The wedding was supposed to start two hours earlier. It was ten in the evening, on a good summer day. She was still sitting in front of the mirror, her body was wrapped in a towel and her hair was still wet. She was very late for the wedding. Lee Ji Sook won’t be happy at all, especially when she still insisted on holding the wedding ceremony. Jieun had told her mother the other day that she had cancelled the wedding on her own. The wedding ceremony cancelation won’t be staining her beautiful name and strong image. Jieun, as a good daughter, had made sure that Lee Ji Sook will be as honored as ever, well respected. Still, her mother was stubborn enough.

Showers still took longer than it used to. It had been a week since she came here. She spent all her time taking care of the wedding. She wasn’t willing to let anyone enter her mind, except the wedding and Wooyoung. The pain still lived; she wondered if it was the side effect of running away. Half of her injuries were gone, no more visible bruises or marks on her skin, except the bluish mark on her abdomen. It had felt so much better, except that it turned very green and blue. She still stared at herself, as if she was dirty and blankly stared at her own figure, feeling so imperfect.

The beautiful sighs escaped her lips, as she walked toward her wardrobe and took out the simplest white dress she had. It was supposed to be her wedding, so she should wear it. It was her favorite white dress, so beautiful yet simple, it looked very elegant. It added beauty to her small figure and added small details to her figure. She slipped off the towel and held her breath in, wearing the beautiful white dress on her own. It still fit her so perfectly. Staring at the mirror, she looked beautiful yet lacking. She felt so lacking.

Her high heels was hurting her wrist and the humid evening wasn’t helping her to feel better either. The hall should be empty by now, yet she was scared. What if she arrived and the hall was full of people, eyes staring down at her because she had done a sin. She embarrassed her own mother. What if it happened and she had no choice but to embarrassed her one and only and also her mother? She would be in so much relieves if the hall was empty. But, Ji Sook would definitely be mad at her.

The ballroom was grand, very luxurious and extravagant. Jieun couldn’t have affort it on her own, not even with all the money she had. Her mother must have spent soo much money for her big day. Her heart thumped as she stood in front of the door. The flowers were arranged so nicely and they smelled very nice. The red carpet looked so elegant. The decoration, too, looked very classy. Her mother had a great taste in everything.

Her high-heels clicked against the floor before she took another step into the ballroom. She trailed against the red carpet, walking slowly with elegance, as if she was the bride. Her eyes were wandering around; it was all over the place, hiding the nervousness that builds up. The pit of her stomach didn’t feel good, she felt nauseous suddenly. It was one of the symptomps that would come to her, when she was too nervous.

It was empty.

Jieun sighed and swirled in relieved. The inner design was absolutely beautiful and classy, it was perfect, and still she was glad they became a waste. She didn’t want to marry anyone, especially when she was still recovering from her past love. Wooyoung was standing at the altar, dressed in a black tuxedo with little details that made him looked even more charming. He was smiling widely at her entrance. He looked proud; perhaps he was just hiding the hurtful feeling inside.

Her mother was wearing a beautiful red dress. She looked amazing in it. It added the boldness to her feature. She looked so motherly and feminine, yet she didn’t look happy at all. She was glaring at her daughter, for disappointing her, for ignoring her warning, for threatening her. It was not an appropriate action for a daughter and Jieun agreed. That day, perhaps, she was driven by the hurtful feelings that were left behind, traumatize. She couldn’t think straight, but Jieun didn’t want to regret it either. Perhaps, this was for the best.

Jieun looked around to see how extravagant everything was and how wasteful it was for them to get caught up in a simple argument. The argument caused everything to be a waste, the beautiful flowers, the delicious food, the classy decoration, the reservation, the wedding invitation, the wedding dress… the everything. Jieun suddenly felt bad. Wooyoung quickly ran down the altar and put his arms around her, kissing the top of her head, and slowly whispered that everything would be fine. Jieun nodded and softened at his action. He was her one and only, he was her person.

“Mom…” Jieun whispered, slowly.

“How dare you!” Lee Ji Sook’s soared and screamed at her daughter. Her hands landed harshly on her daughter’s cheek. “How dare you! After all that I have done, and you’re disappointing me! What a disappointment child!”

