Jan Di was seated in front of her entire family, with her mother directly in front of her. Both Kang San and her father sat on either side of her mother, but remained quiet with their gazes focused elsewhere. Jan Di was sure that they were just as uncomfortable as she was. She didn't want to be there at all, but she had no choice at the moment. Jan Di lied to her parents for ten months, which she deeply regret. Especially for lying to her boyfriend who has been nothing but good to her for ten months.

For ten months, they lived together; happily and deeply in love.

But her parents knew nothing of their relationship; mainly because Jan Di knew how overwhelming they could be. Even as her parents alone they were extremely overwhelming. She couldn't even begin to imagine how they would treat her boyfriend, or how they would press him for marriage within a week or so.

Finally, her mother spoke. "Yah! What's the matter with you?"

Jan Di flinched at her mother's harsh tone. "Nothing," she replied, averting her gaze from her mother's. "Nothing at all."

"Then why did you lie to me?" demanded her mother, clearly angered. "For… I don't know how long.. I don't even know when this could have started."

Jan Di wasn't sure how to put her explanation nicely, let alone in a way her mother would understand. "I wasn't trying to lie.. Or at least that wasn't my intention. I didn't know how, let alone where to begin."

"Well, let's start with something easier," her mother decided. "How long?"

"Ten months," breathed out Jan Di. Although she wasn't sure how to be someone's girlfriend, Jan Di counted the days since the two declared their love for one another. At first she counted a day, then seven, then thirty, and eventually up to ten months. She was awful with dates, but for some peculiar reason, her mind decided to keep track of the days. The exact day—even the hour—they established this relationship was embedded inside her mind; similar to how one would remember a holiday, such as Christmas.

Shock was present on her mother's features, through her wide eyes and gaping mouth. "Ten...months? This went on way before your graduation?"

"Yes," admitted Jan Di sluggishly, lowering her gaze from her mother's clear disappointed one.

"Geum Jan Di!" her mother exclaimed. "You're telling me that you've been living with the man you're in a relationship with?"
"And what's so wrong with that?" challenged Jan Di, now looking her mother firmly in the eyes. "First you say I should charm him, and now you're telling me how bad of an idea that is? See—this is the problem, mother! I finally granted your wish, but you're still dissatisfied with me."

"Why, I never.." Her mother shot both her husband and son a look that scared them away to their rooms. After the two were left alone, she turned her attention back to her rebellious daughter. "Yah! What's with you? I never said I was dissatisfied with you—"

"But that's the thing!" Jan Di sighed in exasperation, dragging her fingers through her short hair. "You don't need to tell me you're disappointed in my decisions for me to know that you are.."

Ji Hoo has taught me how to observe others..

"Both you and dad left me, all alone, with Kang San," she finally uttered out, glancing away from her silent mother. "I.."

...was so afraid.. So scared…

"..was so alone. I was willing to take care of him, while you and dad fixed our debt. But things aren't that simple.. I was a girl in a prestigious high school."

And I lost so much because of it..

Jan Di was at a loss of words herself. Because of the school's ridiculous matters she got caught up in, she was targeted and messed around with. She knew she had no room to complain, because she was so "fortunate"; however, Jan Di couldn't help but feel that she was put through unnecessary suffering. Everyone at one time was out to get her.

Except Ji Hoo.

He protected her to the best of his ability. Yet, her mother was disappointed that Jan Di finally found a man who treated her as if she were gold. "I don't understand why you're so angry with me." Jan Di brushed her fingers across her cheek. "I lied, yes, because I wasn't ready for this. I wasn't ready to discuss our relationship, because I didn't want you to question my choices. I didn't want you to push for marriage, when…"
When we don't know how long we will last.

"I question whether or not someone like me should be dating him," Jan Di confessed.

For once, in a very long time, her mother emitted a sympathetic sigh, reaching out and placing a hand atop her daughter's. "You're questioning that now? Jan Di—you're ten months in with this man, are you not?"

She didn't make a single sound, but rather looked up into her mother's eyes.

