Hello there, darlings.
I'm terribly sorry for the huge delay. Thing is, things turned really stressful at work and I've been working more than I've ever worked before, plus night hours and no compensation yet... But oh, well... hopefully soon.

I'm still translating this and I won't stop even if it takes me to the next December (Let us all hope it doesn't come down to that)
So, on other note, today it's my birthday! Yay! So as a personal gift, I'm updating =D I hope all of you who are reading enjoy it and stick with me, there's a new fic coming soon, very soon.

Once again, thanks to JHsgf82, who's proofreading skills are goddess-like. Check out her stories too!


Ji Hoo's POV

"And then!?"

"Well, then he kneeled and asked me to marry him again!"

"Oh, Jan Di! That's so romantic!"

"And I still haven't told you about the gondoliers!"

Jan Di was getting changed and talking hands-free with Ga Eul, telling her all the little details about our 'new' engagement. I found it funny that she would do so, so openly, knowing I was next to her, but I knew there wasn't any major event those two didn't share. On my side, I sent Woo Bin a text.

"Now I do believe magic exists in Macau. Jan Di asked me to marry her." And I attached a picture Jan Di had taken of our hands together with our rings on. His answer was swift and while I received a call from him, Jan Di received one from her girlfriend.

In Woo Bin's and my case, I briefly told him about what had happened, and he told me we definitely needed to go out to properly celebrate when Jan Di and I got back, but Jan Di and Ga Eul were sharing a play by play of the experience, including even the ring purchase.

"Lotus, we need to go." I interrupted her because we were running late.

"You're right! Ga Eul, I have to go, I have a meeting with Shinhwa. I'll finish the story later." I laughed. What more was there to tell?

"Yes! Don't worry, go. I'll also have some things to tell you at night."

"You're going to visit your parents?" I asked while Jan Di opened her mouth in a pretty 'O'.

"Yah, Ji Hoo! I wanted it to be a surprise!"

"I'm sorry, Ga Eul. I wish much success to both of you."

"It'll all be fine, chingu, you'll see. Talk to you later!"

Jan Di hung up and finished putting on some short earrings.

"Could you?" she asked while holding up her lotus flower necklace, the one I had given her. Truth is, I had given her more than one necklace, but Jan Di told me that was her favorite and it seemed she had taken further affection to it when I explained to her that morning why I considered her my Lotus flower. She had been looking for a necklace because she was no longer going to wear her ring on a chain, but on its rightful place, her finger, like me.

I helped her with the clasp, and she helped me put on my jacket. Three hours had passed since we left that bridge, and I still felt the adrenaline coursing through my veins.

One of the gondoliers fulfilled his promise and gave us a free ride, singing romantic songs, telling every other gondolier he encountered that he had a newly engaged couple, provoking more congratulations to us.

Jan Di smiled, waved and thanked them, but never let my hand go, which was interlaced with hers. When the ride was over, we walked in search of a place to eat breakfast and started talking about some more serious matters about what we could expect when we went back home.

She asked me if I was okay with making it public outright because it really wouldn't make any difference in waiting until we finished college; the journalists would swarm to the news like bees to honey whether it was today or on our graduation day. I agreed immediately, not only about telling the rest of the world the woman I loved was going to be my wife, but to have that weight off our shoulders as soon as possible. If we made the announcement as soon as we got back to Korea, by the time we were graduating we would be old news and could relax after college instead of being stressed about interviews and photoshoots. I was sure Woo Bin would help us with any security we needed; one could never be too careful of someone who wanted to hurt you. My biggest concern was Jan Di, and it wasn't that I thought so highly of myself, but I knew more than one girl who was envious of Jan Di's place at my side and would do anything to steal it. I would never forgive myself if Jan Di was hurt over something as absurd as that.

Jan Di and I, without realizing, started making wedding plans. We hadn't set a date, but we knew we'd do it during our next semester, if possible. She knew we wouldn't be able to escape the claws of some wedding organizer hired by our grandfather, who had our best intentions at heart, obviously, but she held her ground on choosing the place where we'd get married.

"It doesn't matter where is it as long as I get married to you," I told her, and she smiled, very pleased at this.

Something we hadn't done, and Jan Di feared more than journalists or crazy fans, was telling her parents.

"My mother will throw a party, telling everyone she's going to be rich...And I won't be able to do a thing to stop her." She heavily sighed.

"We know how your mom is, but I'm sure your father will know how to reel her in. Besides, Kang San will be very happy."

"Don't doubt it."

Jan Di's little brother had grown up splendidly; his voice had changed after a funny period of cracked phrases, and his body had elongated. Now, he studied in a private school near his home, managing to always place at the top of his class because he wanted to get a scholarship to study Law. Il Bong was extremely proud of his two children, and he was also putting an extra effort into the laundry business.

Even though I had offered Kang San help with getting him into a better school, he refused, saying I was already helping his sister. "The school doesn't make the student, Hyung." With those words and a smile, he left me without further argument to try to change his mind.

