Min Ho didn’t notice how long they had been standing that close only to realize that when he felt his back was stained with wet tears.

Is Shin Hye crying? Why?

He lift one of his hand and gently grabbed her tightly wrapped hands on his waist. He then shifted his body a little and turned to face her when she loosened her grid on him. He then slowly lift her chin to confirm whether she was really crying. When he saw her tear-stained cheeks, he became confuse.

“Why are you crying?” He faintly asked while caressing her smooth cheeks. He didn’t sure whether he was wiping out her tear or he just wanted to caress her cheeks.

“I felt sorry for you, Orabeoni. I felt pity for you.” She started to cry out loud as tears continue pouring out from her beautiful big doe eyes.

“Yahh….. Ha..ha..ha…” Min Ho let out a laugh which was mixed with both amuse and disbelief. “Even if you are sorry for me, you don’t need to cry like this. Look at you! You look exactly like a crying baby.”

Shin Hye finished her crying with a shallow sniff and glared at him with pouty face. “I’m also sorry for making you feel the painful past all over again. Orabeoni, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t insist on inquiring about your past. You must have befogged by me.”

Min Ho teasingly commented her while flicking her forehead with his finger. “To say with your words, ‘It was super stressful’.”

Shin Hye smiled at his wittiness. Then she became solemn and looked at him with sympathetic eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to. Though I’m telling you about my past story according to our deal, the real reason of telling you about my past is I want you to understand that do not consider of only you was lonely, only you was hurt, only you was miserable and only you was heartbroken. I don’t want to see you engulfed yourself in such doleful life.” He put her hair strings which was falling on her face behind her ears and then gently grabbed her shoulders. “Everybody faces with their heartbroken stories in their own ways. This is the only one thing I want you to realize. It will get better with time passing through. When time passes, it won’t matter anymore. You have to differentiate painfulness and your ambition in two different ways.”

“Are you sure.... it will get better with time passing through?” Shin Hye asked while staring at him with contemplative eyes.

“Of course.” Min Ho answered without hesitation.

“Then why are you sending a bouquet to Chae Won eonnie after passing for five long years?” Shin Hye complained back at him.

“Yah… will you stop bringing up about this incident after seeing accidently for one time?” Min Ho released her shoulders and ran his fingers into his hairs with frustration.

“I am just wanted to dispute that it isn’t nothing after time passing. You had loved with your whole heart and you haven’t finished hurting…. Yet.” Shin Hye let out a depressed sigh and looked at him solemnly. “Orabeoni, why mothers are always horrible in this world?”

Min Ho laughed at her childish comment.

“Not every mother is horrible like this.”

“But Wonnie’s mother said me that I would never graduate from high school because I am gadabout and airheaded. And I am an easy girl because I loved her son back without thinking twice. I am a who came from a complex and broken family as both my parents are with their respective next marriages.” Shin Hye said with pissed off tone. Then she looked at him with a mixture of defensive and confused expression. “Both my mother and my father remarried with their respective own choice and own will. It has nothing to do with me, hasn't it? And it is not my fault that they divorced and decided to split the family once they built together. It is not my fault I come from a broken family. Of course, their family trees always proud that they could keep their marriage life happy and strengthened. I can definitely say that their marriage may strengthened but about being a happy family or not, have to asked Wonnie’s father. All I can see is, his father was totally whipped by her mother and couldn’t dare to move under her control.” Shin Hye let out a annoyed scoff.

“Meo?” Min Ho crackled at her words and asked. “How do you know he was whipped and how can you sure that their marriage didn’t contain happiness?”

“Of course…. I knew. I heard Wonnie said often that his mother had a habit of chasing his father company and keeping an eye on him whenever she heard something fishy. Though his father strived to make their company successful, but he couldn’t dare to say a single against word to his wife. No wonder Wonnie was afraid of his mother; he totally takes after his father. There are so many wrinkles on his father forehead both horizontally and verticelly because he always frown his forehead out of pressure and stress given by his wife. Like this….” Shin Hye tiptoed her feet to show her frowned forehead which was creased forming wrinkles.

