So Min did not know how long she had been in the park crying her heart out. She was devastated by what Kyuhyun did. She trusted him and she broke her trust…broke her heart. She decided to release her pain and find herself in front of a bar.

“Good evening, what do you want to have?” MinHyuk asked friendlily at So Min who sat at the bar stool.

“Anything stronger than wine…I want to forget my misery…I want to get drunk”, So Min replied her voice broken and her eyes already puffy and red from crying.

“O-okay”, Minhyuk nodded…he felt pity for the woman who looked so broken…

“Stupid! I’m so stupid to believe that a prince like him would truly love someone like me”, So Min told herself as more tears welled from her eyes. She put her face on the bar’s counter top. She was so angry at Kyuhyun but more than that she was angrier at herself for she still loved him despite the pain.

“Excuse me, here’s your tequila”, Minhyuk interrupted and handed So Min her drink.

So Min took the tequila and gulped it in one shot which surprised Minhyuk. The liquor burned for she was not used to drinking but she welcomed the pain…

“Please, give me another”, So Min requested Minhyuk.

“But…” Minhyuk reluctantly said.

“Please”, So Min pleaded. She wanted to drown herself so that she could forget the sorrow even just for a while. Yet, the memories kept coming back…

“Hi, I like your presentation this afternoon at the Journalism Forum. By the way, I’m Cho Kyuhyun”, Kyuhyun introduced himself.

“Thank you so much…I’m Jung So Min. Nice to meet you”, So Min replied smiling.

“Oh…I see you already met Mr. Cho Kyuhyun…he is the only son of the Secretary of Education”, one of the teachers intruded.

“Really…it’s a pleasure that you visited our forum, sir”, So Min said happily.

“The pleasure is really mine…hehehe”, Kyuhyun replied with a charming smile.

“So Min, can I invite you for a snack outside?” Kyuhyun charmingly asked.

“Yeah…sure”, So Min agreed as she politely asked permission with her teachers and they went out of the hall where the forum was held.

“You’re not from our school, right?” So Min started as they were walking towards the nearest coffee shop.

“No…actually, I’m from Seoul National University taking up Political Science. Honestly, I didn’t have plans of attending the activity but my father forced me into it as his representative since he had to take care of some business at the office. But after meeting you, I feel thankful that he forced me into this”, Kyuhyun said with a boyish smile and a wink.

So Min blushed prettily at Kyuhyun’s comments. She must admit that she was not really attracted to him at first sight but she must also admit that he was the charming sort and that having a crush on him would not be difficult for her.

“You’re a scholar some of your teachers told me.” It was a statement since Kyuhyun already asked about So Min while she was presenting her academic paper about freedom and good child rearing practices.

“Ah…yes…I came from a poor family but I’m still glad because even though we’re poor my parents support me all the way and they encourage me to pursue my dreams and ambition. They encourage and teach me how to view things and make my decisions based on my perspective”, So Min proudly said.

“You have a good family…good parents”, Kyuhyun commented…his smile did not reach his eyes as he remembered how his parents controlled his life.

“Yeah and I’m really proud of where I came from”, So Min agreed as they entered the coffee shop.

After that day, Kyuhyun constantly visited her at the school. He even introduced her to his best friend, Victoria. He was a very attentive suitor and she fell into him after two months of courtship. She thought she knew him. He shared with her his ups and downs in his family…his studies…

“Only now, Kyuhyun, I can only know what kind of spineless person you are. You used me to feel good about yourself. You chose me because I’m not from your world and I can’t defend against you if you hurt me because I don’t have the influence and the money to do so”, So Min bitterly told herself as though she was speaking with Kyuhyun as she again tossed her drink in one gulp. It still burned and left bitter taste in as tears continuously fell from her eyes.  

“Please, give me another shot here”, So Min asked Minhyuk who was polishing some of the shot glasses.

“A-another shot?” Minhyuk asked. “I pity this woman…she shouldn’t be drinking alone. What am I to do with her when she became so drunk to be on her  own”, he told himself but as a bartender he still provided her the shot she asked for.

“Your drink. Miss, do you think it’s wise for you to drink alone? I mean after the bar closes how will you go home if you don’t have anyone to pick you up?”Minhyuk worriedly asked.

“I d-don’t know. I just want to numb the pain. It hurts here…here”, So Min cried as she thumped to the place of her heart with her balled right hand.

Minhyuk did not say anything anymore. He was right in what he was thinking…the woman was brokenhearted as to the man who broke the heart of a woman as beautiful as her…clearly he was a fool and a jerk at the same time.

“Kyuhyun, when will I be meeting your parents?” So Min asked as they were walking.

“So Min, please be patient I haven’t yet told my parents about us but I will tell them when I find the courage. You know how they bully me at home, right? It’s not easy to tell them about us…but trust me…I’ll tell them soon”, Kyuhyun gently said and smiled charmingly at her.

