Heading out into the hallway with hands held in front of her she started, “Why are you home so late?”

“Ah! Mom! You scared me!” he gave a shout of surprise. “Where’d you come from suddenly appearing like that?”

“Like the dust floating in the air I can also appear like the fairy godmother.” she smiled at him.

“Aww…mom, I never meant it,” he started.

“So tell me, are you still seeing that girl?” she questioned.

Donghae frowned, “What are you talking about?”

He walked pass her but his mother stopped him by putting a hand on his arm.

“Answer me.” she cooed.

“Mom, you’re acting weird. Did you eat your medicine on time?”

“I ate it!” she replied loudly. “Now, answer me!”

“Mom, you sound like an elementary student. No one says ‘Answer me!’ nowadays,” Donghae joked.

He received a slap on the arm.

“I’m being serious!” she retaliated.

“Ow! Mom! Aren’t I too big for you to still be hitting me?” he yelped.

“You still act so immature.” she stated.

“Then let me go sit down first,” he pleaded. “I’m so tired.”

His mother glared at him suspiciously before releasing him. Turning on his tail she followed him into the gathering room where he dropped onto the couch like a dummy. Leaning back with arms stretched out he watched her stand in front of him.

“What is it you want to say?” he muttered.

“Are you still seeing her?” she re-asked.

“What girl?” he wondered. “The second one, third, or fourth?”

His mother slapped him on the thigh causing him to jump up and rub the area where he had been slapped.

“Mom,” he cried.

“I’m being serious,” she started again. “Will you answer me? Or do you want to see my fist?”

“You’re a tough cookie even at your age,” he smiled then flinched when his mother held out her fist. “Ok, ok. I lost to you. What girl?”

“The one you were two-timing Yoona with.”

“I wasn’t two-timing.”

“Then are you still seeing her?”

Donghae glanced at his mother’s eyes before turning away.

“You are, aren’t you?” his mother accused. “What’s her name?”

“What are you doing, mom? Are you going to chase her out of the country?”

“I asked what her name was.”

Donghae glanced down at his fingers while fiddling with them, “I like her, mom, so don’t do anything to her. Please.”

“I know, I know. I won’t do anything.”

“Victoria Song,” he reluctantly answered.

“Song?” she repeated.

“Yes,” he assured, “why?”

“What about her family?”

“What about her family?” he wondered being cautious.

“Family background. Did you ask her? Don’t you know?”

Donghae clenched his teeth together making the shape of his jaw more defined, “It’s not my place to ask.”

“What do you mean it’s not your place?! Aren’t you her boyfriend?”

“So, you’re acknowledging us now?” he asked.

His mother heaved a sigh, “I didn’t say that.”

“Mom, please!” he pleaded again. “Leave her alone. I don’t want to ask her about her family right now.”

Donghae got up to his feet and walked up the stairs leaving his mother to gasp in shock with his reaction.

“Tsk! How did my son…oh…how did he…” she muttered.

- - - - -

How did things become like this? Donghae wondered when he reached his room. Slumping down in the desk chair he started at the blue walls surrounding him. Ok Taecyeon and Yoona. Ok Taeyceon and Victoria. It couldn’t be.

“What do I do…if I like him too?”

Did Taecyeon know about it?

And why had his mother been asking about Victoria? Had someone said something to her? He didn’t know what to think of it nor how to take it. He didn’t want anything else to happen. He wanted things the way they were. Now that they’d discovered Victoria he didn’t want to take another step forward. For a moment he didn’t feel the need to search for her family, to find out her background…but then like his mother…he also felt curious. What kind of a family had she been born into? Who was she exactly? Who were her parents?

However, all in all, he had no particular right to ask about her family. What if he hurt her in the process? What if her family was something she didn’t want to speak about? And she had never answered that she liked him. There had been no mutual feeling returned. Only he had been hanging onto her.

Had he made it hard for her?

“Yoona had a friend, who at 12 years old, went missing.”

Donghae sat up in his seat, “Of course. Her father told me about it.”

“You didn’t take it seriously, did you?” Taecyeon tried. “You never witnessed how hard Yoona worked in order to find her. You never saw any of it, did you?”

Donghae stared at him.

“She went all over South Korea using every means possible. Crying her eyes out, you didn’t know any of it, did you?”

Donghae remained silent. She’d never dropped a tear in front of him. He could only recall all the times in which Yoona had been hours late for a date they had scheduled.

“Don’t you understand?” Taecyeon asked. “Yoona’s heart is slowly breaking. Because of you…and Victoria.”

Donghae’s eyebrows twitched. “Victoria? What does she have to do with this?”

“Didn’t I just say it?” Taecyeon said. His voice was solid and low as if he were saying something dangerous.

Donghae thought long and hard back to Taecyeon’s words then felt his eyes widen. He looked at Taecyeon who stared at him calmly.

“Do you understand? Why you can’t do it?” Taecyeon asked.

What was with suddenly recalling the conversation between him and Taecyeon? The only point Taecyeon had made from that conversation was that: Victoria was that missing friend and getting closer to her would injure Yoona. Or had it been a warning that he shouldn’t have even bothered getting close to Victoria at all? Was it that bad of a situation?

