We sat on a bench together in the garden as I took deep breaths repeatedly to try to stay calm. I was so afraid that this day will come, and it came much sooner than I expected. And it had to be the day that Siwon and I just got together.

“Yuri, can you tell me what’s going on?” Siwon asked in a calm soothing voice, as he placed his hand over my back and rubbed me gently.

“Siwon...” I looked up at him with teary eyes and buried my face on his shoulder. “I’m sorry I lied to you.”

He let out a small, uncertain laugh. “What do you mean by that, Yuri?”

“I… My name is not Kwon Yuri. My real name is Choi Anna. I’m the daughter of Mdm Kim Soo Ji. I came up with this new identity because I didn’t want her to find me in Seoul. I shouldn’t be here, I’m supposed to be back in the States.”

Siwon bit his bottom lip and stayed silent for a while. I kept quiet as well and kept praying in my heart that everything between us was going to be all right.

“Well I guess… That’s not a big deal right?  I mean, I still love you for who you are. Whether you’re Anna or Yuri, you’re still the beautiful girl in my heart. But why did you have to hide your identity?”

“Because I was engaged to be married and I ran away from home…”

“What?” Siwon shouted in disbelief and got up on his feet. His hands were over his head as he ran them through his thick, black hair.

“It’s not what you think. I have nothing to do with that man. My mother, she wanted to force me to marry him. I have only seen him once in my life when I was a kid. I’m true to you, Siwon. You’re the only one I love and care about. I tried so hard not to fall for you, because I knew that one day we would be in this mess. But now… I can’t control my feelings.”

I could feel his tensed muscles soften as he heard my explanation. I placed my hands on his cheeks and brought him to face me.

“It’s true. Whether I’m Kwon Yuri or Choi Anna, I’m in love with Choi Siwon.”

I pulled his face closer to mine, until our lips touched. We kissed passionately, oblivious to the glances of the people around us.  All I knew at this moment was that I did not want to let this man go.

After we were almost breathless, we broke apart and gave each other a content smile.

“Choi Anna!”

I heard my Mom call my name. From the distance, I saw her walking towards us with flames in her eyes. I looked at Siwon and held on to his hand tightly. He squeezed my hand to reassure me that he was with me. I nodded at him, feeling secured in his presence.

“Anna, how dare you run away from home like that when you were supposed to get married to Yesung! Do you know much humiliation and shame you have brought to our families?”

I felt a cold hard slap across my cheek, which sent me falling backwards a little as I lost my footing. Siwon immediately grabbed me around my waist with his strong arm.

“Are you ok?” He asked. I nodded and before I could give a reply, I heard my Mom’s voice again.

“Anna, why are you together with this useless nobody? He is not good enough for you.”

Consumed by anger, I retaliated with words from the bottom of my heart.

“Mom, do not insult the man I love. I don’t care about Yesung and I know nothing about him. Why would I want to be married to him? Is it just so that your company can expand with the help from his father? I don’t want to be a pawn in your struggle for power and money. For my whole life, I have been listening to you and following your every order, as though I have no mind of my own. But there is one thing, which I will not obey you on, and that is the choice of my future husband. I will not marry a man that I do not love just because you want me to. I have chosen Siwon, because I love him and I believe he is the right one for me. Will you respect me?”

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I used the back of my hand to wipe them away as much as I could. I did not want to cry and appear weak in front of my Mom.

“Mom, I met Dad before he passed away. I also met my half-brother, Minho. I know how hurt you. He wants me to tell you that he’s sorry.”

Mom looked at me as her gaze softens.

“And that was why I always protected you, Anna. I wanted to give you the best life you can possibly have, because I was sorry that you could not have a father. I thought that Yesung and his family could provide you with a comfortable life, and that you should not ever have to worry about your livelihood anymore. I had a difficult time when your Dad abandoned me; I didn’t want you to go through any of that suffering. I’m sorry, Anna. I should have let you lead your own life.”

“Mom… I’m sorry too, for leaving you just like that without a word.”

We hugged, for a long time, as Siwon stood there with a smile on his face.

(1 year later)

“Yuri-ah, two carrot cakes, one iced latte and one iced mocha for this gentleman here!” Sooyoung called out from the cash register.

“Got it!”

I scrambled around, trying to get the orders ready all on my own, until Siwon came rushing out of the kitchen.

“Slow down, Yuri. I’ll help you out. You shouldn’t overwork yourself or the little bump.”

