Author's Note: So I made a mistake a few chapters ago. I said G-Dragon was older than Soohyun. The fact is they're the same age. I forgot that in Korean culture they add a year to the birthday. So Soohyun and G-Dragon were born in 1988. In western age they would be 27, but in Korean age they are 28. I just thought I would make this correction due to the fact that it's been bothering me since I wrote that chapter. So here you go!
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"Can I just die now?" Soohyun asked randomly.
Not even the least bit shocked, Hoon Jin looked over where he had parked his friend. It was late on a Sunday afternoon and it was the one day the cafe was closed. Hoon was a devout Roman Catholic who went to church regularly. He kept the Sabbath and made sure his employees were off as well. Today he just happened to have a little bit of prep work that needed to be done for the next morning. He wasn't going to come in at three just to slice a few a pieces of fruit.
Soohyun had been with since after church. He had called her to see if she was up to going with him. She hadn't been at the time so he'd had gone with his family. When he had gotten out, he had had a text message from her asking about dinner. He had known she wasn't going to eat so he had offered to bring her to the cafe while he had worked.
Unfortunately for him she hadn't wanted him to do all the work alone. So he had sat her down with a knife and a couple bowls of fruit. He had refrained from giving her oranges due to an allergy but everything else was free game.
She groaned again before she tossed the knife in the bowl with a clank. He could see the chef itching to be let loose but couldn't. She had barely been able to hold the knife. He wasn't about to stand her up in the kitchen by herself even if she was a wonderful chef.
Hoon dropped the pans he was carting from the display cases and walked over to her. He pushed the bowls out of the way and pulled her up. He hit play on the remote and shuffled the music until he found a song he knew Soohyun liked. Pulling her to him, he found an open spot in the dining hall and started to move to the music.
They had worked so much while living in France that they hadn't had too much time to go out at night. So they had improvised. To let loose after a long day at work or at school, they would cook dinner together, put on some music, and have a little dinner and dancing in their flat while the nightlife surged on outside their house.
When they had moved back, they hadn't gotten a chance to do that. Soohyun had been home for a year before she had gone on a six month study in Japan. It hadn't been until recently that she had been around more, and that was due to her being diagnosed with leukemia.
Soohyun rested her head against Hoon's chest as he held her like she was the most precious thing in the world. He had been the strongest supporter she had had. He was even stronger than her brother simply because Hyun Joon had a lot to take care of. She had no doubt her brother loved her, but she wanted to give him as big a reprieve as she could.
So Hoon had stepped up. When she had first found out she had leukemia, she hadn't been too upset. Hoon and Hyun Joon had fared worse than she had. She had simply gone to get more information to plan what she should do. Hyun Joon had been a mess where Hoon had gone with her and helped plan the rigorous treatment she was now used to. He had been the backbone to both of them, and because of it, Hyun Joon had been able to pull himself out of his stupor and be strong as well.
She felt Hoon's hand at the back of her head before her beanie disappeared. He massaged his fingers into her scalp as he spun around once. He trailed one finger down the dip at the back of her neck, making her shiver.
Hoon didn't have hair to tip her head back, but her head was so small he could tip it back without much force. When he did, she opened her eyes so he could see the contentment she felt. Smiling gently, he ran his thumb over her cheek. Slowly he lowered his head.
He thought she was going to push him away but she didn't. She didn't react at first but when he wrapped his arms around her, she gasped slightly. Knowing he had hurt her by crushing her bones, he adjusted his arms so one was around her neck and the other at her waist. She fit against him almost perfectly. He was so tall so he wasn't sure how he managed to bend himself in half to do this.
He eased away but kept his forehead pressed against hers. He was so nervous about what he was about to do that he almost didn't do it.
"Noona, I was serious," he muttered. "I want you to move in with me. I can take care of you. I can do whatever you need or want. You just have to come to me."
Soohyun rubbed her forehead against his. "Where did this come from, Hoon?"
He lifted his head to look her right in the eyes. "I have loved you since I was sixteen."
He was twenty-six now, so he had had feelings for her for eleven years. That had been roughly around the time they had met. Hoon's father had started working at the same company their dad had worked for nearly thirty years. They had had a family dinner one night to which Hoon's large family of six hosted the family of three. That's when it had to have started.
Hoon was the youngest son. He had an older brother and sister and a younger sister. He was supposed to do what his father said, but since he had decided to go into the coffee business he had chosen a new family.
"Noona?" His voice brought her out of the past and into the present. She looked up at him. "Do you love Kim Won?"
Soohyun thought about it. She knew she was fond of Won but she wasn't sure she actually loved him. He had taken really good care of her since he had found out what was going on, but there was still something that didn't feel right. He didn't realize what else could happen.
Death wasn't the only thing he had to worry about. She could be fighting this disease for years before she was healed or it killed her. Fighting it was expensive. Her insurance would only cover some of it. She had to pay out of pocket the rest. It's why she worked so hard.
"Hoon," she said.
"Hmm?" he hummed in return. It was a classic answer for him.
"Can I stay here tonight?"
Hoon rolled his head so he could see her. After searching her face to see if she was joking, he smiled and nodded.
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Won slammed a hand down on his alarm and sighed tiredly as he rolled over in the bed. He rubbed his eyes then stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours. He watched the shadows run across the white roof before he got up.
Glancing over at the other bed, he had to do a double take when he realized that the second bed was empty. His feet got caught up in the duvet as he hurried to get up and check the bathroom. The light was off and the door closed, but he opened just in case. Soohyun sometimes liked to sit in the dark if she had spent the entire night being sick. When she wasn't there, he left his room and ran down the stairs to the kitchen.
