TWO YEARS AGO ...

 

"I love you."

 

"I love you too."

 

Sehun smiles as he slips his phone back in his pocket, his other hand occupied with a bouquet of roses; he's wearing a pressed dress shirt and slacks, his hair swept to the side neatly. It's been two weeks since he last saw Jiyeon, his fiancee, but it already feels like forever. He's loved her ever since they were children, a typical love story of childhood friends growing up with each other into a warm, sweet romance: his biggest dream has always been for her to wear a wedding dress and walk down to the altar, to him. Nothing could ruin it now, as they've gotten engaged and planned to get married in june, the perfect picture scenario which will create the beginning of their marriage together, day by day, sharing a love he strongly believed in.

 

A young woman with dyed strawberry blond hair and the brightest smile comes into view, excitedly running up to him. She's glowing of sunshine and acomplishment, and if it'd be possible, Sehun would stare at her for the rest of his life, tirelessly.

 

"Are these for me?" Jiyeon chuckles.

 

"Who else." he gives the roses to her, pecking her cheek while she hugs him. "How was Paris?"

 

"I sold the project, it's over! I'm all yours untill after our honeymoon."

 

He rests his forehead against her own, enjoying the comfort she brings with simply being into his arms. "That's good to hear, I missed you."

 

"Mm, me too. Oh! I almost forgot." the female pulls back, retrieving a stack of photos from her bag. "Surprise, the photos from our engagement came out!"

 

"Let me see." he takes them from her, looking through depictions of their moments at the engagement, ranging from full group photos to those of the two of them. One in particular is endearing, someone must have caught the scene where they'd kissed. 

 

"This is my favorite." Jiyeon helds it, her grin a little smug.

 

Her fingers are loose around the photo, causing a blow of wind to toss it out of her possession and fly it through the air before it lands on the middle of the road, between passing cars.

 

Sehun is too late to act when she steps off the curb and runs to pick the fallen photo up, successfully evading any vehicles一 except as she turns around and is about to return to him, a car hits her full force. He's rooted to his spot, watching her body be knocked to the concrete road in a heap, her figure laying there; it's like time stopped and he's trapped inside a nightmare, the sight before him robbing him of his senses. People gather but he hears nothing as he rushes to her, crumbling to his knees to cradle her bleeding body to his chest, desperation and agony finally unleashing his muted voice.

 

"Jiyeon?! Jiyeon, please open your eyes! Jiyeon?!" he screams.

 

Her head lols heavy in his hands, a streak of red liquid leaking over her temple, to her cheek.

 

"I'm here一it's okay, I'm here. Hang in there, hang in there, Jiyeon. You can't leave me, you can't...I can't live without you..." the male mutters hysterically to himself, scooping her up. 

 

He wastes no time in getting her to the nearest hospital, yelling for doctors and nurses to help her immediately. They put her on a hospital bed and roll her inside the emergency room, leaving him to wait on the other side of the automatic doors. The arrival of her parents goes unnoticed in his shocked state, her blood staining his pristine shirt.

 

Jiyeon's phone rings in his hand, he doesn't even remember taking it along while he carried her.

 

Numbly, he answers the call and puts it to his ear.

 

"Jiyeon, princess, did you reach Seoul? I'm coming back too, tomorrow, let's meet at La Yeon, okay? Then we can go to my place and一Jiyeon? Hello?" a male voice speaks, confused by the absence of sound on the other line. 

 

Deafening silence is broken by the doctor's presence as the man strolls out through the doors of the ER, his grimm expression apologetic torwards Sehun and the patient's parents, an indication which can only mean one thing...

 

He shakes his head. "I'm sorry..."

 

The phone slids out of his hand, clattering to the floor, Jiyeon's mother's cries echoing in the background. 

 

Sehun's heart dies with Jiyeon that day.

 

That day she leaves him and he realizes there was someone else she was seeing all this time.

 

She was cheating.

 

 

...

 

 

PRESENT DAY ...

 

"Mr. Oh, we found him."

