Chapter 24
The following month became a busy one for Jin Ri. With her new position at the company, the training that she was going through because of it, and her photography work, she practically had no time for herself anymore. But lack of time for herself wasn’t what worried her; it was lack of time for Kyuhyun and for their relationship. Since she started working, she hadn’t been able to watch any of his performances anymore. They barely had time to see each other even during the weekends because that’s when she fitted her pictorials in. Despite Kyuhyun saying that it was fine and that he understood, she knew that it wasn’t fine and that there was only so much that he could understand.

Finally, she was able to take a break from work and went to Na Young’s wedding with Kyuhyun.

“You look beautiful,” Kyuhyun murmured as he led her to the dance floor. She was wearing a lovely light green gown; the design similar to the one Keira Knightley wore in the movie Atonement. Her now black hair (she had colored it brown in the past) was swept up in a bun with tendrils falling to the side of her face.

Jin Ri beamed at him as they started to dance. “Well a handsome prince deserves a beautiful princess, doesn’t he?” she responded, dusting some imaginary lint off his dark suit.

“My princess, you would still be beautiful even if you wear nothing but a sack,” he commented positively.

“You would want that, wouldn’t you?” she teased.

He opened his mouth then closed it again, a blush creeping to his face, when he realized the suggestive undertones of his comment. “I didn’t mean it that way,” he defensively stated when he finally found his voice.

“I know,” she giggled. “It was just too good of a comment to pass up.”

“Ya!” he quietly but defiantly retorted. “Why do you always tease me like that?” He pretended to be hurt and pouted like a little kid.

“Because I’m the only one who can do so and I’m enjoying the privilege,” she easily answered, smiling warmly at him.

He smiled back. “I missed this. I missed you,” he confessed. The month that had passed was hard for the both of them. Ever since they’d gotten together, they’d made it a point to see each other at least once a week and talk at least once a day. But after she had started working for her family’s company, they had only seen each other twice. Even the phone calls had dwindled, between his schedule and hers, they were too tired at the end of the day to make good conversation.

“I missed you too,” she responded, moving closer to him. “I’m sorry about not being able to go to your performances. The work at the office and with the photo shoots…” she trailed away, sighing.

He looked closely at her. “But you’re happy, right?”

“What?” she asked, taken aback by the question.

“Are you happy?” he repeated. Sometimes he wondered about his girlfriend. She was always smiling, always laughing, making everyone think that she was having the time of her life in everything that she did. But he knew the truth. The horrors of her past were still present in her life no matter how much she tried to deny it. And now, being forced to work for family, whom she loved so much… he wondered if there was anything in her life she was truly happy about.

She searched his eyes, wondering why he had asked such a thing. “I am happy with you, Kyuhyun,” she earnestly told him, misinterpreting his question. “I’ve never been so happy before. I love you. Why are you asking me this? Do you doubt my feelings for you? I have never seriously considered what anyone, not even my family, ever said about us, no matter how hurtful.”

“I was referring to your job,” he clarified. His face scrunched up in confusion when he took in all that she had said. “What are you talking about? What has your family been saying?”

As she hesitated, Na Young’s maid of honor, Yu Rin, arrived and pulled them aside to tell Kyuhyun that he was to get ready for his song. When Yu Rin had left, Kyuhyun turned to Jin Ri. She uncertainly lifted her gaze up to him. She really should have kept shut and not let her feelings run away with her.

“Princess, after I finish singing, we’re going to talk about this,” he slowly but firmly told her. He could tell that it was a serious matter based from how she had realized what she had just said. He leaned towards her, looking into her eyes. “I love you.” After giving her a kiss on the forehead, he walked towards the side of the stage to get ready.

As the first notes of Two People started to play and Kyuhyun stood on stage, she sat back down on her seat and watched.


“Appa, you can’t be serious,” Jin Ri blurted out, eyes wide in surprise at what her uncle had just told her.

