Wheein took a deep breath. It was weird. She was so used to just walk in through the door to Byul’s office like it was her own. Yet today, she hesitated. Should she knock? Or just walk in like usual? The folder in her hand didn’t help either. Just a couple pieces of paper. Weightless. Yet....

Pushing down the door handle after she decided against knocking, she opened the door slowly and walked in with a heavy heart. She was about to call out Byul's name when the sight that greeted her stopped her on her track.

Byul, sitting there behind her desk, a pen gripped loosely on her hand with a concentrating look on her face. The sight brought a smile to her face, she love this look on Byul. She fell in love with this Byul.

Blinking the sudden melancholy away, Wheein released a silent breath and walked forward, the sound of her heels muted by the thick plush carpet as she moved.

She stopped as she reached the end of the black marble table, biting her lower lips slightly out of nervousness she put the folder on top of the table without a word and wait with baited breath.

Byul frowned when she saw the folder, she knew it was Wheein without even have to look up. She felt her as soon as she walked into the room. It has always been like that, it was almost as if there was an unseen connection that bound them together, making her painfully aware whenever Wheein was around.

Looking up from the contract in front of her, her eyes met with a solemn look on Wheein’s face.

“What is this?”

“It’s a divorce paper.”

Byul froze.

Putting down the pen on the table slowly, she leaned back against her chair, elbows touching the chair armrests as she put her fingers together and simply looked at the beautiful face in front of her silently – waiting for Wheein to say something. Anything. 

“I listed out the demand for division of assets and spousal support, but we might want to discuss about who should stay in the house until the divorce is final. Co-habitation is definitely out the window.”

Byul sighed – raking her fingers through her hair – she slowly stood up and walked around the table, both hands already inside her suit pants pockets out of habit. Her face was closed off, deep in thought until she stood in front of Wheein and looked at her.

“Are you sure?”

Wheein blew out her breath, hands crossed in front of her chest and shrugged slightly before looking at Byul in the eyes and nodded, “I wouldn’t give you the papers if I wasn’t sure.”

The simple tugging of Byul’s lips followed her answer as Byul nodded, “Okay.”

A wider smile, “Okay then, Miss Jung, as you wish.”

Wheein punched Byul’s arm softly, “Don’t go easy on me.”

Laughing, Byul tugged Wheein into her arms, the petite body fit snuggly against her as she brushed a kiss on top of Wheein’s head, “Isn’t that what Mrs. Kim hope for when she signed you to be her representatives?”

Looking up with a pout on her face, Wheein pushed away from Byul slightly, “No, she signed me on because she knew that I’m good at what I do.”

“I know that baby, but you got to admit that it was kind of sneaky that she changed her lawyer after her husband told her that I would be representing him. Of all the lawyers that she could engage, she chose my own fiancé to go up against me.”

Wheein rolled her eyes and went willingly back into Byul’s arms, her voice muffled against Byul’s neck, “I know. I was shocked when she approached me. It’s not like I could say no, just like you, they both are one of our biggest clients. We don’t even handle divorce cases, yet, we’re doing it as a favor to them. Hyejin would have a field day if she knew that we would be up against each other.”

“Don’t mention her name in front of me.”

Sighing when she heard the annoyance in Byul’s voice, Wheein brushed her lips on Byul’s neck and tightened her hold onto Byul’s slim body. There was a pang in Wheein’s heart on how much thinner Byul got.

“Babe, they broke up amicably.”

“She broke Yongsun’s heart.”

“It didn’t work out between them.”

“I had to watch Yongsun cried her heart out, she’s lucky I didn’t strangle her.”

Wheein winced slightly, it was not as messy as Byul made it out to be, both Hyejin and Yongsun handled their break up pretty well. They both knew it wasn’t meant to be, so they agreed to break up and remained friends. Granted, Yongsun was heartbroken – it was her first serious relationship – but she moved on already. If only Byul could forgive Hyejin just as easily, their relationship had been cold for sometimes now and Wheein wasn’t sure on how to patch things up between them. Mules. Both of them are as stubborn as mules. Honestly.

“Should I lock you two up in a room somewhere so you guys could talk or something?”

“Sure. If you want one of us to die. Preferably her.”

