After spending some time thinking at the rooftop of the hospital, Minho finally decided to go to Victoria’s apartment to confront with her about what she had done to him and Yuri. He thought what she had done in the past was cruel enough but actually she could do worse than that. Just thinking that he used to like and be close to that kind of person, made him felt so annoyed and disgusted.

Minho pressed the bell before a few seconds later, Victoria opened the door. “Oh, Minho!” She seemed quite shocked with his unexpected appearance at her apartment. However, she looked indeed very happy to see him. “Please come in.” She welcomed him inside happily.

Minho followed her behind entering her apartment. “Have a seat first before I make some simple meal for you. What do you prefer? A sandwich?”

“Noona, I’m not here to eat.” He said seriously. He tried his best to control his anger. Just seeing the person that had caused Yuri to hurt so much made him felt like killing someone.

“Y… yes?” Victoria was taken aback with Minho’s words.

“Did you do something wrong to me?” Minho continued asking angrily.

“Wh… why suddenly did you ask that kind of question?” Victoria kept stuttering. “Ha… have you gained your me… memory back?”

“Why? Does my question just now have connection to my gaining memory back?”

“Th… that doesn’t what I meant.” The sweat started to be seen on Victoria’s face.

All of a sudden, Minho yelled loudly as he already burst into anger as until the end, she didn’t want to admit her wrongdoing by herself. “HOW LONG NOONA WANT TO KEEP LYING TO ME?!!!” He even raised his hand in the air like he was going to hit her but he stopped midway as he hove a deep sigh while clenching his fist tightly.

“Mi… Minho…” Victoria looked extremely shocked with the sudden outburst of Minho’s anger and he seemed could even use violence to her out of anger. She unconsciously took a few steps backward because she seemed so scared of him as her tears started to fall down.

“Don’t act weak!!! Do you think I’ll be bought by your pathetic tears?!!”

“Minho, do you really have remembered everything?!” She asked in scare.

“Is that important right now?! How can you take advantage of my condition for your own good?!!!” Minho kept yelling loudly to her. “You were even willing to hurt other people too especially Yuri! Do you know how hurt she was?! Well, I guess you won’t even give a damn heck about that, weren’t you?!! How can you be such a cruel person?!!!”

“I do all of these because of you! I told you I can’t live without you!” Victoria raised her voice as she started sobbing.

“Is that how a person should do to get the love?! You are wrong!!! That’s not love!!! This is not the way to love someone!!! And, I told you, you can’t force my feelings! I don’t even love you before and after all of these incidents happened, I really hated you, I really hated you!!” He repeated to make it clear to her that he would never love a cruel person like her. “I love Yuri is the fact that no one can ever change, don’t you understand?!!! Honestly, even when I lost my memories, even when you tried to make me think badly of her, my heart still called for her, still missed her, still longed for her no matter how much effort I had put in to stop it.”

Victoria got speechless with the confession of Minho of his strong love towards Yuri. She couldn’t do anything and just stared at Minho in scare as her tears still didn’t stop falling.

Minho slowly bended and eventually, he knelt down in front of her which scared Victoria more that he let out his anger on her.

“M… Minho, what are you doing?” She asked anxiously as she tried to make him stand up back.

However, Minho insisted to stay on that way. “Noona, please… I’m begging you…” Eventually, Minho also shed tears. “Please… please let go of me and don’t hurt Yuri again… please, I’m asking you a favor, please…”

“Minho, please get up…”

“No, I want you to promise me, please… I don’t think I’ll be able to live if I see Yuri getting hurt again. Please…” His tears continuously fell down as he begged her.

“Minho, don’t say like that!” Victoria looked very shocked to hear that kind of words from Minho.

“No, I’m serious!!! I really can’t see her hurting. I feel like dying…”

“Alright, alright, I promise!!” Victoria immediately responded like he asked to as she was very worried when Minho had gone as far as talking about death. She still looked taken aback as she saw how deep his love was for Yuri as he was going until this far.

----------

Minho knocked the door of Soshi Girls’ villa and he came so early in the morning of the next day since the incident at the hospital occurred. It seemed like he couldn’t hold back anymore, he didn’t want to waste more time. He had to apologize and explain to Yuri as soon as possible and at the same time, he really missed her a lot.

