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A tap on his shoulder makes him turn around and Yifan can't hide his suprise seeing Grace standing behin him. Her brows knitted in a puzzled expression before throwing her gaze over his shoulder. He looks back, following her line of sight to see a figure turning a corner and disappears behind the walls.

"What... was that?"

He stares at his cousin. Her tone was calm but her face is showing an unbelievable look with her eyes still fixed towars the direction where the other had left.

Grace shifts her gaze and looks up at the younger. She has been following them since they left the restaurant when she realized who that was sitting with Yifan. The serious face her cousin always had on the the past two years was replaced with a gentle smile, a different one that she saw directed towards Bella, while the two were eating. She was right to follow her gut by watching them from a distance when that scene just now happened. "Joonmyeon... the two of you are together?"

Yifan breathes out. The underground parking lot is quiet but they are standing in front of the entrance to the mall and people using the escalator can see everything that is going on. By the older's tone and expression, he can tell the conversation they will be having will surely attract some attention. There won't be any shouting but an argument can easily be identified from afar. "My car is over there."

Grace watches as the younger passes by her, and she follows suit at the sight of people coming in and out from the entrance. A car that parked facing a wall beeps as the light on its rear blinks twice. She goes to the passenger side of the vehicle and gets in as the driver side door being closed.

"Where did you park your car? I will take you there."

"No need. I can walk there by myself." She turns her body at the sound of the engine starting, facing her cousin that is ready to drive away. "What did I just see?" She stares at the younger that has his eyes on the steering wheel. "Are you and Joonmyeon together?"

"No."

"Then how do you explain the kiss?! Is he the reason you broke up the engagement?!"

"No!" Yifan snaps his head towards the other, eyes wide at the accusation before taking a deep breath, calming himself down. This is one of the reason why he doesn't tell his family anything behind the cancelled wedding. Bella didn't mention about him loving someone else; his mother said he told Bella that he just doesn't want to marry her, without any further explanation. In other word, he was the one that cancelled the wedding, not her. He deserved that so he just accepted every repremand his mother threw at him. But he won't just sit quietly when the other male being involved in. "Joonmyeon had nothing to do with that. It was my own choice."

The air conditioner that starts cooling the inside of the car doesn't have an effect on her heated head. When she found out about the news from her mother, she wasn't in the country. She tried calling both Bella and Yifan to get some explanation but both just let her calls went dead without answering once. The date on the touch screen of the dashboard catches her eyes and she bites down her lower lip. It has only been ten days since the cancelled wedding was supposed to happen but from her observation of their behavior since earlier, she can tell this 'thing' between Joonmyeon and Yifan has been going longer than that.

"I don't love Bella."

Grace feels as if her heart being struck by lightning. Those words sounded so harsh in her ears and her mind thinks of the younger. She only be feeling like this as a fellow female and someone who is close to her. To hear those words being said to you personally, she can't imagine how heartbroken Bella was at that time.

"I tried, you know I tried, you saw, you were there, and I tried so hard! It wasn't me, you know it wasn't 'me', but I did, I tried to change for her." Yifan stares straight at the disappointed face. Does Grace think she is the only one being disappointed in him? Can't she see he is the one that is disappointed in him the most? "What do you want me to do?! Marry her even though I don't love her?!"

"You never loved her! Why did you wait until now to break her heart?! Why did you say nothing that night at the family dinner?!"

He backs down on his seat, the older's face just inches away as she lets herself go off with her anger. The family dinner that night almost three years ago plays in his mind. He already knew the male, Luhan and Minseok just recently got together and Bella was beautiful. He was proud person but even back then he was fully aware that Bella was out of his league. She was flawless and perfect; he might not feel anything right now but in time he is sure he will be head over heels for her; that was obvious to anyone that got paired with such person. He was wrong.

"She loves you, so much..."

"I know."

Grace takes a few deep breaths, placing her hand on the dashboard in front of her before realizing the hand is covering the air conditioner near the door, sending cool air against her palm. It only does so little to cool her down, her mind can't stop thinking about Bella. The younger told her about Yifan's effort, that she should root for her cousin, as being in-law with her would get her a lot of privileges, such as that fashion show they went before. The younger's face was bright as she told about how awkward Yifan is in trying to improve their relationship. She looked so happy.

"I love Joonmyeon."

The confession makes her eyes widen and her heart tightens. She slumps back into the car seat, the scene in front of the entrance flashing before her eyes. The two stopped to talk; the distance where she stood in hiding hindered her hearing but the expression on her cousin's face was clear. She prayed for the thoughts in her head  to be wrong but it was Yifan that bent down first, kissing Joonmyeon on the lips before the smaller chuckled, standing on his toes as he gave the taller a quick peck. It was when Joonmyeon was far enough that she confronted Yifan. From the smaller's action, she could tell Joonmyeon shares the same feeling as well.

