Shin Hye shook her head, cried, and tightly held Jong Hyun's hand. It was seven in the morning, and Jong Hyun still had to travel four hours by train. He will be absent again, and he needed to go to the city to attend school the next day. If it had not been for the Kim Hye Ri problem, his travel to school from the paternal farm house would only be an hour.

"Gajima... gajima..." she said frantically, her voice shaking.

"Shin Hye-ya... Jong Hyun will go to school," Eomma explained tenderly.

"Anio... You promised me you'll not leave me!" Shin Hye cried.

Jong Hyun looked at his beloved friend sadly and asked his eomma if she could give them time to be together. And so, the two of them stayed in the porch.

"Shin Hye-ya... I will not leave you," he told her. "But I need to go to school so I can make my dreams come true. I will work hard because Eomma and Appa also needs me. Arasseo?"

But Shin Hye was sniffling. Jong Hyun held her hand, and caressed her hair with his other hand.

"Shh... uljima... I called up Jaejoong-hyung and requested him to come and get you, just as he said," he told her.

"Oppa?" she asked, her voice breaking.

"Ne."

Shin Hye sniffled again as Jong Hyun continued comforting her.

"Don't be sad," he crooned as he leaned forward to her. "Huh?"

And Shin Hye nodded as she controlled her tears. She had always been alone, and someone she trusted but would be leaving her made her so afraid. She did not want to feel alone again. 

"Shh..." Hyunnie hushed her in a whisper.

They did not know that Ha Yi was watching, and was feeling giddy, thinking that Hyunnie had kissed Shin Hye. But Jong Hyun was simply lowering his voice as he leaned to her, and he was comforting her. Then, he wrapped his arms around her and tapped her back.

"Ooooohhhh!!!! So cute!!!!" Ha Yi mused and giggled. "I want Oppa to study hard and get rich... so that he can marry Shin Hye-eonni. But of course, he has to spend for my school materials too!"

****

Finally, Jong Hyun left the farm, with Shin Hye sulking in Hyunnie's room. She would not eat, but instead, went back to scratching the walls with her fingernails. Instead of the revenges she once had planned for Hye Ri, she was carving Jong Hyun's name.

"Jong Hyun... Jong Hyun... tteonajima... tteonajima..." she sobbed.

Eomma knocked and knocked, then came in to coax her to eat with them. She told the poor girl that Jong Hyun was just doing his duty as a son and as a student, but that he will not leave her alone.

"Then, why did he go?" Shin Hye asked.

"Shin Hye-ya... though he is not physically present, he will always be in your heart," Eomma told her gently. "Gaja. Let's eat."

Shin Hye got up from bed. Eomma's final sentence was puzzling her, but it gave her assurance.

"So... Jong Hyun will never leave me?" she asked.

"Ani," Eomma responded with a smile. "Gaja."

She held the poor girl's hand, and they went out of the room to eat breakfast. And throughout breakfast, Shin Hye remembered the song that Hyunnie sang to her last night. Because Jong Hyun did not provide the title (it is "Starlit Night" by CN Blue), Shin Hye called it "Uri Norae (Our Song)."

*****

Jaejoong finally arrived with his sports car. He had two lawyers take care of his case against Kim Hye Ri, whom he had accused of a lot of things. He had Kim Hye Ri arrested for those crimes, without knowing that the madame was also having a deep dark secret regarding killing her own husband. Of course, Bo Young was implicated in her mother's crime, and she was also punished just like her mother. Though the two had been begging for his forgiveness, Jaejoong was too upset--no, too furious to even forgive them.

When Jaejoong was about to approach the house, Ha Yi, who was studying her lessons, saw him and ran inside.

"Eomma! Eomma! There's a really handsome ajusshi coming this way," Ha Yi announced.

Eomma looked worried and followed her daughter outside. And there, Jaejoong stood, about to knock on the door.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Ajumma?" Jaejoong greeted.

"Ne, annyeonghaseyo?" Eomma greeted. "Do you need anything?"

"Ah, ye. Kim Jaejoong-indeyo," Jaejoong introduced himself. "Geuge... Ajumma's son, Lee Jong Hyun, called me up last night and informed me about a certain Park Shin Hye."

Ha Yi wanted to tell him that the girl he was looking for was in, but Eomma was suspicious. Why did this ajusshi know Jong Hyun and Shin Hye? Was he someone related to Kim Hye Ri? Perhaps, her henchman?

"There is no girl with that name in here," Eomma lied.

"Eomeonim?" a voice shyly called out from the background.

Jaejoong lit up a smile when he heard another voice. He certainly knew who owned them.

"Geureom, Park Shin Hye is here," Jaejoong smiled.

Eomma was dumbstruck, and Jaejoong smiled all the more when Shin Hye emerged from the back.

"Oppa..."

"Oppa?" Ha Yi and Eomma asked in unison.

Jaejoong asked permission to get in, and as he was given it, he pulled Shin Hye close to him and hugged her tight.

