Yul sighed resignedly, lifted the blankets off him, and sat up in bed, running a hand over his face. He’d been back in New York for two days now, and he had hated every second of it. He wanted to be in North Carolina where his brother and sister-in-law were. Since he no longer played for the Knicks, this city no longer held any appeal. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and walked out of his bedroom and to the front door, where his suitcase was still sitting. He picked it up and carried it to his room, then put it on his bed and opened it. He took care of everything, putting clothes away or in the hamper…wherever they belonged, and then headed for the shower.

After he let the scalding water run over him for half an hour, he got out and dressed, then went into the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. After he’d poured himself a cup, he returned to his room and grabbed the remote off his night stand and turned his radio on. As he started to make the bed, he could feel the anger rising up on him. This stupid bed was way too big for one person. He couldn’t even remember now why he’d needed such a big bed. Without Yoona there beside him, it was just too much space. He took a deep breath and after smoothing out the comforter, he positioned the pillows on the bed the way he liked them. Then he took Yul Jr’s memory quilt…he’d found it folded at the foot of her bed and left for him, and folded it perfectly, placing it at the foot of his bed, just like it had been when he’d first discovered it at Yoona’s apartment.

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And now, the latest from Grant Brooks… he heard the radio announcer say.

Took a match to everything she ever wrote

Watched her words go up in smoke

Tore all her pictures off the wall

That ain’t helping me at all

‘Cause when you’re talking out loud and nobody is there

You look like hell and you just don’t care

You’re drinking more than you ever drank

And sinking down lower than you ever sank

When you find yourself falling down upon your knees

Praying to God, begging him “please”

That’s when she’s more than a memory

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That stupid song again, Yul thought. And what the hell was it doing playing on this station, anyway? He had it on some hip-hop R&B station, and it was playing a country song? He hadn’t heard it since the day Yoona’s accident, when he’d rushed to Cedars-Sinai because he’d desperately needed to be by her side and see for himself that she was okay. Well, she was. He wasn’t so sure about himself anymore. He climbed over the bed because it was the quickest way to the remote and turned the stereo off. But it wasn’t enough. He threw the remote as hard as he could across the room, and it hit the mirror above his dresser, shattering both pieces. Yul sighed and dragged a hand through his hair again.

“If I do this, it’s going to kill her,” Yul said to Jesse.

“It’s not going to kill her,” Jesse told his younger brother. “Look, you’ve got to do something. It’s been month, and you can’t go on like this. When I got here, you were climbing the walls.”

Yul grinned at Jesse. “I climb the walls when I want a drink, Jesse. You see it as a bad thing, but I think it’s a good thing,” he shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s a trade-off. Don’t have a drink, climb a wall.”

“Wow,” Jesse said sarcastically. “A trade off and a good motto. The surprises just keep on coming.”

Yul laughed then his face took on a serious look. “I need to call her,” he said. “But I’m fairly certain that if I call her from my phone, she won’t answer.”

Jesse sighed and pulled his phone out of his pocket, then handed it to his brother.

“Thanks, big brother,” Yul said, taking the phone. He dialled Yoona’s number and listened to the ringing, waiting for her to pick up. After six rings, he was about to pull the phone away from his ear when he heard her pick up.

“Hello?” she said.

He didn’t say anything, letting the relief wash over him at the mere sounds of her voice.

“Jesse?”

He cleared his throat. “It’s not Jesse,” he said.

The line was silent for a minute. “Hi, Yul,” she said softly.

“How are you?” he asked.

She sighed. “Exhausted, I just finished up a three night stretch, I have three days off, and then a four night stretch and I’m done,” she said, rambling like she always did when she was nervous.

“Except for a few previously scheduled interviews.”

“Good for you, Yoong,” he said sincerely. “You did it.”

“Yeah, I can’t wait for it to just be over.”

