"MBXTS Company just recently brought over Min Technologies. Min Technologies had just publicly declared that they were bankrupt after being exposed for using fraud parts of mobile phones, causing harm to people around the world," the news anchor reports, attracting the man's attention. "So far, no one knows who is the real boss behind MBXTS. Who is the mysterious boss that refuses to let him or her known to public?"

The man looks out of the new building that he recently purchased, his office was at a higher floor that allowed more of the central business district to be seen. His company only went up and with every obstacle overcame they worked even harder. Innovation, creative and hard work was the only way he made the company continue.

His phone rings and he picks it up, without glancing at the screen. "Hyung, am I making the right decision? My hands are sweating and my throat is dry. I am never like this! This has to be a bad sign!" the person immediately rants.

"It's something called nerves, stupid," Donghyuk immediately replies, a smile appearing on his face. "Junhoe, calm down. You're proposing to her, obviously your nerves will be essentially all over the place."

"Am I ready for this commitment? Can I bear it? Does she want this? Oh my, what if she doesn't want this? I should canc-"

"Utter that word and I'm serving all ties between the both of you," he threatens. " You've helped her through her break up with that forsaken guy. Dani has been expecting this for months. That's all she'll talk about when I meet up with her at least. She loves you... and you love her. Bloody propose to her."

Junhoe continues to blabber nonsensical endings that had zero possibility of happening and the older wishes to punch him at that very moment. "Oh my gosh, Koo Junhoe. Man up, go in there and ask her to marry you," he states before hanging up, not wishing to hear about the other's nerves.

"Mr Kim," his assistant of five years, Minji calls out from the door and he turns around. "You have a meeting to attend."

He thanks her and gathers the material needed for the meeting. He turns off the television and sets down the remote down at the coffee table. He glances to the couch next to it. Where are you? He walks out of the office and heads for the elevator.

Whilst waiting for the elevator to reach the correct floor, he catches a glimpse of himself in the reflective surface. His jawline was more defined but cheeks were sunken in, his hair was dyed a brown shade and his body was even more muscular. On the contrary, his eyes reflected mischievous and youthfulness. His mind wanders back to the girl as a soft smile takes over his features.

Before his thoughts could continue, the elevator 'dings' and he exit with Minji right behind him. He enters the meeting room and Minji closes the door, not even entering but he doesn't notice that. He looks around to the empty room and quirks an eyebrow. At the end of the room, a lone person stood with their back against him.

"Sorry, I think I'm in the wrong meeting room," he says, clearing his throat and was about to turn to leave when his mind registers who it was just from the back profile. "Youjung?"

At the mention of her name, she turns and an eye smile evident, paired with a grin. "It's been a long time, Donghyuk," she says. "How have you been?"

She was slightly taller, skinner and facial features more matured. What used to be sneakers, graphic shirts and blouses were exchanged for ripped jeans, white shirt, blazers and heels. Her bag packs turned to handbag and laptop switched for tablet. Her hair was longer and had more volume than before.

A grin breaks out on his face as tears gather at the edges of his eyes. His hand rises to push his hair back, looking around the room before landing back to her to confirm that it was reality. His eyes squeeze to stop any liquid from leaking. "You're back," he utters out.

The smile on her face never falters as she stands at the same spot. He approaches her slowly. "You're real right?" he asks when he was arm length from her.

She nods and he pulls her into his embrace as tears roll down her cheeks. The embrace tightens as he reminisces the days where he missed her terribly and yearned for her to be next to him. The moments where he succeeded but had no one to celebrate with or to even understand him fully. The full-blown parties thrown were nothing he wanted but he never commented on it.

When he breaks the hug and move back, she takes a step back and wipes her tears with the back of her hand. They both take a seat across one another. He reaches out for her hand and intertwines them before planting a kiss on her hand. "When you left... why didn't you leave an explanation?" he asks, voice shaky.

"Reality isn't like a drama," she reminds. "People don't leave letters to explain their disappearance. They just leave."

He bites on his lower lips, sinking into the memory of the first few months of knowing that she left him. Junhoe had been the one to convey the message in his office. He remembers as clear as the day what the younger had said.

Hyung, Youjung isn't coming back. She's left. But she mentioned something that maybe years later and when she finally fights her way to be the same position as you, then maybe, the both of you will meet once again. As equals.

