12

Myungsoo dodged the thick cluster of people and ran out of the building. He saw Jiyeon hastily walking on the sidewalk.

She hasn’t gone so far so Myungsoo raced and caught up to her. He blocked her path and Jiyeon stopped in her tracks, sobbing greatly.

Jiyeon cried hard like a child, and even though Myungsoo was right in front of her, she never bothered to stop and look at him.

Myungsoo felt awkward especially because a lot of people passing by are looking at them with such bewildered faces.

So Myungsoo grabbed Jiyeon’s hand and pulled her into a dark corner, far from the eyes of the passersby. They looked at each other and Jiyeon this time, temporarily stopped crying.

“Why are you making it so hard for me?” Jiyeon muttered, as she punched Myungsoo in the chest and started to become teary-eyed again. But this time, she didn’t cry like a child but as a woman instead.

Myungsoo stood still and with a stiff expression, he accepted Jiyeon’s punches.

“Why did you come back? I was trying to forget you, and I was already learning to love Sehun…. But you came back….and it became so hard for me to—“

“I’m sorry,” Myungsoo whispered to himself.

“I’m confused… guilt is eating me. What should I do? Tell me what should I do!” Jiyeon blurted and continued punching Myungsoo’s chest.

Myungsoo was out of words to say; he held Jiyeon’s trembling hands and put them down, before leaning in for a hug. Under his embrace, Jiyeon began to calm down, but she did not stop crying.

“I’m sorry..” Myungsoo continued to say.

The two of them walked the street after having calmed down. Jiyeon walked ahead, and Myungsoo was a yard behind her. They shared the same path but they thought about different things.

Myungsoo thought about Jiyeon—how she feels, what was she thinking of, and what her words from earlier meant.

Jiyeon thought about Sehun—how he feels; Myungsoo—what was he thinking of and herself—whether she made the right decision or not.

They walked without words but it was as if they communicated in their minds. Maybe the timing was really not right for the two of them to talk things out.

Eventually, they reached Jiyeon’s house and Myungsoo gave up his timidity just to say something to her. But Jiyeon wasn’t in the right state to talk about the things they have between them.

“I think it’s best for us to get a good night’s sleep. I’ll see you some other time.” She said as she opened the front gate and disappeared into the house.

Myungsoo was left speechless; there was nothing he could do but go back to the hotel and get some sleep too.

--

Sehun sluggishly dragged his feet as he entered the restaurant. He walked to the table which had his family waiting for him, but it was obvious that he was wearing a heavy shoulder.

“Where is Jiyeon?” His mom excitedly asked. Sehun’s family was all present because that was supposed to be an engagement dinner for him and Jiyeon.

With a blank expression, Sehun just sat down without answering. His cousins and other close relatives who also came from wealthy families looked at him and wondered. Seconds after, Sehun began to cry in front of them.

“I was rejected… A wedding is not going to happen.” Sehun said as his tears flowed endlessly.

Everyone stopped their breaths and felt Sehun’s sorrow. His father, who was listening and keeping a calm face, stood up angrily and was about to go out of the restaurant but he was stopped by his wife.

“How could she reject my son? What does she look for in a man that Sehun doesn’t have!” He blurted out when Sehun’s mom was convincing him to keep calm.

This time, Sehun’s father sat down and his hands turned into a fist. “I think she forgot that her father’s company started because of my investment.” He looked at Sehun who was crying and added, “Tomorrow, withdraw all your shares from ProHomes.”

Sehun looked at him with red eyes and a runny nose.

“I will pull out all the investment funds the first thing tomorrow. Stop crying and get over it, you don’t deserve her.” Sehun’s father said and walked out of the building.

The rest of the relatives dispersed until it was only Sehun and his mother who remained.

“You must have been very hurt son. I know that you only looked at her for the entirety of your life.” His mother said and patted his back gently. “Don’t mind your father. Cry, let it all out and if you’re ready, let’s talk about it.” Sehun’s mom added as she carefully walked out of the fine, classy restaurant too.

Sehun was left alone and he drank the wine one shot in an attempt to calm himself.

--

The day came and Jiyeon got up to the sound of her cellphone’s ringtone.

“Hello?” she stuttered.

“You need to come to the company right now.” It was Seo Ki Joon’s panicked voice. “We need an urgent meeting.”

Jiyeon was too confused to properly answer. “What? Why? What happened?”

“Just come before the reporters can get to your house.” Ki Joon said and hung up.

Jiyeon did as what she was told. She peeped on the window but saw no reporters in front of her house. After keeping her things intact in a shoulder bag, she drove her car to the company.

And just when she left, she was lucky because that’s when a swarm of reporters came.

When she reached ProHomes, another bunch of reporters waited. Fortunately, her security guards were apt to protect her from the crowd until she safely got inside the building.

She was welcomed by a flustered Ki Joon.

“Why are they here? What in the world is happening?” Jiyeon asked him as the two of them walked to the conference room.

“Did you not check the news? Our stock price is drastically dropping!”

“What?! How—why??” Jiyeon replied, greatly confused.

“Just this morning, Sehun withdrew all of his shares from the company. His father also pulled out the investment funds… which means SKJ Housings is no longer in partnership with us.” Ki Joon explained.

Jiyeon stopped the moment they reached the door to the conference room. “That means we’re in a crisis.” She muttered blankly.

“A huge crisis.” Ki Joon repeated.

They entered the room and Jiyeon was overwhelmed by an amount of chaos and outbursts.

