* * * O N E  W E E K  L A T E R * * *

Nicole was sitting in her usual spot at the mini outdoor cafe of the Langham Sydney Hotel.  She was sipping on some ice tea and flipping through a magazine.  Even though Sydney's Summer Fest Fashion Show was postponed to the following month, Nicole thought it would be great to spend some time alone in the big city; get away from Seoul for a while, get away from everything...get away from Key.

* F L A S H B A C K *

When she got back from Amber's wedding, she loaded all of her suitcases that she prepacked the previous night, into a taxi.  She left a note for Hara, saying:

Hara-goo,
Even though we don't need to be in Sydney for a while,
I thought going now to help take my mind of some things would be great.
As in a vacation from everything that has happened.
You are more than welcome to join me :)
If not, I'll see you soon!

Love, Nicole

* E N D  O F  F L A S H B A C K *

As she flipped through the pages, a certain article caught her eye, or more like, a certain image.

AMBER LIU, FUTURE HEIRESS OF TAIWAN'S BIGGEST JEWERLY COMPANY, F(X), DIDN'T WED WITH KIM KI BUM, FUTURE HEIR OF THE SHINee CORP?!?!?!?

Amber Liu and Kim KiBum were suppose to be wed and a happy couple but it turns out that the wedding was stopped.  Not by friends, not by a disapproved mother, or a past lover, but Amber Liu herself!

Of course, the famililes and especially the parents of both sides were shocked by Liu's disapproval.  The most important question and wonder is, what about Kim KiBum?

In the picture, you can see his shocked reaction, but furthur pictures show him smiling and then giving Liu a big hug.  Kim may even have said a "thank you" to Liu.

Even though Liu was the one who "cancelled" the wedding, Kim was the first to leave, or should I say, run out of the wedding, leaving guests confused on what they just witnessed.  Liu even decided to toss her bouquet "...for the heck of it".

But the real question is...where was Kim KiBum in a hurry to get to?

Nicole was wondering the same thing.  What has she missed these past week?

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She got home and placed the magazine on the counter.  She pours herself a glass of orange juice.

Nicole couldn't get that article out of her mind.  Many things were flooding her mind: Amber, the parents, Key.  She's been debating if she should call Hara, but she thought it wasn't her problem so she haven't called.

Nicole tossed the magazine aside and headed upstairs.  She started packing for the beach.  Hopefully, some time under the sun will get her mind off of the article.

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Nicole always walked to the beach, since it's only a couple blocks away.  Also, she loves the feeling of the breeze brushing her face.

As she reached the beach, Nicole took off her sandals and walked across the warm sand and stopped at the shoreline.  She spread her arms out and took in a deep breath of the fresh, salty air and let it soak in and push her stress out.

Nicole looked around the beach and only saw a few people: joggers, dog walkers, and surfers.  It was still too early and the water's too cold to swim in.  Only the surfers were out in the ocean, performing tricks and waiting for the perfect waves.  She turned to see a familiar white dog running towards her, with her tail wagging wildly and her tongue sticking out.

"Hey, stranger!"  Nicole squealed, hugging Ruby.  "What are you doing here?  Did Hara-goo bring you?"

"I did."

Nicole looked around and did not see Hara, but Key, standing in front of her.

Nicole slowly stood up as Key walked towards her.  The repressed feelings slowly flowed out.  Key stopped a few feet away from her and gave her his smile that made her all fuzzy inside.

"Annyo."  Key smiled.

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Key and Nicole walked side-by-side, with the waves brushing up against their ankles, while Ruby runs freely in front of them.  They walked in silence with just the sound of the soft waves and the early birdss calling to each other.

"So-"  They both said together.

They looked at each other and laughed.  So much for making it less awkward.  Key cleared his throat and scratched his head.

"How've you been?"  Key asked.

"I've-I'm doing good."  Nicole said.  "You?"

"I'm feeling good now." 

Nicole glanced Key, who was staring at her with those chocolate eyes that made her heart jump everytime.  She continued walking, softly playing with the waves.  Key caught up to her.

"So, how's the fashion show preparations going?"  he asked, trying to keep the conversation going and the awkward silence out.

"It's been rough.  Models are getting sick here and there.  The fashion line is due in two weeks and I've only got one piece down.  Life's hard."  Nicole giggled.

