Kris rose sluggishly and looked at her as she stood in the doorway.

"Would you mind closing the door?"he said, truly irritated. "You'll be put in a difficult position yourself if we get overheard."

She ignored his request.

"You're the one in the bad position here, Kris,"she said angrily. "I'm not afraid of anything at this point. I dont care if my husband learns everything."

Kris panicked and he looked really angry. "What did you say?"

Hyuna smiles at him. "I love you okay?"

"I thought we had a clear cut relationship,"he reminded her.

"Yes, at first,"she agrees. "But things changed. I dont want to seperate from you."

"You must be aware by now that I have no intention of continuing our relationship."

Hyuna looked sadly at him. "Is that why you havent been seeing me lately? But that has to be wrong.. You said work was keeping you busy, right?"

"It's not wrong. Truth is, I intended to settle my relationship with you."

She tugged at his arm. "You cant do this! I love you!"

She was hysterical. "I've always loved you more than she do!"

Her gaze shifted toward me.

On the spur of moment, I blurted out, "Dont you dare jump to conclusion about me. The last thing I want is for you to draw your own conclusions about my feelings!"

"Are you saying that you love him? Can you really make that assertion?"

"I can and I do."

*giggle* "

My, my. Listen to you. You're just a woman who met a guy at a marriage arrangement and got picked solely based on your qualification,"she mocked.

"You...."

"And didnt you choose to marry Kris after seeing his qualifications?"

"You're wrong!"

"I am not!,"she insisted. "All you need to do is sit back and enjoy the benefits of being a wife. Its too brazen for you to expect Kris to love you on top of that."

Brazen huh? What the heck is she saying?

"I dont understand you."

"Excuse me?"

"In any marriage, arranged or romantic.... Dont people choose partners because they think they can be hapoy together?"

"!"

"Yes, people take notice of their partners occupation and finances. But what they wish for is to be able to love their partner and be loved in return. Isnt that why people get married?"

Hyuna fell silent.

"That is how for me, at least."

The glimpse of kindness he showed me on our first date. I wanted to trust the man I knew then.

Thats why I decided to marry Kris.

"So isnt it natural for me to want to be loved as a wife?"

"..."

"Wasnt that how it was for you when you married your husband?

At the mere mention of her husband, she grew offensive.

"Ngh! Quit giving me your sophistries....!"

Suddenly she slapped me!

"Aghh!"

"Hey!" Kris yelled.

Hequickly went up to us pushed her away from me.

"You want to be loved? What the hell? You're so brazen!"

"Stop it! Come on, cut it out!"Kris said angrily when she slapped her hand repeatedly at his chest.

Slam!

"Hey Kris! You guys have been making a racket for... Wait, Mrs Jong Min?" Man A said.

"Why..."Man B said but was stupified when he saw us.

Kris's surprised colleagues stepped in between us.

Kris caught her hands.

"Dont touch me! Let me go!"

"Hey, Kris! Whats going on here?" Man A asked.

Hyuna continues to make a scene.

"Tell me you love me Kris!"she pleaded.

All of us were surprised that she just went on with her drama.

Kris let go of her hands.

"Just say it once! Say that you love me!"

"...."

When he refused, she asked cries and asked sadly "Why? Why wont you say it?!"

Her shrill voice rang throughout the room.

But Kris wouldnt open his mouth.

The next thing I knew, the participants in the mountain clombing meet all gathered outside our room. Then...

"Whats going on here?" Mr Jong Min asked in concern.

"General manager!" Man A said in surprise when he enters the room.

"Whats all this about love? Wait...what are you doing here?"

I could see that he was shocked to find his beloved wife with us.

But Hyuna kept silent as she cries her hearts out.

"Kris, could you explain this to me?"

New about Kris' affair spread through the company like wildfire.

And then one week later....

"I'm home..."

The lights are out. Its pitch black in here.

I reached for the switch to turn on the lights in the apartment.

"I am home, Kris." I called out more strongly to the figure sitting on the couch.

"Sorry, I'm late. I'll put dinner on now. It should be ready in thirty mins."

"...."

"Hey, look! I got a good deal on this meat. Normally it sells out the moment they slap a price tag on it...."

"I received a notice for transfer."

"Hmm?"

"I'm being moved to a subsidiary that deals in import commodities."

He sounded so sad. "I've been pulled off all the projects I was working on as well. I'm finished. My prospects for career advancement are gone for good.."

I paused in my unloading of groceries and sat down next to Kris.

He's gotten thinner....

Its only been a week but his cheeks are so sunken...

He smiled at me.

"Go on laugh. I reaped what I sowed. I'm already being looked down on by the rest of the company. People say I got lead astray by a woman."

"...."

"What was it all for?"

Kris...

"Lets just have dinner for now. You must be hungry!"

"...."

"We're having Chinese today. I am making Sichuan style tofu. I'd rather go with sichuan style eggplant but... I went with tofu since you didnt like eggplant."

