Donghyuk grunts making Youjung look at the young heir where his jaw was clenched tightly and the grip on his phone was so tight that his knuckles went white, also it looked like the iPhone 6S was about to crack under the man-made pressure. “What’s wrong?” she asks, tilting her head slightly as she stop her typing about the stock market essay that was due in two hours but who cares about a paper when her ‘husband’ was supposedly in agony.

Sharp chocolate eyes shoot up to glare at her. It used to scare her but now, she doesn’t even bat an eyelid at it. Once realizing that it was Youjung, his eyes soften immediately and her heart melts slightly to see his eyes slowly returning back to normal. “Nothing…” he says before pocketing the phone and then sits opposite her.

“If that is what you say…” she replies, nodding slightly before returning to type away about the reason why internationally known companies always have a consistent rise and fall in their stocks.

Behind the fifteen inch screen, even though the university student’s eyes were following the words appearing on the document, she notices Donghyuk opening and closing his mouth as if he was struggling within himself to call her name or not. Raising an eyebrow, she looks up and closes the laptop screen, shocking the male as she puts her arms on her laptop, observing him.

His eyes darted around the room as he clears his throat awkwardly, not wanting to look at his ‘wife’ in front of him. “What’s going on,” she states this time and he sighs before making eye contact with her as his cheeks flushes slightly. “Kim Donghyuk. What is going on.”

“Nothing!” he exclaims and she rolls her eyes before leaning backwards, giving him a disbelief look and he groans before looking away like a small kid.

“Okay then. I’ll return to writing my essay that is due in two hours since you don’t want to speak up about what is wrong,” she says before slowly opening her laptop.

His eyes widen and then press his hand at the bottom of it to shut the laptop, almost capturing her skin between the connecting metals. Glaring at him, he smiles sheepishly as he slowly draws the laptop towards him then pushes it to the side. She folds her arms and looks at him with a pointed look while he fiddles with his fingers and bits his lower lips. Pushing aside the thoughts of how hot he looked, she keeps a poker face with a blank mind so she doesn’t focus on his face.

After a while, he sighs in defeat and nervously makes eye contact with her. Her eyes turned curious since nervous was a first in his list of emotions that he shows to people. “I… I confessed to a girl…” he finally says and she felt uncomfortable but pushes it away as she nods. “She hasn’t replied me…”

“Replied?” she says and he nods while she raises her brow once again. “As in what kind of reply.”

He then starts staring at the mahogany table, admiring its beauty as she thinks about his actions from before and it dawns upon her. “You confessed to her,” she says slowly, “through text?”

Nodding embarrassedly, he lowers his head even further to hide the flush appearing on his cheeks. Youjung scoffs before laughing out loud. Donghyuk lifts his head up and pouts. “Ah Youjung! Stop it!” he exclaims before pushing out his lip even more. “Jinjja hajima!”

She puts a hand over to cover up her laughter but her eye smile showed that she was still laughing and he gives a stern look. Taking a few deep breaths, she finally calms down but still has a smile on her face. “The mighty Kim Donghyuk is nervous about telling his ‘wife’ that he had confessed to a girl through text message!” she exclaims and he rolls his eyes. “I expected you to be more classy than confessing your feelings through text message.”

“How are you so calm when I just told you that I confessed to another girl?” he asks curiously and it pricks her heart slightly but she ignores it.

“I’m just your ‘wife’,” she says, using air-quotation marks. “This marriage isn’t real. It’s ending remember.”

His head lowers as the emotion in his eyes changes to sadness and she her lower lip before tapping on the table lightly. “You shouldn’t confess to her through phone…” she mutters and he lifts his head up. “Let alone through text message.”

Donghyuk’s eyes narrow and leans forward. “What do you girls want from us boys then?” he asks, tilting his head.

She makes eye contact with him. “I like you,” she says suddenly and his eyes widen as the blush returns to his cheeks. “That’s all we want.”

Realizing that it wasn’t a confession, his eyes widen. “A straight up confession in the face?” he asks in disbelief and she nods in reply. “Are you crazy?! Do you know how scary it is? Plus… Why can’t the girl confess to the guy?”