"Bella shouldn't be with someone like me." Yifan lets out a sigh. He doesn't know what he is supposed to do to redeem himself. He knew waiting until the supposedly wedding date to pass before meeting the male was not enough but it was the only thing he could think of as a consideration towards Bella's feeling for him. If she was here and told him to wait for ten years before meeting the male, he would have done it. But she had went back home, leaving him alone to move on by himself. The feeling he had kept down since that one night was struggling to be let out and he couldn't suppress it anymore.

"If it ha been like that since long ago, why now?"

He turns to look at the older, trying to understand the meaning behind those words. "What do you mean?"

"It was only over a month. You should have said something back then, not dragging it out and make a mess like this."

He frowns, doesn't really know what is Grace trying to say.

"It was only a few ties, but those time you drink with me and got drunk, you mumbled his name, shouting in anger, full with hatred." Grace faces the younger, the expression on the other's face tells her that he just remember that she had knew Joonmyeon since long before but kept it hidden from him. Before the wedding after party she had went with Yifan, Joonmyeon's existance was lost and had been forgotten by her. Then the smaller introduced himself, triggering something in her head.

Yifan purses his lips. He had to follow his father's idea and stayed at his uncle's house for several weeks, to prevent any other rumor from spreading out as his father dealt with the situation. He remembers seeing Grace having a drink by herself and joining her but he never knew he mentioned the male's name while he was drunk. The older said he was angry, saying the male's name over and over and nothing else. He really did hated the male so much back then.

"Uncle and aunt would have understood if you were to tell them about Joonmyeon at that time." Grace sighs deeply. Yes it was an arrange marriage but it wasn't a forced one. Both Yifan and Bella's parents were clear about that, leaving everything to both of them. They just thought it would be nice to be in-laws as they had known each other since way back in their university days. There was no use keeping his disagreement to himself and getting angry at his parents about the marriage, after realizing he couldn't be together with Joonmyeon because of it. "You tried to forget about him all these years before accepting that it was impossible and decided to break Bella's heart now. Who are you to do that to her?"

Yifan blinks, as he pieces together the older's words before opening his mouth, wanting to refute as she was mistaken but he changes his mind and decides to just let it be. Grace thought he was a coward, for liking men, that he settled for Bella instead to appear normal. That wasn't the case but it won't change anything if he told the truth either. Bella would still be hurt and he would still be the cruelest person she had ever met. "She doesn't know."

The words makes her frown, eyebrows knit as she stares at the younger.

"She thinks it was another woman."

Grace's breath hitches in .

"She likes Joonmyeon. I don't want her to think that Joonmyeon was trying to steal me away from her all these time. It was all me. Joonmyeon was fine with the way we both treated each other before. He didn't mind just seeing me from afar. I wanted more." Yifan grips tight the streeing wheel. He was lying to himself about his feeling for the male. He was lying to Bella about trying to love her. He was tried living in lies. Accepting the fact that he loves the male was a truth he needed all along. Keeping it in is the same as lying to himself and the male and he doesn't want to live in that world anymore.

"You are going to keep this away from her forever?"

"How can that be. She will know about Joonmyeon eventually but I want to be the one who told her when she is ready. Maybe she will never be ready and you would call and tell her after this but she must understand that Joonmyeon is innocent. Joonmyeon is..."

Grace breathes in, looking at the younger that is staring down at his lap. Ever since they were little, Yifan had always been a bit rough and wild. Going to parties and having fun were weekly thing. Then the rumor changed him to someone quiet and serious and she barely saw his smile anymore. But now, at this moment, although the younger is not smiling, that serious expression is no longer there. By his soft tone when Joonmyeon's name being mentioned, it is obvious to her that her little cousin is deeply in love with the other male. Someone that is able to put such glow on her solemn cousin, who is she to come between them?

+++++

"I have no choice. The game is too heavy I have to uninstall it."

"Ah, is that so..." JIrayu watches nervously from behind. The younger is here. He should just tell him now. "Do what you have to do, I guess." He stares at the small back that is busy fixing up the hanged laptop. "The weather... has been nice lately, hasn't it? The night too... Perfect for... fireworks."

"Fireworks? There was one last weekend at a town over. You just missed it, hyung."

"I didn't."

Joonmyeon's fingers flinch at the sudden drop of tone. He blinks once, almost could have guess what is the older trying to say.

"I went there with Harit, and we saw you..." Jirayu swallows the lump in his throat. "...with someone..."

"You should have said hi."

"Joonmyeon."

Joonmyeon shuts down the laptop, stays sitting on the carpet as he feels Jirayu's eyes staring from behind. The black screen reflecting his face and the older's concern one. So fixing the laptop isn't the actual reason he was asked to come. "The laptop isn't yours, right?"

"It's one of the cooks. We play the game together and he is good at it."

"The you should give him a raise to buy a new one if you want to keep playing with him."

"I will think about it." Jirayu breathes out as the younger still won't turn around and face him. "Joonmyeon, I am not close enough with Bella like you and Harit are so I don't have the right to comment on anything. I only know a small part of the story so I can't judge what is going on without knowing the whole picture but..."

"You know you could just call me and we could talk about this at a nice cafe or something. Using your staff's laptop as an excuse. How long did you take to come up with the idea?"

