PS: This is not the final chap... ^.^

3 years ago…

After finished the dinner, Kim Mi Kyung went to the garden for a walk to get some fresh air. As she walked closer towards the swing, she saw Lee Jong Suk and Kang So Ra standing there and looked like they were arguing. She moved closer to where they were standing and hid behind a tree.

“What do you want again?” So Ra asked.

“We need to talk.” Jong Suk replied.

“There is nothing more to talk. I told you already. That night was a mistake. I was drunk and did something wrong. I love Min Ho oppa. I was unhappy that night because I was jealous. I thought he cheated on me but turns out I was the one who cheated on him.” So Ra bit her lip and looked away. “Please forget about what happened that night. You are going to New York soon and I’m marrying oppa. So just pretend nothing happen between us.”

Jong Suk looked at her with a painful expression. “Can you really just forget everything and pretend nothing happen?”

“Yes.” So Ra said firmly.

Kim Mi Kyung’s brows furrowed when she heard what they said. Although their voice was soft but she could hear it very clearly. She wonders what they were talking about. What happened to them at that night?

Jong Suk clenched his jaws together as he exhaled sharply. He chuckled sadly and nodded his head. “Okay. If this is what you want, I will just oblige.”

So Ra’s eyes were reddened as she looked at him apologetically. “I’m sorry…”

After So Ra walked away, Jong Suk was still standing there, looked very sad and disappointed. Without the need to ask, Kim Mi Kyung could roughly guess what had happened between them. She inhaled sharply as her hands balled into tight fists. Glaring at Jong Suk from where she stands, she took another deep breath to control her anger. After a short moment, she slowly walked out from where she hid and walked towards Jong Suk.

“What happened?” She asked, standing behind Jong Suk now.

Jong Suk turned around when he heard Kim Mi Kyung’s voice behind him.

“Eomeoni.” He nodded politely at her.

Kim Mi Kyung glanced at So Ra who was walking into the house far away from them before looking back at Jong Suk again. “What happened to So Ra? Are you two fighting?” She asked with a suspicious gaze.

Jong Suk cleared his throat and let out a slight smile. “Of course not. She… she was waiting for hyung to come back. The weather is so cold out here and I told her to stay inside.”

Kim Mi Kyung narrowed her eyes slightly before she nodded. Looking at how he replied her, she can be very sure now that both of them were hiding something behind.

“I see.” She replied plainly as she looked up at Jong Suk and she continued. “If you know the weather is cold, you shouldn’t stay here too. It’s late. Sleep early.”

“Yes, eomeoni.” He replied.

Kim Mi Kyung took one last look at him before she turned around and walked away.

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So Ra turned to the door when she heard someone knocking. She slowly walked towards the door and opened it.

“Eomeonim…” She was surprised to see Kim Mi Kyung standing outside her room.

Kim Mi Kyung looked at her with a serious expression. “Can I come in? I have something to talk to you.”

So Ra smiled at her. “Of course. Please come in.” She said as she moved to the side to let her come into her room. After she closed the door, she turned around and wanted to ask her what she wants to talk to her. But before she could even speak, Kim Mi Kyung slapped her across the face so hard that she almost fall down on the floor. She was totally frightened as she looked at Kim Mi Kyung with her eyes widened. She held her sore cheek that was now reddened from the slap.

“E-Eomeonim…” Her voice was shaky and her body was slightly trembling, confused and shocked with her action. Kim Mi Kyung’s face was very scary. She has never seen her like that before. Her gaze, her expression was so different from how she looked like usual. She is always a gentle and caring mother. But now, she looked like she was about to kill her.

Kim Mi Kyung smirked at her. “Don’t look at me like you are innocent and very pity. You should know what you have done.” She said in an angry tone.

So Ra felt her heart beating extremely fast. She has a bad feeling that Kim Mi Kyung has know everything. She looked down and bit her lower lip hard.

“I-I… I don’t understand what you are talking about.” She stuttered.

Kim Mi Kyung stepped closer and glared at her. “I overheard your conversation with Jong Suk the other night.”

