JiYong's POV

I felt so stupid that I didn't figure it out earlier.  No matter how much I wanted to deny it, I knew very well Hilary was in love with SeungHyun Hyeong.  But she still ran away from her engagement and disappeared.  In this elite circle, only a couple explanations would be rational for her actions.  It was either she had some kind of serious sickness or because of the inheritance issue of the family legacy.

"I'm so stupid.  I should have thought of this.  Does WooBin Hyeong know about this?"

Hilary slightly shook her head and uttered, "He asked me once.  But I denied it..."

"And he believed you?  God, I never thought he is this stupid!"  I didn't know why but I was somehow pissed.  The rage was boiling inside me.

She threw me a sharp glare since I called her brother stupid.  I looked at her with my eyes wide-opened, "What?  He is stupid to believe you, OK?  And you are even more stupid than he is.  So, are you planning to become a nun for the rest of your life?"

She pouted at me and looked at me with those puppy eyes.  I let out a heavy sigh, "Hill, Hill, Hill!  There are tons of ways to deal with this and you chose to give up your own happiness to protect your brother.  What is in your brain?  What planet are you from?"

"KWON JI YONG!" She shouted at me and made me draw back a little.  I gasped since she never scowled at me like this.  Not even when she knew about I cheated on her with Kiko.

She threw me another sharp glare and asked, "Tons of way, huh?  Enlighten me with a few then."

I blinked a few times at her and hesitated.  Ways to tackle the situation.  I suddenly couldn't think a thing.  She slightly hit me on the chest and said, "I'm stupid.  You are smart.  Then, tell me what I should do!"

Her tears started to fall again.  I tried to pull her to myself but she pushed me away and said, "If there's another way, do you think I will choose to run?  Do you know how much it hurts?  Do you know how much I hurt him?"

I pulled her back and wrapped my arms around her, "I'm sorry.  I'm sorry.  I know it hurts.  I know."

"I know I shouldn't be saying this, but do you know my mother tricked my sick father to sign the amended will to leave almost everything to me instead of my brother?  If my father didn't give some shares to my brother before he was sick behind my mother's back, my poor brother would have been left with nothing; or even worse, he would be kicked out of the family already.  My brother is the CEO now only because I refuse to take up the responsibility.  My mother and grandfather have no choice but to let him run the Group until I change my mind or get married.  If I marry SeungHyun, my mother will disown my brother and pull him down from his post even if I refuse to take up the duties.  Coz by then, there will be SeungHyun to run the Group.  And with T.O.P Corporation in the picture, no one in the board will object to SeungHyun taking over.  I can't let this happen to my poor brother.  I just can't.  I rather stay in Paris alone than to see my brother being kicked out of the Group.  He is the eldest son.  He should inherit my father's legacy, not me.  Not SeungHyun.  Not anyone else."  Her tears kept falling and wet my shirt.

I almost forgot that we were born in a battle field.  We were destined to fight against our siblings for the inheritance once we were born, no matter we liked it or not.  If we were lucky and the bond between siblings were strong, blood might not be shed and maybe we could still live peacefully at the end.  Many brothers and sisters fought against each other ruthlessly or even framed each other and put their siblings into jail in order to claim the throne.  Even in my age, I have already seen enough to know how ugly people in this circle could get.  But never once I saw or heard anyone would do whatever Hilary did for her brother.  I really didn't know if I should admire or despise her.

"Hill, we'll find a way.  I'll help you." I gently her hair as I said.

She pulled away from me and shook her head, "There's no other way.  Never once she treated my brother like a son in the past 25 years.  I came to Paris to study since I couldn't stand to see my brother being treated like that.  My mother will do anything to kick my brother out of ShinHwa.  She will not stop until she succeeds.  If I stay in Seoul, soon or later there will be another Choi SeungHyun."

I said, half serious and half joking, "Me then.  Marry me!  I'm sure your mother will not dare to kick your brother out if you marry me."  I laughed softly as I brushed her cheek.

Hilary didn't laugh with me.  Instead, she gazed me in the eyes and said with a serious face, "JiYong, I'm really sorry!  For everything."

"Why are you apologizing all of a sudden?  I was just joking.  But of course, I will be extremely happy if you agree to marry me though." I smiled.

"You know what I mean." She pouted as she wiped away her tears.

I looked her in the eyes and sighed, "I knew you were not in love with me when we started dating.  I knew it from the very beginning; but I didn't care since all I wanted was to be with you.  I know you tried too.  I can feel it.  You have done nothing wrong.  It was my choice.  So, don't apologize to me."

She clenched her lips to hold her tears as she lowered her head and stared at her hands on her lap.  I gently her hair and said, "Of course, it does hurt my ego to know that you love SeungHyun Hyeong instead.  But it hurts me more to see you hurting yourself like this.  I rather see you marry him than to see you give up on yourself.  At least you can live a happy life with him."

She shook her head and said, "JiYong, let's not talk about this anymore.  It's over.  I made my choice.  Nothing and no one will change anything.  I WILL forget about everything.  I know I will."  Tears fell down her cheeks again.  She wiped away her tears and laughed softly, "There must be something wrong with my eyes.  They just won't stop tearing."

She wiped her tears again and stood up, "Do you want coffee?  Are you hungry?"

I stepped behind her and hugged her tight, "Hill, just cry it out loud.  Scream and shout if you want.  Just don't hold it back.  You'll get sick like this.  I'm here for you.  I can even cry with you.  How's that?"

She giggled a little in my arms and nudged her head to mine, "JiYong, thank you."

"Now you know how sweet I am, right?" I teased.

"I know.  You are kind to me from the start.  That's why I feel bad for what I did to you."

I turned her around to face me and said, "Listen carefully, Hill!  I'm OK.  I did things even worse.  So, we are cool.  Let's forget about what happened and start over."

I gave out my hand to her and said with a smile, "Hi there, I'm Kwon JiYong.  You are?"

She looked up at me and giggled with tears still in her eyes, "Hilary Kim.  Pleasure to meet you!"

"The pleasure is all mine!"  I planted a soft kiss on the back of her hand and smiled.  She smiled to me back and said, "Coffee?"

"Sure.  Black with a spoon of sugar, please!"

"Of course!"

We looked at each other in the eyes and burst out laughing together.  My heart fluttered to see her beautiful smile.  I hoped this could really be a brand new start for us.

*  *  *

WooBin's POV

"Mother, you wanted to see me?"  The maid told me first thing I stepped into the Mansion that my mother wanted to see me.  So, I went straight to the study to see her.

"Do you know SeungHyun and JiYong are both in Paris?" Mother asked directly.

"I heard."

She looked up at me and asked, "You heard?  And you are doing nothing about it?"

"Mother, just let them figure things out.  EunHi is an adult.  She knows what she's doing."

Mother threw me a death glare and said, "You must be happy that EunHi is not marrying SeungHyun, huh?  This way, you can still stay as CEO.  And even better if Eu