A/N: Thank you guys for sticking with the story for so long. Without your support, I couldn't have finished the longest fanfic I've ever written. So...thank you.

7 years later

We all love differently, but doesn’t mean we love any less.

When Myungsoo entered the living room, he found Sungjong on the couch with his feet up, his eyes focused on the TV screen. A family drama that Sungjong seemed to be into these days was playing and from the intense concentration on the younger’s face, he could tell that the was up.

It was cute how Sungjong’s eyebrows wrinkled a bit when he was concentrating and he would look like he was gritting his teeth. As quietly as possible, he walked up to his husband and sat down beside him.

Sungjong didn’t acknowledge his presence, so he leaned into him and nuzzled his shoulder, not forgetting to take a sniff of that vanilla-lemon scent of the younger. There was still no response and he now wondered if his husband was ignoring him on purpose or was too into the drama to register anything else.

Sighing, he shifted away a little and started to watch the younger, his eyes roving all over his body – a favourite pastime of his. Sungjong was dressed in a large T-shirt, Myungsoo’s to be exact. He forwent fashion for comfort only when he was taking care of important matters, like watching dramas. Myungsoo couldn’t help but think how much better the shirt looked on Sungjong, even though it was two sizes too big for him.

He’s a masterpiece.

Thankfully, Sungjong had chosen shorts to go with it, so he had more to distract him while the younger finished watching the episode.  The smooth skin of his shapely legs seemed to beacon at him. He was a lot older than he used to be but that didn’t mean he found his husband’s body any less seductive.

There was no one who would believe that Sungjong was a day over 25. Myungsoo was starting to worry that the younger would never change, like a vampire, while he would grow wrinkled and old – such a mismatch. That sounded horrible because already, Sungjong would sometimes , calling him ajhussi. At least his stamina was still intact.

Finally, the ending song came on and he sighed with relief as Sungjong paused the TV, and turned to look at him.

“You’re up,” he commented lazily, as Myungsoo brushed his nose against his exposed shoulder, smiling against it when the younger uttered a tiny breathless chuckle. The V neck of the T shirt was good for exposing bits of Sungjong’s supple skin.

Kissing him softly, he replied, “It was just a nap, my darling.”

“Of course, old people have to have their naps.”

Myungsoo stopped while flipping through the channels, turning to pout at his husband. True, two years ago he didn’t need his afternoon nap, but today, Sungjong had tricked him, saying he would take the nap with him, only to steal away when he had fallen asleep.

“You’re 30 this year, not so young anymore,” he said viciously, hoping to shut the younger up. Sungjong stuck his tongue out at him.

“Do I look 30?”

He had to admit he didn’t. Not even close.

“Fine, you win,” he said morosely, tipping his head back.

He must have looked very pitiful, because Sungjong threw his hands around his neck and pulled his head onto his lap.

“Old man or not, you’re still mine,” he whispered huskily, bending over to kiss him.

Myungsoo stared up into his face - his wide, round eyes, the mole on his nose, his chiselled jaws – even with his bare face, he looked like he was ready for a photoshoot.

There’s nothing about him that I’d change, he thought, fascinated, only to hear his heart drumming loudly against his rib cage.

Just like day 1, when he first saw him. It had been 16 years since then, but he was just as star-struck and helplessly, hopelessly in love. Ever since their wedding, he had been falling in love with him, more and more. To think that he was still beside him, still in love with him, made him feel like his heart was going to explode.

To this day, I don’t believe my luck.

“Stop staring at me, ahjussi, it’s creepy,” Sungjong taunted, trying to push him off of his lap.

There was no doubt he was trying to get up but Myungsoo didn’t want him to leave. He just wanted to be like that, in that position for the rest of the day. That would give him ample time to count the stars in Sungjong’s eyes.

Pulling and pushing, each tried to achieve their purpose. There was laugh here, a grunt there, and as Myungsoo still boasted greater physical strength than Sungjong, he had the younger pinned under him, their legs twisted together and a disgruntled expression on Sungjong’s face.