Key chuckled at Nicole's lovely laugh.  He missed it.  The sound of her laugh, and the warmth of her smile.  He missed everything about her.

He gently grabbed her hand.  Nicole flinched at his touch and looked at his hand holding hers.  She slowly pulled her hand out, awkwardly smiled and kept walking.  

Key roughed his hair and caught up to her.

"So, how's everyone else?"

"Good.  MinHo is really taking his relationship with Hara seriously."  Key said.

"That's good!  I wouldn't have to kick his then."  Nicole joked.

Key chuckled.

"Colah..."

Nicole turned around to him.

"You're not gonna ask how I've been doing?"  Key asked, looking down at his feet then back at Nicole.

"I did.  You said you were good."  Nicole said.

" 'Now'.  I'm doing good now."  Key said.  He took her hand.  "I meant, how I was doing while you were M.I.A. for a month."

Key's touch sent sparks down her spine.  She missed this: his soft voice, his sincere eyes, his gentle touch.   She tried pulling her hand back but this time, Key held on tight.

"I've missed you, Nicole."  Key said, in his oh-so gentle voice.  "I've missed you SOOOOO much that I ran out of that wedding and begged Hara 24/7 to tell me where you were, just so I can see your beautiful face again."

Nicole couldn't help but laugh at his childish side.  Oh, how she missed it.

"You ran out of the wedding?"  Nicole repeated.  "Why would you do that to Amber?"

Key scoffed and held her hands tightly in his.

"Nicole...for the MILLIONTH time!  Amber and I are childhood friends.  We could barely be in the same room and not tear each other's heads off when we were younger.  And you'd expect us to live forever with each other?"  Key explained.

Nicole pouted and shrugged.  Key laughed at her expression.

"I'm just kidding, but seriously, she and I are truly good friends.  Practically brother and sister."  Key said.  "Our parents were just crazy and thought they ran our lives."

Nicole giggled at his complaints.  Key pulled her in closer, his hands now around her waist.

"I love you, Nicole.  And this time, I'm never letting you go again, no matter what ridiculous reasons you may come up with."  Key assured her.  "You're stuck with me, Colah, whether you like it or not.."

Nicole laughed and fluttered the tears out of her eyes.  Key wiped her tears of happiness away and hugged her tight.  It felt so right.  Everything was falling back into place.

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The sunny day soon turned into the cool night.  The sun was just about setting.  Nicole and Key just finished dinner and went on a late night stroll on the beach shore.  Key pulled their interlaced hands up and kissed her soft hand.  Nicole smiled and moved closer to Key.

"So, can I ask you something?"  Nicole asked, breaking the peaceful silence.

"Anything, baby."  Key answered.

Nicole took a few seconds to think about her question.

"So...what happened?"

Key looked at her confused.

"I mean, during the wedding.  As you already know, I didn't stay to see the action."  Nicole joked.

Key laughed and scratched his head.

"Well...oh boy, where do I start?"  Key mumbled.  "I'm standing at the alter..."

* F L A S H B A C K *

Key stood by the end of alter, looking upon the audience that gathered before him.  He could see the groomsmen and bridesmaids getting in their positions.  He tried looking for a glance of Nicole, but she didn't appear.

As the orchestra played, the groomsmen and bridesmaid, one by one, started to walk down the aisle.

This is it...  Key told himself.

Amber walked down the aisle, her hand wrapped around her dad's arm.  Key could tell that Amber was not up for this either, but they both have no say in it.  

Key saw Nicole's small figure walking into the parking lot and into her car.  She turned around and glance back at Key before getting in.

Key's heart dropped to the floor as her car drove away, taking his heart with her.

He focused back and Amber was just a few feet away from him.  He smiled and shook her dad's hand and took hers into his.

They turned to each other and Key unveiled Amber.  Amber's sorrow eyes stared back at Key's hopeless eyes.  She forced a smile and so did Key.

"Dear family and friends, we have gathered here today to witness and celebrate the wedding of Kim Kibum and Liu Amber..."

This is it...

"If there is anyone here who believes that these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace."

A few murmurs and heads scanning the crowd.  Mrs. Kim smiled and nodded to the priest.

"Well, then, let us-"

"WAIT!"

Everybody looked towards the voice.  Key, shocked himself, turned to Amber.  She held her hand up and turned to Key.

"What are you doing?"  Key whispered, looking back at everybody.

