Jiyeon's POV

We are here but you seem miles away, I don't know if you even realize that we are walking at the supermarket together now. Hyomin has been spacing out all these time, it's not difficult to guess that she has been thinking about something else, her eyes look tired as though she has been crying. It's noticeable but what's a use to talk about it when Hyomin doesn't even know I'm visible.

" Do you want some oranges?"

There is no answer, my voice is audible but she just doesn't hear me

" Hyomin" I lightly grab her shoulder but it's enough to make her startle

" I ask if you may want some oranges?"

" That would be great, thank you" Hyomin fakes a smile

I pick some oranges and put them in a shopping trolley

" How about?"

I sigh, Hyomin is literally distanced away while she is walking by my side

Is it wrong of me to wish I could be the one giving you a hug every time you look sad and down, like you are just now?

" I really want to know who dares to steal away your smile" I pretend to be mad , it works , Hyomin looks at me , with her little smile .

" Nobody does, I'm sorry , I'm a blooper today" Hyomin realizes she is not a good shopping companion today

" If you don't feel like coming, next time just tell me okay, I'd rather have you cancelled on me than not being happy coming with me" I tell her

" It wasn't so , it's nice to go out here with you , it's just me" A long sigh from Hyomin tells me how hard she tried

" You know what? I'm not only your roomie, or a fake date couple "

It sounds straightforward, but it's true , I can't run from it , we are not real, and it will never be , I'm not that person she has given all her heart to and I can't make Hyomin love me.

" I'm also your friend that you can lean on"

" Thank you Jiyeon"

" No thank me for doing nothing for you, tell me what I can do for you" I feel frustrated

Hyomin only lowers her head

" You've done so much already , I'm so grateful to have such a wonderful friend like you, I don't know what I did to deserve your attention, and I know you worry about me , but there is nothing you can do about this" Hyomin says

" You know I care for you right" I just want her to know I'm here

" I do , and I know how you feel for me, I'm so blessed to be loved , if only I could return the same feeling , I would , but I " Hyomin looks at me

" But you can't " I finish her sentence for her, though it hurts

" I'm sorry" Hyomin says

" Don't be sorry for being honest to yourself, you can't force yourself to feel, neither can I, I can't force myself not to feel the way I do"

I can't tell myself to stop loving you , I really can't

"I've got someone in my heart" Hyomin confesses.

" I've been aware that you've got someone you love, who made you laugh and cry, I just want to be someone who could put a smile back to your face , that's all I need to do " I admit wholeheartedly

" Jiyeon , please " She looks at me with the eyes filled of guilt and pleading

Hyomin's voice is trembling, and I can't stand it, it aches my heart. It's not her fault , not her fault at all , it's actually me that's not part of this love , she has someone she loves and the one who loves her . As her tears are falling down now and while your person is not here, let me be the one to give you a warm embrace, at least to ease your pain that I can't cure.

" I don't know what to do anymore, I can't get through her for couple days"

Hyomin finally spills after sobbing in my arms , and now I know why she can't be herself , and that happens when you worry about someone so much , you're overwhelmed by anxiety, even lose yourself in present moment.

" What did happen?"

" She disappeared after finding out a truth"

" A truth?"

" It's a long story"

" Alright , understood"

" She has never been this way" Worried is in her voice

"It could be that she probably may need sometimes alone , it's not easy to take the truth if it's too shocking , or hard to take "

" I know her well, it's not like her to disappear like this, she won't leave me worry just like this , unless somethings happened to her" Hyomin tries hard not to cry again

" Have you checked where she might have been?" I ask

" I've been waiting at her place, she didn't go to work, and of course she is not going home"

" Anywhere special place she likes to be?" I ask

Hyomin looks at me as if I knocked her at her head , her eyes are hopeful as if she sees the light .

