Shinhye was still fuming with anger when she arrived at the Park Mansion, fortunately, her parents were not there or they might ask her. She was so angry she wanted to hit Joo Hyun.

“How dare her malign Yonghwa that way! Pathethic creature that she is!” Shinhye exclaimed angrily as she paced back and forth in her room.

She was drinking a glass of water while pacing to release her stress. She was still pacing when someone knocked on her door.

“Who is it?” Shinhye asked.

“Baby, it’s me”, she heard Yonghwa’s voice and it immediately soothed her.

“No, Shinhye, don’t tell him anything about meeting that horrid Joo Hyun. What you heard from Joo Hyun’s not true. Would Yonghwa be here if he didn’t really love you?” Shinhye told herself and her anger gradually subsided.

“Baby, are you alright in there?” Yonghwa asked as he knocked again.

Shinhye opened the door before Yonghwa could knock a third time. He was there wearing his simple blue sweater over his white shirt. His charming smile was on his lips.

“I’m sorry I took long in opening the door”, Shinhye said as her eyes roamed him. She realized that if ever Yonghwa would cheat on her, it would be the most painful wound that would never heal and if ever he would cheat on her, she did not know if she would ever be able to forgive him.

“Won’t you let me come inside?” Yonghwa asked with his boyish charm.

“Come in”, Shinhye smiled too as she pulled from the door and went to sit on her bed.

Yonghwa closed the door of her bedroom and sat beside her. Before Shinhye could ask him something, Yonghwa held her and kissed her passionately.

“Y-Yonghwa”, Shinhye gently called as they parted to take in air. The taste of Yonghwa’s mouth still linger on her…the taste of the iced Americano he partook…the feel of her lips…of his tongue as he explored thoroughly.

“I missed you, my love. I missed you for the entire day we’re not together”, Yonghwa said as he looked deeply in to her eyes. Shinhye looked at those brown depths…wanting to drown in them.

“I missed you, too. Do you love me, Yonghwa?” Shinhye asked. She promised herself she would not ask about Joo Hyun but she wanted to hear Yonghwa say he loved her…she needed it badly.

“Yes, I love you so much…you’re my life and my heart, Shinhye”, Yonghwa said and he started kissing and nuzzling her cheek.

“You won’t leave me for another woman? Even if I turned fat or my hair turned grey in the future?” Shinhye asked as she closed her eyes at feeling his lips on her cheek near her ear.

“No…I won’t leave you for another whatever happens”, Yonghwa whispered to her.

“I love you, Yonghwa. I love you too so much”, Shinhye said as she placed her fingers to the side of his face and turned him for her kiss. She kissed him passionately…the way he thought her how to kiss.

“Can we lay for a while, my love? I need to cool my blood or else something pleasurable will happen between us tonight and I want that something to happen on our wedding night and not before that”, Yonghwa said his then thoroughly kissed lips smiled causing Shinhye to blush.

Yonghwa took off his jacket and his shoes and lay on the bed with Shinhye lying on his arm. She hitched her hips on his side and draped her left leg on him while the fingers on her left hand traced idly on his chest.

“I’d better be going now, my love, your parents will be home soon and I don’t want them to think bad about us if they found us in your room together at this hour”, Yonghwa said as he gently pulled himself from the bed.

“Be careful when you drive home”, Shinhye said while Yonghwa was putting on his shoes.

“I will, my love, sleep well”, Yonghwa said while he put on his sweater and gave a light peck on Shinhye’s lips.

He went out of her room and descended on the grand staircase. As he was on his way to his Volvo, Shinhye’s parents came.

“Yonghwa, you’re here”, Mr. Park said.

“Good evening, dad, mom”, Yonghwa replied as he bowed in greeting.

“You’ll be going?” Mrs. Park asked.

“Yes, mom, I just visited Shinhye a while ago”, Yonghwa replied.

“Be careful in driving home”, Mr. Park said.

“Thank you, dad, mom”, Yonghwa said as he again bowed politely before he entered his car and maneuvered out of the Park Mansion.

Yonghwa went back to his parents’ mansion. A grand mansion…a cold mansion…the servants were the only ones who greeted him and lived with him since his mother was again out of the country. He went to his room and lay on his bed thinking that he did not want to live on such a desolate place again.

