Author's Note: I watched my favorite Christmas movie today and sang all the way through it.
This chapter starts the decline in the story. Don't be surprised if something happens that you weren't expecting. I don't know what to expect any more since my mind tends to change on me almost every chapter. Sometimes I don't know what's going to pop up.
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"Hyung?"
Won turned at his brother's voice as he pulled his bedroom door closed. He had just gotten home after a long day at the office and had wanted to check in on his guest. Soohyun had moved in to the house and had immediately fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She hadn't woken up by the time he had gone to work that morning so he had left her sleeping.
Her stuff had been moved into the house and the maids had brought in another chest to store her clothing. They had separated everything because Won had not been about to touch anything personal. He did well keeping his hands to himself when he had escorted the woman to his house. The only thing that had kept him from doing so had been the fact that Soohyun was going through chemotherapy and was suffering from it.
He hadn't told Hyun Joon that his sister had been moved in with him. Knowing the man he was going to have a conniption. Soohyun had told Hoon Jin so he wouldn't worry, but whether the youngest man was going to keep it a secret or not was up in the air. If he was mad enough, he would out Won in a heartbeat.
Won looked at his brother. Kim Tan had grown up in more ways than one in the last few years. After he had sent him away when he had been fifteen, his younger half-brother had returned with a new lease on life. He had broken off his engagement to a well-off girl in favor for a maid's daughter. Won had never seen him happier.
There had been a moment when he had been concerned that his brother's return would have ruined his chances at continuing to run the company but they had worked together to make sure Won wouldn't lose his position. Tan was his biggest supporter. Actually he had always been. It had just taken Won a long time to realize what that meant.
Tan looked at the closed door then back at his brother. "Who is that? I saw you bring her in last night. What's going on?"
"She's a friend of mine who's going through a really rough time. Her brother can't watch over her at the moment so I asked if it would be all right if she moved in. Is there anything I should know about?" he asked.
"My mom ordered a light dinner for tonight. She figured since your friend slept all day she would be hungry but wouldn't want to eat too much. Is it all right if Cha Eun Sang joins us for dinner?"
"I don't mind as long as she doesn't ask too many questions."
Tan smiled brightly and ran off down the hall to his room. Won shook his head at his brother and went downstairs to the study to do some work. His father's desk loomed at him. The man had been sick and had gone to warmer weather to heal. He had asked Tan's mother to go with him but Ki Ae had rejected the thought because she hadn't wanted to leave Tan while he was taking courses for the semester. So his father had left. He sent postcards every few weeks to let them know how he was doing so they couldn't worry.
He sat down to work until dinner was ready. He hadn't gotten anything ready since he had been so worried about Soohyun during the day. Hyun Joon had come in countless times that morning to see what was going on and if he had needed anything, but Won hadn't. He had waited for the other shoe to drop, but the man had been happy. He wondered how much longer that was going to last.
Not too much later Ki Ae poked her head in and said dinner was ready. He could hear his stepmother (she's not in the show per se but she is in this story) talking to another woman whose voice he recognized as Cha Eun Sang's. Tan hadn't come down yet because his brother would have been loud and boisterous to see his girlfriend.
Won stepped out to see Tan escorting Soohyun down the stairs. The woman was weak and leaning against Tan as they took the stairs slowly. The beanie was back on her head, a sign that she didn't want to be asked any questions.
They hit the main floor, and Soohyun's feet came out from under her. Tan wrapped his arms around her to support her balance as Won hurried forward. He took her face in his hands to make her look at him.
"I'm fine. I just lost my balance," Soohyun said. "Please loosen your grip. You're hurting me."
"Tan," Won prompted. His younger brother let go for a moment before Won took his spot. "Are you feeling any better?"
"If you're asking if I've been sick today, the answer is no. I slept all day," she said as he escorted her to the dining room. "My brother called me today. Hoon hasn't told him either."
"I think we're waiting on you."
"Would you tell him tomorrow at work?"
Won nodded as he sat her in the chair, not that she could see him. "I'll tell him. He'll probably want to come here. Will you be up to that?"
"More than likely not but he won't go away. He may take a hard line to the fact that I'm sharing your room."
"That would be a problem." He looked across the table at his brother, his girlfriend and his stepmother. "Is there anything you can come up with?"