As much as he tries to deny, when she was his 'fiancé', they were never really equals. There was the occasional allowance of her taking care of the company. Even then, in the eyes of everyone else, especially his parents, Youjung was never an equal for Donghyuk. Sometimes, he never saw her as an equal too.

"When you left... you left," he says, breaking down his walls. "There was no trace of you left. It was as if only I knew of your existence. I was so scared when I went to the club to not see a single familiar face. Even though it was just a change in management, not knowing anyone from before convinced me that it could have been part of my imagination."

"The media shifted away from you. Everyone and everything around you had left. All I had left was pictures of us at the conference and brief media reports of our private relationship," he continues, taking deep breaths now. "It was only a few articles and it made me mental. I even went to the café that Jin hyung and Minhyuk hyung own. It changed to a restaurant with a different owner. I stayed there so much that I've become their regular customer."

"I tried to find something that reminded me of you. So I could go back to it at the end of the day but nothing came up," he finishes as his grip tightens.

"It's only because my family left with me and we erased any trace of us," she replies. "It was hard but we did it so you would maybe actually forget about me. I actually recruited Junhoe to help too."

Donghyuk looks up to Youjung whom makes eye contact and they share a familiar smile and look. "You've grown even more beautiful," he suddenly compliments. "How is that possible?"

"Your mind is still infuriated with me," she replies with a teasing smile.

"I wouldn't mind that," he comments and lifts his hand to push her hair behind her ear. "I wondered if five years ago, if some decisions I made would have changed the outcome between us. If I fought harder, would Dahee even stayed. If I cared more about you, would you have not left? So many questions left unanswered in my mind and I wished to go back to five years to change something."

"Damn. It's been five years," he says in shock, realizing how long it actually has been. "Where did time go?"

"Time always passes us by whether we like it or not. We're constantly running out of time because it is life. Every different phrase in life: childhood, primary school, high school, we're constantly running out of time whether we like it or not," she replies to the rhetorical question, gaze falling onto their intertwined hands. "That's why we gotta live in the moment."

"You're still the same," he says. "Always having answers for unanswered questions left unspoken by humans."

When they make eye contact again, they held it, admiring each other's beauty that they had fallen for after falling for each other's personalities. He moves forward, their lips inches apart and she draws back. She slips her hand out of his hold and casts a sad smile to the ground. Her eyes trail to outside of the building where an advertisement was displayed at the opposite building.

He follows her gaze and freezes at the sight of the advertisement, more specifically the person in it. "Dahee..." she reminds, breaking the silence. "How is it between the both of you?"

"It's... good," he says, not wanting to elaborate further.

"I heard the both of you are getting married," she mentions. "You guys are perfect for each other."

He nods, not wanting to talk. After Youjung left, Dahee took care of him despite his dislike for her at that time. She nursed his wounds and honestly, his heart made space for her. A year ago, he proposed to her and they plan to get married in spring. A small laughter drags him out of his thoughts. He looks over to the female who had a miserable smile.

"I'm a joke," she states as tears welled up. "To be honest, I left so easily because... as much as I hate to admit it, some part of me believed and knew that you still be happy without me."

His eyes widen at the confession, staring at her side profile as a tear rolled down her cheek. "We're messed up," she continues, wiping the liquid away. "You fell in love with me... I didn't reciprocate the feelings. You then... slowly fell for her – that's when I fell in love with you... When you no longer could be mine..."

More tears escape her eyes as she continuously wipes it away. "You are my first love, Donghyuk," she admits, as her fists turn white. "When it struck me that night, I cried so hard. I just let my first love go, so willingly. I saw all those pictures of the both of you and I guess some part of me started to fall for the actions you did, for her... What was once directed towards me..."

He moves next to her and hugs her tightly, disregarding the awkward position. "I told you before, we're all slightly messed up," he reminds with a soft smile that she couldn't see.

"Some stupid part of me expected you to wait... for me..." she continues, breathing heavily. "That after fighting my way to be an equal, I would return grandly and look at you in the eye. We would then feel everything we felt from when before I left and we'll have a happy ending... You've influenced me too much."

At the weak punch to his chest, he smiles, gripping her tighter. "But here we are..." she continues, tears not stopping. "I fought my way to be an equal... We still have the same feelings... just slightly stale. But our reunion is veiled as a meeting behind doors because you're a soon to-be-married."