"You’re always trying to win," Sungjong grumbled, his wrists restrained by Myungsoo’s firm grip.

"Mmm," Myungsoo hummed happily as he pulled up Sungjong’s shirt, revealing his flat tummy.

He could hear the younger heave a sigh. Ignoring him, he kissed his belly button before pressing his right cheek against Sungjong’s tummy. Even though every part of Sungjong was smooth and soft, he found his belly to be the softest, like a wad of cotton and he loved rubbing his face against it. When he had first done it, Sungjong had looked at him weirdly. But he had given up long ago trying to understand Myungsoo’s es and interests. Now as he sighed contentedly, feeling as if he was resting on a bunch of warm clouds, the younger didn’t complain.

“You know I love you, right?” he asked, settling deeper into Sungjong’s soft belly.

“And you know the only reason I allow you to do this is because I love you, right?”

"Fair enough."

The content was short-lived though as he felt something jump up onto the couch. The next moment, small fists were at work on his face, trying to move his head away. He conceded, sitting up to find a smaller face replacing his against Sungjong’s tummy.

“Aigoo, Yeollie,” Sungjong cooed, the corners of his mouth lifting. “You shouldn’t be so mean to papa.”

“Mine,” was one of the few words in 2-year old Saeyeol’s limited vocabulary and he now used it, glaring at Myungsoo.

“This little brat, already so possessive,” Myungsoo muttered.

“Seriously, Myungsoo, he’s two, give him a break.”

Even though he loved him now, at first, Myungsoo had not approved of adopting Saeyeol. The only reason was that he had felt that with another kid added to their family, Sungjong’s attention would be divided and he would be the one to suffer, since Jongsoo was already the apple of his eyes.

But he hadn’t really gotten a say in it as Sungjong had threatened him into signing the papers. Saeyeol had only been a new-born when they had adopted him but it soon became clear which of his two fathers he preferred. Once he grew a little older, he had made himself a rival of Myungsoo. If Myungsoo kissed Sungjong, Saeyeol had to kiss him too. If Myungsoo cuddled with him, Saeyeol would soon be between them, glaring at him. He could swear that Jongsoo hadn’t been like this. It was probably because with Jongsoo, Myungsoo had been able to sneak in early and win his affection at an early age. He secretly prided himself on the fact that their elder child liked him more, or so he thought.

“Yeollie, you mustn’t push papa, okay, say sorry."

Saeyeol only stuck out his tongue at him, a habit he had learned from Sungjong no doubt.

“Yeollie,” Sungjong’s voice was a little stricter this time.

“Sowwy,” Yeollie mumbled.

“Still not forgiven.”

“Myungsoo!”

“Fine.” He caressed the young boy’s hair affectionately. “He started it though,” he muttered.

“Omomi,” Saeyeol cooed, lunging forward to give Sungjong a kiss. That was another reason Myungsoo was wary of the child. He had already given Sungjong a nickname, although he thought he might just be trying to say oemma. But that was unforgivable as well. Why couldn’t he just call Sungjong daddy like Jongsoo. “Hungry.”

“Ah, is my baby hungry? Come on, let’s see what ahjumma has for us.”

Getting up from the couch, he lifted the baby in his arms and padded out of the living room, leaving Myungsoo alone to ponder how he had lost to a 2-year old.

Sungjong had named him Saeyeol, and even though he didn’t admit, he knew it had been inspired by his best friend’s name. He was under the impression that he was still trying to set Sungyeol up with his brother since he thought Sungyeol was one of the nicest guys he had ever met, the other one being Myungsoo.

In the meanwhile, Sunkyu had had so many relationships, each lasting 3 months at the most, that even Howon was worried that he would never be able to settle down. Apparently, Sunkyu managed to get dumped every time.

“He’s almost as bad as you were in uni,” Myungsoo had joked one day.

“In that case, he will end up with someone as good as you,” Sungjong had nonchalantly replied.