"Shin Hye-ya... Oppa is here," he told her, but Shin Hye did not hug him back.

"Ehrm!!!!" Eomma cleared . "Why did this ajusshi know our Lee Jong Hyun?"

Jaejoong apologized for being rude, but he explained how he got to know Jong Hyun.

"And you are a Kim, and uri Jong Hyunnie just came from Kim Hye Ri," Eomma said in spite. "Are you her relative?"

"Ne, geunde, I am different from her," Jaejoong replied gravely. "She maltreated my step-cousin, and she gave unreasonable jobs to your son."

Eomma gasped. Hyunnie never told her about it.

"That's why I bought him out and paid your debts so she will stop hounding you," Jaejoong said. "But she has bigger sins against Shin Hye that she has to pay for them."

Eomma grew worried when Jaejoong told them about the debt, but Jaejoong said not to worry. Also, he wanted Hyunnie to be more self-reliant by means of a job.

"I am hiring him as a worker in my restaurant, though he had to pass a resume for formalities," Jaejoong said.

Eomma could no longer object to that. Besides, Jong Hyun was already of legal age to work and give his consent.

"I want him to learn how to manage a business so that he can help you in the future," Jaejoong said. "I feel that I can trust your son." 

Eomma's motherly heart beamed. "Geuraeyo! My son is very trustworthy."

"And Hyunnie-oppa will make a great boyfriend to Shin Hye-eonni," Ha Yi piped up before getting a jab from her eomma.

"Geuraeyo??" Jaejoong asked as he laughed, looking at Shin Hye. "Uri Shin Hye is also of age to fall in love."

But Shin Hye just bowed her head in embarrassment.

****

Eomma and Jaejoong had some serious talk as they talked over makeshift coffee. Because Jaejoong was the visitor who needed something, he brought some goodies for them to eat as well. Jaejoong shifted his gaze to look at Shin Hye, who was busy combing Ha Yi's hair.

"I'm taking her now," Jaejoong told her. "Even I had to move because even if my cousin and my aunt are in prison, they are still powerful enough to let their attorneys find me... and eventually find her."

Eomma got worried again.

"Geokjeongmaseyo," Jaejoong told her. "My pad is outside of Gangnam, and they will think I am staying there."

"Please take care of uri Shin Hye," Eomma said to him. "She is very precious to Jong Hyun."

"Algesseumnida," Jaejoong told her.

And so, after lunch, Shin Hye bid the family goodbye in order to go with Jaejoong. Ha Yi, meanwhile, was cleaning Jong Hyun's room when she saw the carvings on the wall.

"Oppa will never do this... omo... is it Eonni?" Ha Yi beamed. "So, Eonni is in love with Oppa?"

****

Jaejoong disguised Shin Hye so well to avoid detection. And when they were inside the pad, Shin Hye shyly looked around before sitting on the couch.

"I bought some clothes for you, nae Pretty Girl," Jaejoong told her. "Follow me."

Shin Hye stood up and followed Jaejoong to the room. She had always liked Jaejoong even before, and she was glad that he came to rescue her and to hide her. When they got inside a room, the first thing she saw was a warm-looking bed. And as she looked around, she saw different environment which was so alluring it was fit for a princess.

"This is yours," he told her.

Shin Hye shyly got near the bed, touched it, and sat on it. It was so soft as it was fluffy.

"Indulge," Jaejoong told her.

But Shin Hye shyly crawled up the bed and curled up her knees to her chin. Jaejoong scooted up the bed and sat next to her. Then, he held her hand and finger-combed her hair, like the way Jong Hyun always did.

"Shin Hye-ya, you will be safe here," he whispered to her. "And I will make sure that Jageun Eomma and Bo Young will never, ever find their way here, not even their minions."

Shin Hye nodded as she shed some tears. Jaejoong smiled because the girl who often talked to him in the past was suddenly so shy and would not talk.

"Mianhae, Shin Hye-ya," he told her. "I had been looking all over for you, and I thought of having to pay someone to search for you in Japan or in Hong Kong... not knowing you were just in the basement."

And he sighed as he looked at her. 

"I will let you stay here for the time being, but I'm sorry I will have to lock you here for safety reasons," he told her.

"Lock me???" came her frantic query before shaking her head. And she began to kick him and scratch him.

"Shhh... geumanhae, Shin Hye-ya," Jaejoong calmly told her as he tenderly held her hand. "If you will be acting violent, people will stay away from you. You need some role model first to make you act like the rest of us, arasseo?"

And Shin Hye began to cry without saying a word.

"A halmeoni and a harabeoji are living next door, so you can visit them when you feel lonely," he told her. "And they have a daughter too, you can find a mother figure in her."

Shin Hye continued to sob. 

