The next morning came too quickly for everyone. Joon Pyo was being prepared for the operation by a team of doctors and nurses. Jan Di was a nervous wreck, but stood by his side faithfully. Yi Jung, Woo Bin and Ji Hoo were sitting on the couch offering words of support. Joon Pyo's mother, father and sister were in attendance standing about the room.

"Why is everyone so tense?" Joon Pyo asked with a smile. "It's just a surgery. I'll be recovering in no time."

"I know you will." Jan Di said as she gave his hand a squeeze.

Everyone offered words of encouragement until the head surgeon entered the room. "It's time," he said. Joon Pyo moved from his bed to a stretcher.

Madam Kang rushed to Joon Pyo. "My son…" Tears began pouring forth from her eyes. "My son, I love you and…"

Joon Pyo grabbed his mother's hand in reassurance, "I know, oma. I know."

Her hand slipped from his grasp as they wheeled him away. Jan Di followed the stretcher out of the room and down the hall towards the surgical suite. Just before they entered the frosted sliding glass door, Joon Pyo called out, "Wait!" The doctors and nurses looked down in surprise, but stopped.

"Jan Di-ah, come closer." He said.

Jan Di bent down close to his face. "Jan Di-ah, no matter what may happen, I want you to find your happiness. Promise me."

She felt her heart drop at his words, "Joon-ah, don't talk like that…you'll be fine."

A smug look crossed his face, "Of course I will, I'm the mighty Gu Joon Pyo. But, still I want you promise me." He wiped a tear from her face.

"I…I promise."

"Good girl. Now give me one more kiss for luck."

She placed her trembling lips on his.

"Ah, now I feel like I could face anything with just the power of your kiss. Fighting?"

She tried her best to give him an encouraging smile, "Fighting."

"I'm ready now." He said to the surgical team and they wheeled him through the door.

Jan Di dropped to a crouch on the floor and rested her arms on her knees. She bent her head into her arms and began to sob. She felt a reassuring hand on her back and looked up to see Ji Hoo standing there.

"Don't cry, Jan Di. He wouldn't want to know you're doing that. He's fighting as hard as he can, so you have to fight, too."

He helped her stand up slowly and led her to a row of chairs outside of the surgical suite. He sat down beside her and held her hand. "Sunbae, what if…"

"What if he walks out of this hospital as big of a bastard as he's always been?" He offered a smile.

Jan Di let a small laugh escape, "Yeah, he definitely will."

The hours passed by slowly. Jan Di, the remainder of the F4, and Joon Pyo's family quietly sat waiting for a sign of Joon Pyo's surgeon.

Madam Kang quietly sat beside Jan Di who was resting her head in her hands.

"Jan Di-ah," Madam Kang began, "I know we've never been on the best of terms. I am a prideful woman, you know. It's hard for me to back down once I've started."

"Omonim…"

"Joon Pyo came by his stubborn streak honestly. I can't say that I'm completely sorry for all the things I've done. I did it all thinking that I was doing the best for Joon Pyo. I never thought for a minute that he'd fall into a Cinderella story such as this."

Jan Di was silent as Madam Kang continued looking straight ahead, "But, you were the girl he chose. You stood by his side through good times and bad. And even though we all tried to push you away to protect you from the truth, in my own way, I still fought for you to be with him. The pictures. The wedding announcement. It was my stubborn way of telling you not to give up. I know that may have caused you confusion and pain, but at that time, I was doing what I thought was best for your own good."

She paused and Jan Di looked at Madam Kang in awe. Madam Kang had never shared her deepest thoughts with Jan Di before.

"What I'm trying to say, Jan Di-ah," she continued, "is that I accept you. You are the girl my son loves. You may not be the heir to a conglomerate, but you worked hard to get where you are. You are brave and face obstacles head on. That is the kind of woman my son needs. I don't know if we will ever be close like mother and daughter, but I promise I will stop meddling in your affairs. I will leave you and Joon Pyo to make your own decisions. It's time I lived out the rest of my life in peace."

Joon Pyo's father and Joon Hee both looked approvingly at Madam Kang. The F4 boys looked at each other in shock to hear those words come out of "the witch's" mouth.

Jan Di stood up and formally bowed before Madam Kang, "Omonim, thank you for accepting me into your family. I know I am not worthy. I am grateful to you. I am also sorry if I have been a burden."

Madam Kang simply placed a hand on Jan Di's shoulder as she walked away down the hall. Jan Di returned to her stunned by the conversation she just had. Ji Hoo squeezed her hand and smiled.

Some hours later, Madam Kang was pacing outside of the door to the surgical suite. "What is taking so long?"

"He'll be out soon, oma." Joon Hee said reassuringly to her mother.

Just like clockwork, the door to the surgical suite opened. Everyone looked up in anticipation. Jan Di's heart was racing a mile a minute, as she looked towards the surgeon for good news. Then suddenly it was if time completely slowed down. She couldn't hear what was going on, or if her body refused to process it. She saw the surgeon taking his gloves off. He approached Madam Kang, he said something to her and then dropped his head low. Everything became a chaotic blur.

Suddenly, Madam Kang dropped to her knees and began to wail.