Tan was sitting at the island as Cha Eun Sang's mother made breakfast. The two had become friendlier since Tan did nothing but pester the woman when he was home. As it was now, they had twin looks on their faces as he stopped just in the doorway. He didn't care that he was shirtless. He was beginning to worry.
"Have you seen Soohyun?" he asked.
While Park Hui Nam shook her head, Tan started to look concerned. "She wasn't in your room?"
Won shook his head. "The bed wasn't slept in. She wasn't in the bathroom and I can see she isn't here. I don't know where she is."
"Where did she go last night?" Wracking his brain, Won suddenly ran from the room. Tan jumped up and followed him. "Hyung!"
Won threw on some clothes, not really caring that he was supposed to go to work in the next few hours. He ran back down the stairs and snagged the keys to his car. He didn't know what the rush was. He knew exactly where she was but it was the nagging feeling in the back of his head that told him things weren't okay.
He drove through the city like a bat out of hell, getting to the café within record time. He threw his door open and ran to the front of the shop. It was bright with lights and people were milling about, but he didn't see the two he was looking for.
"Who are you looking for?" a waiter asked.
"Lee Soohyun and Hwang Hoon Jin," he said.
"Hoon Jin hyung took Noona to work. He didn't say when he'd be back."
Won felt slightly rude as he left without saying thank you but he was in a rush. The Zeus Hotel was only a couple of blocks away. He could walk but it would be worse if he ran to the hotel. Someone would really think things were wrong.
He pulled up to the sidewalk and tossed his keys to the valet. He bypassed everyone and went to the kitchen. Like usual it was a bustling hive of craziness. They were already getting ready for the lunch rush that would be bombarding them in a few hours.
Won looked around until he spotted the red rimmed chef's coat. Soohyun was sitting on a stool in the back of the kitchen chopping vegetables. Hoon Jin slipped up beside her with another bowl. He scooped the already chopped veggies into the bowl and disappeared again.
"Won hyung, what are you doing here?"
Won turned to Young Do. "When did Lee Soohyun come back to work?" he asked.
Young Do looked at the chef. "This morning. She said she couldn't stand being away from work anymore. Hoon Jin hyung said the only way she was going to work was if she sat down and didn't do anything too strenuous. Right now we have her cutting vegetables while the desserts are in the oven. She'll want to decorate them so we were just going to let her do what she wants."
The young man looked at the older one. "I've only seen you here twice. Why are you so worried about my employee? Is she the one you broke your engagement off for?"
"Kang Da Kyung and I were just not meant to be. It had nothing to do with Soohyun."
"That's not what I hear. Da Kyung Noona claims you were letting that woman stay with you because not only did you feel guilty about her illness, but that you loved her more than you realized."
"Has any of this come out to the press yet?"
"No, but there's really no telling when it will break. They are going to rip her to shreds. There's no telling what will happen."
Won looked down at the kid that used to be his brother's best friend. "Why are you so worried?"
"Soohyun Noona has always been kind to me even though she knows my old reputation. I don't want to see her get hurt over something that wasn't her fault. She may seem like nothing fazes her, but deep down she really hurts."
"Why is she working when she feels so horribly?"
"Doctor's bills aren't cheap."
Realization suddenly hit. Soohyun wasn't going to rely on anyone because she hadn't ever. Financially she was strapped. She had bills to pay so it was amazing she ever had any money to do anything. It was why Hoon gave her coffee for free.
He strode across the kitchen to the back metal counter. Soohyun looked up as he stepped up beside her. He sighed and looked down. Around them everyone was muttering about how their head chef knew the richest man in Seoul.
"Why didn't you come home last night?" he asked.
"I stayed with Hoon," she said simply as she returned to chopping vegetables. She seemed distant from him. "He brought me to work this morning."
"And you couldn't call? Did you know how worried I was when I woke up this morning and you weren't there?"
"Were you so worried that you missed the part that I wasn't even there last night?"
Won scowled at her tone. "Where is all of this coming from? You've never been snarky with me."
Soohyun sucked her bottom lip into her mouth as she finished chopping the onions and peppers. She scooped them into the bowl and set the knife aside. Scratching her head she sighed.
"Maybe we should stop this," she said. "You're feeling guilty about this and it's understandable, but I'm not going to stay with someone who is guilty."
"Who said I was guilty?" She handed him her phone with a news article brought up. He read it and knew exactly what she was thinking. "You actually believe this?"
"You would have never been involved if I didn't cater your birthday. You would have been married last weekend if we had never had met. I'm not ashamed that we met, but you were thrust into a world that you know nothing about. I think we should just let everything go. I'll move back into my old apartment."
Won didn't like that idea at all. He rounded the counter and grabbed her by the elbow. A hand covered his, and he followed it until he met Hoon's face. The barista's gaze was closed off and he wasn't smiling.
"This isn't some romantic drama where you can just grab a woman whenever you want. Let her go," he demanded.
The CEO smiled as he laughed. "I can end your career."
"But you won't because you wouldn't dare hurt her." Hoon inclined his head to Soohyun. "Now people are staring. You better let her go before I give them something to stare about."
Won looked around at the other cooks and chefs gathered. He looked down at Soohyun. She was staring at something very interesting on his shirt. He let her go and watched as Hoon wrapped his arms around her. He whispered to her which she nodded in answer. Won understood what was going on and something inside him hurt because of it.