Inspiration in writing: 2AM's SORRY, I CAN'T SMILE FOR YOU { https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfSKnKKeA4A }

It was 10:00 in the evening. The house was dark and the only source of light was the little lamp shade that was in the living room and the only sound the can be heard was the endless ringing of the telephone, which was left unattended.

Meanwhile, outside the house was Mrs. Son, who was in her car, still trying to contact her daughter for some mintues now since the moment she arrived. Because her calls could not get through, she started to get worried.

"This is strange.. she is not picking up. Maybe I should have called her cellphone instead.. or I should have called before leaving home." Mrs. Son mumbled to herself as she pressed the keys on the pad and called her daughter.

"I am sorry to interrupt, Madame.. but you already know Ms. Son. She is the workaholic type so maybe she is still in the office right now, having an overtime." The driver suddenly butted in.

"Ah, you're right with that. I'm just worried because lately, she has been extra busy with work that she doesn't have time for Jinwoon anymore. She's always staying in her office most of the time that it could be mistaken for her home." Mrs. Son sighed. "Arasseo, let's just head home right now. I will pay her a visit next time." She instructed the driver and he complied.

-oOo-

The office was already kind of dark and there was only one room that was still left bright, the Executive Director's room. This had been going on lately.. for a few weeks already. Some of the employees were even amazed by the fact that their superior is really this hardworking while some would be worried if there's still time for rest due to the director's passion for work.

The guard walked passed each room to double-check if the lights were all turned off and the doors were locked. After checking the first three rooms, he noticed that the light from the Director's office was still not turned off so he decided to check as he gently knocked on the door.

"Ms. Erin, are you in?"

Looking up from her computer screen, Erin voiced out. "Ne, ajussi.. you may come in if you want." The door slowly opened and the guard walked in.

"Are you not heading home yet? It's already late.." He asked with a concerned tone and Erin smiled at his thoughtfulness.

"Are you worried about me, ajussi?" Erin chuckled. "I will be fine. Well, if I end up finishing work really late then I might as well just stay here until tomorrow." She tried to convince him yet again. "It's fine.. really. You may head home first. I'm sure your family is already waiting for you." She smiled at him before looking back at her computer screen.

Finally, the guard retreated and left Erin alone. Glancing on a pile of papers on the right side of her table, she suddenly remembered that she needed to seal those but her stamp went missing. So she searched her bag for it but it was not there; she cleared her desk but it was not there either; she then opened her drawers one by one and when she opened the third one, it was finally there. She got a hold of it then realized that her phone was there as well.

"Oh my gosh! Why did I leave it here?"

She immediately took the stamp out and placed it beside her laptop before taking her phone. Unlocking the screen, a phone icon and an envelope icon greeted her. Erin tapped the phone icon first and it displayed three missed calls from her mother just about thirty minutes ago. 'Eomma must have been worried that I'm not picking up' She thought. Then clicking on the envelope, a message that was sent three hours ago met her eyes.

'Annyeong jagi. Have you eaten your dinner? Call me when you're free, okay?'

Erin sighed then placed the phone on her desk. Lately, she had been too focused on work.. way too focused than she usually was.. that she didn't have time for other things anymore, especially for her family and for Jinwoon. She initially thought of sending a message back but the fact that it was already really late at night told her that he could be sleeping already so she chose not to. And being the super workaholic that she is, she had finally decided to stay there in her office until the next day.

-oOo-

The alarm had rung as early as 6:00 in the morning and echoed throughout the room. Soon enough, the loud sound stopped when when the clock was switched off by someone, who lazily dragged himself out from the bed. He stretched his arms for a bit when he saw his phone on the right side of his bed and remembered the text that he had sent the previous night. Hoping that the person had replied, he took his phone to check it but saw a message from another person instead.

'Woon adeul, have you and Erin talked yesterday? I wasn't able to reach her and I'm really worried right now.'

He frowned upon reading the message then placed his phone back to how it was before heading to the bathroom to prepare for his day.