“I am serious. As serious as I’ll ever be,” Mong Koo stated flatly. “This cannot go on any further.”

“I don’t understand,” she argued. “How can you say this when all along you showed approval?”

“I didn’t think that you were this serious,” he admitted. “You’ve never had a serious relationship before and after Shin Jae and I never realized that you would be serious with anyone else. But after that rash announcement of your relationship in public…” He shook his head. “That can be fixed. You just need to break it off with him.”

“Appa,” she started, fighting back her tears. “My relationship with Shin Jae never existed. We’ve always been just friends.”

“You carried his baby once. You were engaged,” he corrected her. “That spells more than friendship to me.” He sat up straighter in his seat. “No matter, you will do as I say.”

“But—,” she began as tears starting falling to her cheeks.

“Jin Ri, I only want what’s best for you,” he said, his demeanor softening at the sight of her tears. “Kyuhyun is a nice kid and he definitely takes care of you, but he’s not the right one for you.”

“How would you know that? I love him,” she defiantly declared, standing up. “I love him,” she repeated even more firmly when her uncle opened his mouth to retort. “I can’t do what you’re asking of me. I can’t. I won’t.” Without another word, she left the room, closing the door with a bang behind her.


She folded her hands daintily on her lap. One of the reasons why she hadn’t been going to family dinners, not even when Kyuhyun had promised for her to Sun Young that she would, was because of such fact. Her uncle wanted to her to stop her relationship with Kyuhyun without a good reason. She refused. Because of her refusal, she had been forced to work for the company. She was sure that it was in hopes of making them spend less time with each other.

Family was very important to her. She valued the opinions of her family members above anyone else’s. But despite this, she realized that she was never really one to put what they said over how she felt about love and relationships. Thinking back on her relationship with Shin Jae, even when her uncle told her to get married to him, she had resisted it every step of the way. When she lost the baby, she took it as an opportunity to call off the wedding even when her uncle became angry because of it. With her relationship with Kyuhyun, it was the same thing but with different circumstances. Her uncle was against her relationship with him and wanted her to break it off. But she wouldn’t. She didn’t want to. She then realized that she had been eating her so-called beliefs about love not being enough. Or maybe she had just come to the realization that family shouldn’t be the one to dictate everything.

“Your boyfriend’s sweet,” a voice to her left remarked.

Turning to her side, Jin Ri saw a face she hadn’t seen in a long time. “Min Jung!” she greeted with a warm smile. “What are you doing here? How are you?”

Kim Min Jung was one of the friends she had due to the social circles that her parents and uncle moved in. She was the daughter of the owners of a prominent international airline. As kids, they’d managed to travel everywhere in the world because of them.

“I’m friends with the groom. I’ve been good,” Min Jung said, returning the smile. “I just came back from Europe. If you’ve forgotten, I left about four years ago to do some studying due to my parents’ bidding.”

“I see,” Jin Ri responded, nodding. “Welcome back then. We should meet up for dinner some time.”

“I hear that’s impossible these days,” Min Jung commented. “Should I schedule an appointment with your secretary?” She gave her a teasing smile.

Jin Ri rolled her eyes. “Wherever did you hear that?” she wanted to know.

“Around,” Min Jung said. “So…” She nodded towards the direction of Kyuhyun. “How did he happen?” She never thought of Jin Ri as someone who would date a celebrity. She had almost always kept to herself, only hanging out with Sun Young and Shin Jae most of the time.

Min Jung watched as Jin Ri’s eyes sparkled as she talked about her story with Kyuhyun. From the way she talked about him, she was positive that her friend was deeply in love. Not that she could blame her. The way he sang just made one want to melt in a puddle and stay that way forever, not to mention how his eyes smoldered with emotion.

“I’ll introduce you to him once he’s done,” Jin Ri went on. “He’ll be happy to meet you. He’s always happy to meet my friends.”

