The whole Park family gathered in living room after their breakfast that morning. It was the fifth day Yena stayed there. She was getting comfortable with the family and she was thankful that they treated her as a family despite the chaos she caused them. In the span of five days, Yena also made up her mind which she announced to the whole family. Mrs. Park looked at her with a concerned expression on her motherly face.

“Are you sure about this, Yena?” She asked. Yena turned to look at her and nodded her head. She noticed different reactions from Mr. Park, Woojin and Jihoon but pretended not to see it.

“Yes, Mrs. Park.” She answered in definite. Yena had decided to marry Jihoon because she wanted to repay the family for their kindness and protection. She came to the decision after she was informed two days ago that her father never returned home even though there were no reporters around anymore. Yena decided to give up on waiting for her father. It was heart-breaking but Yena had to admit to the fact that her father hated her now as she brought disgrace to their family.

Mr. Park was obviously pleased with her decision. Jihoon also told them the other day that he agreed to marry Yena.

“It’s confirmed then. Jihoon and Yena will get married. Jihoon, we will hold a press conference to come clean with the public. You need to get ready with that.” He said and instructed Jihoon. Jihoon nodded his head without much objection. Yena could not read his expression. He was calm when she announced it. She wondered if he expected her decision or he was processing the situation.

“I understand.” He answered his father, nevertheless.

“So, when will we hold the wedding?” Mrs. Park asked. She was starting to get excited to prepare for the wedding. Jihoon raised his eyebrows and turned to look at Yena.

“What do you think, Yena?” He asked. Yena was caught off guard by the question. She did not expect that he wanted her opinion on their wedding date. Yena looked around to see all of them were expecting her answer.

“I… have no idea.” She nervously answered.

“Is there any date you like?” Jihoon pushed another question. It was obvious he wanted her to decide the date instead. Upon the question, Yena’s mind was brought back to the day she first saw Jihoon at the company. Yena was recruited into the department at the beginning of winter. She remembered that day as clear as crystal. When she first entered the company, her head of department introduced them to Jihoon because he was the new CEO. Yena remembered staring at his gorgeous and flawless face for a long time. She was captivated by his shining eyes and the charisma he exuded. She even loved his voice from the first time she heard it. Yena fell for him at first sight. She smiled softly upon the memories.

“19^th of November.” Yena answered. At that, Mrs. Park checked the calendar inside her phone. She showed the date to Mr. Park and both of them had a satisfied smile on their face.

“It’s a good date.” Mr. Park commented.

“I agree. We’ll work on it later, Yena.” Mrs. Park cheerfully added. She was very much in glee for this wedding. Yena smiled in relief.

“That’s good. I guess it’s time to discuss about our future plan, Jihoon.” Mr. Park said while standing up. Jihoon followed suit.

“Sure, dad.” Jihoon said. He gave one last glance at Yena before walking to the study room with Mr. Park. It was only after they left Woojin finally spoke up.

“Urm, mom. Now that the wedding is set, I think you want to ask your friends on what we can do for the wedding.” Woojin suggested and he got his mom in seconds. Mrs. Park’s eyes sparkled at the idea.

“Oh, right! I need to inform Mrs. Shin about this.” She said excitedly and left the living room to make a call.

Yena eyed Woojin who watched his mother walked out of the room. She knew Woojin was tricking his mom into leaving them alone. She also had a feeling on what Woojin would say to her, considering his indifferent reaction towards her decision just now.

“Yena.” He called her. Yena raised her eyebrows. Even though she was expecting this, she was nervous. Perhaps because she knew Woojin was a wise man and she realized the flaws in her decision.

“Are you really sure with your decision?” Woojin questioned her again although his mom did it minutes ago.

“Because marrying a chaebol like us means a permanent marriage despite your happiness. It’s not easy to back out later.” Woojin continued without giving chance to Yena to answer. Yena formed a small smile at that. It caused Woojin to frown.

“I have nothing to lose, Woojin. And I think it’s only right for me to repay your family by helping them.” Woojin was left speechless from her first statement. He gave it a thought before allowing himself to sigh.

“Fine, I understand. I’m only worried if you did not have much choice. I can help you to find a way out.” Woojin gave up, in the end. He knew he can never win someone who was as determined as Yena. After all, she was ready to sacrifice herself the first day she stepped into the house.

“Thank you for your concern, Woojin but I’m willing to help and I’ll take the risk.” Yena said with a smile. Woojin nodded his head.