“Oh, Minho!” Taeyeon who came opening the door looked quite surprised with Minho’s appearance so early in the morning.

“Is Yuri inside?” He asked.

“She’s indeed here but…”

He didn’t give time for Taeyeon to keep talking as he just cut her off. “Can I meet her now?” He just went inside the villa without asking from Taeyeon.

The rest of the girls were at the living room except Yuri. They spotted Minho who was coming towards them. Minho looked around and knew the person that he wanted to see, wasn’t there.

The girls looked quite shocked to see him. “Minho, you come?” Sunny asked.

“Yuri... where is she?” He asked.

Taeyeon followed Minho, going into the living room. “Minho… honestly…” Taeyeon paused for a while giving a hesitant look to Minho before continuing. “I think it’s better if you give her more time.”

Minho suddenly looked worried. “Why? Is she okay?”

“No, no, she looked quite better since yesterday but… I don’t think it’s same goes to her feelings. I meant… mentally, I don’t think she is better now. So, it’s really a good choice if you give her more time.”

“Taeyeon was right. She doesn’t look mentally stable yet. Even last night, I can hear she cried during the sleep.” Yoona added as she was Yuri’s roommate, she spent most time with Yuri, so she knew exactly what was the current condition of Yuri.

Jessica continued, “As you know her, she maybe look strong outside but she is fragile inside, once she hurt, it would take a long time to heal.”

“Yes, I get it. Thanks, girls.” Minho gave a small smile to them as he was indeed very thankful that Yuri had great friends like them.

He was about to go but the girls stopped him. “Before that, can you explain to us what actually happen?” Sunny asked.

“I don’t think you can just become a mean person like that to Yuri… is there any reason behind of it?”

Taeyeon asked, “I heard from your mother that you lost your memory during an accident… does that have any connection to this current situation?”

Minho took a seat on the sofa to explain everything to the girls. “Yes, it’s really the truth but… the real reason is actually because of Victoria.”

“Huh?! Victoria unnie?! Why suddenly…?” Taeyeon asked in shock.

“We don’t understand. How is she related to this?”

“I did lose my memory and she took advantage of my condition to get what she wanted.” The girls still looked clueless with Minho’s unclear explanation. He continued, “When I asked her about my past, she lied everything. She didn’t just don’t tell the truth about my relationship with Yuri, she even purposely made me to think badly of Yuri. She accused Yuri for cheating on me with Taecyeon.”

“What?!!!” The girls looked very shocked to find out the reason and how actually Victoria was responsible for this situation. It was just so cruel and pathetic.

“So, it was like that… no wonder you hurt Yuri instead of ignoring her even though you don’t have any memory of her.” The girls finally understood.

“We don’t know who to blame for this situation and we are aware that you’re not the one at fault but… Yuri just had hurt too much. We really didn’t want to see her hurting again. She had completely changed to a different person. We really missed her old-self. How I wish that we can see her being a bubbly and cheerful girl like before.”

“Yes, I know that. And that’s why, I want to change everything.” Minho said confidently like he was willing to do anything for Yuri.

“But, Minho… we aren’t sure if she will ever accept you back. You know exactly how she is right?”

Minho still remembered the advice that had been given by Yuri’s grandfather when he went there with Yuri once to her grandparents’ house in Busan and that’s something he won’t be able to forget.

‘She is someone who is easily hurt though she won’t show it obviously. She often kept her sadness or anger on someone in her heart. We can say that… she will express openly when she is happy but not when she is sad and is hurt. And, also once she was hurt, it would take some time for her heart to be healed again.’

“Yes, I know. That’s why, I will put more effort to heal the wound in her heart. And, I won’t ever leave her, I won’t ever give up on her. She’s the girl that I love and cherish, I will do anything to redeem all my mistakes to her. I won’t run away from this problem and be a coward… even if she won’t accept me at this right moment, it’s okay. Because I will never give up on her… I just love her too much for me to give up on her… unless it is what she really wants and the last thing I can do to make her happy at least.”

