Yongsun sat in a bus stop zoning out for almost the entire afternoon. Watching at the random vehicles that were driving past her, at the passengers who alighted and went up the buses. She gave a quick text to Wheein prior, informing her that she needed to be alone for a while.

Her phone rang, it was Byulyi. Yongsun stared at her caller ID and hesitated. She inhaled a deep breath and answered the call.

“Are you still at the company?” Byulyi asked, her tone informed Yongsun that Byulyi wasn’t aware of what happened.

“No… I’m at…” Yongsun looked around her for a moment. “Lotte mall.” She lied.

“What are you doing? Shopping?” A genuine concern in Byulyi’s tone asking about her day somehow made Yongsun’s heart ached even more. 

“…Yeah” Yongsun lied once again.

“What did you buy? Can I expect something?” Byulyi joked softly.

“Sorry, there’s nothing here that matches up to you…” Yongsun responded soullessly.

As though Byulyi could feel the change in Yongsun’s tone, she quickly changed the topic as well. “I’m accompanying some clients to dinner tonight, afterwards I’ll be free. Can we meet?”

“…” Yongsun didn’t know how to answer, she was lost for a moment.

“Yong? You still there?”

“Oh, yeah sure!” Yongsun replied quickly, her heartbeat was beating fast.

“What would you like to do after we meet?” Byulyi asked in a tone which somehow made Yongsun calm again.

Looking at the building opposite her, there was an advertisement for the current movie that was in the theatres. Disney’s Aladdin

“I want to watch a movie, Aladdin. I’ve been hearing good reviews about it.” Yongsun didn’t know what mentality was she in, but it somehow was intended to give Byulyi to be in a difficult situation.

As expected, there was some hesitation in Byulyi as soon as she heard it. However, she answered immediately with a reply, “Sure, wait for my call tonight.”

Yongsun thought Byulyi would suggest something else, however her answer was beyond Yongsun’s expectations. Does Byulyi really dare to go to the movies with Yongsun? Like an ordinary couple, sitting shoulder to shoulder in the cinema, eating and spilling popcorn all over themselves, laughing together with the entire cinema about the story plot, if there’s gore Yongsun could scream and lie in Byulyi’s embrace.

Really? Yongsun thought hard about it to herself. Wasn’t she making things difficult for Byulyi on purpose? Do they really not have to be careful of the lens that might be still hidden in the dark? Tears silently flowed down from her eyes, down to her cheeks.

Yongsun continued sitting at the bus stop with an empty stomach, looking at the skies that was slowly turning dark. Through her teary eyes Yongsun watched the sun fall behind the horizon, painting the sky shades of red and pink. The red evening is like the love that she could not find a way out, which would then gradually disappear into the dark skies.

***

At 8pm, Byulyi called and claimed that she was nearby the mall.

“Where are you? I’ll pick you up.” Byulyi asked.

“It’s alright, I’m nearby. I’ll meet you outside the cinema.”

As Yongsun reached the entrance of the cinema, she saw long queues at the ticket office. There were couples and many other people, queuing and chatting loudly. She caught sight of someone familiar.

“Yongsun-ssi!” Chandong stood by near the entrance to the cinema and waved towards Yongsun.

Yongsun walked over and greeted him with a smile.

“Miss Moon is waiting for you inside the hall, hurry up and go in. The movie is about to start!” Chandong quipped excitedly.

Yongsun nodded and quickly headed in. The staff didn’t check for her ticket and ushered her in towards a cinema hall. From an environment filled with light suddenly thrown in a dark environment, Yongsun suddenly couldn’t see anything but darkness. Suddenly someone turned her around by her shoulders, stuffed a plastic package into her hands, she could smell the freshness of roses.

As she turned around, Yongsun felt a breath coming towards her lips, her scent, was always breathtaking.

Yongsun pretended to lower her head unintentionally, avoiding her kiss. Byulyi wasn’t offended, she held Yongsun’s hand. “Where do you want to sit? The front, back or in the middle?”

At this point of time, Yongsun’s eyes gradually adapted to the darkness. She saw Byulyi’s smiling face, she saw the roses in her hand, and then she saw the empty screening hall except the both of them.

Feeling confused, Yongsun can’t help but to ask. “What’s going on?”

“I’ve reserved the entire hall.” Byulyi replied calmly. She then smiled once again as she looked at Yongsun. “Choose a seat?”

Yongsun should be happy right? Her partner is that rich to be able to reserve the entire hall with her, just to have a normal date with her. It should have been any woman’s dream, those who know about it would have been gossiping about how envious they are towards Yongsun, how she’s being doted on.

Yet who would actually know that what Yongsun wanted was to be like any other normal couple, to be in a crowded cinema hall with other people, even if they had to sit in the first row tilting their head for the entire show it’s also considered a blessing to Yongsun.

Yongsun looked at Byulyi and smiled. “Anywhere is fine.”

Byulyi grabbed hold of Yongsun’s hands and led her towards the middle of the hall. Awhile later Chandong came to them with a big bucket of popcorn, a cup of cola and swiftly dismissed himself.

Through the first half of the show, Yongsun can’t help but to constantly notice her surroundings. It was a romantic film, yet her surroundings were empty. There were no couples hugging each other beside her, there were no couples in front of her kissing each other. The scenarios she used to see before last time in a romantic film was totally different right now. All she saw were empty rows, an empty hall, it was extremely weird.

Just as the main leads hugged each other and a sweet melody was played as the background music, Yongsun could feel Byulyi’s hands held hers gently. As she turned to face Byulyi, she could see that Byulyi was almost coming in for a kiss.

