Chapter Fifteen

Go Mi Nam went through the pocket of his jacket. He felt something there, a box. Ah, He Yi's ring. He threw it in there because he didn't want to see it and hardly wore the jacket. Ironically enough, he wore it because it was his only truly clean jacket. Every woman I've ever loved has let me down. Yet he still dated more and more of them, hoping that he would find one he could truly cherish. Maybe I shouldn't date another Idol again…ordinary girls are just fine. But, alas, they could be using me too. It's so hard to fine genuine girls.

Mi Nam exhaled deeply, lying on the grass. He ditched A.N Jell ardently when they all went out for lunch together. Usually he'd go, and be the first at the buffet line fighting with Jeremy over the last piece of whatever- but he needed to get his head clear. He put on his sunglasses and threw up the hood of his jacket, and walked to the nearest park- finding a secluded patch of grass to lie on near the river.

The weather was cool, as expected in February, and a light breeze blew off the river mixing with the fresh scent of early blooming flowers that were on the side of the river bank. The sun ducked behind the clouds every once in awhile before coming out again, like a child playing hide and go seek.

Taking the ring out of his pocket, he opened the box and gazed at the ring. I never spent so much on one person. He Yi, you're going to regret dumping me. I'm going to get a girl fifteen times better! I'm going to find someone fifteen times better. Just like my hyung said…

He scolded himself. Since when did I start listening to Jeremy? It was true. Jeremy had done so much for him on his birthday, probably more than he could thank him for. But Mi Nam didn't really like saying words like 'thank you' and 'sorry' unless he really really had to.

"What am I going to do with you?" He inquired the ring, hoping that it would reply. "You need an owner. Someone that will truly appreciate you."

The sun hit the ring slightly, making it glow. "Yes, that's right. He Yi didn't deserve you. You're better than that." He smiled. But it wasn't like a girl was magically going to fall from the sky for him. It was going to deeply hurt his pride to return the ring.

Then he thought about Ye Eun. Was it here? It was here wasn't it? The park where Ye Eun and I used to come…

His feet had unknowingly led him to the place where he had shared some of his best memories with his ex.

Go Mi Nam snapped the box shut and put it back it his pocket. He got up and stretched, his hood falling off.

This is definitely the place…these damn feet of mine…he walked back onto the path, lined with trees and flowers.

He stopped when he saw a particular bench. "It's still here?"

Mi Nam approached the bench, immediately examined at the back of it. The words GMN+CYE=LOVE were still engraved into the back. "Wow, this is so crazy." He sighed.

"When I find my mom, the first thing I'm going to do is introduce her to you." He said as he began to carve his initials into the back of the bench with a small pocket knife. "And get her blessing so I can marry you." After four years of being on and off with Ye Eun, he was sure she was the girl he wanted to be with.

These words made Ye Eun grin so wide. "Really?"

"Yeah. Of course."

She snuggled into his side, holding his free arm. "Can we have a big wedding?"

"Sure."

"And a honeymoon in Paris?" It was an obvious fact to everyone around her, she was a hopeless romantic.

"Anything you want." He slowly carved the plus sign before handing the knife to Ye Eun, "Here."

She let go of him to carve in her initials. Ye Eun yapped on, "Then we can move into a big home and have ten children and-" She made a deep gash into the wood, where she quickly wrote 'LOVE'.

"You're joking right?"

She wasn't. "Nine? Six? Four?" Ye Eun pleaded, putting the blade of the knife down.

"How about none?" He snatched the knife away from her and put it away, slightly afraid of what she could do if she kept it.

"Mi Nam." She detached herself, getting up.

"Ye Eun." He stood in front of her. "You know I don't want any. They're just pint sized balls of trouble."

His girlfriend and sister loved little kids. But he didn't blame them, after all they were women.

"But…but…our children will be so cute. Just like their daddy and mommy. Don't you want that?" She pouted.

"No, and don't think you're going to break me just because you pout and give me puppy dog eyes. I'm immune to them now."

She kissed Mi Nam on the cheek. "So! Can we compromise on one? That at least?"

"Immunity shield activate!" He shouted, playfully turning his head and putting his hand in front of her face.

