"But I love her!"

Taekwoon screamed in frustration over the phone, but your father couldn't care less about how desperate he sounded. He never cared about Taekwoon's feelings, so why should he care now especially that it involves you?

"I don't care! Leave my daughter alone!"

"Please sir!"

Taekwoon begged and begged, to no avail.

"If she's not home in 10 minutes I'm calling the police, do you hear me?"

Your father yelled before hanging up on Taekwoon. You couldn't believe your ears, nor your eyes. The calm Taekwoon suddenly transformed into a vigorous man as he told your father he's with you and that he's not going to give up on you even if he kills him. You held into his arm when you heard your father scream and curse at him. But Taekwoon remained strong as he asked him to stop preventing you from seeing each other, declaring his love and begging for his approval. Your father ended the call with a threat and you were soon begging Taekwoon to take you home.

You knew your father too well to understand what he's capable of, so you urged Taekwoon to let you go home. He insisted to drive you home himself and you followed him reluctantly.

"What did you do that for? He could harm you, he could... he could..."

You said as you put the seatbelt on before turning to look at Taekwoon.

"Do you want to be with me?"

He asked as his eyes were fixed on the road ahead of him. His tone was sharp yet cautious. You stared at him in disbelief. What kind of a question is that? You answered:

"Of course I do!"

"Will you endure the life I'm living?"

He asked again. You were puzzled by his questions yet you answered:

"I'd endure anything with you!"

You couldn't understand the purpose behind his questions. He paused for a couple of seconds, increasing your bewilderment. After what felt like forever, he took a deep breath and then asked:

"Will you marry me?"

Your jaw dropped as you stared at him, dazed, eyes wide open in surprise. Your heart started hammering in your chest and your breathing hitched. Is he being serious? After all these threats? He knew exactly what your father could do to him for simply taking you out, and he was definitely aware of the consequences of such a marriage.

Despite your initial shock, you parted your lips and mouthed your answer:

"Yes."

He bit his lower lip as a smile found its way into his face.

"That was very quick."

A light shade of red crept into your cheeks as you fiddled with your fingers before saying:

"I don't need to think about this. I know what I want."

"But I want you to think. I want you to consider everything."

He glanced at you quickly before turning to look at the road in front of him.

"Then maybe I should think?"

You said teasingly and he giggled.

"Yes, you should. But you're not allowed to change your answer."

He said as he pulled over in front of your house. As soon as he turned the engine off you pulled yourself up and cupped his face as you pulled it closer to yours. Your lips landed on his and he placed his hands on your cheeks, tilting his head to the side and deepening the kiss. When you pulled out, you stared right into his eyes as you whispered:

"I won't."

He held your hands in his, printed a kiss on the back of both hands and then said:

"Ready for the last fight?"

You nodded before getting out of the car and walking toward the entrance of the family's house, your hand in his, ready to go through anything for each other.

You let out a scream when your father's hand landed across Taekwoon's cheek with a loud crack, leaving red marks on his skin. Servants gathered around the kitchen door when they heard yells coming from the living room. They never thought they'd witness this moment. They all knew how much Taekwoon cared for you. Most of them were there when you were caught kissing in the tree house, and what happened that day remained in their memories until you came back. They wondered if you'd remember Taekwoon, but they never thought you'd fall for him all over again. Witnessing this moment was both joyful and painful. They sympathized with Taekwoon, knowing his heart was still captivated by you, but they were aware of the obstacles that would prevent you from being his.

Taekwoon swallowed hard before looking at your father and repeating his request.

"I want to marry your daughter."

Your father slapped him again. You cried out as you stood between the two of them, preventing your father from lunging at him. Your father looked at you with pure fury in his eyes before turning to look at Taekwoon as he yelled:

"How dare you? How dare you come to my house and... and ask me to give you my daughter... the daughter of your masters..."

"Stop!"

You yelled, pressing a hand to your throat. Your father stared at you in shock.

"Is this how I raised you? Is this how..."

"Please just stop! Would you listen to me? For once!"

Nana approached your father and placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at her when she gave his shoulder a light squeeze and gave him a tiny nod. You turned to look at Taekwoon and touched his cheek that was slowly turning pink from being slapped twice. He smiled at you, a tiny smile that only you could see and whispered:

"It's okay."

You patted his cheek gently as you whispered back:

"I'm sorry."

You then turned around to look at your father who seemed very irritated by your slightest signs of affection toward Taekwoon.

"Dad, Nana. You know how much I love you."

Your father rolled his eyes and then glared at Taekwoon who was standing behind you, holding your hand in his.

"I do love you. Everything I've done in my life was to please you, to make you proud. But... this is my life. I'm not a kid anymore."

"This doesn't change anything."

Nana interfered, apparently as displeased as your father was.

"As a member of this family you need to understand that what you're doing is unacceptable."

