Hyomin strolled down the busy streets of Dongdaemun in Seoul. She passed by windows and windows of the shops, staring at the stuffs uninterestedly. Thoughts of the times Jaejoong and her were here together hurt her.

Jaejoong was always that quiet towards her. And after that day, even though Jaejoong promisingly said that it would change, it never did. Everything went back to where it was before and Jaejoong was going all-quiet towards her after that day, again.

Tilting her head up, she stared at the blue sky and at the same time, to stop herself from crying over him once more. Since she wasn't able to leave him with all the persuasion from him, she decided that it was best if she freeze her heart once more. Surprisingly, this time was easier than before.

With Jaejoong in the kitchen having dinner alone, Hyomin was in the living room watching documentaries alone on TV like every other day. The truth was she was never watching it seriously. She just watched it for the sake of watching it because documentaries were never her type of shows. She loved romance drama like any other ladies. And because romance dramas always make her cry, she decided to change her taste of shows.

Jaejoong leaned against the doorframe of the kitchen, watching TV quietly with a glass of water in his hand. He has never thought of sitting down anywhere near her unless they were supposed to go to bed and rest for the night. Until the credits were playing on TV, Jaejoong and Hyomin would switch places in the apartment and do their own stuffs without having the other person closely near them.

Hyomin was not oblivious to Jaejoong standing at the kitchen door, watching TV from there. She once caught him standing there when she wanted to grab a drink from the kitchen. Impatiently, she waited until the credits showed on TV before she headed towards the balcony so that Jaejoong could use the living room somehow.

The marriage life for them has totally become hopeless. None of them could keep close to each other. They were like magnets that repels to each other mercilessly. If one would be in the living room, the other would be somewhere in the apartment but not the living room.

Jaejoong secretly watched Hyomin walked into the balcony from the corner of his eyes and turned over when he saw her back was facing him. He watched Hyomin's lonely figure stood at the balcony, staring at the stars up in the sky with a calm smile on her face. It was an everyday routine for him ever since the day when he persuaded her not to leave.

‘Why am I building a barrier between the both of us and yet, I still want her by my side?’ Jaejoong questioned himself quietly.

‘Selfish.’

That might be the perfect answer to Jaejoong's question.

He frowned when he saw a tiny teardrop fell from her cheek. He knew this was torturing her. He knew that deep inside, she did not want to leave his side but by the way he treated her, he was killing her softly deep inside. And she allowed him to do it since she could not leave. She was just waiting for the day when her heart really died...

Empty promises he made, was killing her heart more than ever.

Turning off the TV, Jaejoong headed back into the bedroom, trying to erase every thought of her in his mind. He did not want her tears to affect him like those nights back then. The soft cries from her woke him up in the middle of the night without fail and he would stay awake with her secretly until her soft cries were replaced by a calm breathing. During that period, Jaejoong did wake up same time each night when he heard her soft cries. He realized that the soft cries were getting lesser and lesser as time passed and soon, waking up at the same time at night even though she stopped her usual crying.

He was curious with what stopped her from crying and yet, relieved at the same time. He didn't ask. He never spoke to her. So he left it as that thinking that maybe, she has already accepted everything.

And since he caught her tearing quietly, his heart was worried and guilty. He stared at the photo framed of their wedding photograph right in front of him with a frown.

Where has the purpose of getting married with her gone? Where is that unspoken vow that he promised in front of everyone in the church? Where is that caring and understanding man that she needed the most? Most importantly, where has that voice that belongs to Hyomin gone?

Since when has everything changed?

Six years ago…

Maybe.

They have known each other for more than six years now. And their sudden announcement for marriage shocked their friends but not their family since they have suspected their relationship from the start. Friends of hers did discourage her and wanted her to think through it again since he was not the kind of guy that would give out the best first impression. And he had rarely talked to anyone in class that much except for her.

So when did everything turns out to be like that?

Jaejoong stared down at the paper filled with words along with his signature. He folded the letter and slipped them into the brown envelope before locking it into one of his drawers, along with the rest of them.