Ji Hyun’s POV

Looking at him now and how happy we were just being together made me feel everything waver about what world we were actually in right now. Questions were starting to arise from the confines of my mind. Like if I was making the right choice. If we were going to make it out of this in one piece. I didn’t want to think about what we were going to face after. All I knew was that we were both here enjoying whatever was left of the time we had left together.

We were both walking around town hand in hand. And just feeling his fingers interlaced with mine gave me the most secure feeling in the world. Everything felt that they were at the right place. And I wish that we would just stay this way.

I looked up to take a peek at his face but he beat me to it as I caught him already looking at me with all the love he had for me reflecting in the faint glimmer of his eyes. He smiled when he saw me look at him before tucking a strand of my stray hair away from my face.

“We’ll get through this. I know we will.” He assured me and I smiled widely at the his unwavering optimism.

“What are we going to do now though? The Gala is two days from now. So is my birthday.” I told him as we were making our way into the nearest restaurant. Trying to make small talk and also to slightly press him on about what I wanted on my birthday. He looked at me before nodding it off and making his way straight to the table that the maitre d’ guided us off too.

I pouted at how dense he was acting, once we were seated I kicked him in the shin making him yelp in shock.

“Ya!! Ji Hyun-ah! We are finally having a quiet and mature date together and you decide to act like a kid again!!” I stuck my tongue out at him and turned my head away from him. Really? My birthday was two days away!! He could at least be a little bit enthusiastic for me.

He huffed out a breath of disbelief when he noticed that I was giving him the silent treatment.

“Ji Hyun-ah. Are you on your period? Because if you are, your PMS better not ruin our lunch out together.” He pressed on and I felt myself redden in embarrassment. I turned to face him to scream back but he was already sporting a smirk while crossing his arms.

“I knew you’d turn to face me eventually.” He declared and leaned in to peck me on the lips. I was still in a state of shock and anger when he leaned back to his chair. He scratched the back of his neck before speaking.

“Will you quit being grumpy and enjoy our date? I didn’t forget your birthday okay? I just don’t want to talk about it because I won’t end up spending it with you. You’ll probably end up spending it with your family.” He muttered and my heart softened hearing this.

I reached out my hand to his and gently squeezed it.

“Luuuu. I won’t be spending it with them. It will be the same boring party anyways. Only my family members will be there and probably some of JYP Enterprises’ close family associates. It’s not an extravagant one since I can’t go out publicly yet.” I assured him and it only seemed to make his jaw clench even tighter. I gulped and rubbed soothing circles on his hand to relax him.

“Lu? Are you okay? I’m not going. Plus I don’t want to see Nickhu—“ he cut me off mid-sentence.

“Have you seen him? Even once? Your fiancé?” He whispered and I could already feel the hurt in his voice. I swallowed the excess saliva that was wallowing up in my mouth before dropping both my hands on my lap to wring my fingers around.

“Yea. Once. He was.. Nice. He treated me pretty well in those two hours I guess. And he looks good too. So, I guess my Abeoji and Ji Yong Oppa would be glad to see my kids end up looking as good looking as him.” I replied and immediately felt the resolve of fighting back against everyone crumbling.

Who were we kidding? Being a part of this kind of situation would never assure our happy ending. Then again, would we ever get our happy endings?

“Lu. I’m sorry. I probably should have just left when I found out that you knew. I should have just left. We both know that this won’t work. They won’t let us.” I murmured and got ready to leave. I did not want to press on into the conversation. It was just so maddening to think about how restricted we were in our family.

As I checked my purse for anything that I could have possibly left I noticed that Lu Han was still sitting as still as ice in his seat. His hands were clenched into fists and his jaw was still clenched. His hair was covering the rest of his face putting any hint of what his facial expression was in a dark shadow.

“Lu. I’m sorry. For leading you on. For even thinking of a plan this crazy in the first place. Maybe if I never thought about it I would have never met you. That would just put us both through less sadness and pain in the long run.” I told him and he didn’t even stir in his seat.

I sighed and nodded to myself before turning on my heel and stepping out of the area we were seated at. I probably took three steps away from him when he spoke.

“It’s painful you know. Painful to hear you talk about him and immediately you see a future with him. While when you talk about us you only see and end. Really Ji Hyun? Have you no hope for us? Have you no hope that maybe we could end up together? That I might have a plan where we would win? Where you would be happy with me? Have kids with me?” He said and I turned to him and saw that he was looking back at me with a stern and pained expression.

“I am not having this conversation Lu.” I snapped at him and made my way out of the restaurant accidentally bumping into the waiter that was headed to our table to probably take our order.

I was walking along the sidewalk hailing for a taxi, fighting the wretched tears that were trying to make themselves out of my tear ducts.

I heard the bell of the restaurant’s door ring. I turned my head a bit and already saw the familiar shade of brown hair that I only grew to love.

“Not now Lu.” I muttered when he was standing next to me, his presence screaming that we ought to talk it out more.

“Not now? Not now!? The tell me Ji Hyun! When the hell are we going to talk about this? Do you think after just one night of I’d forget? I’d forget that you lied to me for five months? That you went under my nose and infiltrated my family’s privacy for your own personal amusement?” He screamed back at me and I felt like he slapped me across the face with that.

“What do you make me out for? A ? Lu Han! I love you. That’s why I am acting this. Why I spent that night with you. Why I gave my ity to you! Why I can never talk about our future and see it end because I know enough about my family and yours to know that they will hurt you if I fought back against their wishes! Okay? I never expected you to forget the stupid thing that I did! But I want to spend my last days with you happily okay!?” I shrieked. But my answer did not shut him up like it usually would.

“Family? Family? You think my family would be against this? They love the idea of money and mergers. I could convince them to allow this! Probably the only one here who has a problem with family here is you and not me!! You have been so strung up with pleasing them. With trying to own up to your brother. Trying to be like him! Did you ever think that you were enough? That they knew you were enough? If you saw yourself this way then your family traditions are probably more ed up than ours. Maybe the Yangs are as cruel as my Abeo—“ I slapped him square on the face having heard enough.

He has crossed a line that