“Okay…I trust you, Kyuhyun”, So Min agreed and she smiled back.

“Trust him…trust him…look where that trust him led me. I hate you, Kyuhyun! But I still love you, Kyuhyun”, So Min said as she again drank her tequila.

She drank shot after shot and soon she was already drunk. She put her forehead on the countertop and continued to cry until she fell asleep where she was sitting. Minhyuk on the other hand eyed the clock…an hour and the bar would already close what would he be doing with the woman. She was already sleeping. He decided to make a decision.

“Miss, I’m sorry but I have to look for some identification in order to know who to contact so that someone should pick you”, Minhyuk said as he opened So Min’s bag. He found her ID at the library with her parents’ contact number…he wanted to dial the number but he hesitated…her parents would not be happy to pick her up at this time of the night. He picked up her cellphone and found miss calls which he read from her mother who was evidently worried. He was about to really call the number when someone entered the bar.

“Oh, what do you want to have?” Minhyuk asked the man who seated himself at the right side where So Min was seating.

“Brandy”, the man replied smiling. Hyun Joong decided to drop by the bar before he got home. He was so tired…he spent the entire day touring Seoul and the entire evening working at the station. He even fell asleep while working and woke up to find the building deserted already except for the security guards rounding the place. Funny, he was over the overtime as he glanced at his Rolex wrist watch and found it to be 1:00 am already.

“Sir, your drink”, Minhyuk handed Hyun Joong his drink.

“Thank you”, Hyun Joong said. He smiled in his mind…his mother scolded him when he called her and told her that he could not come home for dinner because he had so much to do at the office.

“Hyun Joong, you’re already too focused on your work that’s why you can’t find the time to spend the time here or even to meet someone to marry”, his mother scolded him over the phone as he was eating on his desk while scanning the ideas send by the writers for the program he was producing for the K Channel.

“Mom, I’m sorry, okay? I just don’t know why things are getting filed up here no matter how I slave myself. And about that part on me not marrying…if I’m destined to marry…I’ll find someone to marry”, Hyun Joong casually said but suddenly instead of the ideas he was perusing…the image of So Min flashed in his mind and he smiled.

“Hyun Joong! Hyun Joong! This child…okay…I’ll not wait up for you anymore. I still need to go for my spa appointment early tomorrow. Just be careful in driving, okay? I’ll see you in the morning, son”, his mother said…her voice resigned knowing that once Hyun Joong dedicated himself to a task he would see it up to the last detail.

“Okay, mom, I’ll be careful…I love you, bye”, Hyun Joong ended the call.

“If only So Min isn’t taken…I’ll marry her in a heartbeat”, Hyun Joong said as he sighed and continued to busy himself with his work instead of the twinge in his heart.

Hyun Joong was about to drink his brandy when he heard sobs emanating from the woman sitting beside him. Her shoulders were shaking and she was crying in such a way that it tore ones heart in hearing it.

“She got here earlier, sir. Drank herself to oblivion while crying…I guess brokenhearted. I want to call her parents before you came but I’m also worried on how they would react if I called them at this hour…I mean they must be worried seeing the number of missed calls registered in her cellphone”, Minhyuk narrated.

“Do you have any identification about her?” Hyun Joong worriedly asked. He was eyeing the woman and he was thinking that she looked familiar…her uniform looked familiar…just like the ones So Min wore at the public library that morning.

He was about to speak to the woman, when she suddenly turned to the other side, groggily stood and walked out of the bar leaving her things. Worriedly, Hyun Joong left his drink and camera to Minhyuk and followed the woman outside. She was vomiting on the trash bin…vomiting and sobbing at the same time…her heaving back facing him.

“Miss, are you alright?” Hyun Joong asked worriedly and almost mentally kicked himself at his question. “Stupid, Hyun Joong, of course she is crying and vomiting…she must be alright”, he sarcastically told himself. He approached the woman and gently rubbed her back as she continued to heave the contents of her stomach.

“T-thank you”, So Min said as she lifted her face and looked at the one rubbing her back.

“S-So Min”, Hyun Joong said in surprised.

“H-Hyun Joong”, So Min called in a whisper.

Hyun Joong got his handkerchief and gently wiped her tears before he decided to take the liberties and wiped as well. So Min could not move…who would have thought that she would be seeing Hyun Joong and that Hyun Joong would see how miserable she was. Yet, at that moment she realized that she needed someone…she needed him. She found herself in his embrace as the floodgates of emotion broke more than it did before and she sobbed her pain to him.

“Shhussh, So Min, whatever it is…just let it out I’m here for you, okay”, Hyun Joong again rubbed her back gently as he embraced her…wanting to protect her…wanting to shield her…wanting to kill the person who hurt her.

They did not know how long they stayed there…but he did not care. She was in his arms and it was the only thing that mattered to him.