It was a great joy for me to see that even though Jan Di lived with me, the relationship with her family hadn't deteriorated. The friction between her mother and her was constant, but her father and brother didn't seem to care about Gong Joo's plans and rather paid no mind to them. Instead, they tried to have a good time with Jan Di when she visited.

"Well, we better hurry. The last thing we want is for that witch to have any excuse to attack me." Jan Di said as we hopped into the car.

"If she attacks you, I'll be there to protect you." I kissed her hand. "Although, I think you do a marvelous job on your own."

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Jae Kyung's POV

When I woke up, I saw I had a blanket over me and that I was alone in bed. Turning around to see the clock, its red numbers told me it was already six in the morning. I touched the space next to me to find it cold, which meant Jun Pyo had gotten up long ago and wasn't in the room.

I took my phone and called him, only to notice his cell phone was vibrating on the bedside table. I got up and looked for him in the kitchen, the study, the living room, the garden and didn't find him.

Neither of the servants had seen him, and they were up and about since 5:30 am.

I tried not to worry too much and took a shower; after all, in a couple of hours I was supposed to meet Jan Di and my mother-in-law again to discuss the plans for the school.

When I got out, Jun Pyo was still missing, so I decided to finish getting dressed and call someone from security so they could try to find him.

I was just finishing buttoning up my blouse when he came through the door.

Jun Pyo closed it slowly, and when I really set my eyes on his face, I could only think of one word: Defeat.

"Jun...Where were you?"

"Around." He didn't look at me. He sat on a chair close to the door and rested his head on his hands.

"Do you know how worried I was? Just yesterday we had to call a doctor because we thought you had food poisoning, and hours later you decide to go 'around'?"

"I'm sorry."

I bit my tongue. Jun Pyo had never been prone to apologize and that, more than anything, made me halt my complaints. "Do you feel better?" As an answer, I only got a smile that ended up transforming into some kind of weird grimace.

"I'm not sure if I'll ever be 'better.'" He lifted his face and looked at me.

Jun Pyo's eyes were red, swollen, blood vessels had burst, and his expression denoted such sadness it made a knot land in my stomach.

"Why did you marry me?" When that question left his lips, I couldn't contain myself any longer, and I exploded.

"Why did I marry you? You're asking me why I married you!? Because I love you! That's why!"

"But you knew I didn't love you." Jun Pyo hadn't reacted to my yelling; he was still sitting there, comfortably reclining back, and his calmness only angered me more.

"Yes, I knew...But I also knew you and I were alike! Even if you didn't admit it, you also had fun with me!"

"And that was enough to you? Affinity?"

"Wha- What is wrong with you!? Why are you asking these things now?"

"You know why, you know because of whom…"

"Jan Di."

"Geum. Jan. Di…" He punctuated every word. "Do you know that woman has been my ruin since I met her? She changed, if not destroyed, all the foundations upon which I've been raised."

"Yesterday we had lunch, all of us. If you were really upset about seeing her, you would've fled the room that morning…" My voice dwindled as I finished my sentence. Perhaps Jun still didn't know.

"Ji Hoo and her are getting married."

Married?

I supposed that would happen eventually, but Jan Di hadn't told me anything about them getting engaged or planning a wedding. "Is that why you reacted like that yesterday?"

"No. Yesterday, I reacted like that because only after they took those pictures did I notice they were together, a couple…" I saw how quickly his expression changed when the piece clicked in his head. "You knew, didn't you?"

"I-"

"You knew!" He got up from the chair and bolted to where I was. "And you didn't deign to tell me! To warn me!"

"To warn you about what!? It could've been Ji Hoo or anyone else! Or did you expect her to remain sad over your breakup the rest of her life?"

"No! But…"

"But WHAT!? She got over it! She got over you! Something you haven't managed to do. Or do you think it's pretty to stand here while you see your husband suffer for another woman?"

"You knew I loved her!"

"And you knew I loved you! What about me, Jun Pyo?"

"What about you, Jae Kyung?"

"Ha Jae Kyung," I said my full name. "Your wife. It seems you have conveniently forgotten about it these past two days."

He sighed. "I didn't forget...but you need to understand-"

"No! I do not understand! It's been almost three years! Years where I have remained by your side! I've supported you, helped you, cared for you and loved you each and every day! And all it takes for you to have a shock that puts you to bed is for Jan Di to come back with her boyfriend? Have you even stopped to think how I felt when I saw you clinging to her yesterday!?"

"Clinging?"

"...You were in such a state that they were trying to keep you warm, and the best warmth is human warmth, according to Ji Hoo. She held you, practically skin to skin, trying to regulate your temperature. And you," I stopped to breathe in because I didn't want to yell again, "you clung to Jan Di, calling her name over and over again."

He looked confused "I...don't remember"

"Of course you don't," I scoffed "You know what? I'm an attractive woman, smart, successful...More than one man has come to woo me. Some wanting only to have a good time, but others came with offers to bring down the moon and the stars were I to ask them."

"Oh, they've come to woo you?" I could tell his ire was escalating. "Well, good for you, why don't you then? With one of your many suitors?"

