“Ugh, I can’t do this anymore!” Hye-won slammed her book closed and plopped back onto the pillow. She was studying for her final exams, but was having a really difficult time assimilating anything.

Young-do was lying parallel to her on the sofa, his head in the other direction from hers. They were hanging out in his hotel room, both studying for their exams. “Do you want to take a break?” he asked. They had been dating for three years and were more comfortable with each other now.

“I have to try at least; my finals aren’t going study for themselves. Who knew literature would be so hard?” she said, tentatively reaching for her book again.

Young-do pulled it out of her reach and placed it on the table. “You look really tired, let’s take a break. Do you want to eat something?” he asked as he headed for the kitchen.

“Hmm,” Hye-won yawned and stretched then followed him to the kitchen and hugged him from behind, “what do you want to cook for me?”

“What do you want to eat?”

“Surprise me.” 

Young-do made a big plate of omurice and they sat on opposite sides of the counter to eat.

“Hmm, this is really good. How did you learn to cook so well?” Hye-won asked putting a second spoonful into .

“I’m glad you like it. I had to learn after practically living alone since my father went to prison. I got tired of eating out all the time.” Young-do replied.

“How is abeonim doing these days?” Hye-won asked. Two years into their relationship, Young-do told her about how his father went to prison for tax evasion. She had felt so bad for him at that time because she realized he didn’t have any positive male role models in his life. When his father had gotten out, she had gone with him to pick him up. That day, she had seen a tired old man and the way he embraced his son was truly heart-warming.

“He is doing well, he decided to retire and leave the Vice-president to run the company until I’m ready.” He watched her put spoonful after spoonful of food into and smiled. Over the course of their relationship, he had learned how to be happy because of her. She never failed to make him laugh and on his birthdays, she would take him to eat noodles and then they’d spend the day rolling around in bed.

Hye-won noticed Young-do was staring at her and she snapped her fingers at him. “Hey, why aren’t you eating?”

“I love you.” He replied.

Hye-won paused mid-swallow and gaped at him. They had never said they loved each other since they started dating. “What?” she said.

“I said, I love you.” He repeated with a smile.

Hye-won swallowed her food and looked away from him. She hadn’t expected that, she didn’t know what to think. “Erm, I think I better get back to school, I just remembered I have a thing to do with Eun-sang and Bo-na.” She dropped her spoon and hurriedly went into the living room to gather her things.

Young-do was surprised at her sudden change of mood. “Hye-wonah, why do you have to leave so suddenly? What’s the matter?”

“Nothing, nothing I…uh, I need to go. I’ll call you, okay?” she said and hurried out the door.

“Hye-wonah, Hye-…” He called after her but she was gone. Young-do sighed and went back to the kitchen to clean up the half-eaten food, his appetite suddenly ruined. ‘What’s wrong with her? Was it something I said? Why did she leave like that?’ he thought to himself. He sighed and dumped the plate in the sink. He was just about to ask her to come visit his father with him on the weekend.

 

Hye-won arrived in her dorm to see her roommates studying with their heads together. She slammed the door shut and both of them looked up at her.

“Oh hey Yoon Hye-won, back so soon?” Bo-na said shutting her book and getting ready to gossip.

“You don’t look so happy, what’s with the face?” Eun-sang asked,

“It’s Choi Young-do.”

“Omo, did you fight?” Bo-na asked,

“No. He…he told me he loved me. For the first time in three years, he said he loved me.” Hye-won sighed and dropped on her bed.

“Yet, you look like this. Why?” Bo-na asked,

“Don’t you love him too?” Eun-sang asked,

“I don’t know. Why did he have to say it now? We were doing so well.” Hye-won sighed again.

“You don’t want him to tell you that he loves you?” Bo-na asked feeling confused.

“Hye-won, are you scared?” Eun-sang asked,

Hye-won sat up and looked at her friends. “I think I am.” She said after a while.

“What are you scared of?” Bo-na asked gently.

“I’m scared we are moving too fast. It’s just been three years. How can he love me already? What if we break up? What if I hurt him? What if he hurts me? Will love be enough? These are all the things I’m thinking about. I can’t help it.” She replied.

