*Hyunseong's POV*

She fell asleep on the drive home. I opened the passenger door and slowly lifted her, carrying her like a man would to his newly wedded wife. I carried her inside as my butlers opened the door for us. We went upstairs to my room and I laid her down on my bed.

I was about to walk away when I looked at her and noticed that her hair in her face. I kneeled down and carefully brushed her hair out of her face. My hand remained on her cheek as I just stared at her. I took my hand away and sighed. I stood up and was going to walk away when she grabbed my hand.

“Will you cuddle with me?” She quietly asked me.

I hesitated, but I nodded my head as I quietly said, “Mm.”

I got on the bed and she wrapped herself in my arms. Her head was on my triceps and she buried her face into my chest. I slowly took deep breaths as I tried to stop my heart from beating too loud. That’s right, I fell in love with a noona.

Some time passed, and just as I was going to get up, she hugged me tighter. Then I heard soft sniffs.

“You jerk,” She said, between sniffs, “I know you’re not working over time. I saw it, on your phone, it said Eun Jung, with a heart…” I heard this phrase before, but I just let her continue. That’s when she let it all out, she started sobbing.

I just stayed still as I let her have her moment. Of course, seeing her like this made me sad and angry, but what else could I do?

Then, she started to softly punch my chest.

“I hate you!” She yelled, “How could you do this to me?! For four years, I’ve stayed true to you, how could you cheat on me so easily?!”

Suddenly, I raised her head so that she faced me and put my lips onto hers. I couldn’t hear anymore of it, I didn’t want to hear anymore of it.

I leaned back as our lips lost contact. Our eyes met and my eyebrows scrunched together as I saw her smeared mascara. Just as I was going to wipe her tears away, she leaned and kissed me. I lost control at that moment, I just went with it, I just followed my heart.

She pulled me on top of her and continued to kiss me.

-  -  -

I woke up first, she was sleeping in my arms. I looked at my ceiling and thought, “What’s wrong with you, Hyunseong? She wasn’t even sober, what if she says that you her, huh?” All kind of terrible thoughts went through my mind.

“You’re awake?” She said as she sat up.

I was startled and said, “Eo.” I sat up, too. “When did you wake up?”

“Just now.” She got off the bed and started dressing herself as she was facing the other way from me.

“Do you remember what happened yesterday?” I nervously asked.

“Mm,” She calmly answered.

I was confused, “You don’t think anything of it?”

She shook her head as she put her tank top on.

I don’t know why, but instead of feeling relieved, I was disappointed. I got out of the bed and put my boxers on. As she put her shirt on, I walked up behind her and gave her a back hug. “Tell her, it’s now or never,” My heart kept telling me. My heart and brain were debating, tell her, or don’t? She just stood still as I was making up my mind about what to say. Then, I gripped her a little tighter than before and whispered, “Don’t be hurt because of him.”

She just sighed and walked out of my arms as she quietly said, “Ganda.”

She grabbed her phone and as she walked out, she didn’t look back once. She closed the door behind her and I just looked at the floor as I hung my head low.

I kept looking at the door as I thought, “That was perfect timing to tell her, but she would’ve said that she couldn’t be with me. Or she would’ve made up a stupid excuse to not be with me.” I took a deep sigh and laid on my back with my wrist on my forehead and just closed my eyes. I told myself that I shouldn’t think about it, I shouldn’t think about her, I shouldn’t think about anything.

Just then, my phone vibrated on my desk. I sighed as I got up and grabbed it. I looked at it and it was a message from Jihyun. “Will you drive me home? I didn’t bring any money with me for the cab fare.” It was a meaningless text, but I smiled.

I put on my robe and went out to the front. She was standing there, confused.

“You’re dropping me off looking like that?” She asked me.

I ignored her question and said, “At least let me feed you, first.”

-  -  -

We sat at my dining table and ate while my waiter brought us drinks. It was awkwardly silent and I didn’t know what to say. I mean, what was there to say? We’ve only known each other for about two months and have only seen each other a couple of times before this.

*PAST*

I was walking into the club when I saw a beautiful girl in a black dress getting in line. She had simple and light make up on, and her hair was just tied up with her bangs down to the side of her face. She came looking so simple, but managed to look so fine at the same time.

As I walked in, I said to the Usher who was watching the door, “Let her in.” I pointed to the girl who was awkwardly walking behind a couple.

