Ryeowook was fidgeting throughout the morning on Sunday. She was nervous, unsure whether she should meet Mr Cho, and in the end, she got scolded by her lady boss because she was too absent-minded and didn't clean the table properly. 

Twice, she took out her phone to  call Mr Cho to cancel their appointment, but she put back her phone in her pocket. She sighed "Haiz.. , what did I get myself into now..."

She got nobody to talk to. She can't even talk to her father, so she kept consoling herself that this was the best way to settle her financial problem. "Just go and meet him and see how it goes" her head told her.

Though the cafe closed at 1pm, she still need to clean-up and mopped the floor since her lady boss has left. After all the cleaning done, she tidy up herself, put some face powder and changed into her own clothings. She put on a white collored shirt and a lavender purple pullover. She combed her hair and tied it up into a pony tail.

Her phone buzzed, making her nervousness jolted back again. She took a deep breath and checked her message.

"Hi Miss Kim, I'm here, on the right side of your cafe, in a bronze colour car" was what Mr Cho wrote. 

With a shaking hand, Ryeowook replied "Hi Mr Cho. Okay I'll be out in a minute" and clicked sent before she changed her mind. She grabbed her tote bag and locked up the café's side door.

Kyuhyun saw a girl coming out from the cafe. She looked young and dress simply. He got out of his car when she was nearer. "Miss Kim?"

Ryeowook bowed respectfully "Yes I am. You are Mr Cho?" Ryeowook bowed again. 

"Yes, please, do get in" Kyuhyun opened the passenger door for her. From his first look, he felt that he already like her. Innocent, simple, respectful, well-mannered and hardworking. 

He had met up with 3 ladies for the past two days, and Miss Kim Ryeowook would be his 4th applicant. 

He wasn't in favour of the three applicants earlier. 1st applicant was too high handed and the first thing she asked was whether he could pay everything upfront! She has the cheek to ask!! So he striked her name off from his list. 

The 2nd applicant was okay at first, but later on, he got a shock when she asked him to marry her! "Ohmygod, she thinks that I'm a dating agency?" and Kyuhyun striked her name off too. 

The 3rd applicant was an old lady, presumably not married and Kyuhyun don't even want to think whether she could still give birth or not, at her age. Her name got strike off as well. 

Kyuhyun drove to Apgujeong, and led Ryeowook to a cafe called Tryst. The waiter showed them a corner table and politely put 2 menus, bowed and walked away. 

Ryeowook looked around the cafe, it was nice, lovely ambience, and quiet. But should be expensive. "Err, Mr Cho, we don't have to eat expensive food. I'm okay with a street food" 

"It's really okay, don't worry about the price. Choose something from the menu.." 

Ryeowook ordered the cheapest dish that she could find, which was, kimchi fried rice, and a warm plain water. Kyuhyun ordered pajeon to be shared, and seafood noodles for himself. 

Before Ryeowook started eating, she said a prayer and politely ate her rice. 

"Miss Kim, do you want to ask some questions about my advertisement?" 

Ryeowook got nervous again! "Err yes, yes, can you tell me more in details about your requirements?" 

This girl looked so cute. At close look, she was actually very pretty. Kyuhyun slowly explained to her what the fertility specialist told him. "The applicant would need to undergo a checkup first to confirm that she is clean and suitable. And if everything was okay, doctor would prepare the IVF procedure". 

He looked at her to see if she was following so far, and continued in a lower voice "So during IVF, mature eggs are retrieved from your ovaries and fertilized by my in a lab. Then the fertilized eggs (or doctors called it as embryos) are transferred back to your uterus. One full cycle of IVF takes about three weeks. If successful, doctors will confirm whether you are pregnant or not"

"Ahhh I see..." Ryeowook understood, but actually looked scared. She was never in any operation before and the only time she was lying in a hospital bed was when she donated blood for her dying mother. Her parents were involved in a traffic accident and her mother later died, and her father was crippled from his chest down. 

Seeing that she was beginning to look scared, Kyuhyun knew that this girl was genuine and he might have found the right girl. "I know you might be scared to undergo this IVF, but i'm scared too. I never go through this before". 