The girls smiled hearing Minho’s determination. Even they didn’t want to see Minho and Yuri really separated since they were aware of how great their loves were. They witnessed how in the past, they protected each other and they were sure Minho and Yuri were destined for each other.

“Minho, you have our support.” Sunny said happily on the girls’ behalf. The girls smiled to him as they indeed agreed with Sunny’s words.

“Thanks. I really appreciated it a lot.” Minho beamed.

Then, they heard a sound of door of a room was opened. Since the rest of the girls except Yuri were at the living room, they immediately who it was without having to take a look. Minho quickly got up as he saw Yuri was standing in front of the door as she also looked quite shocked seeing Minho.

“Yuri-ah…” Minho looked at her while giving a small smile. He was very happy to see her safe and sound. He felt relieved that she looked much better than he last saw her.

The girls just remained silent while observing them in nervousness. They were really worried how Yuri would react to this meeting with Minho.

Yuri didn’t even care to reply Minho’s warm smile to him as she just looked at him coldly. He could see the anger and frustration in her eyes. He started the conversation gently. “Are you really okay now?”

Instead of replying his question, she turned around and was about to enter her room.

Minho’s words stopped her. “Hang on! I want to talk something with you… can I?”

With her back facing him, she replied coldly. “There’s nothing we should talk about and I just don’t feel like seeing you again. So, please, just go.” Yuri was about to close the door back.

However, Minho ran as fast as he could towards the room and he stopped the door from being close by placing his hand on it. “Ouch!!” He exclaimed his pain as his hand was struck.

Yuri looked very shocked and she immediately opened the door widely again.

“Ouch!” Minho shook his hand as he looked at Yuri while grinning awkwardly. Instead of looking hurt, he tried to be funny and happy towards Yuri.

“YAH!! ARE YOU CRAZY?!!” Yuri shouted loudly to him though she obviously looked worried for him even she tried to control it.

Minho stopped playing around and looked at her gently. “Please… I want to talk with you…”

“I have said before, there’s nothing…”

Instead of listening to her, he just went inside her room and closed the door behind him before locking it, leaving them alone in her room.

“Are they going to be okay?” Jessica asked in worry.

“I think it’s really the time for them to talk.” Taeyeon added, assuring the girls Yuri would be just fine.

Yuri stared at Minho angrily. “Yah, what are you doing?! Get out from my room!”

“I want to explain everything.”

“No! I told you, I don’t want to listen anything at all! Now, get out!!” She slightly raised her voice.

Minho approached her and cupped her face. “No, no! Listen here. Please, listen to me.” He looked into her eyes as he slightly drew his face towards hers.

Yuri finally became silent as Minho suddenly being so close to her and his gentle gaze had slightly calmed her down.

“I can explain everything what had happened before and why I changed into a different person. All of this happened because of a reason. Actually… I lost my memory.”

Yuri showed unexpected reaction. She just sighed as she bowed her head. “Why kind of excuse…”

“No, I’m serious! I’m really talking the truth!” Minho emphasized. “If you don’t believe, you can take a look at my health report. I’m not lying. Do you remember when you can’t reach me about a week? That’s because I was involved in an accident and I had an injury on my head which caused me to lose my memory and just yesterday, before I saved you, I regained all memories back.”

Yuri did look very surprised to find out the fact but she still didn’t understand how that fact could be a reason for him to hurt her. “Then… then, if you don’t have any memory of me… why did you hurt my heart?” She asked as the tears started to accumulate in her eyes, showing how hurtful it was for her.

“It’s because of Victoria. She took advantage of my condition for her own good. She lied to me. She made me think badly of you, she accused you for being in fault of causing me to be involved in the accident and she also accused you cheated on me with Taecyeon. She made me to hate you…” Minho said in slower voice hesitantly the last sentence as he himself felt so hurt to say it.

Yuri was in disbelief and she unconsciously took a few steps backwards. She was speechless as only her tears just started to flow continuously. She couldn’t believe that just because of a simple stupid lie, she had to bear every pain that Minho gave to her.

Minho felt so hurt seeing Yuri become like that. “Yuri-ah…” He called out for her weakly.