" Yeah, it's our barn house ! " Hyomin figures out

" Do you want to check here there?" I ask

" It's 3 hours from here" Hyomin says

I look at the time it's past might night, and 20 minute to a new day . I smile at Hyomn , her tired eyes spark somehow.

" I know you worry about her that you haven't had any sleep , and if you show up like this , she may feel worse than she might have felt , shall you get some sleep and we're headed there in the morning?" I suggest

" Will you take me there?" Hyomin asks, excited

" Sure , I will take you there , but you need some sleep first, if you assume she may be there , it won't be too late to head there in the morning" I comfort her

" Okay , I'll get some sleep, then we will go to see Eunjung in the morning" Hyomin smiles like a kid as she wipes away the droplets at the corner of her eyes , I smile .

When someone else's happiness is your happiness, that is love

That saying is what I'm accepting it now

We got abut four hours of sleep before getting ready to leave Seoul to where Hyomin described as their barn house , Hyomin is happily storytelling about couple things related to this house and things that happened when she was little , her car accident that kept her from driving until when I taught her to , and a person name has been dearly called by Hyomin a few times.

" You guys are cousin?" I decide to ask , it's too personal but I can't help being curious

" We've believed we were" Hyomin answer in bitter tone

" We are not" Hyomin smiles bitterly

" Oh , thought you were cousins" I'm taken back by the answer

" Well , we thought so , and we wish we knew sooner" So much regret in her tone

" Sooner is better, but it's best to know the truth than be kept in the dark forever" I point out

" I guess this is the world we live , we have to cover something up just to make sure undesirable truth is hidden" Hyomin speaks the truth

" I couldn't agree more "

We have been driving along the country side, the morning sunlight shines through Hyomin's face , I keep stealing glance at her face, the beauty pictures that I'm queer to keep in my memories as long as possible. I wanted to believe that we are not making such a memorable trip together down to find her lover, but the truth is it .

The pine tree in a scenic arch welcomes us as I'm making a last turn leading to a log cabin in a private land , I can see how hopeful Hyomin is as she shifts excitedly , but once I pull over the car , her smile turns to great worry , and I don't feel right too , because a scene seen before us is a disaster , a huge tree falls on a car .

I hear the door swung opened and Hyomin quickly runs to the scenario, I jump off my car and am greeted by not very pleasing sight , a car is halfway shrunk by the hit of the tree , glass door is shattered every where .

" Eunjung !"

I hear Hyomin scream for a name painfully as she looks around frantically searching her, I'm now standing behind her.

" She is not here" Hyomin nervously speaks

" She could have been here" My eyes fixed at the blood strain on the grass, Hyomin follows my gaze, then she spins her heels and toward the cabin

" Eunjung !"

Worries, longing, endearing that name has been repeated by Hyomin . Jiyeon knows her name would never be called such a way.

*********************************

Faint noise , undesirable smell , aching all over, Eunjung groggily wakes up in a hard bed , nobody is here to greet her but the sharp pain on her head, her eyes adjusting to the day light, she instinctively inspects her surrounding and her body, she is in green hospital gown with syringe attached to her arm , with an extra dull pain running through her face , Eunjung lifts her hand to touches it where she feels a white gauze plastered on it , it takes her a moment to recall what happened as she is doing so her head is hurting .

Eunjung moves a green curtain separating herself from other patients in a tiny space , in a mixed ward to find another old lady lying on a bed next to her, judging from her what she is seeing , she comes up with her conclusion that this is not certainly a city hospital , or anywhere near Seoul .

