Lee Mansion, Bukchon

“W-what? What are you said Howon?”, Sunggyu stuttered when Hoya suddenly said  that he will get married, with no other than Eunji. An hour before, suddenly Hoya come to their house, in Bukchon, woke him up, and here they are now. In Hoya’s bedroom.

          “I’ll married with Eunji, Hyung.”, calmly he said to Sunggyu, aware of his shocked hyung. He already made up his mind, brace him self, that he will take what ever it is to make her his again. What ever.

          “W-what?”, perplexed Sunggyu still can seems to get it right. Awaken in the middle of the night by his ‘missing in action for a weeks’ cousin, and suddenly hear this shocking news. He still can’t believe what he heard before is true, or is it just a dream. “What do you mean by married, Howon-a. And Hyerim, I mean Eunji... I don’t think that she will approved that. I do think that she’s still love you though, but marriage? I don’t think it’s right, Howon-a.”

          “She’s already agreed, Hyung. That’s why I told you now. And I hope you will help me to prepare all of this. Include to let Grams and auntie know.”

          “Huh? Agreed? But..?”

          “She just agreed, Hyung, trust me, I’m positively sober and in my right mind now.”, Hoya tried to reassured Sunggyu.

          But all his brother do is widely open his little eyes and disbeliefly looked at him.

...

“Eunji-a....are you sure?”, Chorong asked her when she told them about her plan to marry Hoya. “Is anything happen? It’s just impossible for you to go for likely 6 hour ago and get home with this shocking announcement.” She sternly looked at her, while their two other friends just agape their mouth when hear that.

It’s a Saturday night, they usually spent their time together. Sometimes eating out, or shopping, or drinking, or sometimes just in their home, watching some movie. And this noon, Eunji said that she will met her friend. And weird enough, she spent some time to get ready, to pick clothes and else just not like her, and she put some make up. She also looked nervous. So they curious about the person that she will met. The only man that they know involved in her life is Yoseob, and Yoseob is in Tokyo right now.

And suddenly, when she’s back home, she told them that she will get married. And the most shocking part is that the person is Hoya. They all know how her feel about Hoya. But she just shrugged her shoulder when they all bombarded her with question. And goes to her room. They heard her cried though.

“Eunji-a are you sure?" Chorong asked her again the next day when Enji and Chorong have a dinner together, just the two of them. Bomi is in her shift and Yookyung visited her uncle in the downtown. Chorong really didn't understand her desicion to get married with Hoya. She didn't told her or their friends anything that night. But still she tried to digging more from her.

"Eonnie.... I'm fine. I'm sure about it.” Eunji answered her. Tried to asured her best friend about her announcement yesterday. She knew that they shocked for sure. But she didn't have another choice. Did she? She didn't know either. His offer. Her choice. It's not just about her. His threat is Yoseob. The one that she treasured in her life. Friend that always there for her when she's in her pit of life. A torch of light that bring her back from the darkness of her remorse. He stand for her all these time. He is her hope. Her brother. Her family. She couldn't just leave him like that. His dream. Ready to get crushed because of her. Because of the selfishness of the man that she had once love. Because of his craziness. So she took that decision. To give him all that he wanted. To protect the one that she cherished that most.

Eunji sighed. The conversation between them yesterday still vivid in her mind.

“What? Marriage? Me? With you? Are you kidding me? Are you crazy? Are you get out of your mind?”, she yelled at him, too perplexed to acted all cold to him. Like she always do these times.

“No”, Hoya put his cappucino, slowly, calmly. With content face and grins that become spiteful for her. His face, his voice, his gesture made her scared. She already know the childish Hoya, angry Hoya, sweet Hoya, that he loved once, and sad Hoya that she always avoided these days. But not this Hoya. Something in him feared her. “I’m not kidding. I’m serious. Really serious. You can read all that file, and give me the answer.” With calm voice he gestured her to read the file that he thrown earlier and sipped his cappucino again. Eyes fixed at her.

