed dejectedly.

“Fine. I’ll go. You better shut up and listen. I’ll make it nice and short.” Yoochun cleared his throat. “Okay, so I debuted with DBSK and continue my career as Micky of DBSK for about… 12 years. But of course, you should know all this since we’ve been all over the news, topping Oricon charts and winning awards left and right.”

Eun Hye giggled.

“What an arrogant man.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m legendary. Anyway, after disbanding, Jae Joong finally got married to his co-worker BoA and Yunho with Go Ara from his Heading to the Ground drama. I myself married with Lee Sa Rang, a senior in the photography department. We split up after a year due to a lack of understanding on both parts. That was a big issue in the news as well so you should know about it. I’ve been an eligible bachelor since.”

He winked at her.

“Shut up,”

“Fine. Now it’s your turn then.”

Munching on a brésilienne for strength, Eun Hye stared out through the window to the outside world and let out a sigh.

“After we split up, I moved to the other side of Seoul and from there, continued my education. A little bit later after my job was stabilized, I…” Her brows crinkled. “I adopted Suk Hyun. I tried to balance my time with the job and taking care of Suk Hyun at the same time. It was really hard and as always, I struggled to make a living. Sometimes, I wanted to just… give up. To return to you. To return my parents to be spoiled and taken care of.”

“Why didn’t you?”

She turned to look at him and smiled.

“Because I still wanted to be close to you, even if it was just the same city. But Yoochun-ah, thank you. That day when you chased after me three years later, thank you for doing that. You did a lot.”

“What did I do?”

“To say that it was hard trying to deal with life without you is only a small portion of how I really felt then.” With her hands on the table gripping the cup of warm tea that he had ordered for her, Eun Hye shook her head as she recalled the bitterly memories. “You were all that I really knew and to know that I couldn’t see you, that I couldn’t text you, call you, hold you because you were no longer mine… It was an ache of my heart. I… I walked out on you. I walked out and never looked back to see how you were doing, whether you were hurt because of me, if you were alright. I was selfish. I’m sorry.”

“Eun Hye…”

Yoochun reached his hand out for her but then stopped himself when she continued speaking.

“My heart broke then. But it healed really fast because after 2 years of separation, I saw you on TV that Christmas. Not a year later and we met again for the first time. You looked absolutely amazing and so happy because you were with them. I could not take that away. I could never take you away from your dreams.”

Yoochun lowered his gaze and laughed to himself, at himself.

“Sometimes, I wished that you had.”

“I did too. But then if I did, I wouldn’t have ever met Suk Hyun.” Eun Hye gazed at Yoochun’s face and nodded her head. Though her eyes were shiny with tears, it did not fall. “Thank you. For giving me Suk Hyun.”

“Are you…” Yoochun grinned. “Are you still in love with me?” Eun Hye stiffened and he noticed this. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. I mean, you have a boyfriend and all so I’m really sorry for asking.”

“Why did you ask?” Eun Hye inquired with a tilt of her head.

“It was a foolish question, really, because if you were still in love with me you would have…” Unknowingly, his voice dropped to a whisper. “… that bracelet.”

Ding dong. A moment passed. Ding dong.

“Coming!” A voice called from the inside.

A second later, the door opened and a woman appeared by the doorway. Her hair was in disarray and her smock dress splashed with red paint. But her face was perfectly cleared of any distortions.

“I’m home.” Sang Hyun said with a smile that made the corner of his eyes crinkle.

Shin Min Ah stared at Yoon Sang Hyun for a moment. Then after realizing exactly who it was that stood in front of her, she let out a scream and jumped on her. The paint was then transferred to Sang Hyun but he did not mind. He welcomed it for it was here that he called it his home. Here with Min Ah.

Chapter 4

\\ How They Met //

He entered the room, dressed in the formal white lab coat, black pants, and white shirt with no ties. A portfolio was in his hand and he was using it to fan his hot face. His eyes went to the patient sitting on the procedure table.

“Congratulations, Eun Hye.” Sang Hyun grinned. “You’re pregnant.”

The scene changed. The woman was now crying and covering her face with her hands. The doctor was trying to calm her down. He had the woman in his arms and patting her back with his hand, soothing her heavy breathing and hiccups.

“Kwanchana.” He whispered. “Everything will be fine.”

“Oppa…” Eun Hye hiccupped. “Ottokeyo? He hates me. He’ll hate me for ruining his life.”

“It’s also the baby’s life you’re going to ruin.” It was meant to be as a encouraging sort of comment but that only made her cry harder. Sang Hyun cringed. “I mean, you don’t have to abort if you don’t want to. Kwanchana.”

“I can’t kill Jun Pyo. No, I won’t!” Eun Hye looked up at Sang Hyun and her tears flowed continuously. “But Yoochun…”

“Eun Hye-ah, listen to me.” Sang Hyun said. His voice was firm and his touch gentle as he caressed the woman’s womb. “Sometimes, happiness is made through the sacrifices of others.”

“Then…” Her eyes returned to her bulging stomach. “Then… I’ll make Jun Pyo’s happiness.”

They were running down the hall, pulling the stretcher with the unconscious woman down towards the operation room. Sweat slid down his face and his heart was palpitating hundreds of miles per minute. He’ll have a heart attack once this was all over. As the man ran towards his unconscious girlfriend, Sang Hyun ignored him. He just knew he had to complete the task at hand.

“Sir, please calm down.” One of the assistant nurses said to the man.

“What happened to her!” The man shouted.

Sang Hyun swiveled his head to the boyfriend. For the time in quite a while, Sang Hyun had a glimpse of Park Yoochun. The chaotic syndrome that over came the young man was enough to make him want to stop all this foolishness. But he couldn’t. Not yet.

“The abortion was a success but the patient has lost too much blood during the procedure. We have to get to the OR. Excuse us.”

Slapping Yoochun’s hand from the stretcher, Sang Hyun pulled the stretcher away and entered the elevator. As the door slammed shut, Yoon Eun Hye’s eyes opened.

“Annyeonghaseyo.” Sang Hyun exchanged glances with Eun Hye and sternly nodded his head to Yoochun. “I’m Yoon Sang Hyun, Eun Hye’s boyfriend.”

“Oh.” Yoochun seemed a bit surprised at the title but he regained his composure and smiled. “I’m Park Yoochun.”

“I know.” The boyfriend replied curtly. “If you don’t mind me asking, what did you say just now Yoochun-sshi?”

Yoochun laughed nervously and scratched his head.

“Aniya. It’s probably just my eyes playing tricks on me.” The man replied, more to himself than to Sang Hyun. “You can’t be him. That would be too much of a coincidence.”

Before the two men got their pride and ego into high gear, the woman stepped in.

“Guys, let’s go eat.” Eun Hye said, ushering the two into the house. “I’m starving. Come on, come on, come on.”

“Eun Hye, I’m going to rest. See you later.”

Sang Hyun gave his girlfriend a brief hug and stalked down the hall as the trio entered the house. Yoochun and Eun Hye exchanged glances and awkward laughter. Silently, the host lead the guest down towards the dining room table where she hoped the maids had set up lunch already. She was walking really fast, trying to avoid looking into his eyes as best as she could. Meaning, she was walking ahead of him. But he was gaining ground regardless.

“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.”

“What girl in her right mind wouldn’t get a boyfriend?” Eun Hye teased, turning around to face him.

She started walking backwards.

“I mean…” Yoochun flushed. “I thought you’d be married by now.”

“I don’t believe in marriages anymore.” She replied, playing with the bracelet on her left hand.

“My life has never and could never be the same after I met you. You’ve made me more joyful, more stable, and more inspired. I can’t picture the rest of my life without you by my side. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

Eun Hye blinked, her eyes widening in alarm. They were surrounded by hundreds of people who attended the senior prom and here Yoochun was kneeling on the floor asking her to accept the proposal.

“Bwoh?”

Yoochun grinned at his girlfriend’s answer–just as he expected–and got up from the floor. At her stunned silence, he leaned forward and gave her a peck on the lips.

“You’re so cute.”

“Ya!” Eun Hye shouted, slapping his head. “Are you joking with me?”

He chuckled.

“Eun Hye-ah, we’re both not ready yet. When we’re ready, I’ll ask you again. You better say yes.”

Eun Hye giggled.

“And if I don’t?”

“Well then I have something to keep you captive.”

Steering them away from the crowd of dancers, the couple stopped by the base of the stairs leading to the concierge of the ballroom.

“What is it?”

“Wait, have patience.”

“I don’t have patience.”

Yoochun rolled his eyes. Digging his hand into his pants’ pocket, he took out a shimmering silver bracelet that he silently put on Eun Hye’s left wrist.

“Waah…” Eun Hye frowned. “But what does it have to do with marriage?”

“Look at it.” Eun Hye glared at her boyfriend and did as she was told, slowly studying the design of the bracelet. But… There were no designs. Instead, there was only one phrase carved within.

Marry me.

“Yoon Suk Hyun!!” Eun Hye shouted on top of her voice, bring Yoochun out of his reverie. He looked about in alarm. “You better get your white butt down here to greet your guest. Stop fooling around with Yoo Jin up there!!”

“Umma!!” A faint voice echoed from above. The young man was definitely not happy his moment got interrupted.

“Don’t umma me. Get down here.”

Yoochun snickered.

“Sang Hyun-sshi isn’t going to eat lunch with us?” Yoochun inquired when the head of the household told him to eat lunch.

“Aniyo.” Suk Hyun replied. “He’s probably had his fill at Min Ah’s place.”

“He’s still with her?” Yoo Jin asked uncertainly, glancing from Suk Hyun’s mother to her boyfriend. She cleared her throat and nodded to Eun Hye. “Cheosamhamnida.”

“Kwanchanayo.” Eun Hye brushed the matter away with a smile. “Say, Yoo Jin. Would you like to tell Yoochun how you two met? I mean, he will be the guest of honor so you guys should fill him on everything.”

“Umma!” Suk Hyun hissed. Even with the harsh tone, his face was beginning to turn a bright red.

“How did you two meet?” Yoochun quipped in. “I want to know.”

Yoo Jin giggled and slapped her boyfriend’s upper arm as he buried his face in his soup, slurping very loudly.

“Hunnie, do you want me to tell them or you?”

“Do whatever you want.” Suk Hyun replied, his voice muffled as he stuffed his mouth with food.

The two adults there chuckled.

“Come on, you two. Just tell me.” Yoochun urged.

“Okay, I’ll tell you Yoochun sunbae.” Yoo Jin gazed at her boyfriend as she spoke of their encounter. Had it not been for Suk Hyun acting like Ronald Weasley from Harry Potter, it would have been nice. “About four years ago, I was sitting on a bench in Oxford, England by the river in a beautiful place called Christ Church Meadows reading about the courses at Oxford University when this dashing young Korean man with a killer smile asked me if he could borrow my prospectus. We started to talk and I told him I was working at a library. After a while, we had to part and a couple of weeks later, this gorgeous hunk almost ran me over with his bicycle. There, at the clinic, he finally gathered enough courage to ask me for a date. Isn’t that cute?”

“I did not gather courage.” Suk Hyun denied. “I knew you would say yes all along.”

“Keep dreaming, twerp.” Eun Hye threw a chunk of bread across the table at her son. “I’ve known you since you were little. What do you mean you knew all along she would say yes? Liar.”

“Umma!” The boy whined.

“Shikoro.” Eun Hye shouted back.

Instead of rebelling even more, Suk Hyun saluted his mother like a soldier would his general.

“Harassimnida!”

Watching the exchanges of Eun Hye, Suk Hyun, and Yoo Jin, Yoochun felt like an outsider. He did not seem to understand the little glitches and jokes that they were giving each other as terms of love. No indeed, he did not and he felt left out because of it. To know that he had promised–long ago–to be there no matter what and to realize that he had not been there at all, it was a strange dull ache.

“I…”

Yoo Jin, Suk Hyun, and Eun Hye stopped talking and looked at Yoochun.

“What’s wrong, Yoochun sunbae?” Yoo Jin inquired. “You look a little sad.”

The older man turned to gaze at his ex-girlfriend.

“I missed out on a lot… Didn’t I?” Yoochun asked Eun Hye.

Eun Hye smiled and nodded.

“Yes, you really did miss out on a lot.”

Suk Hyun fell silent.

Chapter 3

\\ By The Courtyard //

The ringing of the cell phone was insistent, so much that he wanted to just throw something at it and hope it stop. First of all, he had no strength to open his eyes. Second of all, where the hell was the phone anyway? And lastly, he was sleeping!

“Sang Hyun.” The woman besides him muttered, slapping a cold hand on his bare chest. He flinched and pulled her closer, ignoring the cries of the cellular device.

“Go back to sleep.” He replied incoherently.

“Your phone.”

“Aisssh!” Sang Hyun hissed. His eyes shot open and he sat up. Blinking about to regain his 20/20 vision, he shook sleep from his face and answered the ringing cell phone by the night table. “Yoboseyo?”

“Sang Hyun, where are you?” A woman’s voice inquired from the other side.

The man focused his eyes on the woman sleeping on the bed beside him, her body enticingly seductive with the exposed long toned legs and bare shoulders. What lays beneath the blankets was a different story. The woman mouthed something, a question, and he nodded before telling her to be quiet.

“I’m at the office.” Sang Hyun replied into the phone. “Is there something wrong, Eun Hye?”

A pause.

“Aniyo. I just want to tell you that the papers are ready. I put it on the dresser. Just sign it whenever you get a chance, alright?”

“Yup. Will do.”

The awkwardness that ensued was slowly eaten by Sang Hyun’s girlfriend’s ministrations. She kept tickling him and nibbling on his right nipple with her tongue while he was talking on the phone with his live in ‘girlfriend’.

“You’re with Min Ah, aren’t you?”

Hearing her name from the loud-speaker, Min Ah paused and looked at Sang Hyun.

“How did you know?”

“I can hear her.”

He cleared his throat.

“Oh, okay. You could have said that from the beginning.”

“I could say the same to you. You didn’t have to lie. We’re splitting soon. Why does it matter whether or not you hide your involvement with Min Ah or not?”

Sang Hyun rolled his eyes.

“Look Eun Hye. Let’s discuss this when I get home.”

“Alright.”

Eun Hye pushed the end button on her phone and stared at the lit LCD screen. Good thing she was just living with him and not actually married with the man. What else or what things could he say if she was his wife? Even after 7 years of commitment, the relationship she had with Sang Hyun was dull compared to the other boyfriends of her life.

After failed, failed, and more failed relationships, she wasn’t keen on trying for long. If any relationship starts showing signs of discourse, she ended it immediately. Her relationship with Sang Hyun, however romantic, was the same. That besides, she was getting old. It was fickle and useless for her to find someone. Life can only contain that.

As she looked out the window to the courtyard where Yoo Jin and Suk Hyun were helping the gardener plant some roses to the edge of the sidewalks, the mother couldn’t help but laugh. The two of them were so cute together. Yoo Jin was diligently picking weeds from the dirt while Suk Hyun was annoying the hell out of her with his mutterings and picking on her hair with his dirty hands. She paid him no special attention. But occasionally, she would slap his hand away and shout at him to do his work. Despite all the fooling around though, the gardener who they were assisting knew they would get the job done so he didn’t say anything about their crazy flirting.

A knock on the door brought her back to the pentagon meeting room and she blinked. Clearing her throat, she got up from her seat on the pentagon table and walked over to open the door. The head butler of the household bowed to her as he saw her eyes.