Since Sungjong’s matchmaking wasn’t working, he had wondered if he should play at the game a little. Munsoo was still a bachelor and he had thought it would be nice to see Munsoo and Sunkyu together. It would be such a cute family thing.

However, the moment he had suggested it, Sungjong had glared at him and told him to forget it. He couldn’t understand how Munsoo could be a bad choice. He was so rich and handsome that he could be a playboy if he wanted to.

Munsoo had visited them 3 or 4 times. Once, they had gone on a vacation together to Hawaii. The past was in the past, but he couldn’t help thinking that sometimes, he thought when no one was noticing, Munsoo’s gaze on Sungjong would linger a bit, just a bit too long. Myungsoo could only wonder if his brother still suffered. He hoped not. But then again, first loves seldom disappear completely. Perhaps that was the reason why Munsoo was still single.

“Papa.” It was Jongsoo, who approached him timidly, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Yes?” he asked, patting the seat beside him.

Jongsoo had grown up well. He was a lanky boy, taller than his 7 years. There was a faint hint of Sunggyu in his small eyes, especially when he scrunched them up; but for the most part, he looked like Jiyeon. He started first grade this year, and to his parents’ immense pride, was all the teachers’ favorite.

When Sungjong had decided to look after Jongsoo, Myungsoo had been a bit worried. But the younger had slipped into the role as easily as Cinderella slipped into her shoe. Anyone who saw him with the child would say he was a natural. The problem was that he had been too into it, to the point where the roles were reversed and Myungsoo had to fight for his attention. It was childish and silly perhaps, but he couldn’t help feeling jealous when Sungjong carried Jongsoo around in his arms every waking moment, talking to him, playing with him, feeding him. Even if he had gotten Sungjong to put the baby down and look at him, he would be restless within five minutes, looking for Jongsoo.

This intense obsession had lasted for a while. Only when Jongsoo had started preschool did Sungjong’s grip on him started loosening a bit. But even then, Sungjong was like an anxious mother, stepping nervously around their growing son, not quite ready to give him up. Sometimes, it was funny to watch him struggle.

And then came Saeyeol – Sungjong found someone new to gush over. Myungsoo just kept getting pushed to the back of the line for his husband’s affection. It was endearing in a way; but at times Myungsoo wished for the time when the two of them were alone. He would never admit that out loud though, and he loved his sons more than anything in the world.

Anyway, fighting for Sungjong’s attention had become a second nature for him now, so he didn’t awfully mind. Besides, Sungjong did show in little ways that he hadn’t forgotten about his poor husband. Sometimes when Sungjong took the kids out, Myungsoo would wake up to fresh flowers in the vase on his side of the bedside table, sprayed with his husband’s favorite perfume and a card that read ‘Don’t miss me too much’. And when Sungjong did turn his full attention on him, he had no doubts that the younger loved him any less.   

“Are you going to collect my report card this time, papa?” Jongsoo nudged him slightly, looking sheepish.

He and Sungjong were both busy parents but that didn’t mean they ignored their sons’ needs. Sungjong made it a point to attend all of Jongsoo’s school functions and parents’ meetings, sometimes dragging Myungsoo along.

“I thought daddy was going to do that.”

“Oh.” Jongsoo’s face fell.

“What’s wrong?”

Scratching his head, Jongsoo replied, “Daddy gets really mad if I get bad grades and I didn’t do so well in English this time.”

Myungsoo had actually heard Sungjong lecturing their son about his grades. He would get a scary glint in his eyes every time he explained to Jongsoo why it was important that he aced all his tests. He thought it was time he dropped the bomb.

“Your daddy was a terrible student and English was his weakest subject.”

Jongsoo’s eyes widen, but not by that much. It was adorable.

“He was?”

Myungsoo nodded, knowing he would have to pay for it later, if the word got around to his husband. But someone should burst Sungjong’s bubble. The way he spoke made it sound like he used to be an honour student.

“But,” Myungsoo whispered proudly, “I was always top of the class.”

“Yeah, daddy said you were a nerd.”