He purses his lips at the small chuckle the younger let out, before sliding down drom the sofa and joining him to sit on the floor of his office. He stares into those round eyes when Joonmyeon finally turned to face him, the corner of his lips curving a little. "What me and Harit saw that night, was it true?"

Joonmyeon lets the question hanging for a while, staring back against Jirayu's soft gaze, as his mind wanders to the night in question. Since they were just walking in the beginning, the two friends must have seen him while the fireworks were blasting off over the river. Did they see them until the end?

"I..."

"It was." He smiles softly at the older, watching the handsome face changing expression from concern to acknowlegdement.

"For how long?"

"Never."

Jirayu can't help frowning at the answer. "What do you mean, 'never'?"

"You were asking how long since I got together with Yifan hyung, right? The answer is never. We are not together, or more specific, not in a relationship whatsoever. What you saw was just an expression of my feelings."

"What are you saying?"

Joonmyeon leans back against the edge of the sofa, staring straight at the bookcase across the room. Going to see the fireworks was his idea; the poster about it was all over the campus, resulting a mass of crowd standing and sitting around the riverbank. He was busy tiptoeing to get a clear view when large hands grabbed him by the waist, lifting him up for a short while before he patted those hands to let him down. The kiss was a thank you. "I am not reason why the wedding was cancelled."

"Is that what you will tell Sophia?" Jirayu earns a frown from the younger. "It has been a few days since I saw you but why woul I ask you now? I could just, like you said, say hi and confronted you back then but I didn't. It is you life and I don't have a saying in it. Whoever you want to date, be it your best friend or your friend's ex-fiance, it is your choice. It really didn't concern me as much but then Harit told me about Sophia."

"What about her?"

"Between the three of you, she probably the most close to her, seeing her almost every day. She couldn't stop talking about Bella after she saved her from that ert. She sees Bella as a role model. She looked up to her and was so excited about the wedding. How would she feel if she knew you were the caused of Bella's broken engagement?"

"I just said..."

"Do you think she would believe that?"

Joonmyeon breathes out, looking down at his own lap, away from the intense gaze of the older. To be honest, he has been treating what has been going on between him and the other male just like before; how that one night they kissed then acted like nothing happened on the next day, unconsciously. Talking on the phone, planning an outing, expressing his feeling without restrain. His mind somehow had made all of that feels like a normal thing to do, that he wasn't being intimate with his dear friend's ex-fiance, that he had nothing to be afraid of if someone saw them together, that he wouldn't he hurting anyone with his actions. His mind was so set on 'as long as he is able to love him' that he thought, since they will never be together, it is fine to do all of that.

"Harit told how Sophia kept talking about Bella, that she felt sorry for her and that Yifan is a jerk. It wasn't hard to imagine her getting angry about it but then I heard it for myself. 'That woman is so shameless! Why must she seduced other people's fiance? Is there no other men in the world?' I was so close from telling her not to judge her own brother like that."

He lifts his head and turns to face Jirayu. "Thank you for being on my side. Thank you for looking our for me."

"Joonmyeon..."

"The rumor must just recently spreaded out, huh? She was just confused and heartbroken before. But you know what, hyung? I was fine before too. I fell in love with someone else's man and I wasn't going to do anything about it. You know I rooted for them too, because they were such a perfect match. But I was given the water, can't I take a sip? It was all for me and I only tasted it a little. I don't see anything wrong with that. And Yifan hyung knows that too, that I can go on without having any of it but he kept the bottle open, so I could have it whenever I want."

Jirayu takes a deep breath, eyes close as he processes the words coming from the younger. Joonmyeon might not push Yifan to cancel the wedding but he is the main reason behind it, whether he wants to believe it or not. He could care less about the Chinese male but Joonmyeon and Sophia are like his family. He doesn't want a nobody ruin the siblings relationship after both finally together again after all these years.

"Really, hyung. We should have met somewhere else. Calling me to your club where Sophia is working and talking about my secret rendezvous. You might as well feed me to the tigers. What if Sophia suddenly burst in here?"

"I already told the others to keep an eye on her. Joonmyeon, listen to me."

"Will you tell her about this?" Joonmyeon looks into those round eyes. The older is sighing in defeat, his gaze soft.

"If I wanted her to know, I would have already told her back then. But Joonmyeon..."

"Then let me be like this until the day come? I will handle it when it comes, and it won't be long too since the world is small and we are siblings living under one roof."

Jirayu purses his lips, watching a small smile forming on the younger's face.

"I am not keeping this in from her, I am just not telling her. If she found out, from a friend or with her own eyes or however way it was, I won't deny it. You know how headstrong she is. I might never see Yifan hyung again after that and I don't have any problem with it, I will be fine like before, but for now..."

He stares at the smiling face, knowing well that Joonmyeon has made up his mind, that nothing he say would be any use. The younger looked happy that night and it is unfair to Sophia. No matter how much she admires Bella, she could never hate her own brother that was the caused of the broken engagement. Joonmyeon is being really selfish but somehow, he understands him. Love always have its way.

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