SHIN MIN JUNG’S POV

“TGIF! What are you girls planning to do tonight? Or where to go?” Bradley, my manager and also my gay best friend approached me as I walked out of my room.

“Uh, I am going to Housing Works Bookstore Cafe tonight.” I replied.

“Oh, please.” Bradley rolled his eyes. “It’s Friday, and all the girls are hanging out and you’re just going to spend it reading books alone in a cafe?”

“Well…” Before I could defend myself, Bradley opened his mouth to talk again, “Baby girl, this is why you are still single until now. Look around, there are lots of guys who’d do anything just to date you. Don’t you notice?”

“Well, they are all good friends.” I shrugged off.

“Oh come on.” Bradley shook his head. “Anyway, where’s Julie, Yvonne and the other girls? They finished their work so quickly today.”

“They told me they’re going to a concert.” I replied.

“Concert? Whose concert?”

“Uh, a Korean boyband’s.” I answered.

“Ah!” He clapped. “Super… Super Junior’s, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” I nodded.

“Woah, that group is no joke. I see their concert advertisement everywhere for the past month.” Bradley said. “By the way, why are you not going together with them?

I cleared my throat. “Uhm, not interested.”

“Ah~ I see. You are a Korean too, you must have been bored of seeing your own species~” Bradley chattered. “Anyway, are you really going to that Bookstore Cafe tonight?”

I nodded. “Do you want to go with me?” I offered, when I obviously know what his answer will be.

“Oh no thanks, darling. I promised my friend to go to a club together tonight.”

“Alright.” I smiled.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I’ve been living in New York City for 7 years now. After my heart transplantation operation carried out successfully back then in 2013, I stayed in the hospital for 2 months straight to recover myself. A month later, I decided to start a new life and move to the USA.

I’m currently working as the CEO in the NYC branch office of our jewelry company, Sparking Pearl.

Once or twice in a year, I would meet Donghae and Yoon Hee in Tokyo, Hong Kong, or even sometimes in Busan, but I asked them to keep this as a secret from Cho.

Truth is, after the operation, I have no more courage to meet him, morever after his confession to me.

I am now healthy, but no one can guarantee what could happen to me anytime. The heart that is beating inside me is not mine, and it could reject its new body next year, next month, or even tomorrow. No one can guarantee that I will stay healthy like this.

I am fully aware that I have nothing that I can give for him. I can guarantee him nothing.

I don’t want to see him hurt, or sad, and I know time will heal him. His feelings to me will fade away as time passed by, and he could find his own happiness.

Without me.

FEW DAYS LATER

I went out of my apartment earlier today to jog with my neighbour and also a close friend, Choko-chan, or usually people around us called, Mrs. Fujiwara.

The Fujiwara couple is a newlywed who just got married two months ago, but they have been living together since I moved here. Choko-chan has a really bright and cheerful personality, and she talks a lot just like Yoon Hee. Our apartment is next to each other so we see each other a lot.

“Gosh, I’m tired. Let’s have some morning coffee, shall we?” She asked as she catches her breath.

It took us 5 minutes to walk to Starbucks, and it’s quite crowded even though it’s still early. Three couples, a group of men in their 50s, and a bunch of teenage girls are occupying the seats. There’s a queuing line and there are like 8 people in front of us.

“Gosh, it’s 7AM and people are already queuing up for Starbucks.” Choko-chan shook her head.

“I don’t think it should be crowded at this hour.” I agreed.

There are only 3 people in front of us left before our turn, and now I could see why it’s quite crowded.

Several teenage girls are surrounding two men who are wearing brown and black jackets, and the girls look really excited, but they didn’t make too much noise. The men are not too tall comparing to the Americans, and they’re both wearing a cap that is lowered so much until it almost covered their eyes. The man with black jacket is wearing a white mask that covered his mouth too.

“Gosh, why do those men covered themselves up so much?” Choko-chan mumbled.

“Oppa, good morning.” A girl in her early 20s called out from her seat as she waved to them, and that’s when I realized something.

They must be celebrities. Oppa? They are Korean.

“Mr Park.” The barista called out, and I looked at the man with brown jacket as he turned his head.

Oh, it’s Leeteuk-ssi. I feel nervous out of a sudden, and I stole a glance to look more closely at the man in black jacket, and it turned out to be him.

Cho Kyuhyun.

Leeteuk-ssi and Cho both took their drinks and were about to leave when one of the girls asked for a signature, and I quickly turned my body away so that they won’t notice me.

