Krystal’s Apartment…

Krystal opened the door, letting Shin Hye and Si Wan to step into her apartment as she followed behind them. After she closed the door, she quickly ran to the kitchen and took a cup of hot tea and handed to Shin Hye.

“I’m sorry to disturb you and make you come all the way back.” Shin Hye said apologetically as she took the cup and looked embarrassed.

Krystal shook her head and gave her a warm smile. When she received the call from Si Wan telling her that Shin Hye need to stay at her apartment for tonight, she was totally shocked. Although she didn’t ask why but she was sure it must have something to do with her boss’s flight changed.

“I-It’s okay. I stay alone anyway. But… I can’t stay for long. Its still working hours now and I need to rush back to the office.” She said before looking at Si Wan. “Oppa, can you stay here to take care of Shin Hye?”

Shin Hye quickly shook her head and cut in before Si Wan could reply. “No need. If you don’t mind, I’ll just stay here alone.”

Si Wan turned to her and insisted to stay with her. “I have nothing to do later. I can stay here with you.”

Shin Hye held his worried gaze for a moment before she let out a soft sigh and forced a smile on her face. “I know both of you are worried about me but I’m fine. I’m just tired and… I want to sleep.” She paused and looked into Si Wan’s eyes. “I just need some time to be alone. I don’t want to talk.”

“But you look very pale. Your face is as white as paper. Are you really okay? Do you want to see doctor? I think you should take a day off tomorrow.” Si Wan refused to leave her alone. He could imagine how much it has mentally tortured her since Se Yeon came back. She looked like she had not been sleeping for at least a week. It would be better for him to keep her accompanied.

Shin Hye sighed, slightly annoyed by his insistence. “I just don’t have enough sleep. I’ll be better after take a rest. There is an event in the school tomorrow that I have to attend.” She assured him with a weak smile. “Don’t worry. I’m fine. I just feel bad to bring so much trouble to both of you, especially Krystal. You have to come back from the office just to open the door for me.” She gave Krystal a gentle squeeze on her arm before looking back at Si Wan. “Si Wan oppa, please send Krystal back to the office.”

Si Wan and Krystal gazed at each other before heaving a deep sigh together. He turned back at Shin Hye and asked again. “Are you sure you are okay to be alone?”

“Yes.” She nodded tiredly.

Letting out another helpless sigh, Si Wan conceded defeat. “Okay. I’ll send Krystal back to the office now. Call me if you want to talk.”

Shin Hye smiled at him as she walked them to the door.

“Make yourself at home and do whatever you want. If you need anything, just call me and I’ll buy for you tonight.” Krystal said as she opened the door. “Don’t think too much, arasso?”

Shin Hye nodded with another smile. “I will. Thank you.”

After they left, Shin Hye closed the door and leaned against the wall as her tears finally rolled down her face again.

------------------------------------------------------------

DCM Corporation’s office… 

“She what? She want to stay in Krystal’s house tonight?” Min Ho almost jumped up of his chair as his eyes were glaring dangerously at his best friend.

“Yes.” Si Wan nodded.

“Then what are you doing here? You should stay there and talk to her, comfort her and knock some sense into her head. Make her understand and stop being angry at me.” Min Ho shouted angrily at him.

Si Wan held his murderous glare and heaved a deep sigh. “Do you think I don’t want to keep her accompanied? She insisted to stay there alone.” He paused and pressed his lips together. “Can’t you understand the reason why she doesn’t want to talk to me? I’m your friend; I’m also Se Yeon’s friend. Three of us grew up together and we are very close together. Even though I’ve never been with Se Yeon before but she knows how I felt for her in the past. It will be uncomfortable and awkward for her to talk anything bad about Se Yeon in front of me. She doesn’t want to put me in a difficult situation.” Si Wan looked away and sighed again. “I don’t want to push her too hard. The fight in your house just now was enough to overwhelm her. You didn’t see how pale she looked when we reached Krystal’s apartment. I thought she is going to faint when we reached the apartment.”

Pale? Faint? Min Ho in a sharp breath before he stood up and took his car key. “I’ll go to pick her up now.”

Si Wan looked back at him and trying to stop him. “Do you think she will listen to you and follow you to go home? You know how stubborn your wife is.”

“But if I just let her stay there, she will not come back. Have you forgotten that time when she went back to her parent’s house? Do you remember how hard for me to convince her to come back at that time?” Min Ho argued.

“If you go now, I can guarantee you that things will get even worse and both of you will ended up fighting again. You are hot temper and she is beyond stubborn. It’s just like earth crashed into mars and both of you will die together.” Si Wan warned him the consequences if he insists to go now.