Eun-sang came to her side and put an arm on her shoulder. “These are things you need to discuss with him. How can you know if love will be enough if you aren’t willing to try?” she said.

“She’s right you know.” Bo-na said.

“Me and Tan loved each other very much from the moment we saw each other, we went through a lot and I thought love wasn’t enough so I left him. I was miserable for days after that. I kept thinking, ‘if only I was by his side, if only I was with Tan, we could face these problems’. You have to be willing to try. It doesn’t hurt anything.” Eun-sang said and patted her shoulder.

“I should call him, right?” Hye-won said.

“Yes, you should.” Bo-na came and sat on her other side.

Hye-won smiled at her friends. “What would I do without you guys?” She shared a three-way hug with her friends and left the room to call Young-do.

“Yeobseyo.” Young-do said on the other end.

“Young-doya, I…I’m sorry about how I left today. Can we see each other? There’s something I need to say.”

“Of course. Do you want me to come and get you?”

“No, it’s fine. We can just meet at the park.”

“Alright, see you then.” He said and hung up.

Hye-won hurried back inside the room to grab her bag. “I’m off.” She said to her friends and hurried out of the room.

“All the best.” Bo-na yelled at her as she ran.

 

Hye-won and Young-do sat side by side on a park bench in silence until Young-do spoke.

“What did you want to talk about?”

“Young-do, I’m sorry I ran out on you after you confessed your feelings for me. I was terrified. The truth is at the beginning of my parents’ marriage, they loved each other very much and as I grew up, I watched that love turn to hatred. It became so bad that their love was no longer enough to sustain their marriage. It was hard watching them fight and curse each other for years after they had loved so passionately in the beginning. I don’t want that to happen to us, I can’t bear to hate you. What if our love turns sour? What if we end up hurting each other? I can’t bear for that to happen.” She said. Tears rolled down her cheeks silently. She didn’t even realize she was crying.

 

Young-do reached and wiped her tears, “Hye-wonah, not every love is meant to last forever. Maybe your parents weren’t meant to be no matter how much they loved each other. But, they still managed to love. If you keep thinking about ‘what ifs’ you’ll never able to enjoy life to the fullest, you’ll never allow yourself to fall in love or try new things. I know you Yoon Hye-won, you’re a brave girl. You’ve got a good heart, you didn’t look down on me once because of my past or because I have a father who is an ex-convict. I want to heal your pain, I want to prove to you that you are not your mother or father, you deserve love too. I want to re-pay you for all the love you’ve shown me over these last three years. I won’t promise to never hurt you, because no one can promise that, but I will promise to always do my best to remind you of how much I love you every day.”

 Hye-won looked at him, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Choi Young-do, I like you so much.” She said and hugged him.

“I love you too.” He whispered and hugged her back.

 

Won worked at his laptop when Da-kyung walked into his study and sat herself on his desk. He looked up at her. “What is it?”

“What do you think of this dress?” she placed an open bridal magazine in front of him.

“It looks nice.” He replied offhandedly.

“You said the same thing about the last three I showed you.” She snapped the magazine shut and Won sighed. They were in the midst of planning their wedding, they wanted to re-new their vows now that the contract had expired.

“It’s because they would all look good on you.” He close his laptop and reached for his wife. He wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his head against her belly.

“Maybe I should just wear my old dress, there’s no need to buy a new one when that one is perfectly fine, right?”

“Hmm.” He replied and placed kisses on her belly.

“Wonssi.” She giggled.

“What does it matter? The dress is going to end up on the floor somewhere.” He raised his head and she kissed his lips.

“What do you think, should we go back to Venice for our second honeymoon?” Da-kyung asked,

“I’ve always liked Venice the best, let’s go.” He said.

“Okay, let’s.” She got off the desk, “Tan is coming home in two weeks, right? We can have the ceremony when he gets back. Get back to work, honey.” She kissed his head and walked out of the study blowing him a kiss as she went.

It was the night before the girls had to move out of the dorm, their final exams were over and they were finally graduates of Seoul NU. They each lay on their beds after packing their things.

“Did you think this day would ever come?” Bo-na said as she stared at the ceiling.

“I’m going to miss this room. We had so many adventures here.” Hye-won sighed.