“If you’re comfortable with it, then okay. I have nothing to say.” Woojin replied. He respected her decision this time. His answer brought a grateful smile on Yena’s face. Woojin had been attentive and protective towards her, like a big brother should be, even though he was the younger twin. And Yena could not express how thankful she was towards him. She hoped the marriage between her and Jihoon could somehow repay his and his family’s kindness.

“Boss is not replying my text again.” Daehwi put down his phone, his shoulders slumping as he sat on the couch in the office room with a huff. Jinyoung who was lying on another couch opposite of him, eyed the pouting guy. He rolled his eyes upon his friend being dramatic. It was not the first time Aeri had been ignoring Daehwi’s text. Jinyoung did not understand why he needed to be that anxious. After all, Aeri will reply when she needed to. Jinyoung let out a sigh as his mind strayed to Aeri.

“I miss Aeri like crazy.” He spoke his mind out. Daehwi landed his gaze on Jinyoung who was staring at the ceiling.

“Just forget her, Jinyoung. She’s untouchable for people like us.” Daehwi advised his best friend. He no longer remember how many times he said that to Jinyoung but he was going to say it over and over again. Daehwi did not want his friend to be hurt. Everything was obvious for Jinyoung. All he could do was to stop whatever he planned or hoped for. Jinyoung closed his eyes at that. It was a lie if he was not sick of hearing that from Daehwi.

“If only I didn’t fall for her.” Daehwi lifted his eyebrows upon that.

“You ask this question now? Why don’t you stop now that you realize it?”

“I tried but…”

“But what?”

“But she’s so cute.” Jinyoung whined, earning an annoyed look from Daehwi.

“Gosh, you’re hopeless.” Daehwi shook his head. Jinyoung laughed bitterly at that.

“I know that.” The annoyed look on Daehwi’s face morphed into a sorry look. He knew so well that Jinyoung loved Aeri a lot and it was hard for him to move on. Jinyoung acknowledged the pain he had while loving her, Daehwi knew that as well. As a friend, there was nothing he could offer other than advising him. After all, you cannot force people to feel something they refused to feel.

“Come on, Jinyoung. Try to look at other girls. Maybe when you found another girl, you can forget her.” Daehwi suggested but was replied with a scoff from Jinyoung.

“Question is, can they beat Aeri?” Daehwi frowned in disapproval.

“Excuse me. Question is, what if she can love and take care of you better than Aeri?” He countered Jinyoung. Jinyoung sighed in defeat. He knew whatever Daehwi told him was right after all. He should move on, but he refused because he was stubborn. Jinyoung shifted on the couch and faced the other side, turning his back on Daehwi. Daehwi shook his head at the sight.

“You know you shouldn’t treat Hyemi like that.” At the mention of the girl, Jinyoung groaned. A smile etched on Daehwi’s lips.

“Why are we talking about her now?” Jinyoung asked in his complaining tone. Daehwi stood up and took the chance to kick Jinyoung’s leg for asking that. The latter moved a bit but still refused to turn to face Daehwi.

“You know she likes you.”

“No, she didn’t!”

“Dude, it’s obvious. The whole department know about this. You’re the one acting cold towards her.”

“Because I don’t like her. She’s loud.”

“And she’s as pretty as Aeri.” Daehwi deadpanned. He felt no guilt at all for saying that. Hyemi did not lack anything as a girl. She did great in her job, she was friendly and she was kind. Everyone except for Jinyoung was comfortable with her friendliness.

“Don’t compare them!” Jinyoung’s outburst brought laughter to Daehwi.

“Don’t play hard to get, Jinyoung. Some random guy will steal her first.” Daehwi gave another word of advice in which Jinyoung refused to listen.

“I said I’m not interested!” Daehwi rolled his eyes. He was so done with the stubborn Jinyoung that day.

“Fine.” He said and moved to his table. A notification rang and Daehwi looked at his phone in anticipation. His eyes twinkled to see it was a reply from Aeri.

“It’s Boss!” Daehwi squealed happily as he read the text sent by Aeri. Upon the mention of the love of his life, Jinyoung straightened up from his lying position and darted his eyes on Daehwi.

“She’s coming back next week.” Daehwi informed while his fingers moved to type a reply for her.

“Really?” For the first time after Aeri’s absence, Jinyoung’s eyes came to life. His heart beat harder out of excitement. Daehwi looked up after he heard that bright tone from Jinyoung.

“You stay back, Bae Jinyoung.” He warned. Jinyoung breathed out a scoff.

