“Today, we are here at the book launch of Korea’s best-selling author, Cho Kyuhyun. After five long years of absence from the writing industry, the much-awaited book has finally been released! Let us give him a round of applause!” The host of the event announced as the author and his wife entered the conference room.

“Hi everyone, thank you for coming to the book launch.” The author, Cho Kyuhyun, was in a grey suit with his usually messy brown hair styled neatly to the back. To his left was his pretty wife, Lee Sungmin, dressed in a black cocktail dress, which flaunted her slim and curvy figure.  

“Mr Cho, please tell us more about the book you have just released.” The host said as she took a seat on the right side of the stage.

“This book was written in hopes of helping people who has experienced a traumatic past move on.” Kyuhyun paused as he took his wife’s hand under the table, giving her a comforting pat. When he saw the reassuring smile she gave him, he continued his speech.

“I assume you all know about the incident that happened to my wife five years ago. We really had a rough time then. Looking back, if I had a book like this, I would have handled the situation much better.” Kyuhyun smiled as Sungmin gave their clasped hands a reassuring squeeze.

“This book talks about the struggles we faced during that season, our inner thoughts, how we moved on and advice on how to.” He finished the speech, and answered the other questions the thrown at him.

As they laid on their bed staring deeply and lovingly into each other’s eyes that night. Kyuhyun knew that he would never give up this lady for anybody else in the world, ever again.

Kyuhyun and Sungmin had been inseparable ever since Kyuhyun was born and Sungmin was two. Their parents being best of friends and neighbours, they would always bring their kids whenever they meet.

Sungmin had two older brothers, Shindong and Hyukjae. Those two boys spoiled her rotten, treating her like their princess, while Kyuhyun was like their younger brother. 

When they started dating in high school, Kyuhyun promised her that he would protect and marry Sungmin one day.

Kyuhyun was 22 and Sungmin was 24 when they got married. Kyuhyun worked in a publishing company as a storybook author, while Sungmin was an interior designer who managed her own studio.

They were constantly busy, yet they always had time for each other. They were the ideal couple with the ideal married life, until it all went downhill 5 years into their marriage.

That time, Kyuhyun was already an established story writer and had sold many best-selling books. Sungmin was a popular and sought-after interior designer, having many of her designs featured on magazines and the web.

Five years ago - 

A loud sigh resounded around the quiet office room. The sun has already set and the moon shone into the dimly-lit room. A man was sitting on his desk as he wracked his brain into writing the continuation of his best-selling novel. A soft buzz could be heard as the handphone on his table vibrated signaling an incoming call. 

“Hey baby.” The man answered with a smile, so bright it could light up even the darkest night.

“Kyu! Will you be home late today?” A cheerful and chirpy voice sounded in his ears, as he twiddled with the pen in his fingers.

“Sorry baby, I won’t be home soon. I have to send in a draft to the editor tomorrow. I’ll have lunch with you tomorrow ok, baby?” Kyuhyun replied, feeling guilty as he continued to twiddle with the pen in his hand.

“Alright! See you tomorrow, Kyu! I love you!” The smile on his face widened, then replied with an ‘I love you too’ before hanging up.

It was as though hearing his wife’s voice gave him the motivation to continue writing his story. His face lit up as he begun to type enthusiastically on his laptop. 

By the time he was done with the draft and had sent it to the editor, he was exhausted. He crossed his arms and laid his head on them, his tired eyes closing as he drifted off to sleep.

Kyuhyun was awoken by an annoying, insistent buzz from his phone beside him. When he saw the name on the display, he blinked away the sleepiness and held the phone to his ear. After all, Hyukjae would never call him at 5am in the morning unless it was important.

“Where are you right now Kyuhyun?” Kyuhyun could hear the panic and the urgency in Hyukjae’s voice. He straightened up his back and sat still.

“I’m in my office.” When he replied, he could hear muffled screaming and sobbing sounds from the other line. He was about to ask who it was, when he recognised that it was his wife’s. Please let her be fine, please. He thought as he hurriedly packed his bag.

“Please come home right now.” Hyukjae’s voice trembled and Kyuhyun ran out of his office and went in his car. He drove as fast as he could, not caring about the number of traffic rules he had violated like exceeding the speed limits.

It didn’t matter that he would get fined for beating the traffic lights or exceeding the speed limits. All that mattered was his wife, who was crying and screaming. Kyuhyun knew that he had to be there with her.

When he was about to turn into the road leading to his house, he saw a few police cars parked along the road. As he drove closer to the house, it was as though realisation smacked him hard in the head. Something happened to his wife while he was in his office.