“We can,” she says after sighing. “But if you can’t even confess in her face, how can she be sure that you will be able to take care of her during the relationship. Plus, brownie points if you confess to her face-to-face. It shows that you got the confidence and guts. It also leaves a deeper impression of you in her, which means that the chances of you getting her are higher than anyone else. If you do it in front of a huge group of people, most likely, she wouldn’t refuse you unless she is that ruthless.”

He bits on his lower lip uneasily as his eyes flicker around the room. She pushes her hair in a backwards motion and then folds her arms, leaning against the table before releasing a sigh. “I know there is something on your mind,” she states and he looks up to make eye contact her for the nth time. “You know that you can ask me right.”

“It’s just… Why do girls have high expectations towards boys for confessions?” he wonders. “Is it so that they can tell the whole world about it and make every other girl jealous.”

Youjung immediately rolls her eyes before hitting him on the head lightly. “We’re not all like that,” she replies and he shrugs. “What kind of girls have you met before?”

“Trust me. You don’t want to know,” he replies seriously and she nods. “Please answer my question.”

Looking to her right to look out of the huge window panel to admire the slight greenery, her thoughts wander as she leans against her upright hand. Donghyuk notices the distant look and starts to study her face. She was really beautiful and pure with the lighting falling perfectly over her. He stops his hand from going across the table to tuck behind a piece of her hair that had escaped. She mutters something into her hand and he makes a sound to indicate that he couldn’t hear her.

Lifting her head up, still not looking at him, she says softly, “Confessing face-to-face isn’t high expectations… Before texting, calling, Facebook, Twitter and all these social media that supposedly ‘brings us together’, it was talking to face to face. Our expectations aren’t high, Donghyuk ah.”

“We don’t ask for much. Whatever you feel when you see the girl you like, is whatever they feel too. You’re afraid of confessing face-to-face, they are afraid too. This piece of metal,” she says, pointing to the iPhone 6S lying on the table before looking at him with gentle eyes, “is making people braver but only in the virtual world. We’re becoming more and more cowardly in real life. But in this technology-driven world that we live in, we have grown accustomed to all this. The real meaning of a relationship is lost.”

After a moment of silence, Donghyuk looks away from Youjung with a rapid heartbeat. His face flushes and she looks away after noticing it, trying to push away the warmness that was creeping into her heart.

“Relationships are no longer a big deal whereas having a some with another person is so much more important, why? One-night stands are common, how? Nowadays, two people enter a relationship with expectations of a movie but when it becomes clear that it will never happen, they break up. They are then left with the memories of love being a bad thing,” she continues. “Lasting more than three months is something extraordinary that everyone awes and fawns over. The definition written by society of what relationships actually are now has changed and ordinary girls like me are tired.”

“First of all, you’re far from ordinary,” he rebuts with a smile, sticking one finger up, happy to have her attention once again. “Secondly… Secondly…”

“You don’t always need to have a reply to whatever I say,” she says with a pointed look and takes back her laptop, immediately opening it back up to type away.

He lets out a mental groan at the loss of her attention. Ever since that incident at the club, she only spoke when necessary and acted when needed. Whenever she showed affection in front of everyone, he had stopped himself from thinking that she maybe did like him at all. The constant reminder ringing clear in his mind by her words, this us is fake, remember?

“A tip, you have to do a series of inconvenient things to get something you want,” she mentions. “Whether the something is a person or a thing.”

He muses over it and keeps the memory locked away in his mind. His phone rings and he looks at it before a wide smile appears. “The girl replied?” Youjung guess and he shakes his head, leading a quizzical look thrown his way.

“Get ready, we’re going out,” he states and leaves the room.

“I haven’t finished my essay!” she yells.

“Well then finish it and we’re going out!” he yells back and she rolls her eyes. “Stop rolling your eyes at me!”

“You deserve it,” she mutters under her breath before continuing on the last paragraph of her essay.

An hour later, she finds herself at a classy restaurant and Youjung looks down at her attire, unsure if it was appropriate. “The dress code is semi-formal, it’s fine,” Donghyuk whispers and leads her into the restaurant with clicks going off around them.

He states his last name, allowing the waitress at the stand to bow and lead them towards a quieter area of the place. She opens a door and bows once again while the duo enters the room before she closes the door. “Sister-in-law!” the familiar voice calls out cheerily.

