In the past 26 years, Kim Soeun had never faced rejection. From kindergarten when she would receive picked-up flowers and chocolates on Valentine's Day, to adulthood when she started receiving emotional confessions, bouquets and jewelry on White Day, Soeun had always been very popular among the male species.

Her excpetional beauty, her small and full figure, and her spunky personality, had boys turning and running after her. She was an ideal type but she had never taken that to her advantage. Soeun would always let guys know their place very early on in their relatoinship, before anybody got too invested in her. Friend-zoning men had become her specialty.

It was rare to find somoene crushing on her, and Soeun returning that guy's feelings. Usually if she liked someone, she would do the chasing and not the other way around. 

But then in 2014, she met a guy named Song Jaerim who had monolids, broad shoulders, and a beautiful smile but when it came to his personality, he was far from her ideal type. He was dorky and childish when she wanted him to take her seriously, he was a skinship craze when she wanted was to take things slowly. He was after her lips, but she got flutters from simply interlocking fingers with him. 

He was also an an odd one, who hardly contacted her otuside of their virtual marriage, and she began thinking that maybe he was simply not interested in her in reality. A few months later, she came to realize that it was the exact opposite. The man she thought had no feelings for her, was very much in love with her. Thus, she decided to let herself fall for him without fear. She let him chase her, to see to what extent he loved her, and as the days of virtual marriage went by, Soeun realized that Jaerim would do almost anything for her, from facing his fears and doing things he hated, to protecting her and always saying good things about her. 

Soeun was touched, and before she knew it, she had fallen as well to the point of no return. So when the day came and they were forced to end their virtual marriage, Soeun decided that she would confess. He loved her, she loved him. Nothing would go wrong.

But it did. 

"Date me," she said after planting a kiss on his cheek. 

His once emotional expression, had transitioned into that of shock and Soeun waited patientlly for his reponse. She watched his eyes soften and he began leaning down, and Soeun expectantly closed her eyes. 

She then heard a devastating sigh. 

"I can't."

Soeun opened her eyes immediately, hoping that the words she had just heard were a lie. 

She waited for him to speak but he kept his gaze down. 

"I can't, Soeun-ah."

She didn't realize that she was crying until she heard her shaky voice saying: "Why not?"

"I won't be able to love you the way you want me to."

These words, she never expected to hear from him. Soeun knew damn well that he was capable of giving love to her. Song Jaerim was the epitome of a loving man.

"My career is my first priority. Making money, achieving success, reaching my goals, that's my focus. I know my work ethics and I know you'll fade into the background. You won't be happy with me."

Soeun was crying, out of anger. If this was his lame excuse for not being able to date her, then she was not going to waste her time telling him how wrong he was. 

"Fine." Her eyes were filled with tears but she didn't dare look at him.

She was so close yet so far, and the more he blamed himself, the more Soeun felt further.

"Let's still be friends for now," he said as he began reaching for her cheek to wipe her tears away.

He slid his thumb across her cheek, the moisture transferring to his skin, and Soeun's lip started quivering.

Facing him one last time, she gave him a painful smile, and said: "I wish you the best in your future endeavors and a lot of success and happiness."

She then turned her back on him and ran into her family's home, leaving Jaerim alone in the darkness of the night. His hand was still mid-way in the air, his palm curled to fit Soeun's cheek. Jaerim blinked and then blinked again to push back the liquid in his eyes. 

It was better this way, for her. He was doing this for her happiness, he told himself.

Jaerim did not go straight home that night. Instead, he went to the nearest bar, and drank. He tasted the bitterness of alcohol, and tasted the sourness of his tears.

⊱✿ ✿⊰

Soeun's heartbreak over Jaerim lasted 6 months. She would never admit it to anyone that she cried over him for weeks on end. The memories with him became very painful and day after day, she realized she was a very emotional woman. The strength she once believed she had, had dissipated after meeting this man. In those 6 months, she cried more than she ever had in her entire life. 

Jaerim had contacted her a couple of times after their virtual marriage ended, asking if she was okay and that he really did love her. At first she didn't bother replying to him. He texted and called her for a month, until she finally replied and told him she was 100% fine and very, very happy. She lied, and Jaerim who knew Soeun too well, was aware of that too, but he didn't question her further. 

