Be Strong

 

Ever since that night, Yoona had not talked to Ji Yong. Yoona felt that he was trying to avoid her. Be it on the phone or personally, it was Daesung who answered her. He claimed that Ji Yong was caught up in his work and didn't have time to spare, though many a times, Daesung did told her honestly that Ji Yong wasn't exactly in a good mood to face people. Hence, if Yoona had any enquiries about the project, she would have to go through Daesung, passing the message across to Ji Yong. Daesung acted as a messenger and a middle-man for the both of them.

 

As for Yunho, ever since that night, he didn't mention anything to Yoona. About Ji Yong's past. About his past. It was as though that night was completely erased from the brothers' minds. For the first time ever, Yoona realised that she didn't know Yunho much. There seemed to be alot of things about him that she was clueless about. However, she didn't brought this topic up. She thought, perhaps, just like Ji Yong, it was a scar that Yunho never wanted to show.

 

It wasn't until the day before the exhibition did Yoona decided to head to Ji Yong's office to check things out. She just wanted to finalise things with him. If he still didn't wish to see her, at least she could know from Daesung about his condition. Tomorrow is important to her. She just wanted to make sure that nothing would go wrong. And the only thing to ensure that, was to ensure that the person-in-charge, Kwon Ji Yong, was safe and sound. Besides, Yunho would not be returning home tonight. He had been too caught up with his work lately that they didn't really had time for each other. She wondered briefly if this was what normal married couples would go through. Relationship would fade slowly when you got married and eventually, only responsibility remained...

 

She shook off that thought almost immediately, telling herself that she was being overly-sensitive. Yunho loved her. With that thought in mind, she put on her dress and tied her hair neatly into a bun, heading towards Ji Yong's office.

 

******

 

"Annyeonghaesaeyo~"

 

"Oh Yoona-sshi! What brought you here at this hour?" Daesung looked up and gave his usual bright smile. "Worried about tomorrow's exhibition?"

 

"Ahhh. Anniyo. Just that I'm feeling a little nervous. Wonder if anyone would buy my artwork or not..." Yoona gave him a polite smile.

 

"I see. Well, but I'm worried about the person inside though..." Daesung gave a weak smile before turning his body to look into the clear glass, where Ji Yong was inside. "For the past one week plus, he hadn't got more than 8hours sleep a day. More like 2 hours a day. Or lesser." Yoona noticed that his smile had now faded as his brows creased together, giving her a worried look. "Yoona-sshi, did something happen the other night when he sent you home? Because it seemed like he wasn't in his usual self ever since that night... He kept coping himself inside that room." He turned back and looked at her.

 

"Eh? E-Er... No?" Yoona stuttered, telling a lie. She cursed herself for lying to Daesung. He is a good man and was genuinely concerned about Ji Yong. But then again, it might not be a lie after all. She wasn't sure if Ji Yong was affected by that night. "Tell him to get a rest?"

 

"I wished that would work, then I wouldn't be staying here, pulling a long face already. You know how stubborn he is. He never listens. I'm really worried about his health. And to be honest with you. This is the first time that I had seen him so dejected... Apart from the time when I first met him..."Daesung sunk into his thought for a moment.

 

"Ho-How about I-I try talking to him?" Yoona hesitated before giving her suggestion.

 

"Ch-Chinjia?!!" Daesung immediately lighted up as he held Yoona's hand excitedly.

 

"N-Neh... But I don't know if this would work though..." Yoona was taken aback by Daesung's sudden enthusiasm and stuttered a little.

 

"Oh. Don't worry~ It would." Daesung laughed her comment off and released the grip on her hand. "I guessed I should get going first then. Meeting my girlfriend for dinner." The next moment, Daesung was already packing his stuff, all ready to leave.

 

"Eh? A-Aren't you staying behind with me?" Yoona was afraid. This meant that she and Ji Yong were going to be left alone. Together. What made Daesung so confident that she would be able to convince Ji Yong anyway? Did Ji Yong tell him something behind her back?