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, YOU STUPID IDIOT!" So much for no yelling. I started crying despite all my efforts to control myself. "I don't know why you don't get it! Even when I've tried to, I haven't been able to stop loving you all this time! You're like a fucking virus!"

I was hysterical. How was it that this man was so stupid not to notice or realize all the love I had for him? Without thinking, I took my jewelry box and flung it at the floor. It didn't help much, but I needed to let out all the anger I was feeling.

The beautiful box lay broken, its contents spread across the carpet. Jun Pyo took a step back; I assumed my small outburst had scared him, but then, I saw him kneeling. This surprised me; what was he doing?

"This…," he finally said, "why do you have this?"

His voice had taken an icy tone that gave me a shiver. Jun Pyo rose with a necklace hanging from his fingers, a necklace that had a charm bearing a "J&J" inscription…

Jun Pyo's POV

I wasn't sure how long I had cried behind that column. The only thing that made me get up was the fact that people were slowly filling up the streets; my face was known in Macau, so anyone who saw me would recognize me.

I took a cab as soon as I got to a corner, and I paid way more than necessary, only to make the driver stop asking questions. I entered from the back; I didn't feel like running into anyone. My head hurt; my eyes stung; my heart was heavy; my stomach was turning around...I just wanted to get to my room and remain there until the next millennium, but as soon as I entered my room, I saw Jae finishing dressing up.

I didn't want to pay attention to her; I wanted to be alone; however, when she started asking me where I had been with real worry in her voice, I couldn't avoid remembering everything that had happened prior to our wedding: the days when I ignored Jan Di, the ridiculous dinners with our parents, how I had begged her to cancel the ceremony, and Jan Di's eyes before I said the final 'I do'.

I had to ask her why she had married me even though she knew it wasn't right. I wanted to vent it all; we had never touched that subject, but it was due time. As I supposed, she got mad...I told her that Ji Hoo and Jan Di would get married, and I told her why I had been surprised the previous day, but she didn't seem to react to either piece of news. It was then that I realized she had known and hadn't told me.

I complained about it, but she was right in saying that Jan Di had gotten over me. We yelled and argued, and I discovered that the feeling of hugging Jan Di had been real, but I couldn't search my memories because Jae Kyung started to talk about the many men who had tried to woo her and promised her endless things.

Now that infuriated me. What did she want me to say? I knew of Jae Kyung's qualities better than anyone; she was an extraordinary woman, and whoever failed to see that was blind and stupid. But my ire didn't let me see. When I answered that she could go if she wanted to, Jae Kyung fired back, saying she didn't do it because she loved me, and I knew that was true. I felt guilty for that because I too love Jae Kyung...the problem was that I didn't love her as I had loved Jan Di.

She startled me when I saw her throw a jewelry box to the floor. It ended up broken with its contents scattered. I was going to try to calm her down when my eyes caught a glint of a pendant. I knew it very well. I kneeled to touch and verify the thing i was looking at was not an illusion.

"This...Why do you have this?" It was the star and moon necklace I had given Jan Di years ago.

"I...I…"

"Jae Kyung, think very carefully about what you're going to tell me. Why do you have this?"

"It fell from Jan Di's pocket the day we went to that hotel with the thermal baths."

"And why didn't you return it?"

"I was scared…"

"Explain yourself."

"I didn't know if the engraved 'J&J' stood for Ji Hoo and Jan Di or Jun Pyo and Jan Di...They seemed to be really close, but I had my suspicions that something had happened between you two. That was it; I didn't want to have to confirm it. Besides...that was the day I got our rings. Yeah, those that bear the same engravement, only for me it meant Jun Pyo and Jae Kyung."

She answered completely calm, but the tears wouldn't stop running down her cheeks. I didn't know what to say; the emotions from the last 48 hours had been something I hadn't expected.

"Look, Jun...Pyo," that grasped my attention, for she hadn't called me by my full name in years, "I don't know what you are feeling or thinking. You say Ji Hoo and Jan Di are going to get married? Well, they will then. Don't you think it's time to let it go? To move on from that point in the past that you're stuck in? I know I'm also to blame in all this; I practically forced you to marry me, knowing that you loved someone else. I'm conscious of it...It's just that I hoped you would have learned to love me at least a bit after all these years."

"Jae-"

"No, let me finish. It's necessary that you think about what's going to happen from now on, Jun Pyo. Will you go after her to give her that necklace and tell her that after all this time you still love her? Will you fight for her? Or will you stay here? What I can tell you is that whatever your decision may be, I'm going to take a vacation after this whole thing calms down. I need to get away from...all this."

I knew she had wanted to say 'get away from you' but had changed it at the last second.

She looked at me, perhaps waiting for me to say something, but nothing came to mind.

Finally, I remained there while she got tired of waiting and went to the bathroom. I saw her coming out of it, her makeup freshened and determined to finish getting ready as she had planned before the argument began.

Jae Kyung left without saying one more word.