“That third wheel girl?” The Usher asked me.

I scoffed and gave him a look. Then while patting his shoulder, I said, “Just do your job, algae chi?” Then I finally walked inside.

I sat on the bar stool that I always sat on and watched as she awkwardly walked in. A really wide smile crept onto my face as she just kept standing there, confused and not knowing what to do.

“Kyeopta,” I whispered to myself. I kept watching as I took my first shot of the night, then a couple walked in.

She greeted them but as the girlfriend was about to say something to her, a hip hop song came on and the boyfriend pulled the girlfriend away. She touched her bangs, attempting to hide her face from embarrassment. Then she looked up and scanned the area while she held her wristlet. She spotted the bar where I was at and started walking towards it.

She was slowly making her way here, when a big guy came and grabbed her hand. I took this opportunity to see what she’d do in this kind of situation and sat back to watch.

She spoke first and I read her lips, “What are you doing?”

“Dance with me, y mama!” The big guy said.

“Mianhae,” She said, “But I don’t really know how to dance.”

“I’ll teach you!”

I decided that now would be a good time to come in, so I walked up to them and I put my arm around her neck. I looked at the big dude and said nothing.

The big guy was startled and let her hand go. He bowed as he said, “Hyungnim.”

I softly slapped the top of his head and said, “Ga!”

He still had his head bowed as he said, “Ne, hyungnim.”

He walked away and I walked her to the bar with my arm still around her neck.

When we stopped, she shrugged off my arm and said, “Gomawoyo.”

“Mianhae,” I said, “For suddenly approaching you like that.”

“Gwaenchana,” She started, “I-”

“And don’t mind that dude,” I interrupted her, “He’s usually a good guy, but when he sees a beauty like you, he loses control.” I sat down and ordered a bottle of beer. I turned to her and asked, “Want one?”

She nodded as she sat down. The bartender gave us our drinks and we were sitting in silence as we took little sips of our beers. She finally said, “That guy, why did he call you ‘Hyungnim?’ I mean, he seemed a lot older than you.”

“I own this club,” I said right away.

She seemed surprised as she hesitated to say, “Oh…”

I nodded and said as I reached out my hand, “My name is Hyunseong, Shim Hyunseong.”

She hesitated again, but she eventually took my hand and slightly shook it as she said with a small smile, “Kang Jihyun.”

We told each other our birthdates and she was surprise to know that I owned a club at the age of 21.

We talked for a while, and had quite a few drinks, and before we knew it, she got a text from her friend saying, “My hubby wanted some alone time and we left in a hurry. Mianhae, forgive Eonni this one time.” She stood up and scanned the dance floor. Then she scoffed and said to herself, “She really left.”

“Is everything alright?” I asked.

“Nope,” She calmly answered, “My relationship with everyone is so ed up!” She realized what she’d just said and carelessly apologized as she was drunk.

I gave the bartender a couple of big bills and said, “This is for all of her drinks.” I got up and held her arm and said to her, “Gaja, let’s get you to a hotel.”

-  -  -

I held her as we walked into the five star hotel room that I rented for that night. Her phone rang as I laid her on the bed. She was almost to the point where she’d pass out, so I took out her phone from her wristlet and looked.

“Who is it?” She weakly asked.

I squinted my eyes and looked at her phone as I said, “Donghyun oppa… Heart heart heart.”

She sighed and said, “That bastard, saying that he’s working over time… Why don’t you tell me who Eun Jung is then?” The stopped ringing and she slowly drifted off to sleep as she kept mentioning about Donghyun. I set her wristlet and phone down onto the drawer next to the bed and kneeled down to get a closer look at her.

I thought back to what she’d said on the ride to the hotel, “It as written on his phone, Eun Jung with a heart. And not just that, in three months, he hasn’t laid a finger on me in bed, so he must be satisfying himself with other women, right?” It was quiet until just before we arrived at the hotel, “He was my first… And even though I know he’s cheating on me, I tell myself to stay with him… Because I’m still the stupid fool who fell for his tricks four years ago.”

I looked at her while she laid on the bed as her senses were robbed by all the liquor she drank. I could tell that she was really hurt inside, and all I wanted to do was hold her tight and protect her from any kind of harm. That was when I realized that I loved this woman.