Chapter 9
“You’re doing very well,” the voice on the other line silkily praised him. “I applaud you for a job well done.”

“I’m only doing this because you promised you’d leave her alone,” Keiji spat, closing his eyes in irritation.

“If you do your job right, I will.”

“And what are you going to do if I don’t?” he challenged, gripping the phone tightly.

“Do you really want to know, Kang Dae?”

“Stop calling me that!” he spat. Without another word, he ended the call and threw the cordless phone across the room.

He leaned his head back on the wall as he slumped down to the floor. He knew he was the losing end in all of this. That was a given right from the beginning. Despite all his efforts, he knew to whom her heart belonged to. But he can’t stop now. Not when he felt her life was in danger.

~ * ~

“You bought a nine-bedroom house?!” Sun Young exclaimed so loudly over the phone that Jin Ri had to pull it away from her ear.

Sun Young, Jin Ri’s closest cousin slash one of her best friends, was currently in Europe for her very much delayed honeymoon with Il Sung. A week after she had divulged her secret wedding ceremony to her, they had come forward to her father during their family dinner and told him that they had gotten married. Jin Ri could remember how surprised her uncle had looked, but how such look immediately disappeared. Her uncle had stood up from his seat and walked over to Il Sung, who had stood up, and hugged him. Everyone was surprised. Her uncle had never been one to be that affectionate, not even to his own kids. As it turns out, her uncle had actually wanted Il Sung to be his son-in-law for a long time now. He just didn’t want to pressure them into anything, most especially not after what happened between Jin Ri and Kyuhyun.

“We did,” Jin Ri proudly answered. “Kyuhyun wants a big family and I’m willing to give that to him.” She smiled as she walked across the bedroom to look at her reflection in the mirror and brush her hair. Kyuhyun was already out of the house for his schedules.

“It really amazes me how in love you are with him,” Sun Young scoffed. “Who would’ve thought this day would come?” After the whole thing with Shin Jae in the past, Sun Young had always wondered what kind of man her cousin would fall in love with if and when she ever fell in love. Now she knew that that kind of man was Kyuhyun. The very same day that Jin Ri had met Kyuhyun, Sun Young had already noticed a change in her. She wasn’t the same person since they had met.

“What’s not to love?” Jin Ri stated, her smile growing bigger. “He makes it so easy.” She wanted to elaborate some more but she knew that it would only be met with groans. “Where’s Il Sung oppa? Shouldn’t you guys be gallivanting off somewhere?”

“We are gallivanting off,” Sun Young told her. “We’re currently in Paris if you must know and Sungie’s off buying me some food. I just wanted to call to check on you. I feel like we haven’t talked in such a long time.”

“We haven’t,” Jin Ri confirmed. They’d both been busy the past few months. Between spending time with Kyuhyun and her work and Sun Young being off touring Europe, there really wasn’t much time to talk to each other. “Which is why I’m glad you called. I miss you.”

“I’ll be home soon,” Sun Young assured her, the smile evident in the tone of her voice. “Anyway, I’d better be a godmother to your kids.”

“All of them?” Jin Ri teased. “Let me remind you that my husband wants a soccer team of kids. Are you sure you want to put yourself through that?”

“Okay, maybe just the eldest then,” Sun Young decided, chuckling. “Anyway, I shall call again soon. Take care, okay?”

“You too,” Jin Ri stated. “And say hello to Il Sung oppa for me.”

“Will do,” Sun Young said and hung up after saying another goodbye.

Jin Ri smiled as she tossed the cordless phone on the bed and started looking through her closet for what she was going to wear that day. She needed to go to the office for a while, although it was Saturday, to check some stuff and get the camera equipment she had left there the previous day.

~ * ~

Growing up, he’d always lived life simply. His family wasn’t well off and so he made sure that there wasn’t any drama in his life so as to cause more distress to his parents. He got good grades in school. He made friends with the good kids. He never fought with anyone in school, never cheated, never did anything wrong. He was the typical good boy.

But somewhere along the way, his life changed and he changed. Until now, he was still living in the effects of those changes.

He blew out a breath as he sat back down on his seat, thinking about the phone conversation he just had. He’d never felt so torn in his life. He knew what the right thing to do was. But, at the same time, in his situation, doing the wrong thing seemed to be the right thing in the end, in the bigger scheme of things.

“Keiji?” a voice through the doorway called, startling him.

Keiji turned around in time to see Jin Ri walk in their office, looking absolutely beautiful. Even in a simple skirt and blouse combination, she looked like she was going to walk the runway. She never failed to make him speechless.