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Ji Hoo's POV

The day had been a bit weird. While President Kang still had that charming personality, Jae Kyung seemed to be completely distracted, even arrived a bit late. The meeting was mainly a showing of the methods used from the inauguration of the school to date. Jan Di and I listened attentively and took several notes.

I was concentrating on a comparative table when I felt my phone vibrate; it was a text from Jun Pyo.

'I want to talk to you.'

I found it a bit weird. If he had gone to the meeting we could've have talked after it; although, taking into account he had been sick the day before, perhaps he was still convalescent.

'Lunch at noon?' I sent back. He replied with his home address so I wrote a note in my notebook for Jan Di, explaining my plans. I slid it to her; Jan Di read it and nodded, and the meeting kept going.

Two hours later, we agreed to meet with Shinhwa again on the weekend so we could show some tentative plans.

"Should I wait for you? Or are you going to stay together until late?" Jan Di and I started to pick up our laptops.

"Wait for me tonight. I'm sure lunch will be long, but I still want to go out with you later."

"Okay. I also was about to ask unnie if she wanted to go to lunch. She looks a bit down, don't you think?"

"Yes, she does. Go and invite her, and I'll call you as soon as I'm done." I gave her hand a light squeeze and kissed her head before going to my friend's house.

It was relatively near the company so I got there quickly. The loyal Butler Lee welcomed me.

"It's good to see you again, young master."

"Likewise. I can see you haven't aged a day, Butler Lee."

"Oh, don't play with an old man's heart. Please come, young Jun Pyo awaits you."

He led me to a studio that was Jun Pyo's personal office. I went in and saw him with his back to the big oak desk in the center of the room.

"Jun Pyo, I'm here. How are you feeling?" He turned around to look at me, and when I saw his face I knew he couldn't be feeling well. His eyes were red-rimmed, and he appeared to be really tired. "If you want, we can eat here. I don't think you're in any condition to go out."

"I don't want to eat," he told me, and I was completely against it.

"But you need to eat. Just yesterday you suffered a major shock, and the best counter for that is-"

"I said I don't want to eat!" Jun Pyo yelled and struck the desk with his fist.

"What is wrong with you? What has happened?"

"That's exactly what I'm asking myself...What happened?"

I approached him until I could sit on the opposite side.

"You know you can tell me anything. Does it have something to do with your mother?"

"I think my mother played her part in this matter too, but no, this has nothing to do with her." I preferred to remain silent. When Jun Pyo was in this kind of weird humor, the best was to allow him time to formulate the idea in his head in order to say it completely. "I think congratulations are in order."

"What?"

"I like your new ring…" He pointed to my right hand.

"How is it that you-"

"Lets just say I had the bad luck of being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

If Jun Pyo knew how I had gotten my ring, the only explanation was that he had been somewhere near the bridge. But still...why the attitude?

"Yes. Jan Di and I got engaged again this morning, but I don't understand how this has anything to do with your behavior."

"Got engaged again?"

"Long story. What I want is for you to explain why you're in such a foul mood; I thought you had called me to catch up, to talk…"

"And that is why I called you, Ji Hoo. To talk." He left his post behind the desk and came to sit across from me on a matching sofa. "You, better than anyone, know how much I loved Jan Di, and after what we discussed the day before my wedding, I thought you would at least have the courage to tell me you were with her. But no, I had to find out like that…"

"What are you talking about? You knew that Jan Di and I had started a relationship."

"What are you smoking, Ji Hoo? I'd like some of it."

"Goo Jun Pyo, you yourself called me to congratulate us for 'making it', am I right?"

"I called you because Jae told me you had passed the semester."

I quickly pieced things together in my head. If Jae Kyung never told Jun Pyo anything, it had all been a misunderstanding, one of epic proportions. Now I understood his rage.

I stood up and started pacing.

"Jun Pyo, listen carefully...When Jan Di and I started going out, she wrote a mail to Jae Kyung telling her everything. When you called me and said we had made it and that we had so much before us, I obviously thought you were referring to that, not to us passing the semester."

"But you could've told me!"

"Why? I thought it was because of that reason that you were calling! It was all a mistake, Jun Pyo. Jan Di and I assumed Jae Kyung had told you."

"It should've been you, Ji hoo…" He stood up and came closer to me. "You should've called me and told me; you should've...warned me!"

Amidst his anger, I could also see the great pain all of this was causing him. And there was only one reason for it.

"You haven't forgotten her…"

"Fuck if I have! You don't easily forget a woman like Jan Di!"

"You are right, I should've told you. I'm partly to blame for assuming you already knew, but what did you expect? She wasn't going to wait for you forever and even less after you got married, Jun Pyo."

"I know that, damn it!"

"So?" He looked exasperated for a second.

"I don't know what or who to blame for all this!"

I took a deep breath. "How about you?"

"...What did you just say?"

"You could've fought for her; you could've confronted your mother, you could've done a thousand things, Jun Pyo, but you finally said yes and married Jae Kyung. Which, by the way, have you stopped to think about her?"