"Oh you wake up?" A nurse approaches her with a smile , she then checks on her

" How did I get here?" Eunjung asks

" Let's me get you a doctor, she should know better" A nurse smiles a she shortly returns with a doctor

" How are feeling?" A female doctor appears in her white gown wearing glasses

" Some pain" Eunjung tells

" You've got a severe cut on your head and long cut on your face" The doctor informs, " Luckily you're not injured in other part nor broken any bone"

Eunjung touches her face again, she knows she should be grateful that she is alive , and should worry later about scar on her face , but she can't help it, she heaves a long sigh

" Thank you for saving me Dr... Kim ? " Eunjung reads her name tag

" That's my job" She smiles

" How did I get here by the way?" Eunjung wants to find out so she can thank them

" You were found unconscious and sent here by electricity workmen who were going around and checked the damage of electricity cable caused by monsoon

" You were lucky that they found you and rescued you before you got worse lying in the rain, you could have suffered from pneumonia" She adds

" Yeah I really wanted to thank them" Eunjung says

" I don't think you are from here" Dr Kim says

" I'm from Seoul" Eunjung says

" That's what I guess" She says, " We don't know how to contact your family"

Then it hits Eunjung

" How many day was I unconscious?

" Two days"

*********************************

Mr. Hahm is flipping through the photo albums that photo colors turn fade as time goes by , pictures after pictures of a beautiful kid smiling straight at the cameras , from early young ages . Eunjung stood alone in the pictures until she turned 7 years when she started smile with another girl next to her, the girl with round eyes resembled Jiwoo , and that smile , he didn't want to lie , but Hyomin got it from him.

Mr. Hahm was all happy when Jiwoo agreed to come to live under the same roof with him after Yongha passed away , and he finally got to see his daughter , and secretly watched her growing and supported her as an uncle , because Jiwoo wouldn't let him tell Hyomin . Even after everything changed, it was the deepest guilt that they couldn't forgive themselves and still live with it . Hahm Seungwon tried to make it up to Eunjung's mother by raising her daughter as best as he could , but once he got to spend time with Hyomin , he realized that he was only a human , and even though he loved Eunjung, blood was always thicker than water , and he couldn't love anyone else more than his own blood.

Eunjung and Hyomin were inseparable when they were kids and as teenagers which Seungwon was quite happy to know that they got along so well but then at some points of time when they grew up , they became distanced , and without him knowing a reason behind it, assuming that Eunjung and Hyomin estranged as they went separate ways and different personalities , never realized that they were burdening parents' expectation.

" Can you get hold of Eunjung ?"

Jiwoo sits beside him , asking worriedly

" I couldn’t, and she didn't show up at work"

" She may need sometimes"

" I understand , and I know her well , she may choose to walk away like her mom"

" Will you let her?"

" She is still my daughter "

" What have we done to them"

" Give them time , they will eventually understand it" Seungwon hugs Jiwoo , she nods .

Mr. Hahm reaches a last picture of them as a family , two little girls smiling brightly like this world was only filled with candies and toys while Seungwon and Jiyeon stood behind them .

*********************************

Hyomin is holding Eunjung's phone with tear running her cheeks , that's the only thing they found inside the house apart from the broken car parked outside the house.

Jiyeon decided to drive Hyomin around to find a nearest hospital where Eunjung could possibly be, but they couldn't find anyone admitted under such a name . Each minute goes by with Hyomin being more impatient, but Jiyeon can't blame her, she could see herself in such a crazy state if someone she loved gone missing.

"Should we go back to Seoul and check at the hospital there?" Jiyeon suggests after their attempt failed

Hyomin checks her phone hoping to hear something from either police or hospital they gave their contact to, but it only emphasizes her disappointment.

" That's a long way to make if Eunjung was injured" Hyomin reasons

" But there is only one hospital here, and she wasn't there , where could she be?" Jiyeon can't figure it out

" I don't know" Hyomin feels hopeless

" Don't you think uou should tell your parents, at least they would be able to handle something ?" Jiyeon starts to think of other possible thing that could happen

" They wouldn't care" Hyomin scoffs , " And Eunjung will be fine"

" Hyomin but "

Ring .....