“Yah! Seriously! You two have been best friend since forever! And don’t give me that crap about lending your shoulder to cry on. I had to accompany Hyejin getting drunk almost every night after the break up. It killed her too.”

“She was an .”

“You are an even bigger .”

One slender eyebrow rose as Byul looked at Wheein in disbelief, “We’re talking about here, how in the world I could be the bigger ? It’s Hyejin we’re talking about.”

Slapping Byul’s arm while chuckling, Wheein shook her head, “Figuratively speaking! Seriously though, you two need to talk it out. They both were fine, they even went out to lunch together today, while you and Hyejin still not talking to each other. It’s ridiculous.”

Byul sighed, scratching her brow lightly, she nodded, “Just... give me some time. I still want to punch her in the face for making Yongsun cry, okay?”

Wheein couldn’t really blame Byul. She understood perfectly how over-protective Byul could be over Yongsun and she got to admit that she was mad at Hyejin at first as well, but they were both adult and when a relationship doesn’t work out, it’s best to call it quit and parted ways as friends rather than dragging it out and ended up hating each other for it.

“Just don’t take too long. She’s hurting too and it would be nice if she could get her best friend back.” Caressing Byul’s face softly, Wheein brushed her lips against Byul’s before giving her an understanding smile.

“So, about the house. Your client needs to move out.”

Byul chuckled at the sudden change of conversation. Her eyes twinkled as she looked at Wheein, “No. My client bought the house.”

“Under my client’s name.” Wheein interjected.

“Using my client’s money.”

“Which he gained from my client. Mr. Kim got his start up money from his wife, the house should be considered as interest for the start up money.”

“Technically it was his money too since he started his business after they got married, so it was already a joined wealth.”

Silence ensued as they both looked at each other, both unwilling to back down.

“I guess we’re at an impasse then.”

“So it seems.” Byul nodded her head slightly.

“Alright, I’ll discuss it with my client.”

“I’ll read the demand and come back to you with the answer tomorrow.”

Wheein nodded, “Until tomorrow then, Counselor Moon.”

“Counselor Jung.” Byul smiled and watched her fiancé walked out of the office. This should be interesting.

***

“Here’s the counter offer.”

Taking the folder from Byul’s hand, Wheein plopped herself down the plush sofa and started reading. A frown formed between her brows as she read through the counter demands and it only got deeper as she read on.

“You have got to be kidding me.” She whispered, looking at Byul who simply shrugged her shoulder.

“That’s what my client wanted.”

“He wanted to cut all of their properties in half!?”

“He believed that since it was a joint asset, both parties should just split it into two.” Byul’s tone was even, but Wheein knew that she must’ve got a headache just trying to talk sense into Mr. Kim before.

“Including all of the furniture, the paintings, the statues, the utensils....” Wheein stressed the utensils part and Byul actually had the grace to cover her face with both of her hands and nodded. Wheein gaped at her for a second before resuming her reading, “and the cars? He wanted to split the cars in two? Really? Really!?”

“Yes! Wheein, you don’t have any problem with your eyesight, okay? You read it correctly. All joint assets should be split into two. Literally split in two.” Byul threw her hands up in the air in frustration. She mentioned this to the client before, that the demand was beyond insane and it would render the assets useless but it was exactly what he intended to do and there was nothing that Byul could say that could change his mind.

Wheein looked at the frustration marring Byul’s face and sighed, forcing herself to read through the other counter demand before she stopped and again, finding herself looking at Byul with disbelief.

“He wanted her face back? What is that even mean!?”

Byul cringed and looked at Wheein apologetically, “Well... since he believed that he funded her plastic surgery... he felt that... it was within his right to demand that she gave up that face and returned it to him....”

Wheein closed her eyes and rubbed her temple, trying to fight off the sudden headache that thumped through her head.

“Is this a revenge kind of thing? You know these kinds of demands will never hold up in court.”

Byul sighed – loosening up the thin black silk tie that she wore – she leaned back against the cushion and gave Wheein a resigned look, “We’re not talking about court just yet, we are still in the midst of negotiating divorce settlement, if we can’t reach an agreement then we’ll see what the judge have to say.”

“But this is ridiculous, Byul. You know that!”

“Oh, but your client demanding that my client shouldn’t go to their dentist anymore because she was the one that introduce the doctor to him was not ridiculous? Who in their right mind would ask for custody of the dentist!?? What about when she demanded that he stopped going to certain areas of the city just because she didn’t want to bump into him? And I quote, ‘Due to mental distress that she might endure if she has to see his face again’ end quote.”