"Pardon me, but if I may ask, why do you want a baby through this method? Is it because you wife couldn't get pregnant? But she could try this method too, right?" 

Kyuhyun chuckled "I'm not married, no girlfriend currently, and it's a long story about why I want a baby. I will tell you some other day" Kyuhyun smile gently. "Would you consider being a surrogate mother to my baby?" 

"I will be frank with you, Mr Cho, on why I responded to your advertisement.  I..." Ryeowook looked down as she was not sure whether she should say it "ermm... my father is bed-ridden and could only swallow liquid food. His milk is very expensive and I still owe the hospital 2 overdue bills for 2 visits, and they are chasing for payments. I have no relatives to seek help, so when I saw your advertisement, it was like a light at the end of my dark tunnel. But i am scared. I don't know of i can go through the pregnancy or not... "

Kyuhyun listened to her story with a heart wrenching pain, and with so much sympathy. Here is a girl who struggled to take care of her father and has to take up 2 jobs just to make ends meet, and wanted this surrogate job to pay off her father's medical expenses, whereas those 3 earlier respondents were all out just to get his money. 

"Miss Kim, I'm sad and very sorry about your plight. If you are agreeable to be the surrogate mother, i will pay your overdue hospital bills first, and I will provide monthly allowance for you to eat healthy food, and to buy milk packs for your father..."

"Mr Cho.. I...."

"Please, let me help you..."

Ryeowook looked down at her fingers. "Mr Cho, I'm not asking for sympathy and I didn't want to trouble you. If the agreement is for you to pay me for being the surrogate mother only after I have given birth, then you can stick to that. I will try to request the hospital to give me more time to settle the bills".

"Miss Kim, please believe me, I really want to help you. Please let me help, okay?"

Ryeowook was quiet. Mr Cho was really her light at the end of her dark tunnel. Shouldn't she grabbed this chance??  She took a deep breath and looked up at him. "Okayyy. I will be the surrogate mother to your baby"

"Yes!!" Kyuhyun rejoiced happily to himself. "Ohhh thank you, thank you, Miss Kim!!" he smile happily! "Can you pass me the hospital bills? And i need your details for me to make an appointment for the checkup"

Ryeowook looked at him confusedly "Mr Cho, don't I need to sign an agreement or something first? What if after you've paid my bills, I ran away... ?"

"Will you run away?.." Kyuhyun smile.

"No... but you cannot trust people just like that... "

Kyuhyun loved her honesty. "I trust you" he smile again "Yes, i will have the agreement letter ready and I will get you to sign. Then I will give you a copy as well".

"Okay..."

"Do you prefer me to come over tomorrow to your cafe for you to sign the agreement letter, or i pick you up after your work and send you home, and you sign it at your home? You can pass me the bills too".

"I prefer after my cafe work, but I need to clean my father, feed him and rush to my 2nd job..."

"So if I send you home, you can cut down on your travelling time, right. And you will have more time"

"I... don't want to trouble you sir"

"It's really not a problem to me. I would like to visit your father too"

Ryeowook was surprised and feeling a bit embarrassed  "My house is small, and my father smells. I will need to clean him up first"

"Miss Kim, I am really okay with that, don't worry. What time do you finish work on weekdays at the cafe?"

"4pm. But I can only leave about 4.30pm after i clean up the cafe"

"Okay, i will pick you up at 4.30pm then"

"But Mr Cho, you have your work, can you leave your office at that time?"

Kyuhyun chuckled "I'm the boss, and I have external meetings everyday. It's really no issue for me to pick you up"

"Oh wow, he is the boss!" Ryeowook said to herself. She smile appreciatively at Kyuhyun "Alright, thank you very much Mr Cho" she bowed slightly at him and finished up her food and water. Today she had a good lunch, thanks to Mr Cho. So she could put aside some money since she didn't spend on anything today. Just thinking about her small savings made her happy and smile.

Kyuhyun smile while observing her "She's so pretty. Why am I getting attracted to her. Aisshh, i'm supposed to just find a person who's willing to be a surrogate mother... and nothing else..." he reminded himself.

But somehow, she touched the strings of his heart...