Sehun

Yeonhee's body stiffen the moment I put my arm around her shoulder. I can feel she is standing there as hard as a rock. This is so different from the Yeonhee I used to know where she would gladly snake her arm around my waist.  

"Your... your wife??" Mr Lee asked.

Neither me nor Yeonhee says anything but I keep on smiling unlike her whose face is pale as a ghost, startled and surprised. It hurts me a bit to see her no longer comfortable around me but I don't know why I can't stop smiling. 

Well... I actually wanted to say 'she's my close friend' but I don't know how the hell I blurted out that she's my wife. Strangely, I didn't regret saying so. I feel some sort of pride saying it out aloud.

"Is this a joke?" we were asked by Mr Lee.

Yeonhee looks at me and Mr Lee back and forth. 

"I thought you married someone from JG Corp Sehun-ssi" Mr Lee said but a second later he realizes the truth. His face says it all. "Yeonhee... Your name is Jung Yeonhee. Oh my god!" he covers his mouth in surprise. "Jung as in the JG Corp? You are the mysterious sister?"

Yeonhee just gives him a sheepish awkward smile. 

"How come?..... Why didn't you tell anyone?... No wonder you make it look easy. I find it weird how you could convince the bank to give us some more time. I myself couldn't persuade them. I tried twice and they insist I have to pay a huge sum of penalty" 

Yeonhee gives him a look, signalling for him to stop. But he doesn't notice that at all. "Mr Lee..." Yeonhee voiced out but he is still talking non-stop.

".... And for god sake you drove a limited edition Aston Martin before. I always knew you are not an average lady but because you never brag about your lifestyle I never asked. Wait.... you told me you sold your car... Did you sell it to pay the penalty?" he keeps on talking.

She sold her car because of this? Seriously?

"Mr Lee.." Yeonhee called him again raising her voice a bit but he is still the same, still blabbering.

"Mr Lee!!!!" this time she literally shouts at him. He immediately stops and look at her. She squints her eyes at him telling him to stop talking and he finally stops.

"Excuse us for a minute" she said to Mr Lee. Then she gently reaches for my arm and pulls me a few steps back further away from Mr Lee so he can't hear us. Way before this, I would find this act annoying, but this time I don't feel so. To be pulled by her like this, I find it cute instead.

"What are you doing here?" she said half whispering.

"Helping you obviously. You know... a friend should help a friend" I replied nonchalantly stressing on the word 'friend', also whispering.

"Well a friend wouldn't say that!" she retorted.

"Say what?"

"You say... you say that I'm your wife. You could just say that I'm your friend"

I shrug my shoulder, ignoring that. "I don't do lies, you know that. So why didn't you tell anyone about this? Not even your brother? You know everybody around you could help the gallery" I asked that instead. 

She sighs and looks at me nervously. "I don't want to trouble anybody. Like you said, I'm always a trouble". 

I look at her nervous face. It makes me feel awful thinking about all the harsh things I said to her. 

"Anyway, how did you know about this?" she asked more.

"Appa told me" I replied.

Her eyes instantly go round like a doughnut. "Abeonim knew??" 

Her question makes me throw a light laugh. What kind of an innocent question is that? "Of course he knew. The business world revolves around him Yeonhee. And he's quite hurt a bit that you kept this from him"

She sighs, "I don't intend to hide anything from any of you. It's just that... Buying a building is a big deal. You have to weigh the pros and cons in detail. I know it's tedious and it's high risk so I don't wanna put anyone in that situation"

"What if KT bought this building instead of HO Corp? You'll lose your job Yeonhee" I said so to remind her the fact.

"I can try find another job if it happened that way" she replied confidently. Oh my god this lady! How much stubborn can she be??

"And you sold your car for this? You should tell me sooner. Of course I'll help"

"I thought I can handle this on my own...". She looks so vulnerable saying that. 

We look at each other for a few seconds and there's a long pause between us. None of us utter a single word.

"Anyway... Thank you. Everybody must be glad. They are so worried. I don't know how to repay you for saving us and the gallery" she said while playing with her fingers nervously.

She throws a thankful smile at me, a very sincere smile that makes my heart beats faster.

What is wrong with me? This feeling, it is just because we are friends, right? But why do I feel like this is so much more?

Day by day, I'm getting softer on her. I have to admit that she occupies my mind most of the time since the Incheon incident. She has been so nice to me no matter how bad I treated her before. And to know what really happened between her and Jongin, it is eating me inside. How can I be so heartless? Jongin keeps on insisting that she's beginning to let me go. Is she?  Is that why she's been distancing herself? It stresses me out thinking about this. Truthfully, I don't want her to go away. I can't imagine a life without her. I don't want to lose her.

She looks at Mr Lee and walks a few steps towards him. "Mr Lee.. Can we... can we keep this a secret? About me and him, our relationship" she said. 

That really caught me off guard and it hurts. Isn't telling the world we are married is what she wants? 

"They have to know who you are. You have the highest authority. In fact, you can boss me around Yeonhee" Mr Lee reasoned.

"Please..." Yeonhee plead. I can see the determination in her eyes to keep our relationship a secret. Maybe I should blame myself for this because I was the one who insisted not to publicize our marriage. Back then, I was the one who didn't want people to know. 

Mr Lee lets out a big sigh. "Okay... but they have to know you and him do know each other. I'll keep your actual relationship private"

"Alright. Fair enough"

"Hey... No wonder you keep on rejecting Sungjae"

What?? Sungjae?

"Who is Sungjae?" I asked but Yeonhee immediately cuts in, "I think..... I should leave. Both of you can continue your discussion"

As soon as Yeonhee exits the room, I ask Mr Lee again "Who is Sungjae?"

The discussion with Mr Lee didn't take long. Right after the meetin