"Ugh." She folded her arms. "You're so unreasonable!"

"Well, you knew that when we got together didn't you?"

"Mi Nam…" Her sentence trailed off, in irritation.

"I know I know. Let's not drag this out."

"You better change your mind…or…or you'll never get any from me again!" She stated with a very serious face that Mi Nam couldn't help but chuckle at.

"Any 'what' now, Ye Eun?"

"What do you think I mean?"

He continued laughed impishly, drawing her close. "You and I both know that you will take those words back once I kiss you, Miss Ye Eun."

As he ran his fingers over the graffiti they had carved into the back of the bench, Mi Nyu's words ran through his head. "Please open your heart and forgive her."

"As far as I'm concerned, we cut off all ties, and I want to keep it that way." His own words came back to haunt him. Sometimes I really just things without thinking don't I?

Then again, when it came to this, Mi Nam really didn't know what he wanted anymore. He thought reconciling wouldn't be a bad idea…but knew it wouldn't be easy. But what in his life was? On the other hand, he was bitter and didn't want to forgive her.

She was coming over tomorrow night and either way, he was going to get faced with coming into contact with her. He could avoid her and just go out, but he knew Mi Nyu wouldn't like that too much.

"What to do, what to do." Mi Nam mused to himself, kicking a loose rock.

With about an hour or so to spare before A.N Jell's Special Valentine Day's Appearance, Go Mi Nam made a round back to the dormitory to change outfits. If he was going to see his ex, he was going to look good. He also took Jeremy's motorcycle, a seemingly unbreakable habit for him. Maybe I will get my own car or bike. I mean it's not like I don't have the money. But if it wasn't for Jeremy's motorcycle what pretense would Mi Nam have to piss him off further?

Okay, Mi Nam you can do it. You can face Ye Eun again. It won't be hard. It's just your ex. What's in the past is in the past right? Go Mi Nam coolly walked into the café. So cool in fact, a slight breeze went through many of the patrons of the store and they gazed at the figure of Mi Nam in awe.

"Oh my! Who's that guy?"

"Even in sunglasses, he's so handsome!"

"Every time I come to this café I see handsome guys!"

Mi Nam couldn't help but smile but had to stop himself in temptation from flirting with the girls.

He came up to the counter. "Ah, yes, excuse me. Does a Cho Ye Eun work here? I need to speak with her. Ms.- " He read her name tag, Yun Ellie Peach Maid co-manager. "Ms. Yun, if you don't mind I need to take her out for about thirty minutes. That's possible, right?"

"She's over there." Ellie pointed to a table that was on the other side of the café, where the walls where painted with flowers and a garden scape. Ye Eun was serving a lady coffee. "Sure you can. I'll just give her her lunch break early. But please make sure she gets back before the next hour. She's horrible at keeping time."

"Thank you."

Mi Nam didn't even have to really move towards her, because she came back over, tray in hand back to the counter. She yawned putting the tray onto the counter where the rest of them sat before going behind the counter. Oh, yeah that's her. She had cut her hair a bit and it was dyed a light brown, yet still fit her with her complexion beautifully. It bought out her eyes. This really isn't the time to bask in the glory of your ex's body, is it?

"Excuse me, Miss Cho." He moved over to her side of the counter, where there were various deserts on display.

"Yes, customer?" She finally looked to him. Her cool expression turned into one that showed both surprise and panic. Even though disguise she could tell, it was him.

Ye Eun came from behind the counter and to face Mi Nam, attempting to keep composure. "Why...what are you doing here?"

"You'll find out." He grabbed her by the arm.

He continued to drag her out of the café as she griped. "I'm in the middle of my shift, you can't just go snatching me away!"

"Why do you think I just talked to your manager?"

She was quiet after that. His hand was still on her arm as he led her hastily through the Seoul crowds, attempting to find a peaceful and quiet place. After a couple of minutes, and Mi Nam let go. He ended up taking them to a park, this one different from the previous in which he and Ye Eun used to frequent constantly. There were less people around.

Go Mi Nam spotted a ice cream stand. "Do you want some ice cream?"

"Sure."

He came and went quickly, coming back with two small cones, one vanilla and one chocolate.