So Ra’s face immediately turned pale and her eyes were now pooling with tears. “It’s… it’s not like what you think. We are…”

“Stop lying in front of me.” Kim Mi Kyung cut her off angrily. “I checked with the maids already. That night when I went to my friend’s wedding dinner at Busan with your abeonim, one of the maids saw Jong Suk came out from your room the next morning.” She paused and inhaled a sharp breath with her eyes still daggered dangerously at So Ra. “You cheated with Jong Suk behind Min Ho’s back. How can you do this to him?” Kim Mi Kyung raised her voice. “After your parents passed away, I pity you and take care of you. I love you like my own daughter. I was so happy when Min Ho told me he is with you. I let my beloved and only son to be with you. But what did you do to repay us? You cheated on him!”

“I’m sorry… I’m very sorry…” So Ra cried painfully as the tears were now covered her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to cheat on Min Ho oppa. I was out of my mind because of the news about Min Ho oppa with the singer in Japan. I was jealous and I was drunk.” She sobbed as she moved closer to Kim Mi Kyung and held her hand. “Please believe me. It was only that night. Only one night. I swear.”

Kim Mi Kyung yanked her hand away. “No matter it’s one night or hundred nights, it’s still cheating. Do you think Min Ho will forgive you? You are cheating with his brother, his biological brother. I thought you are a good woman and that was why I’m happy that both of you are together. But you are no different like that . You are just like her.”

So Ra continued to cry as she kneeled down in front of Kim Mi Kyung. She held her hand again and begged her. “Please don’t tell Min Ho oppa. Please don’t tell him. I don’t want to hurt him. Please…” She cried.

Kim Mi Kyung stared down at her and chuckled softly. “You want me to lie to my son for you? Can.” She smirked. “But with one condition.”

So Ra looked at her. “What condition?”

“Leave my son.” Kim Mi Kyung said sternly.

More tears rolled down from So Ra’s eyes upon hearing what she said. She shook her head vigorously and continued to beg Kim Mi Kyung. “No… please don’t ask me to leave Min Ho oppa. We are getting married 2 days later. I love him. I love him very much. Please don’t ask me to leave him. Please…”

Kim Mi Kyung sneered. “Do you think I will still let a dirty woman like you to stain my son? If you really love him, you won’t do something like this to hurt him.” She paused and lowered herself down to match her level. She gritted her teeth and glared at So Ra murderously. She grabbed her chin roughly. “You know I hate them. There are so many men in this world but why must you choose Lee Jong Suk? That bastard and his cheap mother, do you know how much I hate them? That woman destroyed my family, my happiness. And now her son is trying to destroy my son’s happiness too. Do you think I will let you stay with my son and let you continue to hurt him? NO!”

So Ra trembled and her tears continued to wet her face. She shook her head. “I’m sorry…” She cried softly.

Kim Mi Kyung let go of her chin and stood up. Looking away from her, she spoke again. “Don’t dream that you can be Mrs Lee after what you have done. If you don’t want to hurt Min Ho by letting him know the truth, you better promise me to leave before the wedding.”

So Ra bit her shaking lips and looked up at Kim Mi Kyung. “Even if I promise to go, Min Ho oppa will find me. He will find me no matter what.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll have my way to stop my son to find you.” Kim Mi Kyung said.

Knowing that no matter how she beg or plead her, Kim Mi Kyung will not change her mind, So Ra has no choice but to obey. She was the one who did wrong in the first place. She couldn’t blame anyone. She doesn’t want to hurt Min Ho anymore. She can’t bear to face him and let him know the truth. He will be deeply hurt if he knows how Jong Suk and her betray him. Maybe leaving him is a good option after all. At least he will only hate her. He won’t know the truth and he will not hate Jong Suk as well.

So Ra inhaled deeply before looking at Kim Mi Kyung again. “Okay. I promise you I will leave. I will disappear in his life and will never come back again. But you have to promise me too. You have to keep this as a secret and won’t let Min Ho oppa know about it.” 

Kim Mi Kyung turned around and glared at So Ra. “You better keep your words. I don’t want to see you again after tomorrow.” She said before walking towards the door and stepped out of the room, leaving So Ra who was still crying on the floor.

----------

So Ra almost jump up when Kim Mi Kyung opened the door and stepped into her room. She quickly stood up from the chair and looked at her fearfully.

“E-Eomeonim…” She stuttered.

Kim Mi Kyung stepped closer, glaring at her. “Everyone has gone to the church including all your bridesmaid and friends. I told them you want them to go to the church first. It’s time for you to leave now.”

So Ra grasped her skirt nervously as their eyes met each other. She have think for the whole night and she finally make a decision. She regrets and changed her mind. She wants to stay. Min Ho doesn’t deserve to be left in the church without any explanation from her. She decided to be honest to him. Although the ending might be heartbroken, he might not forgive her but she want to try. It will only hurt him more if she just runs away like this.