Leeteuk-ssi and Cho need to walk passed by the queuing line when they leave, and I only hope that they won’t see me.

“Maggie-chan, what do you want to order?” Choko-chan who is standing a little bit in front of me asked without turning her head. My English name is Margaret, and Choko-chan usually called me Maggie, Maggie-chan.

“I’ll just have my usual raspberry milk tea.” I replied.

One minute passed and I let out a relief sigh after they went out.

“Maggie-chan!” Choko-chan tapped my shoulder.

“Yes?”
”Do you notice those men that have just walked out?” She asked.

“I don’t really look at them.” I lied. “Why?”

“The one in black jacket wears a thin, silver necklace. I didn’t notice it at first, but when he bowed down to the girls, the necklace came out from his shirt and there’s a key symbol. It looks just like yours, only yours is a lock, right?”

Cho wears the same necklace as mine?

“Didn’t you tell me it’s a guy from your past who gave you that necklace? Don’t tell me… it’s him?” I could see shocked and excitement in her eyes.

FEW MONTHS LATER

CHO KYUHYUN’S POV

“Guys! I’m going to announce something~” Siwon hyung came to the dorm and gathered all the members.

“You looked so happy. Let me guess, there must be something related to Liu Wen-ssi, right?” Leeteuk hyung guessed.

Siwon hyung smiled shyly. “I’m going to propose her this weekend.”

“Woah! Finally!” Eunhyuk hyung shouted. “Chukkahae!” Ryeowook hyung clapped and members all showered him with hugs and congratulations.

“But I need everyone’s help.” Siwon hyung said.

“I sense something big.” Kangin hyung laughed.

“Hmm.” Siwon hyung ruffled his hair. “I’m going to propose her in Geoje-do, and I have rent a small part of the island –“ “You rent the island?!” Eunhyuk hyung shouted again. “Daebak.” Yesung hyung commented. “As expected, our Choi Siwon~” Heechul hyung nodded. “During my WGM era, the staffs didn’t even rent the island. There are not many people who visited so it’s like a private island.” Heechul hyung explained.

“Anyway, I rented a small part near the mountain and the sea, and I planned to propose her there. Here’s the plan.”

That weekend, all members went together to Geoje-do. It took around 4 hours and half to drive from Seoul, and the married members even brought their wives and kids together. It’s just like a big family’s vacation. Siwon hyung also rented a bus full of staffs; photographers, hair and make-up stylists.

Everyone deceived Liu Wen-ssi that we are going to Geoje-do for a photoshoot.

The single members; Leeteuk hyung, Eunhyuk hyung, Ryeowook hyung and I are in one car. Heechul hyung, Kibum hyung and their girlfriends are in another car.

Meanwhile the rest of the members are married, some are with kids so they are heading to Geoje-do with their own cars.

We arrived in Geoje-do in the afternoon, and we decided to take a rest after we had lunch. Some members decided to swim in the hotel’s swimming pool, some decided to stay in the hotel sleeping, while some decided to walk around and look for local’s specialties foods.

SHIN MIN JUNG’S POV

“Sajang-nim, are you okay? Do you want to rest for a bit?” One of the female staffs approached me.

“Ah, I’m fine. It’s just a little bit cold.” I replied. “At what time will the filming starts?”

Throughout the years, Sparkling Pearl keeps on launching our new products, and for the winter 2020 edition, the marketing team decided to make a short promotional video and photoshoot starred by current famous idols, so early this morning, the whole team who are responsible for this work have headed to Geoje-do together.

The idols arrived in the afternoon and the shooting starts right away.

I, however, didn’t come here for this work.  I’m only responsible for my office in the USA, but I went together so I could have a short vacation. Moreover, I’m also a little bit curious on how the shooting will goes, since I have never seen an idol behind the scene before.

The shooting took place near the sea in Geoje-do, and it was really refreshing.

I took a deep breathe.

This is why we need vacation.

CHO KYUHYUN’S POV

I parked my car and noticed that there are a group of people with huge cameras. Is there a filming going on?

However, I still decided go out for a walk after wearing my cap and mask.

I walked nearer to the sea only to figure out that there’s indeed a shooting going on.

Because it’s quite crowded, I decided to walk away.

But then, there’s someone who caught my eyes. A woman, wearing a long, peach dress who’s squatting on the ground. She seems like looking for something, because her hands are groping on the sands.

I couldn’t see her face, though, all I can see is her back, but this scene reminds me of something. To be exact, of someone. It reminds me of Shin.