Mi Nam handed her the vanilla one. "It's been awhile, huh?" He licked a bit off the top.

"It has."

"So long I don't even know where to start." He said coolly, looking over to Ye Eun. He half-smiled, dejectedly. Her cone was practically demolished already, a sign of her anxiety.

"I'm glad to see you again." She breathed out shakily, uneasy because of the coolness in his voice. She felt something was burning inside of him to yell and act out but he hadn't yet. But she anticipated it. "You're doing well."

"Yeah." Mi Nam couldn't really say the same to her, could he? In the four years since she left him she got disowned and was raising a child- probably by herself. Sure, it was what she wanted- but it wasn't the way she thought she would get it. "You seem to be doing alright too." Mi Nam licked his cone. The chocolate ice cream was helping him maintain some of that coolness.

"I'm making a living. That's all that matters. How did you know that I worked at the café?"

"My sister told me." He took a large bite from his cone.

"Is there…a specific reason you asked me out today?"

"No, I just wanted to talk. But foolish me, we cut off ties four years ago didn't we?"

She had an inkling that the chocolate had set this situation off. "As for the chocolate I gave, the café had left overs from a limited time desert we served. I wanted to send Jeremy some and I decided since I was going to send him some, I should send you all some." She simply explained.

"It was good, thank you."

They walked on, getting into a more secluded area of the park, Mi Nam shooting his cone into a trashcan.

"It hurt me really bad when you left." And so it had begun, the telling of words she was afraid to hear and the ones he just had to let go. "I can't even number how many stupors I drunk myself into over you. I could barely eat and I cried until my sockets felt they were going to fall out. I thought 'Ye Eun is the worst kind of girl for reducing me to this'. But even then, I couldn't stop loving you. I wondered how someone who claimed to love me could leave so suddenly. And you want to know the worst part? There's a part of me that still loves you right now."

Ye Eun couldn't even imagine the extent of the pain she had caused to him physically and mentally by her own decision. Slowly, she turned, reaching up to take off the sunglasses that hid his identity. They revealed the saddest pair of eyes. "You don't know how bad I feel for causing you this pain." She spoke softly.

"Why did you have to leave? I know that you're good for running away from things that make you frustrated." Mi Nam wanted closure more than anything.

"I have a reason, but, it's not what you think-"

Mi Nam's calm finally broke. "Oh, what? That you were too much of a coward to tell me you found someone else or that you got disowned because you got pregnant by him too?"

It was hard to get past Mi Nam's hurt and just come out with it. "It seems like that doesn't it?"

"At least let me ask this one question, Ye Eun: What possessed you to do it? Were you really that unhappy? And if so, why couldn't you have just told me instead? Answer this so I can let go in peace and finally move on."

"It was all a lie." She choked out. It was about time she came out with the whole truth. "I never cheated on you and I never went abroad, Mi Nam. Never."

"You lied? Why?"

"I thought you would be able to forget me and find someone better." Her eyes closed and tears began to flow, mixing with her mascara to produce black tears.

Go Mi Nam's heart could have melted at the sight. "Forgetting you is something I could never do, ever."

"I can never apologize enough for what I did to you. And it's my fault this happened to you, and why you're so bitter and full of questions. But believe me please, I never wanted this to happen."

Mi Nam pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket. After all this time she's still my biggest weakness. No matter if she had damned him to hell and back, he would still walk through fire for her. He slowly wiped her tears away.

After her tears were dried and his handkerchief terribly stained black, it instantly clicked his brain. If Ye Eun never cheated and she never went abroad then…then... As he started, Mi Nam tensed up. "Then, you left…because you…" He couldn't say it. He couldn't believe it to be true. But it was the inevitable truth.

"I was pregnant."

Go Mi Nam froze. It felt like his whole world came crashing down. This. I can't believe this. How could I…have a baby? I'm too young to have a child…its impossible right? Min Jee is my child?

"Why would you leave if you were pregnant huh?" Ye Eun knew he going to get mad. He took her by the shoulders. "Why, why didn't you tell me? How could you not fucking tell me about our own baby?"

His reaction was a lot lighter than she expected, and it reassured her considerably.

