Sohyun avoided calls from Seung Ho the next few days. His messages were either not responded or answered curtly. He even tried to contact her through her brother but she continued to ignore him. Sohyun needed time, time to ease the pain from the disappointment and hurt of the realization that he was prepared to let her go. Easily. Her heart was in agony as that thought stabbed deep into it.

She spent her days alone. In school, she attended her classes and did her work and leave quickly. When she was home, she stayed cooped in her room, either bawling her eyes out or sleep so that she could stop the persistent pain in her heart. She avoided her friends and even when they descended into her room, insisting on seeing her, she did not say much to them. She was a human zombie who had built a wall around herself.

She was startled from her sleep by the muffled sounds outside her room. Looking at the clock in her room, she noted it was past midnight. She walked to her door to check it out and when she opened it, she stopped when she heard the mention of her name. Omma was having a heated discussion with her brother.

“You are not going to do anything else but just focus on your study. This has nothing to do with you,” her mom spoke in a low, harsh voice.

“Nothing to do with me? How can it have nothing to do with me? Noona is suffering, is in pain because of us. You and me, Omma. She has been supporting us since Appa gone. She needs her career because she has to continue to support us, even at the expense of her own happiness,” Sohyun’s brother talked back. Mrs Kim closed her eyes as she held back her own tears. Softening his tone, Sohyun’s brother continued, “Omma, you know Seung Ho-hyung makes Noona very happy. They are so in love and yet, because of us, we are tearing them apart. She is in so much pain now.  Can you bear looking at her? I can’t Omma. I am an adult now, I shouldn’t expect Noona to continue to support me, not if it is at the expense of her happiness. I will take a semester or a year off Uni. Get a job to fund the course. I promise I would not quit Uni, I’m just delaying completing it.”.

Sohyun softly closed her door and sat down on her bed. She had been focusing on her personal loss that she forgot her responsibility towards her family. She gulped down the tears that had started to stream down. Would the marriage be a possible solution? Could she marry him now, knowing he was able to easily walk away? Sohyun lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling while her brain worked through her options.

The next morning, she woke up early and greeted cheerfully at her surprised family as she joined them for breakfast. “Omma, I won’t be having dinner tonight. I plan to ask Seung Ho-Oppa to meet me after school,” she said happily. She smiled at her dongsaeng, whose mouth was ajar in shock at the sudden change in her. “Are you done with breakfast? Lets go to the station together,” Sohyun chirped in. While waiting for her dongsaeng, she messaged Seung Ho.

To Seung Ho-oppa

Good morning Seung Ho-oppa. Are you free this evening?

Seung Ho who had been at wit’s ends for the past few days, was pleasantly surprised to receive the message. He had been up early in the morning, since he barely able to get proper sleeps in recent days.

To Sohyunnie

Good morning. Yes, I am.

To Seung Ho-oppa

Could you pick me up from school? I finish at 5pm. Oh, bring dinner, please. I want to go to our lookout point. Thank you😊

Seung Ho wasn’t sure how to react to the message. He was happy she wanted to meet but the abrupt change in her scared him. Feeling a bit at ease that Sohyun was now speaking to him, he finally had a restful sleep for several hours.

Sohyun walked to the carpark and smile when she saw him got out of the car. She waved at him, “Hello!” she said brightly. Seung Ho answered her greetings and got into the car as she slipped into the passenger seat. He turned to her, wanting to lean for a kiss. She stopped him, “we are still on campus, Oppa. Kaja.”

On the drive to the lookout point, Sohyun kept a stream of conversation going on her school activities. When they reached the lookout point, she immediately walked out to see the city below. Seung Ho approached her and stood beside her. He stared at her as he was concerned and tried to wait it out for Sohyun to explain. Sohyun turned to him after a few minutes and put her hands on his chest as she tiptoed and kissed him. It was a tentative kiss. “Oppa, I’m hungry. Lets eat,” she suggested as she stepped down.

Seung Ho circled her waist with his arms and pulled her in. Gazing into her eyes, he tried to read her. But she just continued to smile at him, though her smile did not reach her eyes. Frustrated, he leaned down and kissed her hard. He put his helplessness and frustration into the kiss. When he pulled away, her lips were swollen from the roughness of his kiss and he was ashamed. “Sohyun-ah,” his voice broken. “Oppa,” Sohyun whispered. Placing her hands on his cheeks, she slowly caressed it. This time, she kissed him, lightly and then with more passion.

They sat down and ate their dinner. Sohyun reminisced on the times they were there. They each tried to point out some landmarks that they could see from their seats and laughed at each other for their weak attempts trying to fool the other.

As the evening turned darker, Sohyun took his hand in hers and she leaned against his chest. “Oppa, I don’t think I can ever love anyone else, not the way I loved you. Thank you for the wonderful time together. I will agree to whatever decision that would be made, no matter how hard it is,” she said softly. Seung Ho could not stop the tears that overflowed. He just held her tightly and kissed her head. They sat there silently as both were overcome by their emotion.

A few days later, Seung Ho and Sohyun met again in CEO Man’s office together with CEO Kim and Mrs Kim. This time, Sohyun sat with Mrs Kim opposite Seung Ho. CEO Man detailed the plan on rebuilding Sohyun’s career. It was a thorough plan and there were written confirmations from various parties to support it. Seung Ho and Sohyun stared at each other across the table, both having a hard time but through their eyes, they sought solace from each other.

Taking a deep breath, “I have an added condition before I agree to this,” Seung Ho said. Everyone looked at him. “I will take a step back for 3 months. If the plans laid out did not succeed by then, I will come back and take Sohyun away. And no one will stop us.”

Before anyone could react, Sohyun spoke up, “I have a request too. I want this weekend with Seung Ho-oppa. To go out on dates that we never had the opportunity to. You can announce it after that.”  Seung Ho was surprised but was happy to have their weekend together.

On Friday evening, Sohyun went to Seung Ho’s apartment with her overnight bag. She walked into the house and found Seung Ho in the kitchen dressed i