Hyoyeon’s body jerked up when she saw the door to the bedroom was opened. From there, Kris came out into the living room.

“Kris…” she called out cautiously.

Those black eyes locked on her instantly. He didn’t respond, only observed her with the wary look of someone who might tick off even at the smallest touch.

She walked over until she was standing about a yard from him. There was nothing to do with her hands, so she gripped them at her sides.

“Are you hungry? I prepared breakfast,” she tried again, hoping he would be slightly interested to start a conversation with her.

Kris smirked. “Look at you. Looking good and all.”

He spoke at last. It was like his voice, almost his voice, except there was something new in it. An edge of hatred and reproach.

Hyoyeon knew he’d been through hell and back, with his grandma and the company, and yet somehow the observation rubbed her the wrong way. “Well, you’ve looked better.”

Kris laughed flatly. “Irresponsible, aren’t you? To say that to me after what I’m going through right now.”

“Yeah. We’re all going through a lot. And you’re the one who is known for being responsible. Not me.”

She was doing everything wrong. She didn’t know why she felt so defensive. ‘He is in pain! He is tired! What’s wrong with me?’

Suddenly, she thought she might start screaming at him. She wasn’t even sure about what. So, she decided to step out of there. “The breakfast in on the table. I’m going out now.”

She’d just reached the door when his voice stopped her. “Hyoyeon, remember when I asked you to pretend to be my girlfriend?”

The time before they got married. The time before everything started to go wrong.

“I remember,” she murmured.

“I wanted to offer you a job at the company. But, I knew you would probably never accept it just like that. That’s why I asked you to help me with the pretence so that I can give the job to you in the most natural way possible,” Kris said in a soft tone. “I wanted you to stay by my side although it might sound cruel to you.”

“It is cruel.” Her voice caught and she pretended to cough.

“I’ve never intended to get married, not to you, not to anyone else. But, things happened and we got married. I felt guilty, but not because I forced you into the marriage. I was guilty for being happy about marrying you,” Kris said softly. But, his quiet tone was worse than his snapping or his anger.

“Are you regretting it now?” she asked, a little too loudly than she intended to.

“That’s the worst part. I don’t regret it. Because you are by my side now.” He caught her eyes. “I must have loved you a lot.”

Hyoyeon tore her eyes away from him and kept them on the tiled floor. She had no idea on how to respond to that. So, she kept mum.

“So does Luhan,” he continued. Hyoyeon looked up again and shot him a look, confused. “So, did he say he will wait for you until we’re divorced?”

If his intention was to make her mad, he’d won. Her anger was returning. She didn’t care about his pain, she forgot his situation. “Maybe he’ll wait but it is none of your business. And I’m not asking for your permission,” she told him.

Kris laughed again, coldly, dismissively. “You must be happy, huh?”

He didn’t protest when she walked out of the door. Took the stairs. Up to the rooftop. Found a space that was perfect for hiding. It took a long time before she got to the bottom of why she was so upset. When she did, it was too mortifying to admit. All those time of taking his love for granted was over. Finally, he could see her for who she really was. Shameless. Wicked. Poisonous. Manipulative.

And she hated him for it.

Hyoyeon couldn’t stand the idea of remaining there any longer with the latest version of Kris. So, when she was sure that he was off to work, she went back to the house and packed some of her stuff. She managed to take a quick glance at the untouched food on the table. Then, she left.

Hyoyeon went to the hospital to visit the grandma. Luhan was there, unexpectedly.

“Hi,” she greeted him awkwardly.

Luhan only nodded. It felt weird after all. The last time she saw him, he said they couldn’t be friends. And she was sure he tried to avoid her at all cost. He never was here when she came.

She kept hoping that as time passed, they would regain the ease between them, but part of her knew it was futile. There was no going back.

She was afraid of Luhan’s respond, but she asked anyway. “Would you prefer it if I leave?”

Luhan kept staring at her. It took her awhile to recognize that it wasn’t of hatred. It was a longing, hopeful eyes. And love. If she thought she was in pain, Luhan must have had it worse.

Their eyes met and locked for a few seconds before Luhan tore it away first. He took a deep breath. “Look, Hyoyeon. I’ve been wanting to talk to you about the way I acted last time.” He paused, and took the chance to observe her reaction. She was shocked, obviously, that he wanted to talk about that. He continued, “I knew you have a long history with Kris. It’s logical that you’d choose him over me. And it wasn’t fair to hold you to anything when we haven’t met that long. I’m sorry.”

His apology took her by surprise. It’s true that Luhan froze her out after she confessed that she was giving Kris a chance but not for him. But she didn’t hold that against him.

“I’m sorry, too,” she said. She wasn’t sure for what exactly. Maybe because there would be real chance she was about to hurt him again.

“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about. You were just being yourself. But, I don’t want us to go on like this, ignoring each other and feeling regret after. So I thought if I stopped being so, you know, wounded, we could take a shot at just being friends. Again,” he said.

Relief wasn’t a strong enough word for what she felt. “Okay,” she said. His offer made her feel better for the first time in this whole week. She was glad they were speaking again.

A smile crept onto his lips. “Good. So, best friend?” Luhan stretched out his hand.

“Best friend.” Hyoyeon smiled, taking his hand. It felt good to feel his hand and knew how warm it was.

There wasn’t enough time to savour their friendly atmosphere. A group of doctors walked in their direction and without as much as a warning, they went inside the grandma’s room.

“Why? What’s wrong? What’s happened?” Luhan asked one of the doctors.

“The chairwoman just woke up.”

It wasn’t the doctor that answered his question, but a guy wearing suit who could be in his forties. Hyoyeon immediately recognized him as the one who was arguing with Kris at the hospital back then.

Relief flooded through Luhan’s face. “Thank goodness. Have you called Kris, Mr Park?”

Kris. Right, he should be told about this. No matter how much rage she had for him right now, deep down in her heart, she knew Kris was acting that way because of his grandma. Perhaps the storm in his heart could be calm by telling this good news.

“No.” The stern voice of the man called Mr Park startled them. “Don’t call him. Don’t even tell him. He is at an important meeting now. We can’t let this distract his concentration.”

“But…” Luhan tried to object but he was cut off by Mr Park.

“No but! The company depends on him right now.”

Mr Park must be a powerful person to make Luhan nod in obedient. So, they watched as the doctors did their work and performed some examinations on the grandma. When they were satisfied with their observations, they left after exchanging few words with Mr Park.

The grandma’s eyes fluttered open when they approached her. They instantly found Hyoyeon’s eyes and locked for a brief second.

When Luhan greeted her, she just nodded silently. Then, she gestured for Hyoyeon to come closer. Hyoyeon exchanged wary look with Luhan before he moved to give way for her.

“Maybe grandma wants to talk to you. I’ll wait outside,” Luhan said.

Hyoyeon didn’t know what the grandma could possibly want to say to her. She had no idea of why she was chosen instead of Luhan as the person she wanted to talk to the moment she just woke up. But, she concede anyway to her request. She stood closer to her as Luhan went out of the room.

The grandma held her hand in a tight grip and when she said, “I’m sorry,” her voice was ragged and weak.

Without meaning to, Hyoyeon looked at her and furrowed her brows. In