So at first I was going to write a whole shopping scene, but it was boring and absolutely sucked and frankly turned me off of updating for a long time – So I'm really very sorry to the people who diligently follow this. But I'm here now, and I'm finalizing a lot more things about my characters so things are really coming together! Thanks for sticking with me for so long!

Yul's POV

As we got closer and closer to Mary's home, I could see her mood quickly improving. As I was waiting for her to put some last things together before leaving campus, I could hear her muttering darkly to herself, her face a completely devoid of emotion, as if she were trying really hard to hide some deep dark thoughts. But the person I saw now, 15 minutes from taking an exit off of the freeway, was completely different.

About 20 minutes ago, while filling up gas, she had taken a CD out of her dash and started playing it. At first, going by the appearance of the CD (it was obviously home-made, with no labeling or decoration besides a giant heart drawn in with sharpie) I assumed I would be assuaged with the dulcet tones of a man hopelessly in love. Instead, I was hit with dubstep, remixes, and various instrumental soundtracks. While they were playing, Mary would softly bob her head, hum, sing along to the few words, and sometimes blush at a certain section or particular chord. Needless to say, she was lost within meanings that I didn't understand, ones that came from the time she and her mystery boyfriend spent together.

She had been extremely secretive about this boyfriend so far. Even when searching for a gift, she had only told him that it had to be "special, but not too special. Special, but not suspicious." Questions about whose suspicions couldn't be raised were deftly avoided since, and it had been a good two days since that shopping trip. In the end, she decided on red woolen gloves, while she bought her dad and elder brother scarves from the same store.

She looked at me now, he eyes bright with excitement, before turning her eyes back onto the road. "So I'm meeting Joey in the next town over, at the Starbucks, for a few minutes instead of heading straight home. Is that okay with you?" she asked.

"What would happen if it wasn't okay?" I teased. Despite my obviously playful smile, she blushed and her face fell.

"I'm sorry, what was I thinking, we've been driving for a while and you're probably really uncomfortable sitting here for so long in this car, and you probably want to just go rest and-"

I grabbed her shoulder to cut her off. "I was joking. I really am okay with going to meet this Joey kid. Is it your brother or something?"

She blushed again. "Oh, no, Joey is my… my boyfriend. We just wanted to see eachother once before we…" she didn't finish her sentence here, so I volunteered an ending.

"Go your separate ways?" Mary's eyes grew wide, almost as if she were scared before giving me a reassuring smile and giving me a small nod.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," she replied, almost sadly.

"So, what's this boy like?" I asked, hoping to improve her mood.

"Oh, how do I even begin describing him?" He face held this warm glow now, and her eyes were filled with love at the thought of him. "He's just perfect. For, me, anyways. He's perfect in every way possible - there can't be anyone else out there for me that's as good for me as Joey is. So, I guess, he's not perfect – but I can't think that there's anyone else for me. Not ever."

By the time we parked in the tiny parking lot of the Starbucks she mentioned, Mary was almost bouncing out of her seat again. As soon as we were in park, her eyes darted around looking for Joey. Once she saw him, she was so eager to get out of the car she left the keys as she ran out. I pulled them out for her now as I got out and looked in the direction she was walking, trying extremely hard to look casual. There was a guy – he seemed a little older, but not too much, leaning against a newer model of a black mustang. He had tan skin and long brown hair with a part in the middle that had his hair reaching just past his ears on both sides of his face. While the smile on his face seemed pretty small, I could see in his eyes, even from a couple hundred feet away, that he was just as happy to see her, as she was to see him. I started walking towards the couple just as Mary reached him and threw her arms around his neck. His hands, which until then were resting on his car, now came up to land on her back, where he rubbed her. Judging by the way the muscles on his arm were moving, he was squeezing her close. By this time, I was within hearing distance of them, and I could hear her repeating to him, over and over, "I missed you so much."

She pulled back, put her hands on his cheeks, and gave him a quick chaste kiss before just looking at him, almost soaking in his appearance. It was now, when both of them were fully upright and wrapped in each other's arms that Joey was slightly shorter than Mary. It was obvious that neither of them minded, though. They were staring intently at each other, communicating without words, before slowly leaning in for another kiss.

Although most Americans wouldn't call the kiss passionate – the two had too much self respect to make out in a parking lot – it was intimate enough that I, who had until now been able to watch with only a few twitches of the heart that reminded me of ChaeKyung and what we could have been, had to turn away and stop watching. I just awkwardly sat on the hood of the car next to them and twiddled my fingers.