"Sure, I've always wanted you to find a rich man at that school. And yes, it was a dream come true of mine when you dated Shinhwa's heir. I thought you finally found the one, just because it felt like a dream." She sighed regretfully. "He was a wonderful person. Though he was odd, he fit right in. But I cannot forgive the way he treated you, after all we went through for your relationship. He left you on the side of the road."

The memory at Macau stung Jan Di.

"As much as I pushed for you to charm this other man, I just don't want you to go through that cycle again. So yes, I am disappointed, but only because you never told us. You lied to our very faces every time you came over. We personally never met him, let alone properly. We haven't even met.."

"...His grandfather," finished Jan Di. She noticed how her mother's words trailed off at the mention of the former president.

"It's not that I don't trust him or his family," explained her mother. "But after meeting that...wretched chairman, it's hard to know who to truly believe in."

"I know," agreed Jan Di, scrunching up her face in memory of Madam Kang. "But I have met Ji Hoo's grandfather, and he is a kind person. Even in his current age, he is helping others out.."

Like Ji Hoo.

Her mother paused briefly, before giving in with a sigh. "I suppose we can trust your judgement."

Jan Di's gaze lit up at her comment. "So...you're okay with me dating Ji Hoo?"

"Under one condition: we would like to formally meet this Ji Hoo boy and his grandfather," declared her mother, holding up a single finger to her daughter. "And don't think you're off the hook just yet. I'm still not over how you lied to us for ten months. But...I will let it go for now."

Jan Di couldn't help the tiny smile. "I'm certain they'd both like that very much."

Now all I have to do is make up with Ji Hoo.. I hope this will be much easier than dealing with my mother.

Jan Di woke up at the sound of a ringtone, sitting up abruptly. As her hands reached over for her phone, she quickly turned the device on, hoping for a familiar name to pop up on her screen. However, to her complete disappointment, she scanned the name that held little importance to her.

Gu Jun Pyo..

She unlocked her phone briefly to check what text he sent this time around.

Jun Pyo: Good morning Jan Di. I know you'll be awake soon, but you should give me a call as soon as you awake up. I'm also being dead serious, if you couldn't tell from my texts.

Despite his request, she quickly checked the time and shut off her phone. Laying back down, she stared longingly up at her ceiling, waiting endlessly for another text. Not from Jun Pyo, but rather from Ji Hoo. The previous night she sent him countless texts, telling him the good news regarding her successful conversation with her mother. Yet, not once did he reply to her. He ignored her completely, though she figured he fell asleep early the other night.

He is one who enjoys sleeping more than anyone I know..

Still, she expected him to be awake in the early hours of the morning if not the late hours of the night. Even Jun Pyo messaged her before Ji Hoo did. She sent Ji Hoo one final text, to see if he would at long last respond.

After waiting for over an hour for a simple text, she finally turned her phone back on and searched through her contacts for a particular name: Song Woo Bin. She sent him a quick message.

Jan Di: Woo Bin? You awake?

Woo Bin: Jan Di, my main girl! Wassup?

Jan Di: Thanks. Could you do me a favor and give me a ride to Ji Hoo's?

Woo Bin: Sure thing. Be there soon.

Surprisingly, Jan Di only waited a little less than an hour for Woo Bin's arrival. She sat outside when his vehicle drove up in front of her. As she stood up and peered in through the window of his car, he flashed her a wink and unlocked the passenger door. Jan Di took a brief look around at her surroundings, suddenly feeling weird with many sets of eyes locked onto her. Without needing to hear their whispers, she was already aware of their thoughts: a typical looking and poorly dressed laundry girl getting into a car with a very rich and attractive man. Surely, the world was ending.

"Let's go," she mumbled, sinking into the seat as soon as she got into his car.

"What? Embarrassed to be seen with me?" Woo Bin teased with a grin.

"Actually, that's the complete opposite," she responded, rubbing the side of her head. "I don't want to embarrass you."

"Jan Di, you're one of the coolest gals I know," Woo Bin told her with confidence. "And buckle up; Ji Hoo would kill me if he found out I was driving you around without safety."

