My legs were already aching by the evening.

Changkyun must've had the same idea, as the moment I thought about sitting down he pulled me to the nearest bench before sitting down, pulling me with him. He let go of my hand before ping his bag and taking out a bottle of water from it. After a few gulps he let out a sigh of relief before handing the bottle to me. "Just finish it if you want to," he spoke. I thanked him as I took it, drinking it to the last drop as I was too thirsty. After doing so, I threw the bottle straight into a dustbin a few metres away from us. I heard a low whistle as the bottle landed into it, and turned to see Changkyun looking at me with what I assumed interest.

"Basketball?" he asked. I shook my head, "Sort of. I used to play basketball with giants," I answered. He returned my comment with a look of confusion, resulting me to mentally facepalm. "Hyungwon. Sehun. The 181 cm freaks," I clarified. He let out a chuckle as I did, "You're really close to them, aren't you?" he asked, to which I could only nod in reply. He smiled before letting out another sigh, turning his gaze to me and gave me another one of his cat-like smiles.

"So, should we end today's activity with our last event?" he asked before standing up, dusting his pants in process. I looked up to him, confused. "We're not done yet for the day?" I asked. He took my hand before pulling me up, "Of course not, we haven't had dinner yet," he replied, dragging both of us to the car. I smiled at the thought of it, being happy that tonight's dinner wasn't going to involve loneliness once again. 

After a few minutes of driving we managed to be back at the hotel. Oddly, he did not park the car at the underground parking lot. Instead he headed straight to the entrance to the lobby, stopping right at the empty space in front of the stairs. He unbuckled his seatbelt before reaching to the back of the car, presenting two big paper bags in his hands when returning to his seat. "Three hours to prepare Mrs Im," he spoke. My cheeks heat up at the name, not really used to it. He smiled before handing me the bags, which I took with a low thank you and curiosity.

"Wear those tonight," he cleared. I nodded, understanding. "Aren't you going to head upstairs too?" I asked as I opened the door, one leg already out of the car. He let out a chuckle before shaking his head, "I have...errands, to run," he replied as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "But I'll be sure to pick you up right at seven, here," he added. I was questioning to where he was heading to, but I quickly shook the thought of my head, trusting him. "Okay, see you later then," I said as I closed the door, watching the black Maserati speed off.

I looked at my watch before running to the room, hastening to wash up.

If there was one thing that I liked about Changkyun, it would be his taste for clothes.

After finishing my bath, I opened the bag to find a box tied neatly with a bow, and a card attached to it. I like blue, it stated. I opened the box to find a  sleeveless royal blue dress that went right under my knees, decorated with a lace sash around the waist. I smiled, liking the dress as it went just right around my small frame. I opened the other box to find a pair of glitterish white heels, not too tall and not too short. I slipped into the dress immediately before putting on a little makeup. I wasn't a fan of makeup, but I somehow felt the need to use it that day. Applying some lip gloss and eyeliner, I waited for a few minutes for my hair to dry before putting it up to a bun.

5 minutes before seven.

Changkyun was already there by the car, all dressed in a black tux, his tie a little loose and his blazer on his left hand. The other hand was on his phone, and his eyes were trained on it with concentration. He had his hair pushed back, a style that I had never seen but suits him well. I noticed his hair being a shade lighter, almost to the colour of hardened caramel. I cleared my throat as I approached him, and as he looked up from his phone, his eyes were now wide, making my cheeks heat up.

"Um..Am I..late?" I asked, wanting to get rid of the awkwardness. He blinked before chuckling huskily, "No, of course not. It's just that...you look pretty in that dress," he spoke, making me blush harder."You...don't look...so bad yourself," I replied with burning cheeks, successfully failing the flirting attempt. He chuckled once again before opening the door to the passenger seat, "If you may," he said. I quickly slipped into the car, him following suit. "Where are we going for dinner?" I asked, curious. He replied with a mischievious grin as he started the car.

"Somewhere fancy," he spoke before driving away from the hotel.

"Woah," I gawked.

Changkyun had reserved us a place in one of the restaurants at the Venetian Macao. He was right, it was really fancy. There were casinos everywhere, and everyone was dressed like there was a ball or function. The moment he parked the car, I quickly unbuckled my seatbelt. But when I tried to open the door, a hand held my arm, preventing me from doing so. "Wait," Changkyun spoke, his golden brown eyes locked with mine. I gulped as his hand slowly went up to the back of my head before pulling the clip, making my brown locks fall up to my waist. I sat there wide-eyed, stunned by his actions. 

"I like it better this way," he spoke as his finger curled over one of my hair before pulling it away. My cheeks instantly heat up at his words, to which he gave me a small smile before opening the door. I looked down to my hands, embarassed of my actions. I'm not really the type to conceal my facial expressions, but when I do it becomes a total failure. The door to my side opened, revealing Changkyun already in his blazer and his hand stretched out to reach mine.

