Hi guys! Thanks for the wait! I had a really hectic and emotionally distressing week last week, so I didn't update but here I am, back with a new chapter! Thanks for reading you guys. :)

-PB

Hae Soo

Gasping for breath, she held So closer, her fingers raking against the unyielding material of his suit. He tasted like mint and smelled like aftershave. She could feel the barest hint of stubble against his chin and noted the lightest bit of pain from when her tongue scraped against the sharp ridges of his canines. His warm hands caressed her face and Soo's emotions blurred into one: desire.

This was his answer; she was sure of it. He was replying to her question by making her his. Soo's heart fluttered with giddy elation and her emotions soared.

Wang So had touched her first, his indifferent expression morphing as he drew closer and closer. He had brushed her hair back and caressed her cheek, skimming his thumb over her skin until Soo saw the facade crack. So's eyes, she found them beautiful. Dark and brimming with swallowed emotions, Soo saw galaxies of lost history behind them. Wang So was a person she would want by her side forever. He was someone she did not pride herself in needing, but needed all the same.

So's large hands moved to her hips and Soo felt herself being lifted onto her desk. He moved her with ease, his strong arms holding her as if she weighed nothing. Soo sat on the table, refusing to relinquish her hold on So.

She wanted him more than anything. She wanted him to be hers again; for her to be his. She pined for his touch, his body, his mind.

He kissed her again, just as hard as he had before. Their breathless exchange of emotions contained no words; there were none to describe just how they felt. Soo held So's back as he unpinned her hair, removing the comb that held it in place.

His fingers ran through her messy hair, only making it look worse, but Soo could not care less. She relished his touch and sought more, pulling him until he stood between her open legs, his stiff groin meeting her hips.

Her hands moved away from his back and to his chest. Soo moaned into So's mouth and clutched at the front of his shirt as their tongues met. Even with her eyes closed, Soo knew every plane of So's body. She could feel his hard muscles flexing and his strong hands gently gripping her. Every part of him was designed for strength and agility, yet his touch was feathery against her. The only force he exerted was from his lips and tongue as he claimed her, tasting her.

Flattening her hands against So's chest, Soo slid them down his shirt, pushing past his jacket.

There were no words between them and Soo helped So out of his first layer as they kissed. She felt his grunt vibrate against her tongue as his coat jumbled against his arms. So wrenched his hands free and Soo felt them against her shoulders.

She curled her legs around him and sucked on his bottom lip, smiling as she cupped his erection and pressed her hand against his strained pants. He moaned and ground against her palm. Soo kissed So's throat and lightly sucked on the place between his jaw and ear, knowing how much he reacted when she touched him there.

Palming his hardening groin, Soo slipped her hand into the waistline of his pants.

She opened her eyes when So pulled away from her kiss. His hands fell away from her shoulders and he shook his head. "Stop," he said quietly. "Stop, please."

She uncrossed her ankles and freed So from her embrace, watching as he stumbled backwards, his hands reaching behind him to brace himself against the far wall.

"Are you okay?" Soo asked. She touched her swollen lips, as So covered his mouth. His cheeks were red and his eyes struck with conflict. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and Soo looked away.

She did not wipe her lips or clean up her messy state. Instead, she gazed back up at the man that caught his breath in her office.

"So, are you alright?"

Silence blanketed the room like the snow that covered everything outside. Soo stared at her disheveled bodyguard when he shivered. He looked away from her, but she did not look away from him.

"I'm fine," So finally replied. Soo felt relief at the sound of his unsure baritone, but she could not express her sentiments. So picked his jacket off the ground and began untangling it. "We shouldn't have done that."

Everything felt different, awkward, stale. The very air in the room was so heavy Soo felt as if she was about to be crushed. Moving her hands away from the desk, she loosened her grip on the wood and pressed her face into her palms.

Embarrassment clouded her thoughts and her cheeks burned.

When she nervously licked her lips, she could still taste him.

"Do you really want to break up?" Soo asked. Her voice was slightly muffled by her hands, but she knew So had heard when the sound of his movements stopped.

She waited for his response, hoped and dreaded what he would say.

Breaking up with So was the prudent decision. Soo had condemned Wook for cheating, but there she was, embracing her bodyguard and taking him beneath the roof she shared with her husband and children. She felt terrible for going against her marriage vows, but So had made her feel so good both physically and emotionally. He had healed her aching heart and soothed her broken soul. He had brought her joy and pleasure… so there she was, pining for him to stay.

When So did not speak up, Soo continued, lifting her head from her hands and watching as he held his coat in his left hand, frozen in his place.

"I once thought you liked me because of my money," she said quietly. "Because I was the stupid rich lady who got cheated on." So refused to meet her gaze, but Soo looked at her bodyguard's lovely features, tracing the curve of his eyes, the rigid lines of his chin, and the creases between his eyebrows. "But you never asked for anything- you only gave. I thought one day, you would take my money and leave, but those thoughts went away the moment you held me at the hotel and told me about yourself and your family."

Soo cast her eyes downward. Her chest ached and she forced herself not to let her tears flow. She would not give any more sorrows to So. Not when he had gone through enough.

"So, I can't give up my job or my status for you, but-"

"You're married, S– Mrs. Hae." Soo closed her eyes when So uttered her title. She noticed how he caught himself before he said her name. She wished he would have followed through and just completed the single syllable that would have made her smile. She wanted to hear him say her name.