Taking a deep breath, So Ra braved herself and started to speak. “I… I decided to stay.” She said very softly but loud enough for Kim Mi Kyung to hear.

She widened her eyes in shocked and her face turned furious. “What?! You promised me you would go. Do you really want me to tell the truth to everyone in the church?”

So Ra bit her bottom lip, trying hard to hold her tears. “I will tell him myself. I will be honest with him and tell him about what happened between Jong Suk and me. I will let him decide whether he want me to stay or leave. I will respect his decision. But I don’t want to run away without a word. It will only hurt him even more. It was my fault and I want to be honest to him.”   

Kim Mi Kyung’s eyes darkened as she walked to So Ra and grasped her hand very tightly. “What are you trying to do? You want to use your pity little face and your tears to soften Min Ho and beg him to forgive you. You know Min Ho love you and he will forgive you. You want to stay here and continue to hurt my son with that bastard.” She was so mad and screaming at her now.

So Ra winced and her face twisted in pain when Kim Mi Kyung continued to tightened her grip on her arm. She struggled and pulled away from her. “No, eomeonim. This is not what I mean. Please believe me. I really love Min Ho oppa. I don’t want to leave him. I know it was my fault but please let me be honest to him and apologize to him.”

Kim Mi Kyung got more and more angry. She stepped closer to So Ra and grasped her arm again. She was now pulling her towards the door. “No. You cannot stay. You have to go. I won’t let a bad woman like you to stay with my son. You don’t deserve him.”  

“Eomeonim… please… please don’t force me to go… I need to see Min Ho oppa. Please…” So Ra cried and begged but when she see Kim Mi Kyung have no intention to let her go, she gathered all her strength and pulled her hand away from her. She quickly ran towards the stairs and heading to the main door.

“Kang So Ra!” Kim Mi Kyung shouted as she followed from behind.

Ignoring Kim Mi Kyung chasing her from behind, So Ra ran as fast as she could and when she was out from the big mansion, she quickly ran to the main gate. She needs to run out of the house and go to the main road.

“Stop her! Don’t let her go!” Kim Mi Kyung shouted when she saw her driver, Gu Yong Chui. He quickly ran towards So Ra and held her arms tightly, stopping her from running.

Kim Mi Kyung pants heavily as she stopped running when she saw her driver had caught her. “Bring her to the cottage.”

But before the driver could react, So Ra leaned down and sank her teeth into one of his hands.

“Arghhh…” Gu Yong Chui groaned in pain as his hands naturally released her. So Ra quickly pulled away and ran out of the gate.

“Get inside the car, madam.” Gu Yong Chui said as he opened the door for Kim Mi Kyung.

So Ra was so scared that Kim Mi Kyung will get her and she ran so fast that she didn’t notice there was a car heading towards her direction in a fast speed. By the time she heard the car horn sound and noticed the car, it was too late. The car couldn’t stop on time and hit her lower back, hitting directly at her left leg. She fell down on the ground and her whole body was throbbing with an extreme pain. Her lower part was numbed and she couldn’t feel a thing except the pain. Her vision started to blur and the last thing she saw was Kim Mi Kyung running towards her.

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Park Jeong Su held So Ra’s hand and squeezed it softly. He could sense her nervousness and fear when she told Min Ho about the past. Her body was trembling. He smiled at her, giving her a silent assurance that everything will be okay.

So Ra looked at him for a moment before she inhaled a deep breath and looked back at Min Ho, who was sitting in front of them in his office. His face was green and totally stunned. This is the expression that she doesn’t want to see from him and that was why she didn’t want to tell him about the truth all this while.

“I didn’t know how long I have passed out but by the time I was conscious…” She paused and tears started to roll down her cheeks. “… my left leg was already gone. I was so scared and confused at that time. I didn’t know what happened after the car hit me and I was not even in a hospital. They brought me to some kind of illegal clinic and by the time I woke up, I only saw Gu Yong Chui, your mother’s driver. He seems to be very close with the doctor that treated me. He told me that my leg was severely injured and the arteries were damaged. To prevent the affected tissues to get infection, they have no choice but to cut off my left leg.”