"Shut up! You know I had no choice!"

"We all had a choice! And you know what? It seems ironic. You said you were in the wrong place at the wrong time today; well, I was in that same spot years ago, watching you break her heart, turning your back on her and leaving her to think she meant and was nothing." My words carried the venom I had kept hidden since that God-forsaken day.

"And of course, you ran after her to seize the opportunity. You didn't wait a bloody second."

"Of course I didn't. Why should I have if what she needed the most was comfort? I was and am willing to give her whatever she needs."

"You're a bastard."

"And you're an asshole. Why did you start dating Jae Kyung if you still loved Jan Di!?"

"For you!"

"...What?"

We had both yelled a lot and, feeling cornered, had chased each other through the whole room. When Jun Pyo said it was because of me he had started dating Jae Kyung, he left me cold and wide-eyed. He seemed to realize he had said something he didn't mean to, but it was too late to pedal back. He went to sit again and covered his eyes with one hand.

"One night, I went to look for you at your house. I was going to ask your help to get Jae Kyun off my back and that with the boys' help we could undo my mother's plan...And you know what I found when I got there?"

I shook my head.

"Jan Di in your bed. She looked really sick, and she even had some kind of serum connected to her arm. But it was you who drew my attention. You were tending to her, wiping her forehead...You should've seen your expression. I had never seen you make a face like that while looking at a girl, not even when you were next to Seo Hyun; that was different." He sighed deeply. "I finally saw you take her hand and...kiss it. You closed your eyes and kinda had your back to me so you wouldn't have seen me. But it was in that precise moment that I realized, just as I told you that day before my wedding, that you were probably the best option for her...And that's something I've always known but never wanted to accept. It was because of that I gave her up, so that Jan Di could be happy...even if it was with you."

When his hand revealed his eyes I saw he was crying, and I hurt at seeing my brother like that. What he had told me was so incredible I was having a hard time wrapping my head around it. Here was my best friend telling me he remained far away, just for that little gesture?

"Jun Pyo, she got sick that day; she even fainted. It was a coincidence I was in the same place she had been working in and well…"

Jun Pyo sourly chuckled. "There are no coincidences with you two, Ji Hoo. And be as it may, you're together now, but it's still hard...you can't imagine how hard it is to assimilate this."

"I can't apologize for what has happened between her and me, and you know I never got in between you two. I always, even until the very last minute, tried to give you...give my brother an opportunity." I sat before him. "You have no idea how hard it was for Jan Di to get over everything that happened, but I can assure you she's happy now, Jun Pyo, and I'm lucky enough that she is so by my side."

"Was...Was it really hard for her?"

"Yes, very."

"It's ridiculous to feel relieved for something like that, huh?"

"Just a bit."

"What am I supposed to do now?"

"Heal." Jun Pyo snorted at my answer. "It may seem stupid, but take notice of who is saying this. You know what I went through my whole life, but now, in a strange way everything is okay."

"With a woman like that next to you, who wouldn't heal?"

"And what about Jae Kyung? Here you are suffering for someone you haven't seen since you were a teenager when you have a wife waiting for you. Whatever the circumstances may have been, you're married to her, and you owe her respect. She's also a first-rate woman, Jun Pyo, and she loves you. Don't let all that go to the dump because you're stuck in the past...Give an end to all this."

"An end…" I heard him whisper, "Ji Hoo, I need to ask for a favor."

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Woo Bin's POV

In my life, I've had to confront things I shouldn't have since an early age, things that would give any child or teenager nightmares for life, but it couldn't be any other way. I was a 'son of the mafia', that's why I wouldn't easily cower, that I inspired fear as well as respect in the people under my command.

However, in that moment, sitting in front of Ga Eul's parents, I was in a cold sweat.

After enjoying a more than delicious lunch and sharing an interesting conversation, Ga Eul and her mother served tea for everyone in the living room. That was the moment when everything would begin. Her parents weren't fools, and they knew their daughter was taking me home to finally introduce me as her boyfriend, given that for the past few years I had visited her several times, but always as a friend...What they didn't expect was for the words "I would like to ask you for your daughter's hand in marriage" to leave my mouth.

The silence was intense for several seconds, and Ga Eul stood by my side the whole time.

"Marriage?" asked Ga Eul's father.

"Yes, sir."

"But this is too soon, you've just became her boyfriend-"

"Dad, Woo Bin and I have been seeing each other for months…"

"Months!?"

"I can assure you my intentions have always been honest towards her, sir." And this Ga Eul knew. After so much time, we had told each other everything that had prevented us from starting a serious relationship, and we had promised not to keep those kind of things from each other.

"Still, I think this is too soon."

"Dad, truth is we're still going to see if we will get married."

"What are you talking about?"

Ga Eul took a deep breath and started to explain about our plan to live together for a year. I would have said it, but after hours of pleading, I acquiesced to her petition of letting her do it. She told me she would know how to decorate the pill so we could prevent a murder.