I walked nearer towards her to ask if she needs a help.

“What are you looking for?” I asked as I squat down too. I stole a glance at her but she doesn’t seem to notice.

“A necklace.” She replied without even lifting her head.

The sea wind is blowing quite hard, and I can only hear her voice vaguely.

“How does it look like?” I asked again.

 “It’s a silver necklace with a lock symbol on it.” She doesn’t lift her head too, this time.

But then, even though it’s vague, because I have heard she speak twice, I clearly know whom does this voice belongs to.

It’s a voice that I have been longing to hear all this time.

Trying to calm myself, I looked away and started to find her necklace. That lock necklace. So she has been wearing it all the time.

Tears are welling up when I finally found the necklace. It was stuck on a small stone.

Wiping my tears away, I raised the necklace and asked, “Min Jung-ssi, it’s this necklace, right?”

SHIN MIN JUNG’S POV

“Min Jung-ssi, it’s this necklace, right?” How did this person know…

Then, for a moment, everything was stopped.

I could hear the noise of people’s talking, the sound of sea water splashing, but it was all like a background voice.

I was too shocked that I couldn’t even move an inch.

Cho…

Why is he here?

We were both looking at each other, and I suddenly felt my vision blurred out, only to find out that tears are welling up. I quickly wipe it away and cleared my throat.

A few minutes of silence passed by, and I braced myself to talk.

“Kamsahamnida.” I said.

I reached out my hand to take the necklace, and he handed it to me without saying anything.

Both of us are squatting awkwardly, so I talked again, “I’m sorry.”

He gave me an indescribable thin smile, and he replied, “There are a lot of things I want to ask, to tell, and to hear from you but sorry isn’t exactly what I want to hear.”

“I’m sorry…” I said. “If that’s not what you want to hear.”

He chuckled. “I miss you, Shin.” His phone rang right after he said that. Cho looked at his phone screen, and told me, “Please wait for a moment.” I nodded, even though deep inside I really wanted to run away so I wouldn’t meet him again, I feel so sorry towards him.

“I’m near the sea right now… what? now? Hyung, mianhae, can you give me half an hour? No, I will drive as fast as I can back to the hotel lat- hyung! Okay, twenty minutes? Fifteen minutes? Hyung! But I have a really important thing to do right now, hyung!” was what Cho said during the phone call. “Arasseo. I’m going back now. Okay.”

“It was Donghae hyung.” Cho told me before I could ask anything. “I’m going back to my hotel now because we have really important event tonight with the members. Do you want to join us, perhaps?”

I’m not ready yet.

Even meeting him like this also feels like a dream.

“I’m sorry, I’m working right now.” I choose to lie.

“Alright.” He bites his lower lips. “Then, can I meet you after this? After your work and after my event ends?”

I look away because I couldn’t stand looking at him in the eyes. I feel so sorry, and I really, really miss him so much I need to hold myself not to come closer and hug him. “I don’t know at what time will my work ends tonight.” I lied again.

“Then…can I at least have your phone number?” He asked again.

I was fighting against myself inside whether to give or not to give him my number when his phone rang again. Before he answered his phone, I said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t think there’s a need for us to meet again.” And quickly walked away.

I’m sorry, Cho. But I don’t deserve you.

It’s 9PM, but the shooting hasn’t ends yet. I checked with the staffs and they said they’re currently shooting for the last scene.

I have changed my outfit to something warmer, because the night sea wind is really cold. I walked out of the hotel and was about to monitor the shooting when I see Cho.

“Shin!” He called.

I turned back, and walked back to the hotel. I could tell he is following me behind from his footsteps. I walked faster and get into the nearest room that we rent, the hair & make-up stylists room. I’m glad there is no one in the room at the moment.

But then, just when I think I could get away from him, Cho suddenly get into the room and closed the door behind him.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

He locked the door. “Why are you avoiding me?”

I couldn’t think of any answer.

“7 years, isn’t that enough?” His voice starting to sounds a little bit weird, and that’s when I realized he was about to cry. “What did I do wrong, Shin? Why are you avoiding me?”

I sit down on the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry… I just thought, you deserve better. I don’t deserve you, Cho. I’m sick, and I have nothing. I have nothing to give you, and I can guarantee you nothing. My heart can stop beating just any seconds, and it scares me. I don’t want you to get hurt.” I sobbed. “I’m sorry, I know I’m stupid, but that’s just because I love you too.”