"Shin Hye-ya, I want you to rise above the brutality that you had experienced in the past, and I want you to be normal," he said. "I want you to study, which is why I hired that ajumma next door, the mother-figure for you. She is a retired teacher, and she had to retire because of her spine condition, and she cannot tolerate a school environment any longer. I cannot let you enter a normal school just yet. Arasseo?"

Shin Hye could not understand his reasoning. All she knew was that he was locking her up again.

"No, I just don't want you going out and being found out by Kim Hye Ri," Jaejoong told her, his voice raising a bit. "Arasseo?"

When Shin Hye heard his raising voice, she sulked again. And she feared that he, too, had changed, and had prepared a whip for her.

"Mianhae, Shin Hye-ya, I did not mean to raise my voice," Jaejoong said as he pulled her closer.

Shin Hye hid her face and her fist on his chest, crying. Jaejoong wrapped his delicious arms around her to comfort her, and he scooted even closer so she could feel his concern.

"Uljima, Pretty Girl.. uljimma..."

****

Shin Hye was in the kitchen, being taught by Jaejoong how to cook. She knew how to cook in the past, but all those went down the drain when she was imprisoned. Just then, the doorbell alarmed, and Jaejoong stood to get it. Shin Hye was about to hide under the table when Jaejoong opened the door.

"Hyung, I almost got lost here," a familiar voice was heard at the living room.

Shin Hye stood up and went there...her heart feeling...

"Shin Hye!"

It was Jong Hyun.

"Jong...." she whispered, unable to hide her surprise and her happiness. She had no idea that Jong Hyun came here.

"Shin Hye-ya!" Hyunnie exclaimed as he went to hug her tight. "I'm glad that you're OK."

"Jong..."

"Jong Hyun will be staying here too," Jaejoong said. "So that he will be near the school and near my restaurant."

"Isn't it nice, Shin Hye-ya?" Jong Hyun asked. "We can be together everyday!"

Shin Hye nodded before looking at Jaejoong.

"Ah, nae Pretty Girl is such a gorgeous woman," Jaejoong said.

"Hyung!" Jong Hyun started to protest.

"Wae, Jong Hyunnie, are you jealous?" Jaejoong .

"Aniyo..." was the nerd's startled reply. He hoped Shin Hye did not notice it.

"Oh, if Shin Hye were not my step-cousin, I could have married her, ahahaha," Jaejoong said before turning to Shin Hye. "Mianhae, that was just a joke. I am looking for someone older than me."

"So, Hyung likes noonas?" Jong Hyun told him, though he was not sure if he was starting to get jealous at Jaejoong for insinuating about Shin Hye.

"Of course!" Jaejoong bragged. "All my ex-girlfriends had been noonas."

And so the three of them went to the kitchen to continue cooking. Jaejoong asked Hyunnie about his day, and the nerd said that he attended school after lunch, and his classmates still never missed him.

"Ah, looks don't matter to me," Jaejoong said. "But on the interview to my manager, you have to look good."

Jong Hyun nodded before looking at Shin Hye, who was secretly looking at her. A smile lit up his face at the secret exchange of glances.

"Oi, oi, are there lovebirds in my pad?" Jaejoong teased the two. "Let's continue cooking because love cannot feed us. Ahahahah."

Shin Hye lowered her head even more, and Jong Hyun, looking flustered, nodded and let out a shy yes.

****

Shin Hye was standing next to her room when Jaejoong showed Jong Hyun his room.

"For now, let's all be a happy family," Jaejoong said. "And oh, I need to hit the sack now. Nightie-night!"

Shin Hye nodded while Jong Hyun told him good night. And when the hyung was inside his room, Jong Hyun invited Shin Hye to his room.

"Looks like we'll be neighbors again, Shin Hye-ya," he told her as he led her to his bed.

Shin Hye sat on one side and waited for him to sit beside her. She saw him getting his guitar off the case before sitting beside her.

"Please sleep here, Shin Hye-ya," Jong Hyun told her. "I know this is a new environment, and I want to make it up to you for leaving you this morning."

Shin Hye crawled over to his pillow and lay on the bed. Then, Jong Hyun began to strum and began to sing their song. After the song was done, Shin Hye asked him to sing it again. And he did.

As he sang, Shin Hye smiled behind the blanket, liking the melodic sad voice and the boy-next-door appeal of the owner. And after looking at her beautiful dream, she closed her eyes for the night.

Hyunnie finished his song and looked at the sleeping beauty. He was thankful that Jaejoong helped in rescuing Shin Hye, and he felt that he should not get jealous at Jaejoong at all. He placed the guitar on the floor and crawled next to her. He caressed her hair with his fingers as he admired the sleeping girl in front of him.

"Good night, Shin Hye-ya," he whispered to her ear before giving her a soft kiss on her cheek.

~~~~~

OMONA!!!!! Mianhamnida!!!! I once said I will not let Jong Hyun and Shin Hye kiss, but can you forgive me for letting Hyunnie kiss Shin Hye on her cheek? Just her cheek, jebal?

~~~~