 

"Don't worry! Nothing would happen. At least not today!" Daesung didn't give her any time to ponder nor react. By the time she snapped out of her thought, he was already at the door of the office, giving her his wide smile again and waving goodbye.

 

So,Yoona could only waved goodbye to him, smiling back reluctantly.

 

******

 

Yoona took a deep breath and tucked the loose tendrils behind her ears before knocking the door. She heard no response from the inside and so, opened the door and made her way in.

 

"Didn't I say not to disturb me? I would eat when I'm hungry. Just leave the food on the table." Without looking up, Ji Yong spoke up. When he heard no response, he looked up and replied frustratedly. "Yah. Why aren't you repl..." He stopped in the mid air when he saw Yoona standing near the door, hands intertwined together as she stood there uneasily. "Oh, it's you..." He looked back down at his documents, flipping through the papers.

 

"I-I, I heard that you had only slept two hours for consecutive days already..." Yoona tried to keep her voice steady, speaking slowly.

 

"Oh. That big mouth Kang Daesung." Ji Yong replied non-chalantly as he scanned through his documents."I'm fine. He is over exaggerating."

 

"It's time for you to rest. Leave these work for tomorrow..." Yoona had stood in front of him by now, putting her hands on his table, blocking his view.

 

"I said, I'm fine. You should leave." Ji Yong finally looked up at her, removing her hands away and continued to read his documents.

 

"Take a rest first. Then, I will go. I had promised Daesung-sshi to persuade you to take a rest." Yoona continued to rest her hands on top of his table, refusing to budge.

 

"Let me repeat one last time. I'm. F.I.N.E" This time, Ji Yong looked up, with a pair of dark eyes searing into her heart.

 

"Rest."

 

"Seriously, just leave! I don't need your sympathy!" Ji Yong gave up eventually and threw himself back against his chair and sighed deeply. "Didn't you say that you would have bad luck whenever you're around me? So, you should go. Go back to that warm house of yours."

 

"So? I'm not scared of the bad luck." Yoona retorted. She was angry at him for belittling her. Yet, her heart felt sour upon hearing his crude remarks. It was indeed that night that caused him to behave this way. Since this was so, all the more she shouldn't leave him alone here. Yoona plucked up her courage and walked towards him, touching his forehead. "No wonder you're so pale! You're running a fever! You need to rest!"

 

"You really should go. I would bring you bad luck. I'm a jinx." Ji Yong shrugged off her hands coldly and looked away.

 

"Like I said, I'm not scared." Yoona pouted. "You need to take medication."

 

"Really? You're not scared of me? Are you sure?" Suddenly, Ji Yong stood up, walking towards her, with a pair of tired and dark eyes.

 

 

Yoona matched a step back with every step Ji Yong took. Finally, she was being pushed to the wall. A dead end.

 

 

"You're not scared of me? You're not afraid that I would do something to you?" Ji Yong placed both of his hands on the wall, leaning in towards her and whispered in a low tone.

 

"I-I... I'm not afraid." Even though Yoona's heart had begun a thunderous pace in her chest, she looked into his eyes and replied bravely. "You need to rest. You're running a fever."

 

"You ought to be afraid. Leave now. I'm really capable of doing anything." The warmth of his breath touched her cheeks and she shivered, gulping a little as he inched closer and closer.

 

"I'm. Not. Afraid. I would leave. Once you get your re..." Her voice trailed off as he leaned towards her. His face was so close to hers, their lips inches away from meeting.

 

 

Her heart began pounding in her ears and she wondered for a brief second why she wasn't pulling away at all. 

 

 

"That's what you said." All of a sudden, Ji Yong crushed his lips into her as her eyes widened with shock. She tried her might to push him away, but found her hands trapped there, tugging at the fabric of his jacket and eventually, unclenched her fist as her hands rested on his jacket. Their tongues started to interact as they stumbled towards the couch nearby. Ji Yong dropped them on the couch and took off his jacket while Yoona removed her 6-inch heels. As they continued to kiss passionately, Ji Yong lost balance, causing them to fall on the carpet floor, with Yoona on top of him.