Min Ho flicked her forehead with his knuckle and laughed. “Stop doing nonsense.”

Shin Hye stretched out her tongue to him and laughed along with him.              

“But….. By the way, your boyfriend’s mother disparaged you that badly saying you are too stupid to graduate from high school, why don’t you have urge to graduate to prove her wrong? Didn’t you have any self-esteem?”

“Because I have self-esteem, I don’t want to graduate from high school.” Shin Hye answered without hesitation.

“Meo? I don’t understand.” Min Ho asked blankly.

“Orabeoni….”

“Wae?”

“I once told you that one day, I would tell you about why I don’t want to graduate from high school.”

“I remember. So, what?”

 “That ajima claimed one thing while she searched our home and came to disparage me that if an air-headed like me could graduate from high school, she swore that she would let her son immediately married me at the day of graduation.” Shin Hye face was tense with embitterment. “So, I declared Wonnie that his mother would immediately arrange the marriage between him and me when I graduated. That why I won’t never be graduated from high school.”

Min Ho shook his head firmly with disagreement. His face was obviously hardened with frustration and pissed.

“Pabo yah……. Didn’t you know this make you lose again and again? You’ve done a mistake Shin Hye yah. In your opinion, you purposely failing the exam and giving up to graduate is because you want to show your boyfriend and his mother that you didn’t want to marry him.”

“Of course! I don’t want to marry him and even hate to marry him because of his mother would arrange the marriage.” Shin Hye nodded actively.

“That kind of thought makes you lose again Shin Hye yah. Didn’t you notice that you have been ruining your life because of that ajima. This is not revenging her. The actual revenge means you should graduate the high school with excellent result and told her in face that even you graduate and even she let her son marry you, you wouldn’t accept him and dump him right in front of her. That kind of revenge is the actual wining for you.” Min Ho said with full of dudgeon.

Shin Hye became silently deep into thought and solemn after hearing his words.

“If I were you, I would search a profit from the lost. That is the actual meaning of living Shin Hye yah. If you didn’t do anything to fight against the lost, how could you escape from its engulfment?” Min Ho continued when he saw Shin Hye didn’t response him and processing his advice. His voice was now soft and full of adoration.

“Orabeoni… Have you repaid the money to Chae Won eonnie’s mother?” After a short silent, Shin Hye looked at him and asked slowly.

“They didn’t accept the money. So, I repay their money in my own way. I gave a full scholarship to students who are difficult to continue their education because of financial problem. I heard that there are two students from their closed relatives who received my scholarship these years. I also announced that I will help them to complete their education because of Chae Won’s mother relatives. At first, I didn’t know they were her relatives. Though they are Chae Won’s mother relatives but they came from an ordinary family status. They are very happy and grateful because of full scholarship for the whole education fees.”

Shin Hye face was glowing with bright smile while listing to Min Ho words.

“Orabeoni… Jjang! Your method is really cool and brilliant. Didn’t they know about that? Especially that haughty ajima.”

“They probably knew, I guess.”

“Actually, they had faced a financial problem four years ago. I guess may be around the next year you broke up with Chae Won eonnie.”

“Really?..... Why?”

“Sang Joong ajussi was accused of selling narcotic drugs to some of the artists in his company and arrested for a few months. It was purposely framed by his rival company and though they sure about that Sang Joong ajussi was trapped, they didn’t have strong evidences to prove him innocent. Harabeoji request his juniors to help Sang Joong ajussi and harabeoji himself help them searched many beneficial clues to prove him innocent. After Sang Joong ajussi released from the incident, they were very grateful to harabeoji and we have been closed since then.”

Min Ho nodded with surprised. He didn’t know these incidents at all.

“Though Sang Joong ajussi was proved innocent, his company stock shares were dropped and they had faced a financial crisis. A lot of artists ended their contrasts and moved to the other companies. I think because of facing such difficulties, Hwi Hyung ajima reduced her hubris and didn’t haughty like before. But I heard that Chae Won eonnie was in an arranged marriage with second son of chae-bol family.”

