A year later,

         Love was cold, unfriendly and impudent. Love knew me as a his secretary. Love reproached me and carped on my mistakes countless of times. Over and over again, Love managed to agitate and provoke me, yet still showered me with tinges of warmth that easily softened my heart.

         Love saw me tear up for the first time since Mother passed. Love gifted me with a landscape of plum blossoms and made me fall in love with him. Love changed my mind and gave me courage. Love embraced me for the first time. And Love… broke my heart for the first time as well.

         Love found me at the plum blossoms garden a year later in early spring. Love gazed at me with his warm and gentle eyes, gone was the pair of cold orbs. Love confessed to me for the first time. Love kissed me in the garden.

         Love also gave me hope and support.

         “The public has been raving over the new collaboration between Oh Couture and Raé. Behind this awe-inspiring project are Oh Sehun and Jung Hyejin, the current owners of each of their established brands. We can say that this project is extremely successful and well-received. We have invited both figures here to find out more about their remarkable achievement,” the host of a reality show reported.

         He adverted from the camera to face Sehun and me who were seated before him in the broadcast studio. Another camera facing me blinked in green light and I plastered a small smile. “With Oh Couture’s years of establishment, I believe everyone has been very familiar with Oh Sehun. However, we have someone relatively new in the industry today,” he paused in his sentence, shifting his attention to me. “Would you like to introduce yourself?”

         I nodded my head curtly. “My name is Jung Hyejin and I’m the founder of Raé.”

         “How do you feel about the success of this collaboration? After all, you achieved a vast exposure for your brand within a short period of time and this is a dream for many smaller brands in the market,” the host asked.

         I gave Sehun a quick glance before chuckling softly. “As a small brand established for less than two years, I am extremely humbled to collaborate with Oh Couture,” I told him. “Nonetheless, I believe that the substance of a brand is vital. Without this substance, you will not be able to touch the hearts of customers regardless of collaborations with any bigger enterprises.”

         The host bobbed his head as he listened to my words before adverting his attention to Sehun. “What are your thoughts, Sehun? Why did you choose Raé to collaborate with?”

         Sehun hummed, pondering. “Personally, brand cohesion is the most crucial aspect of any collaborations. The unwavering values and identity of Oh Couture and Raé are very similar to each other and this guaranteed me our branding will be easily delivered to the public. Upholding similar values, Hyejin and I can better relate to each other and design a project that both of us have faith in,” he shared with a small smile ghosting on his pink lips. “Of course, a deep understanding of each other is a bonus.”

         “Oh?” The host raised an eyebrow with his curiosity piqued. “There is tremendous support for both of you to have an emotional entanglement, considering that two of you are visually compatible. You mentioned that you have a deep understanding of each other. Do you have anything to clarify to the public who has that earnest encouragement?”

         I fiddled on my fingers with nervous laughter. I tossed Sehun a small glare for bringing up this topic. “Actually, there’s no—”

         “There’s nothing to clarify,” Sehun interrupted me with a small smirk. “Because they can be rest-assured that Hyejin and I are very much in love with each other.”

         Right after the directors announce that they stopped rolling, I hastily pulled Sehun to the guests’ waiting room. “You— Why did you say that in front of the camera?” I huffed as soon as the doors are closed and crossed my arms. “You know their reality show’s viewership is always the highest! I’m so embarrassed now.”

         I watched as Sehun laugh, peeling open my crossed arms. “With what I said, I reckon they will break their record for the highest viewership.”

         “Stop joking,” I rolled my eyes and turned to face away from him.

         Before I could utter anything else, I felt him wrapping me in a warm embrace from the back. He brushed his lips on my earlobe and breathed so close to my complexion. “I just want to let everyone know you’re the one I love,” he whispered. “Is there anything wrong with that?”

         I exhaled deeply in an attempt to calm my racing heart. It has been almost a year of being with Sehun and I still fluster at his loving acts. Peeling his arms away from my waist, I turned to face him with pursed lips. “But I don’t like the attention,” I murmured. “You see, you’re so tall and attractive. You have a listed company that owns a huge market share. You’re also still young and— and I’m just, really not anywhere close. I feel like I’m nowhere near everything you’ve achieved, and I don’t know if the public can ever accept me when I’m so mediocre—”

         I froze when I felt his lips on mine. In an instant, I was silenced of all thoughts. My heart was fluttering and I felt warmth surging up to my crimson cheeks. Dazed, I remained rooted until he parted the kiss.

         “You’re blabbering,” Sehun spoke in hushed tones.

         I furrowed my eyebrows, hitting him lightly on his arm. “We’re still in the studio!” I reminded him with a fit.

         Sehun chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. “You were speaking too much of things I didn’t want to hear, so I figured that was the most effective way to seal your pretty lips.”

         “You—”

         I adverted my attention to someone knocking on the frosted glass door. “Hyejin, someone sent you a bouquet of flowers,” a staff from the crew notified me and revealed a gorgeous bouquet of daisies and baby’s breaths. Upon placing the bouquet on the coffee table, he gave Sehun a mocking smile. “A competitor hitting on your girlfriend?”

         I chuckled and motioned him to leave the room before the man before he loses his cool. Peering at Sehun, I lifted the bouquet and smelt its sweet fragrance. “Who do you think sent me these?” I asked, amusement lacing my tongue.

         Sehun feigned nonchalant and shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. The person doesn’t even know what are your favourite flowers, so he does not serve as a threat to me.”

         “Hypocritical,” I retorted. Pulling out the card in the bouquet, I flipped it open to my surprise. I scrutinized Gloria’s corporate logo over and over again with mixed feelings churning in my stomach. I read through the short message (“Congratulations on your success! From Gloria, Marketing Department.”) and discerned that there was only one person who would send me this.

         “What’s wrong?” Sehun asked, concerned by my expression.

         I kept the card and smiled softly. “It’s Jihye,” I told him, letting out a breath I did not know I was holding. “Ever since I left the Bae family, I lost contact with her. Father probably forbid her to keep in touch with me. After all, they hate me now.”

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