“I’m just glad it’s over. I don’t think my brain could have taken more of the studying.” Eun-sang said, she was laying face down on her own bed.

“Hey, do you guys want to come and sleep over at my house this weekend?” Bo-na asked,

“Aren’t you sick of sharing a room with us?” Hye-won said.

“Well, just you know, I’m used to you guys. It will be strange not being together anymore.” Bo-na answered.

“Aww, uri maknae.” Hye-won laughed.

“Ya! What maknae? I’m only a few months younger than Eun-sang.” Bo-na said. Hye-won was the oldest one among them.

“I can’t Bo-na, I’m going to Boston.” Eun-sang sat up.

“Wait, what? When did you decide that?” Hye-won said.

“I’ve been saving up the money for a while. Tan’s graduation is in a few days and I wanted to go to him. Wonnie Oppa and Da-kyung unni wouldn’t be able to make it, so ajhumma and I are going together.” Eun-sang explained.

“So, when are we going to get to hang out again?” Bo-na pouted.

“How about we go out tonight?” Eun-sang said, and just as she spoke, Hye-won’s phone rang.

“Yeobseyo. Young-doya.” She said sweetly and caused Eun-sang and Bo-na to gag.

“Do you want to come over tonight?” he asked,

Hye-won asked her friends if it was okay to go and they nodded. “Sure, I’ll come.”

“Alright, I’ll make dinner. Did you eat yet?” he asked,

“Ani, make me something good.” She said and hung up. “I have to go ladies.” Hye-won rose from her bed and got dressed.

“Maybe we should just have a quiet night in.” Eun-sang said as Hye-won pulled on her jeans.

“Dwaesso, I’m going to call Chan-young.” She took a glance at Hye-won as she walked out the door and yelled, “Don’t forget to use protection” causing Eun-sang to dissolve into a fit of giggles.

Hye-won stopped by a bakery to buy a cake and then went to Young-do’s hotel. She knocked on the door, and he let her in. The room was dimly lit and there were candles everywhere.

“What is this?” she asked as he took the cake box from her and she walked into the room.

“Congratulations on your graduation.” He said and pulled her close to him.

“It’s yours too in a few days.” She said and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Congratulations to me too then.” He said and nuzzled her neck.

“Choi Young-do, you promised me dinner.”

“How can I possibly think of food when you look like that?” he pulled back and looked at her.

“Give me food or I swear, I’m walking right out that door.” She laughed.

“Arasso, arasso. This way.” He led the way to the kitchen, “What kind of cake did you bring?” he asked,

“Black Forest Gateau.” She replied and sat down on a stool.

“Hmm, my favourite. We can have it for dessert. I have a few ideas for that cake now. I even ordered champagne.”

So they sat down to dinner and talked about school and their plans now that they were through.

“I’m thinking of taking the civil service exam, I want to teach literature.” Hye-won said.

“And marriage?”

“What?” she paused mid-swallow, she was trying not to let Young-do see how much her hands were shaking, but he already noticed.

“I’m not asking you to marry me I’m just saying did you ever consider it?” Young-do asked trying to ease her fears.

“Well, not really. I haven’t thought about it much. Can we just eat; I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”  She said and dug into her food. Young-do was content to let it go for now. They continued to eat their food surrounded by a tense silence.

After dinner, they sat on the sofa and ate the cake.

Hye-won spoke first. “Young-doya, I know I may seem difficult but you know how touchy the subject of marriage is for me. Please, don’t be mad at me.”

Young-do put down his fork and held her face. “I’m not mad at you, I understand how you must feel, I went through the same thing with my parents. However, I’m a little disappointed that you choose to keep holding on to the past. Hye-wonah, I’ve told you so many times that I love you, that’s not going to change whether we get married now or never. I just wondered if it ever crossed your mind. I won’t bring it up again if you don’t want me to, but I want you to know that you are not your mother and I am not your father, they made their own mistakes, doesn’t mean we’ll do the same thing. Okay?”She nodded and he went back to eating his cake.

After a while, Hye-won spoke again. “Young-do, I love you.” She said quietly.

“What?”

“I love you.” Louder this time.

Young-do moved closer to her, “Say it again.”

“I love you.” She laughed.