“What is it, Butler Jang?”

“Ma’am, the guest the young master have invited over is here.” Eun Hye raised an eyebrow. “The young master has gone to change. H–”

“So he wants me to entertain the guest while he fools around with Yoo Jin.” Eun Hye giggled and gave a thumb’s up. “Got it, butler Jang. You are dismissed.”

“Yeh.”

The butler nodded and turned away to go back down the barren hall.

“Oh, Butler Jang.” Eun Hye called back.

“Yes?”

“Where is the guest?”

“He is in the garden waiting, ma’am.”

“Alright. Thank you.”

Peering out at the garden below, Suk Hyun could see the guest perfectly. He was sitting patiently by the garden and examining the vase of fresh roses that was on the table. With a bit of a jitter in his actions and demeanor, he could tell that the man was as nervous as he was.

“Do you think it’s going to work?” Yoo Jin whispered when she felt him peering out the window from behind her. Seeing the man’s face from three floors above, the young woman gave a giggle. “You know, I find it really cute how your mother was his ex-girlfriend. I mean, I’d die if I was Park Yoochun’s girlfriend.”

“Ya!” Suk Hyun hissed. He turned his girlfriend around and proceeded at her.

“What?” She asked cluelessly.

“Do you like older men or something? He’s like 30 years your senior, Kim Yoo Jin.”

She rolled her eyes.

“He’s still hot. Even at 47. And besides, I’ve been a big fan of them since young.”

“But I’m your boyfriend!” Suk Hyun pouted, acting like a child now that he knew he couldn’t be odd and creepy or else he’ll scare her away for life. “You’re supposed to look at me.”

“Ya, I don’t want an obsessive guy, harasso?”

Suk Hyun stared at her.

“I am not obsessive!” He defended.

“Says you.” Yoo Jin retorted back.

“Ya!”

“Ya!”

Yoo Jin and Suk Hyun both stopped talking when their eyes met. The young woman was almost speechless with what happened next. Suk Hyun took a step forward and grabbed the shades of the window, snapping it shut with a flick of his fingers. The look in his eyes as he pulled away told Yoo Jin what he wanted and she felt her face flushing with renewed embarrassment. Millions of thoughts ran through their minds but one dominated over the rest.

After years and years of dedication, hard work, and sweating foreheads, she was successful in her work as a CEO of a modeling agency. Thus, the fortune and the mansion. After she herself found that she was presentable enough, Eun Hye walked out to the courtyard of the house in a plain white dress with no embellishments but for the lace panels running along the side. Finding the ground of sidewalk to be warm on her skin, the lady took off her white heels to hold it in one hand and walked barefoot there towards the table on the other side.

She had chosen the long way there. Instead of simply entering the courtyard from the main house, Eun Hye had walked from the side-entrance and was currently on her way around the pool towards the courtyard. As she mindlessly sauntered down the walkway, her eyes wandered and settled by the courtyard where a man was sitting facing her. He was stone-cold frozen and after recognizing him, she stopped walking.

25 years. 25 years have passed since they last saw each other. And yet… The memories were still fresh in their mind–the happy memories, the sweet ones, and the sad ones. They were all there. Eun Hye and Yoochun returned their gaze to their surrounding. The roses, the pool, and Eun Hye’s white dress triggered a memory from long before, a happy one.

The screams of their laughter did not beat the rumbling of the ocean before them but it was enough to signal life and happiness within a moment of tumbling thunder.

“Yoochun! Yoochun!” She called out to him, beckoning him with her every call. “That lady is selling roses. Buy me one.”

“What!” Yoochun asked exasperated. “No way.”

“Yoochun-ah.” She whined.

She was walking barefoot along the side of the beach, feeling the heat of the sand and the mixing coldness from the occasional waves that splashed against her bare legs. In one of her hand, she was holding on to her heels and as the wind brushes past her, the hem of her white dress fluttered with them. The sunset gave her such a beautiful blush that he couldn’t help but steal a picture of.

Snapping out of their respective reveries, Yoochun got up from his seat by the patio table and Eun Hye put her heels on before approaching. As she neared him, she gave him a curt nod.

“So my son’s guest is you, Yoochun-sshi.” Eun Hye said formally. “This is a surprise.”

Yoochun slowly nodded, aware of the formality in which Eun Hye had distanced herself, and cleared his throat.

“It’s been a while.”

He silently cursed himself for starting out with such a lame line.

“25 years.” Eun Hye reminded him.

“Yes.” Yoochun grinned. “25 years and no welcoming hug for me, Eun Hye? You’re a little cold with the honorifics, don’t you think?”

She laughed.

“Just like always, a charmer at his best, eh?”

Slowly, Yoochun opened his arms and smiled at her, beckoning for her touch. Eun Hye glanced at those arms, wary of its effect once she touch it, and debated with herself whether to hug him or not. In the end, his unadulterated grin and comical face made her squirm inside. It was the familiar feeling and longing of being in his arms whenever she saw him sing on TV that made her step forward.

As soon as he saw her take a step, he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her waist. The boldness of his action surprised even himself. He was so used to seeing her face, her physique, and his own habit of hugging her whenever he saw her that he didn’t even think about their position now 28 years later after they had split up. But as he tightened his grip around her body, he found that the feel of her hadn’t changed at all. She was still Eun Hye.

Standing there in the light of his warm embrace, Eun Hye recognized the tell tale signs. Here was the thing that couldn’t be measured, quantified, or even explained. After all the fame, the fan girls, the money, the talent, the singing, and the skills–after he gave her up for his dreams–Park Yoochun was still Park Yoochun. He was still a man she fell in love with and it was he who she modeled as for the rest of her boyfriends after him.

“You still use Driven Black?” Eun Hye whispered softly as she inhaled a whiff of his cologne.

“Of course. It suits me.” Yoochun chuckled and gently pulled away so that they could see each other’s face. His hands lingered on her waist before dropping to his sides. “I see you’ve been successful. A CEO, that’s a skill I didn’t even know you possess.”

She smiled.

“I should say the same to you. An gelato shop? That was very odd.”

Yoochun grinned shyly, scratching his head in embarrassment. The two of them returned to their prospective seats opposite of each other as a maid appeared and gave them blazing cold ice tea and a few snacks. As they eat and drink, Yoochun and Eun Hye mingled and talked. Laughter, giggles, and voice echoed about the courtyard in a frenzy of happy airs.

“What is he doing here?” Someone interrupted.

Eun Hye and Yoochun looked up and turned to find Yoon Sang Hyun standing there by the entrance to the courtyard with a foul look on his face. After freshening up at Min Ah’s apartment, he had raced right back to their house. But what did he find? An odd car in the garage and a strange man talking to his girlfriend as if he was trying to seduce her. But then he saw the man’s face and all hell broke loose inside of him.

“Sang Hyun.” Eun Hye called out.

Yoochun frowned when he saw the condescending look in the stranger’s eyes. But then his frown deepened even more when he realized that the stranger wasn’t a stranger. He was familiar. Dressed in a crooked black tie, crisp white shirt, and tailored black pants with shiny leather shoes, the man’s auburn brown mussed up hair was fluffy like a mothball. His stubble of a mustache was also very familiar. Had it not been for the blackness of the tie, he would have mistaken the stranger as…

“Aren’t you…” Yoochun looked straight at the man named Sang Hyun. “Aren’t you that doctor?”

Chapter 2

\\ Playing Hangman //

Both of them were sweating profusely, from the highly electrifying performance they just played and from the heat of the lights above. The other performers were just like them, waiting for that moment in time when the DJ would fu.cking announce the winner of the competition already!

“And the winner is…” The DJ drawled. “Kim Yoo Jin and Yoon Suk Hyun!”

Their eyes locked and before anyone could even cheer along with them, they pulled each other into a tight embrace that didn’t include anyone else but them. He laughed as her giggle filled his ears. Amidst the hot flames of the disco lighting, the tremors of hundreds dancing all at once, the breathing of dancers and performers, they hugged each other.

“Saranghaeyo, Kim Yoo Jin.” Suk Hyun confessed.

He felt her nod into his shoulder.

“Saranghae.”

“Congratulations, Yoo Jin-sshi, Suk Hyun-sshi. You’ve won the Chuseok Singing Competition of Eternal Star Club.” The DJ cleared his throat, using hand gestures to somehow pry the couple away from each other to face the crowd who nominated them as the winners. “Do you guys have anything to say?”

Blushing Yoo Jin pulled herself away and nodded to the crowd. The DJ handed her a mike and she spoke into it.

“Thank you, thank you very much for nominating us.” The woman said with heavy breathing. Usually when she sings, she does it greatly but if it’s public speaking, she’s totally doomed for all eternity. “I-It’s been a great year performing for you guys here and… And… I don’t know what else to say.” She bowed. “Komowayo!”

“Hey, hey, hey!” Suk Hyun sulked. “You forgot me.”

“Omo, mianhae, Hyunnie.” Yoo Jin giggled and handed him the mike.

Suk Hyun rejected the microphone and turned to the crowd. Slowly, his fingers started unbuttoning the white shirt he had on. The girls who gathered at the front shrieked with craziness and such actions created a ripple effect among the club members. Yoo Jin blushed and looked away.

“Ya, ya! This isn’t a strip club you know!” The DJ warned.

“I’m not stripping.” Suk Hyun clarified. “Who wants to play hangman?”

“What!”

Suk Hyun stripped off to his white polo shirt with decorations of dark black dashes on the front. He looked to the crowd and winked. Behind him, Kim Yoo Jin’s eyes widened. Some of the staffs who were in the orchestra murmured to themselves.

“Who’s going first?” Suk Hyun asked the crowd.

The crowd screamed and shouted hundreds of different answers. But Yoo Jin was silent for she was too surprised for words. While the crowd was playing hangman, her eyes were focused on Suk Hyun’s shirt and what was written on the back of it, written only for her.

Kim Yoo Jin, will you marry me?

“Yoo Jin-ah!” Suk Hyun shouted, turning back to her. The crowd at Eternal Star screamed. “I need someone to write for me, to erase for me, and to be with me. Will you be it?”

Unclasping his hand, the man revealed a black marker with a bow tie at the end. Along with it was a sparkling diamond ring. Yoo Jin gazed at the item in his hand and then at him, her wide brown eyes asking if he was kidding. He just smiled and shook the marker to make it ring.

“Say yes! Say yes! Say yes!”

The crowd, their supporting crowd, was more than eager to hear the answer. But it was Suk Hyun who was extremely nervous inside despite his cool slack appearance. Yoo Jin looked around her and took a step back. Suk Hyun’s hand wavered and he began sweating. The woman he had asked to marry gazed about as if she was looking for a way out, as if she didn’t want to be there. Was it…?

“Yoo Jin?” He asked with a little bit of hurt in his voice.

“Suk Hyun, I…” Yoo Jin ignored the presence of the crowd and looked only at Suk Hyun, taking in all the detail of his handsome face, wonderful smile, and confused eyes–eyes that saw only her. “Is… Is this really your love?”

Suk Hyun recognized the question she had posed to him and he contemplated it. Yes, this was his love. Was she doubting him? No, there was more than that. That question meant something to the both of them. With that thought, he went to one knee in front of the startled Kim Yoo Jin. Reaching out, he took her left hand in his and gave it a kiss. Suk Hyun looked at her as everyone went silent.

“There can’t possibly be a stronger feeling than what I’m feeling for you. If this isn’t love, Yoo Jin, if this isn’t the love that countless songs and poems were written for, that people have lived for, that people have died for, then I don’t think there is such a thing. And it doesn’t matter whether what I feel is love or something nameless. It’s all for you. Only for you. Will you accept that answer?”

Yoo Jin blushed and covered her mouth as she whispered the words.

“Propose to me again.”

He smiled.

“Marry me.”

She pouted.

“Can’t you do something more romantic than propose to me by hangman?”

Now he was getting impatience.

“Baby…” Suk Hyun cleared his throat. “I’m willing to go fetch pails of water with you. If one day I lose my crown, will you still be with me?”

“No one fetch pails of water anymore!” Someone shouted.

The crowd laughed as Yoo Jin and Suk Hyun blushed in utter embarrassment.

“What’s your answer, Yoo Jin? You can’t have him kneeling all night.” The DJ urged. “We got business to run here!”

Yoo Jin was a little mad that the DJ was making her feel uncomfortable with his joke. She wasn’t that mean to have Suk Hyun kneel there all night. With one effort, she pulled Suk Hyun up by his hands. Elated, the boy gave her a peck on the lips. Without expecting it, he was startled when she pulled him into her arms.

“Honey, I pull you into my embrace silently in exchange of the confession I never want to let go.” Yoo Jin whispered in English. “Saranghae.”

“Yes!” The boy shouted. He returned her hug with 10x the force and twirled her around the air. “Thank you, thank you!”

“Finally.” The DJ said in exasperation. “Now we can give out the prize. We have a highly esteemed guest here tonight that had never before entered the vicinity of Eternal Star on Saturdays. But today was an exception and we’ve taken that opportunity to use it for our advantage. Ladies and gentlemen, here to present the special award tonight, please welcome one member of the disbanded Dong Bang Shin Ki.”

“Omo, Dong Bang Shin Ki?” Yoo Jin squealed. “Oh my God, they’re legendary!”

“Here is… Micky Yoochun!”

As soon as Suk Hyun heard that, he tensed. Among the crowd, a woman sitting by the bar almost dropped her glass. Moments later, the spotlight was focused on the left side of the stage as a man ran up. At first, nothing could be seen of him save for the white shirt, black pants, and loose plaid cardigan. But halfway up, the man brushed his curly short hair back to reveal a handsome face that was accentuated with black framed glasses.

“Park Yoochun.” Suk Hyun whispered under his breath.

“Congratulations, you two!” The clueless Yoochun saluted at the couple who had win the small little contest. He stopped in front of them. “I know Alex the DJ have asked you already about how it feels to win this competition so I won’t ask again. But I gotta tell ya, winning is a very warm fuzzy feeling. Sharing it with your loved ones is even better. Congratulations on your win and your engagement.”

“Thank you, Yoochun sunbae.” Yoo Jin nodded her head and giggled like a girl.

Yoochun grinned.

“I think this is yours.”

Yoochun took out a golden plaque embellished with intricate carvings of a couple singing and handed it to the couple. Naive Yoo Jin thanked the man and took the plague.

“Thank you, sir.”

Suk Hyun reached his hand out for a shake. Yoochun grinned and accepted the shake of the hand, his eyes catching the younger man’s gaze. For a moment there, nothing happened. But as the older man tried to pull his hand away, Suk Hyun took control and didn’t let go. A second later, he pulled away as if the odd exchange didn’t happen.

“Park Yoochun-sshi.” Suk Hyun put an arm around his girlfriend and pulled her close. The arrogant attitude made the older man frowned. “Would you do the honor of being present at our wedding?”

The crowd was clueless of the exchange.

“Eh?”

“Our wedding. I would like you to attend it.”

Yoochun cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry but I—”

“Do you remember me?” Suk Hyun interrupted. “We’ve met before. Do you remember me?”

“I…”

Yoochun blinked. They’ve met before? How? When? Adjusting his vision, he tried to configure his memories to find some sort of connection of this young blonde man in front of him now and his mind. There were no connections so why did…

“Yoon Eun Hye.” Yoochun’s eyes widened. “I’m Yoon Eun Hye’s son, Yoon Suk Hyun. Do you remember me now?”