"Why?"

You asked in woe.

"Because he is not fit for this family and he will never be."

She said as she pointed at Taekwoon who remained silent, allowing you to fight your own fight.

"But I love him."

You cried out. Taekwoon tightened his hold around your hand and you turned around to look at him.

"I love him so much. I've never been happier."

"This is rubbish."

Your father stood up and glared at you.

"I wanted you to marry a man whom I can introduce as my daughter's husband. I chose the best men for you but you refused them all."

This was the last straw, you thought to yourself. Your father was never aware of all the heartbreak you went through ever since you came back home. He knew nothing about the sleepless nights, the endless tears, the humiliation. Absolutely nothing.

"I did not refuse them, they all dumped me."

Your father and Nana exchanged looks and then gawked at you. Taekwoon wrapped his arm around your shoulder as you said:

"They all did. Yoongi dumped me when he was reunited with his girlfriend. Hongbin asked me out to tell me that he only likes me as a friend. And... and that stupid guy you forced me to meet today was trying to touch me up as soon as you left. If it wasn't for Taekwoon I would have punched him in the face. They were all forced to meet me and none of them wanted to be with me. Do you know how that made me feel? It made me feel unwanted. It made me miserable."

Tears were freely rolling down your face when you felt Taekwoon squeezing his hold around your shoulder. Turning to look at him, he whispered:

"Please don't cry."

He let his thumbs wipe your tears away before pulling you in his arms and patting your back. He kissed the top of your head among disapproving stares from your father while the servants had sad smiles creeping into their faces.

You pulled out and turned to look at your father as you said:

"But he loved me. He made me feel happy."

"Honey, we want you to be happy, we don't want to see you living a miserable life but... but you're making a big mistake."

Nana said, her tone softening when she saw your tears. Your father nodded and then said, with a frown on his temple:

"It's a huge mistake. End this relationship now and I promise I won't force you into anything."

You sighed in despair and held Taekwoon's hand in yours tightly before saying:

"You don't understand. I'm not ending anything. We're getting married."

Your father glowered at you and then grabbed your arm aggressively as he yelled:

"Are you... are you pregnant?"

You struggled to pull your arm out of his hold as you yelped in pain. He tightened his hold around your wrist as he said:

"Answer me!"

Taekwoon couldn't bear seeing you like that, and even though you asked him to stay out of it, he placed his hand on your father's before saying:

"Sir please, let go of her arm."

Your father let go of your arm and grabbed Taekwoon by the shirt collar, looking at his face.

"You! What have you done to her? Did you brainwash her? Isn't it enough that we had to live our lives away from our family because of you?"

"Let him go! He had nothing to do with that!"

You said as you urged your father to let go of Taekwoon.

"If he didn't cross his lines and dare to do what he did we wouldn't have left!"

Your father yelled.

"He didn't do anything! It was all your fault!"

You yelled, your heart pounding in your chest. Your father let go of Taekwoon's shirt as he turned around to look at you. You were breathing heavily as you added:

"You killed my mother and took me away from home because of your fake arrogance."

It was after you said what you said that you realized your mistake. I shouldn't have brought up my mother's death, you thought to yourself when you saw tears rolling down Nana's face and a shocked expression written all over your father's. Your father collapsed on the sofa, his eyes fixed on the floor, tears welling up in his eyes and threatening to fall at any second. You bit your lower lip in regret and clenched your fists before kneeling down in front of him and placing your hands on his knees as you said:

"Dad, I'm sorry, I didn't mean what I said."

"Get out!"

He lifted his head up and looked at you before looking at Taekwoon.

"Get out of my house! Both of you! Get out!"

Taekwoon pulled you up when your father raised his hand and threatened to slap you across the cheek. You looked at Nana but she remained silent as she turned to comfort your father.

"I... I'm so sorry... you left me no choice. I was really hoping you'd understand me."

Taekwoon wrapped his arm around your middle and pulled you into his embrace as he walked you outside the house and toward his car. The servants retreated into the kitchen, wondering if they'll ever see you in this house again.

You went back with Taekwoon to his apartment. As soon as you arrived, you ran toward the bathroom, locking yourself inside and crying your heart out. You were really hoping they'd understand how much you and Taekwoon loved each other. You wanted them to know that he was the only person who could make you happy. You wished you could be with him without losing your family, but it seemed impossible after what happened. You let out a sigh. It's either Taekwoon or your family, but at this point you knew you won't hesitate a second before choosing to be with him.

You washed your face and walked out of the bathroom to find Taekwoon waiting for you outside the door. He took you in his arms as soon as you stepped out and held you tight, hands rubbing your back gently as he buried his face in the crook of your neck. Sobbing and holding him tightly, you couldn't stop thinking of everything your father said. How could he link my happiness with his social status?