“Hey,” he coolly responded. “What are you doing here?” He watched as she made her way towards her office, getting her keys from her purse.

“I just came to get the camera equipment that I left here, as well as take a look at the documents that the secretary left for me to sign,” she explained. “What are you doing here?”

“I…” He took a deep breath. “I was hoping to see you actually.”

“And you thought of waiting for me here?” she chuckled, opening her office door and leaving it open so that they could talk. He followed her until the doorway. “Why did you want to see me?” she then asked, going behind her desk and looking through the papers stacked on top.

“I wanted to ask you why you’re avoiding me,” he bluntly stated, looking directly at her. Although he knew why she was doing so, he wanted to hear it from her. He was still hoping that maybe he was wrong.

Jin Ri stopped going through the papers on her desk and looked up at him, startled at the question. “Keiji,” she hesitantly began.

“I think I deserve an explanation,” he demanded.

“So you’re ambushing me?” she questioned, glancing at the open doorway.

He noticed where she was looking so he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. “You don’t just ignore someone and not tell them why you’re doing so,” he went on. “I want to understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. What did I do to deserve this?”

She sighed. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “Things just have to be this way.”

“Why?” he pressed, moving closer to the desk. He thought he noticed her take a step back.

“I’m married,” she reasoned, looking at him pleadingly. “It doesn’t seem right if I’m hanging out with a guy who’s not my husband all the time.”

“What about you hanging out with those Super Junior boys?” he argued. “I don’t see you distancing yourself from them.”

“They’re Kyuhyun’s family,” she responded, “which means they’re my family, too.”

“So I’m the only one getting this unfair treatment,” he spat resentfully. “How fantastic.”

“Please understand,” she began, frowning at the tone of his voice.

“How am I supposed to understand?” he suddenly blasted out. “Have you forgotten everything that I’ve done for you?” He moved around the desk so that he was standing directly in front of her.

“Of course I haven’t,” she immediately countered.

“But what? You’re just going to throw me aside now that Kyuhyun’s your husband?” he continued, ignoring her.

She looked at him, a mixture of surprise and confusion on her face. “Keiji, Kyuhyun and I got back together two years ago and we’ve been married for a year. Why are you doing this now?”

“Because I can’t take it anymore,” he blurted out, grabbing her on her upper arms. “You know how I feel about you.”


She was crying again.

He watched as she tried to dry her eyes and her face to no avail. Her tears wouldn’t stop falling, a reminder of how her heart hadn’t stopped hurting.

Walking up to her, he handed her his handkerchief. She looked up at him through tear-streaked eyes and smiled appreciatively, taking it and dabbing it on her eyes and cheeks.

“We’re always meeting like this,” she said, forcing out a chuckle. “Me crying and you drying my tears.”

He sat down on the space on the grass beside her, pulling his knees up and resting his arms on it. “What can I do to stop you from crying like this?” he wanted to know.

Smiling, she shook her head. “Even I can’t do anything to stop myself from crying like this.” She sighed and looked up at the night sky. “But I wish I can forget. Just for a moment. Even just for a second, I don’t want to hurt.”

Without warning, he touched her chin and moved her face towards his.

And he kissed her.


“Keiji,” she hesitated, pushing him away. “Please don’t do this. I’m married,” she repeated incessantly. “I’m with Kyuhyun and I’ll always be with Kyuhyun.” She moved around the desk so that she was on the side where the door was.

“Jin,” he started, moving to go towards her as she opened the door.

She turned around, making him stop in his tracks. “I’m going to forget this ever happened. I’m going to forget that you just threw back in my face things that I never asked from you and promised not to talk about anymore,” she expressed.

“Jin,” he tried again, taking a step towards her.

“I’m sure you can show yourself out,” she said and, without another word, walked away.

Jin Ri hurried away from her office and away from their department. She was about to breath a sigh of relief because she had gotten away from there when she suddenly stopped in her tracks, gasping aloud in shock.

Donghae stood in front of her, his hands in his pockets.

“It seems there’s something we have to talk about,” he said, staring at her.

~ * ~

“Just one more kiss.”

Jin Ri giggled as Kyuhyun’s lips descended down on her own as he hitched one of her legs up and wrapped them around his waist, effectively shoving any coherent thought out of her head. She gave in, like she usually did, and wrapped her arms around his neck once more, enjoying the sensations that went through her as he languidly caressed her leg with his hand. She couldn’t help but think how wonderful it was to make kids.

