Oh Eun Ae was excited and very nervous.  She had not been on a date in over six months.  "Oh I hope this goes well."  Her best friend had been talking about this guy for some time. 

"His name is Kim Jaejoong.  You will love him.  He is tall, handsome and overall great. He is a wonderful cook...did I mention he owns a really nice restaurant in Gwanak-gu.  You will have a great great time."

"I don't know about that Min Seo-na.  I am not exactly what men are looking for in a mate.  I mean look at me.  I am not exactly a beauty. I am not thin, don't have long legs..." Oh Eun Ae responded pointed at herself. 

"Stop that!! You are gorgeous. You were the most popular girl in school. All the boys talked to you".  Kim Min Seo yelled back at her friend. "You had a lot of boyfriends. You still have a lot of guy friends".

" I had friends that were boys, but no real boyfriends. Back then they only talked to me because they wanted to copy my homework.  And now, they are only kissing my because I am the managing partner at the firm." Eun Ae responded sheepishly.  

Oh Eun Ae had always been the top of her class, both in high school, college and then law school. She was the youngest attorney in her law firm to make partner. Only recently she was made made the managing partner of the Seoul office. On paper, Eun Ae was the perfect mate, but in reality, things were a little different. She did not exactly meet the standards of the modern Korean man and because of that, she spent many a night sitting at the table while her girlfriends danced the night away at the clubs. After a while Eun Ae stopped going and her girlfriends stopped asking her. Eun Ae was by no means ugly. She had a very pretty face with beautiful skin, big brown eyes and beautiful flowing hair, but she was taller and a little heavier than most girls.  In the West, she would be ideal, curvy in all the right places, but not here. 

Eun Ae had been on a few dates, but they had always ended up in disaster. And the one long term relationship she had been in ended up scarring Eun Ae, causing her to mistrust any other man that approached her. 

Flashback:

She finally talked to Dong Hyun in her last year of law school. She had noticed him at the orientation the first day of school and had always had a crush on him. You can imagine her surprise when he approached one day in study hall and asked her if he could study with her. From then on, they became inseparable at school, sitting next to each other in class, eating lunch together and then going to the library to study everyday. They spent long hours telling each other their deepest secrets and their hopes and dreams for the future. She fell deeply in love with Dong Hyun and she was positive he was in love with her. They never confessed their love to each other, but Eun Ae knew he was the one. She thought they would get married after they graduated from law school. 

On graduation day, Eun Ae was going to present Dong Hyun with a beautiful engraved pen set with his name. Today would be the day she would professing her love to him and he to her. She presented Dong Hyun with the pen set and was about to tell him how she felt when he interrupted her.  He told her that he was in love and that he had never been happier. He had found the love of his life and he wanted to share that with her, his best friend.  He called over a beautiful young woman and introduced her to Eun Ae. "This is Ji Hye, my fiance'. I just asked her to marry me and she said YES!" Dong Hyun exclaimed.

"I am very pleased to finally meet you. Dong Hyun talks so much about you. At one point I was even jealous of your relationship but he explained that you are best friends and that you helped him get through school.  For that I am grateful." Ji Hye said to Eun Ae as she took her hand to shake it.

Eun Ae was taken aback and she suddenly felt this deep aching pain in her heart. This is what a broken heart feels like. She did not know what to say or do. There stood Dong Hyun, the love of her life, grinning from ear to ear holding hands with Ji Hye. She had never seen him so happy.  What could she say?.  She quickly congratulated them, wished them both a happy life together and slowly turned and walked away.

Eun Ae retreated into a shell.  She was hurt and most of all angry, not at Dong Hyun, but at herself. She was a smart girl, how had she missed all of the clues. Looking back, Eun Ae realized that Dong Hyun never told her or hinted that he cared for her in anyway more than a friend.  She realized that she had only picked up and heard what SHE had wanted to hear.  A few months later, Eun Ae received a wedding invitation with a personal note from Dong Hyun. He told her how much he missed his best friend and wondered why she had not answered his telephone calls or texts. He told her how much her friendship meant to him the past year and that he really wanted her at his wedding to celebrate the day. The day would not be not be the same without her. Eun Ae could not bring herself to go to the wedding.

It took a long time for Eun Ae to get over the heartache and every once in a while when she thinks about it, she still feels a little pang of pain in her heart.