The second Jan Di buckled in her seat belt, she found herself sinking further into her seat as Woo Bin sped off without a single care in the world. Not afraid of the law, or anyone else for that matter. There was no reason to be, when he carried the name "Song Woo Bin."

During the ride to Ji Hoo's, Woo Bin was the first to initiate conversation. "So...did you two get into a fight?" He was obviously curious as to why Jan Di and Ji Hoo were apart for such a long period of time. "I'm surprised you two spent the night alone… I mean, you're practically inseparable."

"I wouldn't call it a fight," responded Jan Di. "I'd say...it was not a choice."

"Family?"

"You're spot on, Woo Bin."

"I think we've all had our deal with family getting in the way of our lives," he responded, grinning over at her as he temporarily took his eyes off the wheel. "Though, I will admit, it's strange that you asked me for this favor.. Is Ji Hoo up to something?"

"Actually, I haven't heard from him this morning," admitted Jan Di. "I was wondering if you had..?"

"Not a chance." Woo Bin tapped his steering wheel in a rhythmic beat as he drove. "I figured you two were spending some quality time together, since he's been too busy to reply." As if to put emphasis on the term "quality" Woo Bin added in some air quotes with one of his hands. "I wonder what he's up to if he's not replying to anyone."

"Could he be tired..? Sleeping, maybe?" she asked, chewing her bottom lip out of uncertainty.

"Could be. I wouldn't be surprised. His hobbies always included sleeping the day away."

Despite her arrival being in the afternoon, Jan Di was surprised to see no one up and about—specifically, Ji Hoo. In fact, the entire house was silent. She knew that Ji Hoo's grandfather went to the clinic as usual, but the owner of the house was nowhere to be seen. She slowly strolled to Ji Hoo's room, but only after peering into the many other rooms of the house. Her last resort was his bedroom, which was closed shut. Luckily, the door wasn't locked. As she opened the door, her eyes easily and quickly caught a glimpse of her sleeping boyfriend, with his laptop—which was still wide open—sitting beside him. Quietly, she crept over to his bed, initially observing her sleeping boyfriend. He looked almost at peace, though she was certain most people did. But on occasion, she noticed that he would have nightmares, which left him in the kitchen, with a cup of water that was never touched. Jan Di felt relieved to see him sleeping well. She was worried he would have a rough time sleeping after the previous night's disappointments. With a small smile, she leaned down, ready to give him a light kiss on his forehead, when something on the computer screen caught her attention.

The words "Min Seo Hyun ended the call" were written across the screen, with her picture—beautiful as ever—above the words. And beneath those words, was the time of five hours and seventeen minutes. Their call practically lasted halfway into the morning. And even further, beneath all of that, was a minimized chat box, which revealed some messages from Seo Hyun.

Min Seo Hyun : Sleepy-head, I see your eyes are closed and you are no longer responding to me (4:45 a.m.)

Min Seo Hyun : Well, I won't bother you further (4:46 a.m.)

Min Seo Hyun : But you of all people should know better than leaving a girl all by herself, and without a goodbye (4:46 a.m.)

Min Seo Hyun : Sleep well. I'll be missing you until the next time we speak. (4:47 a.m.)

Min Seo Hyun ended the video chat at 4:49 a.m..

After reading those messages, Jan Di felt her heart sink a little. The previous night, and even when she first woke up, she tried messaging her boyfriend. But he never replied, so she assumed that he was mad or too upset. But it had appeared that Ji Hoo spent the night away by video chatting with Seo Hyun, the previous "love of his life," and for about five hours at that.

Jan Di went to quickly close the laptop and remove it from his bed, putting it back in its usual spot. Maybe it was her jealousy that caused her heart to feel heavy, or maybe it was the guilt she felt for feeling jealousy towards Min Seo Hyun. Jan Di absolutely had zero rights to feeling jealous towards a kind and generous woman like Seo Hyun.

But, undeniably, it was also her jealousy that caused Jan Di to close the laptop before Ji Hoo could wake up and read the messages. Not that it mattered any, Jan Di was well aware that they would text each other. Her actions were pointless. However, soon enough, Ji Hoo woke up and interrupted her dreadful thoughts.