 

Oh Sungwoo nods at the whispering news of his assistant, straightening up as an entire conference room awaits his input on their new strategy to launch a construction deal with another group. "Excuse me," he raises from his chair at the head of the table, treking to the corridor of the large building that leads to his office.

 

Inside, Sehun is slouched on of the armchairs facing Sungwoo's desk, bruises marring his features. He's drunk, has dark circles under his eyes from countless sleepless nights and is in need of a haircut, his dissarayed hair and casual, plain clothes making the famous Oh heir unrecognizable.

 

"He caused a fight at a bar in Gangnam and got himself arrested. I had to bribe the police to let him out." Yohan, Sungwoo's trusty man informs the SNG company owner.

 

"What for?"

 

"The bartender refused to give him any more to drink..."

 

He sighs, signaling Yohan to leave the office. Once they're alone, Sungwoo eases himself into his leather chair, regarding his miserable child with sympathy. "Son?"

 

The younger man doesn't reply. He has been quiet since Jiyeon's funeral.

 

"If you continue like this you might as well be dead." his father's blunt words seek to sober him up. "She's gone, life moves on. Do you think it was not hard for me when your mother died? I've been there, done what you're doing. It doesn't change anything, you have to find ways to heal the pain, not give it power to cripple you."

 

He's right but every person heals differently, every person chooses to heal at different times. For Sehun, the world is still in slow motion, stuck to that day. Jiyeon flashes into his mind everyday, hit by that car again and again. Her unknown lover's voice accompanies the images, doubling his torment.

 

"There will be a reunion dinner at 9:00, I expect you to be there. Yohan will drive you home." Sungwoo gets up, walking to the door. 

 

It seems his son is a lost cause, though in a tired attempt, he advices him over his shoulder: "Sehun...find someone that you can make happy. Find a purpose."

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

Kim Naya spins around in her wedding dress, the full length mirror of the bridal store reflecting her dream come true. The gown has very thin straps, little beads sewn into it akin falling snow, the tulle skirts flowing to her feet. She's filled with joy, the thought of marrying Jongin giving her jitters, nervous for the big day that will bring them closer than ever. Her friend is about to marry herself, with Kyungsoo, Jongin's cousin, at the end of the week. It was him who introduced them at a party three years ago which propelled their relationship to a strong start, because Jongin managed to steal her heart. He's nice, caring, humorous, he's sweet with her and hasn't given her any reason to be upset, it's like she's living a modern fairytail, his affection making her soar. When he proposed, she knew this is what she'd always wanted, she knew he was the one for her...or she was too blinded to perceive the flaws in his love. 

 

"Wow..."

 

"You look...stunning?"

 

Naya laughs at her friends' astonishment. Sunhee and Euna fangirl over her wedding dress, clapping dramatically.

 

"Kai is screwed." Euna smirks. She's usually the rowdier one while Sunhee is less bold.

 

Her phone vibrates. "Guess who?" she holds it up, his number on the screen.

 

"Answer it, woman!"

 

Picking up the call, she rolls her eyes playfully. "The girls say hi."

 

"Hi girls." Jongin greets them back, amusement lacing his tone. "How's my beautiful bride doing?"

 

"Prepare to faint, dude."

 

"Euna!"

 

"Why, you made me curious."

 

"Don't you dare Kim Jongin, they say if the groom sees the girl in her wedding dress before the wedding day, it'll bring bad luck!" Sunhee warns.

 

"Don't worry, I can't come anyway. Sorry, love, I'm finishing work late."

 

"Can't we atleast spend some time tonight?"

 

"I can't."

 

"That's fine, I guess." she masks her disappointment, plastering a self convincing smile on her lips.

 

A noise on his end shuffles through the convo, vaguely as if...there's a woman's hushed voice. 

 

"Are you with someone? I thought you were in your father's office."

 

"Ah一yeah, I am. It's just an employee, I asked for a file and she got it."

 

"Okay..." Naya nods to herself.

 

"I have to hang up, babe, I'm really busy. Bye."

 

"Bye."