 

 

"I'm sorry! I forgot that you're sick!" Yoona shouted in horror as she got up, touching Ji Yong's forehead immediately. "Gosh. You're running a high fever!"

 

"I already told you to leave... You should go back to Yunho Hyung...." Ji Yong pulled her down as he towered over her now.

 

"I'm not leaving until your fever had subsided." Yoona stared into his eyes as she replied. "I'm worried about you."

 

 

Ji Yong remained silent as he looked into her eyes. It was still the same pair of wide, doe eyes. The pair of eyes that he had fallen for. He leaned in and gave her a feather-like kiss on her lips. Yoona stared straight back at him and for that instance, her feelings went haywire. She lifted her head up and returned the kiss on his lips.

 

 

"Was that real?" Ji Yong asked. "Because I was real..." He replied with a hoarse voice and fell tiredly beside her.

 

 

Yoona got up instantly, regretting what she had just did. Was that an act of impulsiveness again? Or was there something more to it? She didn't know. Her body acted on her own accord. She looked at Ji Yong who now had his eyes closed as he rested one of his arms on his forehead. Yoona's eyes welled up with tears as she sat upright beside him.

 

 

"Real? If it was real, why did you choose to ask me to..."

 

"I regretted. I regretted deeply. I should have find you back. But I never did.... I gave up on someone who loved me, and I loved her too." Ji Yong cut her off. "Now, it's too late." He smirked. "But just now, seeing you being so worried about me, I knew you hadn't changed." He added on. "However, one thing had changed. You're now blissfully married. Having a life and a career of your own. You're living perfectly fine without me... This made me realised that, not finding you, was the right choice after all.... And, it was right for you to be afraid of me, to fear me... I felt like I'm a monster when I said those threatening words to you the other night..."

 

"Really? Did you know how much I had suffered during those days? These 4 years, I had been trying so hard to erase you from my memories. I spent my days crying in bed, living restlessly. I thought everything would be fine once I got married to Yunho Oppa... It was. But when I met you again in the chapel hall, everything just.... just crumbled... Like totally... I'm still the Im Yoona who l...." Yoona turned around to look at him, only to find out that he had fallen asleep.

 

"Why would I be scared and fear of you?" Yoona helped him up to the couch as he slept. "I'm still the clumsy Im Yoona who loved you..." Her eyes glistened with tears as she planted a light kiss on his forehead.

 

 

She picked up his jacket and covered him and headed to the pantry room to find a warm towel for him. She sighed as she cleaned his face with the towel, his features along the way. As she cleaned him up, a familiar shout was heard from outside.

 

"Kwon Ji Yong!"

 

Her heart lurched as she froze.

 

"You're right... Everything is too late now..." Yoona took a last look at Ji Yong, tears streaming down as she grabbed her bag, leaving the office quickly before the person comes in.

 

******

 

The sunlight seeped through the transparent glass windows and into the office. Ji Yong was awaken by the streaks of sunlight. He opened his eyes tiredly and was blinded by the strong light. He squinted his eyes as he adjusted to the sudden brightness. The moment his vision became clear, he was shocked to see a person right in front, smiling brightly at him.

 

"G-Gyuri?!" He croaked.

 

"Finally you're awake!" Gyuri exclaimed as she brushed her long blonde hair to the back. "If it weren't for the fact that you were sick, I swore that I would have long woke you up instead of sleeping on this stiff, hard and cold floor." Gyuri yawned tiredly as she stood up, stretching herself.

 

"Was yesterday night a dream? I thought I saw Yoona.... Why was it Gyuri now..." Ji Yong frowned as he mumbled to himself, recalling yesterday's incident.

 

"Yah. What were you mumbling about?" Gyuri narrowed her eyes, asking him.