After parking his car, he showed his ID to the police to enter. He rushed into his house, taking in the mess and the blood stains on the floor around his house. He saw the dress he bought for his wife, torn and lying on the floor.

Kyuhyun panicked and frantically searched for his wife, when he saw Shindong walked out from his and Sungmin’s shared room. Kyuhyun ran up to him and Shindong pulled him aside and told him all that had happened.

Apparently, after their phone conversation ended, she had already parked her car and was about the close the gate when a man suddenly rushed, grabbed her with a knife pointed to her neck, demanding that she let him in the house.

Once she did, the man dragged her with him and forced himself onto her. When she tried to fight him, he grazed her skin with the knife and ripped her clothes. He her multiple times before running away with some items from the house.

When the man left, she called her brother before she lost consciousness. Shindong and Hyukjae found her and bleeding when they arrived. When she finally regained consciousness as they dressed her up, she screamed and cried.

The police came and an ambulance took her to the hospital to get treated. Shindong stayed behind to inform Kyuhyun of what happened while Hyukjae accompanied her to the hospital.

Kyuhyun’s mind was in whirl, as his legs gave way and knelt down on the floor. He buried his face in his hands as tears rolled down his cheeks; it hurt. It was like his life was almost taken away from him. The love of his life was hurt, and he didn’t know what to do. Sungmin had always been his pillar of support, and now that she was the broken one, he was devastated.

“Hyung! I need to go to the hospital! I need to be with Min now! No! Min needs me now!” Kyuhyun pulled himself up from the ground and broke into a dash. He rushed out of the house and got into his car. He was about to open the driver seat door when Shindong stopped him.

“Let me drive, you are in no condition to drive right now.” His brother-in-law said calmly yet firmly, Kyuhyun knew that Shindong was worried as well.

Kyuhyun nodded, and walked to the passenger's’ seat. Shindong was right, and Kyuhyun had no energy to argue with the older man. He was worried sick for his wife, and all he could think of was her.

Kyuhyun ran to the hospital the moment the car pulled up in the parking lot. He went up to the counter, his appearance disheveled, to ask where Sungmin was.

Shindong had to physically restrain Kyuhyun because he almost punched the nurse behind the counter when he took a long time looking for her name. When the nurse finally found out the ward Sungmin was in, he almost literally flew to the ward.

Sungmin was sleeping when Kyuhyun arrived at the ward. Hyukjae, who had been sitting on the chair beside her, shook his head and gestured for them to talk outside.

“She just fell asleep a few moments before you arrived...” Hyukjae’s voice was shaking as he held his tears back looking at his brother-in-law.

“How is she?” Kyuhyun’s voice trembled as well, tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Not good…” Hyukjae replied shaking his head, falling onto the chair beside him. He covered his face with his palm as his entire body shook.

“30 years… I’ve never seen-” Hyukjae was interrupted by a scream that came from inside the ward.

Kyuhyun, being the first to rush into the ward, reached out for his wife to try calming her down. He saw how she flinched and cowered away when he was about to touch her. She just screamed and cried whenever he went near her.

“Min… It’s me! Kyuhyun! It’s me, Min!” Kyuhyun sobbed as she inched away from his touch.

He helplessly watched as her screams grew louder. He felt Hyukjae place a hand on his shoulder and saw him shake his head. Finally getting the message, he let Hyukjae and Shindong walk to her side and try to calm her down. When they failed to do so, they had no choice but to call the doctor in.

As the weeks went by, Kyuhyun felt more helpless. Even after Sungmin was discharged from the hospital, she refused to talk to him or let him touch her. He could only silently wish that she would be back to normal again.

Every night, Kyuhyun could hear the sobs coming from their once shared room. Yet, there was nothing he could do to help her. He couldn’t help but feel useless. He tried researching on the internet for ways to help her, he tried asking anyone for help but their problem wasn’t completely resolved.

Her brothers, who she was closest to aside from Kyuhyun, couldn’t get her to open up too. They usually only received a blank stare from her, and if she’s in a worse mood, she’d scream and step away from them. Since then, they kept a respectable distance from her while still trying to get her to talk to them. Because they were her funny brothers, they mostly tried to make her laugh, despite the pain they’re feeling deep inside seeing their adorable sister lose the spark in her eyes. They have to be strong for her.

Figuring that Sungmin was afraid of men, in general, they had Ryeowook, Sungmin’s best friend, visit her from time to time. True enough, a woman’s presence comforted her a little; there were less emotional outbursts whenever Ryeowook was around, especially once they have started working on something in the studio. Still, it wasn’t enough to get her out of her shell.

“You have to be patient with her, Kyuhyun. Just love her like you have always did no matter how hard it is.” His best friend, Heechul, who was a counsellor, told him over the phone.