"Ready?" he asked. I took his hand slowly, interwining our fingers as I stepped out of the car. I nodded in reply before he closed the door, safely locking the car. As we entered the building my eyes caught sight of a canal seperating the building and gondolas with people in it. As we walked over the bridge to the other side of the place I heard the Gondoliers singing sweetly. The sight mesmerised me and I couldn't help but to smile.

Changkyun pulled us to the restaurant farther deep into the building, at the start of the canal. It was a Portugeuse restaurant that was quite classy as it was less crowded than the rest. I gulped as we approached the waiter standing at the front of the shop that was flipping over pages that I assumed was the guest book. As we approached him he looked up, smiling,."Yes, may I help you?" he spoke in English, which I only understood fragments of it.

"I made a reservation under the name Im," Changkyun replied fluently, sounding like a real English. Shivers ran down my spine as I heard his deep voice, a little intimidated as I've never heard him use the tone before. The man nodded before leading us to our table right next to the glass window. Changkyun pulled my chair, motioning me to take a seat, which I took as I thanked him. He then took his seat before taking a look at the menu.

"What would you like?" he asked, eyes still on the menu. I stared at the menu before catching sight of a meal named 'Prawn tartar'. I quietly pointed at it as I showed Changkyun, him replying with a frown, "You're only eating this?" he asked. I nodded. "Alright then," he spoke, and after we decided on the menu Changkyun raised his hand, placing the order of my prawn tartar, crab roe noodles for him and Portugese egg tarts for dessert. The air became awkward as the waiter left, making me more tense. So did the man sitting opposite of me.

My mind was messed up. I couldn't understand his actions. So many questions were running around my head, making me ask him, "I...have a question," I started, returned with a concentrated gaze by Changkyun. "Go ahead," he replied, taking a sip of his water. "What happened...in the airplane?" I asked, him returning with a frown. "What happened?" he asked. My cheeks heat up as I muttered, "You...kissed me, but it seemed that you weren't aware of it," I explained. "Really?" he asked. I nodded, looking down at the floor. 

"I don't remember," he replied. I somehow became angry at his words, not sure why I did though. But as I did I asked him another question, this time unconsciously using a cold tone,"Why are you being nice to me? What's with the kisses? The hugs? The gifts? This... dinner?" I blurted out, my hands shaking but my eyes still hard on his golden brown ones. His face that was calm showed a little anxiety as I asked, but relaxed soon after. He let out a sigh, leaned on his chair before speaking.

"I'm sorry," he started, eyes now looking down at the floor. "I'm still...not over Seul-ki," he continued, slowly sitting up straight before locking his eyes with mine. My heart ached at his words, making me wonder what the hell was wrong with me. "I loved her. And I wanted to live with her for the rest of my life," he spoke, and now I couldn't even look at him, tears threatening to fall from my eyes. And what was worst was his last sentence, one that made me broken.

"I still do," he added. "I wish to spend the rest of my life with her. Not you,"

The dinner ended well, me being able to control myself not to cry in front of him. It was really hard though, as his words sounded like he was in so much pain. I tried to understand him, knowing that we've only been away from the wedding for three days. Changkyun wasn't stupid, he sensed my anxiousness as we stepped out of the restaurant. He pulled my hand and dragged me under the bridge, paying for a ride on the gondola.

As the gondolier rowed he sang, filling our empty silence with sweet singsong. I stared at the water, not wanting to show him how disappointed I was. I myself couldn't even understand why I was disappointed, let alone having someone else to witness it. I sighed before I faced him, who was now looking at the other side of the canal. I cleared my throat, catching his attention.

"Okay, here's the deal," I spoke. "We're not going to ever be a happily married couple," I huffed, trying not to break down. "But we can at least try, right?" I said as I stared at him, hinting hope in my voice. His response surprised me, him taking my hand into his before he let out a sigh, and when he looked up to me, his eyes were now glassy, a picture that melted my heart, now feeling his pain. "Thank you, Sekyung," he spoke before pulling me into his embrace.

I slowly reached around his waist before patting his back as I felt his tears wetting my shoulder, feeling his pain, "Your welcome. And I'll always be here to lend you a shoulder to cry on," I replied before tucking his head to the crook of neck, soothing him by his fluffy locks. And we ended the night with sullen tears and the sweet melody of the gondolier's singing. And also a question that had been running in my head the whole time.

Choi Seul-ki, where are you?

"Marriage is neither heaven nor hell, it is simply purgatory,"

- Abraham Lincoln -

Another note from the author:

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for reading this to those who've just started reading. Also to those who have been doing so. This is just a note of gratitude and a spoiler for the next chapters. I'm going to make it into a 50-chaptered story (I hope), and I'm planning to write a spinoff of this story after I've finished it soon. There are more complications to this story than it seems, I can assure you. So I advise you not to skip any of the chapters (even if it's boring. My deepest regrets T_T) Once again thank you for waiting, and I'm sorry for not replying to your comments as I hardly even have time to update. The only thing I can do is by adding you as a friend, and God willing I'll gift karma points. 

Flying from Malaysia,

kyun_2601