His smile disappeared. He was hurt. He had half a mind to confront Sungjong but thought better of it.

“I was actually very popular among-”

“Jongsoo, Myungsoo, come on, we’ll have cake,” Sungjong’s voice floated from the dining room. There was no way to ignore it and Jongsoo pushed up to his feet.

“I’ll tell you what, if you promise not to tell daddy what I said about him, I’ll go to pick up your report card, okay?”

“Deal,” Jongsoo replied happily and they shook hands on it.

When they arrived at the table, Saeyeol was already halfway through his cake, sitting on Sungjong’s lap smugly as he spooned the cake into his mouth. He had recently learned to eat by himself but he still insisted on sitting in Sungjong’s lap.

“Daddy, are you going to be in the next magazine that comes out?” Jongsoo asked, taking his seat.

“Why do you ask, dear?”

“Because my friend Woobin wanted a signed copy if you’re on it, for his mom.”

“We can arrange for that.”

His dream of seeing Sungjong as Asia’s top model had come true, like he had known it would. For the last 5 years, Sungjong had been holding that title. He now held contracts with big names like Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Dolce and Gabbanna, not to mention countless other companies both home and abroad. In line with his success, he had introduced his own clothing line that had garnered large interest and had ended up becoming a huge hit.

Myungsoo couldn’t have been prouder. At 30, he himself hadn’t achieved such international success.

Even though Sungjong insisted that Myungsoo had played a big role in his success, he knew that it wouldn’t have been possible without the younger’s talent and hard work.

“You were born a star,” he told him often.

In the beginning, when Sungjong had just left Royals, Myungsoo and his team planned for a while about how they should re-introduce Sungjong as Star’s very own model. In the end, Eric’s idea had been approved by most of the editors – Sungjong’s first project with Star had been a couple photoshoot with Myungsoo, kind of like a part 2 to their wedding pictorial. Once again, it had been experimental, just to judge how the audience thought about Sungjong. Just like its predecessor, this issue had blown up and became their best selling issue.

After that, they had featured Sungjong in their Spring issue, then Summer, then Winter… All the companies which had signed with Sungjong under Royals lined up in front of Star. It was success written in bold. With a much healthier work-life balance, Sungjong had managed to fulfil his dreams of both becoming a supermodel and raising Jongsoo. The younger had needed lots of help to not push himself too hard and maintain the balance, but that was what Myungsoo was there for and Sungjong had learned eventually. But for the last few days, Sungjong was talking about quitting.

“I should make way for new younger models,” he had said.

He also wanted to concentrate on his clothing line, as he had found out that it was not easy to run a business. He was confident that his fashion brand was what he wanted to invest his time in.

“I might model for my brand from time to time, but Star should find a new star.”

Within two months of Sungjong joining Star Magazine, they had regained their position as the top fashion magazine in Korea. Despite Royals’ painstaking endeavour, Star had beaten them. The Chinese company had dropped Royals as a bad investment, causing them to crumble. It had been a night worth celebrating.

Fortunately, they have had many of these nights. One of the most special nights ever had to be when Sungjong had finally gotten to walk the runway at Paris Fashion Week. Sungjong had been feverish and giddy just before the show and Myungsoo had to be there, beside him, holding his hand. As always, he hadn’t disappointed. Every year since then, Star had been attending the Paris Fashion Week, Sungjong bedazzling the audience and earning endless praise. In no time, Sungjong had conquered the NYC Fashion Week. The day Sungjong had been featured on a billboard in Times Square, the younger had cried on his shoulder and he had continued weeping until dawn.

It wasn’t just Sungjong’s list of successes that had grown. Truth was, he had watched Sungjong grow and develop into a person anyone could respect. There were some childish aspects to his character of course, but that made him even more adorable. Sometimes now, Myungsoo felt like a child in front of him. Now he knew what the younger had felt before. They were even.

At the same time, even though Jongsoo’s nurse and Mrs. Han had helped raising him while they were busy, Sungjong had ensured that Jongsoo had a strong bond with both of his parents.