Him, Yoona, Taecyeon, and Victoria? Were the four of them really in a bad situation? What exactly could be worse than having feelings for an ex’s friend?

“I know I was hard on you but I have to agree that you were more sincere about our relationship. I lose to you on that. And you’re right, I never really turned to look at you. I should have chosen you over work, but I never did. I was wrong. And you’re right, I do always end up chasing idiots on the street.

“I’m not done yet, in fact I’m having the hardest time accepting what I see. I try to be cool about the fact that the wedding was really cancelled but it pains me more than I can show. My pride gets in the way a lot. I think you know that. After Victoria appeared…honestly, I wanted to resent her, but I was overwhelmed with all these emotions.”

In fact, he was guilty as well.

- - - - -

It was Sunday, the third Sunday which marked the beginning of her third week in Seoul. Victoria lay in bed with the sun streaking in through the windows ever so brightly. What would happen that day? How much longer would she manage to stay alive before So Young or Jung Min finally rampaged the apartment?

The fresh scent of cooked food climbed through from the crack of the door. Just breathing the food in felt good. It felt as if the food were right in front of her. Suddenly she recalled eating her meal the first week at the base. She had been a slow eater back then. If she hadn’t finished her meal within a good five minutes it was whisked away from her without warning. What a relief it had been when her food had never been taken from her after she stepped out of the base.

“Yah, are you up?” he asked pushing the door open.

Victoria stared up at him.

“I called you twice, why didn’t you respond?”

“Why? Did you think I died in my sleep?” she sarcastically joked sitting up.

“Come on, if you’re not eating I’m going to take it all.” he warned.

With that Victoria immediately jumped off the bed.

“Ok Taecyeon,” she started while picking at her chicken a few minutes later, “do you ever wonder if it’s possible to love two people at once?”

“What?” he asked unsure if it was a joke or just a trick question full of nonsense.

“I’m just wondering.”

“Why? Exactly how many hearts do you have that you can love two people at once?”

“One heart, four chambers,” Victoria replied.

“Wh…” he began then laughed. “Funny.”

“I know, isn’t it? I thought it all last night.”

“Why do you even bother thinking about such a thing?”

Victoria shrugged, “It’s amazing, how some things turn out.”

Taecyeon looked at her with a smile, “Yea, some things can be a miracle.”

- - - - -

Yoona picked up on the first ring and minutes later opened the door for Donghae.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“You’re not busy today?” he wondered. “Then lets step out and get some coffee.”

Inside the coffee shop Yoona found herself sipping her coffee for probably the twelfth time that morning. Donghae, who was sitting before her, remained deathly silent.

“What?” she asked. “What is it that you wanted me to come out for?”

Donghae set down his cup of coffee, “Your apology last night…I don’t deserve it.”

A look of surprise overtook her face calmly.

“Actually…the wedding, your trip to Kwangju, and I…it wasn’t just these that overwhelmed you, was it,” Donghae began, “in fact, I should be sorry as well.”

“What…do you mean?”

“I’m sorry,” Donghae apologized, “I knew all along, but I was being selfish. We never really talked about anything personal between the two of us. I think…because I didn’t confront you…that’s where we went wrong.”

“What?” Yoona was trying to straighten everything out in her mind.

She had thought that everything that had needed to be said had been said last night…well on her part at least. She had had no idea that Donghae had knew something else. What was it? What had he knew all along that he was blaming himself for being selfish? She didn’t quite get it.

“What did you know?” Yoona specifically asked.

Donghae hesitated then started to speak but hesitated again. Yoona watched him struggle with the words unsure of what to do.

“It’s ok,” Yoona finally said. “If you don’t want to say it…”

“No,” Donghae looked up, “I’m sorry. Your friend, who went missing 12 years ago, I knew about it. But I never once thought about how hard you tried searching for her, I never took those feelings into consideration. Honestly, when we met for the first time after you returned I couldn’t understand your sadness…why you still wanted to talk about the wedding. I wasn’t sincere, Yoona, in fact…all I ever did was work hard for our relationship.”

Yoona was helplessly speechless. What…was this?

“I couldn’t imagine why you were struggling over the fact that I was seeing…someone else…I’m sorry…that I could only piece this all together now. That I only understand how you felt when you discovered who she was.”

So they were even. Neither of them had taken the relationship sincerely.

Yoona gasped while tilting her head down with tears in her eyes. “What’s wrong with both of us? Why are we like this?”

- - - - -

“Hurry up!” Taecyeon screamed from the door while slipping his shoes on.

“Hold on, hold on!” Victoria shouted from inside the bedroom while searching for her jacket.

“I’ll be outside!” he shouted.

When he opened the door he found Yoona’s hand reaching forward ready to ring the doorbell. Yoona looked up at the sound of the door opening and without warning took half a step forward throwing her arms around his body. Instant shock and surprise flooded him. His mind went blank that second when he realized that she was crying on his shoulder.

Victoria opened ready to shout but stopped when she saw the sight by the door. Yoona’s quiet sobs weren’t unnoticeable to the ears. A small worry filled her and she stepped back into the room to hide herself guessing that she ought to give the two of them some time alone. Yet, she didn’t quite understand anything that was going on.  

The afternoon plan of taking a walk and shopping around town seemed to have come to a stop.