Hyomin's phone rings , Hyomin swiftly checks on it , but only to sigh when she sees the calling name " Soyeon" , Hyomin has to answer as she was calling earlier . And as expected , Soyeon is scolding her for not showing up at a schedule but she couldn't careless now , it takes Soyeon for some good minutes until she got Hyomin to response to her conversation , before making sure Hyomin would be returning Seoul for her work then Soyeon hung up

" Was it Soyeon unnie?" Jiyeon could tell by hearing the conversation

" Yeah, I missed a schedule" Hyomin informed just as if it's just an ordinary breakfast skipping

" Do you need to be back?" Jiyeon questions

" I won't go back until I find Eunjung" Hyomin insists stubbornly

" Okay" Jiyeon understands

" I'm sorry to have troubled you" Hyomin apologizes

" No , not at all " Jiyeon declines

They go back to the cabin after driving around for hours aimlessly, Hyomini lifelessly gets off the car , Jiyeon grabs the good she got it on the way , hoping Hyomin would eat something, she looks extremely tired .

" Are you alright?" Jiyeon catches Hyomin before she falls

" I'm okay" Hyomin assures

" You look pale" Jiyeon notices

" I'll be fine fine" Hyomin stubbornly insists , and Jiyeon sighs

" You've not eaten anything" Jiyeon says

" I don't have appetite" Hyomin tries to stand on her feet

" But you must eat " Jiyeon nags

Jiyeon holds on Hyomin's arm , making sure that she won't collapse anytime , and as they reach the door , the hear the sound of car engine , followed by a car entering the front yard . Jiyeon turns around so does Hyomin , and it doesn't take long until it reveals who are the visitors . Jiyeon releases her grip on Hyomin's arm when the latter dashes away , instantly approaching a person who just got out of a car , she watches as Hyomin throw that person a hug , sobbing is heard , but Jiyeon isn't in a position to give her a comfort when a person who owns Hyomin's heart is now in front of her , holding her like she can't lose her too.

*********************************

" It must be really hurt"

Hyomin slowly caresses Eunjung's jawline gently, her eyes travels from Eunjung's head which is bandaged to Eunjung's face , it wrenches her heart to see a wound on her face this close, once a perfect spotless skin is now replaced by a long deep scratch.

" I can take it, and it will heal eventually" Eunjung knows Hyomin's worry

" Please don't disappear like you did ever again" Hyomin begs

She sounds more like commanding and it's the first time a younger woman ever did so to an older woman, and she would be willing to do more if only she could make sure Eunjung would never disappear again , because just the thought about losing her threatens Hyomin's tear to falls anytime , she can't be without Eunjung.

No words could be described how relieved and overwhelmed Hyomin felt when she saw Eunjung right in front of her , she didn't even try to hold herself back , not any longer , she couldn't careless about the world but only one person , Eunjung's well-being is only thing she would trade all she has for.

"I won't go anywhere without you" Eunjung promises

She can see the fear lingered on these pair of brown orbs when she looks into Hyomin's eyes , although she is not sure what's going to happen to them from now on , one thing Eunjung knows she can't leave Hyomin's side despite a lot to face and so much to deal with.

" Let's go somewhere far away where nobody knows our names" Hyomin recommends

" You've got so much to lose"

" I don't care anymore"

" Hyomin ah"

" I love you and I just want to be with you"

Eunjung holds back her smile , seeing Hyomin like this brings back some old memories when Hyomin was a little girl and nothing was important to her than to stick around and be with Eunjung , she even promised to share her mother if it could make Eunjung happy and they could be together forever .

" It was so easy when we were kids" Eunjung says her thought

" It's not difficult either even though we are not" Hyomin gives her opinion," We can choose our own happiness"

" I know we can" Eunjung nods

She takes Hyomin's hands and holds them tight, nothing Eunjung could ever want more than to take these hands and holds them in hers forever , she took so many things for granted as well as Hyomin's sacrifice and now it's time for her to stand up and fight for them , she got nothing to lose .

" Do you trust me?"