Truth was that I could understand her parent's feelings. Her mother had said nothing, but it well could be because of the huge surprise we just gave her. Ga Eul was an only child without any chance of ever meeting younger siblings due to a complication in her birth; her mother would never be able to conceive again. Due to this factor, she was overly loved and cared for, to the point that when I met Ga Eul, her innocence was absurd. I was sure the only thing that allowed her to survive many things was because of her friendship with Jan Di.

Ga Eul agreed with me 100%.

"Ga Eul, this is madness!"

"No, father, it is not."

"It was you, wasn't it?" He obviously turned his anger to me. "I appreciate that you helped us so much during the time I was unemployed, but that doesn't justify you coming here to put tales in my daughter's head! She's but twenty years! And you want to live with her for the span of a year under the same roof, sharing the same bed only with a promise of marriage that could vanish in the air?"

When Jun Pyo's mother threatened everyone around Jan Di, Ga Eul's family was directly affected. Even though Madam Kang had called off her instruction to leave Ga Eul's father in the street, no one at his company wanted to cooperate with him anymore, so I had taken care of finding another job for him. It hadn't been difficult, for her father was a hardworking and honest person.

"Sir, I'm not planning to deceive Ga Eul or use her in any form, I-"

"Then what are your intentions? Because let me tell you that my daughter has been raised under good family values, yes, sir! She's a girl with a golden heart, you hear me!?"

"Dear," his wife talked for the first time, "calm down."

"I know!" I raised my voice without noticing, "I know, I'm aware of each and every one of her virtues. It is obvious she has been showered with family love since she was born; I noticed that just after the first words we exchanged, and I also know that we are very different. That is why I always kept my distance, because I knew someone like me had nothing to do with someone like her. I had no problems with being her friend, as I am Jan Di's friend, but with time, her way of being...it surprised me, trapped me; she conquered me in a way I never thought possible, and I assure you I'm irrevocably in love with her. I know that my name precedes me, as does my fame, but know that even before I started dating your daughter there was no one else for me. I am willing to become the man she deserves if she still wants me."

A new silence seized the living room while everyone, myself included, digested my words. From where had all of that come from? I had a speech prepared, yes, but I had forgotten the whole thing when I found I had to defend what I felt for Ga Eul...When I turned to look at her, I could see she was smiling a bit and her eyes were watery, but she was trying not to let any tears fall, for she had promised herself not to cry so as not to make the whole ordeal more difficult. She slipped her hand in mine and took a deep breath again.

"Omma...You know how I am, better than anyone, and after the last time, I promised you something, and I'm doing it."

Her father and I shared a look and then turned to her; we were completely confused.

"My daughter…" Her mother stood up and went to strongly hug Ga Eul. Once again, total confusion. "Dear, let them do what they want."

"Are you serious!?" Her dad was as surprised as I was.

"Yes. Our daughter has suffered enough, and I have seen a change in her since long ago. This young man is the reason for that change. You and I raised her the best that we could and until today she has never let us down. Let's trust her decision, let's support her if this pans out and be there for her if it doesn't. Though, after your words, Woo Bin, I believe I'm leaving my little one in good hands."

I hastily stood up as I saw her mother coming towards me to give me a hug, which I returned, still in an state of total confusion.

"What do you mean she has suffered? What are you not telling me?" Her father mentioned the words that had been swirling in my head.

"Forget that, dear. Now, let these two alone to resolve their business and talk."

"But...but...but!"

"Ga Eul, you'll have to give your father a little bit more time. As for me, you have my blessing, and I hope in my heart this works out for you."

And without another word, her mother took her father inside between complaints and protests.

"Alright, you're gonna have to-oof!" My words were cut off by a direct attack from Ga Eul as she threw her arms around my neck.

"I was so nervous!" She squealed, hiding her face in the crook of my shoulder.

"And I wasn't?" I laughed.

"It's just that, you don't know how my dad is...He would've stayed here for hours before even beginning to understand us if it weren't for my mom.

"Well, I already imagined something like this would happen. I gotta say, I ended up less bruised than I thought. I would've sworn I'd leave this place having taken a punch or two…"

"You?" She confusedly asked me, and I knew Ga Eul was obviously thinking of all my training.

"I wouldn't have dared to fight against your father for all the money in the world."

She proposed to go out to clear our heads after the intense conversation we had gone through, so I put down the convertible roof and drove without a destination in mind while we laughed, remembering all that had happened.

"Ga Eul…," I hoped I wasn't stepping onto a landmine, "there's something I don't understand."

"What I told my mom, right?"

"Yes, what were you two referring to?"

I didn't get an answer for a couple of minutes, and I was starting to fear I had touched upon something very personal that she hadn't yet told me about. So when I tried to open my mouth to say something, anything else, I was surprised to hear her voice.

"My mom knows about Yi Jung."

That made me react.

Ga Eul and I had talked about many things, but we had never gone deep into what had happened between her and my best friend. We sometimes discussed it but only on the surface. She assured me she wasn't in love with him anymore, and that was the extent of it.