“You…” A flash of memory fluttered about Yoochun’s mind. “You’re her son. You’ve… grown.”

“Yeh, I’ve grown.”

That night, the lives of three people were reconnected after 28 years of separation.

He could have been my son.

Do you wish that you had been there to see me become a man?

Yoochun-ah, how are you lately?

Chapter 1“

\\ Planning What He Won’t Regret //

The mansion where he lived was large. Indeed it was with a total of 64 bedrooms, 68 bathrooms, an indoor and outdoor pool, a maze of rose gardens, a courtyard, and about several other chambers that he didn’t know about. But despite being within those walls, he realized that he could find his mother anywhere anytime no matter where she hid. Living with her for the 28 years of his life, it was the mother-son bond that no one yet understood. Why? He didn’t have a father.

His hands pushed open the double mahogany doors that obstructed his view and he entered. The sunlight peering through from the glass windows momentarily blinded his sight but as his vision adjusted, his deep brown eyes took in the view. In the pentagon room with surrounding glass windows, a woman was sitting by the pentagon glass table in the middle of the room. With further inspections, he realized that he was wrong.

47-year-old Yoon Eun Hye was sitting on the edge of the table with her dangerous white heels dangling in mid-air drinking coffee. In her attire of silk white shorts, a brown camisole, and a green v-neck tunic tied to her waist by a belt, she gave off an air of sophisticated ease and elegance. Her deep auburn red hair flowed about her shoulders in soft tendrils of loose waves and accentuated the pale creamy complexion of her skin. After so many years, she was still beautiful.

“Umma.” He called out softly.

Yoon Eun Hye whirled her head around and a smile broke onto her tired face at the strapping young lad by the door. It seems that just yesterday, Yoon Suk Hyun was a simple baby who could only cry for what he wanted. Now, the young man in front of her thought he was cool enough to simply waltz into her private room without the thought of knocking. But then again, he never learned to knock in the first place.

Usually Suk Hyun’s attire consisted of t-shirts under black vests and just black pants. But this morning he wore a very sophisticated and stylish three-piece black suit with a metallic golden shirt and a black tie. He was ready to venture out into something new. As his mother, she knew this well.

“Suk Hyun, you look dashing today.” Eun Hye said, gesturing him forward. “What’s the occasion, honey?”

Closing the door behind him, Suk Hyun took several steps forward and stopped in front of his mother. Without a thought of who he was or how old he had grown, the young man plopped his round butt on the marbled floor of the room. Like a child from before, he looked up at his mother and grinned his silly smile. The prominent curly hair from childhood had been grown out, straightened, and bleached blonde through chemical means. Such actions had pulled him away from any relations of the past. But then again, he didn’t have any relations.

“Umma.” Reaching up, Suk Hyun took his mother’s hands in his own and patted it softly. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For giving me the best when you yourself had nothing. Thank you for loving me for all this time despite the tantrums I threw, despite my bossiness, my selfishness, my longings. You put up with all of this knowing the fact that I might one day leave you. Thank you.” Suk Hyun paused and nodded. “It’s that day.”

Eun Hye blinked. Did she hear correctly? Leave? Suk Hyun was leaving her? Why? When he was a child, he liked playing word games with her. To him and to her, there were different meanings to everything they said. What he said today was no exception. Looking once again at his face, she recognized his mischievous grin of knowing a secret she didn’t. Ideas ran through her mind then and when the right one hit her, she gave a squeal of delight and jumped down from the pentagon table she was sitting on to the ground.

“Yes! Finally, yes!” Eun Hye screamed. She grabbed her son’s arms and heaved him up from the floor. She tried twirling him around like when he was younger but now at his age of 28, it was he who twirled her really. “You’re finally going to ask her, aren’t you? You’re getting married! Omona, this is huge!”

“Umma, umma!” Suk Hyun called out, trying to calm the hysterically happy mother of his as he tried to hold back his happy grin at her enthusiasm. “I didn’t ask yet and she didn’t say yes. Don’t get so freakin’ crazy and announce it to the whole world like it’s their business.”

“Crazy?” Eun Hye scowled. “Boy, who do you think you’re talking to?”

“My wonderful happy-for-me-asking-the-girl-I-love-to-marry-me umma.” He flashed a grin. She laughed and pulled the boy into a hug. He was too tall for her liking though. When they pulled away, Suk Hyun cleared his throat. “I’m planning on popping the question today.”

“Waah, so fast. How long have you thought about this?”

“I’ve planned for an entire year for this day.”

“And you didn’t tell me beforehand?”

Suk Hyun pouted.

“You would have told the entire world!”

“But I’m your mother!” Eun Hye snapped back. “I’m supposed to tell the whole world.”

The boy rolled his eyes. Seeing this, she slapped him up-side the head.

“Ah! Umma!” Suk Hyun whined. “What is wrong with you?”

Eun Hye glared at him.

“Don’t mess with me, son. Because if you mess with me, I’ll mess back. Harasso?”

Defeated, he slumped his shoulder.

“Harassimnida.” Suk Hyun chorused.

“Good. Now that you’re all dressed up, go get my future daughter-in-law.” Eun Hye giggled. “Bring her back safe and sound after you’re done. No dilly-dallying, no short-cuts, no stops. Bring her here.”

“Harassimnida!” Suk Hyun saluted like a soldier.

He leaned in, gave his mother a brief kiss on the cheeks, and proceeded down towards the door. Eun Hye stared at her son’s back as he sauntered off, her smile brilliant on her tired face. It’s been so long. Twenty-five years have passed. He was a grown man now.

“Suk Hyun-ah.” Eun Hye called out.

Suk Hyun paused at the threshold of the door and looked back.

“Yeh?”

“Love her.” His mother replied with a smile. “Love her like you never loved before.”

His eyes saw the wavering in his mother’s smile, knew the significance of it, and felt her worries.

“I… I’ve thought it over many times. I’ve went through every single details because I don’t want to make a mistake I regret. I love Yoo Jin. I won’t make her cry and if I do, it’s because I’m crying with her.” Looking up, Suk Hyun nodded his head to his mother. “Kwanchana, umma. I will never do to Yoo Jin what Park Yoochun did to you.”

Eun Hye perked up at the mentioned name.

“Haven’t I taught you anything?” She scowled.

“Aniyo. You taught me well because when I look back all those years before, I realized something. Do you know what it is?”

She was afraid to hear the answer because despite him being his own individual person, she was his mother.

“What?”

“Park Yoochun… He was never half the man I am now. He was a coward.” Clearing his throat and brushing the tensed atmosphere, Suk Hyun grinned. “Well, I’m off on a mission. Wish me luck.”

Eun Hye nodded.

“Yoon Suk Hyun, aja aja fighting!”

“Fighting!” Suk Hyun roared before closing the door shut.

A Wedding Story

When twenty-five years passed,
Everything changed.
Dreaming of a better tomorrow,
Darling Suk Hyun makes a decision
In marrying his girlfriend Kim Yoo Jin. But!
Notorious intentions of inviting Him
Grapples the mind of stepfather Sang Hyun.

Starring our main Eunchun and guest stars
Tempting Yoon Sang Hyun, Kim Yoo Jin, Shin Min Ah, and Kwon Jiyong
Our Wedding Story continues the Sad Story with
Rumbling twists and emotional turns that will make
You jittery as the wedding rolls around the corner.

The following is a work of fiction. The events and characters are fictional and the celebrity names/images merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrity is in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends.

© Eirallina Tran 2009. All rights reserved. Distribution of any kind is prohibited without the written consent of Eirallina Tran.

Story Started On: September 23, 2009

Story Finished On: October 23, 2009

Chapter 8

\\ A Sad Story //

***

Yoochun stared at the child as he enthusiastically played with his band mates Kim Junsu, Jung Yunho, Shim Changmin, and Kim Jae Joong on the monkey bars. Yunho had his hands around the boy’s waist and he was suspending the child in the air as he tried the monkey bars he could not yet reach. Their laughter resonated about the secluded playground in an ominous but happy way. Even though the child was young—perhaps two or three—he was very mature and quite the lovely kid that he was with chubby cheeks, a cute smile, and silky smooth skin. He was very cute.

Besides him, Eun Hye sat on the swings just swinging back and forth gently. She too was watching her son enjoying himself with much interest, occasionally taking snap shots from her Sony Cybershot to keep memories of.

“Umma! Umma!” The child called out. “Look, look!”

“Good job, honey!” Eun Hye shouted back, clapping her hand and encouraging him with her words. “Careful baby, I don’t want you to fall!”

“Harrasimnida, umma.”

Eun Hye took some more pictures. A moment later, she stopped.

“His name is Suk Hyun.” She said. Yoochun looked at her and she smiled. “I adopted him. Isn’t he just the most adorable thing on Earth?”

He chuckled.

“He’s very energetic. But is he always so… dressed up?” She threw her head back and laughed at the secret only she and Suk Hyun knew. Yoochun raised an eyebrow. “What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing, nothing.” Eun Hye wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and shook her head. “Suk Hyun is always like that. He likes to play adult when he’s still a kid at heart. I don’t mind though. It’s what makes him him.”

“Why did you adopt him?”

Eun Hye stared at Yoochun. For a moment, her smile diminished to be replaced by a frown. But it was imagined for when he blinked to get a clearer look, the smile was plastered on again.

“Because he was lonely and I was alone.” Eun Hye stopped smiling. “Yoochun-ah.”

Yoochun froze and slowly turned to look at his ex-girlfriend. After their break up almost three years ago, no one had ever called him with that name anymore. It was always Micky Yoochun. Hearing her voice call his name, his mind began processing the family he hadn’t seen since coming to Korea, processing the happy times when they were still together, and so much more that he had come to regret. But regretting is nothing. Nothing comes close to what he felt.

“Yes?”

“Did you ever regret… Telling me to abort Jun Pyo?”

He stared into her eyes, eyes that had shed so much tears because of him and for him, and nodded.

“Yes. My God, yes.” Yoochun replied. “All those words that I’ve said to you those days before our break up… I want to take them back. I regretted that I was not strong enough to support us. I regretted that I wasn’t man enough to show you how I really felt but instead opted to act like the jerk that I had become. And, Eun Hye… The thing I regretted the most was the fact that I…” He paused, unable to continue any further for what could he say? He had planned so many times during the last two years about what he would say should he re-encounter Eun Hye again. But those plans are futile now for his heart was once again aching. “That I…”

“That you never trusted me?” Eun Hye completed the thought with a smile.

Ashamed, Yoochun looked away.

“Have I ever disappointed you, Eun Hye? When we were together?”

“There were times when I thought you had disappointed me greatly to the point where I lost my trust in you. But then I look back and realized that it was my fault. So no, you’ve never disappointed me. In fact, I’m very proud of you.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“How so?”

“You’re a part of Dong Bang Shin Ki now. You’re famous. You’ve proven to me that you can really do it. But then again, I’ve never doubted your abilities.”

“Thank you for believing in me.” Yoochun said. “Even when I didn’t…”

A pause.

“Are you happy now?” Eun Hye inquired with a tilt of her head.

Yoochun grinned and nodded.

“Uhm. I’m very happy.”

“Good.” Eun Hye jumped off the swings and stretched her legs. Turning back to him, she flashed him a smile. “It was nice meeting you again, Yoochun. But I have to go home and make dinner for Suk Hyun. He needs his nutrition to do his homework.”

“He has homework?”

Eun Hye smiled.

“He’s in pre-k, Yoochun.”

“Alright.” Yoochun got up as well and put his hands in his jeans pocket. “Good bye.”

“Good bye.”

With a bow of her head, Eun Hye turned around and cantered her way to the monkey bars where her son was playing with DBSK. After some mutterings and exchange of pleasantries, she and her 3-year-old son walked away from the playground hand in hand. Counting Eun Hye’s red dress and Suk Hyun’s tailored suit, it was as if he was taking her to a party.

“So who exactly is she, hyung?” Changmin the maknae asked when the rest of the band members approached the man.

“What’s your story with her?” Jae Joong draped an arm around Yoochun and cocked an eyebrow.

After staring at their shadows as they disappeared from his sight, Yoochun smiled and shrugged.

“A sad story.”

“Then I don’t want to hear it!” Manager hyung replied. He almost always popped out of nowhere like a ghost who lingered about. “Let’s go back home.”

“Yes, we’re going home!” Junsu jumped up and down cheering.

“I swear, Suk Hyun have too much energy!” Yunho commented. “I am totally wiped out.”

The rest of the guys laughed and began walking towards their car. Yoochun never looked back. For Eun Hye and Yoochun, it was truly good bye in the most abstract sense. But…

“Umma.” Suk Hyun called as mother and son walked towards their car.

Eun Hye glanced at her son when he tugged her hand and pulled her to a stop. Looking at his face, she smiled and squatted down to his level. Because he was so small, it was the only thing that she could do to see his face clearly.

“What is it, Suk Hyun?”

“That man you were talking to…” Suk Hyun’s eyes stared right into her mind. “He’s… appa?”

The two of them looked at each other, mother to son, nose to nose, brown eyes to brown eyes. The only thing that separated the two was Eun Hye’s bright red hair and Suk Hyun’s curly hair. After a moment’s silence, Eun Hye slowly nodded.

“Oh. Appa.”

“Appa…” He grinned the same sly looking grin his father have. “Harassimnida.” Suk Hyun glanced at the direction where Yoochun had disappeared and waved his hand to that direction. “Bye bye, appa.”

Yes, it was definitely good bye in the most abstract sense.

END

Chapter 7

\\ Leave Me //

Nothing. There was nothing here for him anymore. All those trinkets she had bought for their studio apartment, all those excessive amount clothes he always complained about, all the pads and boxes of tampons, the perfume and make up—they were not there. They were gone.

And so was she.

He could not breath. No, he could breath. Yes, he could breath. But the air was putrid and acidic as if someone had poured lemon into his nose. The smell of the air was tangy, bitter, and salty. Even if his nose failed him, his eyes did not. His eyes told him everything and that only brought more bitterness to his nose.

She was gone.

Each step he took was like a heavy burden to him and each sound of his footstep represented the sinking feeling inside gnawing at his heart. He almost didn’t want to answer the ringing phone for the pain was too much. The acidic burning agony was constricting his airways. But he had to answer.

“Hello there, callers!” The recorded message of their greeting echoed about the room. The answering machine had just picked up the call. Their synchronized voice was hard to miss.

“You’ve reached the resident of Yoon Eun Hye.”

She sounded so happy.

“And I’m her boyfriend Park Yoochun.” He was so carefree and laid back. But… Was he now? “And ya, what do you mean it’s your resident? I live here too!”

The sound of hand meeting back was faint but Yoochun heard it loud and clear. He still remembered that day.

“Shikoro. Anyway, please leave a brief message and we’ll call you right back.”

“Watch for the tone!”

As if on cue, a loud beep tone sprung up and the greeting ended. Replacing it was the caller’s message. But no one spoke on the other side. Reaching out his hand, he was about to push the hang up button when someone cleared their throat.

“Yoochun-ah…” Yoochun froze in his stance. It was Eun Hye’s voice. “You know… We are over now.”

He chuckled bitterly, nodding his head in understanding. What gave him the clue? Was it her lack of communications the last couple of days? Was it the missing items of her possessions in his house? Was it her tears? Or was it his heart beating with a pang because of their joined agony that told him he had just lost more than just one thing?

