Yonghwa did not know how long they stayed at the park. He noticed that it was already dark…except for them…there were few people at the park. The lamp posts brightened the area…Shinhye was still asleep within the comfort of his arms. He looked at her and realized that although his tears dried; there was emptiness within where his heart should have been.

                “Shinhye, wake up…we need to go home”, Yonghwa gently nudged her.

                Shinhye gradually opened her eyes. “Yonghwa”, she called softly. She fell asleep within his arms after she poured her sorrows on him. No wonder she felt safe…she was with him.

                “I’ll bring you home”, Yonghwa said as they stood up. “We’ll just leave your car here and ask someone to pick it up for you, okay?” he added and he tried to smile…a sad smile.

                “Yonghwa”, Shinhye again softly called. She wanted to tell him about her feelings…reveal her secret love to him…bare her heart and her soul…

                “Yes”, Yonghwa looked at her. His somber eyes were looking at her as though seeing within her soul.

                “I-if…I happened to be married to Kyuhyun, you would still be my best friend, right?” Shinhye instead asked mentally slapping herself for being a coward.

                Yonghwa smiled through his pain. “Park Shinhye, I told you last night that you won’t shake me off even if you tried, right?” He saw her nod. “I’ll always be with you no matter what we’re best friends after all”, he added although the words best friend cut him like a sharp surgeon’s scalpel.

                “Thank you, Yonghwa, thank you so much.”

                They walked to Yonghwa’s car. He opened the passenger seat and waited for Shinhye to settle herself before he closed the door. He then went to the driver’s seat. He started the ignition and they maneuvered out of the park.

                When they arrived at the Park’s mansion, Shinhye was again asleep at the passenger seat. Yonghwa decided not to wake her; he instead carried her bridal style.

                “Good evening, dad, mom”, Yonghwa greeted Shinhye’s parents who were at the living room. Ever since his parents’ divorce when he was in first year college, he treated the Park couple as his parents and they treated him as their son. They even encourage him to call them dad and mom which he readily did. His father was already living in London while his mother travelled from one country to another after the scandal of being divorced. She left the supervision of their family businesses to him and to their trusted employees. He was living in his parents' grandly structured mansion with the servants for companion except if Hyun Joong and Shinhye visited him.  

                “The little angel’s asleep.” Shinhye’s mother smiled.

                “Yes, mom, I’ll just bring her upstairs to her room”, Yonghwa replied. Shinhye’s father also smiled to him and nodded his permission. Yonghwa took Shinhye upstairs and laid her on her bed and covered her with the thick blanket.

                The bedside lamp was already lit when he opened the door. Everyone in the Park household knew that Shinhye could not abide staying or waking up in a dark room. The dimmed light of the lamp gently illuminated Shinhye’s perfectly beautiful face.

                “Good night, my love.” Yonghwa wistfully looked at her before he went out of her room and gently closed her door.

                After Yonghwa left her room, Shinhye gently opened her eyes. She was already awake when they were half way through the grand staircase but she pretended to be asleep; enjoying the moment he carried her in his arms. “Good night, my love”, Shinhye whispered as again a tear fell from each of her eyes as she closed them.   

                “Thank you, Yonghwa, for bringing Shinhye home. I’ll just ask one of our drivers to pick her car at the park”, Mr. Park amiably said.

                “I’ll go ahead, dad”, Yonghwa replied before he bowed politely.

                “Take care on your way, Yonghwa”, Mrs. Park said.

                “I will, mom”, Yonghwa replied as he bowed to Mrs. Park’s direction.

                He went out of the Park’s mansion. The servants whom he passed bowed politely in farewell. As he left the mansion he felt bereft. The episode of that afternoon played repeatedly on his mind and unconsciously tears fell from his eyes. He stopped the car at side of the road. He hit the steering wheel several times but the pain his fist had would not exceed the pain of his heart.

                “Ahhhh…why? Why? Why?!” Yonghwa shouted as he hit the steering wheel one more time. He then put his forehead on the steering wheel and sobbed...heart wrenching sobs that would rip ones soul.

                He stayed there letting tears fell from his eyes.

                “Am I really fated to be alone?” Yonghwa silently asked himself.

                After he exhausted his tears…he drove to the direction of his parents’ mansion.

                “Y-Yonghwa, where have you been? I waited for you and Shinhye at the rooftop like forever! I called your cellphone but you weren’t answering”, Hyun Joong said…he was worried when the two did not arrive at the rooftop.