Min Ho threw his car key to the table in frustration as he turned around to face the huge viewing window, trying hard to calm himself with his eyes closed. His chest heaving up and down with the shallow breaths he was taking, looking like he just ran a marathon.

“Please tell me all this is just a nightmare and I’m just dreaming.”

“Pity lamb.” Si Wan chuckled as he shook his head, not sure whether he should feel sympathy for him or laugh at him. “I already told you it’s very dangerous to put two lions in one den but you didn’t listen to me. Don’t say I didn’t warn you again. All this is just the beginning if you don’t send Se Yeon away as soon as possible.”

Min Ho let out an exaggerated sigh before he turned around and looked at Si Wan. “I just don’t get it. How the heck everything become like this in a sudden? They were still okay before I went to Japan.”

Si Wan shook his head and stared at him in disbelief. “Is there anything wrong with your brain? Do I need to remind you that woman is the most dangerous creature in the universe? How can you not expect things like this to happen when you put two of them together in the same house? One is your wife and one is your ex-wife. Do you expect them to be BFF and exchange information of how much they love the same man? Idiot!”

Min Ho became speechless and threw himself into the chair, doesn’t know what to say. He has to admit what Si Wan said was right. He was a total idiot for being insensitive and careless and believes that Shin Hye would not mind to stay under the same rood with Se Yeon.

“What I worried now is not Se Yeon. Jealousy can still be cured if you could prove yourself to her.” Si Wan paused and stared at Min Ho with a troubled gaze. “The thing I worried the most now is your son. Did you see how he glared at Shin Hye just now? This was the first time I see Hyun Jun shouted at Shin Hye. And you know how much Hyun Jun means to her. It will definitely break her heart.”

Min Ho closed his eyes again as his hand moved to his forehead and massaged his temples. His head felt like swollen and throbbing in pain. “That’s what worried me too. I was totally dumbfounded with the whole situation.” His eyes fluttered open and met Si Wan’s gaze again. “Hyun Jun love to have a brother. He always wanted to have one and I don’t understand why he suddenly change his mind.”

There was a moment of silence before Si Wan spoke again. “If you ask me, everything seems very strange. You are right. We all know how much Hyun Jun love Shin Hye and how much he loves to have a brother. What makes him change in a sudden? And about Shin Hye’s infertility problem. She accused you for telling Se Yeon. But you said you didn’t. Krystal doesn’t know Se Yeon and I definitely wouldn’t tell her about it too. How did she know about it?” Si Wan leaned closer and looked deeply into his eyes meaningfully. “Everything seems very well planned.”

A pang of discomfort washed over Min Ho as his heart raced tremendously. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Si Wan held his breath. “I mean… could it be… Se Yeon is the one who is behind all this?”

“Se Yeon?” Min Ho’s brows furrowed. “But… how could it be possible? Why does she want to do that?”

“Because of you.” Si Wan said with a snap. “Don’t let her sickness blinded your eyes. You know her. Although I hate to admit it but when she wanted something… sometimes she can be very… manipulative.” He paused as a faint memory slowly crossed his mind.

“Do you still remember back then, when we were in our junior high school, there was a stage play that Se Yeon wanted the lead role very badly. But the chance for her to get the role was very low because the teacher was biased with another girl. But she knows that the girl was very interested in you. In order to win, Se Yeon told her that you have feeling for her and said you will be waiting for her at the park after the school on the audition day. And because of that reason, the girl gave up the audition and Se Yeon got the role.” He leaned back against the chair and breathed deeply. “That was only one of many incidents that she used to get something by misleading her rivals. When she has set her eyes on something, no matter how hard, no matter what way she has to use, she will not give up. That was how she took Shin Hye’s hairband too.”

Min Ho’s eyes slowly grew wider as his breath turned heavier at the same time. “You mean… she was the one who caused all this? But… why?”

“I told you. She wants you back.”

“She had me but she was the one who gave up and chose Kim Soo Hyun. The one she love is Kim Soo Hyun, not me.” Min Ho disagreed and looked bewildered.

“But you are the best backup plan she have now.” Si Wan fought back. “Just like me. I was always her backup plan whenever things didn’t go well between two of you in the past. After she married you, Kim Soo Hyun becomes her backup plan when her marriage with you didn’t work out. And now, when things got worse between Kim Soo Hyun and her, you are the safest heaven for her.” He paused again and let out a long breathy sigh. “I hate to say it but… because her daughter was dead, Hyun Jun has become a replacement for her to heal her heart too. And Shin Hye will be the biggest hurdle for her to get both of you back. With your understanding about her, what do you think she will do?”