Young-do kissed her, “I love you.” She said and he kissed her again.

They kissed each other passionately, cake forgotten.

 

Eun-sang stepped out of the airport into the Massachusetts’ sun all alone. Ki-ae had come down with the flu a few days prior to when they were supposed to leave and so she couldn’t make it to Tan’s graduation. Eun-sang was more confident this time, unlike the first time she came to America. She hailed a taxi and gave the driver the address of Tan’s house. He didn’t know she was coming, so she was anxious to surprise him.

Tan’s house was different from the one he lived in while he was in Los Angeles, this one was smaller with a yard in the front. It was a bungalow. “Tan still likes to live in those houses you see in American movies.” She giggled to herself and went up to ring the bell.

Tan was in the middle of packing up his things, he had to leave for Korea after his graduation because he had missed his family too much. He couldn’t wait to see his mother and his brother and his sister-in-law. He knew their relationship was so good they were planning on renewing their vows. He especially missed Eun-sang. He missed hearing her laugh and touching her. Talking over the phone just wasn’t enough for them. He made his way to the laundry room to get his clothes out of the dryer, when he heard the doorbell.

“Who is it?” he asked as he opened the door and his jaw hit the floor.

“Surprise!” Eun-sang was on the other side, wearing that smile that he had missed.

He let her come in and shut the door, then pushed her against the door and kissed her. He pulled closer, wrapping his arms around her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Pretty good welcome.” She said when he finally let her go.

“I missed you a lot.” He buried his face in her hair.

“I missed you too, that’s why I came. Won oppa and Da-kyung unni cannot make it and omoni came down with the flu a few days ago. Congratulations.” She said.

Tan helped her carry her bag into his bedroom and sat on the bed while she changed her clothes.

“Aren’t you going to leave?” she asked,

“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.” He replied with a smile.

“I’m hungry Kim Tan, I had to fly over fourteen hours to get here and all I had is crappy airplane food.” She placed her hands on her hips.

“Arasso, I’ll get you something while you take a shower. I have to get my clothes out of the dryer anyway.”

Eun-sang kissed his cheek and sent him out of the room while she went to take her shower. When she was done, she changed into one of his shirts and went looking for him. She found him in the living room as he was hanging up the phone.

“What are you doing?”

“Ordering pizza. My shirt looks very good on you.” He said and pulled her into his arms.

“I thought you said something about your clothes.” She said as he nuzzled her neck and made her feel light-headed.

“They can wait a few more minutes.” He sat on the sofa and pulled her to him so she straddled him.

He kissed her, slowly ing the shirt she was wearing, when suddenly the doorbell rang.

“Pizza’s here.” She gasped and got off him.

Tan snarled and went to open the door. He silently cursed the pizza guy’s bad timing while he paid him. Poor guy was so confused when Tan stared daggers at him as he took the money from him.

They sat on the floor in the living room and ate their pizza.

“When do you plan on going back to Korea?” he asked,

“Whenever you want.” She replied.

“Really? Really really?” he asked,

“Yes, really really. But it has to be soon, my graduation is just a few days after yours and we have to attend the wedding.” She said.

Tan moved close to her and kissed off some tomato sauce on the side of . He gazed into her eyes and then she kissed him. They forgot about their pizza and made love on the living room floor.

Later that night, after Eun-sang had helped Tan packed his things, Eun-sang decided to call home and tell her mother and Ki-ae how well Tan was doing and how they were going to return in a few days. While Tan spoke to his mother, Eun-sang went to make dinner.

They sat on the floor to have their dinner, and she was back to wearing his shirt and he was wearing only a pair of jogging trousers. Suddenly, Eun-sang started to giggle.

“What’s funny?”

“I’m thinking I should probably take responsibility for you.” She replied.

Tan raised an eyebrow and looked at her, “What is this?”

Eun-sang went on her knees in front of him, “Kim Tan,” she started and Tan gasped.

“Omo, what is this Cha Eun-sang?” he laughed.