Wheein narrowed her eyes at the mocking tone and the raised voice before giving Byul a glare.

“Like your client is any better! He demanded that my client stopped going to certain restaurants just because he happened to frequent the place, do you want me to quote as well? ‘because I might lost my appetite if I have to eat within close proximity with her’. What the hell, Byul?”

“That’s what he wanted.”

“And he sure would never get it.”

“So we don’t have an agreement?”

“Not in a million years, baby. Not in a million years. Tell that client of yours to amend his demand and... ” she sighed, racking her fingers through her wavy black hair, “I’ll try talking some sense into my client too, there’s no way we could proceed with this whole shenanigans.”

Wheein stood up and was walking toward the door when she suddenly stopped and turned back, eyes softened when she saw the tired lines on Byul’s face.

“I’ll cook your favorite food once we got home. I need to fatten you up, you’re getting too thin, babe.”

Smiling softly, Byul simply nodded, “and cuddle afterwards?”

Wheein grinned and nodded, showing Byul the dimple that she loved so much, “Yes, cuddle afterwards.”

***

Wheein blew over the reddish liquid lightly and took a carefull sip from the spoon, frowning lightly over the taste. Scooping some of the kimchi jjigae soup to a tasting bowl, she walked over to the reading room where Byul was still doing some of her work.

Pushing the slightly down glasses up over Byul’s nose bridge, Wheein grinned when the startled older woman looked up, “Why so serious? Here, give it a taste, is it too spicy for you?”

Taking the offered bowl, Byul tugged at Wheein’s hand until the younger woman sat on her lap before taking a sip, “No, it’s perfect. Just like you.”

“All of these years and you are still so greasy, but don’t ever change.” Wheein smiled at her softly, running her fingers through Byul’s hair before planting a kiss on Byul’s temple.

Wiggling a bit to get more comfortable, she looked at the opened laptop, “What are you reading? I could see you frowning from a mile away.”

Tightening her hold on Wheein’s waist, Byul put her chin on Wheein’s shoulder before sighing, her voice mumbled, “Mr. Kim just sent me his feedback on the demands.”

Wheein winced, “Do I want to know?”

“Well, it depends…. He agreed on the dentist, but he wanted something in return….”

“And that would be?”

“He wanted her to stop wearing a certain brand of perfume, he said that the scent should be for him and him alone, so she should stop wearing it.”

“That’s…. odd, but I think it’s doable, let me just send a quick email to Mrs. Kim for that, any other things?”

Byul shook her head and Wheein giggled, “Your hair tickles. Come on, let’s eat.”

They were half way through the meals when Wheein’s phone vibrated with an incoming email.

“Why do I get the feeling that you better not read that before we finish eating?” mumbling with full, Byul quickly chased the food down with the soju that they opened.

“It might not be Mrs. Kim….” Sliding over her phone, Wheein read the incoming email silently, her expression turning sour by the second before she slowly put down her chopstick, her appetite lost.

“What?” Byul asked through another mouthful.

Taking her shot glass and finishing it in one go, Wheein shook her head and smiled bitterly, “Finish your meal first.”

“Why?”

“Trust me, love, you want to finish your meal first.”

“Okay now you got me all curious.”

“Byul, really, just finish your meal first and then I’ll tell you about it.”

“During cuddle time?”

“I’m going to need you to hug me after this, yes.”

“Okay, that’s it. Give me your phone, how bad can it be?”

“Oh, you don’t want to know….”

One slender eyebrow raised, seconds lapsed and when Wheein least expected it, Byul reached forward and snatched her phone away, ignoring Wheein’s squeal of protest and gave her a smug smirk once the phone was already in her hand.

Humming to herself, she typed in the phone password and started reading. Her smirk, however, slowly turned into a frown and Wheein cringed when Byul slid the phone over to her silently.

“I think I might throw up…”

“I told you to finish your meal first.”

“Why in the world would anyone demand such crazy things on their divorce settlement?”

“They’re just doing it to spite the others.”

“Yes, but agreeing to undergo another plastic surgery to change her face back as long as he….” Byul covered quickly, unable to finish her words.