She read all that. She knows all of his words is true. All that files told her that he is serious. That he really can push Yoseob into his bankruptcy. More of that the end of his dreams. His career. Flustered, she lift her head and face him. The man in front of him. Hoya. She didn’t know that he could do something like this. It’s not the Hoya that she knew all along. But how can she sure that she knew him after all. She never know whatever in his mind, in his heart. She can’t read him. He is a closed book for her, forbidden to opened.

“Why?”, the first word that she uttered to him when actually she find her voice again. “Why?”, he tilted his head to his left and huffed. “So, deal?”, he asked her.

“De-deal? What?”, she stuttered, to scared to hear the words from his mouth. “Marry me, and I will not lay a finger to him. Or not, and you can watch his broken.” His voice is cold, and the smirk is still lingers in the edge of his mouth. He must be sure that she will agreed. He bet all his life for that.

“Why?”, she asked him again, “Why Yoseob oppa?”.

“Why him?”, he squinted his eyes, she can read something in there at last. Rage. Hate. Envy. “Because he took you...”

“What? Me? But...”

“I’m not come here for chatted and recalled all the past with you. Just answer me. Yes or not. But think wisely, his dream is in your hand.”

“Lee Howon...”, she hissed, “How could you...”

“Yes or no?”, he grins, he can feel that she took his bait. He satisfied that all of his plan worked. But still he can’t ignore the pain that stings his heart. To know that she actually cared for Yoseob that much.

“...” she looked at him. Eyes to eyes. He looked her brown eyes, how he still lost in those two orbs. The orbs whose telling nothing but anger. “Alright. I’ll do all you want. Don’t you ever touch him”, she hissed. Those eyes that still looked at him full of rage. Anger. Fury. She grabbed those files, try to hide her trembled hands. She get up from her chair and looked at him for the last time, “I hate you Lee Howon.” And get out from that place.

Chorong looking at her again. Eunji lost in her mind. She saw her sighing. “Eunji-a...” Her voice wake her up from her wrecked mind. She tried to smile to her. She told her that she's sure. But her eyes keep wandered. Chorong knew her. Chorong knew her like her own sister. She can read her that much to know that she scared. There's so much emotion in those eyes. And most of that is fear. Chorong knew that Jung Hyerim is still love Hoya. After all he is her first love. And there's Eunji between them. The string of fate that bring them together yet that will always linger as a scar of their past. The hope and the love that grabbed away from Hyerim. She blamed herself for lost her. For falling in love with him. To expect the unexpectable. And that hurt just so unbearable until she choose to left. Left this place, left him, and left herself. To bring herself a new her. To be Jung Eunji. That day, her sanity left her. For her Jung Hyerim is dead, and Jung Eunji is live.

She wished that she'll forget those feeling if she life as Eunji. But the past is like a tattoo, you can't get rid of that if it already stamped in your body. The scar will always stayed there. And the hurt will always remain. Maybe you can run from it but somehow, somewhere, and sometime, you'll realize that these long it always runned with you.

She realized it now. How far that she had run all these times. How hard she tried to burried her past behind. To pushed him down from her conscious mind. But this all became null when she’s back here. When she looked at him once again. How much she hate him, how much she convinced herself that she hate him, that he is nothing for her, nonethless, she’s still shaken everytime she looked at his eyes.

"Eunji a... you know you can a trust me. I'll do everything I can to help you."

"Eonnie... I know." She averted her eyes below. Can’t bear to looked at her. "I know that you'll help me. But not this time, eonnie. You were right. I can't run forever. From him or from Jung Hyerim. From myself."

"Maybe it's the right time from me to asked again to myself. What I want. What I really feel. About him and about all of these. Whether I already forgive myself or not."

"I always be thankful for you Eonnie.” She looked at her. Those pretty brown eyes became clear in front of her. She can see that determined soul in hers. “Just keep stayed with me. It'll make me strong. Strong enough to face my biggest fear."

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Have a fun reading....

GBU