"Jan Di.." he murmured drowsily, throwing his arm over his forehead. "You're back so soon.."

"So soon?" she replied, a little saddened by those words. For her, it felt like forever since she last saw Ji Hoo. But she knew he had a right to still feel upset by her decisions. "..I spoke to my mother, and while she...isn't sure how she feels about us...she said she would like to meet you, formally."

Jan Di peered nervously over at Ji Hoo, who seemed to fall quiet for a moment. Then he spoke up, "She wants to meet me formally?"

"Well, you and harabeoji," added Jan Di, rubbing her hands together as she waited anxiously for his response.

"My grandfather too? Why's that?"

"Well.." Jan Di didn't like bringing up the past, as she figured certain things should remain only in the past. But at this point, she had to clarify her mother's wishes. "With Jun Pyo," she hinted at vaguely, not mentioning the words previous boyfriend, "His mother wasn't very…"

Ji Hoo knew. Jan Di knew he was there to witness a lot of the horrors Madam Kang committed. "She wasn't very kind. She was horrible to you," murmured Ji Hoo, sounding displeased. Jan Di assumed he still felt distaste towards Jun Pyo's mother since the banquet. "She tried to intervene in a relationship that had nothing to do with her son."

"Yes.. So that's why my mother wants to meet with you and your grandfather. She wants to make sure this won't be like last time," explained Jan Di.

"How much did you tell her?" Ji Hoo questioned, peering up at her.

"..I told her almost everything," confessed Jan Di, averting her gaze from Ji Hoo's. "I didn't tell her about your accident, or the kidnapping.."

Without any more questions about her mother, Ji Hoo seemed to have understood. But rather, he had a different question in mind: "So.. Why did you lie?"

She flinched at his question, unable to even understand herself for lying. It was wrong. "I didn't mean to upset you or hurt you, Ji Hoo.." she said quietly, lowering her gaze in disappointment of herself. "My mother.. Even though you don't know her much, she likes to intervene in my life a lot.. Kind of how Jun Pyo's mother intervened in his. Don't get me wrong—my mother isn't anything like her. But...she likes to push for unnecessary things.."

Jan Di took a deep breath, feeling a little overwhelmed by her own mother's desires.

"She likes to push for marriage—and so I didn't want her to know we were dating because I don't want you to feel overwhelmed by her.. I was afraid you would think it would be too much.." mumbled Jan Di.

Ji Hoo paused briefly, taking in the information she gave. "If that's all, then why didn't you just tell me? You should know by now that I would have understood."

"I.. I know you would have understood. But I also know that you wouldn't want to hide something as important as this—our relationship. I mean, I would be a tiny bit upset too if I had to hide our relationship from harabeoji. And I didn't want you to lie over my own worries.. That's not right." She quickly added, "Not that my lie was right. It was definitely wrong of me.. And I've regretted it since.. But I just didn't know how to break it to my parents."

"..I see."

"You...see..?" she repeated quietly, yet hopefully.

"Yes," he plainly said, falling silent right after.

Jan Di was left with a few seconds of silence. "Does that mean...you're not mad..? Or are you still mad?" Without giving him a chance to answer, she went on. "I'm really sorry, Ji Hoo.. I know it was really, really wrong of me.. Truthfully, I was worried all last night about this. And even though it was only half a day without you, I still missed you since you left me there. I'm really sorry, Ji Hoo—"

His hand reached out and grabbed her wrist to pull her into the empty spot beside him. His action received a quiet and startled gasp from her as she was yanked down beside him, where his arms wrapped around her smaller frame. As she peered up at him, she noticed his eyes were gazing at her as he rested his forehead against hers. And within seconds, he captured her lips in for a brief and sweet kiss, that seemed to have lasted as long as the other night. He parted his lips from hers, only to close his eyes as he held her close.

"I believe you. And I missed you too, Jan Di.. It felt like it's been forever since I last held you close," he whispered to her sweetly. "I regretted leaving you without telling you that I wasn't upset or mad.. I should have, but I didn't."