She looks over to Yunhyeong who had a wide smile plastered on his face and Chanwoo mimicking it. She bows slightly as a greeting and turns to see the four other males that she had saw at the club. “Koo Junhoe,” she mutters at the sight of the black-haired quiff, causing widen eyes and frozen actions. “Lawyer working in Skadden and is the company’s official representative lawyer, something that Skadden currently doesn’t know, sadly.”

“In my defense, my company knows fully well of my works outside the company and is fine with it,” he rebuts with an eye roll.

“Of course they will let you do anything, they headhunted you down even before you graduated,” she counters. “You’re their best lawyer, if they don’t turn a blind eye to your activities outside, they’ll lose you. Even if it was to pretend to have no knowledge of your moonlighting.”

Junhoe freezes at the information that she knew. A small smile appears on her face as her eyes land on a male with bunny teeth and eye-smile. “Bobby Kim,” she addresses with a slight nod. “Mafia leader hiding behind a businessman facade, never have really done any illegal activities. You just have men under you to hear about everything that is happening.”

“Kim Jinhwan, the right hand man for Donghyuk. I’ve seen you a few times around the company,” she says and bows slightly as a sign of greeting.

“Kim Hanbin, works in the police force, holds a relatively high position,” she turns to the final male and nods slightly that was returned. “Somewhat, a leader to this group.”

She looks back to Donghyuk who had a stoic look. “No wonder, your company isn’t in the ruins yet,” she directs it to Donghyuk who makes eye contact with her. “You’ve chose well…”

“How do you know who they are?” he asks and a smile appears on her lips.

“I suspected and that day at the club, confirmed my thoughts. Yunhyeong Oppa to replenish any financial problems. Chanwoo to ensure that the rumours do not get out of hand, previously to get you to the headlines as directed by your mother. Junhoe and Bobby are shields but one is in the legal world and the other is in the illegal world. Hanbin Oppa is writing off any crimes directed at you. Jinhwan Oppa is the mole to other companies,” she reveals. “But don’t worry, I wouldn’t expose any of you.”

“So that you can use us like your puppets?” Junhoe deadpans, the tension thick and heavy.

She offers a sincere look, catching him off guard. “Because I understand,” she states, not elaborating further.

They have a stare-off and Jinhwan breaks it with his throat clearing. “Let’s eat, alright?” he suggests with a smile.

Youjung nods and takes a seat next to Chanwoo, Donghyuk automatically sitting next to her. “How did you know,” he whispers and a smile graces her face.

“You’re not the only one with relations,” she replies with a wink as the food arrives.

Surprisingly, the group accepts Youjung pretty well after the revealing ordeal. “Whoever is able to understand this friendship mixed with relations is worthy to be in this group,” Junhoe reasons when Donghyuk asks the group when she left for the bathroom. “You’ve got yourself a catch.”

He fights with the smile appearing on his lips as the reminder rings clear in his mind. When they left the group and were in the car, just the both of them, Youjung spoke up. “Why did you bring me to meet your group?”

He thinks about why as he starts the car in a relatively slow motion. “Maybe because I wanted to show you what kind of people I hang out with,” he starts, insecurity spilling. “Not the ones you saw at the club.”

“Is my opinion towards your friends that important, Donghyuk,” she asks and he stops in his actions. “I guess that’s a yes.”

She looks out of the window as the heat in the car warms them up. “My opinion shouldn’t matter. They’re your friends. You chose them years ago in high school and to hang out with one another even after it. If you have no confidence in them being who they are, don’t show them to your partner,” she says with a tired look that was reflected. “Your partner is able to feel the uneasiness you have in them and it’s a choice if they wish to talk about it.”

“Also depending on your partner’s character, they have a choice to manipulate your thinking towards your friends,” she ends as a sigh was released. “Don’t let your partner’s opinion matter in a choice you made yourself years ago.”

“Why are you telling all this…” he asks weakly. “Why are you still trying to help me.”

She stays silent, unmoving. “When you shove me out of your way after that day, it hurt. I no longer saw the Youjung that love to bicker with me, no longer saw the stubborn but passionate Youjung and I no longer saw the Youjung who wish to make me a better person,” he continues. “You’re cold towards me but whenever there is something wrong in my life, you turn to warm and help me through it before turning back cold. Please choose one side and just stay there! Stop making me so confused as how you actually feel about me! Stop making me doubt myself…”

Youjung turns her head and stares at him with a bittersweet look and smile. “Isn’t that how everyone is like?” she whispers loud enough for him to hear. “Everyone around us always became hot or cold with a blink of an eye. People are ruthless and if you mean nothing to them, they become cold. If you have something beneficial to them, they become warm. There are always motives to why someone is nice to you, especially in the business world.”