Right. I thought of the little bump growing inside of me and slowed down. I placed my hand over my belly and rubbed it gently. Half a year ago, I found out that I was pregnant. It sure came as a surprise as we were not expecting this to happen so soon. But I felt truly blessed to be carrying the child of the man I love with all my heart. Choi Siwon was the perfect boyfriend that I could ever ask for, and I knew that he was going to be an awesome Dad to my baby too. He fusses over the baby and me more than I do.

Oh, and you know what is more amazing? Sooyoung is pregnant too! She is two months behind me, but still she is starting to show as well. Kyuhyun has been quite a dear to her; he drops by to help at the café ever so often whenever he was not flying.

I got the slices of carrot cakes on tiny plates, and set them at the counter for the customer. Who turned out to be…

“Minho? What are you doing here?”

I haven’t seen my brother in months, as he was normally too busy with his work to spend much time with me.

“I’m here to try out Siwon’s new creation. He told me he’s got a new cake that I’ll surely love. I brought Yunho along with me as well.”

I had a peek at the customers at the table, and saw Yunho sitting there in his expensive suit and giving me a wave. In case you are wondering what happened between us, we became very good friends after I told him about Siwon.

“Siwon didn’t tell me about this new creation, but I suppose it must be very good for him to invite you guys here just to try it.”

I had a look into the kitchen and saw Siwon standing in front of the oven.

“ANNA!!!”

Oh my God, is that who I think it is?

“TIFFANY!!!”

My best friend from all over half way across the globe was here this morning as well?!

“Anna, I miss you so much.” Tiffany was close to tears as she ran up behind the counter and held me tightly in her arms.

We have not seen each other since the day I ran away from home, even though we constantly kept up with each other through the phone.

“Tiffany, why didn’t you tell me that you were coming?”

Tiffany giggled and her eyes smiled.

“I’m here to try your boyfriend’s new cake.”

“He made you come all the way here just for that? What is going on?”

Tiffany shrugged her shoulders.

“Look who else he invited as well.”

My Mom. She stepped into the café and cleared . As if her presence was of great importance, everyone stopped in their conversation and turned to look at her. She dusted an empty seat and sat down, with her eyes on me the whole time. She wore a stern expression on her face.

“Mom…” I walked over to her and gave her a hug.

“Anna, you have not been taking good care of yourself. Your complexion doesn’t look too good. What did I tell you about taking care of your face? Do you know how important that is to a woman?”

Oh Mom, please…

“Just kidding, I know it must be the pregnancy hormones. Speaking of which, your bump looks pretty big…”

I let out a smile as my Mom did the same. She placed her hand on my belly and rubbed it slowly and cautiously. This was the first we had met since we departed from Japan after our reunion. My Mom is a busy woman who had a lot of business to settle in the States, while I insisted on returning to Seoul to be with Siwon.

“What are you doing here?” I asked curiously. Everything was just so weird today. Why was every important person in my life showing up?

“Look behind you.”

I turned around and saw Siwon coming out of the kitchen with a gigantic chocolate cake decorated with pink flowers and white pearl strings on a trolley. It was so pretty!

“I made this just for you, Yuri.”

I was lost for words. Why did he make me such a special cake? I did not remember today being my birthday.

Just as this moment, Kyuhyun came out of the kitchen armed with a large bouquet of flowers and handed it to Siwon.

“This is for you as well.” Siwon said as he presented me with the bouquet, which was filled with my favorite flowers, white roses and purple hydrangea.

He dug into his pocket and took out a small box, before getting down on one knee in front of me.

“Ms Choi Anna, also affectionately known as Ms Kwon Yuri, would you marry Mr Choi Siwon, also known as the man who loves you no matter what?”

He opened the box and inside it was a large, sparkling diamond ring.

Before I could say yes, everyone around me including Sooyoung, Kyuhyun, Minho, Yunho, Tiffany, my Mom and our customers were cheering for Siwon.

“Say yes to my brother!” Sooyoung cried out enthusiastically.

And of course, I said yes to the man whom I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, to the man who will be the father to my unborn child and to the man whom I chose.

“Choi Siwon, I love you.”

“I love you too, Yuri.”

We kissed as everyone exploded into wild applause.

In case you’re wondering, Siwon calls me Yuri and not Choi Anna. The name of Yuri, just kind of stuck with me from then on.  But of course, I’m going to be known as Choi Yuri soon. Mrs Choi Yuri, now that’s a name I want to keep for the rest of my life.