“President, what do you have to say on this matter? You said you were going to work on Mr. Kim’s investment, but what is this? What happened that SKJ Housings pulled out their funds?!” One distraught minister blurted.

Before Jiyeon could answer, another man spoke, “What are we going to do? We only have two weeks before the end of the month! Are we really going down like this?”

“I will withdraw my shares right now before it hits the lowest price.” One of the Directors said and went out of the room.

Jiyeon can’t help but to get teary-eyed amidst all the blame that were put against her. “I’m sorry….. I’m really sorry, but—“

“We can’t trust you anymore, Jiyeon. At this time, we don’t need you. Your father put a lot of effort in building this company…” One elder muttered and shook his head in disagreement.

Jiyeon was greatly embarrassed for being a failure to the company. She walked out of the room without officially giving a statement and conclusion to the matter.

She went to her office and found it empty. She remembered how Sehun was always there for her in times like this. She recalled how he would always take over the meeting for her when she was confused, and how he always runs after her to tell her that there’s a way and that everything’s going to be fine.

And now he wasn’t there anymore.

At the time that Jiyeon needs his words and comfort, Sehun wasn’t there anymore.

But all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a knock sounded and a man entered. It was the man she was looking for.

Sehun took small steps towards the baffled and distraught Jiyeon. His expressions were unclear and he wasn’t sure of what to say or do. They just stared at each other for minutes, feeling each other’s breath and longing.

“I honestly don’t know what to say….” Sehun opened up.

“I’m sorry…. I’m really sorry, Sehun.” Jiyeon said.

“Can you at least tell me why? Why was I rejected for proposing to someone I spent my whole life with? Tell me what I lacked or the things that I did wrong…. In that way, I can generously accept your apology.” Sehun said, as he became dramatic.

“No, there was nothing lacking in you. You did nothing wrong… I don’t know, it’s not you, Sehun. It’s me. It’s my fault.” Jiyeon explained as she walked near Sehun.

“All I needed was your honest answer, Jiyeon. Answer me, do you love me?” Sehun stared at her eyes, piercing through the depths of her soul.

Jiyeon’s eyes shook as she struggled to find the right words to say. But no matter where she find for it, she can’t seem to get the proper reply.

“I knew it.” Sehun muttered, at the same time, a drop of tear fell from his eyes. He withdrew his gaze from her and walked to face the window. “You may not know it but I can see the look in your eyes when he’s around. I see that the way you look at him is different than the way you look at me.”

Sehun paused and Jiyeon was burning inside while listening to Sehun.

“I felt it, Jiyeon. You never loved me. I guess the heart never learns to love, because after all those years, you never learned to love me.”

Jiyeon closed her eyes and gave up all those tears that were kept inside. She was at a loss for words, and there was nothing she could do but say everything through her tears. Sehun was right, it was that simple. She never loved him but she was too afraid to say it.

Sehun breathed deeply and wiped his tears with the back of his hand. “My father pulled out all of the investment and there was nothing I could do. Maybe this is how we separate ways.” Sehun smiled like a fool and went out of the room, leaving Jiyeon behind.

--

Two weeks has passed and ProHomes became a laughing stock to the rest of the industry. Jiyeon lost most of the major stockholders, and with the cancellation of their bidding projects, they ran out of revenue.

In two weeks’ time, she had to lay off a hundred workers to save money, and even the building’s prestigious and classy interior worn out as she applied cost-cutting measures by reducing the use of aircondition and lights.

She briefly went to see her bed ridden father to ask for help, but all she can do was talk to herself. If her dad was awake, he would also blame her for everything, Jiyeon thought.

Nevertheless, Jiyeon was left with some of her most loyal staff. Among them were her butler turned Executive Assistant, Ki Joon.

“Your father saved millions of money in the bank. If the company goes down, you’ll still be able to live well.” Ki Joon said. It was 9 pm and they were getting ready to go home.

“Maybe you’ll go back to being my butler again, uncle.” Jiyeon smiled as they walked out of the building. Before going inside the car, she looked at the high-rise building of ProHomes. “Tomorrow’s the end of the month. Maybe the end of ProHomes too.”

--

Jiyeon never had a good night’s sleep like it before. Maybe there is a good side to having your company down. She woke up feeling refreshed.

Someone wearing a hoodie and was riding on a bike hovered in front of Jiyeon’s house and threw a newspaper in its yard. He disappeared as soon as Jiyeon noticed the piece of newspaper and picked it up.

While having her coffee, she scanned the paper. She never liked newspapers, but today she felt like there was something to it that she must see.

‘At the last minute, ProHomes escapes bankcruptcy’ The news heading said in large fonts.

Jiyeon put down her cup of coffee and blinked to make sure she wasn’t reading it wrong. It was right, and she looked puzzled when she started to read the whole article.

She was only on the first paragraph when she received a call from one of the Directors, she was about to answer it but then another call came, and another, and another and another.

Then the newspaper boy appeared and said, “The pay for the newspaper please,”

Jiyeon put down the ringing phone and looked for some coins; she then went and handed it to the boy.

Before she could even hand the money across the fence of grills, the newspaper boy spoke. “You look happy. Did something good happen?”

Now that she remember, she was busy looking at the newspaper that she forgot to look at the person’s face.

“I thought you never liked newspapers,”

Jiyeon heard him, and remembered his soothing voice.

It was Myungsoo, and he was smiling all over, just like how they met each other at the same place, years ago.

A/N: After all of his plans for revenge became successful, it turns out that Myungsoo was the one to save Jiyeon’s company from dying! Does this also mean that they are finally getting back together? Please stay tuned! Thank you for the comments! I love them <3