_______________________________________________________________________________

That night as So Min was walking to the neighborhood where she and her parents lived; she saw a familiar car parked at the corner across the gate of her apartment. It was Kyuhyun’s and Kyuhyun was outside leaning on the hood of his car waiting for her.

“Good evening, So Min”, Kyuhyun called to her. He looked well-dressed in his blue polo tucked in black slacks matched with his polished leather shoes. He was still handsome but she realized that she was longing for another face…another person; she was longing for Hyun Joong.

“Good evening, Kyuhyun”, So Min greeted back as she came to stand in front of him and bowed her head in formality as though they had never been anything to each other in the past.

“Why so formal, So Min? Why so calm?” Kyuhyun asked her with a tentative smile on his lips.

“It’s nice seeing you again, Kyuhyun. I’ll go inside the night air’s cold…you should go home too”, So Min said ignoring Kyuhyun’s questions.

“My engagement to my high society bride-to-be will be two days from now. I don’t want to marry her, So Min. We don’t even see each other eye to eye because she’s with another man she truly loves. Won’t you consider being with me again?” Kyuhyun proposed.

So Min wanted to throw up at the audacity of what she heard from Kyuhyun.

“You want me to be your mistress? You’ll marry your high society fiancé and keep me as your mistress?” So Min said asked through clenched teeth as she looked at Kyuhyun with fire in her eyes.

“It will be a marriage for money and power nothing more while you will be the one I’ll come home with. You can resign from your petty job at the library and I’ll get you a small house at the far end of the city and we can be together”, Kyuhyun cajoled in his gentlest tone to lure So Min.

“No, Cho Kyuhyun, I’ll never be anybody’s mistress especially not yours”, So Min said with conviction.

“Not even Kim Hyun Joong’s?” Kyuhyun asked sarcastically.

“Yes, not even Hyun Joong’s; besides I know that Hyun Joong won’t be callous to ask me to be his mistress he’ll instead ask me to be his wife”, So Min defended Hyun Joong. She would not let Kyuhyun malign Hyun Joong in anyway not while she could defend him.

“He’ll probably try his best to marry you but can you stand seeing his mother everyday? His aristocratic mother will be little you and your family.  Can you come between him and his mother? Hyun Joong will surely fight his mother over you and he’ll be estranged from his mother because of you”, Kyuhyun taunted So Min as he smirked.

“It’s none of your business, Kyuhyun. If you really wanted me as you said you did; leave your bride and marry me or escape with me to a far place where we can be together. If you won’t do that, don’t come showing your face to me”, So Min said as she rudely turned her back on Kyuhyun and cross the road to her apartment. She entered the apartment and left Kyuhyun staring at her.

“I might, So Min, I might use you to free myself from my father’s tyranny”, Kyuhyun told himself.

So Min entered her room after saying goodnight to her parents. She washed herself and changed to a night gown. She lay on her bed thinking of her encounter with Hyun Joong’s mother and it brought tears to her eyes. She was there silently crying when her cellphone rang…it was Hyun Joong.

“Hello, Hyun Joong”, So Min said…she tried to disguise her sniffing but her broken voice revealed her.

“Hello, So Min. Are you crying?” Hyun Joong asked worriedly.

“No, it’s just…I think its flu”, So Min replied.

“Really? Why don’t I believe you?”Hyun Joong said feeling as if something was amiss.

“Hyun Joong, please…” So Min said.

“Okay, okay, just drink your medicine and rest. If I found you still sick tomorrow; I’ll throw you on my shoulder and march to the hospital and have you treated”, Hyun Joong pretended to be annoyed but the concern on his voice could not be missed.

“Thank you, Hyun Joong, I’ll rest now. Good night”, So Min said a sad smile crept on her lips.

“Good night, So Min”, Hyun Joong said as he ended the call.

So Min realized that more tears fell from her eyes. She was hurting like hell as if someone came at her and ripped open her chest and tore her heart into pieces. She had never hurt this way before not even for Kyuhyun did she felt like dying.

“Hyun Joong, I love you so much…g-good bye”, So Min tasted the bitterness of losing someone after she had just found him.