“Auntie, enough!” Wooyoung quickly pulled the fragile figure behind him. She was shaking but not crying. She was the best at it, to hide all the pain that attacked her and acted okay. “Enough!”

“I…” Her voice was cracking. She suddenly pleaded on her knee, in front of her mother, and in front of her person. It was okay, her pride was long gone. “I wanted to ask for a favour. A simple one. Mom, please, please… leave me alone. Let me live my life for once. Please, stop controlling me and doing everything on your own. This is my life.”

“Leave! I don’t ever want to see you again!”

***

“Do you not know how much the wedding cost?”

Lee Ji Eun came again to her mother house, even after all the mean things she had said that day. Jieun knew she wasn’t right either; she may have gone out of the line. She needed to apologize. Her mother probably didn’t mean them either, the heartbreaking words she told her that night. Lee Ji Eun was late on her wedding day, going against her mother, and acted so highly of herself.

Lee Ji Sook looked less angry compared to yesterday. Still, her glare didn’t change. It was deadly and threatening, hateful, and sad. Jieun looked down; the floor often looked the friendliest. The room was dark, only the dimmed light that lightened the whole room in a dark evening. Her mother was still sitting on her office, yet she wasn’t doing anything but thinking. She was too angry to be doing anything. Jieun nodded and apologizes.

“It cost me half of my wealth! Can’t you just be thankful for me?!”

“I… wanted to. I’m sorry. I was wrong, but I think you are wrong too. Mom, I want us to talk before deciding on anything. Can we?”

“You’re an embarrasement to the whole family!”

“Do you even know what it cost me?!” Lee Ji Eun screamed on top of her lungs. She hated it: embarrasement, family. She pulled up her shirt, showing the slight bruised on her stomach. “It cost me my life, my love, and everything else I had. It may cost my carrier and Wooyoung! It may have cost you half of your wealth, but it cost me my life!” She was crying already. She held it in for too long.

“What a weak child! I never teach you to cry!”

“I… don’t even know who you are or how you look like. I was wondering about you, of how similar we can be and how dependent we could be to each other. Father came to me saying I was an embarrasement. And now, I need to hear the same thing coming from my mother. Can I get hurt for once?”

“Why didn’t you marry Wooyoung? Your boyfriend did it to you, didn’t he? He’s not a good man. Wooyoung is. You should have marry him. Listen to your mother!”

“I don’t love him! Did you know why I spend so much time calling the guests? I wanted to keep your name clean. I don’t want to embarrass you!”

“You’re a fool.”

“I… don’t want to hate you.”

“Woman shouldn’t be insanely in love with a man.”

***

Lee Ji Eun spent the rest of the month helping Wooyoung. Her mother meant it, she was about to take down the whole company. The index that slowly decreased and the shareholders suddenly withdrawing, his company could go on a bankrupt really quickly. She has been helping him to find a few ways to keep his company running and well. Thankfully, Wooyoung was a smart man, so does she. The two matched really well, everything ran smoothly after the constant struggle over two weeks. Everything started to match up quickly.

But Lee Ji Eun’s disappearance was too much of a surprised and sudden. She has been away for too long, without any contacts, or any information if she was okay. She worried a lot of people. She was locking herself away, unready to get back and return. Showers still took a longer time, although it things slowly got better. She couldn’t get used to skinship and the door’s bells in the middle of the night freaked her out easily.

Kim Myungsoo was patiently waiting for her return. He had always been the one to wait. Waiting could be hard at times, yet he was willing. This time around, he realized it was his turn to be waiting. It was his fault. Myungsoo could feel it, the drifting feelings. Something that he had held so dearly for so long, when he finally could get it back, it drifted away very quickly. What a scary feeling.

He may look okay, even he had moved on. He returned to his daily activities, as Kim Myungsoo, as INFINITE L. He stopped being so depressed. He did well in his schedules and a few short dramas for advertisement. He performed well on stage and professionally built back his cool image. He spends his time praciting more. He practiced very well, too. But everyone knew he hasn’t been Kim Myungsoo lately. He needed his other half.