“I… I can’t take it anymore… Mianhae.”

The quick but agonizing phone call ended. Without knowing it, Yoochun leaned back against the wall with his head looking up at the ceiling. It hurt, right there in his heart. But he could not blame her. He could never blame her. He was simply too proud to blame her of the bad decision he made.

“Love…” Yoochun said. His shoulders shook with hysterical laughter. “Love…!”

Somewhere in the room, something clicked. Yoochun perked up. The entrance door to the studio apartment opened and in entered her. She looked surprised to see him. They both did. Regaining his composure, Yoochun pushed himself from the wall and put his hands in his pocket. She looked around the room, glanced at the answering machine with the blinking new message, and then back at him.

“Hey…” Eun Hye saluted with a faded smile. She pulled something from her jeans’ pocket and fished out a key which she set on the console table by the door. “I forgot to give back the house key.”

“Oh.”

Eun Hye put a hand on the door. It was as if she was debating to herself whether she should take the infinite opportunities that could be offered to her outside of this house or continue to stay here. But then again, the house key she had set on the table had already answered her question. He could not sway her decision. Or could he?

“Eun Hy—”

“Yoochun-ah.” She interrupted. “Good luck on your goal of becoming an artist. I’ll look forward to the day I see you on television singing a song you self-composed.”

He nodded slowly. The last shot of hope that had soared to his mind plummeted at her good luck greeting. It was cold and leaking with unspoken pain; pain that he caused.

“T… Thanks.” He looked at her through aching eyes. “Where will you go?”

“I don’t know. Just… not here.”

He nodded again, each of her words tearing a piece of himself out.

“You are an amazing singer. You will do well because your ambitions will take you far.”

Although the comment was harmless in nature, he knew the hidden meaning within.

“When was I ever ambitious?”

Eun Hye laughed a little, a sarcastic harsh laugh.

“You gave up your parents, your brother, and your life in the U.S. for a chance to be in Korea. And now that you’re here, you gave me up for SME. You gave…” She could not speak his name. “You even gave him up. Is that not greed? Is that not ambition?”

He could not say anything else because if he did… He didn’t know if he could control himself. It wasn’t just her. It wasn’t just her who felt that agonizing loss. It wasn’t just her! But he couldn’t say it out loud and so didn’t say anything. Eun Hye scoffed at his reaction as if she had expected it to be so. Grabbing the knob of the door, she waved to him.

“Bye bye, my love.”

The door slowly closed, separating the two of them once and separating their lives forever. Yoochun felt his knees weakening at the sight of Eun Hye’s house key lying on the table and leaned against the wall for support. But the support did not do its job well for he slid down to the floor like a limp little fish that had been pulled from its pond. The click-clacking of Eun Hye’s heels echoed down the hallway outside his studio apartment and vanished into thin air.

It took two seconds for him to realize what happened and six seconds for the real heart break to settle in.

Chapter 6

\\ Wind, Stop Blowing //

Her long hair cascaded down her body, shading her back with two color which represented her worst feelings: black with streaks of red. Black was for fear and for friends, red was for love and for pain, black was for death and deep longing, red for anger and guilt. In that white hospital gown, she looked like an angel but her heart… it was cold as the Witch.

Taking a deep breath, she set her hands on the cold black white keys in front of her. One by one, she pushed her fingers down on the keys, feeling the weight of it and how she could not actually feel it at all. Smiling rather sadly to herself, Eun Hye began playing. The soft melody that resonated within the cold compound of the room rendered shivers to all of those who heard it.

Her music was enchanting in a way that enthralled him. Upon hearing it, standing there leaning against the door of the barren room, his heart ached at how wonderful it sounded. She was sitting on a chair and playing the grand piano where there were no furniture, no decorations, nothing but her. A simple white piano was situated in the middle of the room with three windows at the back consisting of billowing, fluttering white silky drapes. The scenery was perfect and the kaleidoscope lighting from the sun heightened the dreamy effect. But the smell of the hospital wards and the consistent paging for doctors were still there.

Abruptly, the melodious beats of the grand piano stopped and with it, the silence.

From where he stood behind the door watching, he could see her back clearly. For him as an aspiring artist, he felt that the back of a man or a woman was the most interesting thing. Fragile and trembling with an onslaught of emotions, she was struggling with something. On the inside. He knew this why?

The back never lies.

“Are you just going to stand there?” She asked, the tone of her voice insinuating but filled with anguish contradictory love.

Not surprised at being found out, he chuckled softly. The smallest noise echoed about the room.

“Are you not going to speak?” She inquired again with a tinge of anger now.

Again, he could only chuckle. But his heart, it was slowly cracking with the allotted time.

“Park Yoochun…” She turned around. The tears that shimmered down her face were simple tears really, tears that were masked with the saline smell of pain. Unable to withstand that sight, he turned away. Eun Hye screamed at him. “Look at me!”

“Someday, this feeling will leave you.” Yoochun said with his eyes closed. Had she but listened, had she but focused, she would have seen his tears streaming. “Someday, it’ll leave and you’ll never get it back.” He put a hand over his mouth to stop the sob that threatened to expose him. “Someday, you won’t hear Jun Pyo’s cry of help anymore.”

“Yoochun!”

“Don’t cry, Eun Hye.” He continued. “I understand everything. I’m sorry. Just wait a little longer and maybe you’ll forget the fact that you had a child.”

At the thought, Yoochun turned around and left the room. The harsh summer’s wind blowing was like thunderous lightning to Eun Hye’s heart.

Chapter 5

\\ Red Mirage //

The incessant sounds of nurses paging doctors, calls to ICU, distant emergency alarms from incoming ambulances, and smell of sanitizers along with medicated menthols brought pain to Yoochun’s usually healthy head. For Eun Hye, it was more than just pain. It was nausea, spells of dizziness, and definitely vomit here and there. It was a wonder he didn’t see any of this before.

They were sitting in the waiting room of the OB/GYN unit of the hospital just sitting there. For what else? Of course they were waiting for the nurse to call up them up for their appointment. Other than them, there was an old woman sitting there reading a book. After menopause, was it really necessary to go through regular vaginal exams? Near the corner, a couple was whispering and pointing to some pictures on a magazine on being a parent. Basing from the roundness her dress failed to address, he saw that she was perhaps nearing the due date. No wonder her husband was so excited.

A lone woman, perhaps only two or three years older than themselves was sitting right next to the entrance. She seemed to be jittering, nervous for some reason. Was she pregnant and her husband was not there? But she didn’t have a ring on her finger.

Yoochun glanced at his girlfriend. Was she feeling this way? By the calm composition of her demeanor, he could not read her reactions to all this. They were at the OB/GYN department of the hospital because they will be aborting their child. Did she really have no nervousness in her system? Was she sure about this?

It was he who had stirred her into abortion. But now that they were there, it was he who was uncertain about his own decision. This was a life he was talking about here. If he had known earlier, say about during the first month, he would have had Eun Hye aborted it no problem. But it was a boy. He was breathing and hearing everything that he was saying to her mother.

Yoochun turned to Eun Hye and felt his worries lighten. No, this was the best thing for them. Their financial situation had never been the best. His parents occasionally sent money from the U.S. but due to pride, he didn’t dare to ask for much. They could not take care of their growing son. Not yet. They were just not ready. He was not ready for responsibilities. Was he somehow trying to escape those responsibilities by aborting the child?

“Yoon Eun Hye.” Someone called.

Yoochun’s head twirled towards the nurse who was approaching them and then back at Eun Hye who had stood up besides him. Removing his butt from the seat he had been sitting in for the last 30 minutes, he heaved an anticipatory sigh. It was time.

“Yoochun, hold this for me?” Eun Hye pulled from her boyfriend’s hand and gave him the small wooden box she had been holding since appearing at the hospital. Yoochun looked down at the item and them back at her. He opened his mouth to ask what it was but she quickly replied to it as if he had read her mind. “It’s something I have give to Momo.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“Momo the neighbor’s dog?”

She giggled softly. But he knew that there was a faint hesitation in her voice. Was she lying?

“Don’t worry, you don’t need to see it.” Eun Hye patted his shoulder. “Just keep it for me until I come back out.”

“Yoon Eun Hye-sshi.” The nurse called again, urgently this time. “The room is ready for you.”

“Alright.” Eun Hye smiled.

The couple turned to look at each other, eyes looking through eyes towards their own inner minds. But no matter how deep they gazed at each other and how long, they could not read each other’s thoughts. A moment later, they pulled their eyes away with the clearing of their throats.

“I’ll wait for you here.” Yoochun said, giving her a brief embrace.

“Okay.”

Eun Hye glanced down at the item in her boyfriend’s hands. She leaned in and set her lips on the lock of the intricate box. It was a gentle kiss–filled with a sense of longing and intimacy that none could actually understand. She softly brushed her hand across the surface of the box and pulled away, her linger fingers signifying a want to stay behind. But with an alien smile that Yoochun could not recognize of his long-term girlfriend, she turned and followed the nurse inside.

Yoochun settled his butt down on the chair and waited. His entire mind was in turmoil but also relief. Yet… The thought that she was there inside the doctor’s room waiting it to be over just like he was, it was a disconcerting feeling. And to know that he was the reason for her, it was guilt after guilt driving into his system.

When five minutes passed, Yoochun looked down at the box Eun Hye will give to Momo later. His hands subconsciously brushed about the detailed intricate carvings of the box’s wood, the warmth emitting from it giving him a warmth he could not put to words. Why does Eun Hye want to give this rather neat box to Momo? She had never liked the cute little pup for fear that it might attack her when violent. Noticing that the box was not locked, he slowly lifted the lid up and peered inside.

His breath was caught in his throat as he stared down at it. On the exterior, the design was rough and very sturdy but within… Within was another story with the padded velvet, silky accents, and soft cotton. Like a cocoon, the multiple layers of fabric protected the items inside. They were colliding with each other in a jumbled mess but inside, each item touched his heart in more ways than he knew possible.

The cutesy small yellow socks with the bows fit only little tiny midgets, not even a 6-year-old kid’s feet. They were for the little ones but they could not be worn at all. The socks were of glass and fragile. Along with the yellow glass socks were blurry sonogram images that said much of the baby boy. At first sight, it was a little disgusting. The fetus was so small and deformed that he thought it couldn’t possibly be his child.

But the slow progress the baby made as it grew within Eun Hye’s womb gradually mesmerized Yoochun. The development of his legs, his tiny little arms, his ears–they were so cute. As he viewed each image, he was slowly and subconsciously drawn to the beauty of his little son. Yoochun pried open the small diary provided within the chest and read the first page. The hand writing was neatly in order and was spare of any smudges. It was Eun Hye’s writing.

Hey there, little one. This is your mom here. Aww, it sounds so weird calling myself a mom. I’ve never been one before so I’m a little nervous. Am I good enough to be your mom? I don’t know, I have to ask you later if I remember to. I wonder what kind of child you would be, whether you would have your father’s unruly curly hair or my long straight ones? I do hope you inherit his eyes. They were a beautiful hazel brown that catches anyone’s attention. If you’re a boy, you’ll be such a heartbreaker. And if you’re a girl, you’ll be the belle of the house. Oh, I’m getting ahead of myself. I don’t even know your name!

He skipped to the next page.

Tell me, what do you like to be called? Would you prefer an English name? If you want, I can give you a name that no one will ever have. It’ll be unique. It’ll be you. Would you like that? I’ll tell you something: your father was very sweet today. He took me to Jeju. I took some pictures in the Teddy Museum. The bears there were all very cute. I’ll bring you there someday. I can’t wait to meet you. Your father is the same despite the fact that he doesn’t know of you yet. Don’t worry, I’ll tell him when I’m ready.

Yoochun read each and every page of the journal.

You’re a boy! You will be a heartbreaker indeed. With your father’s handsome genes, you’ll definitely break girls’ hearts. But don’t you play too much. I want to see you get married and have kids with your loving wife. Jun Pyo, that will be your name. Park Jun Pyo. I think it’s a lovely and cute name. But I understand if you won’t like it. I mean, you are a boy. Saying that your name is cute is a total girl thing. You wouldn’t like that. But that’s your name and you better accept it!

Jun Pyo-ah, forgive your father. He was just shocked. He doesn’t know anything. Don’t listen to him. You’re my baby, my angel, my cute little midget. I will not abort you. Do you even know what abortion is? Hm… I guess you’re in my body and whatever my body knows you know? Omo! Then that means you’re really smart. Don’t misunderstand. I love you. I also love your father. But he makes me want to bash his head open sometimes!

Mianhae. Jun Pyo-ah, mianhaeyo. I had not thought of you, for you, as a mother. As your mother, I had failed to plan out your future. I had failed to see the obvious obstacles that you will be put through if you are born right now. My little sweet one, do you trust me? I did not mean for you to suffer on my behalf. I don’t want you to suffer at all when you come into this world. But you will and I don’t want that either. What do I do? Will you hate me if I… If I…

The five month’s worth of entries from his girlfriend had clenched his heart in more than one way. It was stabbing him, biting him, clawing him, and at the same time… It was numbing his heart whole.

The sun sets over the horizon each and every day of our lives to remind us that no matter what happens, life goes on. Like the selfish person that I am, I want the sun to stop moving, the birds to stop chirping, I want time to stop. Because it is only then that I can finally catch the perfect glimpse of your smile in my mind. Jun Pyo-ah, please forgive me. It’s for the best.

Yoochun shot up from the comforts of his chair. Slowly and without fail, the opened wooden box on his lap fell to the marbled floor with a clatter that crashed about the room. The fragile glass socks, upon hitting the ground, smashed into tiny little pieces that could never be put together again. Sonogram pictures of Jun Pyo fluttered to the floor but as soon as they reached the cool surface, they were brushed away by the air conditioning and spread across the room in a frenzy.

Ignoring those items, Yoochun raced into the hallway where the examination rooms were. But just as he was to enter one of the rooms to see whether or not his girlfriend was inside, a door down the hall opened and a stretcher was pushed out. He rushed to it and held on to the handle as he peered at the person lying on the stretcher. It was Eun Hye.

“What happened to her?” Yoochun inquired, recognizing the paleness of his girlfriend’s face and the way she did not respond to his voice. He looked up at the doctor and two nurses who was quickly pushing the stretcher or whatever it was back where he had come from. “Doctor? What happened to my girlfriend? Why is she unconscious?”

“Sir, please calm down.” One of the nurse said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He slapped it away.

“What happened to her?”

“The abortion was a success but the patient have lost too much blood during the procedure. We have to get to the OR. Excuse us.”

Without another word or a glance back, the doctor pulled the stretcher into the elevator and closed the door on Yoochun’s face. Cursing the damn doctor, Yoochun turned around and found himself in the waiting room with none of the patients who had been waiting there. He was alone. Slowly the sparkling light of shattered glass attracted Yoochun’s eyes and his hazel brown orbs landed on what had been Jun Pyo’s glass socks.

He was too late. The falling and shattering of the baby box signified that.

And for the first time, Yoochun realized one other thing. He did not know what was best for Jun Pyo and Eun Hye. He never did. He had failed them.

Chapter 4

\\ Why Did I Fall In Love With You? //

Lying there on their bed, Eun Hye and Yoochun were separated by a wall of pillows. She was lying sideways on one side clutching her ever bulging stomach. At five months, it was showing now and very much so. As for him, he was on the other side nonchalantly reading a celebrity gossip magazine. Upside down.