"Back then, she realized I had changed," she kept on, "and she asked me if there was a guy who had caught my attention. I obviously told her everything I felt and how scared I was about having those feelings. My mother was my rock each time Yi Jung did something to push me away. When I discovered who his first love was...she even helped in the search of the buildings; she would find any possible addresses, and I went to visit them. She also would've liked to go, but I knew that was something I needed to do on my own. When he finally left for Sweden, I cried all night...and my mom was there. My dad doesn't know; I don't even think Jan Di knows."

Listening to her talking about all the pain she'd felt because of Yi Jung awoke so much distress and jealousy in me. I hated that Ga Eul had gone through so much on her own.

"So, my mom made me promise her that if I ever gave away my heart, I should be sure of it; I had a wound, but that didn't mean I would be miserable forever. She told me I would find someone who would see me and accept me just as I was and that when I found him, I should take him home so she could approve of him. So, you see...I took you to fulfill my promise."

I didn't have much time to think so I simply parked in the middle of the road, and I pulled up the hand brake and unbuckled the seat belt.

"What are you-?" Ga Eul started to ask me something, but I silenced her immediately with a kiss.

I pushed her against the seat, and she returned the kiss with the same fervor, even more. I'm sure I heard cars passing by, honking and people yelling something out their car windows, but I didn't care; the only thing I was focused on was the woman I was kissing and was so lucky to have.

After several minutes, I let her go. I watched her shaken expression, her swollen lips and her reddened cheeks, and I made a decision.

We will make this work somehow, I thought while taking her face in my hands. And we will prove this is right, and I promise I will keep my word to her father: I will become a man who deserves you, Chu Ga Eul, if you still want to.

Ga Eul looked at me through dazed eyes; I was sure she was still feeling the effects of our kiss, and I loved when that happened.

"Let's go." I went back to my seat to get ready and started the car again.

"W-Where?"

"Somewhere with four walls and a bed that's far enough from anyone we know." I smirked at her. "I promise you won't be able to talk or walk tomorrow."

Flaunting the most innocent part of her, Ga Eul blushed to the tip of her fingers, but I didn't feel ashamed of what I told her. I knew that when we were alone, she would be up for whatever I wanted to give her. And that idea made me push the pedal to the max.

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Jan Di's POV

My afternoon had been weird. After I said goodbye to Ji Hoo, I had invited Jae Kyung for lunch and she accepted.

As soon as we sat down at a table in a nice restaurant, she congratulated me on my engagement. When I asked her how she knew, Jae Kyung told me the ring on my right hand wasn't there the day before. Only Unnie would notice those subtle changes.

She asked me to tell her everything, and I did, from the first proposal and everything since. I left out the details of my first time, but I still made the tale interesting, and she asked about all of it. During a moment of my story, I realized her eyes were moist. I got worried, but she asked me not to pay attention, that those were happy tears, upon knowing that I was going to get married.

I believed her at first, but something told me that wasn't all, and even when I asked her about it, she kept repeating that it was because she was happy and that I should stop being weird. For a change of subject, I asked about her relationship with Jun Pyo, but she replied in a short way, telling me all was well, and then she went back to work topics, and we focused on that.

Because of that, Ji Hoo found me sitting in bed, deep in thought about the whole conversation.

"Hey, Lotus."

"Hey, how was it?"

"Weird."

I frowned. "Same here."

He took off his coat, tossed it on a chair, and sat next to me.

"I have to tell you something, Jan Di."

"Yes? What is it?"

"Jun Pyo will be calling you."

"Are we going out tonight again? Does he feel better?"

"He won't be calling us. He will be calling you."

"I don't understand."

"It seems there are things he needs to say."

"What do you-"

The sound from my phone prevented me from finishing my question. I looked at Ji Hoo, and he simply lowered his eyes, like urging me to check my notification.

"I'd like to talk to you. Can we meet in half an hour?..."

The place he was asking me to go was near the balconies where I had played hide and seek with F4 years ago.

"Ji Hoo, what does he want to tell me? You know, don't you?"

"I have an idea, yes."

"Then tell me."

"It's best if he tells you."

"Come with me. Anything he has to tell me he can do so in front of you."

"Jan Di-ah." I soon felt his lips moving against mine and my back touching the mattress. Having his weight on me was comforting, and Ji Hoo had this way of kissing me that made me forget everything. Too soon, he stopped. "I will go if that's what you want, but I won't be present when he talks to you. It's something you two must solve alone."

Somehow, I had a hunch...This was about Jun Pyo and me, of what we had been through years ago, of the things that remained unfinished. But what was the need to poke around an old wound?

Ji Hoo walked with me almost the whole time, until we got to a fountain. He hugged me, told me he loved me and that he'd wait for me, sitting on a bench near there. This was getting way too dramatic, but maybe, it was.

I went to the balcony and saw Jun Pyo was already there.

"Jun Pyo."

"Jan Di, I'm glad you came." He smiled at me, relieved.

"I had no reason not to." I smiled back. "Tell me, is something wrong? Are you feeling better?"