Min Jung bit her lip. “Jin, I think you should know… I didn’t come alone,” she abruptly said.

“A date? Who?” Jin Ri craned her neck to look around grinning. The grin froze on her face when she saw a face that was painfully familiar. Shin Jae was officially back in Korea. She averted her gaze and turned to her friend. “Please tell me you’re not referring to him.”

“Sorry, Jin,” Min Jung muttered in explanation. “Jong Min was a classmate of ours in Europe and he invited us both to his wedding. “I really didn’t expect to see you here.” She lowered her voice. “But it seems he knew that you were going to be here. I think… he’s not over you and I think he’s planning something.”

Jin Ri turned to Kyuhyun who was about to finish his song.

“Even at times, this way 
Seems far away
With a lonely heart
And tears flowing.

Even if the harsh winds
Blow upon us,
We, two people,
Will be shelter for each other.

Even if I’m a fool and lacking,
I will be beside you always.
Even if harsh winds
Blow upon us,
We, two people,
Will pass those hard times together.”

She bit her lip as Kyuhyun smiled as a photo of him with the bride and groom was taken. Thinking back to the song that he had just sung, she couldn’t help but realize that the harsh winds had arrived. She wondered if they would be able to weather it.

~ * ~

As she stepped out of the car, the chauffeur did the same, moving around the car to meet her. Closing the door for her, she then smoothed her skirt and checked her reflection on the car window.

“You look beautiful as ever, miss,” the chauffeur commented pleasantly.

Jin Ri turned to him and smiled warmly at him. “Thanks Joon,” she responded, taking her purse and a couple of folders from him. “I know I can always count on you to be honest,” she then stated teasingly.

Joon was her personal chauffeur slash bodyguard that her uncle assigned for her starting when she began working for the company. Sun Young had her own as well, which she never really understood until her meetings and schedules increased in number. She found that it was way easier to have someone driving her around and not having to worry about parking and traffic. It made her able to work in the car as well.

“I’m always honest with you miss,” Joon responded with a twinkle in his eye. He had been working for the Chungs for as long as he could remember. He had seen Jae Sun, Sun Young and Jin Ri grow up. He was quite fond of their family.

She chuckled. “As you should be,” she replied. She moved towards the entrance and walked in the building as her mobile phone rang.

“Where are you?” Sun Young’s voice hissed through the line.

“I just arrived,” she told her, hurrying towards the elevators. She smiled at a couple of employees who had bowed to her in greeting. “I’m on my way up.” She paused for a second then asked, “Was the meeting moved earlier?” 

It was pointless for her to continue ignoring her family when she saw them everyday at work. She closely worked with Sun Young since there were still a couple of things she was unfamiliar with. She even saw her male cousins practically everyday. As it turned out, they went to the office regularly to check with finances and other operational things.

A week into her job, her cousins had cornered her into her office just so she would talk to them already. Even Sung Ki joined in on the fray, surprising her. They all began frantically explaining to her that they had nothing to do with the decision and that they were all just following their father’s orders. They then treated her out to lunch and just continued on explaining their side. She surprised them by telling them that she was hurt about the whole thing, but that she understood that they couldn’t do anything.

“No, but I wanted to talk to you about something,” Sun Young elaborated. “I’m here in your office.”

“Alright, I’m almost there.” She ended the call and slipped her phone into her bag.

Exiting the elevator, she was greeted by her secretary who then began enumerating her meetings and appointments for the day, as well as some phone calls that she’d received when she still wasn’t in the office.

“Oh and about your office…” Soo Min went on grinning.

“Yeah, Sun Young’s there,” Jin Ri absently replied, taking a look at the papers that she had asked her to sign.

“There’s something else,” Soo Min presented, gesturing towards the open door of her office.

Jin Ri looked up from the papers she was reading as she walked into her office. Seeing her, Sun Young stood up from her seat and raised an eyebrow at her, a big grin on her face.