After a few minutes, he stepped out and went to change his clothes swiftly. Grabbing his things and his phone, he headed out of his bedroom and rushed to the main door, only to be stopped by his mother's voice.

"Good morning, son! Breakfast?"

"Mianhae, eomma but I'm in a hurry."

With that said, he opened the door and closed it behind him.

His mother could only sigh at the sound of car's engine, slowly fading away.

-oOo-

"Good morning, Mr. Jung." Some of the punctual employees stood up then bowed to him as he arrived in the building. He greeted them back with a little smile then walked straight to his office. He took his coat off and placed it on top of his swivel chair as he looked outside the window. He was about to grab his phone to call Erin's mother when his sister suddenly barged into his office, causing him to turn around.

"Ya! Why don't you knock first before entering?" He scolded her.

"Aigoo, I'm sorry. Please don't be too grumpy in the morning." She before sitting on the couch that was in the middle of the office. ''Ya, Jinwoon-ie.. how are wedding preparations going? I actually came to ask that." She grabbed a magazine from the table in front of her and flipped through the pages.

"I honestly don't know, Jinye noona." Jinwoon sighed and looked outside the window again. "Lately, I feel like Erin and I are drifting apart. Maybe it's because of too much attention on work that we almost have no time for each other anymore." Then he turned around to his sister. "I even sent her a message yesterday but I did not get a reply. Instead, her mother messaged me and asked if we got to talk because she could not reach her too."

"Well.." Jinye started. "That seems to be a bit of a problem but I'm sure you will be able to patch things up if you just talk it out.'' She calmly stated as she stood and walked towards Jinwoon before placing a hand on his shoulder, giving him a tap. "Well anyway, if you need any help with the preparations, just tell me, okay? I will be willing to help my one and only little brother."

"Gomawo, noona." Jinwoon smiled at her.

"Not a problem. I'll be going now then. Sorry for disturbing your solitude." Jinye laughed softly before walking out of his office. Jinwoon contemplated for a few minutes whether or not to contact Erin. In the end, he decided to send a text message to her.

'Can we meet later? We need to talk about something.. something about us.'

-oOo-

Erin is the Executive Director of a magazine company run by her own family. Jinwoon, on the other hand, is currently being trained to take over his father's shoe business. The two have been together for quite some time already and have been engaged just a few weeks back. Just when they were already starting to plan for the wedding preparations and other stuff, things relating to their respective works have gotten in the way. This was one big reason why Erin and Jinwoon have had less time for each other. It was only recently that Jinwoon started to wonder if they had made the right decision.

He shook all those unnecessary thoughts off his head and went to his desk to review the audit reports that have been submitted to him by the different departments. He was about to flip the second page of the report he was holding when his cell phone beeped. Glancing at the screen, Erin's name met his eyes. He sighed and hesitated for a bit before taking it to read the new message.

'What is it about? Can't you just say it over the phone? I'm afraid I can't leave the office because it's really hectic right now. We need to meet the deadlines. I'm sorry, Jinnie~ I promise to make up for it some other time.'

Jinwoon heaved another heavy sigh while reading her message over and over again.

"I waited for almost three hours for her reply.. and this is all she has to say?" He mumbled to himself before putting his phone away. "Maybe she should just marry her work instead."

Not wanting to give it much thought, he tried his best to divert the attention by working on the papers until noon break came.

-oOo-

"Sunji'' Erin called as she handed a long black folder over. "Here's the report you asked me to sign. It's already complete."

"Ah, Joomi.. please give me an update regarding the latest release of the kids edition, okay?" She instructed another subordinate before heading back to her own office. "Aigoo, why is it suddenly so busy today?" She plopped down her seat and turned her gaze to her phone before taking it. Seeing that there was no reply from Jinwoon, she decided to call him. But when she was dialing his number, there was a light knock on her door before a short-haired girl took a peek.

"Ms. Erin, aren't you going out? It's already lunch break..''