Eunjung asks Hyomin , her eyes say more than she can promise and Hyomin nods

" I'll never let go of your hands" Eunjung fastens her hold on Hyomin's hand

Hyomin finds herself falling in love again but not with anyone new , it's always the same person , and no matter what, that person is always Eunjung . Regardless of what her real identity is , either a Hahm Eunjung , the heir of the a business tycoon or just a Hahm Eunjung whose mother owns a little restaurant outside the city , she is still the one Hyomin has known all her life , nothing is gonna change a deep feeling Hyomin has for Eunjung , and although Eunjung will end up having nothing, it wouldn't make Hyomin love Eunjung any less , not ever.

Despite all the chaos they are encountering now, Eunjung and Hyomin eventually set themselves free from all fear and what they were hiding from , for the first time they could cuddle into sleep without fearing to wake up and be set apart , to kiss without holding back , and to feel as whole in one's another love where they belong , they feel truly completed .

*********************************

Hyomin furrows her brow when she notices couple pairs of shoes at the entrance when she enters Eunjung's place , she can't be happier to be home after work like she is now , but her smile fades when she walks nto the living room where she is greeted by her mother and Eunjung's father who are leaving , the dead air creates as soon as she meets them

" Hyomin ah" Her mother greets but Hyomin doesn't greet back, she quickly walks to Eunjung's side and holds Eunjung's hand , Mr. Hahm glances at their reaction as well as her mother , even though they try to her their surprise , they can't do it completely

" Get well soon Eunjung" Mr. Hahm says before turning his back on them , he takes Jiwoo's hand , she looks back at her daughter with sad and loving look

" Thank you , I will " Eunjung bows to them .

Hyomin holds Eunjung's hand in silence until she makes sure the door closes

" Why are they here?" Hyomin asks

" They just paid me a visit, they found out I was injured and was home" Eunjung answered

" That's not all, isn't it ? Hyomin believes there is more to that

" Mm" Eunjung takes Hyomin's hand and leads her to sit down

" I didn't expect them to look indifferent to see me showing up here, they could have been shocked, did they find out ?' Hyomin assumes

" I just told them " Eunjung calmly stated

" Did they take it well ?" Hyomin looked expected

" No , they didn't" Eunjung shook her head

" Who am I expecting from ?" Hyomin smiles bitterly at hope

" Your mother seems to accept it better though , while your ..father does" Eunjung informs

" Who cares even they don't ?" Hyomin shrugs it off , and pretends not to take it to her heart

" What do you want me to cook for you today , are you hungry ?" Hyomin gives Eunjung a smile

" He doesn't want me to see you" Eunjung concludes , Hyomin's smile fades

" But that's none of my concern" Eunjung shows her white and strong smile , and Hyomin's smile is back .

They had been hiding for so long , it's time to come out of their hiding and enjoy the venture , an unexpected visit from Hyomin's parents turned out to be a confession of their relationship , when Eunjung decided to tell them that she has been together with Hyomin and as Eunjung expected and mentally prepared Hyomin's father couldn't take it , it angered him to the point that he went speechless , and it took him a while to calm himself and spoke again , and Hyomin's mother was so shocked too but she seemed more accepting. They were talking for hours, and he came up with an offer to still give Eunjung half of his heritage if she broke up with Hyomin, he couldn't take a fact that Eunjung who was legally his daughter was seeing his biologically daughter behind his back . Eunjung understood how he felt , it was the same way she found out the truth , but for once , she was following her heart , Eunjung turned down his offer and insisted staying by Hyomin's side which didn't make him very happy .

+++++++++++ TBC ++++++++++++++

I'm sad that I have to break Jiyeon's heart here but dandelion will only belong to a heart road as Hyomin belongs to Eunjung. I guess we've come so close to ending now , one more chapter to go . Many thanks to all reader nim who stick around , your comments are so precious , thank you for your support to this story , I'll see you soon for the ending !! xoxo