'She looks so peaceful,' Hyun Joong thought as he watched the sleeping So Min. She was hugging his tiger stuff toy like a little girl. He let her sleep for a few more minutes as he admired her beauty and marveled at how fragile she looks while asleep. It was so different from the strong, confident persona she lets the public see. To him she will always be the vulnerable and oftentimes stubborn So Min who needs his protection and guidance, especially right now.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty, time to wake up! Today's gonna be a big and long day," he said as he gently shook her shoulders. So Min stirred as Hyun Joong continued to wake her up. She opened her eyes and was surprised to see him. "What are you doing here so early in the morning?"

"I couldn't sleep well last night. I'm just excited, I guess," he said as he bent down to give her a light kiss on the lips, leaving her speechless. He rubbed her head and said: "Time to get up now, Hon. I'll be in the room next door, let's have breakfast there together after you shower."

What So Min doesn't know is that Hyun Joong came to the Hotel early so he can talk to So Min's manager about the call he received the night before. It was from her mother.

When So Min left Seoul, her father, out of anger, decided to make arrangements to marry her off to his friend's son as soon as she gets back to Seoul. Everything's been put in place. So Min has met the guy years before, through a meeting orchestrated by their parents, but she didn't like him and did not try to hide her disgust at being set up by her Dad.

Her mother told Hyun Joong about her Dad's plan to take So Min by force as soon as she arrives in Seoul. She will be married off within an hour upon arrival. She will also be compelled to quit the entertainment industry. So Min's Dad is a very powerful man in Korea, he can easily manipulate things to work out in his favor.

So Min always believed that she has her Dad wrapped around her little finger, after all she's an only girl. This is the reason why she was able to pursue her dream of becoming an actress and performer and why she was able to date around after breaking up with Hyun Joong. But her father was just really making it seem like he is letting her have her way because he knows that, in the end, she won't have any choice but to do what he wants her to do. He was fine with her entertainment career as long as she'll end up getting married into an acceptable family like Dong Won's. But since that did not work out he has to step in and do what must be done, before Kim Hyun Joong charms his way into his daughter's heart once again. That's what he dreads the most. He has a feeling Hyun Joong is the main reason So Min broke off her engagement. He managed to separate them before, he can and he will do it again.

On the other side of the globe, his fiercest rival for his daughter's obedience and affection is making the same determined promise to keep So Min away from the cudgels of her manipulative and domineering father. He cowed him before, but now that he's much more secure in himself and his abilities there was no way he's going to let that happen again.

In the middle of all these, So Min stands unaware of the intense battle that has just commenced between the two most important men in her life.

So Min was about to enter Hyun Joong's room when she overheard him talking to his Coordi Noona. "Are you back together?" she asked him. "Not really," he replied. "But I thought you still love her, why aren't you making any move to win her back now that she's free again?" Hyun Joong sighed before replying, "I don't want to rush things, besides ever since I met her I've always been the one forcing her into a relationship. This time around, if we're gonna be together again, I want her to be the one to come to me. I want to make sure that it's really me that she wants to be with. My heart is fragile, Noona, I don't think I can take it if I get hurt again." He added the last sentence with a playful wink.

So Min took a few moments before she entered the room acting like she didn't hear a thing. "Good morning, Unnie, so glad to see you here," she said as she hugged the woman affectionately. They were eating and Hyun Joong was teasing her about the Press Conference that afternoon. He knows she is so tense because of it so he tried to and make her relax.

"So Min, let Oppa give you some advice about the Hollywood media. I've been through this many times before so you have to listen to me," he started with a very serious tone. "They'd be very interested in knowing about your beauty regimen, they'll ask how Korean women manage to remain slim and have glowing skin. Tell them you eat nothing but kimchi and use nothing but BB cream. And then they'll ask if you're dating me, tell them no, because you are not my type. Tell them I like women with big assets like Kim Kardashian. I'm telling you, if you answer these, they will think you're so cute and funny, they will love you!"

So Min was laughing as she listened to Hyun Joong's foolish advice. "Oppa, I'm sorry but I think I'll just follow the media brief that was sent by our publicist. I don't think you know what you're talking about," she said giggling. Hyun Joong acted all hurt and rejected, making her laugh even more. He was happy that he was able to make her smile again.

Later, after dressing up, Hyun Joong went to fetch So Min from her room so they can go to the function room together. Upon entering the room he saw the most beautiful woman he's ever set eyes on, the same woman he fell in love with, and is still in love with. So Min was wearing a black, , tight-fitting mini dress that covered only a fourth of her well-toned, luminous thighs.

