Six years ago…

Lee Mansion…

Lee Min Ho’s face was dark the moment he came out from his father’s study room. The thing that his father told him a while ago angered and disappointed him at the same time. He doesn’t want to believe what his father said but he knows it was a fact that he couldn’t ignore. Kim Soo Hyun was one of the reasons why he was anxious and wanted to marry Se Yeon so soon. He could feel her drifting away from him and Kim Soo Hyun is slowly replacing his place in her heart. If he wants to secure this relationship with her, he needs to act first and take her away from Kim So Hyun as soon as possible.

But even so, this marriage doesn’t seem to stop them from meeting each other. His father has been sending someone to follow them all these years to make sure they didn’t do anything crossing the line. He didn’t stop his father because there was a part of him that he knows he doesn’t trust his wife too. Is a relationship like this healthy? No, it’s not but his ego and pride was too stubborn to let her go.

Taking a sharp breath, he forced himself to stay calm and slowly walked back to his room.

“Don’t cry… I ask you not to cry. What do you want? Stop crying!”

Se Yeon’s frustrated voice and Hyun Jun’s crying sound echoed in his ears the moment he reached his room. Heaving an exaggerated sigh, he opened the door and walked inside.

Hyun Jun was standing in the baby crib, crying. His cheeks were covered with tears his voice has already turned hoarse. As for Se Yeon, she was sitting on the couch, facing her back at Hyun Jun and her face was covered with tears too. Clenching his hands tightly in fists, he turned around and walked back to the door.

“Ahjuhma!” He called out loudly.

“Yes, doryeon-nim.” Kang Chun Hwa ran to him after a while.

“Take Hyun Jun to the baby room. He has been crying since I came home.” He said coldly.

“Y-Yes, doryeon-nim.” Kang Chun Hwa quickly walked into the room and carried Hyun Jun in her arms. She stole a sideway glance at Se Yeon who was still crying and she shook her head. It was a mistake that her young master chose to marry at this young age. Both of them were not ready to be parents yet, especially Se Yeon.

After Kang Chun Hwa and Hyun Jun left the room, Min Ho locked the door and walked to his wife.

“Where did you go this afternoon?” Instead of comforting her, he asked her a question.

Se Yeon stopped sobbing as her eyes were widened slightly, shocked with what he asked. “I… I went out… to meet a friend.”

“A friend?” Min Ho chuckled softly. “I didn’t know you have any friend here.” He paused and inhaled sharply. “Did you go to see Kim Soo Hyun?”

Se Yeon bit her lip and tears continued to roll down her cheeks. “Yes… I went to see oppa. What is wrong with that? He is my… brother. Do I need any permission to meet my family? I’m not in a prison. I have my freedom to meet anyone I like.”

Min Ho shut his eyes for a brief second before opened it again and looked at her. His head is spinning since this morning and he thought he could at least get some rest at home. But right when he stepped into the house, another battle is waiting for him. He is tired… very tired.

At first, his mood was really bad after knowing that she went out to see her adopted brother but watching her crying like this, his heart softened and all his anger vanished at the same time.

He slowly walked to the couch, taking a seat beside her before pulling her into his arms. “I know you are lonely and you missed your family. I didn’t say you couldn’t go out to meet your family or your friends. But you should at least tell me first before you go out. You know abeoji doesn’t like you going out. If I know where you were, I could at least cover for you.”

Se Yeon didn’t say anything and just buried her face in his neck, continue to cry.

her hair tenderly, Min Ho kissed her forehead. “Don’t cry. Everything will get better.” He tried to convince her… and convince himself at the same time.

~~~~~

Present time…

Shin Hye held her breath and was totally shocked by what he just said. “She… she cheated on you?”

Min Ho let out a weak smile and nodded. “I’m sure you can understand now why I have serious trust issue and always being suspicious when I saw… you with another guy. I feel insecure.”

She heaved a deep sigh before she spoke again. “It must be very hard for you to be stuck in between your father and Se Yeon.”

“It was.” Min Ho pursed his lips, recalled back those days when his father was still alive and Se Yeon was still here. “After Se Yeon gave birth to Hyun Jun, my father wanted to do a paternity test to make sure the baby is mine.”

Shin Hye’s brows were furrowed as she looked at him in shock. “He thinks… Hyun Jun is not your son? How can it be possible? Hyun Jun looks just like a small version of you.”

Min Ho smiled and nodded. “Precisely. The very first time when I saw him, I have no doubts at all. Lee Hyun Jun is my son. I don’t need any test to prove that. And moreover, no matter how wilful Se Yeon was, I believe she will never do something like this to me.”

Shin Hye nodded. She believed that too. “What happened later?” She asked cautiously.

Min Ho let out a sad chuckle as he looked at Shin Hye. “Things didn’t get better and it just continue to get worse. After I confronted her about meeting Kim Soo Hyun, she never goes out anymore. I thought she started to understand but I was wrong. The situation became worse as time passed. Se Yeon started to ignore Hyun Jun and just locked herself alone in the room all day. Ahjuhma sensed something was wrong with her and alerted me. She thinks Se Yeon acted very strangely and obviously not herself anymore. I tried to talk to her but she just cried or just sits there without giving me any response. I started to worry that something might really be wrong with her. I brought her to the see a psychiatrist and the doctor confirmed that she was having a depression.”

Shin Hye gasped softly and her heart ached for them. “Hyun Jun was still so young and he needs a mother the most at that time. When something didn’t goes well to the adults, the child is always the victim.” 

Min Ho let out a long breathy sigh before he took her hand and pressed it against his chest. He needs her to feel how fast his heart was beating and how much it pained him to tell her the whole story again.

“From then onwards, ahjuhma took the responsibility to take care of Hyun Jun completely. I think Se Yeon was not fit to handle her job as a mother anymore at that time. She needs help and time to heal. I tried to lessen my workload and came home earlier to keep her accompanied. But after a month, there were still no improvement on her at all.” He said.

“Se Yeon isolated herself in the room, looked pale and weak and continued to lose weight. She just stay in the room, cried, spaced out and sleeps without doing anything or talks to anybody. She barely even touches her food. I was so worried of her.” He continued as his eyes were clouded with thick emotions.

“And then one night, when I came home after work, my heart was almost stop when I saw Se Yeon lying on the bed with so much blood covering her hand.” He inhaled a sharp breath and looked into her eyes. “There was a knife beside her. She cut her wrist and was trying to kill herself.” He added as his grip around her hand tightened.

