Almost another week has passed and the progress of the collaborative project between our company and the Park’s company is finally visible. The building’s being constructed, and almost everything’s finalized except for the operations, which is going to be the responsibility of me… and Chanyeol.

I was about to leave something on Chanyeol’s desk when the door of our office creaked open. I turned to see who entered the room—it was Chanyeol. Whatever the reason is for his absence last two days, I am not curious to know. His eyes landed on me as he walked briskly towards my direction.

“Here are the narrative form of my mission, vision, and objectives of my proposal,” I didn’t even plan to greet him, so I just handed him the twenty-five page report bound in a clear folder when he was already a few feet away from me.

“In addition, I’ve indicated my plans on how to achieve them. Your job is to review them, and if you agree with everything that I’m proposing, then just hand me back those papers and leave it on—“

“Let’s talk,” he said. I flashed him a professional smile, so I said he should read it thoroughly first, and if he thinks it’s lacking on something, it is free for him to give me any of his suggestions, and maybe we can work on that.

I turned my heel to walk back on my desk when I heard his footseps, following my pace. I was about one and a half meter away from the side of my territory when I felt him take hold of my left arm, which made me turn to face him.

“Mr. Park, you’ve been absent for two days. As I said, it’s your prerogative, but it is also your responsibility to finish—“

“You need to go to Busan, she’s extremely sick,” he cut me off with a worried but soft voice.

“We talked about this,” I knew what he meant, yet I’m still not going anywhere.

“I booked a ticket, 6 pm flight. I’ll drive you home, so get your things—“

“Chanyeol,” I cut him off this time while freeing my arm from his grip.

“I didn’t ask you to look out for her. If it’s for your own liking, I have nothing against it. But let me stay out of this. I have some work to do, so if you don’t mind,” I turned my back again and walked back at my desk.

I could sense Chanyeol’s eyes fixated on me, but I clearly ignored him and went back to focus on my work. However, I didn’t even finish half the paragraph of what I’m reading when I felt Chanyeol pulling me by the arm and telling me to come with him and I said ‘no’ and then he began dragging me out of the office, towards the hallways where I finally yelled at him to let go of me, and Ms. Kim looked worried but she couldn’t do anything when Chanyeol snapped out that everyone should just get back to their work and the employees started gossiping and Chanyeol wasn’t listening anymore, and he continued dragging me with him inside the elevator where he even told the elevator guy to step out and leave us alone, and I tried to run, but he enveloped my body using his left arm and I was trapped, and the elevator door closed.

We were left alone and thanks to the small space, I felt like I could die right there and then, and Chanyeol never looked so outraged, yet still he finally let me go.

“!” he curses as he punched the wall of the elevator and I almost jerked from his sudden action. He buried his face on his palms and afterwards, he returned to me and he wrapped his arms around me.

“I’m sorry… I wasn’t thinking! I panicked, I’m sorry,” he whispered and I felt him kiss the top of my head and I never felt more disgusted. But I didn’t have the strength to push him away. The elevator door slid open and now, we’re in the parking lot. He walked out of the elevator first before offering me his hand. For a short amount of seconds, I only stared at it before looking back at him.

“I hate you…” I paused as if to give emphasis on every word.

“I hate you so much, Park Chanyeol. And this time, I mean it.” I repeated, my voice trembling, and I am fighting to hold back the liquid that I think has slowly formed at the side of my lids. I pressed the button that would close the door of the elevator as I watched him disappear from my sight.

When I returned to my office the next day, I couldn’t hide from the scandalous looks of my employees. I decided to briskly walk on my desk after closing the door of my office, when I saw two of Chanyeol’s executives taking his things.

“Ma’am, President Lee is calling for you.” I haven’t even taken my seat yet when Ms. Lee entered my office.

“Any idea what is it about?” I was just curious why he’s calling me all of a sudden since both of us entered this company today together, and I got more confused when I sensed that Ms. Kim was hesitating.

“By the way, this came from Mr. Park. I think he’s done reviewing this” She handed me the same clear book that I’ve handed Chanyeol last wednesday. Curious to why she’s the one handing it to me, I asked her again why my dad’s calling for me. I have a burning intuition that both of my questions are connected.

“It’s regarding Mr. Park’s application for resignation.” She finally answered and it took me a moment to finally confirm what I thought—the presence of Chanyeol’s two representatives, currently taking away all of his things and my dad calling out for me for some unknown reason. He is leaving this company.

“Oh.” I admit I was caught off guard. I didn’t see this coming.

