I’ll deal with all the hurting myself
So just promise me this
Just promise me one thing

Sunggyu held my hand as we were led to our suite. I was still numb from the phone call from my mother. A part of me didn't know if it was real or not. Even as far away as I was from her, she could still hurt me. Oddly, I wished Sungyeol was here. He'd know how to cheer me up. I didn't expect anything from Sunggyu because he was having a hard time as well. Neither one of us were good company for the other at the moment.

"Wash up first. I'll wait outside for you." He dropped our bags in the room and left. It was just me now. Me and my thoughts and self loathing.

The shower was warm but hardly refreshing. It took me longer to get ready than it should have because I couldn't stop shaking. Maybe he wanted me to freshen up for a moment because we would be headed back tomorrow. Even if my mother new about the band, she hadn't done anything now. I was certain she wouldn't while I was gone. There's was a reason she hadn't revealed my secret. Like a poised lioness, she was waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Shyly I left the room to find Sunggyu leaned against the railing. He wore a loose white shirt and light blue pants. I was stunned for a moment how handsome he was. Quickly I looked away and pinched my cheek. We weren't in our reality, but that doesn't mean I could forget either.

"Your turn."

He looked up. "Later. Come here." I took his outstretched hand. "If you're up to it, I did have a place for us to go."

"Please." There was nothing I could do while I was here. I wouldn't let my mother ruin this for me. Despite everything there were butterflies in my stomach.

Sunggy's POV

She was dressed so beautifully. Her hair was down, she wasn't wearing much makeup and the dress she wore was white with a light blue flower pattern. I wove her fingers through mine, it wasn't cold tonight, but she shook.

It wasn't hard to guess what she was thinking about. I didn't know what to do for her. She was hurting. Haeri wouldn't tell me what her mother had said to her, but it had to have been awful to make her cry. All she said was that she knew everything. Everything of what? Of us? Why we were getting married? Anyone in similar positions could see through this facade, but that didn't mean it still wasn't big news.

I held back my questions. There wasn't much I felt like I could do for her, so I would do what I could.

Haeri's POV

He didn't speak. I was both grateful and frustrated by this. It was nice to have silence but at the same time I couldn't handle my own thoughts at the moment.

Before I knew it we were on the beach and presented before me was a table with two chairs. It decorated in a single candle and plates with covers over them. To the side was two beautiful women playing a violin and harp.

I looked up at Sunggyu.

"I put this together before we left. Although, I never could have imagined what would have happened before our first night here. Hopefully it's still enjoyable." He pulled a chair out for me and I sat down with a grateful heart.

He sat across from me and started explaining what we were eating but I couldn't focus.

"Why?"

Sunggyu blinked a few times, he quickly realized I wasn't talking about the food. "This is our not reality, isn't it? If everything outside of Jeju wasn't our lives, I would have wanted to seriously date you. This is something I would have done." He laughed. "It's not much."

I wanted to cry. When I had first wanted Sungyeol to come save me, Sunggyu stepped in. He's been doing that a lot.

"Thank you." I bowed my head, desperately trying to hide the tears.

"Haeri. With what power I have, I will save you. If you want out of this world of deception and lies, then I will free you. You can be a rock star." He smiled. "If that's what you want."

"What about you?" He seemed shocked by my question. "We've never discussed what you want. It's clear that I want out of my mother's shadow, to make my own choices...but you?"

Sunggyu sat there in silence. Either he didn't know how to say it or he had nothing to say. Hadn't he ever thought about that before? "I don't know. I've done so much for my siblings so they could have an easier life that I hadn't thought about myself..."

"Here's your chance." I smiled. "This is our not reality. You can be anything you want."

He laughed at the childness of it but played along. "I've would have wanted to be a doctor. I like taking care of people." It suited him.

"Doctor Sunggyu. I like the sound of it."

"Idol Haeri. Sounds nice."

We laughed at our own silliness.

"Would you like to dance?" We had finished our meal and he was holding my hand while twiddling the ring. The last time we danced was when we professed our undying love for each other with a passionate kiss. I laughed at the memory.

Sunggyu pulled me up and we stumbled across the sand laughing. He spun me around a few times but it proved truly impossible on this uneven ground. In the end we opted to walk the shoreline.

Sunggyu's POV

She skipped along the water's edge, kicking water up as she went. I stopped for a moment and reached for the ring on my finger. Would it be so bad to let myself fall in love with her? I didn't want to because of how we had met, it felt like our parents were winning this way. But my heart screamed in protest at my decisions. If I changed my mind and said I wanted her, would she take me?

Sungyeol popped in my head. Was she holding back from him because she knew that her life would tear him apart? He wasn't cut out for this world. Was she trying to escape for him?

I didn't want to know.

But I wanted to ask.

Heari's POV

"What's wrong?" Sunggyu had stopped a few feet back. He looked the same after talking with Sungyeol the other day. "Want to talk about it?" I placed my hands behind my back and gave him a cute smile.

"I don't want to know the answer if it hurts but..."

I was confused. "What do you want to know?" I was uncertain how much of my conversation with my mother he heard, if it was about my brother...

"Are you in love with Sungyeol?"

That caught me off guard and my shocked expression seemed to mean something else to him.

"No. Never mind, don't tell me. Forget I asked."

He started walking away. Why did he want to know that? What was going through his head to even ask such a question?

"I'll answer if you tell me why you want to know that." Our backs were to each other.

"Forget I asked. Please."

I felt his fingers slip through mine. "Let's head back now."

It was probably almost 2 am by the time we made it back to our suite. I had forgotten about the predicament of having to share it. It would happen when we moved in together but still... "I'll let you wash up first."

"Okay."

He stayed outside while I cleaned up. When I finished he was next and I stayed outside looking over the water. The moon was bright and gave plenty of light. I wrapped my arms around myself. My wet hair gave a slight chill to the air.

"It's warm inside." His hands slid up my arms before wrapping completely around me. He had brought a blanket. I tucked my chin and folded myself closer to him. The heat from the shower still radiated off of him.

"It's warm here." I blushed a little at my own words. I was forgetting myself.

He placed his cheek against mine. My heart was racing. "How's your side?"

"Better. Thank you."

I could feel his breath as he breathed in and out. His arms were wrapped securely around my waist and I kept the blanket closed around us.

"I'm not in love with Sungyeol." I felt his arms tense. "I forced myself not to feel that way for him because I knew what my world would do to him. I spared him while destroying him." I took a deep breath. "There's no good way to explain it."

"You could have loved him, if you were able to."

Could I have though? My own heart didn't hurt from missing him, but rather it hurt from hurting his. I didn't know how to put it into words so Sunggyu could understand.

"I told you. So you have to tell me why you wanted to know."

"I never agreed to that."

It was silence. I refused to budge.

He breathed in deep. I thought he was about to confess but instead he shifted so he was looking at the side of my face. Shyly I looked up. His brown eyes drew me in. It wasn't fair.

"Will this be answer enough?"

And he kissed me.

____________________________________

Sunggyu's face makes this Unnie happy. So handsome~