“Don’t you how painful it was for me?! Don’t you know how difficult for me to keep living?! Don’t you know how deep the wound in my hand and in my heart?! I… I can’t play piano like before!!!” She yelled as she also started sobbing.

Even Minho also started to shed tears. He eventually knelt down in front of her. “I know I sound so pathetic and I’m being a coward, but I really didn’t know what to do… I also hated myself… I really wanted to protect you but somehow, you constantly got hurt for being by my side… the only thing that I can do now is apologizing… I’m sorry… I’m really sorry…” He said sincerely as his tears slowly fell to his cheeks.

“No matter how much I hurt and angry about this matter… eventually the thing that I should do to ease my mind and be released from this pain is forgiving.” She approached him and made him to get up. “Yes, I forgive you.” She said calmly while looking into his eyes.

“Really?!” He asked with a spark in his eyes. He really understood why this person, who was standing in front of him right now, was the one that he could only love wholeheartedly because she was just a wonderful person, so wonderful like an angel. Yuri gave a nod. “Thanks. Yuri-ah, I’m really really thankful. Thank you so much! I’ll do anything, anything to redeem all my mistakes to you. I’ll do anything to turn back into normal, I promise!” He smiled widely from ear to ear.

“No, you don’t have to do anything anymore. I already forgive you.” Yuri took a deep breath before saying, “And… I don’t think we can turn back into normal like before.”

Though Yuri didn’t say directly, Minho could understand what she really meant. Even though she had forgiven him but she still didn’t accept him as lover like before. Minho seemed so taken aback with her words. “B… but… but, why? You don’t love me anymore?” He stared at her with pleading eyes.

“That matter is not important…” She tried to avoid his question.

He cupped her face and lifted her head up to have a direct eye-contact with her. “No… look into my eyes. Do you still love me?” He asked with a full of hope.

Her heart skipped a beat with his sudden action especially she could see that he looked so hurt as he was being worried and anxious too much that her love towards him might really disappear. She put away his hands from her face. “Minho, please don’t make it hard for me…” She tried to hold her tears but as it was just so difficult, she turned around, having her back on him which of course obviously showed that she still loved him very much.

Minho pulled her into his embrace and gave her a really tight back hug. “Yuri-ah… please…” He whispered gently into her ear. Yuri closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. She could feel his warmth and couldn’t deny that she really missed him a lot too.

“I love you. I love you so much… I don’t think I can live without you. Yuri-ah, please…” He rested his chin on her shoulder.

With his sincere and gentle confession, Yuri couldn’t hold her tears anymore and she cried again.

Minho continued, “Even during I lost my memory and Victoria tried to make me hate you, I still fall in love with you once again… no matter how much I tried to resist, no matter how much I tried to forget you, no matter how much I tried to control my feelings… eventually, I’m worried when you were sick, I felt so hurt seeing you cried… I felt so angry seeing you with other guy… and you are always on my minds…”

She closed her eyes as she tried to make herself stronger. His words had made her weaker. “Minho, please don’t make it hard for me… I can forgive you but that’s all I can do for now. My heart is too hurt… It’s just too hurt for me to believe in love again. For now, my heart is closed.” She explained as she still was unable to control her unstoppable tears.

Minho finally understood and accepted what she really wanted. “Alright, I get it.” He released her from his hug and he turned her around. He continued talking as he looked into her eyes. “Listen here, no matter what I won’t give up. I will give you time.”

“But, I…”

“Sshh…” Minho put his index finger on her lips. “Don’t worry, I understand. Just take as much time as you want. I know the wound in your heart is deep and it would take a long time to heal. But, no matter what, I won’t give up on you. I’m willing to wait for you. Because… for the rest of my life, I’ll love only you.”

Yuri couldn’t reply anymore when she saw his determination.

“For now… you don’t have to think about it. Just have enough rest so that you can recover completely. I don’t want to see you getting sick again, ok?” He patted her head while giving a small smile. “Take care.” He walked out from her room, leaving her alone there.

Yuri just looked so confused from this situation. She really didn’t know what she should do. Her feelings were mixed up.