"More like, what are YOU doing, oppa?"  Amber asked.  "Yah, seriously.  I don't wanna do this.  At all."

The murmurs started to get louder.  Confused guests are starting to fidget.  So many things were flying across his mind: Amber's reaction, his parents, Amber's parents, Nicole.

"Oppa? Yah, do I even have to ask you if you want to do this, too?"  Amber asked, with her hand on her waist.

Key chuckled at her childish side and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Thank you."  He said.  He gave her the biggest hug he can give. 

Amber pulled him back and smiled at him.

"Go get her."  she said.

Key pinched her cheeks and ran down the aisle to the church.  The guests gasped at the incident and were so confused on what just happened.  The Luis and Mrs. Kim were so shocked at Key, while Mr. Kim just chuckled.  Everybody started to turn to the "bride" who was left at the alter.  Amber looked around and realized that they were waiting for her to say something.

"Oh!  Um...yeah, we're not getting married anymore.  Sorry for making you all come down nothing."  She apologized.  "But there's still cake, food, and wine for everybody!"

MinHo and Hara laughed at her speech and walked up to her, as the crowd started to leave.

"You okay?"  Hara asked Amber.

Amber nodded with a big smile.

"Please, I couldn't stand him when we were kids.  You'd expect us to live together forever?  No, thank you!"  Amber joked.

Minho laughed and ruffled her hair.

"Yah, Oppa!  I may not be getting married but my hair looks amazing!"  Amber yelled, smacking his hand.

Mr. Kim walked up to the laughing group.

"Nicely done, Amber."  he complimented.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Kim."  Amber bowed.  "It's what we both want."

"I know."  Mr. Kim nodded.  "I'm glad that you both realized that and did it on your own.  I'm proud of you."

Amber thanked Mr. Kim for his consideration.

"Amber Lui."

She looked over at her furious parents.

"Oii...remind me to kick Key-oppa's for leaving me to deal with this."  Amber said to MinHo and Hara, as she made her way to her parents.

MinHo laughed and winked in agreement.

* E N D  O F  F L A S H B A C K *

Nicole couldn't stop laughing.  She could picture Amber being her usual laid-back self and saying all kinds of things like that.

"So, what did her parents say and do?"  Nicole asked, after calming down.

"Well, they weren't as mad as we thought they would be."  Key said, sitting down on the sand.  "They were just worried that Amber was hurt and only cancelled the wedding because of us, but she convinced them that it was her choice.  She never wanted to get married.  Did you know she was talking to a boy in China?  "Talking" as in "almost asked her out"."

Nicole laughed and sat down next to him.

"Yeah, she confessed when I caught her on the phone during the wedding dress fitting."  Nicole said.

Key nodded and pulled her into his arms.  She rested her head on his shoulder and looked at the calming waves brushing up against the shore.

"What did your parents say?"  Nicole asked, in a quiet tone.

Key let out a big sigh.

"Well, my dad was totally fine with it.  He was glad that I was able to step out of my "mama's boy" circle and stand up for what I wanted."  Key said.  "and surprisingly, so was my mother."

Nicole lifted her head and looked at Key.

"Well, after a long lecture of why I was being an embarrassment and making such a big mistake and blah blah blah."  Key confessed.  "But after all that, she just wanted to make sure I was making the right choice."

"Did you?  Make the right choice?"  Nicole quietly asked, looking at her hand doodle in the sand.

Key lifted her chin up and fixed her gaze on his.

"Of course."  Key answered.  "You've been the best choice in my life and I'd make this same choice over and over again."

Hearing him say those words brought hope and security back into Nicole's heart.

Key moved closer to Nicole and kissed her.  It's been so long since he's tasted those sweet lips.

As his lips touched hers, Nicole felt her heart warm up again.  The ice-cold Nicole that she's played started to melt away by Key's touch.

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A  U  T  H  O  R  '  S     N  O  T  E  :  :

Oh, boy!!! I could feel your anger while I was finishing this chapter.  SO SORRY!!! I PROMISED I didn't forget about this on purpose! I could use school as an excuse but I'm gonna be totally honest with yalls: writer's block.  A good few months of writer's block.  I hope this chapter was up to your expectations!  Thanks for waiting and staying with me!  I'll be good and try my best to finish this up!  Comment and thanks again!!!

much luvv ♥