“Papa, you’re doing it again,” Jongsoo’s exasperated voice brought him back to the present.

“What am I doing?”

“Staring at daddy.”

He looked at Sungjong for confirmation only to find a smirk playing on his lips.

Sighing, he replied to his son, “How can I not, your daddy is so beautiful.”

The man in question shook his head as he dabbed at Saeyeol’s lips with a napkin. However, he wore a satisfied smile of his lips. Sungjong was so used to comments like that from the press and his fans that Myungsoo had been afraid that it wouldn’t work anymore. True, most of the times he ignored any such flattery, but at times, he caught a pleased smirk when he complimented him. It was the power of their love that even after being married for 7 years, Sungjong found it flattering to be called beautiful.

“Papa, are you a ert?”

Myungsoo did a double-take.

“What? Where did you hear that?” he asked his son in astonishment. Sungjong sometimes called him a ert but it was only to and never in front of the kids. He was all about setting a good example in front of the kids.

“Sunsaengnim told me.”

He slapped his forehead. Jongsoo’s teacher happened to be Sunkyu. Mischievous and carefree, Sunkyu had more than once played pranks on his nephew as well as telling him all sorts of nonsense. He had known Sunkyu would be a bad influence on Jongsoo but Sungjong had been adamant about putting him in the school Sunkyu taught at. Why had Sunkyu become a teacher if he was going to tell kids, especially his kid, these sorts of things?

“Do you know what ert means?” Sungjong said, covering Saeyeol’s ears.

“Yeah,” Jongsoo nodded sagely, “it means papa loves daddy too much.”

Sighing with relief, Myungsoo made eye contact with Sungjong, who rolled his eyes.

“I’ll have a talk with him,” he mouthed at his husband.

The family spent the rest of the day playing card games and then watching Jongsoo’s favourite power ranger movie. Weekends were mostly family time and Myungsoo didn’t mind that Sungjong’s attention would always be on the kids. But when they were gathered in front of the large screen at their home theatre, Sungjong’s hand came to rest on Myungsoo’s waist – a small gesture letting him know that he hadn’t forgotten him. His head rested on his shoulder, the warmth of his body pressed against him, and he knew he would never want to be anywhere else at that moment.

Dinner followed after the movie and once the kids were tucked into bed for the night, Myungsoo sighed with exhaustion. He had to play police-thief with Jongsoo and it had involved a lot of running. Then, Saeyeol had made him into his personal horse and had played prince. He was aching all over.

“It hurts,” he told Sungjong, nosing him behind his ear.

“You did well,” Sungjong cooed, patting him on the head as if he was talking to one of his kids.

Myungsoo huffed, playing with Sungjong’s bangs. He had been most approving when Sungjong had decided to grow his hair long again.

“That’s it?” He hoped for a little more approval.

Sungjong was trying to do something on his phone, his eyes locked on the screen. So he kissed his neck, nibbling softly, then a little too sharply while his hand roamed over his belly under his nightshirt.

Sungjong squirmed a little, stifling a giggle as he used his finger to draw circles on his tummy. At least there was some response.

After being at it for a minute or two, he was able to elicit a moan from Sungjong. Victorious, his hand went up to Sungjong’s shirt, while taking good care to brush against all of his sensitive spots. The younger’s eyebrows were twitching.

"Okay, fine," he finally murmured, putting his phone down on the bedside table.

By then, all his buttons were unfastened and he helped Myungsoo to tug his shirt off his shoulders. His heartbeats quickened instantly and he had to readjust his grip.

The first kiss was slow but Sungjong took it in his hands to turn it steamy. Myungsoo’s hands scratched at Sungjong’s sides helplessly as he tried to devour his mouth. Right now, Sungjong was in control and it was driving him crazy.

They were both so engrossed that they hadn’t heard the little footsteps until a small voice called out near them.

“Papa?”