“But you’re not like that,” he replies, voice full of desperateness, making eye contact with his red eyes. “You’re always warm towards me. Once someone knows you for who you are, you treat him or her warmly, never turning cold once. Your heart is pure so there is no motive behind it. Plus, what can you take from me?”

“I’ve taken your four business rules for my own exam,” she answers, looking away from him to her lap. “I’ve used this relationship to enter into this world and to know how cold the business world is. I’ve changed your company according to how I think a company should be like. I’ve cheated… your feelings.”

She tries her best to stay stoic and uncaring as the insides of her were being hurled and thrown apart with so many emotions that she couldn’t differentiate whether it was guilt, sorrow or pain. “Those aren’t motives!” he exclaims loudly. “I chose to reveal those four business rules to you! It was a mutual agreement for this relationship to happen based on my decision. I chose to let you change my company system the way you want it to be because you gave me the choice and I agreed. I chose to… let my feelings… be cheated… It was all my decision to allow all these ‘motives’ to happen. Don’t try to put everything on yourself when it’s not…”

Heavy breathing from Donghyuk was evident in the enclosed area as his fists were tightly clenched and eyes shut tightly. Youjung brings her hand up and reaches over but before she could place her hand over his, she stops. Stop making it harder for either of you. She brings her fingers in and slowly draws her hand backwards. He notices the movement and grabs onto her hand roughly. A whine escapes from as she tries to get her hand back. “Stop resisting me!” he yells and she stops struggling but her body was tense. “You seem to hate my touch now.”

“I don’t hate it,” she states softly as he releases his grip and she brings it to her and rubs her wrist where a red mark was forming. 

“You were struggling,” he points out, his anger slowly dissolving. “If you don’t hate it, why did you struggle.”

She simply looks out of the window and releases a deep sigh. “Do you… hate me that much?” he asks.

When no reply came, he starts to drive. They both stay silent, causing an inner turmoil in both parties. Once the car was parked, he’s out of the car and drags Youjung out of her seat, into the apartment. He slams her against a wall as he closes the door with his leg. She pushes him away and he traps her, ignoring the pain forming. “Talk to me,” he deadpans, staring back at the glare. “Stop being stubborn.”

When the same no response and emotionless face reappears, he slams his fists on the wall, grunting in anger and pain. “Being angry isn’t good for you,” she comments dryly and he moves closer towards her.

“Who are you to tell me what to do?” he whisper dangerously and she shivers.

Donghyuk grips her wrists and his head bends down to nuzzle against her neck. “Since you seem to hate my touches, I’ll leave my touches behind,” he mutters loud enough for her to hear him nosing at the skin.

“D-Donghyuk,” she stutters, eyes closed. “Stop it…”

He ignores the pleads as he just continues the task at hand, to evoke some kind of emotion from Youjung about whatever it is between them. He refuses to accept the silences and expressionless looks as a reaction and how she actually feels, having known better. “Donghyuk!” she yells out when his hands wander and a bruise on her collarbone develops.

Youjung uses all her might and pushes him away. “Are you finally going to talk to me now?” he questions.

“There is nothing to talk about,” she concludes before walking away.

“Stop walking away from me and your problems!” he exclaims, fed up with the attitude she was offering towards him. “Face them, face me. Don’t just walk away and leave me hanging. Let me know if I actually do mean something to you! Do I matter in your eyes?”

“The answer you’re looking for isn’t in me,” she replies with a cold tone, hand on doorknob of her room’s door and was grabbed harshly for the second time.

“What is your opinion,” he insists.

“Nothing,” she states after a while. “The answer you want is something I cannot offer to you, Donghyuk. My opinion shouldn’t matter whether you matter to me or not.”

“It means a lot! I want to know how you truly feel. I want to understand the concepts you have about life,” he yells before falling to a whisper. “You care, ; it’s not what many people do. People are just superficial now; you’re an… actual human, humane. Not like what you hide behind.”

Her head lowers as she has a glare-off with the floor. “How are you so sure that I am humane.