They were quiet for a long moment as Min Ho tried to think and replayed everything that had happened all this while. A deep sigh escaped his lips before he spoke again. “If your reasoning is true, then she is very successful. All of us fell into her trap. With Shin Hye’s personalities, she is definitely not Se Yeon’s match.”

Si Wan shrugged his shoulders. His mind was confused and clouded with a lot of questions too. “I don’t know. I don’t stay there with all of you and it’s unfair for me to judge. I didn’t want to think about her like that but after I heard what Krystal told me… something is very fishy and I couldn’t stop myself from thinking that way about her.”

Min Ho raised his brows, surprised with what Si Wan said. “Krystal? What did she say?”

“They went out for a drink yesterday and Shin Hye told her…” Si Wan began to tell Min Ho about the conversation Shin Hye had with Krystal in the coffee shop yesterday.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Lee Mansion…

The moment Min Ho stepped into the house, the first person he saw was Se Yeon. She was sitting in the living room and when she saw him, she quickly stood up and walked towards him.

“Oppa… you are finally back.” She said.

Min Ho faked a light smile, his mind was still clouded with what Si Wan told him this afternoon. “It’s late now. Why are you not sleeping yet?”

“I’m waiting for you.” She said again as her eyes were gazing him cautiously. “Where is Shin Hye? She is not home yet. She didn’t come back with you?”

“She will sleep in her friend’s house tonight.” Min Ho answered half-heartedly.

“She is still angry, isn’t she? It’s my fault. I’m so sorry.” She looked up at him with her teary eyes.

Min Ho studied her for a moment, trying to figure out whether she is just pretending or she is really sorry for what happened today. “It’s not your fault. Don’t worry. She will be okay. She just needs some time to be alone.” He spoke without showing his emotion.

Se Yeon held her gaze low as she bit her lower lip. “I hope she won’t be angry with you… and Hyun Jun for too long. Hyun Jun is just a kid. What he did this afternoon… it’s not his fault. He was just trying to protect me.”

“I was quite surprised with his reaction today. He has always been very close to Shin Hye and I couldn’t believe he will shout at her.” He continued to stare at her, slightly narrowed his gaze before he added. “Did you know that Shin Hye and Hyun Jun have a fight before I went to Japan?”

“Hyun Jun did mention about it.” She replied in a soft voice without looking at him.

“What did he say?” He asked.

“He said… he doesn’t want Shin Hye to get pregnant. He doesn’t like baby. And I think they fought because of that.” Her eyes were unsettled, moving around like she was trying to avoid his gaze.

“It’s weird. Hyun Jun wouldn’t be angry because of that. He knows Shin Hye have problem getting pregnant.” Min Ho lied, trying to test her reaction.

Se Yeon held her head up immediately, her eyes widening. “Hyun Jun knows about it already?”

“Already?” Min Ho tilted his head and stared at her sceptically. “You don’t seem to feel surprise that Shin Hye can’t get pregnant. Does it mean… you already know that Shin Hye have problem of getting pregnant too?”

Se Yeon was caught off guard by his question as her lips parted slightly. It was obvious that she is trying to find the right word to say but she could only reply with one word. “Y-Yes.”

“How do you know?” Min Ho asked further.

Se Yeon inhaled a deep breath as her eyes averted away again. “W-We… we were chatting the other day and we… talked about children. She… sort of telling me about it.”

“You mean… Shin Hye told you?” Min Ho raised his brows.

“Yes.”

Impossible! Shin Hye was very defensive over her infertility problem and she will not simply tell anybody, especially Se Yeon. She was so offended when she thought he told her. How can it be possible that Shin Hye told her about it? She was lying.

“I see.” He nodded; a pang of disappointment hit his chest. So everything Si Wan guess was right. Se Yeon might be the one who cause all this to happen. And her motive is to pull all of them apart.

Taking a deep breath, he forced a smile on his lips and met her eyes again. “It’s late now. I still have an early meeting tomorrow. I’ll go to take a shower and sleep. You sleep early too. Good night.”

“Good night.” Se Yeon slowly turned around and walked towards the stairs, leaving Min Ho standing at the living room, watching her from the back.

He has to do something before everything is too late. But no matter what she did, she is still Hyun Jun’s mother. With their relationship being so close now, he doesn’t want to hurt his son. He needs to be very careful this time and settle everything without hurting anybody anymore. And the first thing he needs to do now is to bring his wife back.

---------------------------------------------------------

Yongsan International Elementary School…

“Park seonsaeng-nim.”