So Ra bit her lower lip hard as she closed her eyes, recalled the torturous moment 3 years ago. “I suffered so much pain that I thought I could never make it. They locked me in the clinic and I thought I’m going to die there. Gu Yong Choi told me that your mother was arranging me to leave Korea as soon as my injury gets better. But I don’t trust her anymore. I was very scared of her. She was no longer the eomeonim that I know before. If I want to survive I need to run away from that place. So I wait for a chance and I was lucky. Gu Yong Choi was gone that day and the doctor needs to go out. I saw a phone and in spite of the pain on my body, I dragged myself down of the bed and quickly make a call to Jeong Su oppa.”

Jeong Su inhaled deeply as he looked at Min Ho too. “I was so shocked when I received the call from her. After I saved her out from that damn place, she cried and begged me not to tell anybody especially you. She said she is not perfect anymore and is a disable. She didn’t want to be a burden to you. And most importantly, she wants to get away from your mother. So I decided to bring her far away from all of you and brought her to Brazil. Before she go, she sent a message to your mother and assured her that she is leaving and will never return.”

Min Ho’s face was hard and his lips were pressed in a tight line. He slowly shook his head and looked at So Ra. “N-No. This is impossible. Eomeoni treat you like her own daughter. She was the one who suggested to bring you back and stay with us after your parents passed away. She loves you so much and she wouldn’t do that. She won’t…”

“If she is healthy and normal, yes, she won’t.” Kim Ji Seok cut Min Ho off. “But she is not. Now with everything So Ra told us, it explained why your mother is seeing the psychiatrist all this while. The medical report that I passed to you the other day, it was your mother’s mental health report. She is suffering with psychiatric disorder. Although she is seeking help from the doctor all this while but her condition is not improving.” Ji Seok paused and looked at his best friend worriedly. “She might also be the one who release the contract to the press.”

Min Ho’s heart was thumping against his chest so fast and horrible feeling began to creep into him. He has never suspected his mother was the one who behind all these. He couldn’t believe it and if it’s really true, he doesn’t know what he should do.         

“I saw the news about the contract scandal in Brazil and I felt very uncomfortable. I’m worried of you and Shin Hye. When I came back to Korea months ago, I saw your mother.” So Ra said as Min Ho looked at her in surprise. His mother didn’t mention to him before that she saw So Ra. “She bumped into me in a restaurant and we had a talk. She was very angry to see me back to Korea. She thinks that I’m trying to harm you although I assured her that I would be leaving soon. She seems very emotional unstable and during the whole conversation we had that day, her hands were shaking.”

Jeong Su nodded. “So Ra was so worried. She doesn’t want to see anybody get hurt anymore. That was why we came back and told you everything. We think it’s the time you should know about it.”

Min Ho’s mind was totally blank from shock and he couldn’t think of anything now. He wanted to believe that all of them were lying but everything that happened lately makes him unable to believe that his mother was innocent. The mental health report was the best evidence that his mother is sick. But she looked normal when she came to his apartment the other day and she seems happy when she know that Shin Hye was pregnant. And just when he recalled that day, his heart suddenly dropped to his stomach. Shin Hye!

He quickly unplugged his phone that was charging on the table and checked. There were 6 missed calls from Shin Hye and one voicemail. His phone was low battery and he left it in his office to charge while he was away for the meeting. Without wasting anymore time thinking, he dialled for Shin Hye’s number and his brows furrowed when her phone was not contactable. He tried few more times but it was still the same. He tried his apartment’s landline phone but nobody answer too.

“What’s wrong?” Ji Seok asked when he saw his friend’s troubled expression.

Min Ho looked up at them with his eyes filled with worries. “I couldn’t contact Shin Hye. Her phone was switched off and nobody answer the phone at home.” He replied as he was now dialling his mother’s number. He looked up at them again. “My mother’s phone is not contactable too.” He then remembered the voicemail that was left on his phone as he quickly retrieved it.

“Oppa, I received a call from the hospital and inform me that my appointment with Doctor Jang has reschedule for today. I know you are having a meeting this morning so I’ll take a taxi and go alone. Don’t worry about me. I’ll take care. Just call me when…… Mrs Lee?”     

“Damn!” Min Ho almost shouted.

All three of them looked at Min Ho anxiously. “What happened?” Ji Seok asked again.

Min Ho didn’t reply him and dialled another number.

Min Ho: Hi, Doctor Jang. This is Lee Min Ho. May I know is Shin Hye with you now?

Doctor Jang: Shin Hye? No, she is not. My appointment with her is supposed to be next week. Why?

Min Ho: But she received a call from the hospit