 

"O-Oh! Nothing!" He chuckled nervously. "What time did you come?"

 

"I came in at around 10pm yesterday! But the moment I stepped into your office, I saw that your office lights were off and that you were lying here on the couch like a dead corpse with a towel on your forehead." Gyuri explained.

 

"Eh?" Ji Yong touched his forehead and found the towel that Gyuri had mentioned. A smile crept up to his face. Yesterday night wasn't a dream after all. It was real. It must had been Yoona.

 

"Yah! Did the fever burn your brain? Why are you smiling to yourself?!" Gyuri touched his forehead and asked worriedly.

 

"I'm fine!" He shrugged off her hand and stood up from the couch. "What brought you here anyway?" He walked towards the glass window as he stretched his body. "Weren't you suppose to be in America?"

 

"My flight landed yesterday night! Surprise! Of COURSE I had to come here! Today would be your first exhibition held in Seoul! I came to offer my support!" Gyuri squealed as she hugged him from the back. "I miss you so much!"

 

"Wow wow. Keep your hands to yourself lady~ I don't want your dear hubby to kill me." Ji Yong smirked as he pulled himself away from her. "Didn't Jay come back with you this time round?" He smiled as he sat down on his chair.

 

"Ahhh! He knows my heart only belongs to him~" Gyuri smiled as she sat in front of him. "Of course he did! We would never be apart for more than a day. He's resting in the hotel. Jetlagged~"

 

"Oh... How long are you guys going to stay this time round?" Ji Yong yawned as he packed the documents on his table while talking to her.

 

"Hmmm. Around 1 to 2 weeks I guess. It had been a while since I last came back. I want to show Jay my hometown..." Gyuri replied as she folded her arms across her chest. "Looks like you're still the same old Kwon Ji Yong?" She mocked. "I had never thought you would set up a company you know. My jaws nearly dropped when Daesunggie told me that you're in the office. I thought he was pulling a joke on me."

 

"Oh well. I still need to eat, right?" Ji Yong shrugged. "And besides, this office had been here for like ever already~ It was just that I never really tended to it. With Daesung's help now, I could just easily go travelling and leave the entire company to him. It's that simple."

 

"Tsk. The same old carefree Kwon Ji Yong~" She smirked. "I think Jay should be awake by now. I should get going already. See you later at the exhibition okays?" Gyuri stood up and gave Ji Yong a friendly hug.

 

"Yeahs. See you in a bit." Ji Yong smiled and returned the hug. "It's good to see you again after so long, Gyuri."

 

******

 

I'm sorry that I couldn't be here with you on this special day! I promise to be right there once I'm done with the meeting. But, here is my gift for you! Yoona ah, Hwaiting! You would do just fine. Saranghae~

 

Yunho<3

 

The corner of Yoona's lips twitched into a gentle smile as she read the card. She took the box from the servant and opened it up. Laid perfectly folded inside was a champagne, silky fabric. She drew it out of the box and shook it out, revealing its true glory. She wore it and looked into the mirror. Her eyes shone brightly as she looked at her reflection. It was an elegant piece of mini dress with two spaghetti straps. It was simple and plain, having a small bow attached at the back of her waist. Her hair was braided neatly and a pair of simple silver-hearted earrings finished her style off. She looked into the mirror and touched it, tracing the features. She gave a bitter smile. Yunho was so good to her. He knew what she wanted. He would always be there for her. Loving her, adoring her... She really shouldn't have thought that much. Just forget about carving a career on her own. Just focus and be a good wife to him. She needed to move on. Last night was a dream. A dream that she hoped she would never dreamt of again... She must moved on.

 

She took a deep breath and walked away from the mirror. She braced herself up and grabbed her car keys, heading towards the exhibition. Today is the day. Once this is accomplished, she would be back to being the Im Yoona. The wife of Jung Yunho. She would cut off all ties from Kwon Ji Yong.