It was clear from the atmosphere of the room that the secret longing within suppressed the growing need to speak and even more the growing desire to comprehend. The fleeting exchange of looks they only dared to give when the other wasn’t looking didn’t help much in the psychology department.

All of a sudden and without expectation, Eun Hye turned and gave Yoochun a violent push with both her hands and feet. The great force of the impact fed the clueless man into the swimming sea of rugs beneath the bed with a loud thud. His lense-less reading glasses slipped down his nose and poked into his nose while the magazine flew across the room.

“Eun Hye!” Yoochun said, a little surprised but definitely not angry.

“You don’t love me anymore?” Eun Hye asked. “Is this why you want to abort him?”

Yoochun shook his head.

“Love, it’s not like that at all.” He got up from the floor and slipped into the bed, embracing Eun Hye into a tight hug but also being mindful of her fragile stomach. “I love you and I always will.”

“But you won’t love our child?”

Again, the naive question made Yoochun chuckle in an awkward manner.

“Rethink this matter, Eun Hye. We’re 19. What do we know about parenting? We can’t take care of a kid. It’s too much at a time. Eventually, we’ll be moving to Japan for my training. We’ll have to adjust to the language barrier yet again and then the jobs, housing, monetary problems. Even though the child is our flesh and blood… We can’t take care of him.” Yoochun stared right into her eyes. “By my saying that I want to abort the child doesn’t mean I love him any less. But quite frankly, this child of mine that’s within your womb, I’ve never met him. And to be clear, I only want you now, Eun Hye. Only you.”

“So you really want me to abort him.” Eun Hye looked at her boyfriend. “Seriously.”

“Yes.” Yoochun fitted some reassuring words into his persuasive talk. “We are still young. We can have other children, other sons. And when we do, we’ll be ready for him.”

Eun Hye lowered her eyes, thinking and re-thinking the possibilities that ensued with the prospect of abortion the child in her mind. Was it the right thing?

“What if I regret it, Yoochun? What if I—”

“Eun Hye.” Yoochun caressed his girlfriend’s cheek. “Trust me to know the best for the both of us. Trust me and believe me when I say the things I say. If I ever steered you wrong, if it wasn’t for the best, blame me all you want. But also… Forgive me for it.”

“Why…” She whispered.

“Why what?”

“Why did I fall in love with you? You are so cruel right now.”

He chuckled at the question and kissed her forehead.

“Because it’s our fate, destiny, and love.” Yoochun replied. “Isn’t that what you said four years ago in the US of A?”

Eun Hye smiled and nodded. She softly landed her head onto Yoochun’s warm solid chest and breathed in his blood orange cologne. As his arms wrapped itself around her in a protective manner, she closed her eyes and thought of nothing else.

Chapter 3

\\ Love, Love… Love? //

Unlocking the high security of the door along with twisting a key into the keyhole, Yoochun entered the grand studio home. After working such long hours, it was tiring for him even to move. But tonight was a special night. Tonight, he had on his shoulders a happy burden that would lighten the load he had been carrying since 2002 when he arrived in South Korea with Eun Hye.

Since he and his girlfriend of 5 years abandoned their U.S. citizenship, they’ve been scrapping and scrambling by in Seoul without the help of their parents. Between hospital bills due to Eun Hye’s low-immunity, rent, electric and food expenses, as well as everyday bus ride transportations, and Eun Hye’s enrollment to Yonsei University, it was hectic. But such burdens was expected since they moved to Korea. Now though…

Things were about to change.

“Baby, I’m home.”

The studio seemed barren for only a moment. But as Yoochun looked about, he saw the tell tale signs of disturbance in the living room and studio kitchen. There his girlfriend Eun Hye was cutting up some vegetables to what seemed like a very steamy and cheesy French cuisine dinner.

“Yoochun!” Eun Hye smiled and waved to him with her free hand.

“Watch what you’re cutting.” He warned, pointing to the onion she was in the midst of chopping. When his girlfriend turned back to her chore, he took off his shoes in exchange for his kitty slippers and slipped into the soft comforts of his leather lamb skin sofa. He sighed at the relief it brought him. “This is life.”

“How was work today?”

He shrugged and accepted the glass of water Eun Hye had brought over for him. He shifted so that she would sit.

“Pretty good, knowing that the bossy bi.tch of an artist is moving out of the country for several years is a plus.” Yoochun replied, leaning his head on his girlfriend’s shoulder.

The whiff of her familiar and exotic scent calmed his nerves immediately, as always.

“What is this, don’t curse in front of me.” Eun Hye nudged his head and he moaned in complaint.

“Let me rest!” He grabbed her in his arms and rested his head on her shoulder again.

“You got your own bed. Go sleep in that!”

She pushed him away but to no avail. He was stuck to her like a baby or even a leech. Disgusting but so healthy at the same time.

“But it’s not the same without you, love.” He grinned and snuck a kiss before pulling away. “I actually have some good news for you.”

Eun Hye giggled.

“Me too, Yoochun.”

“Why don’t you go first?” He offered.

She shook her head.

“No, you.”

“Alright, I will go first.”

“Yoochun!”

Yoochun chuckled when his girlfriend gave him her infamous cutie-pie pout.

“I knew you would do that. I just knew it! Go first.”

Eun Hye nodded. The cuteness disappeared in her eyes and facial features as she took Yoochun’s hands in her own and sat up properly. She turned to look at him in the eyes without a hint of a smile on her face. Yoochun, noticing the change in his girlfriend’s demeanor, knew that something serious was going to happen. He straightened in his seat and prepared his heart.

“I know this will be a little shocking to you at first.” Eun Hye began. “I was too when I learned about it. But eventually, it’ll sink in and I’m sure you’ll be charmed at the prospect of this news.”

“What is it, babe?” Yoochun frowned when Eun Hye didn’t continue. “You’re making me nervous. Is something wrong?”

“Actually, right now, I’m a little afraid.” She admitted without shame.

Having a 5-year-relationship with Yoochun had made her free to express and develop her own feelings. Their connection was indeed something unnatural. But…

“Oh God, are you sick?” He was freaking out now. Eun Hye was never really serious about anything. Well, he couldn’t really claim it as that. Her fashion work took her to the anti-social class occasionally and her health was the same but that was it. “Sh.it, girl! Did you get an offer to go to France to study fashion? Andue, you cannot go there. Those French men will seduc—”

“Yoochun-ah!” Eun Hye cried out, breaking him out of his dreaming reverie with a snap of her fingers. “Pay attention.”

“Tell me.”

Yoochun took a deep breath and nodded.

“I’m pregnant.”

The silence that impregnated the studio apartment was a shocking and unexpected birth, no pun intended. Eun Hye peered at Yoochun’s face, reading his alarmingly pale skin tone as a sign of appall mixed with happiness but also… Yoochun was angry and disappointed at the news she had just delivered to him. And the firm grip he held her hands was loosening at every single second.

“Pregnant.” Yoochun reiterated, making sure he was hearing right.

The slight disappointment that flowed through Eun Hye’s body at Yoochun’s lack of reaction was reassured at the thought that he was simply too shocked for words at the moment. So instead, she changed the subject.

“What’s your news, Chun?”

Yoochun blinked and smiled.

“This morning, I received a call from a representative at SM Entertainment and they told me to meet them at the office.”

Eun Hye’s jaw dropped.

“SM Entertainment? Are you serious?” He nodded eagerly. “And?”

“They’ve accepted me. Eun Hye, they’ve offered to take me in. I’ll be a trainee and through hard work, I’ll debut with four other guys. I’ll be in a band.”

“Waah, that’s great!”

As if not hearing what Eun Hye had to say, Yoochun continued rambling.

“They’ll be teaching me so many things. Singing, vocalizing, piano, composing, dancing, all that and so much more. They’ll provide me with room and board and they’ll take care of everything legal matters involved.” As the news became more solid into Eun Hye’s ears, her enthusiasm of the news diminished. “They said they’ll contact me when they figure out when I’ll be going to Japan for training. It’s all taken care off. I signed the contract that they gave me after months’ worth of thinking. This is a great acc—”

“But I’m having your baby.” Eun Hye interrupted with a tinge of hurt in her voice.

Yoochun looked at Eun Hye and without emotions in that beautiful voice he said:

“That’s why you have to abort it.”

Immediately, the hands that touched Eun Hye’s own hand singed her skin and she pulled away as if burned.

“W-What?”

“We don’t have a choice.” Yoochun glanced down towards the slightly growing stomach of his girlfriend and looked away as if disgusted. Or was he only hurt at the truth? One could not tell. “We can’t take care of the baby now.”

“What do you mean we can’t?” The angry voice that was Eun Hye’s rumbled through the house. She stared at her boyfriend, unable to take his words in and digest it. Abortion? “Yoochun, I’m five months pregnant and in my second trimester. I know the sex of the baby, I know it’s a boy. You… You can’t tell me to abort him.”

“Think of our future, Eun Hye.” Yoochun tried to compromise as he reached her hand out to caress his cheek softly. “I’ll be debuting soon. I can’t have a baby. And you, you’re still in school studying to be a fashion designer. You can’t just go to class having a baby in your arms while poking needles and cutting fabrics for mannequins.”

“I’ll study online and I’ll take care of him at home. It can work, we can make it work. And I thought you like kids. You told me yourself you wanted children.”

“Later, sure. But not now, not when I have the perfect chance of pursuing my dreams and you an opportunity for the best.”

She thought about it for only a moment.

“No.” Eun Hye replied adamantly. Her hands instinctively reached for her stomach, caressing the womb softly with her protecting hands. “No!”

A few minutes passed in silence as Yoochun and Eun Hye watched each other. In those few minutes, many questions, worries, and problems were running through their minds. But the problem that set the two apart was the option of either having the abortion or not getting an abortion. The road that have been planning for so long since entering South Korea was now inaccessible with holes on the pavements and mistakes by the engineer along the way. It was the engineer’s fault for not thinking of the pregnancy possibilities.

But even so, abortion could not be the only option!

The silence of the room was suddenly smashed when Eun Hye burst up from the sofa they were sharing. Yoochun broke free from his unworldly reverie and looked at his girlfriend. Confusion was written all over his face as he stared at her trailing tears.

As if it wasn’t he who caused them.

“I’m going to Hye Kyo unnie’s apartment. Good night.”

Angrily, Eun Hye stalked out away from the sofa and towards the entrance. Yoochun got up from his seat and took two steps to race after his girlfriend. But for some reason, he stopped himself from going further and sat back down.

She had expected him to follow her. She had expected him to call her back. But when he didn’t, she slammed the door shut and locked herself out.

What will they do now?

Chapter 2

\\ Oh Paris! //

Reaching for the shower handle, she turn the water on the fresh freezing water splashed down over her in a cold rush. Seconds passed and the water turned to warm. Then from warm to hot. It cascaded down her body and those that didn’t formed beads on her ivory flawless skin. She gave a deep sigh as her muscles relaxed from the shower and arched her back to get more water to her scalp; her eyes closed. A hand feathered across her bare buttocks and she was jolted from her thoughts to feel his hot body against her. She turned around and there he was, his eyes a gorgeous deep brown.

“Thought you’d never come.”

She said, wrapping her arms around his neck. He pulled her closer to her body and she let out a gasp when she felt how hard he was. Standing there in all of his glory, the man looked like a sex god or a mixture of McDreamy and McSteamy from Grey’s Anatomy. Short mussed up curly hair, firm toned abs, and a huge…

Before she could say anything, he ambushed her with a little pecks all over her face–everywhere but the lips. As her excitement grew with anticipation, he traced the outline of her mouth with the tip of his tongue to tease her, slightly nibbling her lower lip before prying open her mouth. She moaned and pulled on his hair, trying to get him further into their foreplay. He grinned into her mouth and pulled away, leaving a trail of slick saliva that glistened on her lip. That had and always was the trick they used on each other, so hot and seductive as it was.

“French me, dammit!”

She shouted before aggressively giving him a long soulful French kiss–no tongues barred. He kissed her lips and after participating in a tongue fight, he lowered his mouth to her throat, her breasts. His thumbs circled her nipples and she let out a moan when she suddenly felt his hot wet hungry mouth on her breast, biting down gently before sucking harder.

“Uhhnn…” She whimpered. His fingers suddenly plunged inside of her. “Aaahh!”

He pulled out and then entered her again, moving in circles and making her wetter than she already was. He stroked her clitoris.

“Ooh… That’s it…” She said, urging him on. “More… God…”

Suddenly without warning, he pulled his fingers out of her. Not knowing whether to be relieved or disappointed, she whimpered only to scream when his tongue abruptly delved inside of her, parting her lips while lightly biting and licking her most reactive part.

“B-Baby… I.. Ahh! I need you right now!”

He backed her up into the wet cold wall of the shower, pushing her legs wide to settle himself in between. He grinded his hips against her, the outline of his manhood tormenting them both. With a great lunge, he shoved his cock inside of her and she screamed in ecstasy, arching her back against the wall. He started to pull out. Not all the way, just to start a rhythm.

She gasped and held on to him, shuddering as he slid back inside of her again. Placing both of his hands under her butt, he lifted her up into the air while pushing and pulling in and out of her with quick rapid thrusts. Her hands found his chest and tried to push him away but instead, it only made him thrust into her with a more stronger force. She moaned uncontrollably with each thrust, one digging harder and deeper inside of her.

Her nails, lightly polished with a shiny sheer pink color, dug into his back. She couldn’t breathe. Whether it was from the heat of the shower or his rapid thrusts, she didn’t know but all the ecstasy was making her body tense up. Racing water blinded her and she threw her head back at the same time he thrust, mating her with vigor.

“I… I’m… Aahhh… Uhnn…”

Knowing that she was getting close, he picked up the pace. With every new second came a faster, rougher thrust than the last. At one point, he came out of her but before she could say anything, he pushed inside of her again. The force was extreme and she let go of his shoulders, slipping down further onto him. He shuddered as he completely disappeared into her.

“Baby… I…”

As soon as he felt the need for the heavenly release, he jerked his hips forward quickly, plunging into her powerfully. Her sex clamped onto his member, pulsing over it like a swallowing mouth, trying to get him even deeper within her as she came. She closed her eyes tightly as her body gave out, letting him spill out inside her.

The sounds of the shower faded into a dream as the both of them settled gently onto the floor. Deep-set brown eyes looked at her. Placing her head against his shoulder, she closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing. He wrapped his arms around her and they sat there for what seemed like an eternity: Him planting light kisses on her face, shoulders, back, neck while she enjoyed the light caresses. Afterwards, he smiled innocently and suddenly carried her bridal style to the bed where they had another rendezvous.

Chapter 1

\\ Ever So Green //

Dried leaves rustled beneath her feet as she shuffled along the barren road, crushing dead leaves few by few as she passed the temple grounds inside. The air around her was quiet for the New Years had passed and no other celebrations were held at the temple save for the mini ones and even those weren’t much to disturb the peace of the holy site.

Even the soft spring breeze could be heard as it brushed upon her flowing auburn hair and about her porcelain face. Eun Hye wandered along the peaceful setting of the temple’s outer sidewalk. Her eyes were glued to the ground, amusing herself with the young green leaves that sprouted at the cracks and corners of the cemented walkway.