Ever since the decision to have kids, they had gone to the doctor, had both of themselves checked. When they both found out they were healthy, every possible moment together was an opportunity. She wondered if there was such a thing as too much husband and wife activities.

He had just carried her, both of her legs now wrapped around his waist, and had just pressed her against a wall when the doorbell rang again.

Ding dong.

Ding dong.

Dingdongdingdongdingdongdingdong.

Jin Ri burst out in laughter as Kyuhyun groaned in frustration, his forehead on her shoulder.

“We should really let them in,” Jin Ri breathlessly said.

“I’m going to kill them,” Kyuhyun violently decided as she brought his wife down.

“We can always continue this later,” she suggestively stated, wiggling her eyebrows.

They walked towards the front door and walked out of the house towards the gate. Just as she put her hand on the gate knob to let their guests in, he suddenly lunged towards her, trapping her in between him and the metal door.

“Kyuhyun,” she shrieked as he continued where they left off. She was really going to go crazy with how he capably blew her mind.

Dingdongdingdongdingdongdingdongdingdongdingdongdingdong.

He growled, reluctantly letting her go, and opened the door forcefully when door pounding started to happen.

“YA!!!” Kyuhyun yelled.

There were a couple more things he wanted to say, but wasn’t able to because Kangin and Shindong had knocked him to the ground. The two wrestled him to the ground, berating him for letting them wait and, most especially, for letting them hear their lovey-doveyness. Jin Ri blushed as she saw the other members looked horrified. Ryeowook even had his ears covered with his hands.

“You’re worse than us,” Leeteuk commented as everyone finally entered the house, his famous cackle echoing everywhere.

Angie elbowed him in the stomach, making him grunt. She turned to the host couple but didn’t say anything, just watching them affectionately. Jin Ri was fixing Kyuhyun’s shirt, which Kangin and Shindong shamelessly rumpled, along with his hair which was sticking up all over the place.

“Thanks, princess,” Kyuhyun appreciatively told her, giving her a kiss on the forehead, then dashed towards the house yelling at Kangin and Shindong to hide because he was going to murder them. Shortly after, Leeteuk ran after him, yelling at all of them to stop acting like kids.

Jin Ri shook her head at how childish her husband could be sometimes, but didn’t think anymore of it because his hyungs were childish too. She turned to Angie, who looked amused, as if nothing had happened.

“Sorry about that,” Jin Ri stated. “And about… the other thing.” She suddenly looked uncomfortable. She herself hated it when Leeteuk and Angie answered the door of their home in a lip lock so she should have known better than to give them an audio preview of their couple activities.

“Don’t worry about it, dear,” Angie told her soothingly, patting her cheek. “I can’t exactly blame you for how the boys behave. And you shouldn’t worry about the other thing as well. If anything, I’m happy you and Kyuhyun have a healthy relationship.”

“Where are the twins?” Jin Ri asked, clearing and changing the subject.

“With Jungsoo’s mom,” Angie explained. “The kids adore her and we thought that it would be nice to be with you guys without having to worry about things being broken and such.” She chuckled. She looked up when she heard yelling coming from the kitchen. “I think we should go check what those boys are doing to each other.” Chuckling, she made her way through the house towards the kitchen.

Jin Ri turned to follow after her, laughing bubbling in her chest when she noticed that a member had stayed behind by the doorway. The smile immediately disappeared from her face when she saw who it was.

“Donghae oppa,” she quietly greeted him.

“You haven’t told him,” Donghae flatly stated, his hands in his pockets. Ever since he overheard the conversation that she and Keiji had in the office, he had been watching her and Kyuhyun more closely. He knew that some things would change once Jin Ri revealed what really happened in Japan and he just wanted to be prepared to support the both of them for whatever might happen.

“There’s nothing to tell, oppa,” Jin Ri hesitatingly responded. “Nothing happened between us.” She shifted uncomfortably in her stance as he studied her, a slight tilt to his head. Donghae had been one of the nicest ones to her throughout all of the time she had known them. It was the first time she was seeing such a side of him. But she knew it wasn’t for nothing. He was doing it for Kyuhyun.

“Everyone who says that always means that something did happen,” he quipped. He was about to walk away towards the other when he stopped and faced her once more. “Kyuhyun hates secrets as you should very well know by now. If you don’t tell him, I will.”

~ * ~

“Crap!” Kyuhyun exclaimed. He stopped the cleaning the counter and stood still, glancing at the wall clock.

“What is it?” Jin Ri asked, startled.