CHO KYUHYUN’S POV

She said she loves me.

She said she loves me.

She said she loves me.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” I whispered as I walked towards her and hugged her.

I hugged her, without saying anything. She continued crying, and I let her. She must have a hard time keeping it all by herself, and I want her to let it all out so at least she can relieved by a little bit.

We started talking after I calm her down, she was still sitting on the edge of the bed, and I sit on the chair in front of her.

She talked about how her heart operation went well, and she is completely healthy now but she still goes on a check-up once in three months. She also talked about how her illness could arise anytime, because it’s not her own heart after all.

“Shin, I just wanted to let you know, that I don’t ask anything from you.” I said. “I love you, and all I know is that I want to be with you. I accept you as a whole, and I don’t care how tomorrow will be, because I love you.”

“Thank you.” She smiled. “I’m sorry for everything. I was stupid, right?”

“No, it’s not your fault. I should have reassured you since the beginning, but you are the one who keep on avoiding me. What can I do~” He shrugged off.

She chuckled and hit my arm jokingly, “Yah! Cho Kyuhyun!”

YOON HEE’S POV

After the proposal event ended (which was definitely a success), Donghae oppa and I went to follow Kyuhyun oppa. He told us everything the moment he arrived back in the hotel, and I thought of following him to see if everything goes well.

I asked the members to help us to take care of our daughter Jieun, and they gladly agreed. The wives and kids are there too so I have no worries.

We arrived at the hotel where Min Jung and the staffs are staying right when the shooting ends. I spotted some of the staffs that I knew, and I asked them where Kyuhyun oppa and Min Jung is, and they said both of them are in the hair & make-up room since 10 minutes ago.

Donghae oppa and I then rushed to the room, only to found out that it’s locked.

I pressed my ear on the door, trying to overhear their conversation, but all I could hear was “I love you.”

“What did you hear?” Donghae oppa whispered. “I love you.” I replied. “I love you too.” Donghae oppa said, and I chuckled. Donghae oppa seems to have misunderstood. “I said I heard Kyuhyun oppa said I love you.” I told him. “Ah~” Donghae oppa nodded. “But you love me, right?” He continued. “Ssssh! I was going to overhear their conversation, don’t talk to me.”

I pressed my ear to the door again, and trying hard to concentrate on their conversation. I could hear more clearly now. “No, it’s not your fault. I should have reassured you since the beginning, but you are the one who keep on avoiding me.”

“Yah! Cho Kyuhyun!”

“I love you. Perhaps I also have nothing, but I do have the heart that loves you and will keep you company until we’re both old… Shin Min Jung, will you stay with me?”

Oh my God! Is Kyuhyun oppa confessing right now?

I hurriedly took out my phone from my pocket and called Min Jung’s eommoni. She answered her phone on the second rang, “Yeoboseyo?”

“Yeoboseyo, eommoni! It’s me, Yoon Hee.”

“Ne~ How’s the event going? Is everyone having fun?”

“Everything goes well eommoni, but there’s something I would like to tell you right now. It’s about Min Jung!” I tried hard to keep my voice low so that Kyuhyun oppa and Min Jung won’t hear me.

“Ah, yes. She’s in Geoje-do too, did you guys meet?”

I am still pressing my left ear to the door, trying to listen to Min Jung's answer. Oh come on, she couldn't be that stubborn and reject Kyuhyun oppa again, right?

"Why not? Of course I am staying. Didn't you hear that I said I love you just now? Babo, aish." I heard Min Jung's voice.

This is what I call a happy ending.

“Ne, eommoni. And you can stop matchmaking her now.” I giggled.

“Why?”

“Because she has found her one and only true love, Kyuhyun-ssi.”

                  THE END

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Hello, everyone! I have mixed feelings while writing the last chapter, it’s like I am happy I finally finished this but I am also sad because the fanfic that I have been writing for three years have came to an end ;;;; I want to apologize for the grammatical errors and lack of vocabularies, and I want to sincerely thank my subscribers and silent readers who have stayed with me all this time, I didn’t expect that some of you are still reading this, I mean hey it’s been three years! :”)

Thank you for those who congratulated me for my graduation, I’m really happy but also kinda sad (once again), because I’m leaving to a country which is far from my hometown tomorrow to continue my studies. I have less than 24hours to spend in my hometown now.

Nevertheless, countless thank you to everyone who reads my fanfic, I will probably write a new one in the future if I have time. Thank you everyone, I’m going to miss you and please know that authornim loves you all <3