“Isn’t the second heir of Song business groups?” Min Ho asked with a soft smile.

“Eo? Orabeoni ….. how do you know about it?” Shin Hye asked with surprised.

“I’ve seen them together at the restaurants a couple of times.” Min Ho answered calmly.

Shin Hye carefully observed his face and said hesitantly. She didn’t want to tell the thing that he might felt uncomfortable.

“I think Chae Won eonnie didn’t much anticipate in this arrangement.”

“It doesn’t matter whether she anticipate it or not, Shin Hye yah.” He said as if he didn’t bother it at all.

Shin Hye was confused by his expression and his words. Shouldn’t he felt something about this news? Didn’t he pretend unaffected? But his expression didn’t look like he was pretending or concealing anything? Shin Hye stared deep into his eyes with thoroughly while looking for his truth feeling.

“But ….. What about that day……..” She uttered with uncertainty.

“It was just ……… some kind of comforting myself, until I couldn’t forget the relationship I was treasured before. This feeling …….. I think you can understand me.” Min Ho said while looking back to Shin Hye curious eyes.

Shin Hye lips slightly curled up and her curious eyes changed to sympathetic gaze when Min Ho gave the most honest answer. Of course she could understand.

Until one day……… she also could forget ……..

…………………………………………

When Min Ho slowly parked his car at the river sideway, he saw Shin Hye stood up from the bench she sat before and rashly ran toward him. When she reached at his side, she didn’t even wait for him to get off and leaned herself into the car window and smiled widely at him.

“I thought you wouldn’t come today.”

“I promise you to come, Shin Hye yah. When did I fail to keep my promise?” Min Ho smiled back to her and opened the door to get off from the car. Shin Hye grinned and stepped back a little to give him some space to open the car and get off.

It was Min Ho who first suggested Shin Hye to do some exercises outdoor since she wasn’t able to do any special excises these days because of her busy schedule for both work and study. Shin Hye insisted that she would do the jogging along the Han River if Min Ho ran together with her every morning. At first, Min Ho protested as the place he lived has to come a long way to the Han River and he also have to attend the students’ assembly at school once a week. But he couldn’t refuse her cajole and puppy eyes lately and agree to run with her six days a week in the morning. Their relationship became closer than ever after the day he revealed his past story also his wounded and vulnerable heart.

“You are late for almost fifteen minutes.” Shin Hye complained him while showing her wrist watch in front of his face.

“I’m sorry. I watch the time with mistake.” Min Ho said softly.

Then they jogged along the side way of the river leisurely. The place was a bit isolated compare to the other parts of the river side way. They decided to choose this place because of Shin Hye’s popular status as a singer. There are only a few elderly couples who were doing light exercises.

“Orabeoni….”

“Wae?”

“Why don’t you wear the purple sport shirt I bought you last week?” Shin Hye asked with pursing her lips.

Min Ho smiled at her and answered with awkward. “It is too beautiful and too lustred. I kinda felt I didn’t match with that color. I’m too old to wear such color and design.”

“Eo!!! What is wrong with you? Orabeoni……. You are only thirty years old for god sake. Why are you acting like an old ajissi? Other men in your age still wear the design which is more hotter than the shirt I bought for you. Come on…… Orabeoni….. Wear it, okay?”

“And………”

“And …. What?”

“You also have similar design and color shirt……”

“So………?”

“I am afraid that when I wore it, we might end up wearing together.”

“What is problem with that?”

“Yah………. It is embarrassing because it was like a couple shirts.” Min Ho said with awkward expression.

Shin Hye smiled amusedly inward and looked at him with a cute glare. “I don’t see any embarrassment about it. Then…… Let’s do like this. I will inform you when the day I wore that shirt. You can avoid that day and wear it the next day.” Shin Hye voice was filled with sweetness and temptation.

Min Ho averted his sight from her beautiful face. He realized that after that day, they became closer and the bonding between them became stronger with days by days. Sometime he noticed that their conservation and communication are no longer in the category of teacher-student