~~~~~

“Se Yeon! Se Yeon!” Min Ho keep calling her name as he quickly took a cloth and wrapped around her wrist tightly to slow down the bleeding.

“Ahjuhma! Ahjuhma!” He shouted anxiously.

“Yes, doryeon-nim. What…” Kang Chun Hwa ran into the room and her sentence was cut off when she saw Se Yeon like that on the bed. “Oh my god. W-What… what happened to samo-nim?”

“Call the ambulance. Faster call the ambulance!” Min Ho shouted again.

~~~~~

“Min Ho, what happened to Se Yeon?” Si Wan rushed to the hospital right after he got a call from his friend. 

Min Ho turned to him and shook his head. “I don’t know. When I came home, she… she was laying on the bed… covered with blood. I think… she was trying to kill herself.”

“What?” Si Wan asked in shock as rage started to fill his eyes. “What did you do to her?” He asked again as he lunged forward and pinned him to the wall. “Se Yeon was still a happy girl before she married you. You promised me that you will take good care of her and will not make her cry. See what have you done now. If you don’t know how to take care of her, love her and cherish her, why did you fight with me in the past? You should just let her go. I can take care of her better than you.”

Min Ho gathered all his strength and pushed Si Wan away from him. He glared at him with a dangerous gaze. “I don’t cherish her? Then what is the reason I work so hard if I don’t cherish her? I want to give her and Hyun Jun a good life, a good future. I asked her to give me some time and I promised I would bring her and Hyun Jun away. I just need a little bit of time. What did I do wrong? I love her wholeheartedly. Everything I do is because I love her.” He paused and inhaled a sharp breath. “And you think she will run to you if I let her go?” He chuckled sarcastically. “Even if I let her go, it will never be you. She always has another option waiting for her. You will never be in the list, and you know it!”

Just when Si Wan wanted to lunge forward again, the doctor came out from the ER and stopped his action.

“May I know who is Jin Se Yeon’s family?” The doctor asked, looking at both of them

“I’m her husband.” Min Ho said as both of them quickly walked to the doctor.

“We already stopped the blood on her wrist and stitched up the wound. Nothing severe happen but she lost a lot of blood and we are giving her a blood infusion now. We will send her to the ward later and pass her case back to her psychiatrist. Her doctor will see you later.” The doctor explained.

“Thank you.” Min Ho said.

After the doctor left, he turned back to Si Wan and heaved a deep sigh. “I know you are angry with me. But trust me, I hate myself more than you could imagine.”

Si Wan exhaled a long breath and slowly calmed himself down. “I’m sorry. I… I was too worried just now. I know… this is not all your fault.” 

Min Ho let out a weak smile. “How can it not be my fault? I gave her so much pressure that makes her depress and I don’t even know about it. I always thought love was enough… but a relationship is never that easy. What I give… is not what she wants. And she wants… is not something that I could give.” He paused and looked at his friend. “Should I just… let her go?”

Si Wan held his gaze and let out another deep sigh.

~~~~~

Min Ho looked at Shin Hye and gently pulled her toward him, hugging her tightly in his arms. He was relieved that she didn’t push him away. He knows she was still angry but at least she was calm now and willing to listen to his explanation. He really needed her support and her warmth make his painful heart felt so much better.

“I never thought a calm and rational Si Wan oppa would lose his control too. He must be very angry at that time.” Shin Hye said softly.

“I was shock too. That was the first time Si Wan lost his temper and fought with me. We have never fight before since we were kids and that was the only time.” He said with a light smile. “He was so angry. But I understand that he was worried about Se Yeon. When it comes to her, both of us always lost our mind and couldn’t think properly.”