Jongsoo was standing at the foot of their bed, staring at them in fascination, his mouth parted. His teddy bear was in his hand but he hadn’t noticed that he was strangling it.

“Oh, Jongsoo-ah, what happened, are you alright?” Sungjong asked, concerned.

Only a moment go, he had been groaning in a husky voice but his parental instincts had kicked in and he was fully alert. Myungsoo wondered how he did it, since he was still feeling the heat flush through his body.

“What are you doing papa?” Jongsoo asked, still not taking his eyes off of them.

“Umm…loving your daddy too much?” He winced in pain as Sungjong pinched him. Throwing his nightshirt on, Sungjong slipped out of the bed and picked Jongsoo up in his arms.

“Come on Jongie, let me read you a story, okay?”

The two of them disappeared, leaving Myungsoo high and hard. Turning to his side, he started to ponder what explanation he should give to Jongsoo in the morning. If the explanation was not satisfactory, he would surely retell the incident to Sunkyu and ask him about it. He didn’t even want to imagine what sort of explanation Sunkyu would give to the innocent kid.

He loved their kids but it was times like this he could do a little more privacy. But Sungjong had made it plain that the kids came first.

Argh, he thought disappointedly as he waited for Sungjong to return, I should have locked our door.

---

Next morning, Sungjong found Myungsoo sulking at the breakfast table. When he had come back last night from Jongsoo’s room, he had found the elder deep in sleep. So he had simply gone to sleep.

In the morning though, Myungsoo accused him of keeping him waiting. When he explained that he had found him sleeping when he had returned, the elder had only scoffed.

He knew however that this wouldn’t last. Sometimes, he just ignored Myungsoo when he was sulking, just to see what he did to get his attention. It was maybe a bit cruel, but his husband knew how much he loved him.

“Papa, about last night,” Jongsoo suddenly said.

Myungsoo’s eyes widened.

“I can explain-”

“I’m sorry for barging in like that, next time I will knock.”

Sungjong beamed at his eldest son; he couldn’t have been prouder. Even at this age, Jongsoo was showing keen perception and understanding that couldn’t be taught. Even at two, Saeyeol was a bigger troublemaker.

“Oh, it’s-ah-fine. Just don’t tell your sunsaengnim about it.” The blush on Myungsoo’s cheeks was quite prominent and he was avoiding meeting Jongsoo’s eyes.

Such an awkward potato, he thought fondly.

“Why will I tell sunsaengnim?” Jongsoo asked, puzzled.

“Never mind,” Myungsoo muttered, wiping his face with a napkin. “You know how your sunsaengnim said I was a … umm…”

“A ert?” Jongsoo asked innocently.

Myungsoo’s face flushed.

“Well, I’m not a ert.”

“But you do love daddy a lot,” the little one reasoned.

“Yeah, but there are other words for that. ert is not a good word, okay?”

It was adorable, Myungsoo trying a hand at parenting. Sungjong had found that his husband was good at taking care of kids but not actually talking with them. If Jongsoo asked a strange question, as was common for a child of seven, he would stutter awkwardly and dig a hole for himself, from which Sungjong had to rescue him.

“Okay.”

“But why did your teacher suddenly say I’m a per-I mean that thing?”

Squinting, Jongsoo tried to remember.

“What did I say about squinting, Jongsoo-ah?” Sungjong reminded him.

His eyes came back to normal.

“Oh yes, I remember. I was telling sunsaengnim how daddy didn’t want to go to a party but then after you gave him lost of kisses, big kisses and small kisses, he agreed to go,” Jongsoo recited.

He remembered that incident – it had happened not long ago. There was a work party Myungsoo had to go to but Sungjong was exhausted after a long day’s work. He had been lying in his bed, trying to go to sleep but Myungsoo kept on pestering him about going to the party. He had joined him in the bed, hooking a leg over his, and kissing him intermittently. Finally, Sungjong had gotten dressed after all the effort his husband had made to have him accompany him. Jongsoo had been there but he hadn’t realised that it had made a lasting impression on the young boy.