 

******

 

/Oppa!/

 

/Oh! Yoona ah! Did Aunty Kim pass you the dress? I specifically told her to only hand it to you when it reached morning. I don't want you to feel burden by it. But I just wanted to give you something. To spur you on./

 

/She always follows your order well~ I'm wearing it now! Currently on the way to the exhibition. I'm so nervous! How I wish you are here with me now! Wonder if anyone would buy my artpiece.../

 

/Ahh. I would be there as soon as my meeting is over alrights. And don't worry! It would turn out fine! My wife is a capable artist. Is there anything else that I could do for you?/

 

/Oppa! Don't make me blush! Only you would think that I'm talented~ Oh right. Spare me a week of your time after this project of yours. I want to go for a make-up honeymoon!/

 

/Chinjia? I thought you would never ask for it! Where do you want to go?/

 

/Hmmm. Rome! Heard that it is a romantic place~ Suitable for couples./

 

/Araso. Rome it shall be./

 

/Oppa, you won't be buying my artpiece just to please me right? I don't want you to waste the money alrights!/

 

/Hmmm. Why hadn't I thought of it? This is a good idea. I'm going to ask Lee Bi Su to help me buy it down./

 

/Mwuh? You can't do that Oppa!!!/

 

/Wow wow. Calm down~ I'm just joking with you. I know you wouldn't want such gifts. I wouldn't dare to risk my life you know./

 

/Pfttt~ Araso araso. I'm reaching th exhibition centre soon. All the best for your meeting later! Hwaiting!/

 

/All the best to you too! I would rush over once I'm done with here. Love you!/

 

/Neh!/

 

 

Yoona drove into one of the parking lots and pulled the brakes. She gave one final look at the rear mirror and smiled, tucking the loose strand of hair behind her ear. With a deep intake of breath, she grabbed her bag and got out of the car, walking into the exhibition centre.

 

******

 

"Wow! Yoona-sshi! You look stunning!" Daesung was already waiting by the entrance, mouth wide open with surprise.

 

"Of course~ I always knew she's stunning~ I have a great taste in picking friends." Seungri too, was standing beside Daesung, shrugging his shoulders as he extended both of his arms out.

 

"Ahh. Thank you Daesung-sshi." Yoona smiled as she nodded shyly. "Save that Lee Seungri. You're just praising yourself." She gave Seungri an affectionate hug and rolled her eyes. "But still, thank you for coming. This means a lot to me."

 

"Anything for you~" Seungri gave her a warm smile.

 

******

 

Though she was supposed to be the main lead for today, Yoona found herself having nothing to do at all. There was even a point of time when she nearly fell asleep on the chair due to boredom. There weren't many things she could do, apart from smiling and did some ushering of guests when Daesung and Seungri were too busy entertaining the guests. She decided to walk around and take a look at the exhibition.

 

She strolled along the aisle and her gaze was fixed at the different photos hung nicely on the plastered white walls. Yoona was amazed by the photographs. There were some coloured ones, some sepia, and some just black and white. The photos were all taken so nicely. Each and every photo had its own beauty in it. They were simple, yet mesmerizing in their own way. There was a particular photograph that caught her eyes. She stopped in her step and looked deeply into it. It depicted a young child. He was awfully thin and haggard, but yet, his face hung a huge smile, his eyes seemed to be gleaming with delight. Yoona smiled to herself and stretched her hands out to touch the photograph. It looked so real to her. It taught her something. Be strong no matter what happens. Yoona then noticed that there was a caption at the bottom of the photo. It read, 'Brave the terrains. Wear a smile.' She gaped. The owner of this photo was none other than Kwon Ji Yong. In fact, all the photos that she had seen just now, were all taken by him personally. She awed in amazement. Despite years passed, his photography skill was still as polished as ever.

 

 

"Yoona-sshi?" The usual orotund voice was heard and Yoona looked up. "A penny for your thoughts?"

 

"Daesung-sshi! Anniyo. Just looking at the photographs. They were all well-taken..." Yoona smiled. "Is there something I could help out? I felt so bad. You're doing all the job of entertaining the guests while I'm here, enjoying myself with these photos."

