"She what?!" Yongguk slammed his fist onto the table beside him.

"One of my cousin who works for the Kim family said there had been an argument between Himchan and Nicole, he suddenly got angry as he kicked her in the stomach which caused her to have a miscarriage..." Hyun lowered his head.

"He what?" Yongguk felt his heart beat slowly fasten as he clenched onto his fist tightly, "How's her condition," he closed his eyes.

"She's fine...but is getting medical treatment,"

"Ani," Yongguk quickly stood up from his seat.

"Where are you planning to go young master?" Hyun quickly stood up to block Yongguks way.

"I have to go meet her," Yongguk tried to walk by Hyun who followed his every step.

"You were the reason to why she got that miscarriage!" Hyun firmly stated.

"What?" Yongguk stood shock.

The towns doctor felt Nicole's wrist and her pulse checking her condition. Himchan sat beside them as the towns doctor pulled away from her hands.

"I'll have some of the nurses come with her medicine in the evening, for the time being please take care of her, she's to weak let her rest, this winter is extremely cold so keep her warm her body really needs that right now." Himchan nodded his head as the doctor and a few of his nurses left the bedroom chamber.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her who slowly opened her tired eyes.

"I'm feeling okay," she said with a soft low tone, "I dreamt about our baby last night..." tears ran down the outer corner of her eyes, "it was a baby boy...he had your eyes, your nose and your mouth...you held onto him tightly...it made me happy, seeing you happy..."

Yongguk step outside feeling the coldness of winters blanket. Hyun followed behind him making sure to not lose sight of him.

 

---------------------------------------------------FLASH BACK--------------------------------------------------------

"Remember she is a married women now, though you still love her you cannot comfort her..." Hyun sadly told Yongguk who fell onto his knees.

"So what? You're asking me to only hear about her misfortune and expect me to not care, to not reach for her?"

"Ne, what else can you do?"

---------------------------------------------------END OF FLASH BACK--------------------------------------------------------

"You're here," Daehyun smiled, "sit, I have something to discuss with you."

"What?" Ji Eun asked.

Madam Jung and Sir Jung were standing outside the Kim's residence as they came to visit their daughter. The front gates opened as they bowed before Himchan.

"I'm really sorry," His head hung low embarrassed in front of his mother and father in law.

"Ani, as long as she's okay." Madam Jung smiled walking past him.

"Should I regret the choice that I made?" Sir Jung placed his left hand on Himchan's left shoulder before following behind his wife.

Sir Kim and Madam Kim bowed before Nicole's parents. As they led them to her chamber. Nicole's parents enter her room together by themselves. They saw her small body laying there, fast asleep with both arms tucked inside the blanket on top of her. They sat beside her as Madam Jung placed her right hand on top of her daughter's forehead waking her up.

"Umma?" Nicole's eyes slowly opened as she gave them a weak smile.

"How's my Yong Joo?" Sir Jung grabbed for her hands from under her blanket with tears rolling down his face.

"Appa, please don't cry..." she held back her tears, "I'm not hurt I'm just tired...but seeing Appa and Umma right by my side I feel less tired..."

"Silly girl," Madam Jung smiled as her tears dripped down her face, "if you're hurt let umma and Appa know...don't try to hide it."

"I'm truly fine," Nicole smiled weakly, "I'm fine."

Nicole's parents walked out of her chamber while the Kim were already outside. The two couple were led towards the front gates as the Kim's followed behind. Sir Jung before walking out turned around and bowed.

"Please do take care of Nicole...as a father the only thing you would want for you child is happiness..." the evening air grew colder as he stared at them with a earnest heart hoping they'll take in his words, "to see your child in such condition is to much don't you think so?"

"We truly apologize," Sir Kim bowed ashamed as his wife and Himchan did the same.

"What's done is already done," Madam Jung replied, "please just take care of her." with that they left the Kim's residences.

"She what?" Daehyun who quickly sat up from his cushion in their living space.

"Your sister had a miscarriage," Madam Jung repeated herself as she stared at her cup of tea lazily, "she seemed to be in such pain Daehyun-ah..."

"Yeobo, let's not talk about it anymore." Sir Jung rested his forehead on the palm of his hands.

"So pale and fragile...even now my heart is so torn for all that she had to go through...maybe in her next lifetime she would be happier."

The sun began to set in the far distant, as Yongguk left the residence. He made his way towards the small restaurant that he usually went to drink away his pain. When he got there for some odd reason it felt different.  He sat down on the mattress floor outside as he stared up towards the darkening sky, in the winter night the stars hid away leaving the moon and clouds to be together.

"Ajumma," Yongguk softly called out without taking his eyes away from the sky, "please bring me some bottle of soju..."

"Ne," she quickly went inside and brought out the bottle of soju and placed them on his table as he then began to slowly drink away.