--------

Finally, after a few days, Tiffany made up her minds to have the first meeting with the CEO of Avenue Company. This meeting was important to set up the date for presentation of the proposal and also contained a personal reason for Tiffany. She had to be ready to face Hyunjoong especially she never thought that it would be this fast seeing him again.

With Nicole behind her, Tiffany took a deep breath before opening the door of the meeting room. Hyunjoong and his secretary, Key immediately got up from their seat after hearing the door was opened. Tiffany stayed still as she and Hyunjoong looked into each other’s eyes. Both of them looked were controlling their feelings. They both actually missed each other a lot. A small smile could be seen on Hyunjoong’s face.

Tiffany clenched her fist to make herself felt stronger. She was determined to never show her weakness in front of him. She had to be strong so that she won’t regret the decision that she took in the past.

“Fany-ah, you can do it.” Nicole whispered to Tiffany’s ear to give her support.

Tiffany closed her eyes while taking a deep breath. She finally had the courage to step forward. She approached Hyunjoong and Key while Nicole followed her behind.

Tiffany reached her hand out towards Hyunjoong for a handshake. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Stephanie Hwang, the CEO of Star Royal Hotel Company.” She greeted him while forcing a warm friendly smile on her face. It seemed like she had decided to pretend not knowing him.

Hyunjoong did looked quite shocked with her action though he already guessed that she might have done that. He just stared at Tiffany instead of taking her hand for a handshake which of course made Tiffany felt so uncomfortable.

“Sir, what are you doing?!” Key whispered to Hyunjoong in frustration. “Introduce yourself too!”

Hyunjoong finally took Tiffany’s hand for a handshake. “It’s nice to meet you too. I’m Daniel Kim, CEO of Avenue Company.”

 

As everyone thought they were done with the greeting, Hyunjoong still didn’t let go of Tiffany’s hand. He really missed holding her gentle hand. Tiffany tried to let go of her hand from his hold but it was just too strong. She cleaned , indirectly asking Hyunjoong to quickly let go of her hand. She groaned as it looked slightly obviously that she was struggling to let go of her hand from his hold.

Finally, Hyunjoong let go of her hand while giving a small mischievous smile towards her. She sighed heavily as she gave him a stern look. Then, she continued awkwardly while trying to control her angry face. “Please have a seat. We should continue our meeting.”

Nicole just smiled in please seeing these two’s action while Key looked slightly dumbfounded of what actually was going on right now.

After everyone had taken their seat, Tiffany started their first meeting. “First of all, I want to apologize for not being able to attend our supposedly to be first meeting a few days ago. And, I’m sorry for informing about it quite late.”

Hyunjoong just stared at Tiffany talking lovingly without any words. Of course, that would make Tiffany felt so awkward as she immediately kept her eyes on the papers before continuing talking. “So, when do you think we can have our second meeting for presentation proposal from our company?”

Hyunjoong still remained silent with Tiffany’s question as he kept his stare on her. Key who couldn’t stand Hyunjoong’s sudden strange behavior, he elbowed Hyunjoong. “Sir, she’s talking to you!”

Still staring at her, he finally replied, “As you want it to be. I don’t mind at all.” Key looked at Hyunjoong in disbelief as his lower jaw slightly dropped seeing Hyunjoong just took this meeting lightly like it was a hangout with his old friends.

Tiffany tried to remain calm. “Then, next week, on Monday.”

“Alright, no problem.”

Tiffany immediately gathered at the papers on the desk as she said, “Our meeting end, see you on Monday next week.” She got up and reached out towards him again for the handshake.

“See you. I’m looking forward to it.” He took her hand while giving a gentle warm smile.

Tiffany forced a smile before she quickly left the meeting room. Nicole bowed her body while saying happily, “Thanks for coming today. See you next week.”

“Ok, bye!” Key replied her excitedly as the wide smile stuck on his face until she disappeared from the sight.

“Come on, let’s go.” Hyunjoong said to Key as he gathered all the documents on the table and compiled it into the file.

“Hang on, can I ask something, sir? Just what’s so wrong with you before?” Key asked out of curiosity.

“What are you talking about? I’m just fine.” Hyunjoong replied cheerfully.