I just came back from seeing Joonmyun off when our housekeepers greeted me. Joonmyun, being busy again, has to cancel our dinner for tomorrow because he needed to proxy his older brother in a stockholders' meeting in China. Meanwhile, I was about to head directly to my dad’s study only to be told by one of the housekeepers his current location. Oddly, he’s in the living room, wearing a sky-blue polo shirt and a pair of khaki pants.

“Where are you going?” I asked my dad whose face lit up the moment he saw me. I smiled back at him and he showed me two plane tickets. I just realized there were two suitcases beside him, and I have no idea why my suitcase is there.

“Dad? Care to explain?” I don’t know why suddenly, everything felt so wrong. Instead of answering my question, he raised a familiar envelope I believe I threw months and months ago. Suddenly, I felt all the blood in my face begin to drain.

“Where did you get that?” it took me awhile to utter that question. How did Kang Heechul's documents end up in his hands?

His reaction then changed 360 degrees. Now, he’s creasing his eyebrows, rough lines can be seen from aging and confusion.

“You weren’t planning on telling me?” he asked and I stood silent. I know we are in a mutual, cold war.

“Then what are these for?” he threw the folders on the floor revealing some pictures of her, and I almost shrieked from astonishment. It was the first time in several years that I saw my dad get mad at me. I could even see the housekeepers crowding at some feet away until I told them to continue their work.

“It’s a long day. Let's talk about this some other time.” I said sternly, because my blood is starting to boil from the person I respect so much.

“You were a child back then. You don’t know anything. It’s my fault, everything. You have to learn to forgive—“ He stopped himself when he heard me laugh from my nose. A child? I might be, but even a kitten knows if her mother abandons her, and I don’t have to be as old as I am now to know that she’s a heartless woman who ended up living in a life full of karma.

“She’s your mother!” he scolded me again. I can’t tell if his face tells the same, I can’t bear look him in the eye. I closed my eyes and bit my lip just because it’s one of my defense mechanisms.

“Dad, let’s stop this conversation,” I suggested but I guess it was too soft. A great amount of imaginary lump formed in my throat when I uttered such words, and thus, he wasn’t able to hear me.

“And she’s sick! You know that!” he exhaled a little bit, and I hated that phrase ever since. She’s sick, now what? It wouldn’t make any difference, she still left us.

“Goodness dad! Can't you hear yourself? She left us and eloped with another man! So what if she’s sick? It wouldn’t change the fact that she—“ just then the hand that kept me safe all these years, the hand that used to be too big with my little hands, the hand that was always too gentle even with the years of working… ended hard on my right cheek. He slapped me.

He was as surprised since he was apologizing and telling me he didn’t know what he was doing, but it was too late. I’ve never cried in my life. Well, not after that day. I guess I was too numb to feel something… anything. Or I guess every hurt people gave me was too minimal, I couldn’t seem to care. I think I even forgot the feeling of tears, how they feel once they run out of my eyes. I guess experiencing a hell lot of pain in this world is good. It taught me the worst of oblivion, and then I never felt any kind of pain anymore. Like any unfortunate people, I lost my way, I fell and I crashed hard, earlier though than most people normally should have experienced. Too early, but no one was there to save me but myself. And so, I became invincible. I am already destroyed. Therefore, I am no longer destructible... I thought I was.

These warm liquid escaping endlessly out of my lids were yet another foreign thing. They don’t seem right, falling fast on my raw cheeks.

“I’m sorry. Oh no, darling! I’m sorr—“ I backed off from him and although the tears are blurring my vision, I could still see the look on his face. He is as apologetic as he should be. He is in his most vulnerable state that I have seen of him. Not even when he was in a coma, not even when his sickness almost killed him… he’s vulnerable because he hit me, and he hit me because of her.

 “You didn’t tell me you were looking for her as well, guess that makes us even.” I my heel to leave our house. I quickly grabbed my other car key before I slammed the door hard.

My nose was running so I’m inhaling from my mouth. How can he be so stupid for still loving someone he shouldn’t have loved in the first place? For loving the person who took his happiness away, the person who took his life… because just like me, he’s also lifeless… and the same person took it away. But unlike me, I’ve hated that person because that’s how the both of us should have felt. But I guess, he never did! And all these years, he never did! And I was too oblivious because we were each other’s life-saver.

I thought he only needed me. I thought I only needed him. I thought we were complete with just each other’s company. But all these years, he was still longing for her. Just now did I conclude what I should’ve realized a long, long time ago. I also hate my dad.

A/N: so erm, an update before I go back to the Metro. I'm missing home already, but sembreak is over and I need to go back to school. -____- Happy reading? [even if my story's kind of a real- drama, i hope it makes you happy. lol] and I'd really appreciate comments from my readers, it lifts my mood like a hundred percent. :)