Shin Hye quickly turned around when she heard someone called after her from the back. She let out a faint smile and nodded her head politely. “Kim seonsaeng-nim.”

“I was looking everywhere for you. The people from the fundraising campaign has just arrived.”

“Eo… I was actually on my way to your office to look for you.” Shin Hye said.

Kim seonsaeng stared at her for a moment before she stepped closer and asked in concern. “You look very tired. Are you okay?”

Shin Hye moved her hand to her cheeks and smiled embarrassedly. Does she really look that bad? Kim seonsaeng is not the first one who said she look tired for the past one week. Because of everything that happened lately, she lost appetite and didn’t have enough sleep. “I… I just didn’t sleep well last night. But no worries. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure you are okay to help out for the charity event later? You might need to stand at the booth for hours.” Kim seonsaeng asked again. “If you can’t… I can look for…”

“It’s okay.” Shin Hye cut her off with a kind smile. “I’m really fine. I can handle it.”

Kim seonsaeng nodded and let out a relief sigh. “That’s great then. The event is starting soon. I’ll introduce you to the people from the event. They are waiting at the open parking lot.”

“Okay.” Shin Hye walked together with Kim seonsaeng, heading towards the place where the campaign will be held later.

“Here they are.” Kim seonsaeng gently pulled Shin Hye towards one of the members and introduced him to her. “Hi, Mr Ok. This is our…”

“Taec Yeon oppa?” Shin Hye didn’t wait for Kim seonsaeng to finish her sentence and cut in with her eyes widened.

“You know Mr Ok?” Kim seonsaeng was surprised too as she glanced from Shin Hye to Taec Yeon and back to Shin Hye again.

Shin Hye smiled at the older woman and nodded. “Yes. He is my… I mean he was my senior in the university last time.”

“I see. What a coincidence.” Kim seonsaeng smiled at both of them. “Well, since both of you know each other… I’ll just leave you two alone. I’m sure both of you have a lot to catch up.” She turned to Taec Yeon and nodded politely. “I’ll go there and see if they need any help.” She excused herself and walked away.

After Kim seonsaeng left, there was a moment of awkward silence that neither of them dare to speak first. They just glanced at each other and don’t know what to say. After a while, Shin Hye couldn’t help it and let out a soft chuckle. “H-Hi… long time no see.” She broke the silence first.

“Yes… it has been… a year, right?” Taec Yeon smiled embarrassedly.

“About that I think.” Shin Hye nodded. “So… how are you? Why are you here in my school?”

“I’m good.” He rubbed his nape before he pointed at a group of people who was standing not far away from them. “I was here for a fundraising charity event.”

“You mean the animal awareness campaign, right? So… you are the person in-charged for the whole event?” She asked again.

Taec Yeon shook his head. “No, not me. I’m just here to help as a volunteer.”

“I see.” Shin Hye paused as she let out another chuckle. “But I didn’t know you like animals. I remembered you scream when you saw a stray cat last time.”

A burning blush suddenly covered Taec Yeon’s face and felt extremely embarrassed with the old and faded memory. “Don’t remind me.” He chuckled. “I never thought I’d be here too.”

Shin Hye laughed and was happy to see him again today. He looked… different. Compared to the last time when they met in the coffee shop about one year ago, he seems to change a lot. He is so much happier now.

“By the way, you look great.” She commented sincerely.

“Thank you.” A smile curled up his lips as his eyes scanned her from top to toe. The smile on his face slowly faded when their eyes locked at each other. “But I can’t say the same to you. You look tired and… pale. Are you okay?”

Shin Hye exhaled a deep sigh and bit her lip. “Why does everyone keep asking me the same question today? Do I really look that bad?”

Before Taec Yeon could reply her, someone walked to them and interrupted their conversation.

“Oppa.” Both Shin Hye and Taec Yeon turned to the voice and saw a beautiful girl standing behind them. She was around Shin Hye’s age and she looked breathtakingly beautiful. She looked elegant, calm and well mannered.

“You are here. I was looking everywhere for you.” She said in a gentle voice. She then turned to Shin Hye and nodded her head politely before looking back at Taec Yeon again. “This is…?”

“Let me introduce. This is my… friend, Park Shin Hye. She is teaching in this school and also one of the teachers who will be helping us in the campaign.” Taec Yeon introduced her to Shin Hye.

But the moment when Taec Yeon said her name, Shin Hye noticed a very slight changes on her face. Taec Yeon or his family must have mentioned about her before because looking at the slight reaction on her face, Shin Hye was quite sure that she heard her name before.

“And this is my… fiancée, Im Yoona. She is the one who is in-charged of the whole event.” Taec Yeon added as he smile