                Yonghwa slumped at the couch at the living room. He looked at the ceiling…he felt drained.

                “What happened to you?” Hyun Joong asked getting more worried as he noticed Yonghwa’s appearance…his eyes were swollen and red…dried traces of tears on his face. This Yonghwa looked different from the overly happy and excited Yonghwa he saw before at the rooftop.

                “Let’s drink, Hyun Joong.” Yonghwa looked at Hyun Joong. His misery reflected on his eyes.

                “Okay”, Hyun Joong agreed as he helped Yonghwa to his feet and they went to the mansion’s mini bar. 

                They opened a bottle of brandy and sat at the high stools. Hyun Joong poured a measure on their brandy snifters. Without saying anything, Yonghwa drank his brandy straight…the fiery sensation of the liquor almost burned his throat trying to match the pain in his heart.

                “Whooaa, Yonghwa, we have all night to drink”, Hyun Joong remarked as he stopped Yonghwa from grabbing the brandy bottle.

                “Hyun Joong, please be a good cousin and pour me another measure, okay”, Yonghwa raised his snifter waiting for Hyun Joong to pour him a measure but the other man just looked at him intently.

                “What happened, Yonghwa?” Hyun Joong asked seriously. Yonghwa was not into drinking alcoholic drinks. He only drank when there were occasions…the most that he had were two flutes of champagne or wine. The only time he saw him indulge in hard drinks was years ago when…

                “Hyun Joong, I lost her already even without making her mine”, Yonghwa bitterly said…his voice already hoarse from crying but tears would not stop from falling.

                “What do you mean you lost her?” Hyun Joong was starting to get that feeling that something bad happened when Yonghwa met Shinhye.

                “He was promised by her grandfather in an arranged marriage to Cho Kyuhyun”, Yonghwa replied as he grabbed the brandy bottle and poured two measures on his snifter.

                “Cho Kyuhyun, the son of the Secretary of Education. I didn’t know that her family’s close with them”, Hyun Joong commented finally understanding his cousin’s wish to drink himself to death.

                “Shinhye…my Shinhye told me a lo-long time ago that her grandfather and Kyuhyun’s grandfather were best friends…taught at University of Incheon together and fought at the war together”.” Yonghwa drank the brandy while Hyun Joong reflectively nipped at his own brandy.

                “Will her parents honor the contract?” Hyun Joong asked.

                “Shinhye said that her parents would meet with Kyuhyun’s and they would talk…her father would find a way out of the deal.” Yonghwa gestured with his left hand while holding the brandy snifter on his right hand.

                “They’ll talk so they might find a settlement for this problem, Yonghwa”, Hyun Joong tried to make the situation lighter when he knew as clearly a Yonghwa knew that it would not be the case.

                “Hyun Joong, please, you and I both knew how it would end. Mr. Cho would not allow Shinhye out his clutches…he won’t agree to d-dissolve the c-contract”, Yonghwa again drank two measures of brandy…his voice started to slur.

                “You might be right, cousin, Mr. Cho is aspiring to be a senator this coming elections. He will use Shinhye’s family to support his political ambition”, Hyun Joong concluded.

                Shinhye’s family owned the biggest publishing company and printing press which circulated three of the mostly read and bought newspapers not to mention several magazines in the country. The Park Publishing and Printing also supplied books and materials on major bookstores. Politicians asked their services for campaign materials and fliers, most wanted to be featured in their newspapers and magazines for publicity.

                “Yeah…Shinhye’s family owns what he needs to promote his candidacy…her father is also the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of this country which will be good for his reputation”, Yonghwa bitterly added.

                “Of course…it’s only logical that he’ll choose her…he would not want to marry his son to either of us, would he?” Hyun Joong sarcastically remarked.

                Hyun Joong’s family owned K Channel and K Talent Agency, the biggest private TV and radio broadcasting company which was even more popular than the government networks. The Kims, the Jungs with their chains of hotels and real estate and the Parks occupied the highest rungs as the wealthiest families of South Korea.

                “Know what’s the funny thing is? I-if I had married Shinhye years ago this would never happened to us. If she was married before he reached 22 the contract will be null and void but she already turned 22 last August. I was so…so…stupid!” Yonghwa put his face on his hands and pulled his hair backwards.

                “Ahhh! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” Yonghwa starting to bang his forehead on the mini bar’s counter top.

                “Yonghwa, stop it you’ll hurt yourself and it won’t solve anything!” Hyun Joong exclaimed.