Everyone had just left the house after a hearty lunch at the patio. It was a lot of fun, considering everyone had been so busy the past few weeks. Granted that it wasn’t the same without everyone there, everyone still had a good time. Heechul and Yesung had called in, though, to let everyone know they were still alive and doing quite well. Zhoumi was in China, working on a drama project, as well as writing some songs. Henry was in Canada, doing some further studies while he was on break from Super Junior M. Taeyeon, meanwhile, was back in Japan with her members for another round of promotions. Despite being incomplete, having everyone gathered made Jin Ri feel so complete and she knew that Kyuhyun felt the same way. He was a er for having family around.

“I forgot that I have to meet Hyo Sun for a quick bite this afternoon,” he sighed, glancing at his wife. The lunch with the members and Angie had gone on longer than they had expected, seeing as it was a rare opportunity for everyone to be all together these days.

“I’m sure you can still make it,” she said, glancing up at the clock. “What time did you say you were meeting her?”

“3:30,” he answered. It was already 3:15.

“If you leave now, you can still make it,” she said, walking over to him and grabbing the cleaning clothe that he was using to wipe the counter. “Go,” she said, giving him a quick kiss and pushing him out of the kitchen.

Kyuhyun and Hyo Sun’s friendship had been back on track ever since they saw each other again last September. They’d been going out a lot, whenever he was free from his schedules and whenever she was free from her work. They had had countless coffee dates, lunch outs, and even dinner get togethers. Jin Ri smiled when she thought about how Kyuhyun told her about things that happened between them in high school. The young and even dorkier Kyuhyun came back. He was like a young boy again.

She had started washing the dishes when she suddenly felt arms wrap around her waist. She chuckled when she felt Kyuhyun start kissing her neck.

“I thought you said you have to meet Hyo Sun,” Jin Ri reminded him, still continuing to wash the dishes.

“I don’t have to,” Kyuhyun murmured through her neck, nuzzling it. “I’d rather be here with you, watching you wash the dishes.”

“Only watching?” she repeated in amusement. “Not helping?”

“Mhmm,” he mumbled, getting lost in her milky neck.

There was a short silence, where in he just continued on with his ministrations and she just stood there, cleaning up and letting him get on with what he was doing. When he realized that she wasn’t responding, he stopped and lifted his head up.

“Is something wrong?” he asked, confused.

“Are you ever going to introduce me to Hyo Sun?” she politely asked.

“Of course I am,” he answered immediately.

“Oh okay,” she replied, feeling contented.

He watched as she just went on with cleaning like she hadn’t just asked a weird question. After his brain processed the short exchange, he grabbed the plate she was washing and put it on the sink then made her face him.

“Is there something you want to tell me? Anything you’re worried about?” he asked straightforwardly, gazing at her.

“Like what?” she asked, her brow furrowing at his sudden actions and questions.

“Are you, perhaps, jealous of Hyo Sun?” he pressed, closely watching her reaction. He frowned when she ended up laughing, which was the least thing he thought she would do. “What’s so funny about that?”

“Oh Kyu,” she giggled, touching his cheek and patting it lightly. “I’m just really looking forward to meeting your childhood friend. Of course I’m not jealous.”

“You’re not?” he blurted out, surprised. With all the time he was spending with Hyo Sun, all of his hyungs, even some of his friends from the other groups, had started to berate him about it. He had always wondered what his wife thought. “But we dated and everything.”

“Is there a reason for me to be jealous?” she wanted to know, putting her hand down.

“No, definitely not,” was his immediate answer.

“Good answer,” she said. To reward him, she stood on tiptoe and gave him a kiss. “I love you, okay? Just because I don’t get jealous, doesn’t mean I don’t.”

He nodded mutely. As usual, she was more mature than he was. She started to walk out of the kitchen. But before she could walk through the door, he grabbed her and gave her a kiss. He cupped her face and moved his lips against hers as lovingly as he could.

“Kyu?” she questioned when he pulled away. There were some instances where Kyuhyun’s kisses meant more than just a simple kiss. She was sure that this was one of those times.

“I’m sorry,” he declared.

“For what?” she asked, dumbfounded. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I’ve been stupid and harsh with the way I dealt with your close friendship with Keiji,” he explained. “I should have never told you to stop going out with him alone or going out with him at all. It wasn’t very mature of me and—.”

She shook her head, interrupting him. “Don’t apologize for that. You have every right to act the way you did,” she told him. This time she was the one who kissed him.

As he kissed her back, he couldn’t help but think about the flicker of worry he saw in her eyes when he mentioned Keiji’s name.