Waving his arms across the canvas, he continued leaving of paint on it, allowing himself to dab on more paint only when the scratchy sound of the dry paintbrush was heard against the canvas. He sighed as he stared at his sixth piece of work, throwing it at the foot of his chair once again, stacking it up against the previous five rejects.

He didn't know what to paint or who to paint. All he knew was that he was reaching out for dark shades of colours and when he drew a flower, it looked like a weed. When he drew the sky, it looked heavy casted. And when he drew the sea, the waves were high and ominous. He wasn't in the mood to paint and he knew it but he didn't want to stop.

If he stopped, his mind will be fully focused on what was coming up for dinner and that thought sickened him to the very core of his stomach. He had very harshly told Eunji off, telling her to return to her place at the reception when she kept going on and on about heading to the Yongs' office to... To do what?

Yoseob didn't even know. 

To slap the man on the face for giving up so easily? To holler at him to man up and not be so simply defeated? To tackle him and make him feel the pain that he was experiencing? 

What could he do? What was he supposed to do? What rights does he even have? Thinking about it, Junhyung and him never ever made anything official. Sure, they shared their feelings with one another, they did more things than any other couple would do, but... It was never something official. 

Even when both their identities were revealed, they never talked about their plans for them. Junhyung had said that he wanted to take Yoseob away from the Yoons and they will live together. At that moment, it had felt like a dream come true. Like his knight in shining amour had arrived, saving him from the dungeons. He snorted as he lightly kicked on the stack of discarded paintings. All those talks were so vague, there never was an officiation or at least a promise of it. He isn't a princess, he isn't a damsel in distress and he definitely isn't a girl. Who was he to claim Junhyung as his?

Yong Jun Hyung. The most eligible bachelor out there in Korea, CEO of an international listed company, hardworking, intelligent, resourceful, charming and influential. 

And Yang Yo Seob? The unknown, secret member of the Yoons, painter but only as a hobby, useless, simple-minded, lonely, socially awkward and absolutely ignorable. 

So who was he then, to feel this upset that Junhyung had to let him go for Hara? Sighing to himself, he thought of the day where he first met Junhyung. 

He had begged Doojoon to give him two hours away from the family as the week long trip was taking a severe toll on him. Every moment of traveling in the car were laden with either insults thrown at him or his parents or compliments and ideas for Hara to get the heart of the man whose family was the richest in Seoul even if the man hadn't set foot in the city for years. 

That day's lunch was exceedingly straining on him as they had very specifically warned him to never find his own happiness or they would do whatever it takes to destroy the source of his happiness. It started with a simple conversation of Hara boasting about her line of suitors and mocking Yoseob for not even having one. The fair male had snapped back that at least if he found one, that person would love him truly. He regretted saying it almost immediately as the abuse rained on him. 

Thus, an hour later, he found himself driving to a lake that he had fell in love with when the family went there the previous day. He had barely sat for 15 minutes when he felt the persistent stare of Junhyung on him. The hour with the man was intriguing, exhilarating, mind-boggling, exciting, engaging. Most importantly, it made Yoseob feel special, it made him feel like he was worth something, it made him feel attractive. 

Kicking the small stack of rejects, he gathered his thoughts and stood up, more determined than ever to remain strong. Placing away his paint brush, he dragged his feet across the studio and climbed down the stairs, approaching the receptionist who evidently realised his arrival but blatantly ignored him.

"Eunji... Are you mad at me?"

"No", and she continued typing away on her laptop, looking extremely focused at the screen of her.

Peering into the screen, he poked her side, "you are only typing gibberish."

"So? Are you going to raise your voice at me again for that?"

Yoseob chuckled despite the situation, closing the laptop by bending the screen towards the keyboard as he sat on the desk, facing the fuming receptionist. "I'm sorry. I know you meant well when you advised me to go to the Yongs to look for Junhyung to clarify matters or brainstorm on more solutions. But, it's impossible that I'll able to persuade him otherwise. He is so smart and capable, he would know what is necessary to keep his empire going and growing. I'm sure he made this decision only because there was nothing else he could do." 

Eunji turned snappily to look at Yoseob, "Oppa! That man comes here every night when you don't have your family dinner and it is so damn obvious how much he loves you and that he would do anything for y--"

"I know, I know. But sometimes, life don't leave us with much options. We can only learn how to live with what's given to us even if what's given is nothing more than a pile of rubbish."

"What you are saying right now is clearly rubbish. Anyway, are you going for the dinner tonight then?"

The fair male shook his head, "I doubt I'll be able to control myself when I see it happening. I'll be an embarrassment to the Yoons and even myself if I burst out crying during the announcement."

"You should go you know."

"You really want me to fight for Junhyung don't you?"

Eunji smiled sadly, "I do but I know you are never one who asks for more and you will allow him to make the final decision. But me asking you to go, is to do him a favor."

"Oh?" Yoseob stared at the receptionist questioningly, not understanding how his presence would help Junhyung.

"While you have to live with his decision, he is the one making a decision that he hates and knows that he would regret. If you went for the dinner, at least you would be there for him, till the very end." The receptionist trailed off softly, the tremor in her voice evident.

Yoseob gaped at her in shock, not expecting that kind of answer. Although he didn't blame Junhyung, it had not occurred to him that the taller male could be suffering even more than him. All these while, he had wallowed in self-pity, telling himself to stay strong. But what about Junhyung?

He was the one facing the Yoons alone now. He was the one first having to sacrifice his freedom, and now his love for his family's company.

'Right now, you are my dream.'

It was his first date with Junhyung when the older male told him that. Now that he remembered what was said... Junhyung never had dreams until Yoseob entered his life. And now, he had to let Yoseob go. In other words, he was letting go of his dreams. 

The smaller male's heart broke as he stood from the receptionist's desk and headed back up the stairs.

"Oppa, you're going back to paint again?"

Eunji's heart swelled as she heard the quiet but clear whisper, "I'm going back home for dinner. To be with him."

------

"I'm home," the petite sized male announced as he entered the house, heading towards the living hall. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the amount of people in it. All the four long couches that Yoseob once believed was extraneous and a meaningless display of wealth were filled with people who had professional looking cameras in their hands or slinked around their necks. 

He remembered Junhyung telling him that there were only two reporters that were going to be there so he didn't understand why the living hall looked like a whole media department was there. Facing the three Yoons who were standing in front of all the reporters, he tilted his head inquiringly. He knew that if they wanted to reply, they would. Thus, he didn't voice out anything as they might be furious about anyone knowing about him. 

"CEO Yong is coming over to announce me and his engagement! All these reporters asked if they could come in because this is like headline news and so they are here! The more people knows about this, the better," Hara exclaimed excitedly and haughtily while her parents stood at each of her side, grinning proudly. 

He nodded and started heading for his room, wanting to escape from all these, having second thoughts about facing Junhyung now that this was happening and reality was sinking in fast and hard.

“Who is this person?” One of the reporters quizzed, with a hand up like that of a student in a class.



Yoseob kept his silence, knowing that if he gave a wrong or less than satisfactory answer, he was going to get it bad from the Yoons and Doojoon wasn’t around to save him. “He’s a little blemish of our family.” Mr Yoon started, surprising Yoseob that he was being acknowledged as family even