Wheein her back in sympathy, “That’s an information about a client that I REALLY don’t need to know.”

“I don’t think I would be able to see him in the face again. Ever.”

“Well, that’s okay. Just don’t look down to his, you know…”

Byul snorted, “Not a chance.” Looking pleadingly at Wheein, she intertwined their fingers together, “Let’s just go to bed. I’ll clear the table and wash them tomorrow.”  

“Okay… So uhm… are you going to tell Mr. Kim the counter demand?”

Scratching her brow lightly, Byul gave Wheein a deadpan look, “How am I supposed to tell him that in exchange of her giving him her face back, she wants him to refrain from using his….” Byul cringed, “male anatomy for the enjoyment of himself and others until he got it reduce to his … old size.”

“His teeny weeny size.” Wheein corrected her with a grin on her face that just grew bigger until peal of laughter left her lips, forcing Byul to laugh along with her.

“I don’t want to know!” Byul shouted amidst laughter and just shook her head in disbelief, “I’m not going to take divorce case again. Not even for a favor.”

“Count me in on that one. Never again. This case giving me more headache than three simultaneous court cases combine. Come on, let’s go to bed, you can use your anatomy for my enjoyment.”

Byul gaped as Wheein winked at her, “You did not just say that.”

“I just did.”

“How could you… That’s just totally ruining it for me. Nope. Omphhh. What…” Byul looked at the shirt that she caught on reflect after it hit her face and then at the gloriously half body of her fiancé, a challenging smirk splayed on her face.

“You were saying?”  

“On second thought….” She whispered and Wheein laughed.

“You’re drooling.”

Byul ignored the teasing remark, putting her hand on the soft skin of Wheein’s smooth abdomen, she breathes in the sweet smell of Wheein’s neck, “Would you blame me?” she asked, lips already busy nibbling at Wheein’s throat.

“Never.” A startled laugh left her lips when Byul suddenly lifted her body and carried her toward the bedroom. Her brain instantly shut down, lost in the sensation that only Byul could give her.

***

Byul grabbed the papers on her table and hurriedly walked out when she saw Wheein walked passed her office. Her long strides carried her until she was walking side by side with the younger woman, “He wanted her to never wear the little black dress with the.... “ Byul flipped through the pages and showed Wheein the picture of the dress.

Wheein glanced at the picture for a brief second but didn’t slowed her pace toward the elevator, “What is the reason this time?” one brow raised quizzically toward the blonde haired woman.

“It was the dress that she used on their first date.”

Wheein blew out a breath, “You know, despite all of their crazy demands, why do I have the feeling that they still love each other? In their own twisted peculiar way? I mean, she basically didn’t want him to date other women and he still remembered the dress that she wore on their first date. Why are they doing this to each other?”

Byul remained silent for a couple of second before rubbing her face wearily and gave Wheein a small sad smile, “It’s not our job to analyze the reason why.”

“I know, but it’s just so frustrating....”

“Locking them inside a room together would not be an option as well.”

Wheein scoffed at Byul’s teasing words, “It worked before. For you and Hyejin. For us.”

“Yeah, but with these two, I don’t know and I don’t want to take any chances.” Byul winced slightly, remembering the shouting matches that they had to endure during both of their face to face meeting together.

“This whole back and forth demands need to stop soon though, we’ve been going back and forth with it for 3 months.”

“We still haven’t break Jung-In’s record, she handled divorce settlement that dragged on for 2 years, not including the divorce trial.”

Wheein made a face and laughed slightly, “Ugh no...  I will go insane by then.”

“Schedule a one on one meeting with our respective client and this time, let’s put our foot down so we could settle this.”

Wheein nodded her agreement and walked into the opened elevator door, “I’ll set up a meeting with her then, I got to go to court now. See you at home?”

Byul gave her a soft smile and nodded, her heart always somersaulted whenever Wheein called their shared apartment as home, “Yes, see you at home.”

***

Byul walked into the meeting room at precisely 9 AM, a cup of hot black coffee in hand. She settled into the swiveling chair across from Wheein – setting down her coffee on the table – she allowed a faint smile to pull at one corner of her lips, “Well... shall we do this?”

Wheein nodded and pulled out the papers from its folder, “Yes. She agrees to divide the assets in half and retracted all of her previous demands. She just wants this whole thing to be settled once and for all.”

