Changjo roused from his slumber. He held his head which throbbing. He glanced at his surroundings; it was dark. He could not recall much after he had got out of the pub. Changjo sat up and heaved a sigh thinking that he might have ended up in woman's house who did not even know. He thought of how much trouble who would end up in. He stood up and almost stumbled down again due to imbalance. He glanced at the bed and saw the curvy figure of a woman. Ahh this must be the lady who brought me to her home. Maybe I should leave before she wakes up. Changjo thought.

He looked around for his jacket and tapped on his pocket to check for his belongings. He tried to feel for his jacket but could not find it. He walked around and tripped on something. It made quite some noise and the woman on the bed shifted. Changjo widened his eyes in fear of waking her up. When he saw that she was still sleeping, he carried on looking for his jacket. All of a sudden, a tune played in the room and Changjo jumped in surprise. The woman shot up from the bed and ran away from Changjo. The room was lighted up and everything was clear to view. Changjo was frozen in place. 

Hyo-Jin breathed out in relief seeing that it was Changjo. She laughed at herself for being so alarmed. "The sound scared me and I was immediately alert."

Changjo was still staring at her.

"Whats wrong? Do you feel sick?" Hyo-Jin asked, her face full of worry. She walked quickly to Changjo and touched his forehead. 

Changjo grabbed her hand. "How did you find me?"

Hyo-Jin stared back at him, surprised by his touch. She stuttered. "I-I saw you outside the p-pub and helped you into my house since I didn't w-where you lived."

Changjo pulled Hyo-Jin into his arms. He shut his eyes. He did not want the moment to end. Hyo-Jin's heart palpitated wildly. She hesitated to put her arms on his back but eventually she gave in to her heart's desire and hugged him back. They both dropped tears of relief as they hugged each other. 

Changjo broke the hug and wiped the tears off of Hyo-Jin's face with his thumb. "Hyo-Jin. I think its selfish of me but I want you."

Hyo-Jin parted her lips. She was finally hearing it from his own mouth, directed at her, only her. "I hope this is not a part of your new plan because I have fallen for you, hard."

Changjo's heart ached to hear that she still remembered what he did to her. "Are you still angry with me for what I did?"

Hyo-Jin's gaze softened. "No, I couldn't when I am so in love with you. Can we just forget everything?"

"Can I do that?" Changjo asked. It was a question directed more to him rather than Hyo-Jin. 

Hyo-Jin lunged into his chest. "Yes, yes you can!"

Changjo smiled slightly and put his arms on her back. "I'm sorry for everything we did to your family Hyo-Jin. I have regretted it up till now. I have been wallowing in guilt all these years. Me living a great life is an understatement Hyo-Jin."

Hyo-Jin hugged him tighter. "Stop. I don't care about the past anymore. Don't feel burdened Changjo. My whole family has forgiven you. We don't care anymore. Please, it hurts me to hear about you living in such darkness."

Changjo patted her back. He smiled genuinely for the first time in many years. The heavy burden on his chest was finally gone. He felt like running around in joy. "Thank you Hyo-Jin."

----------

Hyo-Jin went to work with high spirits. She greeted everyone she saw with a hearty greeting. She took her place in the police station and started getting herself busy. 

"Looks like someone is in a good mood." Hyo-Jin looked up to meet eyes with AJ.

Hyo-Jin leaned closer to him. She could not contain her excitement. "Changjo and I are together now!"

AJ looked at her in disbelief. "What!"

Hyo-Jin put a finger to her lip. "Not so loud."

"Are you crazy? Do you remember what he did to you?" AJ exploded.

"It doesn't matter anymore. He's changed and I don't mind his past." Hyo-Jin said.

"B-But.." AJ started.

Hyo-Jin cut him off. "Look if you're gonna oppose then I suggest that you leave my desk. I trust my instinct."