“No way.”

Sungwoon pulled over his car in front of his parent-in-law’s mansion. He took a look at the white mansion before heaving a sigh. He could not believe he was doing this. But he had to and that was the reason he found himself walking into the mansion, looking around for a figure to greet. As if sensing his presence, his mother-in-law appeared with a bright smile at the sight of him.

“Oh, Sungwoon-ah! How are you, son? How was your trip to Japan?” Mrs. Ahn asked, patting Sungwoon’s shoulder as he bowed at her. Hearing her question regarding the Japan trip, Sungwoon figured out that Jinhee lied to her mother about his trip. He played along nevertheless, or their secret will be revealed.

“It went smoothly, just like I expected it to be. I’m sorry I didn’t come with Jinhee, I was tired from my trip, so I come today.” Sungwoon answered, reflecting his mother-in-law’s bright smile.

“No worry, son. I understand that. Your father-in-law is always like that too.” Sungwoon smiled in gratefulness as she understood the situation even though it was a lie. He felt uncomfortable for lying like this, so he asked another question to escape the situation.

“Urm, where’s Jinhee?” He let his eyes wandered around the room, searching for Jinhee’s trace.

“She’s in the kitchen, baking cookies. Go and see her. I’ll be in the garden.” Mrs. Ahn answered with a sweet smile. Sungwoon nodded his head as his eyes glance at the hallway which led to the kitchen.

“You’ll be staying for lunch, right?” Mrs. Ahn asked, this time. Sungwoon nodded his head without much thought. He was used to stay over until dinner time whenever he came to visit his parent-in-law with Jinhee.

“Great! I’ll be cooking your favourite dishes later.”

“Ah, you always cook my favourite dishes. What about Jinhee’s?” Mrs. Ahn laughed at Sungwoon’s question and patted his arm softly.

“You talk as if you don’t know your wife. She loves whatever you love to eat so don’t bother asking for her favourites. Aigoo, go and see her now. I’ll be going first.” Sungwoon felt his heart dropped at the comment made by his mother-in-law. It was fortunate he was able to maintain his smile which becoming stiff as time passed. Sungwoon only nodded his head and watched Mrs. Ahn walked out of the living room. Releasing another heavy sigh, he made his way to the kitchen. When he reached the kitchen, Jinhee’s back was facing him. She was taking out a tray of cookies from the oven. The smell of the hot cookies lingered in the kitchen but Sungwoon could care less about it. He approached her calmly.

Jinhee on the other hand, noticed that someone entered the kitchen by the sound of the footsteps. She assumed it was her mother or the maids, so she did not bother to turn around and proceeded with handling her cookies. They knew what she was doing after all. When she felt the figure stopped beside her, she turned around with a satisfied smile, an effect from the perfectly baked cookies she made. However, the smile did not last long after her eyes landed on Sungwoon’s face. The smile dropped and her expression turned cold. She looked away and continued to be busy with the cookies.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, her tone clearly showed that she was unpleasant with his presence. Sungwoon’s raised his eyebrows at the question.

“What are you doing here?” He returned the question to Jinhee which irritates her.

“I don’t want to see you.” Jinhee answered honestly. Jinhee was not scared of her own response. She knew she deserved to feel that way towards Sungwoon. Sungwoon sighed at that.

“Grandma came yesterday.” He told her. Jinhee’s ears perked up. She frowned in confusion and finally turned to face Sungwoon. As far as she remembered, Sungwoon’s grandmother never came to their house except for their housewarming party. Hearing that she came to their house was new to Jinhee.

“Why?”

“We’re going to leave for America and live there permanently.” Sungwoon broke the news, preparing a reaction from Jinhee. As expected, Jinhee was surprised by it and questioned the reason behind it.

“What?! But why?”

“I’ll be in charge for one of our branches there and it takes quite a while. Grandma will prepare for our documents.” It was hard for Sungwoon to bring it up the deal, but he had no choice. He promised, for his family and for Aeri. Remembering the love of his life, his heart ached but his attention was caught by Jinhee who kept throwing questions upon the news.

“When are we leaving?” Ah, the question. He had the answer to it, but it was so painful to reveal it to Jinhee. Sungwoon was sure too that Jinhee could pick two pieces together and guess what was happening. He looked down while biting his lips. Finding the strength to answer her.

“We’re in leaving three months from now.” Sungwoon paused and looked up to face his wife who still had her forehead scrunched up.