After taking so many shots by himself he became drunk, tonight he drank more than the usual and his stomach burned with the alcohol he had consumed. His eyes were slowly closing yet he kept them open, he placed his money on the table as he stumbled off into the dark.  He felt his feet giving up on him as he tumbled onto the dirt road, people that were passing on by in the night grunted annoyed with Yongguk who blocked their way.

"How long do you expect to do this?" He heard a soft whisper asking him as he then looked up to find a blurry image of someone standing in front of him, "let me take you home."

"Ani, I rather stay here..." he drunkenly replied trying to figure out who it was as he then saw as the figure moved in closer to him it was Ji Eun as she pulled him up.

When they reached the outside of Yongguk's residence he asked her to sit outside their gates with him for awhile. She sat down as she held his body near her chest with her left hand on his head and her right hand around his drunken body. He stared at the dirt ground in front of him as he felt the comfort he had longed for, Ji Eun stared down towards him who's back was towards her but being able to hold him made her happy.

"Jung Nicole Yong Joo," she finally heard him speaking, "usually I'm able to drink you right off my mind but I miss you so much tonight, so so much..." his tears dripped onto Ji Eun's hanbok chima blouse as she then felt her tears running down while his head, "while drinking I can normally push you right out of my heart but it has become a battle that's to hard to fight, tonight you slowly sink into my veins the pain hurts like it's new," she heard him softly crying now with his deep low voice shaking as she bit her lower lips because she knew he thought she was Nicole, "everything that we were, everything that we had said, everything that we did and everything that I couldn't do is playing through my head tonight..."

"Yongguk-ah..."

"Ani," he looked up towards Ji Eun, "I'm not finished..." he forced a smile at her thinking she was Nicole...he turned back to look at the ground as he let a heavy sigh escaping his mouth and the sadness spread like wild fire once again as his eyes became watery. "Our memories burns brightly like fire tonight for some odd reason, sitting in these flames while praying that you'll come back." He then shut his eyes, "Closing my eyes tightly, holding on still and hoping that I'm dreaming, why won't you come wake me up from this bad dream? They keep telling me time will heal anything but this pain is worse than it ever was...and I know that you can't hear me, but I need you to save me tonight..." with that he fell asleep in Ji Eun's arms, as she then removed her left hand away from his head and wiped away her fallen tears.

"This is your chance..." she looked up and saw Daehyun a few feet away from the two of them, "you've come this far now...it's now your choice..."

"He still loves your sister..." She felt her tears welling up once again, "but I love him so much still..."

"Sometimes being selfish isn't such a bad thing," Daehyun smiled, "So?"

Nicole stood under the willow tree as she stared out towards the river that flowed smoothly, the clouds were shades of grey as the wind passed on by brushing against her, she then slowly grabbed for the jaded hairpin that held her hair up, she slowly pulled it out of her hair as her silky black hair slowly loosen. Yongguk who was standing a few feet away from her stared at her as her hair flown with the wind. She turned her head to the left slowly seeing him. Her eyes seemed tired and her face was as white as the snow.

"Don't do it..." He whispered to himself.

"Ani, I give up..." her words filled his ears with whispers.

"ANI!!" he ran towards her as he grabbed her into his embrace, "You can't do this to me, you can't!! Just breathing the same air is enough, just living under the same sky is enough!! You can't you just can't!!" He cried.

"Yes," Nicole who was held tightly by him buried her face in his chest, "the tears haven't dried up yet, inside my heart they keep on flowing...but what can I do?"

"Nicole...."

"My heart eventually will send you off again in that deep river, the longings creeps back little by little as the night grows colder and colder..."

"Nicole..."

"I came to wake you up," she pulled away from him, "you asked me to come wake you up from this bad dream...now it's time for you to face this world without me, this is my last entrance...I wish you nothing but happiness, so smile as I send you away." Nicole grabbed for his hand as she interwined their pinkys together, "promise me what ever happens you'll become a happier person, that you'll no longer cry? A river overflows, yours has drowned you over and over again so don't let it anymore..."

"Nicole, please don't...don't leave..."

"I never left," she said, "babo, when you wake that's when I'll leave..." she pulled her hands away now..."do you know why promises are often broken?"

"No...so tell me" he asked.

"Because someone stops trying or gives up..." she replied.

"You're saying this because?"

"I give up..." she answered, "morning is calling...a new life awaits you..."

"Ani, I don't want to wake up....stay!!" He watched as Nicole slowly backed away from him, "JUNG NICOLE YONG JOO!!" He reached his out towards her and felt the wind pressing itself against him.

"Annyeo.." he heard her whisper through the wind, then there was blackness.

Yongguk felt his eyes slowly opening, beside him he could see someones back towards him, the image became blurry then it became clear. He realized something wasn't right, as the body turned around he was shocked, it was Ji Eun sleeping next to him...his eyes widen.