“ I once had a thousand desires
But in my one desire to know you all else melted away”

                                                        - Rumi

Seven days...
 

The words repeat over and over in Nam Ji Hyun's mind. She looks at the eyes before her and suddenly she is back on Jeju again and still a naive young girl who knew nothing about love. But then a tall stranger had came and looked into her eyes and within days she had been lost in him.

Seven days sounded so little but a whole universe could collide in that time.
 

JiHyun stares at the little Gingko leaf in her hand. Perhaps she should say yes. For his sake, so that this time they could part without any bitterness.  If the thought that she would be left broken again made her heart ache, she tried to ignore it. Because the alternative was too terrifying. There could be no escaping the dilemma she'd face if he came back into her life for good. She needed to buy some time to think.

"Ji Chang Wook-shi," he seems to bristle again, but in truth they had become strangers and she could not address him as otherwise, "I... I have to think about this. As I mentioned I have school and also work-"

"I can stay here"

"No!" she blurts out in panic. "What I mean is, I can't just drop everything for seven days. And I find it hard to believe you can free up that much of your time."

He frowns but doesn't dispute that.

"Let me just think about this," she reasons , "And anyhow, it's not clear to me. What would you want to do in seven days?" she asks.

"You," he says solemnly.

JiHyun's looks up with alarm. Had he just said? Did he mean....? His face doesn't give anything away; but she knows she hadn't misheard.
 

"I...  No!" she bristles, getting up, "If you think I'm-  If you think last night makes me an easy woman..."

He sighs and reaches for her hand. The touch sends her insides into a flurry and she stares wide-eyed as he gets up, standing inches away from her. Her heart pounds madly.

The man in front of her is silent for a moment, looking at their hands clasped together. His thumb moves slowly over the back of her hand and for some reason she is frozen to the spot, anchored by that gentle caress.

"Nam Ji Hyun," he finally says,  "In those seven days I am going to do my best to remind you again why we fell in love. If that means I get to hold you, I will. And if I get to kiss you, I will. But rest assured, I won't do anything you won't want me to."
 

His eyes graze upwards to stare at her lips and she feels an answering shiver run through her. It would be so easy to pull him down and feel those lips again. But then the rational side of her shakes herself out of her daze. No, this was insanity. She pulls her hand out of his and steps away folding her traitorous arms around herself.

"What if I said no?" she asks stubbornly.
 

He seems to wrestle silently with this before turning away to stare at the distance and the city below.

"Do you hate me that much?" he asks quietly.

JiHyun didn't know what to say. Her problem was the opposite. 

He waits, but when she does not reply he reaches into his jacket and pulls out a familiar gold chain. JiHyun realizes with surprise that she had forgotten all about the locket.

"Shall I sweeten the deal?" he asks, looking at her; his voice hard, "This necklace for seven of your days."
 

She wraps her arms even tighter around herself.
 

"Are you blackmailing me?" 
 

He laughs mirthlessly, "Think of it as a fair exchange or, perhaps even, a reward." 
 

JiHyun wants to hate this new Chang Wook. Her pride chafes at his attempt to manipulate her; but, as she glances at him, she catches something vulnerable in his eyes. This was important to him. He had come all this way to find her even after the bitterness of their parting.

Because, it was true: two years ago she had walked away without giving him any say in the matter. One moment she had been so sure and determined about what she needed to do; about him. Then in the other she had been torn apart, wondering if she had any right to be selfish and turn his life upside down.
 

Because the Ji Chang Wook she saw then had not been the man she had known on the island. His rage and anger, although not directed at her, had scared her because she had done that to him. His life was falling apart because of her. She finally saw what the CEO meant: being with her meant he would gamble his future and his dreams on their short time together. If she made him choose her he would be fighting those battles everyday with his agency, with the media; with his fans. Perhaps even with himself.
 

It had seemed kinder to just disappear from his life. And even though it had hurt, she had been resolved to let him forget her. The irony was she herself had not been able to forget him. Should she have then expected him to cope any better?
 

All this time she had caught little glimpses of him on the news or on TV and told herself he was doing well. He was chasing his dreams and making a name for himself. This knowledge had given her some comfort at least and let her forge on. 

To see him so broken.... it hurt. She wants to set things ri