 

"Miss, we're done." the store clerk aproaches. "We will deliver the dress a day before the wedding, please note your address down."

 

"Sure, a second一Sunhee, can you tell them the address? I'm going to change."

 

"Yeah, go on."

 

The young female retreats to the changing rooms, putting her clothes aside. She admires herself a bit more but the ping of a message distracts her.

 

Kai: I'm at the Lotte Hotel, can you come here right now? You have to get here. Room 3001.

 

She frowns, he did say he was at work, not even a minute ago. It makes no sense, however, his text sounds urgent. Naya grows worried, her pure hearted intentions guiding her一 she runs out of the bridal store, nevermind the dress she's still wearing.

 

"Naya? What is going on? Hey, wait!" Her friends follow her out, bewildered.

 

They watch her climb in her car and disappear in a hurry on the bustling highway.

 

 

 

...

 

 

 

The luxurious house feels empty to Sehun, he feels like a stranger inside his own room; the walls, the framed pictures, everything reminds him of her, it's a feeling that suffocates him. He can't do this. He doesn't care about his father's reunion dinner, he has to get away.

 

Stuffing his clothes in a backpack, he opens the window, glancing at the stone paved courtyard below. 

 

The preparations for the event are abuzz on the hallway, nauseating him despite the alcohol in his system losing its effect gradually. 

 

He tosses the backpack on the ground and jumps out the window, landing on the freshly cut grass. He puts the backpack over his shoulder, jogging to the fence without being seen, unable to go through the gates due to his father's security guys. His option is to scale the tall fence and swing over to the other side, freely into the alley which converges with the populated area near the Oh residence. An available cab crosses his path during his walk: he waves and the driver obliges, stopping the car.

 

"Where to?" 

 

"Jeolla province."

 

 

 

... 

 

 

 

The instant she gets to the hotel, Naya bunches the skirts of her dress and clambers inside the lobby, ignoring the peculiar looks people fix her with. The elevator ride is nerve-wracking, she hopes nothing bad happened to Jongin. The door to room 3001 is slightly ajar; she doesn't debates whether that's strange or not, pushing the door further, her heels tapping slowly as she looks around the room, petrified by two things.

 

One, a woman puts her short dress on next to the messed up bed.

 

And two, Jongin exits the bathroom, a towel hanging low from his hips.

 

She can't move, she can't speak, sick to her stomach, the aftermath of drinking the poison of betrayal without her knowledge and never heeding her intuition...

 

"Naya一? ..." he's perplexed and hopeless, his gaze passing between her and the other woman. "Sora, you did this!"

 

"Yes, I sent that message, I left the door open." she tames her mussy hair, grabbing her purse. "You're a good girl. I wanted you to see his real face." Sora tells her, leaving the hotel room.

 

"Naya, I swear I regret this, it's the biggest mistake of my life. I love you, I'm so sorry, I..."

 

His explanations and apologies blur, she can't really pay attention to him over the emotional pain which spreads, inflicting her being like a garden of thorns. Her hands shift stiffly, fingers trembling. A tear rolls onto her cheek whilst she pulls the ring off, the culmination of her realization resulting in it dropping unceremoniously to the floor. She feels nothing yet everything, overwhelmed with a sadness so evident that she can't even stand to stare into his guilty eyes, wiping her tears and forcing her legs to escape the oppressing walls of the room and the proof of his sin. He calls after her but she doesn't listen...this is how the earth slips from under her, how she crashes and mourns herself for believing him, for loving him deeply, faithfully, angry with herself for letting him fool her.

 

She finds herself waking up the next morning to some place near a park, she cried and cried till she had no more tears, the skin of her cheeks dried and swollen. Her phone is blown with missed calls and texts, she doesn't have the mood for anything though she's aware she must settle their worries. I need to get away. she types to Sunhee, figuring her friend would announce the others that she's atleast fine and not in any kind of danger. Starting the car, she buries herself back into the blank apathy of hurt, driving out of Seoul an hour later, the road taking her to a familiar destination on instinct. 

 

Jeolla province.