He approached her and put his arm around her waist and led her to the rack filled with clothes that her stylist brought for her to choose from. "You look very lovely but I don't think you can go out there wearing that," he whispered. "Ha?! Why? It fits me perfectly." He proceeded to give a long, winding explanation about how Hollywood expects Korean women to act all prim and proper and how she would be criticized if she shows even an inch of the skin on her knees, blah, blah, among other nonsense, as he rummaged through the rack of clothes.

"There, this is it! Wear this! This will make you look like a glamorous Hollywood superstar," he said as he shoved her inside the dressing room before she could protest further.

"Wow, you look like the Korean version of Audrey Hepburn! You're so pretty," Hyun Joong said as he twirled the pouting So Min like a little doll. She is wearing a printed, black and white dress with a cinched waist and a pouffy skirt that ran up to her knees. She looked like an actress from the 50s.

So Min hates the fact that Hyun Joong is suddenly acting like a possessive, domineering boyfriend. He's always like this with her back when they were still together, even if he knows that she hates anyone who messes with her fashion choices. She would have changed back into the black outfit but the event was already about to start and they were being called to the venue.

She was in a fit, pouting and stomping her feet like a brat all the way to the function room. Hyun Joong, on the other hand, can be seen walking right behind her with a satisfied, naughty grin on his face.

The Press Conference went on smoothly and, as Hyun Joong said, the media loved So Min instantly. Not only was she a sight to behold, she was very intelligent and spoke with great wit, humor, and confidence.

After the event So Min went to have lunch with her staff while Hyun Joong had to rush to his producer's studio for some last minute changes to the songs he recorded the previous days. She was happily chatting and eating with her manager, stylists, and assistants at the Hotel's poolside restaurant when she got a call from her mother.

Her Mom congratulated her and asked about the Press Conference. She narrated everything that happened and told her how nervous she was, but, thank God for Hyun Joong's advice and support, she was able to wing it well. At the other end of the line, her Mom's heart was breaking. She had no intention of telling her about her Dad's plan but hearing her daughter so happy with how things are going she couldn't stop herself from warning her.

"There's something you need to know. You're Dad is really mad right now so please don't return to Korea just yet. Stay with Hyun Joong, I know he makes you happy and he will protect you. If you come here Dad will force you to marry someone else. He'll break you up again, just like before," she cautioned her daughter.

"What do you mean 'just like before'? Mom! Tell me, is there something I don't know?" So Min asked frantically. "I don't know what to say, dear, it's best if you just ask Hyun Joong. Just please stay in America. You're safer there. I have to go," her Mom ended the call before she could ask anymore questions.

The stress of the last few days, the lack of sleep, the roller coaster of emotions she had to go through with Dong Won, her Dad, and Hyun Joong, and the confusion and anger brought by her Mom's revelation finally took their toll on her. She can't breathe and she could feel her chest about to burst any moment. Jaehyung saw her running out of the Hotel but he wasn't able to catch up with her as she took the first taxi she saw. She doesn't know where to go. All she wants is to be as far away as possible from everything that's happening in her life right now.

She found herself in some park about a couple of hours away from the Hotel. There, she unloaded all the emotions she was feeling. She cried like she would die if she stopped. She loves her Dad so much, up to now she still feels some guilt over the pain that she caused him in the past. But, right now, she feels too much pain from knowing that her Dad, the man she trusts the most, is the one who keeps ruining her happiness. She has a lot of questions in her mind. She tried piecing things together but she only ended up confused and angry at herself for not seeing things for what they really are.It was already dark when she finally stopped crying.

Hyun Joong just got home from the studio when he realized he forgot to switch his phone's ringer on after he finished recording. He got his phone from his pocket and saw several missed calls from Jaehyung. "Why were you calling me, is something wrong?" "Hyung, is So Min with you? She's been missing since lunch time after she got a call from her Mom. I saw her crying and running out of the Hotel but I couldn't catch up. She's turned her phone off too," Jaehyung said, panic evident in his voice.

Hyun Joong was about to reply when he heard his doorbell ring. He opened the door and saw a visibly distraught So Min on his doorstep. "She just got here. I'll call you back," Hyun Joong said as he turned off his phone.

So Min hugged him tight and with tears in her eyes said:

"Can I stay here with you? I need you. Please don't leave me again."