CHAPTER 5

She swallowed a lump and scoffed when she saw the person in front of her eyes. Angry eyes and hurt expression, and there she was forgetting that she still had things left to be taken care of. Out of all things, how could she forget this one when she clearly still crying to her sleep a few nights ago?

She couldn’t do or say anything other than showing him an awkward and stiff smile. The bodyguards Youngsaeng sent were standing right behind her and she saw the look in his face, he knew and obviously didn’t like it a bit. When he turned around to walk away, she followed him and signaled them to stand still.

“I’ll be back, just a moment.”

Together, though two meters apart, they headed to the coffee shop a few blocks away from her office. He kept walking ahead and didn’t say anything, not even until they entered the shop and he went over to the counter asking for two cups of black coffee, without sugar. Her heart twitched in a painful way again but she managed her emotions well.

It was still a long silence when they sat down in one of the table available and he finally broke it out after a decade of torture.

“Why?”

It was not a question of why she did that but why she wasn’t telling him in the first place, of her father’s business condition.

She didn’t bother to ask on how he found it out because he would always his own way and she was the dumb one to keep a secret from him. It was basically putting rotten meat under his bed.

“I was a mess, I couldn’t think properly.”

The company would collapse right in front her eyes and her father was in the line. She was usually slow in making decision or at least she needed time but everything was on a rush and she felt like being cornered by possibilities. At that moment, she couldn’t help but asking her self too, why didn’t she told him and found a way out together.

But she didn’t want to pull him into that mess in the first place.

“Then what’s with that ridiculous lie?”

When she told him she didn’t love him anymore and she wanted to break up, Sunggyu knew something was off. Now he just wanted an explanation, though he could guess why, rather than chewing up his own logic and assumption.

“What do you expect? For me to come to you and “hey honey I need to marry a guy in order to save my father’s head but since I still love you let’s keep getting in touch and don’t get upset too much, okay”?”

She was gripping the end of her seat so hard, pitifully. And the words that came out of his mouth next made her look even more pitiful, losing her grip.

“Why can’t we do that?”

She thought she heard it wrong or she had really gone mad because it was not possible that Sunggyu just suggested them to keep their relationship even though she would be married to someone else. The righteous Kim Sunggyu would never think that way. But she was forgetting that people changed and they were usually weak and blinded by their desires.

“You don’t even love him, your marriage is just a mutual agreement. After one or two years when the condition is stable again, you can file a divorce. For that I can assure you I will wait I can wait-”

“Sunggyu-ya.”

He knew he was not being his usual self and he was hurting her even more but he couldn’t just stand still and let her go. He loved her, so ing much, and he knew she couldn’t back away from that marriage so that left him with the only choice. He could wait for her no matter what because he really loved her and he would do just anything to help her save her precious ones, her family.  

He sighed. “I’m not sorry for the things I said. I really mean it.” Though he knew that despite not having feelings for her so-called groom to be, the kind of thought of filing a divorce after she squeezed benefit from him, would never crossed her mind.

Seungyeon put a hand on her forehead, closing her eyes. She really didn’t know how to response to him. No, she didn’t blame him because she was sure at the right situation she would be feeling really loved for his idea. The time was just not right and it was really tempting to just agree to his offer, because hey, she loved him. But her conscience said it was not right and respectful action, especially remembering Youngsaeng’s clueless state.

Despite the fact that she did take an advantage from him, she wanted to stay believing she still had this good side inside her. And that meant not doing any wrong to Youngsaeng.

“I’m really sorry, I know I’m upsetting you but can we talk again another time? I don’t think I can take anything anymore.”

She flashed him a weak smile, the one that didn’t reach her eyes, and hold his hand lightly before dashing out of that place. Her chest felt so heavy.

***

The press dies down after a week. No one camping outside the company anymore and her face no longer appeared in every headline of newspaper or news broadcasts. She was warned though that they were just hiding in the shadow waiting for her to come out and flashed their cameras for just anything her. For this, Youngsaeng’s plan for the weekend was changed from ‘spending the time outside’ to ‘get to know each other better’.

“It will be really uncomfortable to go around with paparazzi behind our back, right?”

Yes, she thought.

Just when the driver came picking her up that morning and brought her to his house, she regretted agreeing. She’d rather spent the day in some place where people would freely and curiously looking at them than this, in his spacious neat bedroom just the two of them.

Everything was…awkward and difficult.

From the way he pecked her cheek when she appeared at the doorway, the way he held her hand all the while giving a tour of his big big house, the way he looked and smiled at her all being attentive when she talked to answer his questions.

He acted as if he was really in love with her, and that thought was something that scared her because she couldn’t really know the truth.

He didn’t even know her. How that kind of feeling could exist just because he was fooled and tricked by some made up stories of their previous relationship?

“Tell me some stories of your childhood,” he demanded.

They were sitting in the couch with table full of some sugary treats. The television put in mute mode was showing some gag show; she had turned it on to give her self some distraction.

“It was…ordinary,” she said quietly, fingers fidgeting nervously.

He noticed that and smiled before reaching out to her hand again, and brought theirs together.

“You seem off,” he squeezed her hand, “there must be something bothering you.”

She was quite easy to be read and he―though losing memory and only meeting her for a short time―had become and expert in doing so.

“I-am just a bit tired, that’s all, I guess.”

How long will it be for you to find out the truth? What will you do after that?

“Are you sure you don’t want to just hire some professionals and do some background checks on me?”

For a second he stared at her dazed and it was clearly a shock that reflected on his eyes, but he burst laughing immediately when she just about to point it out.

“Hey, you made it sound like I’m not your lover but some employers you would work for.”

Just if you know.

“No, I won’t. As I said before, I want to hear it all from you and I’m confident that I will be patient enough to enjoy the process, of this.”

She smiled bitterly, losing words to return his remark.

“Then, can I ask you two more questions? I swear I’ll stop after that, for today.”

He grinned and went on without waiting for her response.

“I’ve been really curious about this one. Since we met again, I think you have never called me with my name or anything in particular. What did you usually called me with, back then?”

Oh damn.

Now that she realized, he had only been asking things related to her: her family, her work, things she liked and disliked, it just never about them.

Did she have to start making things up too?

“Father told me how we started to know each other until we decided to step into a more serious relationship. But it is just that. What he told me never helped in getting my memory of the time we spent back, but when he showed me your picture, I knew there was something inside me that was trying to call out to you. I want to recover faster. I want to -”

“O-oppa, that’s okay, you can do it slowly. Oppa, that’s how I usually call you.”

She felt disgusted at her self as she went over to him, slipping both hands in his waist. She hugged him, she just initiated the physical contact, faking act as if she really was his lover and he was hers. She tightened the hug, and everything was just a work of pity. He looked so miserable when he talked and the guilt surge into every pore in her body.

What had she done to him? What did they do to him?

“Seungyeon-ah, I…” he said, breaking the hug but keeping her in a close distance. “Thank you so much for coming back. Thank you so much, for giving me chance.”

And he came to her, closing their gap, bringing their lips together in a slow and soft kiss.

A drop of tears left her eyes.

At that moment, she swore, she would never leave him unless he gained his memories back and kicked her out of his life.

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A/N :

Hello, it's been a while. Thank you for reading the story though I haven't update in like million years. Thank you so much.