                “Hyun Joong, why is it that no matter how…how…how much I drink? How much I cried? How…how much I hurt myself my heart won’t feel numb? I love her, I love her so much and now…now…she’s gone!” Yonghwa again grabbed the brandy and before Hyun Joong could stop him he again poured and drank two measures.

                “Why do I have to be the good best friend? Why? Why?” Yonghwa’s jaw clenched and his hand tightened its grip on the snifter. The snifter’s thinner glass didn’t survive and it broke cutting his fingers.

                “What the hell! Yonghwa!” Hyun Joong exclaimed as he saw Yonghwa’s right hand bleeding. He bolted from his seat and went to the door of the mini bar and called for the servant to bring the medicinal kit.

                The next day, Yonghwa woke up with a massive hang over. He was lying on his bed still wearing his clothes from yesterday only his white polo had faint smears of blood...

                “Bloody hell!” Yonghwa exclaimed in pain as his right hand connected with the bed when he tried to sit.

                “Good thing you’re awake.” Hyun Joong leaned at the frame of his door looking at him.

                Upon seeing Hyun Joong, Yonghwa then remembered everything that transpired last night.

                “I’m sorry to have bothered you, Hyun Joong”, Yonghwa apologized.

                “Nonsense…we’re cousins…more like brothers; ‘sides you did the same for me when I nearly drank myself to death when my dad died, right”, Hyun Joong comfortingly said.

                “Thank you, cousin”, Yonghwa said and he smiled slightly.

                “Just remember that you owe me one. By the way, I already breakfasted. I need to go home immediately; last night mother surprisingly arrived earlier from her trip from France and didn’t find me home. I just told her I’m here.” Hyun Joong informed Yonghwa.

               "Give your mother a kiss of welcome from me, cousin", Yonghwa said.

                “Okay, I’ll go ahead. I asked your servants to prepare breakfast for you, okay? If you have time…have lunch with me and mom. Yonghwa, I hope that you’ll give my advice a consideration.” Hyun Joong said as he closed Yonghwa’s door and started to walk going to the grand staircase.

               Yonghwa lay on his bed. He said many things last night and everything was coming back to him even his conversation with Hyun Joong who then treated his hand wound.

                “Why don’t you fight for her, Yonghwa? You love Shinhye, right?” Hyun Joong asked as he cleaned Yonghwa’s wound with anticeptic.

                Yonghwa gritted his teeth as his wounded hand throbbed. “I wanted to…heaven knows I wanted to but…”

                “Are you worried about the scandal?” Hyun Joong followed with another question.

                “I don’t care about the scandal…what my father did years ago made me immune with the scandal but Shinhye’s family has a sterling reputation in the society…untainted with any scandal or fault…should I risk it, Hyun Joong?”

                “You love her…so it might be worth the risk”, Hyun Joong commented.

                “I love her but even though I can feel that she loves me, too,… should I hope that she’ll risk her family’s reputation to… to…to….defy the arrangement and have a relationship with me?” Yonghwa groggily asked. 

                “Why not? Her parents like you for her, don’t they?” Hyun Joong asked back.

                “Yes, her mother and father are open in saying that she likes me to marry Shinhye when the right time comes. That was the case before this agreement came along”, Yonghwa replied.

                “I guess…I will advice you not to mope and spend your time crying and drinking. Wait for the result of the negotiation, Yonghwa. There’s always a hope for you to end up with Shinhye as long as she is not yet married to Kyuhyun.” Hyun Joong encouragingly told his cousin.

                “Are you trying to tell me exactly what I think you’re thinking?” Yonghwa asked.

                “Yeah…if ever the negotiations failed; good for you and even if it succeeded don’t let it deter you from telling her that you love her…she deserves it. If she feels the same for you…let her decide if she would go with the marriage or go with you.” Hyun Joong explained lengthily.

                “And the scandal…her reputation and her family?” Yonghwa asked.

                “Yonghwa, there’s a saying that if you want something badly; you’ll find a way to have it but if you don’t want something; you’ll find a lot of excuses not to do it”, Hyun Joong said as he assisted Yonghwa out of the mini bar and helped him to bed.   

                “Thank you for your advice, Hyun Joong, I’ll wait for the result of the marriage negotiations. Shinhye, my love, you’re worth everything…I’ll take my chances with you.”Recalling his conversation with Hyun Joong…he was filled with determination and hope that everything will turn out well.

Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for inspiring me to write my story. Thanks for the comments; i really appreciate them a lot...Please keep your comments coming and please keep on supporting my story.