"You have plenty of rooms. Maybe you should just move her into one of them," Eun Sang offered.
Won had thought about it when he had offered his home to Soohyun, but he knew he would be in her room every chance he got because it seemed this round of chemo was a little rougher. He would be checking on her every few minutes.
He shook his head. "No, she can barely walk. I will be in there all the time. She might as well stay in my room."
"Then move another bed in there," Ki Ae said. Everyone looked at her. "Your father and I share a room that way still even though we are to be married. Your brother shares a room with his girlfriend when she stays over."
"But I'm not marrying Soohyun."
Tan waved his spoon between Soohyun and Won. "You're not going to make her your mistress are you?"
"Besides, aren't you in love with Jeon Hyeon Joo? If that's the case, why are you marrying someone you don't even like?" Eun Sang asked.
"I liked Da Kyung just fine. I'm actually very happy to marry her. She's the only one I can think of who would be accepted."
Soohyun listened to the conversation as she slowly sipped her soup. She could say that she was uncomfortable in a huge house like this, but she didn't want to talk about something that she had no experience with. She had never dated anyone in her life, especially after she had been diagnosed with leukemia. She hadn't wanted anyone to pity her and be with her because she would have had to go back and forth to the doctor like she was now.
She stared at a space on the wall. Feelings she shouldn't have developed were sitting under the surface. Won had become a good friend to her. Besides her brother and Hoon Jin, she hadn't had anyone she really could rely on. But here she was in a house with a man she had just met only two months ago, and he was caring for her better than anyone she had thought would. It was only natural that some sort of feelings would emerge, but she couldn't let them overcome her because he was taken already.
"Hand me your phone," she said.
Won looked at her briefly then pulled his device from his pocket. She brought up his recent contacts and hit her brother's number. It went to voicemail, which told her he was in the middle of something. So she hit the message button and typed out a quick one before sending it. She handed Won back his phone and waited for it to ring. It didn't take long. Won looked at her as he picked it up.
"Lee Hyun Joon," he said simply.
Soohyun heard her brother's voice on the other end of the line. "What do you mean my sister is living at your house? Why isn't she at hers? What's happened?"
Won sighed and looked at her. "She's been with me for two days. Before that she was with Hoon. You're really the last to know."
There was a moment of silence on the other end before Hyun Joon spoke again. "She's out of remission, isn't she? But if she was with Hoon, why is she with you now?"
"I went over to figure out why I hadn't heard from her and she was laying on the couch. I didn't give her a choice but to come to my house so she is watched around the clock."
"Is she at least eating?"
Won looked over at Soohyun. "She's doing the best she can with that. I'm not pushing her to do more than she can."
Hyun Joon sighed again. "I'm with my dad right now at the doctor. Would you mind if I came over tomorrow to check on her?"
"Just text me when you want to." Won hung up the phone then looked at Soohyun as she pushed the bowl away from her. She couldn't eat another bite. "He'll be here tomorrow. Can you last that long?"
"I guess I'll have to," Soohyun replied. "I just want to go back to bed."
"I'll help you. Madame Han, thank you for dinner."
Soohyun stood and Won stood behind her to steady her. He was careful as he led her from the dining room. They took their time going up the stairs and everything was even slower as they took the hallway to his room.
As soon as he got her upstairs, Won picked her up and carried her to his room. She didn't fight him. She had never really since he had first found out she was sick. She just kind of went with the flow. It's what made him think she was a pushover in the beginning. Now he knew better.
He struggled with the door handle but somehow managed to shove the door open. He kicked it close behind him and strode over to the bed. He crawled into it then set Soohyun in the mussed up side. She immediately curled up under the blankets and nestled in the pillow. Feeling slightly concerned, he rounded the bed and laid down on the other side. He sidled up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her shoulder.
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Da Kyung headed up the stairs to Won's room. She felt horrible for yelling at him about a woman he had just wanted to help. He had just wanted to make sure she had been taken care of when she didn't have anyone available to do so. She should have been more understanding.
But a part of her didn't want to see any of that. She had never had a guy deny her. She could have anyone she wanted. She had had anyone she wanted since as long as she could remember. Won wasn't any different. When her father had said that the CEO of Jeguk was going to have to get married because he needed to solidify his position, she had jumped at the chance to be a part of the head Korean family. She wanted the title as wife of the most powerful man under the president. She didn't care if she didn't love the man as long as she had the stability.