“Your boyfriend seems to be spoiling you, Jin,” Sun Young remarked.

Her room was filled with roses. Her desk was covered with two dozens of some of the reddest roses she’d ever seen, placed in a beautiful vase. The desk on the sofa area of her office, as well as the space on the floor beside it had four vases of a dozen roses. Even her small kitchen area, had vases of roses placed in them.

“Where did this come from?” Jin Ri asked, looking over the roses, surprise evident on her face.

“You should ask your boyfriend,” Sun Young told her, chuckling as she exchanged a look with Soo Min, who retreated back to her desk outside to give them privacy.

“I was just with him,” Jin Ri said. “He’s the reason why I'm late.” Kyuhyun had stopped by early in the morning before he went onto his schedules for the day. Things had become a bit steamy hence her being late to work.

“I’ll talk to you later then,” Sun Young said teasingly, moving out of the door as Jin Ri picked up the phone and started to dial.

“Princess,” he answered, a smile obvious in his tone.

“Hey,” she greeted him, sitting down on the seat behind her desk. She got a rose from the vase and brought it to her face so she could smell it. “I like RomanticKyu,” she told him happily, bringing the rose to her nose once more. “I don’t think I’ve seen him around.”

He chuckled. “What are you talking about? Do you already miss me? I just saw you this morning.” She heard gagging sounds on the other line and assumed that the members had overheard what he had just said.

“Thank you for the roses,” she remarked, grinning widely. “I love them. Did I ever tell you that I love flowers?”

“Don’t all girls?” he asked, sounding baffled. He paused. “You received roses?”

“Yes and I love them,” she continued. “I don’t know where you found the time to have all of these delivered to me. It’s too much really. What am I going to do with…” She straightened up and counted. “…10 dozen roses?”

Kyuhyun didn’t answer at once. She heard some protests from the other members. It seemed that he had excused himself and left wherever he was at.

“Kyu?” she called.

“Yeah, I’m here,” he immediately responded. 

She smiled. “Thank you, Kyu. If you were here, I’d kiss you and not care whether we were at the office.”

“Princess,” he hesitated. “I would love for you to kiss me, but… I didn’t send you roses.”

She froze. “What?” She composed herself, but felt confused. “Then who would…?”

“I have a pretty good idea.” His tone was flat and aggravated.

Jin Ri leaned back on her seat and closed her eyes. “Kyu, I’m sorry.”

He smiled, despite feeling not so good about the whole thing. “You’re not going to kiss him because he sent you those roses, right?”

“Of course not,” she quietly responded, opening her eyes and glaring at the roses. She dropped the one she was holding to the trash bin beside her desk.

“That’s good enough for me,” he stated. “Listen, I have to get back to practice. I’ll call you when we’re on break.”

“Okay,” she sighed. She was about to hang up when he spoke once more.

“I love you, princess.” He said it so softly that she had to press the phone to her ear. But before she could muster up a response, he had ended the call.

Kyuhyun stared at his phone, which he clutched tightly. He sent her roses, was the only thought going through his head. He sent her roses. Smirking, he leaned back on the wall. He was seated on the floor outside of the practice room. He rested his arms on his propped up knees and closed his eyes. He wondered how he was ever going to compete with someone who was a big part of Jin Ri’s life, one who seems to have left, but never actually did. 


“Hi Jinnie!”

Jin Ri nearly dropped the wine glass that she was holding as soon as she heard his voice. She placed the glass on a nearby table and hurriedly turned around, the skirt of her dress making a soft swishing sound.

“Shin Jae.”

“How have you been?” he asked, giving her a smile that she knew all too well, one that she realized she missed.

He seemed to have grown taller. She’d always been half a head shorter than him, but now it seemed that he was a head taller. His eyes seemed to have darkened, covered by black frames. His dark hair, which looked like the same as the last time she saw him, was cut somewhat shorter. He still looked handsome.