“She needs you more than anything now. Love her more than ever, be there for her when she cries. Be persistent even if she rejects you. Make her love you again, Kyuhyun.”

After that call with Heechul, Kyuhyun decided to heed his advice and did exactly what he was told. He talked to her every day, told her their past love stories, cooked for her and fed her. He was always there next to her every second, every day, showering her with more love than he had ever given her.

Slowly but surely, he saw how Sungmin opened up to him again. He still heard the crying when he slept beside her on the bed at night. She would start to calm down when he wrapped his arms around her, even though she still flinches at his touch.

There was one night when Kyuhyun was on the phone with his editor when he heard sobbing sounds emitting from the bathroom. Kyuhyun hurriedly ended the call with his editor and rushed to the bathroom.

The sight before him broke his heart once again. Sungmin was scrubbing herself so hard her entire skin was red, crying her heart out.

“Min! What are you doing?” He knelt down next to the bathtub and held her hand, stopping her from inflicting more harm onto her body.

“I’m dirty, Kyu… I don’t deserve you… I don’t deserve your kindness… I don’t… I don’t deserve your love…” Sungmin sobbed as she wrapped her hands over her body, nails digging into her skin.

Kyuhyun just silently pulled her hands away and ran the shower on her gently. He just poured out his love for her silently through his actions, because that’s all he could do back then. After dressing her up, he tended to her wounds and pulled her into his embrace.

“For you, Min. It is worth it. All my life, I’ve loved only you. You are the reason I survive. Without you, Min, my life would be a whole lot different. Don’t say that you are dirty and you don’t deserve me. I am the one who needs you more than you need me, so please Min… I love you, with my entire life. I love you.”

Kyuhyun sobbed into her shoulder and he could feel Sungmin’s body shaking as well. They held each other and cried for hours, finding comfort in each other.

A few weeks later, when Sungmin was feeling better. Kyuhyun decided it was better for them to have a change of environment. He took Sungmin out and drove her to their newly-furnished house. Actually, he bought the house and wanted to surprise Sungmin before the incident happened.

“Welcome to our new home, Min.” Kyuhyun said as he opened the door to their new house.

“I designed… this house…” Kyuhyun smiled and looked adoringly at his wife. He had his co-worker, Zhoumi, help him get Sungmin to design the interior without letting her know that it was actually hers. Zhoumi had to pretend that it was his new house.

The living room was garbed with black furniture, with the walls and floors painted white. It was minimalistic, just the way they liked it. He led her into her makeup room, its walls painted a light shade of pink.

Their bedroom had the same style as their living room, only with bunny plush toys perched on the bed. His mother actually came to clean the house once a month, waiting for the day that they will finally move into the house.

That night, their families gathered to celebrate their moving. Kyuhyun knew that hanging out with other people would make Sungmin feel better. Hence, he invited Ryeowook and her boyfriend, Yesung. Hyukjae also brought his boyfriend, Donghae, while Shindong took his girlfriend with him.

As Sungmin caught up with her friends and family members, Kyuhyun saw her smile getting wider and he knew that her wounds were slowly healing.

Three years after the incident –

Kyuhyun was typing on his laptop when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his shoulders. His eyes lit up and the edges of his mouth rose as it broke into a smile. He melted into the hug and looked up into his wife’s eyes. “Hey, baby.”

“Hey, Kyu. What are you writing now?” Sungmin had a bright smile on her face as she gazed back into his eyes.

“I’m writing a book to help people move on with a traumatic past.” Kyuhyun nuzzled his nose on Sungmin’s when she leaned down.

“Oh? Tell me more about it.” She placed a small and light kiss on Kyuhyun’s lips, before moving to sit on his lap. His arms instinctively wrapped around her hips, holding her in place.

“I’m writing our story, and I got some tips from Heechul hyung as well. I hope you don’t mind me writing our story, Min.” He leaned his chin on her shoulder as she silently read the draft he was writing.

“I don’t mind, we should help people get over it. Just like how you helped me.” She tilted her head to the side and Kyuhyun placed a kiss on her lips.

“If we had a book like this back then, I would have been able to help you better.” Kyuhyun rested his head back on her shoulders.

“You are already awesome. You didn’t have to be any better.” She replied with a smile.

- Present time -

Kyuhyun blinked feeling warm fingers caressing his cheeks. He tightened his grip around his wife’s waist and placed a kiss on her lips.

“Penny for your thoughts?” She whispered playfully after they pulled away from the kiss.

Kyuhyun smiled at the woman, “I’m just thankful to have you in my life.”

“I’m more thankful to have you. I love you.”