“After Daniel’s wedding.” Sungwoon completed his sentences, even though the words pierced his heart. It was lie if Jinhee was not surprised at the sudden news.  She had her eyes widen upon hearing that from Sungwoon.

“Daniel’s getting married?” Sungwoon nodded his head but Jinhee could tell there was something off with the expression Sungwoon wore on his face right now.

“The news will be released next week.” Sungwoon muttered the answer. Jinhee nodded her head and fell into silent as her brain was processing the situation. It was so sudden for Daniel to get married, but it was not a surprised too if it was an arranged marriage.

“I have another thing to talk about, but I don’t think it’s appropriate to talk about it here.” Sungwoon continued. Jinhee could guess what Sungwoon was planning to talk about. It was none other than his affair with Aeri. She scoffed at that. Thinking about it made her mad for some reason.

“Why? You’re ashamed to talk about it here?” Sungwoon squinted his eyes at her remark.

“I don’t think you want your parents watching us arguing like this while eating popcorn, yes?” Jinhee sent an annoyed look at Sungwoon. For sure she did not want her parents to know about what was going on with her ed up marriage. They had been pretending very well for years and she did not want to spoil it. Without words, she agreed to Sungwoon.

“Let’s stay until dinner then we’ll go back.” Jinhee said as she resumed her work.

“Fine.” Sungwoon replied and with that, he walked out of the kitchen to head for the room his parent-in-law prepare for the two of them. Jinhee eyed her husband with the end of her eyes and stopped whatever she was doing, releasing a sigh after thinking of what was going to happen when they reached their house. 

Sungwoon plopped his body on the king-sized bed in the middle of the spacious room. Staring at the empty ceiling, his mind was brought to the last conversation she had with Aeri last night. Yes, Aeri finally called him last night. Sungwoon remembered how he trembled and how his heart bounded against his ribs when he saw her name on his phone. He remembered her hoarse voice calling for his name. The voice he wished was bright like he used to listen to. His heart broke because he realized, he missed her a lot, more than he used to feel and he was actually longing for her presence. They have been away for a long time from each other but this time, it hits differently. Probably because they knew how close they were to the ending. Ending? Was it really an ending? Or will they continue to fight for it? The answer was given by Aeri last night.

“Oppa…”

“Hey, baby. I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Sungwoon heard a sniffle afterwards. He knew, Aeri was crying on the other side and his heart ache at that.

“Are you crying, baby? I’m here, now. Don’t cry anymore.” He wanted to comfort her, but it made her cry even more. Sungwoon swore he was close to rush to the Kang mansion to hold her in his arm. That way, he knew Aeri will be at ease and stop crying. But there was nothing he could do aside from talking to her through the call and nothing has ever frustrated him than this.

“Oppa…” Aeri called him again. This time, her voice was trembling. Sungwoon wonder how hard she was sobbing right now to be in that state.

“Yes, love?”

“Thank you.” Sungwoon frowned at that. His heart was starting to beat harder.

“Thank you for what, love?” He had a feeling what kind of speech Aeri was going to make but his heart was hoping it was not the one he thought of.

“Thank you for accepting me, thank you for loving me, thank you for fighting with me. I don’t deserve all of that from you but you… you give it all to me.” Sungwoon did not realize it but when he blinked his eyes, a tear dropped from his eyes, running down his cheek. That was when he realized he was tearing up.

“What are you talking about, baby? You deserve everything in this world, and I would give you everything. You know that.”

“Yes, I know. You made me happy throughout the time we are together. Even until now, talking to you makes me happy. You… you’re my happiness, oppa. Giving you up is equal to me giving my life away.” Aeri continued, sometimes sniffling in between her words. Sungwoon closed his eyes, giving permission for tears to flow out freely. Every memory they made for years flashed in his mind. Among all, the image of Aeri smiling happily at him broke his heart into pieces. He regretted it, for not being able to protect that sweet smile of hers for a long time. He regretted it, for being weak, for not being able to make her his. He regretted it, for being defeated in this fight.

“I’m sorry, oppa.” That sentence made Sungwoon opened his eyes. He started to breathe heavily. His hand was holding his phone tightly, almost crushing it, if it was possible.

“What are you sorry for? I’m the one who should say sorry to you.” Even though Sungwoon tried to compose himself, he failed to do so. He was sobbing along with Aeri.

“I’m sorry for being weak. I’m sorry for not being able to protect you. I’m sorry for failing as your lover.” Sungwoon continued.

