Dara's heart lodged in . She stared at Jiyong. He was leaving and it wasn't even midnight on their wedding night! How would that look? He couldn't go. Her uncle would know something was wrong right away.

"Go get in my bed." She whispered.

"And take off your shirt or pull the blankets up to your neck or something."

He paused. "What about you? If this were a real marriage, you wouldn't be dressed either."

She glanced down. She was wearing her same outfit she had on when they'd visited her uncle. That would definitely appear strange.

"Hurry." She said as they both dashed down the hall.

Jiyong peeled off his shirt. His shoes thumped on her bedroom floor almost at the same time he landed on her bed. Dara ducked into the privacy of her closet, stripped and pulled on her thigh-length summer bathrobe.

The pounding outside continued.

"Please, Dara. I know it's your wedding night, but I have to talk to you." Her uncle's muffled voice called from outside.

"Coming." She hollered, forgetting to sound the least bit tired.

"Damn!" She cursed to herself.

"He's going to know. He can't know."

She headed out of the room, but Jiyong called her back. Meeting her halfway, he pulled the pins from her hair and ran his fingers through it, purposely messing it up.

"That's more like it." He said with a wicked grin.

"I'm not so tame that your fancy hairdo would have survived, that I am not."

Dara didn't have time to respond. She darted down the hall just about the time her uncle found the key under the mat and started letting himself in. Slowing to a walk, she tried to look sleep-tousled, which was difficult with so much caffeine and adrenaline pumping through her body.

"Uncle Lee?" She asked as if she hadn't known it was him from the first knock.

Her uncle entered the living room caring a suitcase half as big as he was. How long did he plan to stay?

"I had to come." He said simply, setting his luggage down in the middle of the floor.

"I'm sorry, Dara. I've done a lot of thinking today and…and you're right. I haven't been there for you like I should have been. I was hiding from reality, closing my eyes and hoping Sanghyun's cancer would go away." His voice quivered with tears.

"I'm getting old Dara, and I just can't face another tragedy-not when it means we might lose Sanghyun. He's the last that carries the Park name."

"Oh Uncle Lee."Dara embraced him.

"I'm sorry too. You were probably doing the best you could. I just don't have any reserves right now. And you have helped me a great deal, in many ways."

The old man sniffed and passed a wrinkled hand over his wet eyes.

"Don't worry about the money I paid for your rent. That's not the issue here. I'm your only family and that's what family is for. I'm just glad I had it to send. Besides, now that you have a husband to help you, we won't have to worry about that anymore."

Another ramification of her bogus marriage.

Dara couldn't help but wonder how many more there would be. But she didn't want her uncle's help anymore anyways. Almost from the day she turned eighteen and got out of high school, she had taken care of herself and liked it that way. After school was out, she'd been able to continue with her medical transcription, in Sanghyun's hospital room if necessary, and make enough to squeak by. Several of her old clients were already calling to see when she'd be able to start again. Her med school work made her particularly good at deciphering the names of drugs and details of treatment.

"Where's Jiyong?" Her uncle asked.

"I feel terrible dropping in on you like this."

"He doesn't mind. He's already asleep."

"Uncle Lee, is that you?" Jiyongcame padding down the hall, wearing one of Dara's robes, which was stretched taut across his wide shoulders. The ends couldn't meet until it reached his waist, and judging from the muscled calves extending below the purple fuzzy fabric, he had on little else.

Dara blinked at him in surprise.

"I was just telling my uncle that you were asleep. There's no need to wake up, babe. You can talk to him in the morning."

"Wouldn't want him to think I'm antisocial." He said, giving the doctor a bow and then a hug.

"I'm glad you came uncle. Is this your luggage? Do you want me to take it into the spare room?"

"If you don't mind me staying for a few days."

Only Dara would have notice the slight hesitation before Jiyong's response.

"Of course not. We don't mind, do we honey?"

Dara forced a smile.

"Of course not."

"Did you hear that?" Her uncle whispered and he visibly fought tears as Jiyong picked up his suitcase.

"He called me his uncle…twice!"

"That's what you asked him to call you." Dara mumbled.

"Don't take it personally."

"What?" Her uncle asked.

"I said he's very personable."

"Oh."

The puzzled look on his face cleared.

"I'm so glad you've found him, he seems wonderful Dara, just perfect for you."

‘That's unfortunate.’Dara thought.

‘Because he might not make it until morning.At least not if I'm strong enough to strangle him.’

"You've got to be tired uncleLee. It's late. Why don't you turn in? We can talk in the morning."

"I am tired." Lee admitted.

"And I want to get up early to see Sanghyun."

Dara gave her uncle another quick hug.

"Thanks for coming; it means a lot to me."

Her uncle followed Jiyong into the guest room. Their voices were too low for Dara to hear what they were saying, but she didn't move any closer. She didn't want to know. She stood in the living room, staring at nothing, waiting for the house to fall quiet. Then she crept back down the hall to find Jiyong sitting on the corner of her bed.

"What now?" He whispered when she'd closed the door.

"What now?" She echoed, propping her hands on her hips so she could glare at him properly.

"What do you think you were doing calling him Uncle?"

"He just told me to. I was trying to play the part, make it believable, that I was."

"There wasn't any need for you to say anything. I had it all under control."

"I didn't want him to think I resented him coming here. He'd think you married a jerk."

"So what? You're leaving in nine months!"

"Why make enemies if I don't have to?"

"Why not? You're going to tell your family that I ran out on you and our baby. Nothing could make me look worse!"

“But you'll be gone by then, and you'll never have to see them again."

"That's supposed to make me feel better? You'll never see my uncle again."

He scowled.

 "Yes…no. I don't know. I didn't really take the time to analyze it. I just think it's worth the extra effort to make thing pleasant while we're together. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"No."

Dara closed her eyes and took a calming breath. It wasn't as though Jiyong had committed the unpardonable sin. He'd been a little overzealous, that's all. She just had a hard time with the deception, especially where her uncle was concerned. By nature, she was honest and forthright, an open book.

But if she divulged what they were really doing, her uncle would try and talk her out of it, or worse, give her the go-ahead and then feel partially responsible for the decision. The lie spared Lee that. It was actually a kindness. And, like Jiyong had said, there wasn't any reason things had to be unpleasant.

"I guess I'm just tired." She said.

She look at the fuzzy bathrobe he was wearing and started to laugh.

He followed her gaze.

"It was all I could find, that it was" He said defensively.

"Which was probably your first clue that you should have stayed in bed."

"I think we've already established that. The question is, what do we do now? I mean, your uncle is going to find it strange if I go home tonight."

"Which is exactly why you're not going anywhere."

He eyed the bed.

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

"I'm not suggesting anything. This sham of a marriage was your idea, and now we're stuck, so play your part, as you put it, and get into bed, hubby."

He rubbed his lip with one