"I was scared you wouldn't want me anymore. One part of me was scared you would abandon me and leave to go live your life as an Idol. The other of part of me wanted to protect you and your dream." She paused. "The first couple of days, I was working up a way to try to tell you but before I could my mother found out. Then she told dad. From then on, I had two options: to abort her and leave you or give her away for adoption. I choose neither. I thought that if I left you, it would help you. And look how far you've gotten. You wouldn't be here if I was in still your life."

He was in pure bewilderment. There were just so many things flying through his mind. She was seriously afraid of telling me? She was afraid of being left alone to raise the child when I became an idol? I was her boyfriend. Why couldn't she have told me first? She wasn't ready to raise a child straight out of high school!

Even though he was still angry, he let it go. There were bigger issues at hand now.

"You…how stupid are you?" Were the only words that seemed to come out his mouth. "Why- how could you think that? Any of that?" He had every intention to marry Ye Eun one day. He didn't give a fuck about what her parents thought. He knew they hated him, ever since she brought him home.

"It seems crazy, but at the time, all I was thinking was 'I have to protect you. I'll bear the consequence.' I couldn't let go of Min Jee either. It was my attempt at being selfless but all I ended up was being selfish, telling my child lies about why she can't see you. It really does make me the worst type of person."

"Then why would you bear this burden by yourself?"

"I thought it was the only way to solve things."

The biggest question was at hand now. For Go Mi Nam, the Idol who had no particular liking for children, how would he accept the fact that he now had one?

Tae Kyung slid the bunny ears Mi Nyu had bought for him on before coming out his room. I can't believe I'm doing this.

"Tae Kyung?" He came face to face with Shin Woo, who had just stepped out his room also. "Are you wearing- bunny ears?" He automatically covered his hand with his mouth to cover his smile. So that's what Mi Nyu was mumbling this morning...

"Don't you dare laugh." Tae Kyung only threatened, his cheeks burning with humiliation.

"I wasn't going to." It was obvious he lied and that he wanted to rather badly. "You're only doing this for Mi Nyu." He patted him on the shoulder. Poor man must feel so awkward in those. Shin Woo shook his head as he left to attend his own business. "Anyway, have fun."

Tae Kyung could've died from the mixture of embarrassment and awkwardness, but instead he just sighed, going along his way. It would've been worse if Jeremy or god forbid, Mi Nam would have seen him. That thought make him sneak like a spy up to the roof.

She was peering over the balcony, looking at the sunset. On the table sat her carrot cake, decorated with the icing and little bunnies. Go Mi Nyu was wearing the maid outfit, like she promised, but not the ears. He was utterly thrilled about seeing her in that outfit.

Tae Kyung came beside her. "Tell me again how I'm the one in bunny ears."

"You said it yourself. I'm a good haggler!" She turned to him with a smile.

"You aren't as innocent as you look."

"Well that..." She refuted. "… it's just…I used the rest of the extra money I had for something important." Her reasoning was solid.

"What is this 'something' important?"

"It's a secret, hyung-nim." She put her finger to her mouth.

"Oh fine. Whatever." He tugged at the top of one ear. "What's your fascination with seeing me in these?"

"What? Well, they make you look cute. Not that you're not cute already..." She trailed off nervously.

"Five minutes."

"What? But you promised ten!" She pouted.

"Well now I'm only giving five before I take these things off. You're lucky I'm even wearing them." He paused, crossing his arms. "So go ahead and take a picture before I do something unforgivable to these accursed ears you bought for me."

"Alright." She sniggered taking out her cell phone from the pocket of the uniform. "Smile?"

His mouth didn't budge from a straight line.

"How can I take a picture like that?"

"I might smile…if you give me a kiss." He garbled under his breath.

"Kiss?" Mi Nyu inquired, not sure of what he said.

"Well, if you insist." He reeled her in promptly, placing an immediate kiss on her lips. A smile spread on his face. "That is much better."

"But-" She whispered on his lips, looking up to him with her big brown eyes. "What about the cake? Don't you want it?" Mi Nyu had put a lot of effort into it.

"Right now it's not the cake…" Tae Kyung placed another kiss on her lips. "…that I want to eat."

Go Mi Nyu went completely crimson at his words, not even sputtering a reply before she was kissed again.