"..."

Honestly, I'm not even looking for an advancement in my own job. As long as I get to do my own work, thats all I want.

But its not the same for Kris.

His marriage with me, his business entertainment in Busan...

He did it all for promotions. And yet he ended up like this.

Whats he going to do now, I wonder?

"Jiyoon?

The owner says he wants to know more about this wallpaper here,"Jinki said.

"Alright, I'll be right there."

Construction for the wine bar was proceeding smoothly.

As long as it kept up in this pace, it would be able to open right on schedule at the beginning of the year.

Honestly, I wish I could discuss the wine bar with Kris too.

But now's far from the best time to talk about it.

"What? Is something wrong?" I asked Jinki when I noticed him staring at me.

"No, just... You seem tired today."

"I am a bit tired," I admitted. "You made three awful puns at the team meeting this morning. They all got no-sold, at least."

Jinki blushed. "Hey, you dont have to count every single one of them! And they did not get no-sold! I had Mr Choi laughing plenty, you know."

"Thats such a lie" I teased.

"Its true! Geez...

But seriously, you're pushing yourself too hard, Jiyoon. You're working support on the book cafe and our Christmas jobs right?"

I smiled at him.

"Thanks, I appreciate the concern but I'll be fine."

"I hope so but if anything happens, you know where to find me. I'm still the team lead, y'know."

"Thanks Jinki. You're the team leader."

"Wh-why are you getting so serious about now."

"I just mean, you seemed to have nothing but Sogaeting on your mind when you were young."

"Hey, what do you mean when I was young? I'm still young now, I'll have you know!"

"They say that lines like that are the first step towards old man hood."

"Man, you're a buzz kill. I mean sure, I'm not as suave as your husband, but ......"

Just then Jinki interrupted himself with an "Oh!'.

"Come to think of it, I spotted your husband at the bar the day before yesterday."

"You saw Kris?'

"Yeah. He was by himself drinking the strong stuff like he was trying to drown himself in it. Did you guys have a fight or something?"

"We didnt, no..."

The day before yesterday... That was when he got that notice of transfer. Did he go out drinking all night?

"I'm home, Kris!"

His shoes arent here. He must not be back yet.

I got a bad feeling and tried calling his cell phone.

"Its no good...Its going to his voice mail..."Is he still at work? Its past 9, though.

And he was pulled off all his projects when he got the transfer.

Does he have anything to work on so late?

Ring......

That's my phone...An unknown number?

"Hello?"

"Is this Mrs Wu?"

"Yes, can I help you?'

"This is Seoul Police Station. We have Mr Kris Wu in our custody..."

Police Station?! Custody?!

"Excuse me, I'm Mr Kris Wu's wife!"

"Ah, Mrs Wu. Thank you for coming."the policeman said.

"Mr Wu, your wife is here."

I saw Kris sitting on a bench at one corner. His head hung low.

"..."

"Mr Wu? Do you hear me. Its your wife."

"..."

"Um, what did my husband do..?"

"He, uh, got drunk and passed out in the park."

Kris did, really?

"Its dangerous to get drunk and pass out around those around those parts he could have a run-in with some bad sorts or get his wallet stolen. He should take care in the future."

"I understand. I'm so sorry about this."

I went up to Kris."Kris? Let's go home shall we?"

Suddenly, Kris rose to his feet with a clatter.

"Kris? Wait! Its dangerous by yourself!"

I bowed to the policeman. "I'm sorry. I'll see myself out."

We were walking along the street.

"Wait, Kris!"

"...:"

"Wait Up...!"

"Could you leave me alone?"

Kris...

"My life is over. There's nothing left for me now."

"That's not true. There's still..."

"Dont lie!"

"..."

"I dont want your sympathy. Even you must know the truth."

"..."

"Or are you just no longer interested in me? You couldnt care less anyway, could you?"

"Yes, that's right. Frankly speaking, I couldnt care less."

"I knew it. After all, I'm just a...."

"No, its not you that I dont care about. Its your promotions."

"Come again?"he said in surprise.

"You dont need promotions to be yourself, do you?'

"It doesnt change anything. But please treat yourself with more respect. Yes, this might be rock bottom. But it could change ...No, its sure to change."

"..."

"Am I right?"

"You call that consolation?"

What..?

He suddenly grabbed me by the arms and pulled me close.

"No...!"

Cold lips stole my breath away.

They tasted strongly of alcohol....

I didnt feel the slightest hint of affection...

It was more like he was taking out his pent-up anger on me.

Why? Why would he..

Smack!

"Tss...."

"Why would you do that? What do you take me for? Or do you think that you can do whatever you want to your wife?"

"That's not it! That's not it at all. I just...I just..."

Kris started to say something...But then he shook his head as if giving up.

"I'm sorry about that..."

His feeble voice vanished into the cold night air.

November would be over soon.