"O-oh?" Erin looked up to the girl then at the wall clock right across her desk and saw the time.. 12:00 noon. "Arasseo. You may go ahead, Yuna. I will follow in a moment." She locked her phone before keeping it inside her bag and arranged some papers on her desk before leaving the office.

It wasn't actually just lunch but more like a business meeting over lunch. Feeling like being short of time, the staff decided to discuss their new project that is going to be launched with another partner company. Because Erin had no idea on this as she was not informed beforehand, she was really surprised.

I thought we're only going to have lunch. You know I can't stay long because I still had loads of work to finish back in the office." She looked at the staff around the table one by one before taking a seat.

"I'm sorry for not informing you sooner, Ms. Erin.. but I thought it's best if we have a brief overview of the details for the upcoming project over lunch. That way, we will be able to save time." Explained the one who was closest to her. Erin only nodded, feeling half-convinced about it.

As they were halfway through their meals, one of the colleagues began the discussion. Erin wasn't paying much attention due to the fact that she was really hungry but didn't have time to eat because of her busy schedule until the name 'JCM' was mentioned, which made her look up in surprise.

"J... what did you say?"

"JCM Group, Ms. Erin. We will be signing a contract with them to be partners for the upcoming launch." Yuna answered.

JCM Group.. or Jung Chul Myun Group is Jinwoon's father's company. Hearing this sudden partnership with their company, Erin wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing.

"Knowing that they trusted our magazine to feature and report about their latest collection really makes me happy!" Sunji exclaimed.

"Me too! I am excited now. Do you think we will be able to meet and work with Mr. Jung for a few days?" Joomi said.

"Should we try to get his signature or something?" Another one said as they started to daydream when one of their male colleagues cut them with a fake cough.

"Ya ya, how can you just causally talk about tings like that when we're in the middle of lunch and a supposed meeting?"

"Mwoya? You're only jealous because we're talking about him and not you.." Joomi stuck her tongue out at him and everyone else just laughed.

"So when are we going to meet with JCM people?" Erin suddenly asked, cutting them off.

"Well, we have met with a representative earlier and agreed to meet later.. in a few minutes actually."

"Few minutes??"

"Yes, Ms. Erin. Should I move it to a later time?"

"Ani, it's alright. I'll go meet with them. I think I should go back to the office now." She left her food unfinished and hurried back to the office.

Erin and Jinwoon haven't really seen much of each other lately and she was worried that having this sudden unexpected meeting will make things awkward between them. 

-oOo-

"Ajussi, why is it that I have to go? I mean can't noona take care of this meeting?" Jinwoon half-complained to the driver as they were on the way to S Magazine but the latter only kept silent until they arrived at the destination.

"We're here, sir." The driver opened the car's door for him and when he stepped out, he didn't expect see what was before him.

"S Magazine? Is this the new partner for the upcoming launch?" He asked the driver, still trying to grasp the current situation.

"Don't worry, sir. A representative will be with you to assist you with some things." Then another man stepped out from the car and walked beside him.

The representative ushered Jinwoon in and led him to where the meeting is going to take place. They took their seats in the lounge while waiting for the other party to arrive when Jinwoon noticed something not far from where they are - '(Exe. Dir.) Son Erin' was written on the door.

Few seconds later, Erin finally arrived and she was in a bit of a hurry. "Sorry, I'm-" Her sentence was cut when she looked up and met gaze with Jinwoon. She averted her gaze to the representative and shook his hand as she introduced herself before turning back to Jinwoon. "It's nice to see you here, Mr. Jung. I didn't expect that you would come." She shook his hand as well and tried her best to be professional.

They went on with the first-hand meeting inside Erin's office and discussed the terms that both parties want regarding the partnership. Jinwoon, however, could not concentrate because he had a lot of thoughts in his mind.. mostly about Erin. When the representative who was with him excused himself to take a phone call, Jinwoon took the opportunity and attempted to talk to Erin.