"It's okay, Ji Hoo.. Really, I should have told you long ago," responded Jan Di quietly. "I tried to avoid it.."

But it was inevitable.

"I thought you were mad at me still, because you never replied to my texts," she added. "I'm just glad that you're not anymore."

"My phone," he repeated, "..I misplaced it. I'm sorry I couldn't get to any of your replies."

"What a time to lose it," she teased, closing her eyes too.

She rested peacefully in his warm and loving embrace. She would have given anything to stay with him just like this, even if it meant for a little while longer.

"Thank you for forgiving me, Ji Hoo," she whispered, though too quiet for him to hear.

His eyes opened at the sound of an obnoxious ringtone, though one that wasn't his. Instead, it's was Jan Di's, and he could feel the vibration of her phone through her sweater pocket. Ji Hoo gently shook her awake, which wasn't hard to do since the loud ringtone helped in that task. Jan Di's eyes opened in seconds, and within enough time to answer her phone with a yawn.

"Hello..?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes to clear away her drowsiness. "Harabeoji..? Yes.. I'm with him right now. No, I wasn't sleeping.." Contradictory to her own lie, she sleepily passed the phone over to Ji Hoo. "It's harabeoji."

Ji Hoo answered the phone with a clear voice—or at least, gave an attempt. "Grandfather?"

"Ji Hoo, I see Jan Di is back at home," his grandfather responded warmly and eagerly. "But she sounds tired.. Did she not sleep well?"

"She slept fine I believe, harabeoji," responded Ji Hoo with a tiny grin as he peered back at Jan Di whose eyes were closed again as she rested comfortably against his arm. "Do you need something?"

"If it's not a bother, could you pick me up? I'm closing the clinic early today."

"Early? What time is it..?" mumbled Ji Hoo, shaking his head slightly.

We couldn't have slept that long..

"It's four in the afternoon," responded his grandfather.

"Four.." mumbled Ji Hoo, closing his eyes briefly.

We… We fell asleep at one in the afternoon.. Three hours?

"Yes, harabeoji. I will pick you up. Give me a few minutes to get ready—"

His grandfather cut him off. "You were still in bed?"

The accusation received a brief response. "I'll be there in a few minutes," repeated Ji Hoo, hanging up Jan Di's phone immediately. Then he slipped the phone back into her sweater pocket, pressing his lips to her forehead a couple seconds after, which received a groan from a sleeping Jan Di.

"I have to pick up harabeoji," murmured Ji Hoo quietly, removing himself from the bed. "You can continue sleeping."

"Don't go," whined Jan Di as she opened her eyes slightly.

"We can continue our session after dinner," he promised, smiling at her as he ruffled her hair affectionately. "I'll be back soon."

With a final wave, he left her in his room and headed out to pick up his grandfather, and maybe even food on the way home.

Jan Di remained lying in bed, minutes after he left. Eventually, she was on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Then she heard her text ringtone, with a vibration following after it. Almost immediately she turned on her phone, to see it was a message from her boyfriend.

Ji Hoo: Missing you already.

Ji Hoo: And you should get out of bed.

Ji Hoo: I know you're still lounging around.

Jan Di laughed quietly to herself as she shifted up into a sitting position to reply.

'Miss you too. And I'm not in bed anymore.'

As she waited eagerly for a reply, she realized that she should have avoided texting him while he was driving. She knew how anxious he was on the road alone. But, regardless, he sent her a reply.

Ji Hoo: Liar, liar. I'll be home soon.

Jan Di decided to avoid messaging him this time. She shut off her phone and slipped it back in her pocket. However, only seconds after, she received another text, but only after turning on her phone to review the notification did she realize that this one wasn't from her boyfriend.

Jun Pyo: Jan Di

Jun Pyo: Hey, laundry girl

Jun Pyo: Stop ignoring my texts

Jun Pyo: You've ignored me for six months. This time it's important.

Though hesitant, and reluctant, Jan Di sighed quietly as she replied to Jun Pyo; wondering why of all times he would message her.

Even after she ignored him for six months since he left.