“Oh,” Myungsoo said nodding. He probably recalled it as well. “Anyway, next time, don’t tell your sunsaengnim about us, okay?”

“Why?”

Sighing, Myungsoo glanced at Sungjong for help, as he knew he would.

“It’s a family secret baby, so just the four of us should know, okay?”

Jongsoo turned the reasoning over in his mind, then nodded.

Sungjong finished his breakfast. He had a meeting with an agent first thing in the morning. He was looking for a business partner since he wanted to expand his business. Myungsoo had asked to be an investor but his mother had advised him against it – “You don’t work with family, baby,” she had said. Even though he couldn’t imagine how things could go sour between them after they had been married for 7 years, he had decided to take his mother’s advice.

“Boys, call me if you need anything,” he said, taking turn to kiss Jongsoo and Sungyeol and ruffling their hairs. Myungsoo snorted loudly, stabbing his pancakes. Sighing, he approached his husband, kissing him on the cheek. “Have a nice day, honey.”

His husband whimpered, no doubt dissatisfied by the peck. Sungjong could just leave now; in that case, Myungsoo would sulk the whole day and whine at night. Sungjong was feeling generous today. Huffing, he grabbed Myungsoo by the chin and plastered akiss over his mouth.

He had a busy morning, overseeing several projects his company were working on. Just before lunch, he had to hurry to a photoshoot for Marie Claire. After lunch, Sungjong found that he had time for a spot of shopping. He had always liked shopping and it was while shopping that he ran into Jiyeon, ex-model, Jongsoo’s mother. At first he had thought she would pretend not to notice him, but to his surprise, she walked straight up to him.

“Can we talk for a moment?” Her voice hadn’t been exactly friendly, but she hadn’t sounded as angry as she had the last time he had spoken to her, 7 years ago now.

They sat down at the mall café. Sungjong ordered cappuccino with no sugar; Jiyeon ordered Americano. She looked old, he noticed. She was the same age as Myungsoo, but it was evident that she had stopped caring for her outward appearance. The wrinkles on her face were prominent and even though she had sloshed on some BB cream, they still showed.

She had worked for Star HK for a year before she had been replaced with a new, younger model. After that, she had announced her retirement. No one had known where she had gone off to next; frankly, no one cared anymore as she wasn’t Asia’s top model anymore.

Myungsoo had finally told him about Jongsoo’s biological father. When he had heard that Sunggyu was the baby’s actual father, he had thought he might end up marrying Jiyeon. But about 4 years ago, Sunggyu had gotten married to a rich heiress. So, he had no idea what Jiyeon had been up to in the last few years.

“I-how is he? My son?”

For a long time, Sungjong had accepted Jiyeon to turn up to see Jongsoo. To his relief though, she hadn’t. So he was surprised when she asked about him.

“He’s good. He goes to school. He’s a bright kid.”

“Of course he is, his father…” Jiyeon trailed off, looking absentminded. She refocused on Sungjong and said, “Does he still contact you? Sunggyu?”

He hadn’t heard from Sunggyu in a long time. He did meet him occasionally though – in their line of work, there were many parties which they both attended. Every time he had found him by himself, Sunggyu had repeated his last offer to him. Only three weeks ago, he had met him at the Louis Vuitton party in Shanghai and he had asked him the same question again.

“Just one night, it wouldn’t hurt anybody. No one has to know.”

He really didn’t understand Sunggyu’s obsession with him. It was scary how he never seemed to give up. But his answer had always been no.

“Do you want to see Jongsoo?”

“Does he look like his father?” she asked instead.

“Just the eyes.” After a pause, he added, “He looks like you.”

She seemed to relax. Then, without warning, she got to her feet.

“Don’t tell anyone about this meeting,” she whispered darkly, before vanishing through the door. Sungjong blinked, wondering what had just happened.

The next day, a small article in the newspaper announced that former model Park Jiyeon was getting married to a businessman. He realised that she didn’t want anything to do with Jongsoo after all. He couldn’t say he was sorry about that.