"You said you couldn't go out of the office, right? But since we met here unexpectedly, then can we talk? And I mean have a serious talk.. about us.."

"Hmm? Arasseo. Let's talk later after work hours. Just give me a call later and tell me where to meet." Erin responded without looking away from the papers she was holding. Jinwoon could only heave a sigh, almost feeling like giving up but still hoding on a little. 

-oOo-

The short meeting ended after an hour and since then, both Erin and Jinwoon didn't get to talk to each other. Erin was there in her office, sitting on the couch with her mind preoccupied with a lot of thoughs. Now, it is her turn to feel uneasy and she could not stop thinking of what Jinwoon might want to talk about. A workload is waiting for her to get done but since she couldn't concentrate and focus one bit, she decided to not do anything until work hours are over. She figured that taking a nap might help her feel a little better so she took a rest for some minutes.

After achieving a good eye-shut for more or less than thrity minutes, her phone startled her when it vibrated, displaying Jinwoon's name on the screen. Opening the message tab, she read the words 'Meet me at the coffee shop across your office. I'll be there in five minutes.' She immediately touched up then grabbed her things before leaving the office.

-oOo-

Jinwoon was already outside of the coffee shop when he called Erin. He was in his car contemplating if he was already really prepared for what's about to happen and he was thinking of how to break it to her nicely.

Few more moments and he caught sight of Erin exiting the building. That's when he got off his car and went straight inside the cafe to wait for her.

"Annyeong Ms. Erin." Some employees from their company who were on their way out greeted her and she returned the greeting briefly before looking around for Jinwoon. And there she found him - seated at the third table from the counter. She slowly walked to where he was and took a seat across him, smiling.

"Am I late? Sorry, I dozed off earlier. Do you want to have something first? I'll place an order.." She was about to raise her hand to call a waitress' attention when his hand stopped hers and put it down on the table.

"Ani. This won't take long anyway. I want to keep this as short as possible." He stared at her with a serious look in his eyes and that made her worry.

"You.. you look serious right now.. and your tone seems serious as well. It's the first time I've seen you like this in months. What is this actually about?" She arched an eyebrow as she continued to study his expression and behavior.

There was a short period of silence that crept in due to Jinwoon's hesitation to say something. Then taking one deep breath, he finally said in almost a whisper..

"Let's break up."

"W-what?" Erin couldn't believe her ears at that moment. She felt like she needed to hear him say it again for confirmation. "Say it again, please. No wait! Tell me I heard it wrong, please~" She placed her hand over his as he waited for his response, but Jinwoon lightly pushed it away. "I think you clearly heard it. Don't make me repeat it."

"But why? I thought w-we were already going to discuss a..bout the wedding details soon.." Her voice trailed off and she stuttered as she tried finding the right words to say.

Jinwoon clenched his fist tightly under the table before continuing, "I've given it a lot of thought.. and I think I've tried enough too.. but at this rate, I don't think this relationship is going somewhere-"

"Wait! You mean we are postponing the wedding, right? So we are just going to move it to a later date.." Erin cut him off, still refusing to believe the real meaning behind Jinwoon's words.

As much as Jinwoon wants to soften, he knows that he couldn't back out this moment.. he can't allow Erin to see how much the situation affects him.. because doing this will be the best decision for both of them.

"Listen here, Erin. You and I.. should end.. for good." Suddenly, Erin's eyes become watery and tears dropped the moment she blinked.

"Do you even realize how we've been lately? We're too focused on work to the point that we can't pay even a little attention to each other anymore. I admit that even I have been really busy too recently." Jinwoon heaved a heavy sigh. "It's like we have become strangers to each other.. no, a stranger might still be better."

Erin chose to just listen to him as she covered with her right hand and tried to stop more threatening tears from falling.

"Do you know that your mother asked me about your whereabouts because she couldn't get hold of you? You see, you asked to have an apartment near your office because you said it will be more convenient if you were living nearby.. but then you even end up not going home anymore because you stay in your office instead working overtime almost everyday."