The smallest things were what made her enjoy her time with him so much. Calling each other by their equally strange first names, they were two strange people caught in strange circumstances. Just the sound of her name on his lips was enough to bring a giddy feeling into her heart.

But So did not say her name and Soo was left pining.

"You once said we are unequal, that we existed in different worlds…" Soo chewed on her bottom lip and held her hand against her chest, touching the place where her heart pounded, the sound of a million drums clamoring for her to say the right words and bring her lover back to her.

"What is so unequal about us?" Soo felt a fool for having to ask that question. She felt like an idiot for not seeing why So would want to break up with her.

Hae Soo, daughter of a conglomerate, wife of a politician. Of course he would break up with her. She was too rich, too powerful, too… married.

She looked at So as he surveyed the floor. His eyes scanned the wood before looking up at her. Soo wanted to know why he looked so sad. She wanted to share his burdens. If there was pain behind his eyes, she wanted half of it- if not all of it. She wanted to be his support and his aid, holding him when he needed her, and protecting him when she could.

"Would you…" So began. His shoulders rose and fell as he took a deep breath. Soo braced herself for whatever question he would ask. "Would you hate me if I said that it wasn't you and that it was me?"

Her eyes closed and she looked away.

Her focus moved to her own clothing, on the garments that covered her. Even though she was dressed completely- only showing her hands and face- she felt bared and broken. In front of So, she could be vulnerable and weak because he was there to lift her spirits. But this time, he refused to come near, leaving her to suffer from her own shortcomings.

"Bi Ik," Soo whispered.

She looked up and met eyes with So.

"What?"

"Bi Ik," Soo repeated for him. "The story of the bird."

She remembered the tale she had heard from her mother. Soo remembered laying in bed the same way her daughter had, listening as her mother told her stories.

"Listen, Hae Soo," Go Myung said. One hand moved to gently grasp Soo's arm while the other covered one of her eyes. "There once was a bird with one eye and one wing. It was named Bi Ik. Without its eye, it could not properly see, and without its wing, it could not properly fly. Trapped against the earth, Bi Ik longed for a day when it could fly amongst the clouds and be with the heavens."

Soo watched as So's expression hardened, yet the torment in his eyes lessened and there was a calm that overtook the hurt in his irises. So knew the story- she could tell.

"One day, Bi Ik met another bird who was just like it. With one wing and one eye, that bird was also trapped against the earth, fluttering and flailing." Myung's hands moved away from Soo's arm and face, and she made fluttering motions against Soo's chest with her hands. Soo giggled and tried to mimic her mother.

"Side by side, they held close to each other and became one, using their wings and their eyes to support and lift the other until they too could fly, soaring over the heavens and joining the sky." Myung tucked Soo in and kissed her forehead. "One day, darling, you'll find someone who will support you and love you and help you fly. I pray to our ancestors every night, asking that they'll bring someone kind and caring for you so that you may help each other the way Bi Ik and the other bird did."

"I need you," Soo said, staring straight at So. "It's selfish, I know. I'm married and have children. There are class differences between us and so much unsaid history behind us, but I rely on you. You may not need me. You may not even think about me, but I need you."

So broke the contact between their gazes as he looked away. It was during times like these that Soo wished he would talk more and show more emotion. She wanted him to vent, to tell her what was wrong. She wanted communication and a key to the lock on why he refused to talk to her.

What was the worst that could come? She would forgive anything, close her eyes to any mistake, ignore any strange request if it meant keeping Wang So by her side.

"Please say something, So." Standing, Soo took a step towards him. She pleaded for him to look at her, to yell at her, to do anything but be still. "Tell me something, anything. Talk to me. Shout at me. Do something, please," she begged.

So closed his eyes and Soo lost her only way of discerning his emotions. He placed a hand over his forehead, rubbing the creases. His shoulders rose and fell as he breathed deeply.

"Soo," he said. She raised her eyebrows as he said her name, his deep voice reverberating around the room. So looked up and Soo took a step towards him. "We aren't a fairy tale… and you already have a significant other to lean on."

She felt as if he had stabbed her.

Taking a step backwards, Soo slowly retreated to her desk, flinching when her backside bumped the hard edge. What hurt the most was that So was right. Soo had just referenced a fairy tale in an attempt to keep an affair going.

Her cheeks burned red with embarrassment and her heart shattered. She lowered her gaze and nodded. "Okay."

Her voice betrayed her defeat. "Okay," she said again. "Let's... stop. I accept that- that we've broken up."

"Soo..." So's voice was soft and Soo shook her head.

"No, you're right. We shouldn't…" Soo did not want to say the next words, the words that cemented the fact that they were no longer seeing each other. Tears welled in her eyes, but Soo refused to let them fall. "We shouldn't be together."

Breathing deeply, Soo looked up at her bodyguard, pressing a hand to her heart to soothe the emotional ache that appeared. There was little she could do to ease the pain so she lowered her hand and swallowed thickly.

Clearing her throat, Soo blinked and glanced back at her desk. "We'll be-" She paused, trying to put a bit of strength into her voice. "My family and I will be going on vacation soon," she said quietly. "Chae Ryung will… she'll inform you of the details. Please have your passport prepared. You, my…" Soo took a breath. "You, my husband's bodyguard, and Chae Ryung will be flying with us."

She closed her eyes and steadied herself. "You can leave now," she uttered.

So bowed before exiting the room. Soo turned to see his back as he walked away and bit her bottom lip to stop herself from acknowledging the anguish that mangled the walls of her heart.