About a hundred steps later, her feet brought her to a scenery she had seen many times before. In front of her was a grand old tree worth thousands, perhaps hundreds of dollars for its age and width. Her eyes strayed from the ground and skimmed up the gigantic baobab, its branches spreading far out towards the temple and its leaves high up into the sky. Mesmerized by the sight, she set a French-manicured hand on it and felt the rough barks of the tree along with the environment surrounding it.

“You must be really old.” Eun Hye whispered, more to herself and to the wind than the tree itself. “What is it like, exactly?”

“It’s been around for more than 200 years.” A young man said, stepping out from the other side of the trunk and startling Eun Hye with his appearance. Noticing her slight jumpy reaction, he chuckled with embarrassment and scratched his messy brunette hair. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you there.”

She smiled awkwardly and shook her head.

“It’s fine. I just didn’t think anyone else would be here so late in the evening.”

He stuck out his hand in a friendly manner.

“My name’s Park Yoochun. Nice to meet you.”

Eun Hye took a step forward towards the tree and paid her tribute to it as her frail fingers traced the fine lines of the bark within. Embarrassed at being left hanging, Yoochun sighed and jammed his hand into his pocket. He watched her back throughout the slow silence between them. His sharp eyes caught the light of the young woman’s fine red hair and her figure. A moment later, the woman turned around to look at him.

“How would you know if it’s 200 years or a thousand?” She asked.

Feeling happy that she was talking to him instead of paying attention to the damn old tree, he took out a slab of wood from his pocket. With her asking him his area of expertise, he pointed to the rings upon the wood with confidence.

“My uncle cut this out about 10 years ago and counted them. There are 190 here. All it takes is simple math, really.” Eun Hye nodded absentmindedly. Yoochun smiled and leaned against the tree, its trunk perhaps ten times his size. “You know, you haven’t told me your name yet.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. My name is Eun Hye.” Eun Hye bowed her head in greeting and smiled warmly, such a huge difference from the air of coldness just moments before. “It’s a pleasure to meet you here, Yoochun.”

It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Eun Hye. It’s a lovely name by the way.” He said with a charming smile. Starting right off, he no longer used honorifics.

“Thanks.”

He was told by countless others that his smile could sway any girl. But as his eyes scanned this Eun Hye, he knew that this girl won’t get swayed easily. She was, like this great tree she had taken an interest in, standing before the hand of time and never swaying even if the wind was great. A beautiful comparison but quite lonely.

“Why such a great interest in a tree, Eun Hye?” Yoochun asked as he tilted his head so that it leaned up against the tree, staring at her with bemused brown orbs. “I mean, it’s great and all and old. But even so… It’s just a tree.”

“Why, may I ask, do you even care?” Eun Hye stared at him, frowning slightly. “Besides, a tree is still a living thing. Haven’t you learned that in biology?”

“I know it’s a living thing. It has lived long before us and will continue to live long after us, as is the nature of it.” Yoochun pushed himself off the grand baobab and began his walk along the trunk of the tree with his hand trailing behind. “And I just care because I can.” Stopping about half a foot in front of his new met friend, he smiled. “Do I need a reason to?”

“You tell me.” Eun Hye took a step back.

Chuckling at the small effect that he brought to the well composed young woman in front of him, Yoochun nodded his head.

“I’ll see you around, Eun Hye.”

Turning away, Yoochun started to walk away from Eun Hye. But of course, before he could go anywhere, the young woman took several steps forward and closed the distance between them. As he felt her thin arms wrapping themselves around his waist and her face cuddling against his back, he chuckled and twisted himself about so that they were facing each other.

Meeting up with him wasn’t the nonchalant Eun Hye that he was talking to seconds before but instead, it was the other side of Eun Hye that he wouldn’t have seen had he not pursued her further into their relationship. She was so cute like that smushed in his chest and looking up with those round brown eyes.

“Yoochun-ah!” Eun Hye squealed, burying her face into her chest as she giggled and squeezed his body tight. “You are so cute!”

“Now are you happy?” Yoochun asked.

“Yes! I can’t believe you remembered the whole conversation we had the first time we met.” She covered her mouth with her hands and giggled. “It’s so sweet of you. Thank you.”

Yoochun rolled his eyes.

“Yes, no one could forget our awkward tandem at all.” His grumpy face only masked the fluttering happiness inside his own heart at the sight of her smile. “Now can we go to dinner?”

“To celebrate our third year anniversary, you better have planned something good.”

“Oh God, Vic’s hyperactivity have affected you long-term.” Yoochun shook his head in shame. “Pity.”

“Ya, you be—”

Yoochun’s lips captured Eun Hye’s in one swift movement. Her luscious soft lips was a completely different feel from his usual chapped lips and he nibbled her lower lip several times before prying open her mouth. The fervor of her kiss and the light touch of her tongue made him flush with anew intoxication. Eun Hye grinned into his mouth and pulled away, leaving a trail of slick saliva that glistened on his lip.

“Happy three-year anniversary, Yoochun-ah.”

He smiled and gave his girlfriend a squeeze of tender affection.

“Happy anniversary, sweetheart.”

A Sad Story

Starring yours truly Yoon Eun Hye and Yoochun of DBSK.
Articulated through the words of Eirallina D’Amico and
Dedicated to all the YEHshippers, Soompiers, and Winglin Warriors.

Shots of dreams and agony of loss are
Tangled with saline tears and bitter harsh laughter of destiny.
Our story takes place years before the Rising Gods of the East’s debut
Right before Yoochun was chosen to be one of the five Gods, before
Yoon Eun Hye completely lost her faith in him for not knowing the best.

The following is a work of fiction. The events and characters are fictional and the celebrity names/images merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrity is in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends.

© Eirallina Tran 2009. All rights reserved. Distribution of any kind is prohibited without the written consent of Eirallina Tran.

Story Started On: September 6, 2009

Story Finished On: September 20, 2009

CHAPTER 9“

Eun Hye’s head ached and so was her entire body. Someone must have carried her for a long time and a long way. But however long, however lengthy, the journey ended. They set her aching body on something hard–a bed possibly though it was too hard to be a bed–and left her there to listen to the sea. She could almost hear the waves crashing to shore and retreating. Each wave, each splash, each action was simple but in between those natural mechanisms, there were the marvels of locomotion, erosion and deposition. Eun Hye could hear all that. But she could not take in its beauty.

Her vision was unbelievably short, blurry one minute and so sharp the next. In her rest, someone approached her within regular intervals but she could not see who it was. The person took off her clothes. She had tried to protest, her arms swung about and her legs kicked, but she was weak like a bunch of flimsy noodles and could not stop them.

The pain would come after every visit; hard, fast, ramming into her body and making her deliriously high. She tried to reject the substances, wincing from the pain of the needles and the mixed liquid that flowed through her body from the injections. But they didn’t care. They said something soothing as if trying to calm her and gave her something very bitter to drink. Before she knew it, she slumped into a slow and achy slumber only to experience the delirium all over again.

Eun Hye watched on the sidelines as she saw her 13-year-old self walking the lonely dark road towards the light at the horizon. She herself had only walked this road once, that 13th birthday when she was kidnapped. Her 13-year-old self was now distant and she could no longer see herself. Eun Hye stood there, debating whether she should follow this girl of her memories.

“Grace!” a voice echoed around the vast darkness, making Eun Hye jump. No one hardly ever called her Grace anymore. Though she haven’t heard it in a long time, she recognized the voice immediately.

“E-Eric?” Eun Hye asked, looking around her though she could not see around the black abyss. “Eric, where are you?”

“Grace, wake up. You have to wake up.” Eric’s voice shouted back at her, echoing and echoing forever in her mind. “Wake up!”

“Eric!!”

Eun Hye opened her eyes, grabbing the hand that intertwined hers with force. The owner of that hand stared at her wide-eyed, surprised that she had woken up when he was about to stab her vein with a needle. Her eyes in turn widened and she screamed, jerking her hand away.

“Stay still!” The man hissed.

He pulled on her arm and rashly stabbed the needle into her white flesh. Eun Hye moaned. Her vision, which had been so sharp a moment ago, turned hazy from the pain in her head. The man pulled her wrists back slightly and then attached a small chain between her wrist cuffs.

“You have a fever.” The man said, his voice a little faint and soft. “Rest..”

“Stop…” Eun Hye panted from lack of air though she knew there was plenty. She found it hard to breath and with each breath, her chest squeezed in pain. “Giving me that… I don’t… will get… addicted…”

The man smirked.

“Rest… Rest and everything will be fine.”

“Gae…” Eun Hye whispered as the man pushed her back down on the bed. He was not any person she knew but in her confused state, she found comfort in the warm hand that she grasped. “Please don’t… don’t do this…”

“Sorry, I’m Kim Joon…”

“Headquarters have decided to withdraw all investigations from the random killings of the past few months.” Jung Yunho, the head of the police station, said. “So you guys have been assigned to another case.”

Lee Min Ho, Kim Ryeo Wook, Choi Jong Hyun, and Lee Hong Ki exchanged glances.

If they were to admit it, these past few months have been quite tiring indeed. Chasing after suspects who had no relations to the real cause and then getting news that another person was killed while they were led on a wild goose chase was all too much. Before, they thought other cases were hard. But this case–which they know called as the cliché Ninja Assassin from the movie starring Bi Rain–was the toughest.

No clues, no way, no how.

“What do you mean we’ve been assigned to another case?” Min Ho shouted. “The murderer is still on the loose. We can’t quit now.”

“Lee Min Ho, do not raise your voice at me.” Yunho said sternly. “This is orders from the top. We cannot dig our noses into it any further. Withdraw all investigations, file all the gathered evidence, and close the damn case. This is the first and last time I’m giving you the order. If I find you four messing around with this any longer than necessary, I will suspend you. Harasso?”

“Harassimnida.” Hong Ki represented the entire group.

“Please send us the next assignment as soon as possible.” The nerdy Ryeo Wook adjusted his glasses.

“We will take our leave now, Jung sunseng-nim.” Jong Hyun added.

Reluctantly, the four of them bowed and walked out of office. As they walked down the hallway, whisper and talk came about.

“Ya, don’t you think that was weird?” Ryeo Wook asked with a tilt of his head and a grown on his face. “How can they just tell us to drop it like that?”

“You’re right, it was weird. But it has been a week since we chased after the killer and his accomplice and months since this case opened. We still have no clues. How are we to continue this shit?” Jong Hyun shook his head. “Aniya, I can’t stay on the case or else my brain will fry. I prefer the chase then just watching and walking around.”

“Aissh, you don’t have any integrity at all, Choi Jong Hyun.” Hong Ki slapped his colleague upside the head.

“I can’t take this!” Min Ho hissed.

Hong Ki gasped.

“Eeh, you want to back out of this case too?”

“Stop messing around, you bastards!”

Min Ho smacked his three co-workers. They bowed their heads to him and apologized, straightening and lining up in a straight line to follow his orders.

“Yes, hyung!”

“Look, I thought it over when Yunho sunseng-nim was talking and here’s my thoughts. Why are headquarters involved? Yeah, I mean many people have died. But to consider six people in six months, they are not so huge and preposterous that even the headquarters would butt into it. So why?”

“Could it be…” Ryeo Wook checked his phone and shook his head. “Aniyo, it can’t be that.”

“Weah? What is it?”

Ryeo Wook shook his head and walked away.

“Kim Ryeo Wook, get back here!”

Hyun Joong opened the door and closed it as quietly as he entered, throwing his coat off his hot body and on to the floor. The lake house, as always, was dark and ominous with the roaring of the shore a constant reminder of where he was and what he was to this society. Isolated and cut off all communications, Hyun Joong was definitely an outsider, an Untouchable, filth.

But he liked it that way. No one would disturb the peace he had tried so hard to build up.

After throwing his luggage into his room, he went into the bathroom and stripped himself out of the black attire he wore. Reaching for the shower handle, he turned the water on and stepped inside the shower stall. Freezing water splashed down over his tired muscles in a cold rush. Seconds passed and the water turned warm, then from warm to hot. It cascaded down his body and those that didn’t formed beads on his toned skin. He gave a deep sigh as his muscles relaxed under the shower. Arching his back to get more water to hit aching scalp, Hyun Joong opened his eyes and gasped.

He was in that room again. That white room, he was trapped in it again.

Drip, drip, drip.

“Umma, umma, I’m scared.”

Hyun Joong touched the liquid that stained his body and recognized the metallic smell as well as the dark color of it. More blood drizzled from above, dripping in unison with the voices coming towards him from every direction.

“Sshhh… Hyun Joong-ah, shhh….”

Fearfully, Hyun Joong raised his head to look at the ceiling and his eyes widened at the image. There in the middle of the white space of his bedroom ceiling, right above him, was a deep black hole. Like a punctured wound, the hole was surrounded in a cloud of blood which dripped towards him in torrents of rain. The horrible liquid spread across the white space in accordance to how many times the hole palpitated, creating a bloody red sky above, below, and around him.

“Hyun Joong, I’m sorry. Your mother was killed.” Someone laughed, a sarcastic laugh which contained no emotions save for that flicker of pain. “You’re by yourself now.”

The hole, as Hyun Joong continued staring, pumped itself in a way that reminded him of a heart beating; slow, rhythmic, alive. Already a huge puddle had formed beneath his feet and he was sure pretty soon a lake will form.

“Join the Association, my nephew. Together, we will avenge your mother’s death. Join the Association.”

Without him realizing it, he was drowning in a sea of blood and above her, a bloody storm was brewing. A couple more inches and the metallic liquid would surely eat him up. He wouldn’t be able to breath any longer. But then again, was he even alive?

“I’ll do it! Just…” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “Just don’t die on me.”

Now totally submerged, he had nowhere to go. Everywhere was blood, all the places were dripping, but there was no drain. It was a bloody horror show. He tried swimming above the surface but there was no surface. There was simply no surface! The sky and ground was coming together, joining into one and he was trapped in the middle like a sandwich. He couldn’t hold on any longer. A few more seconds and he would be out of breath. Too late. Unable to hold it in, he exhaled in search of air to take in water instead. Aniyo, it was blood.

Hyun Joong jolted from his unstable state of mind when his nose detected something odd in the air. It wasn’t the acrid smell of cement and algae that got to him nor the woody scent of the lake house. It was a familiar earthy odor that attracted him.

“MDPV?”

He frowned and turned off the showers, exiting the stall and draping a towel over his lower regions while drying his hair with another. The scent of the drug got stronger the further he went into the house. When he stopped right underneath the trapdoor that lead elsewhere, he recognized that the scent was strongest and would be even more so if he entered the space hidden by the trap door.

The trap door… Someone was in the secret compartment. Running back to his bedroom, Hyun Joong threw on some clothes and grabbed a revolver. He knew he didn’t really need much ammunitions because as far as he was concerned, no one could get out alive.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Hyun Joong quietly arrived at the base of the stairs with his revolver in hand and his senses alert. Indeed, the smell of MDPV was stronger in the closed off basement of the lake house. In truth, it wasn’t a basement really but an underwater studio that he had built long before that he now used as a storage and hiding place. The studio was lit and someone was sitting on the bed in the back of the wall. It was Eun Hye.

What was going on?

The dazed, flushed, and unstable look on Eun Hye’s face was unfamiliar to Hyun Joong’s eyes, he who was so used to her shouting back and making him hit her once in a while. Sitting there by the edge of the bed with a white tank top that barely covered her firm breasts from view and perhaps nothing underneath, the woman looked like a doll just waiting for orders. Her arms were in cuffs.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw dozens of used syringes and hollow needles laying on a small table to his right. Powder forms of a substance was flying in the air, making the odor putrid and very much earthy. The powder was MDPV alright but what about the syringes?