Abruptly, Yongsun quickly turned away. “It’s not nice, I’m tired. I wanna go home.” As soon as she finished her words, Yongsun stood up and headed for the exit. The bouquet of roses that was left beside her seat, Yongsun seemed to inadvertently forgot about it.

Byulyi did not object, she followed behind Yongsun silently.

As they reached the carpark in front of Byulyi’s car, looking at how tinted her windows were, Yongsun suddenly had a realisation. She finally realised why did Byulyi changed her car, she also just realised, why did Byulyi stopped turning up at the Starbucks near her company.

As they rode along a wide road, neither of them said a word to each other for a while.

After what seemed a long time, Byulyi broke the silence. “What happened today?”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t lie to me. Something must have happened today.”

“Nothing.” Yongsun replied. 

Suddenly Byulyi jerked on her brakes as she stopped the car by the road side, she pulled the handbrake and turned towards Yongsun.

“What happened exactly?” 

“I said there’s nothing.” Yongsun insisted.

“What did you hear?” Byulyi persisted.

“…” Yongsun turned her head towards the window, choosing to look outside instead.

The silence made Byulyi even more sure that something happened. “Yongsun, regardless what happened you should say it and let me know."

“Why should I say it? Why should I let you know?” Yongsun turned back to face Byulyi, her expression firm.

“Because I should be the one you trust the most.”

“Am I to you?” Yongsun asked in a sharp tone.

“Of course.” Byulyi replied without any hesitation.

The confidence in Byulyi’s tone was so strong that it made Yongsun angry. “Why did you change your car? Why are your windows so tinted?” Yongsun asked.

“I’ve always wanted to change to this brand. Privacy, everyone else have their windows tinted.”

“Not totally tinted Byulyi, I can’t even see whether it’s a good weather because it always looked like it’s gonna rain. Why did you stopped coming to my company’s Starbucks?”

“I do not have the time, I’m sorry.”

“Why did you reserve the entire cinema hall?”

“I thought you liked watching without any disturbance.”

All of Byulyi’s response were smooth, as though it was the natural right answer. Yongsun was annoyed and spit out furiously. “You’re full of excuses. You just didn’t want to be blackmailed!”

Byulyi was stunned on the spot, it took a few seconds for her to react. “You already knew, who told you?”

“Whoever told me about it, it’s not important. The important thing is you’ve never mentioned anything about it to me from the beginning to the end. Is this the trust you had in me?”

“These kinds of matter, there's no need for you to know, it’s none of your business.” There was no guilt except firmness in Byulyi’s reply.

“None of my business? Those photos had me in it, there were all about me, about the two of us. How can you say that it’s none of my business? It was because of me that you were blackmailed, because the two of us are just a pair of couple that’s committing adultery. That’s right, I’m the shameless one, I’m the one that made you commit adultery...”

Yongsun started to falter in her words. “And that is why, they blackmailed you, that is why, you’re forced to a wall, you had to bring out 1 million USD to shut them! How could you say that there was no need for me to know…? How could you say that it’s none of my business!” Yongsun erupted with anger, with her whole anger in herself she screamed at Byulyi.

“Kim Yongsun!” Byulyi shouted back in an attempt to stop Yongsun.

Yongsun shut , but continued looking at Byulyi in anger. Only in her anger, she could have the courage to continue facing Byulyi.

Byulyi’s looks weren’t that good either. “It’s not necessary for you to say such words. I have my considerations, I didn’t hide it from you on purpose.”

“It’s not only not necessary to say such words, the whole relationship between us, it’s not even necessary!” Yongsun refuted back, her pride creeping back silently. Her career made her resistant to malicious comments, and also to easily shoot back at people with sarcasms. 

“Who told you about it? Hyunkyu? Did he tell you about it?” Byulyi insisted on knowing, she took out her phone, her face in arrogance wanting to dial his number and question him.

Yongsun didn’t want to hide, she told Byulyi frankly. “It was your father. I met him while I was leaving the company. He called me to his office.”

Upon hearing that it was her father, Byulyi’s arrogance fell. She stopped whatever she was trying to do with her phone, and put it back in her pocket. She looked forward in silence.

After a long pause, Yongsun heard herself using a very calm voice talking to Byulyi. “Let’s end things here, face the reality, we don’t have to let ourselves to be in such pain. The start of this cause was because of me, the responsibility is me, let me end this.”

There was no answer, Yongsun could only hear Byulyi’s breathing, it was heavy and depressing.

Yongsun didn’t dared to look at Byulyi, she continued looking outside the window and continued. “I’ve never thought of having a future with you, I’ve never expected that one day you would leave Sanduel and be with me openly. All the more I have no hope that I will be part of the Moon family, live a life of wealth. I was just stupid to think that, since we like each other, then let’s like each other, it’s none of anyone else’s business. But I’m wrong, how could it not have any business to do with someone else? I’m was just deceiving myself. And that is why, I regret now, I’m out of this, let’s end this, can we?”

There was still no response. Yongsun plucked up her courage, she turned to look at Byulyi.

Her expression looked pained under the streetlights, Yongsun once again saw the feint scars on the back of Byulyi’s hand as she laid her hand on the steering wheel.

“Did my father, asked you to leave me?” Byulyi’s vocal was hoarse.

“No, he did not. He only asked us to be careful of the impact afterwards. He only asked me to not mess up your work, he only asked me not to force you, not to make you unable to raise your head proudly in the world of business.” Yongsun said out these words smoothly, as though it didn’t matter to her. The whole of afternoon it had been swirling in her mind, in her heart a countless of times.

“So, you lost confidence in me?”

“No. I’ve never had any confidence in the first place, I thought I could love you silently, and loved by