“I’m being serious right now. Kim Tan, you were the first one to come after me. Even during all those times that I hesitated and wasn’t sure of myself, you never left me alone. You loved only me all these years, never wavering once. You made me believe in myself and us, that we could love one another through everything. Kim Tan, I might waver again in the future, I might become unsure of myself again, but one thing I’m certain of is that I’ll always love you. So, I guess what I’m saying is that I want to spend the rest of my days with you, I want to be by your side until we are both old and gray. Marry me, please?” she said with all earnestness.

Tan stared at her, at loss for words. This girl, that he loved more than life itself, had just asked him to marry her. She, for whom he almost gave up hope all those years ago, asked him to marry her. He didn’t know what to say.

“Tan? Say something.”

“What do you think my answer will be baboya?” he said and hugged her. They laughed together; this was where they needed to be, in each other’s arms.

 

The Kim household was abuzz with activity, that night was Won and Da-kyung’s vow renewal ceremony. They had decided to hold the ceremony in the courtyard of the house since it was only a few friends and family that were invited. Tan and Eun-sang had returned a few days before and Eun-sang now helped Da-kyung put on her dress.

“Unni, have you gained weight? The dress doesn’t fit properly anymore.” Eun-sang said as she struggled with the zipper.

“I dare say I should have. I’m pregnant.” She giggled.

Eun-sang gasped and then squealed. “Omo chukahaeyo Unni. Does Won oppa know?”

“I haven’t told him yet. I want it to be a surprise.” She giggled.

Eun-sang managed to zip up the dress and Da-kyung took a look at herself in the full-length mirror. She looked different. Who knew that one day she would wear this dress again and be anxious to meet her groom? Who knew that the man she once hated would be the one who made her perfectly happy?

“Unni, you look so beautiful.” Eun-sang said echoing the first time she saw her in the dress. This time, Da-kyung was happy to hear that and she burst into laughter.

The courtyard had been transformed into a beautiful wonderland. There were fairy lights on the shrubs and trees. The chairs were lined up on either side of the aisle and at the end of it was Won, anxiously looking around for his bride. He marveled at how far he and Da-kyung had come, from enemies to allies to friends and to lovers. He couldn’t believe he could ever love her, but he did with all his heart. The wedding march began to play and Hye-won led the way down the aisle, followed by Bo-na, then Eun-sang. When Da-kyung walked towards him, his heart beat faster. She looked so beautiful because she was smiling. They had both decided to say their own vows and didn’t require a priest to validate their wedding.

Won spoke first. “Yang Da-kyung, all those years ago when I first met you, I didn’t know how important you would be to me. I didn’t know that I would come to love you as much as I do. Every day we spend together just helps me grow to love you more. We have come a long way from who we used to be and I look forward to making more memories with you. I love you and I will love until the end.” He said and slipped the ring on her finger. Everyone cheered.

“Kim Won. Wonssi. I love you. I have no words to describe how happy I am, so I’m just going to borrow from the lyrics of one my favourite songs. I secretly bite my lower lip and softly close my eyes. I try to hide the fluttering feeling that fills my body. It tickles for some reason when I think of you. So, give me a perfect day and I’ll stay by your side, I’m revealing my heart to you. There are better days ahead for us I know, only good things will come our way now. The one who will watch over and protect me as I struggle, I feel like that person is you. So, I want to make you mine forever. I love you Kim Won.” She slipped the ring on his finger and then whispered in his ear. “We’re having a baby.”

Won looked shocked for a minute and then he broke into the biggest smile and turned to the guests. “My wife just informed me that we are having a baby.” He announced and everyone erupted into cheers. Da-kyung’s mother and Ki-ae went up to the couple and hugged them in turn, then the fathers patted their shoulders and told them what a good job they did and everyone was happy.

“Do you think we should tell them that we’re getting married?” Eun-sang said as she stood beside Tan and watched as everyone gathered around to congratulate the new couple.

“Not yet, we don’t want to take their spotlight.” He replied.

 

Author’s note: Hello everybody. I’m not very good with intimate scenes as even reading about them makes me blush, I’m something of a prude, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter. You may think the words from Da-kyung’s vows sound familiar, that’s because they are lyrics to Esna Park’s Biting my lower lip which is my favourite song on the Heirs OST. I wanted to include a part of the OST into the story and I couldn’t think of a better way to do that. What do you think? Let me know. Leave comments. Kamsahmnida.