AJ searched her eyes and saw the sincerity in her words. He respected her and her decisions. After all she was a grown woman now. AJ nodded in understanding and patted the side her shoulder. "Alright. Good luck and congratulations."

Hyo-Jin smiled at his retreating back and got back to her work.

----------

From: Changjo

I'm here. I'm waiting for you near the bus stop.

Hyo-Jin smiled and quickly made her way to meet him. 

When she saw Changjo, she waved her hand and ran up to him.

"Hi!" Hyo-Jin jumped in front of him. 

"Hi. How was your day?" Changjo reached for hand to hold.

A blush crept up Hyo-Jin's cheeks. He had instinctively held her hands which made her heart flutter. "F-Fine."

"Lets go somewhere. I wanna show you something." Changjo grinned and pulled her along. 

Changjo's car was parked by the side of the road, near the bus stop. He opened the car's door for Hyo-Jin and got in from the other side. Changjo started the car's engine and drove off. 

----------

"Don't open eyes okay." Changjo warned.

Hyo-Jin folded her arms and smiled. Changjo led her by holding her shoulders and giving her a slight push forward. They slowly reached the place and soon Changjo got her to sit down. He instructed her to open her eyes. Hyo-Jin gasped at the sight. They were in a garden with bushes lighted up by tiny lights. There was a water fountain at her side and that too had been lighted up with many alternating colours. The ground was littered with red rose petals. Hyo-Jin looked at Changjo who was clearly satisfied with the results; how the place turned out and Hyo-Jin's reaction. 

"Really? You did all these?" Hyo-Jin asked even though she knew the answer. 

"Yes Hyo-Jin. I hired some people to help me though. I'm being sincere here." Changjo grinned. "Hold on. I need to go and grab something from the car."

Hyo-Jin nodded and waited patiently. Soon a few men and women and came in carrying plates of food. They placed them on the table which was lighted with pink candles. Hyo-Jin looked at the scrumptious feast. Hyo-Jin thanked the last waiter who placed a plate on the table. When she turned her head, she saw Changjo walking in with a snow white teddy bear with a soft blue ribbon tied around its neck. The teddy bear had a rather small box resting on its legs. 

"Would you... accept my love?" Changjo asked, his arms outstretched with the teddy bear in his hands.

"Yes ,of course." Hyo-Jin replied, playing her part. She took the teddy bear in her hands and Changjo got seated down in his seat. 

"You know this reminds me of our first date a long time ago. You gave me a teddy bear too. I still have it you know." Hyo-Jin smiled and looked at the bear.

Changjo smiled too. "Hey you should open the box."

Hyo-Jin opened the box and her eyes widened. She looked up at Changjo. "You can't give this to me. Its too expensive. Well it looks expensive."

"It looks expensive but it could be from a roadside shop. The box could also be from the jewellery shop but the bracelet might not have been from the shop." Changjo laughed. "Here. Let me help you put it on."

Changjo walked over to Hyo-Jin and took the bracelet. He put it around Hyo-Jin's wrist and put the clasp on. It was a charm bracelet with a half heart. It had other ornaments; a crystal rock, a rose shaped pendant and a star. 

Hyo-Jin wondered out loud. "Why is the heart cut into half?"

Changjo reached under his shirt collar and brought out a necklace with the other half of the heart. "See. Its the other half to the heart. Together, we are one. The other pendants have meaning too. The crystal rock symbolises how our relationship was rough in the beginning. The rose symbolises our love and your beauty. The star means that our love in infinite." 

Hyo-Jin felt butterflies in her stomach. This was the first time she had received a gift which had been thought through so thoroughly. This bracelet was going to mean the world to her. From then on. 

Changjo shifted his chair nearer to Hyo-Jin and held her hand. "We are officially in a relationship now Kim Hyo-Jin. You're mine."

Hyo-Jin chuckled and nodded. She leaned towards Changjo and Changjo did the same. Their lips touched. 

May we never be apart.

I love you.