"Well that's because the past few days have been really hectic for us. Please try to understand.." Erin kind of defended but the last part sounded like a plead.

"I do understand you.. that's why I've come up with this decision. I realize that it will be for the best. As much as we want to, we cannot put both love and career on the topmost of our priorities. I hope you're the one who will understand that."

"Do you.. do you not love me anymore?" She asked him instead of trying to find another defense but he chose not to answer.. instead, he stood up and was ready to go.. when he added. "We should tell our families soon, and in the nicest way too so they won't be too shocked." Having said that, he turned around and slowly walked away, leaving her there seated while still trying to process everything that had just happened.

'You don't know how how difficult this is for me, Erin.. but this is the only way I can think of at the moment.. and this will be best.. because we can't go on if we're like this. I'm sorry.' Jinwoon thought to himself as he drove back to their company.

-oOo-

[ ONE WEEK LATER ]

Joomi was in a rush to bring the documents that Erin had asked for so she completely forgot about knocking and just barged into her office. "Ms. Erin, here's the report that you-"

"Ya, don't you know how to knock?" She was cut midway her sentence when Erin yelled at her.

"I.. I'm sorry. It slipped my mind." Joomi apologized and bowed down.

Erin took the folder from her and pretended to scan through its contents. "Is this complete? Nothing missing?"

"Ne.." Joomi replied while looking down.

"Arasseo, you may go now." Erin walked back to her desk and dropped the folder there, without bothering to review it.

Erin had changed - that's one thing for sure that even her staff could notice. Her usual cheerful and bright side seemed to have vanished. She also lost concentration and had lost interest in work. The fact that everything's still hectic and there are serveral deadlines that need to be met didn't bother her anymore.

Alll this change in behavior and attitude started after Jinwoon had ended things between them. No one in the workplace knew about what really happened to her because she wanted to keep her personal life in private.

She was idly sitting there on her chair yet again, while starting at her mobile phone's screen. She never stopped trying to contact him for the past days but luck wasn't on her side. She was once again drowning in her thoughts when the intercom beeped, bringing her back to reality, and her secretary's voice was heard.

"Ms. Erin, JCM's people will be here in a little while for the second meeting regarding the launch."

Hearing this made her a little more hopeful.. hopeful that Jinwoon would be there and that they could still patch things up between them. Without wasting another minute, she grabbed her phone and headed out of the room.

-oOo-

"The meeting will be in thirty minutes. Is everything ready? Please do as I instructed. Ne, gomawo." Jinwoon glanced at his wrist watch before putting the phone down. A big box was placed on top of his desk and half of the room was already emptied of his important belonging. As he continued packing, his sister once again barged into his room, only to stop on her tracks the moment she opened the door.

"Dongsaeng-ah, ige mwoya?" Then she looked around the room. "Ya, the office is almost now. Why are you undressing it?" She laughed a bit as she folded her arms across her chest and walked towards him.

"Aigoo, my lovely noona who likes barging in whenever she pleases..'' Jinwoon turned to his sister and held her cheeks before pulling it lightly.

"Y-ya, that hurts!" Jinye slapped his hands away and earned a laugh from him.

"Noona, didn't you tell me before that abeoji wants me to go abroad for a better training?" His siter nodded her head as her eyes never peeled off his face.

"I've talked to him this morning before getting to work.. and I told him that I am taking the offer. I will train to take over the New York branch."

"Are you serious?? Why so sudden?" Jinye frowned and slapped his arm hard, causing him to gasp. Then her gaze softened. "How about Erin? How about the wedding?" She asked full of concern.

Jinwoon looked down and sighed softly before responding, "We're over, noona.."

"Mwo? Are my ears playing tricks on me now?" Jinye rested a hand on the table. "Is that why you changed your phone number five days ago? Well anyway, I shall not ask what exactly happned.. but is this the reason why you decided to go?"

"Maybe it is.. partly. But I think this will be a really good opportunity for me."