Someone walked over and stood before the dazed young woman. Hyun Joong’s eyes drew in a deep glare. It was that doctor, Kim Joon.

Ah, Hyun Joong remembered. After that escape from the police and their investigators, he had brought Eun Hye back to the lake house and left her there. He had informed Kim Joon to take care of her–mainly because he was the only person he could trust–and then left for Paris in search of his target; Kwon BoA. He had completed his first mission and had just come back.

But… That still did not explain the MDPV floating around. Already, he was feeling the effects of the drug on his system as it caused his heartbeat to ascend rapidly and he was sweating.

Not knowing that his companion had come back, Kim Joon grabbed Eun Hye’s ankles and lifted her long legs up. Due to that, her body was forced to lean backwards on the bed. With several blankets underneath her, her body arched and her ample chest was thrust forward. Kim Joon pulled her ankles in different directions and Eun Hye’s legs were pinned wide apart and raised nicely on either side of the bed by some ropes.

“You’ll do perfectly.” Kim Joon licked his lips when he finished his masterpiece.

Moving around to her open thighs, he bent forward and lifted the edge of her tank top. Quickly realizing that Eun Hye was made totally available to anyone and Kim Joon himself, Hyun Joong saw red. He cocked the revolver. The clicking sound it made had Kim Joon jumping around to look at him. A hint of annoyance flashed across the doctor’s face before a smile masked it.

“Hyun Joong, you’re back.”

Hyun Joong walked forward and reached Eun Hye’s side. As his eyes traced her voluptuous body, he felt a passion ignite from his loins but quickly adjusted his desires. Reaching out, he saw the bruised marks made from inserted needles on both her arms. Everything connected. MDPV, the syringes, the smell of cocaine, and those good sh.it was all in Eun Hye’s body right now.

“You’ve given her drugs?” Hyun Joong inquired.

Kim Joon laughed.

“Just a little speedball here and there along with some MDPV for my own pleasure.”

Hyun Joong glanced at Eun Hye as she let out a moan of desire, an effect garnered from the long exposure to MDPV. He stared at her hungrily and licked his lips. A chuckle from Kim Joon snapped him out of his stare. The MDPV was effecting him as well.

“Cocaine, morphine, heroin, and MDPV all together–are you trying to kill her?”

“Do you expect me to sit here to baby sit some hot babe without touching her?”

“You touch her and I will kill you.”

Kim Joon threw his head back and laughed.

“I wanted to fuck the shit out of this girl before you came back but you ruined my plans. Oh well.” The doctor gave a lusting glance at Eun Hye and smiled. “Fuck her brains out, Kim Hyun Joong. She’ll do whatever you say. I gave her enough MDPV to last a whole day or so.”

“Yo–”

“Break her.” Kim Joon hissed. “If you decide to keep this bitch, break her now and she will obey everything you say. Or else you’ll regret it if she comes running to that detective and tell him everything.”

Kim Joon backed off with a smirk and patted Eun Hye’s full breasts. The two men could see the hardness of her nipples as they stood up from under the soft material of her top. When the trap door slammed shut behind him, Hyun Joong threw his revolver aside and rushed to Eun Hye. He quickly untied the ropes that held her legs apart and released her wrists, propping her up on her butt.

“Eun Hye, Eun Hye.” Hyun Joong called, slapping her face gently as he tried to wake her up. “Wake up, can you hear me? Are you okay? Wake up.”

Eun Hye was perspiring and writhing. Her eyes was open and more focused than he had ever seen her. But the Eun Hye that he knew–no matter how short and brief the exchanges had been–she wasn’t anywhere like this. Her hands were reaching for his body and groping him where she shouldn’t, and the sounds she made with her mouth… This wasn’t the medical student he knew. The concoction of heroin, cocaine, and morphine from the injections with the added aphrodisiac drug MDPV had now rendered her nothing more than a whore just waiting to be fucked.

As for Hyun Joong, he found it hard to control his own self. He had been exposed to MDPV for over half an hour now. It was taking its effect strongly on his body. He was turned on and very much intoxicated. The feel of Eun Hye in a loose tank top with her hard nipples rubbing against his bare chest wasn’t helping either.

“Gae…” Eun Hye moaned breathlessly, seductive and so hot. One of her hand reached out to brush his shoulder while another shot to her shirt, pulling and tugging at it. Her ample breasts appeared and then vanished beneath the thin material teasingly. “I’m… so hot…”

Hyun Joong pulled himself from Eun Hye and took several steps away from the bed, his eyes closed from peering at the provocative woman behind him. It was the drugs. It was just the drugs. He could not loose his control like that. He could not repay Eun Hye’s kindness with something as evil as himself. No. He won’t do it.

But he found it difficult to not look at her. One, a beautiful woman was begging to be touched by him. Two, her white tank top did not do much to cover her up. Three, she was pretty much aroused to the point of not needing any foreplay, he could tell. Beads of sweat collected on Hyun Joong’s forehead and fell.

He knew it was the effects of the drugs. He knew that this woman wanted nothing to do with him after he kidnapped her, after he assassinated her best friend, and after he ruined her future career as a doctor. But she was pining for him and he for her. So much filled his head that Hyun Joong didn’t notice En Hye slipping her arms around him and pressed close against his back. With one shove, Eun Hye turned Hyun Joong around to face her. She pulled him in close, looks deep into his eyes, before she leaned in and put her soft and tender lips on his.

What a wrong move to make.

Kim Joon, who had awaited the moans and screams of pleasure that now ignited from underneath the wooden floor of the lake house, smiled and turned to walk away.

“Yes boss, everything is according to plan.” Kim Joon said into the phone as he put on some clothes. After Hyun Joong kicked him out, he took a shower upstairs to get rid of the drugs in his system. “Grace Yoon is now held captive. Yes. Good night.”

As Kim Joon turned to leave, a scream of pleasure ignited into the air. He smiled and locked the door behind him.

CHAPTER 8“

“Let me go, please.” She pleaded, pulling and twisting her wrist away from Gae’s killer grip. But it didn’t help because the harder she struggled, the tighter his fingers wrapped around her wrist. “Please… Gae…”

They stopped right in front of a black Toyota Prius right across the street from the coffee shop.

“Do you want to die?” Gae turned and hissed at her.

What kind of contradicting question is that?

“I’m going to die anyway whether I like it or not so why the fu.ck are you asking?” Eun Hye shouted back, attracting some unwanted looks from people passing.

“You foolish woman.”

Behind Eun Hye, the Prius unlocked itself. Gae gave one menacing glance at Eun Hye and stepped forward to open the passenger door. Seeing this chance as a way of escape, Eun Hye raised her right leg and kneed Gae’s stomach. He doubled over in pain and subconsciously let go of her hand.

Without further ado, Eun Hye bolted across the parking lot with all the strength she had mustered for this one moment of escape. From the corner of her eyes, she saw that Gae had regained his control and was running right towards her–for her–and she sped up. But the parking lot seemed enormously large and her speed so small that it made no difference.

Gae’s viper-like hands shot out from behind and Eun Hye let out a scream as she was pulled back into that void of anger and death. Cold metal licked her wrists and all of a suddenly, she found her hands bound behind her back like a prisoner awaiting his sentence to jail. Where did he find handcuffs?

“Let me go! Let me go!”

She barely saw Gae lash out before a bone-crunching pain exploded across her jaw, spreading all around her head and making it ring. Blood spilled to the ground below her and dripped from the corner of her lips.

“I told you to shut your fucking bitch ass mouth!”

Gae’s eyes… She no longer recognized it as friendly or kind or helpless. It was brutal, his looks, and barbaric beyond belief. Though she had never known him in the first place, he was now a berserker instead of a helpless, wounded dog from before. The fear that descended upon her heart and mind now rendered her frozen. Death was awaiting her.

Gae smirked.

He pushed Eun Hye forward and she followed without resistance. When he shoved her into the passenger seat of the Prius, she automatically slumped into the seat. Gae took the driver’s seat, put his seat belt on, and turned on the ignition. When he leaned to look at her, his eyes spotted the faint pale green marks on the white thighs that her plaid shirt dress exposed. He paused for a moment–only for one quick moment–before he snapped out of it and gave her thigh a slap.

“Ah!” Eun Hye exclaimed and glared at Gae with annoyance. But the glare she got back was much stronger.

“Put your seat belt on.”

“I got no hands!” Eun Hye gestured towards the handcuffs she had on.

Gae made a face and slapped the seat belt on Eun Hye. The woman screamed when the car veered sideways and vroomed down into the incoming traffic of the roads. Other than being utterly agressive in his driving on the way out, on the second stop light, Gae followed legal traffic procedures and stopped.

Eun Hye was on edge. She was completely clueless about what Gae will do and of course, after his fist landed on her face, she didn’t want to know whether he would honor his promise of killing her or not. She could still feel the ringing pain and metallic taste of blood in her mouth.

Several minutes of driving went past without a single line of speech from the two of them. At a stoplight, Gae fumbled with the phone that was on his lap. Was it on his lap all this time? The sound of a phone ringing ignited throughout the car and at the second ring, someone picked up. Gae had put the phone on speaker.

“Choi Si Won here speaking.” A man’s voice spoke from the other line.

“Am I to reach out to space?” Gae inquired.

A pause.

“Go as far as you can.” Si Won replied back as if the conversation was at all normal. “You got strong wings.”

The light turned green. Gae speeds up a little and rushes past a car.

“You die when you reach space.”

“What about space suits?”

“If with suits, how are you to beat your wings?”

A chuckle came from the other line.

“You are an angel, Kim Hyun Joong.”

Eun Hye’s eyes turned to Gae. Kim Hyun Joong? Was this his real name?

“Fire Light Coffee Shop on the east side of Seoul, by the corner of Lotte Shop and HSBC bank. You got access, right?”

“Dahyunaji.”

“Then hack the system. Delete all files.” Gae was about to end the call when on second thought, he shook his head. “And do it now within two minutes. The police will be coming soon.”

Eun Hye, who was sitting there to nurse her swollen cheek, raised an eyebrow. Hack the system?

“What the f–” Before she could raise her voice, Gae’s hand shot out and clamped it over Eun Hye’s mouth.

“Quiet!” Gae hissed with the most softest voice she had heard him whisper, which wasn’t saying much really.

“Kim Hyun Joong, you more than anyone should know that I need an authorization code to do as you ask of me, yes?”

“I’m tight on time, you bastard. Now do it!”

“Someone’s with you, right?”

Gae grabbed the phone and threw it to the back of the car. Eun Hye glanced at him from the corner of her eyes.

“Kim. Hyun. Joong.” She drawled. “That’s your name?”

“Shut your mouth.”

Eun Hye turned and gazed at Hyun Joong. The pain of her cheeks with the ache of her entire body and mind made her focus unclear and her eyes blurry. She had always considered herself lucky all her life. What had happened to it now? Why was it now, when she just started it as an adult? Why did she have to meet this bastard who was kidnapping her–and she lets him?

“Kim Hyun Joong, why are you doing this to me?”

“You don’t need to know anything about why I do the things I do. You just need to know that you’re fortunate you’re even talking to me right now.”

Eun Hye scoffed.

“Fortunate? Is this what you call fortunate?”

From a distance, a police siren wailed as it neared the vicinity. Hyun Joong locked all the doors and locked the windows so that Eun Hye wouldn’t be able to jump out nor would she be able to yell for help. Like a good citizen, Hyun Joong went to the side and parked his car for the police car to pass.

Eun Hye silently watched as her last chance of escape flashed by her eyes.

Moments later, the Prius continued on its way. No one could tell that within that car, a murderer was driving to his escape. And he liked it that way.

Lee Min Ho entered the shop.

Immediately, he sensed that the atmosphere was dark and gloomy. All the lights of the shop were off. The air rushed about with a chilling coldness. In the spot where Min Ho had sat interrogating Eun Hye, the coffee cups were still sizzling and smoking with the heat of the drinks. In his coffee cup, an Anycall Corby acted as an iceberg.

She was gone. That damn bitch!

Min Ho stepped forward, his gun pointed and cocked, and looked around. No one was in sight.

“Waitress!” He called out. “Waitress!”

A loud bang exploded from the kitchen and Min Ho swirled the gun to the entrance of the door. A woman—the waitress—appeared from the doorway.

“Sorry, we’re close—omana!!” A gasp broke from the waitress’s lips and she ducked down, screaming.

“I’m the police, I’m the police!” Min Ho hissed back, slapping a badge up for the woman to see.

Immediately he put it back into his pocket as his eyes once again scanned the area. With the seeing evidence, the woman slowly got up. Even that was a chore for her though because she was scared shitless as is.

“What is going on?” She whimpered.

“Why is it so dark in here?” Min Ho rushed to where the waitress was and flicked on the light switch. It didn’t work. “Where was the woman who was sitting over there?” He pointed to the spot where they last sat. “She was sitting with me, remember? Ten minutes ago?”

“Ah! That woman. She left with her boyfriend several minutes after you left. And that’s when the blackout happened.”

“Have you found out the reason?” His eyes squinted at the corner. “Do you guys have cameras here? Give me the videos.”

“Let me go get it.” The waitress turned around and walked into the kitchen.

Min Ho surveyed the area. If there were cameras in this small little coffee shop then there should be some saved footage of Eun Hye and her boyfriend. That will at least give them a clue to the killer’s accomplice.

Wait…

Accomplice. It was Eun Hye. Cameras. There was always a reported black out at the murder scene. Witnesses. There were no witnesses that ever saw the killer alive. The killer…

A sudden silence fell over Min Ho’s body. He… He had just talked to the killer and he didn’t even know.

So the cause of this blackout was…

“Officer, officer!” The waitress ran back out to the front of the shop, breathless and sweating like she had run a marathon or something. As Min Ho glanced at her, all hopes of obtaining footages of the killer and his accomplice vanished. “The videos have malfunctioned. It’s all blank!

It was like an invisible blow to the stomach that had Min Ho slamming his hand on a nearby counter at the anger he felt. He was just fucked around by those two. The killer and his female accomplice knew how to play their cards well. While he was busy interrogating Eun Hye, the killer had entered unsuspectingly and fluidly pulled Min Ho’s attention away. He didn’t even suspect it one bit! Why couldn’t he see? Why couldn’t he see the connections before?

Taking out his cell phone from his pocket, Min Ho angrily punched in some numbers and waited for the person on the other line to pick up.

“Yoboseyo?”

“Get all information you have on Yoon Eun Hye and send it to me now. Her records, her family, every fuc.king thing. I swear to God, if I don’t catch these two alive, I am not Lee Min Ho!”

The Prius was 2/3 submerged in water when the driver of the car parked it and turned off the engine. In the darkness of the night and with only the crescent moon as a source of light, an individual stepped out of the car with something that resembled a hug bag of rice/potatoes on their shoulder. Water sloshed back and forth among the dirty dunes of the lake. Mud slapped around here and there. A figure of a man carrying someone flickered as the moon vanished behind a thick glob of clouds.

Several feet away was a lake house.

CHAPTER 7“

No one could save her.

When her eyes spotted Gae’s appearance at the coffee shop, she was a bit nervous. And when the foolish detective just simply went along with Gae’s implication of him being her boyfriend, she just knew no one could save her.

