“I just don’t understand why a merger has to be tied with a marriage.  We live in the 21st century for goodness sake,” Tiffany rolled her eyes.

            Hyoyeon and Seohyun were talking about what the outcome of Seunghyun leaving Dasom would be.  They could imagine all kinds of jobs getting lost.  They imagined all of the stress that common people would have to endure because of Yoona and Seunghyun’s love.  The dorm was quiet, and since the news of Seunghyun and Dasom breaking their engagement hit the media, SNSD had been quiet for the past few days.  They were guarding Yoona from any criticism. 

            “I know,” Taeyeon frowned, “I wish that it didn’t have to be like this, but I know how this is going to play out.  Seunghyun and Yoona love each other, but once Yoona sees people suffering, she going to feel guilty.  She’s very selfless, and she cares about other people.”

            Yoona and Seunghyun had hidden from the public for the past few days.  Only the SNSD members and Seunghyun’s friends knew that they were in a private property in Jeju Island.  The whole country was in a frenzy to face the fact that the richest man in the country was out of sight.  Of course, Seunghyun’s representatives made a statement that he was safe, and he would return soon.

            “I wonder what they’re doing,” Tiffany sighed.

            Seohyun shrugged her shoulders, “I hope that they’re enjoying the time that they have right now.  When they return, they’re in for a storm.”

___________

            Yoona woke up and stretched her arms out.  The window was open, and a warm breeze filled the room.  The curtains were flying around, and she could hear the gentle waves on the shore.  Yoona smiled, and it was the first time in a long time that she felt at ease.  She looked to her side to see that the other side of the bed was empty.  She raised her eyebrow to see a note with Seunghyun’s handwriting on it.

Good morning, my love.

I went out to get breakfast.  See you soon.

XXX,

Seunghyun

            She put the note down and leaped off the bed.  She put on her robe and put on her slippers.  Yoona put her hair up in a messy ponytail and figured that it’d be best if she started on the coffee.  It was a known fact that Seunghyun had an undying love for coffee.

            Yoona took a step back to see a presence in the house.  She remained silent as she clutched her robe in her hand.  Yoona breathed out to see a woman before her.  The older woman had her lips painted a deep dark red color, and she was donning an all black outfit.  She was wearing a pantsuit, and her hair was tied in a tight ponytail. 

            “It’d be nice to get a greeting,” she stated.

            Choi Misook was standing near the kitchen as she looked around the place.  She saw the two glasses of wine on the coffee table from the night before, and she saw a picture that Yoona and Seunghyun had taken on the beach the day before.  She scoffed mockingly as Yoona bowed.

            Yoona knew that this woman was disrespectful.  She was vile, intimidating, and rude, but Yoona still tried her best to get her approval.  This woman was the person who had given life to the love of her life.  She may have not liked this woman, but she owed so much to her for giving Seunghyun life.

            “Hello.  Good morning,” Yoona quickly replied.

            Misook took two steps forward and then looked at Yoona.  Yoona was wearing a robe, a pair of shorts, and a shirt.  She looked absolutely tired and sleep deprived.

            “I can see that my son has already taken your innocence,” Misook observed, “Glass of a thousand dollar wine and a fancy house…no girl can ever resist.”

            Yoona ignored her comment, “ Would you like to join us for breakfast?  Your son is on his way back, and we’d be more than glad to have you eat with us.”

            “Let’s not play any games,” Misook shook her head, “I had already warned you in the past to keep away from my son.”

            “I tried,” Yoona choked, “I couldn’t.  I love him.  I love him so much.”

            Misook questioned, “Is it the money?  The status?”

            “No,” Yoona shook her head, “I am in love with him unconditionally.”

            Misook took a seat and crossed her legs.  Her looks were scary enough to make Yoona want to run away.  Yoona held her ground and kept her head high.  She was doing this for the man she loved.  She was going to stand her ground.  She was going to prove her love for Misook’s son.

            “I had tried to bribe you in the past to leave him, but it seems as if all the money in the world would not be enough to separate you from my son,” Misook sighed, “I guess you may think that you love him, and I have to admit that I’m impressed.”

            Yoona felt her body tensing up as she breathed out.  She had never been so nervous in her life.

            Misook continued, “You can be with him.  You can do whatever the hell you want to do with him, but let him marry Dasom.  I’m not saying that you have to be out of his life.  You can live a very comfortable life—as his mistress.  I know that he loves you, too, but he has responsibilities. Let him marry Dasom, and you can still have your fun with him.  Dasom will know, but she won’t say anything.  She listens to anything anyone tells her to do.”
            What was this woman saying?  Was she asking Yoona to be the mistress?  Yoona felt her head spinning at the thought.  She couldn’t do that.  She loved him, and she couldn’t watch him marry another woman.  She couldn’t be the other woman.  She wasn’t the other woman because she was the one he loved.

            “Misook sshi, I don’t want to be the mistress.  I want to be able to have a future with him,” Yoona defended, “I want to have children with him one day.”

            Misook laughed, and the laugh was obviously mocking Yoona’s statement.  Why did the thought of Yoona having a future with Seunghyun make Misook laugh?  Yoona was already starting to get angry.

            “You may not know this, but Seunghyun’s father was rich, too,” Misook stated, “I was just a teacher, and my husband was a very successful businessman.  The business failed after he died in a car accident, and I had to support three children on my small salary.”

            Yoona remained silent as Misook slowly breathed out.  This had to be the first time that Misook had shared something personal.  Even Seunghyun never really talked about his father. 

            “He had various affairs on the side.  I always stayed quiet about it.  He was handsome and rich.  In my mind, he could cheat on me as long as he could provide for me and my children,” Misook revealed.

            “What are you saying?” Yoona asked.

            “If you marry him, what makes you think that he’ll be any different from his father?  His father’s father was the same way.  He won’t change,” Misook stated, “It’s a man’s world, Yoona.  It’s either you sink or survive.”

            “What are you doing here?” an assertive, deep voice boomed.

            Yoona quickly turned to see Seunghyun.  His face was red as if he was extremely infuriated.  He had a plastic bag filled with food, and he slammed it down against the coffee table.  Even Yoona was startled to see him so angry.  She flinched at the sound of Seunghyun slamming something to the table.

            “I was only having a talk with your girlfriend,” Misook stated, “And I was telling her the truth.”

            Seunghyun grabbed his mother’s wrist and led her to the door.  He was so angry that even though so much time had passed, she was still trying to scare Yoona from Seunghyun.

            “How dare you treat your mother like that?” she snapped at him as she flung his grip from her wrist.

            Yoona watched in horror to see the rage between the two Choi family members.  They were supposed to be part of the most elite family in Seoul.  They were supposed to be classy and composed.  They were supposed to be better than this.

            “How dare you treat your children like that?” Seunghyun fired back, “Your oldest son treats you like you’re dead.  Your second son hates your guts.  Your only daughter wanted to die because of you.  Why can’t you ever look in the mirror and realiz