To say that Byul was surprised would be an understatement. She didn’t expect that Mrs. Kim would agree to a speedy settlement just like that.

“What did you say to her?”

“What makes you think that it was something I said?”

Byul played with the lid of her coffee cup idly before leveling her gaze to the younger woman, “She was adamant with her demands before, it was odd how she suddenly changed her mind after you had a one on one meeting with her, so it wasn’t difficult to connect the dot.”

Wheein simply shrugged, “I asked her the reason why she married him in the first place. I told her about the demands from Mr. Kim and how it could be interpreted. He remembered the details of their first date, he remembered the restaurant that they always went to for their anniversary dinner, he didn’t want her to wear the perfume that was supposedly only meant for him.”

She stopped for a brief moment and sighed, “They loved each other once. The fire fizzled somewhere along the line for some reasons that we don’t know, but it was there before. I asked her whether it meant anything to her. The marriage. Him. They were together for 18 years before they call it quit. It must’ve meant something.”

Byul nodded, a proud smile lingered on her lips as her eyes remained on Wheein’s face, watching the play of emotion on the younger woman’s face. Between the two of them, Wheein was the sensitive one, even if she didn’t show it as much, but she really has a soft heart.

“So, how about your client?”

Wheein questioned snapped Byul back into focus – leaning forward to shuffle the printed documents in front of her – she pushed a printed email with just one sentence written on it.

“Give her anything she wanted.” Wheein read the sentence in whispered voice and directed her gaze back to Byul’s face, a sudden sadness engulfing her.

“He still loves her, isn’t he?”

“I don’t know, baby.”

Wheein nodded, lost in thought for a while, a sad smile gracing her lips, “So, it settled then, 50 – 50 division of their current assets, including their respective business venture.”

“No, he said that her cosmetic business was hers from the get go, it was her child, so he wants her to have it.”

Wheein hummed at Byul’s answer, nodding her head slightly, twirling the pen in her hand absentmindedly before releasing a deep sigh, “Do you want me to do the paper work? Or will you be the one that prepare the settlement agreement?”

“I’ll do it. Let’s close this case.”

There was a saying that life could take an unexpected turn and it was happening right in front of her right now.

A couple of months ago, Byul wouldn’t have thought that she would witness a civil conversation between her and Wheein’s clients. They had a couple meetings before and all always ended up in a shouting match, accusation thrown carelessly, threats were spoken, even one of Mrs. Kim shoe once flew across the table, directed at her husband’s head. Luckily it missed, if not, he would have grounds for civil law suit and it won’t be pretty.

Yet now, they were both calmly perusing the settlement agreement, not even making any comments and without realizing it, Byul released a relief sighed when they both signed their names in the bottom of the agreement.

It’s done.

All they have to do now is to file in the divorce settlement and that’s it. The marriage is over in the eyes of the law.

It was kind of depressing how a marriage, a vow to be together for eternity could ended just by a simple of a pen. Yet, that’s how real life really works.

Byul watched as Wheein gathered the paperwork and double checked everything before giving her a nod. It’s over now, but what should you say to the clients now? Congratulation on your divorce? Is it even something that you need to congratulate someone for?

Byul forced a smile on her face as the former married couple gave them a small bow, pleasantries were exchanged and both she and Wheein looked on as the two of them walked side by side toward the elevator, a respectful gap between them, as if they were strangers that happened to walk on the same path.

They got what they really wanted, right?

Wheein was the first to turn around, her fingers brushing lightly over the freshly signed agreement on the table before she sat down. It was still early and they got one case down, yet she felt so tired all of the sudden.

Shutting the meeting door quietly behind her, Byul moved and sat on the chair beside the younger woman, funny how they settled the case and she didn’t feel happy. In fact, she was weary.

“She wanted out of the marriage since a couple of years back. Said that she woke up one morning and the feeling just gone.” Wheein broke the silence in the room and turned slightly on her chair to look at Byul. She smiled sadly, “The love that she had for him vanished.” She snapped her fingers together, the ‘click’ sound felt like a whip to Byul, “Just like that. Can you believe that?”

“She tried to hold on, but as time passed by, every moment together, every meal, every hug, every kiss, every time they made love, it felt like a charade to her. It felt like a lie and it was burdening for her. So she started creating arguments out of nowhere, she wanted them to fall apart, she wanted to be free of him, no matter what.”