A month later, Soeun came running on set to find a food truck delivered by Jaerim for the cast of "The Scholar who Walks the Night."

Lee Junki handed her coffee from the cart and as he passed by her, he whispered into her ear, "Seems like he's still into you."

Soeun smiled, but inside she was breaking. Jaerim was a man who had never even been her boyfriend, but had given her more love, respect and protection than any of her past boyfriends. Everyone loved him for it, she loved him for it, but she knew that to him, she would always be second to his career. Although she was willing to comprise and live with that, he couldn't. Soeun took the coffee and the delicately packed cookie with her face sticker pasted on it. She went to the farthest corner away from the set, and began crying. 

Three months later, he texted her to tell her he got the lead in KBS' next drama and that he would be playing a genius chaebol. She told him that she would cheer him on and watch his drama.  She didn't watch one episode of his drama. Watching him act with another woman, when he wasn't her's, made her feel worse inside than she already was. She promised to send him a food truck and she kept her promise as he was always on set. It was so very painful to look at the final product of the food truck, the banner which had him posing beside another woman, but she sent it off with a smile. This was his road to success, so she needed to be happy for him.

A month later, Soeun's drama ended and she spent two months doing nothing but staying in bed and reminiscing over her memories with Jaerim. Her sister, Somi, would come and bring her food to her room but she wouldn't eat. Soeun's mother fretted over her strong daughter who had become so vulnerable. She had followed her daughter's behavior throughout her virtual marriage and there was no denying that slowly but surely, Soeun had fallen in love with Jaerim. Mrs. Kim had once met Jaerim after she had recovered from her shoudler surgery, and was very touched to find him on the morning of her discharge, standing in the doorway of the hospital with flowers and a basket of fruit. Meeting Jaerim had left a very good impression on Mrs. Kim, and she believed him to be a very kind, gentle and caring man, who cherished her daughter endlessly. According to Soeun, however, he didn't love her enough to trust her when she said she would be happy with him.

Soeun's mother was still cheering for Jaerim to come into her daughter's life again, but Soeun's father was a different case.  Mr. Kim was not happy with how his daughter was emotionally and physically suffering over the man who had claimed to love her so much on their virtual marriage show. The Jaerim he had seen through the colours of the show, would not hesitate to protect Soeun, but it was because of him that she was hurting now. In Mr. Kim's eyes, Jaerim was running away from the person he wanted the most.

On the seventh month, Soeun finally got her act together and with soft, baby steps, she started socializing and going out with her girl friends again. Her eager and loving friends also introduced her to several new guys. Soeun found them all to be handsome and nice, but after a single meeting, Soeun ultimately friend-zoned them. Her friends' efforts to help her find love again were touching, but Soeun knew that it would be hard to move on.

⊱✿ ✿⊰

2 years later

It was the night of the 2017 MBC Drama Awards. Soeun had been the successful lead of a romantic comedy and was nominated for Best Actress. Jaerim was also nominated for Best Actor for his brilliant portrayal of a mental patient.

Soeun was stunning in a red, sequined, one shoulder gown that flared at the bottom, covering her six-inch heels. Donned with red lipstick, her eyelash extensions and lengthy black curls, Soeun was ready for a whole lot of stares from men. Jaerim on the other hand was dashingly handsome in a pressed tuxedo with a  white undershirt ruffled near the collar and a black bowtie around his neck. Over the years, he had let his hair grow a bit longer, up to his chin and had dyed it back to black. 

Upon entering the builidng, Soeun smiled as actresses congratulated her for her nomination and complimented her dress, and blushed as actors gave her a full look-over from top to bottom. After chit-chatting with close colleagues, she went to find the table designated for her drama cast. She found her seat and as she was pulling out her chair, her dress got caught under a man's dress shoes. Soeun glanced over and her heart stopped beating when she noticed Song Jaerim's monolids staring right into her eyes.

⊱✿ ✿⊰

A/N: There you have it. Solim's love story is about to begin. For Soeun's dress, I was inspired by Miranda Kerr's dress underneath and as for Jaerim's hair length and colour, please refer to this.