She had already spoken to his ex-girlfriend. Jeon Hyeon Joo had already contacted her in hopes that Won wouldn't be married yet and she could pick up where they had left off. It was too late for Won to be ousted as head of the company, but it would put a dark mark on his record if he didn't keep the heir to one of his major stockholders happy.
Hyeon Joo had hoped he wasn't married, to which she had strictly said it would be soon. There was only a month left until their wedding. He was pretty much a married man. Da Kyung had no doubt that the other woman was going to go to him and beg him not to marry the richer woman. She also knew that Won would do what was best for everyone involved with him.
Da Kyung came to the man's bedroom door and hurriedly fixed her hair. She wasn't about to walk into a man's room looking like she had gotten into a fight with a wind machine. It was a little windy outside but she didn't have to look it. She knocked once then opened the door and went inside.
She stopped just inside as she gaped at the bed. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Won was in his bed but he wasn't alone. Soohyun was curled on her side with her head buried in the plush pillow. Won's arm was draped across her waist. They looked content as they slept in the giant bed.
Anger flooded the other woman. She strode across the room and tossed Won's arm off the other woman. She reached down to yank the other woman's hair but only came away with the black beanie. Soohyun shifted but didn't wake up.
But Won did. He got up and grabbed his fiancé by the arm to drag her out of the room. He pulled the door closed and turned to look at her. He couldn't find anything in her face that told him she was sorry.
"Why is she here? Why is she here and sleeping in your bed?" she demanded.
"Soohyun has gotten sicker since my birthday. I couldn't just let her suffer alone. She doesn't have anyone to watch over her twenty-four seven. At least while she's here, she has someone to watch over her and make sure she has what she needs," he explained.
"Then why are you sleeping with her? What about her own room? Why doesn't she have one?"
"I will be in there all the time anyway. She might as well stay with me. We're having another bed moved into my room anyway."
"What are you going to do when we get married? She will not be living with us."
"We're not living together anyway. Why do you care?"
"You will be my husband. You will not see another woman. She will be considered your mistress if you do."
Won hated that term. Soohyun hadn't done anything wrong. She had just gone along with him. He had been the one to bring her home with him. None of this was her fault. But he couldn't explain that to Da Kyung.
"Maybe we shouldn't get married if this is how you're going to act when I'm helping a friend," he said.
Da Kyung laughed sarcastically. "You want to break up with me? Do you know what will happen if you do that? You will lose his backing. He will turn to your former stepmother Madame Jung."
"I don't care. Do you know how many people would still back me? Do what you want."
"At least admit that you love her."
"It's not that," Won said as he turned back to the door. "I like her."
"It's the same thing."
He didn't listen. He opened the door and disappeared into his room again. Soohyun was sitting up in the bed. She looked at him then stood up. He crossed the room quickly but she shrugged him off as he reached for her.
"I can manage this by myself," she said. "Go save your wedding. Don't break this engagement because of me. It doesn't matter if she understands why you did this. You need her."
"I'm not going to ask her to come back," he argued, "and I'm not going to stay away from you. I know you heard what was said. You need my help because you refuse to tell your brother how sick you are."
Soohyun glared at him with as lethal as stare as she could muster. "I'll be fine. I was fine before you and I will be after. Just do as I say."
Won caught her sleeve and pulled her to him. His hand spanned her back as he pulled her front against his. He looked down at her. "Let me rephrase this. I'm not going after her or letting you go. I'll tell you the same thing I just told her. I will not let you go because I like you. I don't know if that means that I love you, but it means I will do my best to make sure you get the best health care possible."
"I don't want your money, Won. I was never your friend because of that."
"I know, and that's what makes it even better. You're not after me for my money. I'm certain you didn't become my friend because you wanted anything from me. You did it because I asked."
He took her hand and held it to his chest. "And because I'm asking now, I want you to stay here until you are healthy enough to go back to work. I know you have to go to chemo regularly now that your illness is back, but I want you to rely on me some more. Tell me everything from now on."
Soohyun knew this was a bad idea. He was going to get frustrated with all of it, and once his company figured out he wasn't going to be getting married they were going to look down on her.