 

"Ahhh. Anniyo. This is my job. If not, my boss would kill me." He let out a hearty chuckle. "Oh right. Ji Yong is doing an introduction on your artpiece to the guests. You can do me a favour by letting the guests see this talented and gorgeous artist. Or at least go take a look at it."

 

"Awww. You flattered me, Daesung-sshi!" Yoona blushed. "Hmmm.. Okays. Where is he?"

 

"Here. Follow me."

 

******

 

Together, Daesung and Yoona made their way to her artpiece. Yoona decided to stop just a few metres away from the crowd and Ji Yong. She had specifically requested beforehand that she didn't want to be in the limelight. Hence, Ji Yong had took over the place of introducing her artwork. She was amazed by his looks, his gestures. He was still the same. Serious in his work no matter what had got into him. Ji Yong seemed to have notice her as he talked to the guests, while looking in her direction, giving her a slight nod. Yoona responded by replying him with a polite smile.

 

"Thank you all for coming today. It meant so much to me. This is my first exhibition in Seoul. Be it my friends, businessman, or even pure art lovers, I welcome you here to this art exhibition today." Ji Yong took a light bow as everyone clapped. "This event is being held to raise funds for the needy kids as you had known. And now, I'm going to present this artpiece drawn by this particular artist. She wasn't exactly a popular artist and neither did she have any honourable certificates or awards for her artpieces. You must be wondering why would I employ such a person if she wasn't a big character. She possessed the one thing that I don't see it in other famous artists. And that is, the pure heart. The pure heart that is able to see through the eyes of the innocent children..." He paused for a moment before continuing. "I personally liked this artpiece alot. And I hope you would enjoy it too. Without further a do, I shall present you, 'The Simplest Love', by Im Yoona." He ended his short speech and with a pull on the string, the curtain opened, revealing Yoona's artwork.

 

 

The whole exhibition went silent for a moment. Everyone kept their eyes fixed on the artwork. It was beautiful. There wasn't any fanciful colours. Just a pure sketch. It portrayed a mother and a baby. The mother was leaning in towards the baby, planting a light kiss on his forehead. Though, the baby looked really small and malnutritioned and the body was attached to tubes, his eyes were wide and seemed to be shining in excitement and happiness. The most important part, was the smile on the mother's face. It was so bright and infectious. With one look at it, you could tell the love, the adoration and the hope the mother had for the baby. It was simple, but yet, it was screaming out the meaning to everyone. The simplest love on earth: Motherly Love. No hatred, no complications, no motives. Just the pure love a mother bore for her child...

 

As everyone was staring at Yoona's artpiece, Yoona on the other hand, was actually staring at the photographs around it. They too, were in black and white, with absolutely no colours in them. Ji Yong had told her before that he would be taking photos of her drawing the artpiece to go along with her work, but she didn't pay any attention to it. She didn't even know when was all these photos taken. They were all snapshots of her drawing on pieces of papers. Natural shots as he always called. It was all taken in amazing angles. He even managed to capture the scene where she was tired and fell asleep amongst the sketches, not to mention when she creased her brows due to the lack of inspirations. How on earth could he capture such unglam images and developed them into such gorgeous, flawless ones? He is simply a genius.

 

"I guess I need not do further explanations, do I? The author was just trying to show the love that every mother carries, for her baby. Be it in health or sickness, this love would never change. The simplest love on earth; The Motherly Love." After awhile, he spoke up again. "To be honest, I too, had been a father before... Had been. But I didn't treasure the chance...I lost it. I lost my child. I lost the love of my life. This is why... I regret. I'm sure that I would bring this regret down together with me. Even till the day I die... The artist, she was trying to remind everyone that, children, are the most innocent person on earth... Under no circumstances should you abandon them. Thank you." At last, he gave a 90-degree bow at the audience and the whole audience erupted into thunderous claps. Some people even had teary eyes after hearing his story. Yoona froze in her spot. She swore that she saw tears glistening in his eyes but as he turned his back against the audience and quickly wiped them away. Why was he even crying? Didn't he not want the child? Had he regretted his decision already? Most importantly, how did he manage to decipher the real meaning behind this drawing? She didn't have a collection of her teling him about the history of this artpiece. So....