When your sobs ceased a few minutes later, you withdrew and looked at Taekwoon's face. He took your face in his hands and then said:

"I'm so sorry. Please don't cry."

"Why do you care about me more than my own father does?"

You buried your face in his chest as you sobbed again. He your hair and patted your back gently. He couldn't think of anything to say to comfort you. He was blaming himself for everything. If he didn't pursue his old love to you, if he didn't open up about his feelings to you, then you wouldn't have been this miserable. Instead of keeping it to himself, he said:

"This is all my fault. I knew they would never approve of us and I still confessed everything to you. If I had kept my distance..."

"No!"

You pulled out and looked at him. You cupped his face between your palms before saying:

"It's not your fault. This is not a mistake. I just..."

You dropped your hands to your sides before adding:

"I just wanted to be happy. I wanted us to be happy, all of us. Why is that so difficult?"

You said and then smiled bitterly.

"I sound ridiculous. I knew from the very beginning that they won't be so excited about this, about us."

"Do you want to go back?"

Taekwoon asked as he watched you take a few steps toward the couch before sitting down staring at the floor. You darted your head up and looked at him:

"No! What makes you think I want to go back? Taekwoon, I'm not 12 anymore. This is not just about you, this is about me. I don't want to live like that anymore. I've said yes so many times. It's about time I say no."

He knelt in front of you, put his hands on your knees and looked into your eyes as he said:

"Then let's give them some time. I'm sure they'll get over it when they see how happy we make each other. Okay?"

You smiled at him, placed your hand on his cheek as you said:

"I really hope so."

You held his hand and stood up together as you said:

"You must be tired. This has been a very long night."

"Are you taking my bed again?"

You smiled.

"Should I move my bed here then?"

He stared at you lovingly before pulling you into his arms:

"No. I'll give you my bed if you agree to squeeze next me. But I have to warn you, my lips might fall on yours and my hands... my hands might go places."

You hit his chest playfully while a light shade of pink crept into your cheeks. He pulled you tighter before kissing the top of your head. He pulled out and looked at you as he said:

"Shall we go to bed?"

After a long night of cuddling with Taekwoon and sleeping in his t-shirt, you had to go back home. You were planning to sneak into your room and pack the necessities, but Hakyeon caught you on your way to your room.

"Where have you been? Did you spend the night with Taekwoon?"

He asked, worry apparent in his tone. You looked at him with a bitter smile as you said:

"I had to. My dad kicked me out of the house."

His jaw dropped as he stared at you in disbelief. He couldn't find you when he came back home last night and nobody told him of anything that happened while he was away. Nana and your father had warned the maids against speaking of what happened to anybody, including Hakyeon.

"What? Why?"

"Let's go to my room and I'll tell you everything."

He followed you to your room before entering and closing the door behind him. You both sat on the edge of your bed. You took a deep breath before narrating the events of last night to him and watched him listen to you with a shocked expression written all over his face.

"This doesn't sound real. Are you sure this isn't one of your weird dreams?"

"I'm telling you, he kicked us both out. I'm here to pack my stuff and leave."

"Where are you going?"

He pulled your arm when you stood up to grab your suitcase.

"I'm moving in with Taekwoon."

"You're kidding, right? Are you telling me you're leaving all this to be with him?"

You could hear the sarcastic tone in his question so you turned to look at him as you said:

"Yes. I'm leaving all this fake happiness to be with the man I truly love."

You pulled your arm out of his hold as you grabbed your suitcase and placed it on your bed before opening the cupboard. He tried to stop you as he said:

"This won't last. I'm telling you. You'll soon see how different his life is, how different everything is from the image you have in your head."

You put a few pieces of clothing in your bag before looking at him and saying:

"I know. I'm not a teenager and I've been through a lot to know life isn't like we imagine it to be. But this is what I want. I want to be with him. I want to live a simple life without worrying about what people think of me. I want to live my life without worrying about people judging my choice of food or clothing."

He let out a sigh and you turned to look for your shoes.

"Well, just make sure he makes you happy enough to endure it all. And if anything goes wrong, you know I'm here for you."

You stared at him for a second. He can be very sarcastic and bitter sometimes but you knew he was the only one in this house who cared about your well being. You walked towards him and threw your arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around your body and hugged you tightly. You whispered:

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

He offered to help you with your suitcase. You followed him downstairs and snuck out of the kitchen door to where a taxi was waiting.

"Are you sure about this?"

He asked you again as he carried your bag into the trunk of the taxi.

"I am."

He pulled you into his arms as he said:

"Then Taekwoon beat me again. That jerk. Tell him I will avenge myself one day."

You giggled as you struggled to hold your tears. You pulled out of his hold, pecked his cheek before saying:

"I'll tell him."

He smiled.

"Take care."

You got into the taxi, waved at him and bid home farewell.