Jinye patted his shoulder with her other hand and smiled. "Aigoo, my dear brother has grown up. Arasseo, you have my support. Do you need my help packing?"

"It's alright.. there's not much left to take with me anyway."

She insisted on helping anyway and both of them considered it as a little bonding time amidst all the busy schedule.

-oOo-

"I apologize beforehand. It's just that she's been extra busy since yesterday." Yuna tried to make an excuse for Erin but latter arrived as soon as she said that.

"Oh, she's here~" The two representatives from JCM Group turned around and bowed to Erin. She also did the same as she took their hands for a shake. "It's a pleasure meeting you, sir." She smiled at them and kept shaking their hands as she looked around and behind them.

"Is Mr. Jung late? Why isn't he here yet?" She finally asked them.

"Oh.. he isn't coming." One of them said as he laughed awkwardly. "He's preparing for his trip to New York." He accidentally spilled, causing the other man to nudge his elbow.

"I see. Is it a business trip?" Erin asked them but they remained silent. "Kang Jungwoo-ssi? Is there something wrong with my question? I don't mean to be prying too much but I just want to know because...'' She paused while thinking of what to say next. ''..we were friends.. yeah..''

"I'm sorry Ms. Son but we weren't supposed to tell this to anyone. He said he's leaving for good. He sent us here today in behalf of him to-"

"What??" Erin jolted up and tightened her grip on her clutch bag. "Where is he right now?"

"On his way to the airport..''

Upon hearing that, Erin stormed out of the building, totally forgetting about the meeting they were supposed to have. The only thing she wanted at the moment was to see Jinwoon again, and talk things over with him. Riding her red vintage car, she sped off to the airport in the hopes of catching him there.

-oOo-

"Ya~~ how can you do this to your noona?" Jinye sighed. "I'm really going to miss you, bro!" She laughed then hugged Jinwoon around his neck.

"You have to take care of everyone and everything while I'm away, okay?" He patted his sister's head but she dodged.

"Don't ruin my hairdo!" She protested and they both laughed heartily.

"I promise to send you an e-mail as soon as I arrive there."

"Arasseo. You take good care of yourself too. It will be a little tough there but I know you'll get by."

Jinwoon sighed softly as he looked at the sky briefly before turning to his sister again. "So I guess this is it! I'm going in now, noona." He turned around and was about to go inside the gate when someone called his name out loud.

"Jinnie, wait~~"

Her voice.. even if his eyes were closed or even when he's not looking.. he can still recognize. He turned around again and saw Erin running towards him. He held his hands and paused while trying to catch her breath.

"Erin-ah, how did you know?"

Erin finally looked up at him. "It doesn't matter how I knew. Is this why you were avoiding me by all means? Did you perhaps change numbers so I won't be able to get a hold of you? Are you just really going to throw everything away?"

"I thought I already explained it clearly.." Jinwoon began. "I'm doing this not because I want.. but because I have to. Sometimes, we need to sacrifice some things for the sake of everyone's betterment. I letting you go doesn't mean I don't love you anymore.. so please don't think that way." He said while looking into her eyes.

"Do you really have to leave? I.. I had some reflection for days now.. and I realized that you were right, we didn't have much time for each other. But we can still work things out, right?"

"Maybe not now.. maybe we should spend some time apart for now. That way, we'll be able to realize what we really need and want in life." Jinwoon looked at his watch then sighed. "I'm running late for the flight. I have to go now."

"Arasseo~ I will agree to this 'little break' .. and I promise you one thing." Erin paused again before continuing. "By the time I realize what I really want, I will call you. But I might have to ask your sister for the number." Then she laughed in order to hide the fact that she was about to cry.

"Ne, that's a good deal. Bye, Erin.. take care." Jinwoon tapped her left shoulder once before turning around and walking towards the gate.

Erin watched his back as he continued walking away among the sea of people until he completely disappeared from sight.

"Farewell.. I'll see you soon..." And her tears finally stained her face.