"I missed you too," I heard him whisper. I looked back over to see him caressing her cheek while smiling at her with what one could consider a smirk. I knew better, though. How many times had Shin smiled at ChaeKyung the same way? It was love, for sure.

"Did you already get a drink?" She asked him. He pointed behind him, to the top of his car, where sat a Starbucks cup. I was guessing it wasn't all that hot anymore. "It's probably cold now," she giggled.

"Yeah, probably. It's okay, whatever. Unless you want me to wait in line with you while you get a drink so you won't be alone." He had let go of Mary now, but was still clasping her right hand tightly in his left, his black leather glove encasing her gray mitten. He was also leaning against the car again.

"No, it's okay. Actually, I brought a friend." She used her other hand to point at me. "This is Yul."

Joey immediately let go of her hand and stood up straight before awkwardly coughing and holding his right hand out for me to shake. "Hey, man, my name's Joey. Nice to meet you."

I clasped his hand and took it, replying, "the pleasure is mine."

He looked back at Mary and stuttered, "So, um, I'm , uh, I'm gonna go… and I will… uh…"

"I'll see you later," Mary smiled.

"Yup," he gave a curt nod to me before getting in his car. Mary started walking towards the entrance of the store and I followed her as Joey started his car and drove away.

After we had gotten our drinks and were sitting in her car, Mary turned to me with a very serious look on her face. "Yul, before I start this car, I really need to make something clear."

I looked at her in surprise, "Yes, what is it?"

"You – this is really important – you can't – my parents – you can't let them know about Joey and I." In response to my confused look, she kept going. "The this is, Joey and I, well, I grew up – my parents, they – basically, he – well, my parents think of him as my uncle."

My eyes widened in surprise, but I didn't judge. I mean, I was in love with my cousin – in – law. "Your uncle?"

"Yeah… he's not actually related to me! I swear it's not like that. Joey was adopted by my mom's family – that's why he's white, while my entire family is Indian. His parents abandoned him when he was a kid. And my dad used to be best friends with my mom's older brother, so he thinks of Joey as his younger brother. And then, when my mom's parents and brother died in an accident, my dad's family took them in. A few years later, my dad married my mom. But, see, the thing is, Joey is their little brother to them. I mean, he's almost 20 years younger, so they're old enough to be his parents, but because they got married so late in life, I don't know, they're super protective. And me – I grew up calling him Uncle Joey! He's always been my most favorite person in the whole world, and I was devastated when he got a job and moved – that was six years ago, when he moved into a dorm to do his master's. He's ten years older. And I realized, somewhere in there, that I didn't just missed him – I was freaking in love with him! And I guess he realized that at some point too, but we tried to fight it, to be with other people. But I'm just – I'm magnetized to him." She was crying at this point. "This relationship, it's a ticking time bomb. And I can't tell anyone about it, because either people know him as my uncle or my boyfriend. And I didn't even think about it, that he would be here, when I invited you!

"But I guess it's a good thing, because now you know. Now SOMEONE knows! So I guess when it all falls apart, when either my parents find out or he decides he doesn't want to sneak around anymore, because there's a beautiful intelligent girl at work or something – now I have someone to talk to." She looked at me for a second, her eyes brimming with tears while she offered a weak smile. "I mean, you don't have to listen, not if you don't want to. I mean, you probably don't care, right?" She wiped away her tears. "I'm sorry for unloading on you like this – I mean, look at you, you haven't even taken a sip of your coffee! I'm sorry, you don't have to worry about my messed up relationships and me, it's really okay. I'm sorry."

She wouldn't look me in the eye now. It's surprising how alike we really were, despite how different our personalities were. I know what she's going through, despite the fact that I'm a lot more messed up. "You, know, Mary, don't start the car. I think I need to tell you my story."

Well, I know this is a lot to take in all at once, so I hope it's okay. Feel free to contact me with questions. Also, I'm obviously not going to put Yul's story in the next chapter – because we all know it already. Thank you for reading! Now that I quit my job, I'm actually going to have time to write, so expect a new chapter sometime this week. I pinky promise. And cross my heart. Please tell me what you think! The only thing that encouraged me to start writing again after I gave up was reading all the reviews telling me you guys actually like this story and want me to update and continue.