A slight jealousy sour her mood further but Shin Hye knows this is not the right time for being jealous. She pulled back a little and looked up at him. “What happened then? Why… why did you let her go?”

“Because I thought it was the best for her.” He said and his voice was almost painful to hear. “I was tired. I was very tired of seeing her cried and suffered being with me. If letting her go could make her smile again, I’ll give her back her freedom.”

~~~~~

Two weeks has passed since the incident and the doctor suggested Se Yeon to stay in the hospital for further monitoring. Her depression has not improved and it would be better for her to stay in the hospital with the doctor and nurses taking care of her.

And strangely after two weeks in the hospital, Se Yeon’s condition seems to get better and she started to respond to whatever Min Ho and Si Wan talked to her.

Si Wan thinks she was better because Min Ho was always there with her lately and she doesn’t need to face his father. And today, Si Wan suggested to give Se Yeon a surprise and went to visit her earlier in the afternoon. Min Ho agreed and cancelled his meeting to go to the hospital with him.

But before they could step inside, Se Yeon and another man’s voice was clearly heard outside the room. Both of them peeked inside through the small viewing window on the door and were stunned with what they saw.

Kim Soo Hyun was hugging Se Yeon tightly in his arms and his nose was buried in her hair. Se Yeon was crying and his hand was gently her back to comfort her. Their gesture doesn’t seem like they are siblings at all. It looks more like they are lovers.

“Oppa… please don’t go. Please don’t leave me.” Se Yeon cried.

“Then come with me. If you don’t want to be separated with me again, leave Lee Min Ho and come to Taiwan with me.” Soo Hyun said.

“I can’t… I can’t…” She continued to cry.

Si Wan turned to his friend and looked at him. He was quite surprise to see Min Ho being so calm. But he couldn’t stand it anymore. How can they do that to Min Ho? And without bothering to ask him first, Si Wan opened the door and walked inside angrily.

Se Yeon quickly pulled away from Soo Hyun the moment she saw Si Wan and Min Ho. “O-Oppa…”

“Bastard!” Si Wan wanted to lunge forward to punch Soo Hyun but Se Yeon quickly shielded in front of him. “No! Please don’t hurt Soo Hyun oppa.” She begged him nervously.

Si Wan widened his eyes and looked at Se Yeon in disbelief. “Don’t hurt him? But do you know both of you are hurting Min Ho? How long have you two being together? What is wrong with you Se Yeon? You have a husband. You have a son. How can you do this to them?”

Se Yeon cried hardly as she shifted her gaze to Min Ho. He was calm, expressionless but she could clearly see the pain in his eyes. “Oppa… I’m sorry. I… I couldn’t control myself…” She sobbed painfully. “But I don’t want to hurt you. I never thought of hurting you. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not her fault.” Soo Hyun cut in and pulled Se Yeon to stand behind him. “If you need to blame someone, then blame me. I fell in love with her the first time I saw her in the orphanage. I insisted to adopt her even my parents disagreed because I already love her at first sight. I know you were always there inside her heart. I don’t want to force her to make a choice. So I let her do whatever she wants and let her follow her heart as long as it makes her happy. I didn’t angry with her when she chose you. But what have you give her all this while? Except sadness and loneliness, what have you ever give her? I can’t stand seeing her like this anymore.” He paused and held Se Yeon’s hand tightly in his. “Please let her go.” He said, looking straight into Min Ho’s eyes. “That’s not love for locking her inside your birdcage. You don’t really love her. You just want to own her, possess her. You don’t even understand what she really wants. Being with you… it’s a torture to her.”  

Min Ho clenched his jaw, trying hard to control his emotions. Looking at them like this was a big shock for him and before he could even digest it, he was forced to make a decision to let the love of his life go. Wasn’t this a torture to him too?

Taking a deep breath, he moved his gaze back to Se Yeon. Ignoring Soo Hyun blocking in front of Se Yeon, he walked towards her and pulled her towards him. He moved his hands up to cup her face and looked deeply into her eyes.

“Se Yeon, look at me. Tell me… do you feel torture being with me?” He asked and his voice was almost painful to hear. He forced a light smile on his lips and caressed her cheeks when he saw the dilemma on her face. “Don’t worry that your answer will hurt me. I just want to know the truth and want you to be honest to me. You can tell me anything. I won’t hurt him.”

Se Yeon looked at Min Ho as tears continue to stream down her face uncontrollably. “Oppa… I’m sorry. I… I really can’t do this anymore. And… I really love Soo Hyun oppa.”

Min Ho felt as if something sharp stabbed through his heart and make it difficult for him to breathe. He is not sad because she was in love with another man or she want to leave him. He felt pain when he saw her crying like this and he was the cause of it. He should have listened to his father and all this will never happen. She will not suffer for so long and almost kill herself. Why didn’t she tell him earlier? If she does, he will let her go. All this while, since they were still in the orphanage, he just want to protect her and want her to be happy.

“Don’t cry.” He said softly as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. “It was my fault. I should be the one who say sorry to you.” Kim Soo Hyun was right. All this was not love. Forcing her to marry him was just a wa