“No, you’re the best thing ever happened to me, oppa. There’s nothing I will regret for being with you. I’m just… I’m sorry that we have come to this. I’m sorry that…” Aeri was unable to continue as she cried harder. Sungwoon bit his lips as more tears flowed out. He knew it now, they were ending. Their love story had come to the end, the end they never wished for.

“This… this will be the last time I am allowed to talk to you, oppa. I can’t risk anything anymore and I’m sorry. I hope you understand that I’m doing this because I love you, because I want to protect you. This is… what my love is able to do for you now. I’m sorry, oppa.” With much difficulty, Aeri told everything that she wanted to tell Sungwoon. Upon hearing that, Sungwoon felt like the sky was falling down on him, the ground was swallowing him. He was suffocated by the feeling of hopelessness. It was hopeless before too, but it was fine for him because he knew Aeri will be there with him. But now, Aeri is leaving. He was slowly stepping into darkness, alone. Sungwoon did not know if he could handle this. However, he remembered what Aeri told him, that her love was doing something for him. It was telling him, that he should hold onto that love. Sungwoon realized that, finally. It took him a few minutes to finally nod his head in defeat, accepting their fate together.

“It’s okay, love. You… you did your best. We both did our best. It’s just… our world is not ready for us.” Sungwoon took a deep breath before he resumed.

“My love, Song Aeri, I’ve said this a lot of time, but you’ll hear this again. I love you, forever and even a day after forever. Thank you for loving me. I lack in a lot of aspect, but you still chose me. And I’m sorry too, that we’re not getting what we wished for together. But I promise you, if there’s a chance, if there’s any possibility for us to be together again, I’m going to take it without hesitation. So please, please wait for it, please wait for me.”

“Oppa…”

“Please be happy, love. Because when I see you again, I want to see you smile for me. Okay?”

“Oppa, I can’t do this. I want to be with you.” Aeri’s breakdown was crashing Sungwoon as a whole. Just now, she was ready to let go but now, she was crumbling, making Sungwoon wavered.

“Baby, you know that we have to go through this, right? Because who knows, we’re meant to be together after all of this? We might fall today but who knows our love will win at the end of the day? So please, love. Please hold onto that because I’m going to do so. There’s no other woman for me aside from you, Aeri. You’re my woman and will always be.”

“Oppa… it’s so hard. I can’t do this without you.” Aeri continued to pull him back. Sungwoon let out a sigh. If Aeri pushed him like this, he might do something unimaginable which will affect the whole family. Thanks to his conscience, Sungwoon decided to stop and comfort her.

“Love, you know I’ll always be supporting you. I… I accept your marriage with Daniel. It’s hard but I accept it.” Aeri answered nothing except from weeping harder on the other line.

“Baby, you must be tired. Stop crying now. Let’s rest, okay? I’ll be here until you fall asleep. Is that okay?” Sungwoon had no choice other than this. The more they talked about what happened, the harder it was for them to let go. Aeri still did not answer him so he waited for her to calm down, silently. It took her almost 10 minutes to finally calm down. Sungwoon was still on the line, even though he did not say anything, which caused Aeri to find his presence.

“Oppa, are you there?”

“Yes, baby. I’m here. Are you going to sleep now?” Sungwoon asked with the warmest tone he could.

“Yeah, I’m tired. But I don’t want to end this.” Sungwoon bit his lips, preventing himself from saying the same thing.

“I told you, I’ll be here until you sleep. So just rest, okay? Are you on your bed now?”

“Hmm…”

“You know your face is going to be bloated tomorrow, right?” Sungwoon tried to cheer her up by teasing her. Even though it did not fully work, but it brought a bitter smile on Aeri’s face.

“I don’t mind. It’s not like I’m going out tomorrow.”

“Good for you then.”

“Oppa…”

“Yes?”

“I love you.” Sungwoon smiled at that.

“I love you too.”

“Stay with me until I sleep, okay?” He chuckled this time. Aeri sounds fine now, he was relieved. Perhaps, they were ready for this separation.

“Of course. Now, shush and sleep.”

“Okay.”
“Sleep well, love.” Aeri responded with a hum as she drifted to sleep in no time. Her soft breath was heard, making Sungwoon smiled.

“Take care, love. I love you and I will always love you, forever and a day after forever.” He said for the last time as he left the call on-going until he fell asleep as well. The next morning, he woke up with an ended call which lasted for 7 hours. Aeri ended the call and he believed it was for the best.