“Did you guys already know each other before?” Key still couldn’t stop thinking the reason of why Hyunjoong and Tiffany were acting strangely. “Or… don’t tell me! You have fallen in love with her at the first sight?!” He came out with a wild guess.

Hyunjoong looked at him while laughing. “Aigoo, you believe in love at first sight? So innocent! You must never be in love before, right?” Hyunjoong patted Key’s head like a little kid.

“Yah, Kim Hyunjoong! I have a lot of experience in love too!”

“What?! Kim Hyunjoong?!” Hyunjoong asked in disbelief.

“Well, we are talking about personal thing, so you’re not my boss now!”

“Ceh!” Hyunjoong chuckled while rolling his eyes.

Meanwhile, at the outside of the meeting room, Tiffany leaned against the wall as she faced Nicole. She just felt so weak. “How did I do it? It’s okay?” She asked Nicole nervously as she just felt her legs were going to give up when she saw Hyunjoong just now.

“Seriously, what is the use of acting strongly in front of him when you are like this right now?” Nicole sighed. “If you want to see him, just stay there longer, if you miss him, just say it to him.”

“What are you talking about?! Of course I can’t!”

“Why can’t?! You know what, I really pity him. I can see that he really loves you so much. He can’t keep his eyes away from you. His stare was full of love. He is really a nice guy, you know? He also just took the position of CEO, right? And, it was also after you took over the position of CEO… I’m 100% sure he did that to get you back. If it was me, I won’t go after the girl who broke my heart. Can’t you see he still tries so hard to fight for your love?”

“No, no… how can’t that be true…”

“Fany-ah, just accept the truth…”

“No, I won’t change my decision. It was hard for me to do it, of course I can’t give up now, I won’t regret it. I have done all of these for his own good. He will understand it… in the future.”

-------

Tiffany was on the way to her office and saw that Nicole wasn’t at the secretary’s desk. She wondered where have Nicole gone to since she always stuck at her desk unless she had something to do which usually she would inform first.

She entered her office and then, she was aware there was someone sitting on her chair but that person wasn’t facing her. “Nicole, you…” Suddenly, the chair was moved and finally Tiffany could see the person clearly. “ARGGH!!” She shouted out of shock.

“Why did you shout? It isn’t like you don’t know me, Miss Stephanie Hwang.”

“Yah! What are you doing?! Get out from here quickly!” She scolded him.

Hyunjoong got up from her chair. “Why? Is that so wrong that I come into your office?”

“You come without permission, don’t you?! Get out right now! Otherwise, I’ll call security.” She warned him firmly.

“I did have permission. From your secretary…”

“What?!” Tiffany asked in disbelief. “Aish, that girl is really…”

“I come here to talk about something.”

“Something? What?! We ended our meeting just now! You should have talked to me during that time!”

“Who was the one that was in rush, going away?” His question made her speechless. “Besides, it’s personal… how can I ask about it during meeting?” He continued asking as he took a few steps closer to her.

“P… personal? What do… do you mean?” She asked nervously. Seeing him came closer, she also took a few steps backward, maintaining the same distance as before.

“You said that you are sick so you can’t attend the meeting before. I just want to know if you’re really okay now.”

“Oh, that?” She did looked quite relieved. “Of course I’m fine now.”

“Is that right?” He asked while smiling. He slowly approached her. “It’s good then…” He kept approaching her.

At the same time, she kept moving backward, trying to keep same distance. “Ya… yah… yah! What are you doing?” Her heart started pounding with his approach. He just smiled and didn’t stop his steps towards her. “Yah, Kim Hyunjoong! Don’t come to me!”

Her warning didn’t stop his steps at all and eventually, as there was no space, Tiffany leaned against the wall as Hyunjoong placed his hands on the wall with Tiffany’s head between them. The distance between each other’s face was just a few inch.

He stared into her eyes lovingly. “I… I really miss you a lot.” He said sincerely.

His sweet words had made her felt weaker. She couldn’t push him away and just stayed in that position calmly as she herself missed him a lot too. She couldn’t control her feelings and eventually her eyes went from his eyes to his smooth lips as she gulped.

A small smile appeared on Hyunjoong’s face as he was aware of what Tiffany was doing. He knew her real feelings that she had been hiding before.