Donghyuk close his eyes to lock this meeting away in his mind. After the hour was up, they would go back to just being friends – maybe best friends if they were lucky. But till then, he would take every chance to make himself feel like back then when they were twenty. They would savour lasting moments as an ex-possible couple, disregarding that he was a fiancé to another.

Youjung would never take it over the line she knew it herself. She didn't want to be accused of being a home-wrecker. But just like every human, she was selfish. She just wanted some moments to herself that happened between the both of them. Because after the hour, she would have to pretend that she wasn't in love with him.

"You are my first love too," he confesses softly. "I can't get you out of my head no matter what... Even though I was with Dahee, my mind was constantly filled with thoughts about you. If you were well, if you ate, if you were sleeping well, if you still carried your laptop around with you and if you finally changed that cracked screen phone..."

She releases an almost silent laugh as they shifted into a comfortable position. "Everyday, the thought of you passes at least ten times. I was constantly on the edge, expecting someone to tell me that you were in trouble and I would have to throw everything down just to save you," he continues and scoffs slightly. "But it never happened... My mind just speculated too much... It was three years later when it officially hit me; you were not here anymore."

"You're not next to me to remind me about working hard. You're not here to remind me to eat my meals on time. You're not in my apartment telling me to sleep early when I'm up finishing office work. You're not in the kitchen, cooking a late night snack for me. You're not here to take care of me anymore and I needed to man up to take care of myself..."

"It was hard at first. I constantly burnt food. Whenever there were difficulties in the company, I would enter the office, talking out loud about needing help but when I lower the file, no one was there. Your presence was so impactful in my life that I only understood after you left. And I never wished more... than anything to have you back..."

She shifts in her seat slightly, not looking at him. "But as scary as it sounds, I learnt to live without you," he says with a bitter tone. "I learnt recipes, stopped burning food. I slept when I felt tired. I set alarms to eat meals on time. I sat in front of the trouble and think it through, forcing out every single possible decision and consequence. When I finished everything and they became something like what I've been doing since birth, the pain didn't hurt as much."

"I guess I learnt to live without you too..." she replies. "But it's natural. Humans experience heartbreak and wonder... how they will continue living without the other. But as time goes by, we slowly fill those empty spots with something else, intentionally or unintentionally, and before we know it, we already learnt to live without them."

They then sat in silence. She looks at their hands brushing against one another and grabs his lightly. He looks at their hands and looks at her. She forces a smile and he attempts at a smile. She ignores the cold metal around his ring finger, lying that it was one of the rings he wore for accessory. A knock sounded in the room and Minji peeks from behind the door, reminding that their time was finishing soon.

If she saw the intertwined hands, she pretends not to notice it. She always wished for the duo to get together ever since she found out that their relationship wasn't real by accident. If anyone asked, she would cover up saying that they were talking about a possible collaboration. Minji then closes the door, indicating that she was giving them another five – ten minutes maximum.

They both stand up as their interlocked hand fall away from one another. Slowly, they both approach the door, prolonging their time. Youjung puts her hand on the knob and he puts his hand on top of hers to stop her from turning it just yet. She looks to him quizzically and he swoops down to mold their lips together.

Instead of pushing him away, she responds and pulls him closer, circling her arms around his neck. Forgotten feelings were pushed back to the surface as their kiss continues. The memory of their short kisses run through her mind and she wonders why she never kissed him more. When they break apart, breathing heavily and a string of saliva between them, their foreheads attach to each other as they stare into each other's eyes.

"I love you," he whispers.

"I love you too," she whispers back.

They stay like that for a while with their eyes closed. She then gets reminded that he was a fiancé to a girl that wasn't her. She moves back, immediately missing the warmth he gave. She smiles, gaze not wavering as their hands slip together for the final time. "I'll miss you," she whispers.

Donghyuk nods in agreement, not wanting to talk. He then lets go of her hand slowly and gently. His hand immediately goes to his pockets. She smiles with that loving look for the final time and opens the door. It was the third time his first love left him but this time, he didn't mind it.

~~~

So this marks the end of rich. Thank you for all those who have supported this story from the beginning. I'm too sure where this story will go but I hope for whoever who stumbles upon this, please learn something from this; that's all I hope out of this story. A huge bow to those who really love this story and I'll see you in another story :) <3