“Sorry, I surprised you, didn’t I?” he asked a different question.

She smiled a bit uncertainly. “What are you doing here?”

“Jong Min’s a friend from university in Europe,” he explained, referring to the groom, who was currently dancing with his bride. “I thought Min Jung and you talked.” He glanced up at the mentioned female, who was chatting up some other acquaintances.

“Are you back in Korea for good?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes,” he answered, nodding. “I’ve done what I needed to do over there. I’m back.” He stopped talking and looked into her eyes as if searching for something. “Jinnie—.”

“Kyuhyun’s my boyfriend,” she blurted out, interrupting him. “The one who just sang.” She gestured behind her, where said boyfriend was conversing with the bride and groom.

At the moment that Shin Jae looked up, Kyuhyun turned and met his eyes. The two males stared at each other for a couple of seconds before Shin Jae snickered a little and turned his attention back to Jin Ri.

“You don’t have to rub it in my face,” he told her, giving her a small smile. “I’ve known about him since you started seeing him.” He took a step towards her and reached for her wrist. “I may have been gone for two years, but nothing’s changed.”

“Shin Jae—.”

“My feelings for you haven’t changed,” he stated, ignoring her. Looking into her eyes, he pressed, “I’m going to get you back.”

“Stop it,” she hissed, glancing around and removing her wrist from his grasp. “There’s nothing to get back because I was never yours to begin with.”

“Jinnie, I know—,” he started again.

“And stop calling me Jinnie,” she snapped. “I’m not Jinnie anymore.”

Shin Jae opened his mouth to retort when Kyuhyun arrived. He immediately held his girlfriend’s hand and squeezed it.

“Everything okay here?” Kyuhyun asked innocently. He’d been watching their exchange from afar and he knew that things were getting heated. He kissed the side of her head then turned to Shin Jae. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Kyuhyun.” He reached out a hand to shake his.

“Shin Jae,” Shin Jae politely introduced himself, shaking his hand. “It’s nice to finally meet Jinnie’s boyfriend.” The way he said ‘boyfriend’ made both of them confused. “You sang well, by the way.”

“Thanks,” was Kyuhyun’s abrupt answer. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“I hope they’re all good things,” Shin Jae joked.

“Not all,” Kyuhyun seriously replied.

“Honesty is the best policy,” Shin Jae commented without missing a beat. “You know how secrets tend to disintegrate relationships.”

“I do,” Kyuhyun agreed at once. “That’s why we don’t keep secrets.”

Shin Jae merely stared at Kyuhyun for a moment, as if assessing him, as if deciding whether to say something more or not. But then he looked at Jin Ri instead and smiled at her. Before he could say anything, however, she beat him to it.

“I’m thirsty,” she announced, looking up at Kyuhyun. “Want to go with me?” She turned to Shin Jae when Kyuhyun nodded. “It’s really nice to see you again, but we’ll have to go.” Smiling, she tugged on Kyuhyun’s arm and led him away from him.

“So that’s him,” Kyuhyun said as Jin Ri took a sip of water.

“That’s him,” she echoed, watching her boyfriend carefully. “I really didn’t know that he was going to be here.”

“I’m guessing he has something to do with whatever your father talked to you about,” he responded.

“Kyu,” she earnestly began.

“C’mon,” he interrupted her firmly. “Na Young’s been wanting to talk to you.”


Jin Ri gently massaged her temple as she thought back on what happened during the wedding. She really hadn’t intended Kyuhyun to meet Shin Jae that way if she ever intended for them to meet at all. All of a sudden, Shin Jae was there and then Kyuhyun was there, her past and present meeting each other. It gave a cold feeling down her spine. Closing her eyes, she softly sang to herself.

“Even if harsh winds
Blow upon us,
We, two people,
Will pass those hard times together.”


-----
Song used: Two People by Sung Si Kyung; also sung by Kyuhyun at a wedding.