“Well, aren’t you going to say hi?” Gae inquired with a raise of his eyebrow.

Eun Hye found it puzzling really. Even with the threats of death that Gae brought with his presence, she found him seemingly attractive. Bold yet ethereal, icy cold yet hot to the touch, dangerous but oh so alluring. Just what was it about him…

Her eyes widened when all of a sudden, she felt a hand on her chest.

“Wh-What are you doing?” Eun Hye asked.

“There’s a tattoo here.” Gae said calmly as if the fact that his hand was on her breast didn’t matter. “A butterfly tattoo.”

“And..?” To tell the truth, she was a little bit offended by his actions. He was rude and he knew it. So why was he so bold and didn’t even blush at all? Was it because he was a murder?

Gae smirked and licked his lips.

“It would be a shame to see the butterfly all bloodied up, right?”

“You can’t.” Eun Hye whispered back. Her breathing was now escalating. Her heart was beating wildly and she was sure that he knew it. His eyes told her so. “I saved your life. You can’t silence me.”

Slowly, Gae’s nimble fingers found themselves tracing the curves of her bosom and up towards her neck. He stopped on the collarbone of her neck. Violently and with much force, his hand suddenly snapped around her neck and pulled her forward. Eun Hye found herself breathing in Gae’s minty hot breathe. Jerking her shoulders and neck, she tried to pull away but she couldn’t. Not without damage.

“Who said I want to silence you, Yoon Eun Hye? I actually like you.” Gae’s grip tightened around her neck. “Now tell me where BoA is, bitch.”

Her eyes swiveled from the waitress to plead for help but the worker had her back turned and disappeared into the kitchen. Her eyes met up with Gae’s icy glance as he forced her look at him. Eun Hye’s fingers circled the edge of the table.

“I told you… She’s in France.”

With his force and killer group, Eun Hye was now almost on top of the table. Just a few more inches and she would knock the two coffee cups over. Thankfully, no one was in the shop to witness this exchange.

“Is she really?”

“Yes.” Eun Hye hissed.

Using the surface control of the table, she pulled herself away from Gae’s grip. But she knew that had it not been for Gae’s willingness to let go, he would have already snapped her neck. As she pulled away, her hand went to her now burning red neck. She glared at Gae but he only smiled back.

“I’d never thought the person who saved my life would be friends with my next target.”

“Next target?” Eun Hye’s mind raced with all the possibilities. A shiver ran up her spine. “BoA is your next target? What did she ever do to you?”

“You do know who I am, right?”

“Yes. I knew right after reading the newspapers. You’re the serial killer everyone is looking for, right?”

Gae clapped his head, threw his head back, and chuckled.

“You got it, wench.”

She winced at his derogatory terms.

“What do you want from BoA?” Eun Hye asked. “What did she ever do to you?”

Gae clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Don’t worry about BoA. She’s my job. I will do it without spilling blood on your fucking floor. But you, my friend. You are in deep shit as is with or without BoA.” To distract Eun Hye, Gae took hold to the coffee spoon stirred the cup in front of him, which was originally Lee Min Ho’s. “You see, you’ve found too much about me. I can’t let you live.”

“I saved your life, Gae.” Eun Hye argued back. Underneath the table and unseen by Gae, her hands were fumbling with her phone. “You can’t kill me. I saved you!”

“No, you’ve misunderstood Yoon Eun Hye. You didn’t save me. It was I who saved myself.”

She frowned at his words. Or was it because her phone wasn’t receiving any signals?

“How does that work?”

“Simple. I was shot. I was critically wounded. I knew I needed help. I found you and forced you to help me. I saved myself by coming to you.”

“You’re unreasonable.”

“It’s being practical. And if you want to know how unreasonable I can be, how about you let me shove that phone up your cunt?” As soon as the words left his lips, Eun Hye felt a hand cupping itself over the phone she had hidden under the table. She stared at him, gawking. “Oh wait, that’s not unreasonable. I mean, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call the police on me while we’re talking bitch.”

Gae snatched her phone from Eun Hye’s hands. When he pulled it up from under the table, he winked at her and dropped it into his cup of coffee. Eun Hye trembled and she stared straight into Gae’s eyes. The tears that flooded the wells of her eyes blinded her sight and because of it, her anger risen.

She was mad.

She was scared.

She was afraid to die without anyone knowing.

“Gae…”

“Get up.” He ordered out of no where. Before Eun Hye knew what was happening, she felt herself being pulled up from her seat and pushed out the door. “Make one sound, bitch, and you’d wish you’d never been born.”

“Where are we going?” Eun Hye whimpered.

“You better hope it’s not hell. But I can’t assure you it’s not.”

Min Ho answered the insistent phone call and put it on speaker. He revert his attention back to the road in which he was driving. After speaking to Yoon Eun Hye, he was now coming back to headquarters.

“Hello?” He asked.

“Hyung!”

Min Ho frowned.

“Ryeo Wook? What’s up?”

“Me and Jong Hyun are at the club where Boa was supposedly there the night of Nickhun’s attack. Guess what?”

“Just tell me what you fucking found out, Ryeo Wook!” Min Ho hissed.

“It’s not BoA. BoA wore a black dress. It was that woman, her friend. The girl name Yoon Eun Hye.”

“Yoon Eun Hye?”

Min Ho slammed onto the brake unit and stopped the car. Behind him honks and horns ignited into the air. Grabbing the police light, he opened the window and slapped it on the hood of his car. He turned it on and immediately made a sharp U-turn.

He was just talking to Yoon Eun Hye!

CHAPTER 6“

The lake glistened with an argent brilliance from the moonshine above, dispersing its baleful aura across the area under watch. From afar, a shadow could be seen approaching the lake house. As they neared, the person rapped on the door and immediately a pale white hand opened it, gesturing for the person to enter. The hooded figure entered.

Debris ascended from the creaky wooden floor and as the person looked around, they could see an old worn out sofa on the back wall with night tables on both sides. Three rows of book shelves ran along the left all, deflecting the light from the windows. A fireplace on the other side burned with fervid passion, radiating warmth and light across the house.

“What is it that you need, to wake me up in the middle of the night for this?” A deep cunning voice belonging to an adult male inquired as he settled himself on the sofa.

“We have a job for you.” The capped figure said. “It’s going to be quite fun.”

The man on the sofa scoffed.

“When do you guys ever not have a job for me? What is it?”

“Kwon BoA and Lee Hyori.” The figure pulled off the hood of their shirt to show a sharp-featured face. It was Kim Joon. “Kill them, Kim Hyun Joong.”

“Bwoh? BoA and Hyori?”

Hyun Joong sat up on the sofa.

“You know our boss. They messed up. They deserve to die.”

“Hyori I can understand but Kwon BoA? She’s only a pawn of this game. She doesn’t know anything.”

“Therefore, she is more dangerous to us.” Kim Joon replied back nonchalantly. “Yeah, you said you don’t kill innocent bystanders. But whoever we target, they are not innocent at all. Don’t waste your breath arguing with me. You have until next week to finish the job. Report back to me once you’re done and don’t play around. Harasso?”

“Fine.” Hyun Joong grumbled. “Now leave. I’m going to go back to my fishing.”

“You do that.” Kim Joon pulled up his hood and turned to walk out. When he was a feet away from the entrance door, he turned back. “Hyun Joong?”

“What?” Hyun Joong growled back at the doctor.

“Your friend, Eun Hye. She’s going to get caught. You better do something.”

Hyun Joong’s eyes showed no sign of weakness.

“Oh, so you found out her name.”

“The police found out too.” Kim Joon smirked. “They’re catching up to her. So you see, she’s no longer an innocent bystander either. Kwon BoA, Lee Hyori, Yoon Eun Hye. You better kill them before I get the next assignment.”

The door slammed shut. Hyun Joong shrugged his shoulders and went out to the back of the lake house. Opening the door leading to the patio outside, he stared out at the lake. It was silent as night but the howling wind made it ominous and drafty. He loved that atmosphere. It gave him goose bumps.

Settling himself down on the chair behind the fishing pole, Hyun Joong flung the string into the water below and leaned back. Now, a fish was supposed to eat his bait. Like he was baiting the fishes in the lake, Kim Joon was baiting him with that statement about Eun Hye. After living here for so long, the fishes in that lake had learned to not take any bait he offered them. He would never take Kim Joon’s bait.

Let her die.

“Yoon Eun Hye?”

The man in a dark black suit called out as he entered Mr. Kim’s medical laboratory during an intense full throttle experiment that the students inside were conducting. All eyes turned to him. He was a good man really. Tall, dark and handsome was his exciting features. But despite all that, the scowl on his face made him unattractive in an attractive way. It did not make any sense but it also did.

The students quickly backed away from the door as if the man was a disease or something.

“What are you doing in here!” Mr. Kim, the instructor and researcher, was livid with anger.

“I’m from the police.” The man said, showing the band of students and one instructor his badge. “I’m looking for a female name Yoon Eun Hye. Her schedule shows that she’s here now.”

“Out! Out! Out!” Mr. Kim shooed the officer in the best way that he could, secluded in one tight spot at the back of the laboratory.

“My name is Lee Min Ho. I am looking for Yoon Eun Hye. Didn’t you hear me?”

“Didn’t you also hear that this laboratory is contaminated with the Neisseria meningitis germ?” Mr. Kim bellowed back. “Which is why we’re all wearing protective suits?”

The officer looked around him. Indeed all the students that were within the enclosed space had on bright pink suits paired with goggles and gloves.

“Oh shit.” He muttered.

“Out!”

Lee Min Ho didn’t have to be told twice. Turning around, he raced out of the laboratory with the speed of lightning. Tough macho detective guy is still scared of getting an incurable disease. Yoon Eun Hye, who had stood in the back and watching everything, was puzzled. Why in the world was a police looking for her?

Deep down in that part of her mind, she knew the answer.

The cups of coffee that the waitress bought to their table were overflowing with crème that they looked really unattractive whichever way you see it. But neither Eun Hye nor Min Ho commented on it as the waitress walked away. When their eyes meet, Eun Hye avoided his gaze and sipped her coffee instead.

“This is an odd place for an interrogation.” She commented.

Min Ho tried to smile but it looked like he was constipated.

“It’s not an interrogation really.” He said. She raised an eyebrow. “Alright, so it is. Let me cut to the chase. We have investigated and we know that you are close friends with Kwon BoA. Do you know where she is at the moment?”

Eun Hye did not expect this.

“Why do you need to know?”

“You know that your girlfriend was a suspect in a murder two months ago, correct?”

She nodded slowly, warily.

“Yes, BoA was. With the murder of Kim Jae Joong, that host. So? You guys had no evidence against her save for the fact that you found her and Lee Hyori at the murder scene. She is innocent.”

“You are right. At that time, we thought her innocent. A serial killer killed Kim Jae Joong and several others, not her. So we let her go. But my question to you is this: what was Kwon BoA doing the night of October 3rd? We have evidence to show that she had a hand in helping a serial killer.”

Eun Hye understood now. Gae was the murderer Seoul police officers were looking for. And the night of her birthday, it was she who assisted him escape their wrath. Yoon Eun Hye was the one Min Ho was looking for.

“She was with me.” Eun Hye said, carefully choosing her words. “It was my birthday and we went clubbing until late at night. If you don’t trust me, you can ask Moon Chae Woon and Jang Ah Young as our vouchers. They were with us as well.”

Min Ho was recording this all down in his notepad.

“When did you leave?”

“Around midnight.”

The detective perked up.

“Midnight, you said? So you all split up after midnight?”

“Yeh.”

“So from midnight to one o’clock, BoA was by herself?”

“Aniyo. We met her boyfriend along the way; Choi Si Won. That’s why we split up.”

“So how are you sure BoA didn’t leave her boyfriend right after that to go help the murderer?”

“I’m not sure. But I know it’s not her.”

“Then who?” Min Ho urged.

“Welcome to the café!”

The interruption brought Eun Hye’s focus to the front door. A tall, lean young man entered. He seemed young, around his twenties at most and was perhaps enrolled at the university himself because of the shoulder bag hanging from the side. His attire was quite stylish and very much in. A v-neck cardigan under a white shirt and black pants just screamed sophistication. The man looked at the other side of the café and then turned his head towards Eun Hye’s direction. A smile broke onto his face.

At that exact moment, Eun Hye’s mind began racing. She would never forget his face. Gae was right there looking straight at her. He waved and took steps towards the table.

“I don’t know who.” Eun Hye replied to the police officer.

What was Gae doing? Didn’t he know he was about to meet the police officer who has looked for him all this time? Don’t come near! She flashed her eyes to him and signaled a huge no with her eyes but he only smirked and approach. Was he trying to intimidate her?

“Is there something wrong, Miss Yoon?” Min Ho asked.

When he noticed her distracted and looking at something behind him, he turned his head around and spotted a man stopping in front of their table. No wonder the medical student was totally mesmerized by him. His face was quite charming, if Min Ho said so himself. His colleagues had said that medical students usually look for good looking men and women because they studied the anatomy. Now he knew it was true.

“Eun Hye, I’ve been looking all over for you.” The man said with a bright smile. “Why didn’t you answer my call?”

“Y-You called me?” Eun Hye glanced at the phone in her hand and then at the man. What was he doing? “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“Anyonghaseyo, my name is Kim Dong Min.” The man introduced himself to Min Ho with a bow of his head. Min Ho bowed back. “I’m Eun Hye’s boyfriend.”

“Anyonghaseyo, I’m Lee Min Ho. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.” Dong Min grinned. “Min Ho-sshi, if you don’t mind me being blunt, can I ask a question?”

“Dahyunaji, go ahead.”

“Do you mind if we cut this meeting short?” Dong Min laughed nervously, raking his hands through his hair. “Eun Hye and I have a date to go to.”

“Ah!” Min Ho glanced at Eun Hye and she blushed, sheepishly lowering her head in embarrassment. “No problem, no problem. I just have one last question to ask Eun Hye-sshi. Do you know where Kwon BoA is?”

“BoA…?” Dong Min inquired with a raise of his voice.

“Yeh, I’m looking for Kwon BoA.”

“BoA…” Eun Hye glanced from Min Ho to Dong Min and then back. “I’m afraid that BoA is not in the country at the moment. After my birthday celebration, she went along with some classmates to study abroad in Paris for a semester. She had planned that for the last two years.”

Dong Min was listening attentively to their conversation and somehow it unnerved both Min Ho and Eun Hye. His presence was sort of dominating over them.

“Paris… Do you know where she’s staying?”

“The Warwick Champs-Elysees in Paris.”

After finishing his scribbles, Min Ho got up and nodded to the boyfriend and girlfriend.

“Alright, I’m done. Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Yoon.” Taking a card from his jacket’s pocket, Min Ho set it on the table. “This is my business card. Please call me if you have any information to give us. I’ll be going now.”

“Thank you, Min Ho-sshi.” Dong Min said.

Min Ho chuckled.

“Enjoy your date, guys.”

Without another word, Min Ho paid the waitress his share of his coffee and walked out of the café. Dong Min–or Gae–replaced Min Ho in his seat without another thought. He leaned back, crossed his arms, and smiled at Eun Hye.

“Eun Hye-sshi, we meet again.”

The predatory glance in his gaze and how his dark pools of depth reflected herself made Eun Hye felt like a prey. And like the tale of predator and prey, Eun Hye knew one thing. She was going to be killed. Shit.