Indeed, Jaejoong was not wrong. The thing he had prepared for, the thing he had feared the most, finally came when Jong Hyun and Shin Hye were already working in the company.

Jong Hyun was working in the finance department, while Shin Hye was working as one of the lawyers for the company, and Hye Ri came back in the person of Jennifer Hwang. She claimed herself to be half-Korean, half-German. She worked her way secretly along with the physician in order to obtain the stocks that she had. And because she was one of the stockholders, she was, of course, able to attend stockholders' meetings every now and then. With that, she was able to obtain information regarding the performance of the companies that Jaejoong owned.

Jong Hyun and Shin Hye, who were also stockholders, attended those meetings, and they were also able to meet Mdm. Hwang. Jong Hyun felt uncomfortable seeing her because she was intimidating, and something told him to invest on some stocks outside of the company. Because his portfolio was very impressive, he was able to play on the stocks owned by YG Entertainment.

This, Shin Hye did not understand why he had to do it. And that night, as the two of them were walking home (for JH left his car at home intentionally), Shin Hye asked him.

"Jong Hyun-ah, why do you have to invest in YG Entertainment? They're a big company, and you know that," she told him.

"Ara," he solemnly told her.

"I'm afraid that your share might disappear in a snap," she reminded him. "The risk is greater, you know."

"Ara... Geunde... I can't help but worry," Jong Hyun told her.

And they stopped on their tracks.

"Wae?" Shin Hye asked.

"Ah... Molla," he told her as he sighed tiredly. "It's just that... the stockholder's meeting this afternoon... Do you notice Jenny Hwang's attitude towards us? She seems so... so..."

"What?"

"Molla... she looks like she is ready to prowl on me, on you. And I have no idea why," he said to her.

They entered the house and saw Jaejoong cooking dinner with his girlfriend. Jaejoong had been bringing his girlfriend in the pad to be with him, and sometimes, the girl would sleep with him in his room. Though Shin Hye did not approve of this nor of her, she could not do anything because, to begin with, she and Jae were not even related.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Eonni~~~," Kim Hyuna greeted Shin Hye. "Annyeonghaseyo, Oppa."

"Annyeonghaseyo," the two greeted.

"We'll be eating dinner in a jiffy, so you better wait, arasseo?" came Jaejoong heartily.

"Ne, Hyung," JH replied.

Jong Hyun motioned Shin Hye to follow him to his room so that they can talk more about what bothered him. Hyuna eyed the two as they entered Jong Hyun's room.

"Are they dating, Oppa?" she asked Jaejoong.

"Ani. Wae?"

"Because they seem like it. And, to me, it looks like..."

Jaejoong's eyes flashed naughtily. 

"You think nae Pretty Girl and Jong Hyun are doing it...like us?"

"Oppa!" Hyuna smacked his biceps. "Don't call her your Pretty Girl. Makes me jealous."

Jaejoong knew that Hyuna was just being aegyo, so he smiled at her as he kissed her on the forehead.

"Ani. They are not doing it," Jaejoong said as he continued to cook. "They're wholesome, you know."

Hyuna smiled coyly before grabbing her boo for a tight kiss.

****

Jong Hyun paced around his room, making Shin Hye dizzy just looking at him pacing.

"Wae geurae?" she asked him again.

"You know, Jeniffer Hwang reminds me of Ma Hye Ri," Jong Hyun went straight to the point.

The name brought back the awful memories that Shin Hye had despite the years that had gone by, and she froze without realizing that she stopped breathing, without realizing that her fist shook.

"Shin Hye-ya?" Jong Hyun asked as he noticed her in that state.

"So... you think it is her?" she calmly asked him. "How come she had the stocks?"

"She's rich, remember?" JH told her. "And she can afford plastic surgery. Why did she have to bail out?"

Shin Hye fumed heavily as she clenched her fists again.

"I can't let her ruin Oppa," she vowed. "I will work my way to get my revenge."

Jong Hyun looked at her. He thought she had given up on her revenge.

"You... you are still thinking of revenge?" he asked her.

"You never understood why I want to be a lawyer," Shin Hye taunted him the second time.

It was the second time that Shin Hye underestimated Jong Hyun's concern for her, and this time, Jong Hyun looked away. He did not want to make it known that the girl he loved was putting him down. It was just too... unfair.

"I want to be a lawyer so that I can bring justice to myself," she reminded him. "Those years that she locked me like I was in hell, it was more than enough to make me hate her. And I still cannot forgive her for it."

Jong Hyun still did not look at her, but she went on ranting, and he stopped pacing as he looked outside the window instead.

"I don't understand why she could buy Justice," she went on. "My heart is full of hatred that... that I have to let her pay for all her crimes to me. And what else could she have done aside from all her sins on me?"

She really did not get it. And because Jong Hyun thought that Jennifer Hwang was Kim Hye Ri, Shin Hye thought that she could put her stepmother down by grabbing her wealth first. And that is, she could start by buying the stocks secretly in one sweep.

"Jong Hyun-ah?" she called out to him.

Jong Hyun looked at her, his eyebrows knitted.

"Gwae...gwaenchanha?" she asked him, suddenly concerned that he stopped talking.

Jong Hyun fumed and sighed as he closed his eyes. Then, he opened them to look at her. For the first time in years, it was the first time that she saw him angry--at her.