 

 

It reminded her of the past once again. The time when their thoughts always clicked...

 

 

"What are you looking at?" Yoona wrapped her arms around Ji Yong's neck from behind.

 

"The photos I had just taken. Take a look at this." Ji Yong smiled as he continued to look at the LCD screen of his camera. "I'm going to give it a name once I developed it."

 

"What name?"

 

"Make a guess?"

 

"Hmm... There must be a reason why you would take this picture.. There were so many people around, but yet, you focus on this particular girl. Her expression seemed to be more of a worried, anxiety and troubled one... There were guys all around her too... If I were to give it a name, I would name it... Intricate Hearts." Yoona sat down beside him and pouted, tapping her finger against her chin and thought hard before giving her opinion. "There were so many expressions on each and every of their faces. It's hard to tell what their hearts are really thinking about."

 

"What's wrong with you? Anything happen?" She raised her eyebrows when Ji Yong suddenly pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly.

 

"Nothing. I just wonder how on earth could our mind be so alike. Intricate hearts... That's what I thought of too.." Ji Yong tightened his embrace and rubbed her shoulders.

 

"Because, we're meant to be. Pabo..." Yoona smiled and closed her eyes as she laid her head comfortably on his chest. That was the happiest moment in her life. Spending time with her beloved; Kwon Ji Yong.

 

They always shared the same thoughts, as unspoken as it was...

 

 

"Yoona-sshi?" She felt a light tap on her shoulder and she looked up, wiping away the tears in her eyes with the back of her hands quickly and gave a weak smile.

 

"Neh?"

 

"Yoona ah... Mind if I call you that?" Daesung gave her a smile as he leaned against the railing beside her.

 

"Sure. I had been wanting to tell you to do that. You're a year older than me. You can drop the honorifics." Yoona smiled. 

 

"You were the girl that he missed right? You were the love who Ji Yong had lost... Right?" Daesung turned to look at the crowd as he spoke. "As much as both of you were trying to hide this fact, it's just too... too obvious." He continued as she remained silent. "Don't get me wrong. I wasn't trying to into your issue and neither did he tell me anything about you. I know things changed as time passes. Sometimes, time would heal wound. While sometimes, even after years gone by, the scar would still be vivid. You're an awesome girl and I'm really glad to have known you. A piece of advice: If you really can't let go, maybe you should take a step back, and observe carefully. Perhaps, there might just be another easier way out."

 

Daesung gave her an encouraging pat on her shoulder and strided away with his hands in his pocket. That was all he could say. The rest, was up to her. Up to Ji Yong. Up to fate.

 

******

 

"Yoona!" She was lost in her own world as she felt a familiar pair of warm hands around her waist. She turned back and gave a warm smile.

 

"Oh. Oppa~ Finished your work?" 

 

"Yeahs. You look lethargic. Are you alrights?" Yunho grinned, showing his set of pearly white teeth as he carcassed her face.

 

"Yeahs. I'm fine. Just a little tired." She replied with a weak smile. "I'm almost done here. Should we have lunch somewhere?"

 

"Sounds good to me. It seems ages ago that we last ate together."

 

"Ahhh. You're exaggerating again~ Alrights. Let me grab my bag and inform Daesung-sshi and Seungri first." Yoona broke away from the hug and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I'll meet you at the entrance."

 

******

 

After bidding goodbye to Daesung and Seungri, Yoona walked towards the entrance to meet Yunho. As she was about to call out to Yunho, she stopped. Her face turned pale and went parched as she saw who Yunho was speaking to.

 

"G-Gyuri..." Her voice quivered in fear...