Wheein clasped her hands together, knuckles white from her own grip, “Will... “ She cleared slightly before continuing, “Will we ever be like that?”

Byul’s back stiffened, her heart thumped thunderously and the sickening feeling rose up to when she saw the storminess of Wheein’s eyes.

The wheel of the chair scraped the wood floor as Byul hastened to reach out her hand and the smooth skin of Wheein’s cheek, “No.”

Leaning her cheek against the palm of Byul’s warm hand, she quietly whispered, “What makes you so sure?” Wheein struggled to regain control of her voice from the sudden onslaught of emotion.

Byul drew a sharp breath and kneeled down on floor, swiveling the chair that Wheein sat on until she was ensconced between Wheein’s leg. She took hold on Wheein’s hand and gripped it tightly, “Because we’ve been through hell together....”

Something flickered inside of Wheein’s eyes. A remembered past and the hurt that came along with it. The uncertainty and the scar of old heartache were etched on her eyes and Byul cursed herself for putting it there.

“We broke up.” The whispered words tore at Byul, slashing at her heart, the scar still fresh in her mind’s eyes. Byul shook her head slightly, trying to chase away the painful memory of losing the woman in front of her even for just a brief moment.

Reaching up to Wheein’s cheek, she cupped it gently and looked deep into the fragile eyes, “Yes. We did.” It happened months ago, but the memory still lingered.

Leaning forward to touch their forehead together, Wheein whispered softly, “We might end up just like them someday.”

“No.” Byul’s voice was fierce with emotion, her hand move up to the back of Wheein’s neck and gripped it lightly, “We broke up, yes, and it was something that we couldn’t deny happened, but even then I never stop loving you.” Byul’s voice catches and she desperately trying to force down the nightmare from resurfacing on the back of her mind.

“Even then.... I never gave up on you, I never gave up on us and I never will.... Just like before, I will always fight for us, no matter what happened, no matter the length that I have to go through, I will never let you go.”

Byul trembled slightly as Wheein’s hand ghosted over her cheek, she didn’t even realize that a single tear has escaped until Wheein wiped it away, “What happened to us, it was not the same. It was never about us falling out of love, it was... me. It was my fault and....”

She lost Wheein once and it was not like when Yuri came into their lives. It was worse. The circumstances were worse. She was in limbo, unsure whether she was alive or not when Wheein walked out of her life. There was a note of finality then and it was the start of her entire world crumbling down and she had no one else to blame but herself.

“What did I do to deserve you.... I’m just a worthless piece of .....” her words was cut out, Wheein’s lips swallowed the rest of her words with a fierce demanding kiss, brutal in its earnest.

“Don’t....” Wheein was surprised by how shaken her voice was after she ended her kiss, finding herself on her knees facing the love of her life, “Don’t say something like that about my future wife. Believe me when I said that you are the one person that I want to spend the rest of my life with. No one else. Just you. Only you.”

“And it was not your fault.... don’t take the blame for something that was out of your control.... I love you....” Byul closed her eyes, absorbing Wheein’s last words as if it was the essence for her to continue on living.

Their hands were linked together as they stayed there in silent. Forehead to forehead. The nightmare that tore them apart was over, the wound closed and healed, yet the scar still there. A bitter sweet reminder that they went through hell and back, yet their love for each other remained.

Byul leaned forward, holding Wheein tight in her arms, “I’m yours forever, if you’ll have me.”

“I do...”

“Whatever the future holds?”

“Always....”

Wheein’s words filled her heart and Byul tightened her hold into the petite body, knowing that as long as they have each other, come hell and high water, they would face it together, and in the end whatever come what may, they would stay together.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Author's Note

This story is what happened when you listened to "Worthless" and "Anymore" on a loop for days. Also, I miss writing lawyer Byul XD It was supposed to be a cute little one shot about them handling a divorce case against each other, along with the craziest divorce settlement demands, yet somehow it turned up really angsty and I think I give you guys more questions than a story LOL. Ah well, if anyone of you miss this particular alternate universe, I hope you enjoy this story then :D 

Kudos to some of you who guessed that it was only a case that they work on <3 <3 <3 

Until we meet again in another story and talk to you guys soon, cheerz!!!