"This is the second time you actually insulted me, Shin Hye-ya, and I did not like it," he told her. "Yes, I know you rant and rant at your hatred for the world, but trying to bring me down... Isn't it too much?"

Shin Hye did not understand what she had done wrong for Jong Hyun to get angry. Her voice quivered as she asked him, "W...wae? What have I done?"

Jong Hyun shook his head.

"Forget it," he told her.

And it was when Jaejoong knocked for them to come to dinner.

****

Hyuna pointed out that the two were silent, but Jaejoong hushed her quietly. He knew the two to be very close friends and would bicker lightly at times, but he felt that this one was heavier. What could have happened?

So that night, Shin Hye decided to talk to her bestie. She knocked at his door, and he opened it. It was very obvious that he was not feeling all right. Too far from the meek and soft-spoken Jong Hyun who rescued her in her past.

"Jong Hyun-ah... can we talk?" she mildly asked him.

Jong Hyun let her in without a word. She sat on his bed and looked at him, who was standing by the doorway.

"Malhae (Say it)," he told her.

"Are... are you angry at me?" she asked him, her eyes begging him. "Do I have to guess what is on your mind?"

"You don't have any idea?" he spat at her. "You provoked my understanding of you, Shin Hye-ya. You once told me I was too kind, and I was hurt because I was only trying to help. And now, you told me I don't understand why you should go on with your revenge. It hurts me, Shin Hye-ya! It hurts me that you always have to put me down, and making me look like I cannot think for myself, that I don't have a brain. You always think my opinion doesn't matter. You always make me look like my opinions are nothing more than something that makes me want to feel bad that I even thought about them. That's so unfair of you!"

Shin Hye looked at him in hurt. So.. that was why he was angry?

"Let me tell you that I value your opinions just as I value mine. And let me tell you that I utterly understand why you went to law school. And I am sorry if my brain doesn't work just like yours, and I'm sorry if my brain is nothing compared to your high and mighty, self-righteous brain!"

As he was about to step out of his room, Shin Hye stood up and calmly asked.

"So, is that the reason why you get angry? That you think that because of my self-righteousness, I don't value your opinion?"

"Yes! For years, you have been making me feel that way! Though this is the second time in our years of friendship that you show it to my face that I am such a worthless and useless person," Jong Hyun told her. "That I don't matter to you!"

As he attempted to walk away again, Shin Hye held him by the hand and stood near him. As she looked at him, she held his face and saw that he was trying to hide the tears that were about to fall.

"Malhajima (Don't say that)," she told him, her tears about to fall too. "Please don't think I don't value your opinion, because for years, I have also been heeding them silently and making them my life beacon. Hyunnie, you are precious to me. You always have been a good friend to me."

And she hugged him tight.

"For making you feel that way for years, mianhae... mianhae..."

Jong Hyun still did not budge.

"Your tears and your apology still are not enough to ease the pain, Shin Hye-ya," he told her.

"What can I do so you'll forgive me?" she asked. "I'll do anything... Just don't make me get over my revenge."

And her pride was still important for her that he had to swallow his own and let go of his suggestion to make her forget her revenge.

"If you do not want to give up on your revenge, at least, just value what I say," he told her. "Everytime I see your pride in pain, all I ever wanted was just to ease them. And that is when my advices come in. I just want you to acknowledge my value to you. A...arasseo?"

Shin Hye nodded. It seemed like Hyunnie was still an insecure man who wanted approval.

"Call me insecure, Shin Hye-ya," he said. "I am confident of my abilities in front of other people, but I just want to be good enough for you."

He just wanted to confess already because he did not want to suffer too. He did not care that he will be rejected. He just want her to know. And he just want her to know that he is not stupid, nor is he someone without conviction. He just wanted her to know that he tells her his thoughts because she mattered to him.

And she looked at him.

"You... good enough for me?" she asked him, tears strolling down her eyes. "Hyunnie... you always matter to me. And I would prefer to spend the rest of my life with you."

Was her bold confession.

"Ne Hyunnie. You are always good enough for me. I may have my first love in school before Kim Hye Ri locked me, but it was you who kept my love for the longest time... And... I cannot hold it anymore..."

Hyunnie looked at her.

"Hyunnie... I value your opinions.. I really do... Just forgive me for being self-righteous... Just forgive me... I value your thoughts just as I value you...because I love you."

And it was she who confessed first.

"Shin Hye-ya..." Jong Hyun pushed her so he could look at her face. "Saranghae."

Shin Hye gaped.

"The first time I saw you at the basement, I did not get to see your face. But when I visited you the second time, I thought you were an imprisoned angel, and though I did not want to admit it, I had a huge crush on you. And that was why I wanted to visit you everyday and be with you. I just wanted to be your friend, and I just wanted to be with you. And now I know, maybe Haneunim is working his way that we should always be together."

Shin Hye felt she could melt when Jong Hyun caressed her face.

"Apology accepted," he whispered.

Then, he leaned forward to give her a very tight hug.

"I want to be your namchin, Shin Hye-ya, if you let me," he begged her.

"Hyunnie... I want to! Ne, ne... I want you to be my namchin..." she replied.

Jong Hyun smiled as he hugged her still.

"Thanks for forgiving me... I will cherish you, nae chingu...er..namjachingu..." she whispered to him.

~~~~