"I'm alive…"

After that, he kept quiet and leaned against the balcony. I did the same and waited, but after several minutes, it didn't seem like he was going to talk.

"Jun Pyo-"

"Forgive me…"

"...What?"

"Years ago, I left you alone."

"Jun Pyo, there's no need to-"

"Yes, there is. Let me say this." He turned around, asking me with his stance for permission to continue. I nodded. "Years ago, I left you alone, thinking it would be the best. I didn't tell you what my plans were or why I treated you the way I did, and even though I was trying to protect you, the only thing I managed to do was hurt you more than anyone. What we had suddenly ended, we never talked about it, never said what we wanted for the future, and I let that happen."

"It wasn't just your fault, Jun Pyo…"

"It was." He quickly cut me off. "You, Geum Jan Di, a working class girl, gathered the money and courage enough to travel all the way over here to see me after being ignored for months...You have no idea how happy I was to see you that day at the restaurant, but I also feared for you because my mother had threatened to make you and everyone around you suffer if I kept my relationship with you." He sighed. "I should've told you that; I should've warned you and the rest of the F4...but I didn't think about any of that, and I hurt you. For several reasons, I decided to keep my relationship with Jae Kyung, but that didn't mean I stopped thinking about you; I never stopped."

"Goo Jun Pyo…"

"I still love you, Jan Di, but I know that you don't feel the same for me anymore. I see it in your eyes and in the smile you have when you're next to Ji Hoo. I see it in that ring you carry on your finger." He took my right hand and interlaced our fingers. Maybe I shouldn't have let him, but I was so overwhelmed by everything he was telling me I couldn't say no. "I'm not here to confuse you or try to win you back. I'm here because I never apologized to you, because I destroyed your dream when I let you take that blow for me, because we needed to talk about what we left behind, and because I needed you to know you were the first woman I loved. You changed me in a way I'm not sure I can explain or that you'll understand."

"I...I loved you so much, Jun Pyo. You also changed me, and to this day you have kept a special place in my heart." There was no way I could hold back the tears. In front of me was the man that had been my first boyfriend, and even if he was a hard head, I had fallen for him. "I don't think it's necessary, but if that's what you want to hear, I forgive you."

"I thank you very much. I'm still selfish, but I needed to tell you this to let you go." I saw him taking out a necklace from his pocket with the hand he still had free, and I was surprised to see it was the one he gave to me. I could've sworn I had lost it in the thermal baths. "I had this made only for you, thinking we would never be apart, but now it's me who has to turn the page and start to forget you. What do you want to do with it? We could throw it away, burn it, give it away…"

"How can you think of something like that!?" I started to think. It wasn't as if I could accept the necklace back; it had too much history in it, but then, a brilliant idea came to mind. "Okay, I know. Sell it and give the money away to charity."

He started to laugh, and I saw some tears escape his eyes, which broke my heart.

He immediately hugged me very, very tightly.

"You're still the same, and I hope you'll remain this way. Never change, never allow the world you now live in to influence you and trap you in its claws." His voice broke. "I really love you, Jan Di, more than I ever even dreamed of loving someone. Take care of my brother and be happy."

"I already am, Jun Pyo. I am…" We stood there embracing for a long while, and then he let me go, trying to hide his tears. "Besides, we'll still be friends."

"Of course, and you should be thankful the Great Goo Jun Pyo is willing to share his friendship with a laundry girl."

"Be very careful, rich boy, you're talking to a future doctor."

We both laughed.

"Jun Pyo, please don't neglect Jae Kyung. She really loves you and deserves your love back. If you're not able to give it to her, then let her be free. She's a great woman, and I can see now why she has been suffering."

"Yah, Geum Jan Di, who do you think I am? I may have made a mistake with you, but I'm not planning on making it again. I will grasp onto her and beg if necessary…" He seemed to think about something for a moment. "Don't tell her I said that."

"I will if you don't fix your relationship with her as soon as possible. I would like both of you to be at my wedding."

"You bet."

"Do you love her?"

"Yes." His reply was swift. "Not as I loved you, but I know now that those things can't be compared. I need to compensate for two years of poor marriage, but I'll make it."

"That's what I wanted to hear."

"Now go, go back to him. He must be impatient after waiting for so long."

"I don't think so; Ji Hoo is an expert at waiting."

"You're right about that." We both knew what we meant.

With a last hug and a kiss on the cheek, we both said goodbye to that love that, although torturous, taught us to trust in someone else, to overcome challenges, and to grow in maturity.

I went back, teary-eyed but happy, to the open arms of my fiancé and filled with a sense of peace for having given proper closure to my history with Jun Pyo.

"Do you love me?" I asked Ji Hoo.

"Of course I do, what kind of question is that?"

"Because there's a problem. I don't love you."

"What?"

"My heart goes beyond that, Ji Hoo. We need to invent a new word for all the feelings I have for you...I love you just isn't doing it."

The only answer I got was a warm kiss.

I figured that, maybe, in him was the word for which existed only between two people who felt as we did.


Hope you liked it!