-->"As Long as You Love Me" is a short stories collection and not a story by itself.<-- 

-->Note: Seohyun and Kyuhyun are a divorced couple. 

   Cars were parked everywhere in the property, it was 7 in the evening, the house was silent, only women's sobs could be heard, the living room was crowded, people sitting everywhere or trying to stand without disturbing the one behind, some were even sitting on the floor or in the corridors. Family members were all having front seats, all occupying the fourth first row, which each had 8 places, wife now widow, sons, daughter, daughters-in-law, son-in-law, grand sons, grand daughters, grand daughters-in-laws and grand-sons-in-laws as long with their own children.   "Cho Jung Shin was a great and honest man. Building a fortune without forgetting the poors, that's who was Cho Jungshin, he'll leave behind him a wife, a wife he was married to for 55 years, he'll leave behind him 4 sons and one daughter, who helped the name of Cho to grew stronger. Being the grand grand father of 5 children, ready to bear the name of Cho Jung Shin!" the pastor told  "Cho Jung shin started working at the age of 13 years old, and he can be proud of what he left, he left a big family, and your only work right now is to bear proudly the name of Cho Jung Shin. Don't spoil what  coasted him 90years old to build" the religious man finally conclude.

The wake was now over, the friends, co workers left, only the family members remained in this huge house ready now to clean the huge mess. " Rude day right?" the woman came putting the dirty plates in the sink for the younger one to clean them. "Yeah kind of.  But I should not complain, Who is going to sleep with Grand mother?" she this time asked worried, referring to the now Widow, and oldest of all the Mrs Cho " Her daughter will be sleeping with her don't worry. By the way, Seohyunnie the bedroom for you is ready upstairs," Kyuhyun's mother told her. Yeah; "Thank you." Seohyun simply answered, still washing the dishes, "Seohyunnie?" the elder called her; "Yeah?" Seohyun turned to face  Kyuhyun's mother, "Thank you for coming even if you and my son aren't together anymore." the woman said kind of ashamed. "Grand father  was like my own grand father, his blood is running into my children vein, Guess my place is right here with the family even though I'm probably not considered as a Cho anymore." 

"We put all the children together in one room, maybe the pain will pass easily if they play and laugh together." Ara said to her sister-in-law while unfolding a sheet "Yeah you're right, Jeehyun has been felling really bad since I told him for his grand grand father. I never saw him like this before." Seohyun answered while sticking the sheet in the corner, "I hope that by being around his cousins he'll forget what happened." Seohyun said worried for her son, "I wished we could just like our children forget easily." said Ara followed by a sudden silence, but not an awkward silence, a silence for someone, a silence to allow someone to speak, to allow the Cho now late family senior to be felt by his grand daughter and grand daughter-in-law. "Seriously I suddenly got gooseflesh" Ara suddenly laughed breaking the silence, when someone knocked on the door,  causing the women to jump. Ara starred at Seohyun, trying to figure it out who could knock at this late hour, knowing that everyone was probably already locked in their room, "Come in!" Seohyun said. They all starred at the door, one of the girl was surprised the other no, "I'll be leaving then, Good night;" Ara said leaving the room for her sister-in-law and brother to be alone. 

"I did not see you for the entire day." she told him trying not to sound annoying. "I was at the office." he told her trying to sound normal  "You know working won't help to face the fact that your grand father passed away, you need to face it." she told him as if she was scolding her children. But the man did not answer back, so in defeat she put down the sheet she was holding, "Jeehyun and Leehyun were looking for their dad. Jeehyun needed his father." she told him while all he did was standing next to the door, silent. 

 She was about to try  to talk to him, to make him understand that he had to face the lost of his grand father, but the man cut her off, asking something she did not expect him to ask, "May I sleep next to you tonight? he asked her out of blue. But she did not let him finish, as if she knew he would ask something, as if she knew what he was thinking about all this time "I think that you should go back to your room Kyuhyun shi." she answered insisting on the formal speech she used. 

He starred at her, before nodding, Good night" he answered before leaving the room, "Good Night" she answered watching him closing the door. 

  She tiptoed in the corridor, aiming for the right door, she put her hand on it ready to push it, she stopped before going further, was it a good idea? She did not give an answer to the question, instead she pushed the door allowing her to enter the room. The place was dark, only the light from the moon coming out by the  balcony was lighting up the place. The wind kept on making dance the white curtains,  as if someone was making them move, like a lady you could not see, but only feel the presence. The bedroom was cold, and she was only wearing a grey hoodie, a white T-shirt and black jogging pants, she could have been warm if she was not actually barefoot. She searched  for the reason that brought her there, she stepped inside the bed, the white sheet was cold, she looked for a warm source, she went further in the bed. She finally find it, she pressed her chest against his back, passing her arms under his arms, and encircling his waist.  He did not move, instead he pressed her hands in his against his own chest, allowing her to know  he was not sleeping and that he knew she was now there. They remained like this for what seems to be an eternity, but which actually was only 2 minutes. Soon she was not cold anymore, the coldness she felt earlier entering the room, left, her feet were now warm, warm from touching his. She regretted the way she turned down his demand, he did not ask for them to make love, he only asked for her to allow him to sleep next to her, he asked for her company, for her help. But she suddenly got afraid, afraid to be this close to him, to be this close to the man she was supposed to not be in love with anymore. But tonight he asked for help, tonight he asked for her to stay by his sides, tonight the father of her children lost someone who was like a father to him, tonight her ex-lover lost his grand-father, and all he asked for the mother of his children  to do was to stay by his side. 

 -That's all, nothing less, nothing more.- 

  He suddenly turned, and as if she could not face him, as if she did not have the strength to do it, she also turned to face the other side. To her surprise, this time he was the one who put his arms around her waist, his face now stuck  between her neck and shoulder. She remained frozen for awhile, surprised by the sudden action of her future ex-husband, of the man who was supposed not be in love with her anymore. His chest pressed against her back, she felt the heartbeat of this man who used to be the one making her heart beats, matching his with hers, she tried to sleep, trying to forget this awful evening, trying to forget the fact that someone she considered like her own grand father left, left without saying goodbye, left without allowing her to say sorry, sorry for breaking a promise she made when she agreed to marry his grandson. "He's somehow imperfect, while you're perfect. Joohyunnie, promise me to never leave him, he tries to act sure of him around you, but you know how he truly is, my grandson is weak. Leaving him would be the start of his end. Just promise me to never leave him behind you, your his strength."  he told her the night they announced they were getting engaged. She was deep in her thoughts, when she felt something cold, rolling from her shoulder to her area, she put her finger trying to wipe it, it was wet, her was suddenly wet, she turned her head trying to see, from where it was coming from, and that's when she saw him, he looked straight into her eyes, his own eyes blurry, blurry from crying in silence,  and that's when he spoke, the first words he said since she came in his bedroom, "Thank you." he told her looking at her straight in the eyes, before putting his face back between her neck and shoulder, allowing other tears to roll on her chest. She maybe was not going to stay by his side for the rest of their life, but she would remain by his sides at least for this night. 

I'm sorry I couldn't update before, but I already had not enough time before, but now that school has started again well it became hard to update, so I have to wait for the week end..

Anyway did you enjoy this chapter? 

I'll be soon updating on "Time Has Come".