He constantly checked his phone. He spent his resting time staring blankly at his phone. He’d leave so many text messages and called her every night, at least until he out. Still, she wouldn’t respond. Her phone was turned off. He wondered if she wanted to cut all the ties with him, if she wanted sometime alone, or if she would return to him someday. But Lee Ji Eun wasn’t a fool, she may not come back for a man like him. Why would she?

The INFINITE was no longer pissed at him. They pitied him, silently. He would act very cool in front of them, despite his inside breaking down. It would take a very long time to forgive him. But they decided it was about time to stop. He seemed to regret it a lot, too, and their fight started to interfere with their job. They were once scolded by their CEO and their manager, for looking so horrible on broadcast. They received a big backlash at the time. Now, they started to blame Jieun. She disappeared for too long without a word. Myungsoo needed a word.

“You look horrible today,” Hyuna sneaked and wrapped her tiny arms around his back. She pressed her cheek against it. He was warm, as usual.

Myungsoo softly smiled and turned around. He gently pushed her off him and stared at her. She was wearing a red dress that showed how y she was. “Thank you for coming.”

“Anything for you big boy,” She smirked and plopped down next to him.

“It’s been a month.” Myungsoo sighed. She quickly hushed him with her fingers and softly pecked his cheek. Myungsoo simply shrugged and stared at her. He looked so sad.

“Why don’t we stop thinking for a while and enjoy the night? Come on, I will just pour you a drink! What do you want? Something strong? Let’s see… what is your favorite…”

“Hey,” He stopped her and held her hand. His gaze was gentle and sweet, but sad at the same time. “Thank you,” he pecked her cheek softly. “I don’t regret going home with you that night.”

“I don’t either.”

***

Being in his arms felt so perfect. She stirred softly in her sleep and he would chuckle at her constant murmuring. He felt so warm and she felt so soft. Her hairs tangled in his fingers and their hands clutching against each other so tightly. They spent the whole night together. She couldn’t help but smile. She was happy, constantly happy with him around her. She rarely feel this way, so complete, so contented, without much pride to protect. She could just be her around him, without the need to think of anything else. Around him, she was that strong, she could throw everything away and still survived with him by her side.

His arms around her waist and her back pressing against his chest, she felt so nice. The way his scent greeted her this morning, made her twice happy. He gave her a smug smile, as if he was very contented of winning her. He was an arrogant man, a charming point to his charms. He knew he won her that night, after what he did last night. He knew she was insanely in love with him, he would always be his one and only. Winning this woman’s heart feel particularly good and hard, he felt so happy over this one win. He felt perfect. Woman always chased after him, but this woman made him chased after her.

“Good morning,” His morning voice sent electricity flying along her body. Her cheek flushed red, as she shyly mouthed another good morning. His arms pulled her even closer.

Last night was romantic. Yesterday was their first year anniversary. He gave her a big surprise. She was not the type to be flustered over surprises, but his surprises were different, she melts over them one by one. He always took the win and she didn’t mind about losing either. She became a different person around him. He took her out on a very romantic dinner; he lit up the candles and prepared everything on his own despite being busy. He took her out on a walk and gave her a very chaste kiss. She remembered the heat and how she melted against the kiss. He was perfect.

His fingers tangled against her hair and softly patted it. The good morning kiss was soft and heart-thumping. She liked everything about him. His gentleness, his arrogance, his handsome facial features, his childishness, his everything. He murmured another I love you for the thousand times that night, and another ten times this morning. She replied with a beautiful smile and kissed him back. It was a perfect moment of two, until her phones vibrated, 9 a.m. in the morning.

He was unhappy without it. She wanted to reach for her phone, but he flipped their position, so she couldn’t even look at her phone. He quickly turned it off and gave her another kiss. She chuckled and peek at her phone. It stopped ringing.

“I told you, no phone calls. I even turn off mine.” He whispered and kissed her cheek. She mouthed a sorry in return, but her phone started ringing again. He groaned while she chuckled and reach for her phone. She sat up and he followed her, kissing her neck which earned him a smack.

“Jiyeon-ah, I married Wooyoung,” the caller said.