“It’s going to be awhile. You know they’re going to stalk you for some time wondering what could be so wonderful that you’re giving up the fame and fortune,” he reminded her.

She laughed bitterly. “Giving it up? I’m running like hell away from it.”

“Like you did me?” he asked quietly. The words came out before he could stop them.

“Yul…” she started.

“Are you coming back to me, Yoona?” he asked softly, a hint of danger in his voice.

“Yul…”

“You can either come back or give us a chance, Yoona, or you can ride out the storm,” he threatened.

Yoona sighed. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? I can ride out the storm? Why are you being so… obscure?”

“You have one week, Yoona,” he told her.

Yoona laughed sarcastically. “Or what?” she asked, anger in her voice.

All she heard was a click. “Yul? Yul?” Yoona growled at the phone and then hit the button to shut it off. “You have one week Yoona,” she said out loud to herself in a mocking tone.

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Yoona had finally finished her ten city tour, and had arrived home at about four o’clock in the morning after taking the Red Eye from New York. She had immediately crawled into bed. Now she stretched, rolled over, and looked at the clock. It was almost one o’clock in the afternoon. She gave a groan, then kicked the blankets off her and got out of bed. She went into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee, then went into her room and made the bed. She sighed as she realized her bed looked empty when it was made now. Without Yul Jr’s quilt, it just didn’t look the same. And the worst part was, every time she’d look at the quilt, she’d thought of Yul, too, but she didn’t realize that until it was gone. She sighed and she liked to think of Yul. That thought had never occurred to her, but when they were together, she could think of a million reasons why they shouldn’t be, and when they were apart, all she could think of were all the ways they were perfect together. She was tired of always being so discontent with life.

She went into the kitchen, made herself a cup of coffee then walked back into her bedroom. When her eyes fell upon her empty looking bed, she spun around and walked back out, heading for the spare room. She placed her cup of coffee on the desk, then, moving a few things around, she pulled a tote into the middle of the floor and sat down next to it with her cup of coffee. She lifted the top off and smiled. She pulled the first item out, Yul’s lettermen’s jacket from high school and out it to her face, inhaling its scent. But instead of Yul, all she smelled was the potpourri she’d put in to keep everything fresh. Sighing, she pulled out the next few items, sitting them down beside her. When she finally found what she was looking for, she pulled it out and opened it to the exact page she was looking for.

She smiled and ran a hand down over the page. It was written over a page where the entire picture was Yoona jumping into Yul’s arms after the state championship. She remembered that day as if it were yesterday. Yul had been so proud. And she had been so proud of him. She looked down, tears filling her eyes and blurring her vision as she read:

Yoona,

Well our senior year is here and you’ve asked me to sign your yearbook. It seems so silly trying to write down the way I feel for you, because, really, there are no words. I’ll try and tell you every day, but I know it won’t enough, so I’ll have to spend most of the time showing you. I never thought that I’d go from the most miserable boy at school to the happiest man on the planet within the span of two years, but I did all because of you and our son (I can’t wait to meet him). I could never repay you for everything you’ve ever done for me. You came into my life like a whirlwind, and dragged Jesse along with you, kicking and screaming. Now I’ve gained a brother and a wife. In the process, the three of us have made an amazing family. Thank you, Yoona for saving me.

Always & Forever,

Yul

Yoona closed the yearbook and hugged it to her chest, letting the tears fall. He hadn’t written much, but he hadn’t needed to. She’d always known exactly how he’d felt about her because he’d never hesitated to tell her. She put the yearbook down beside her and stood up with her coffee. It just shouldn’t be this hard, she thought.

She heard the sound of the phone ringing and hurried into the kitchen to pick it up. “Hello,” she said breathlessly, not checking the caller ID.

“Yoona?” Tiffany said with worry in her voice.

“Is everything okay?” Yoona asked, topping off her coffee.

“Are you watching the television?” Tiffany asked.

“No,” Yoona said.

“Well, you might wanna turn it on,” Tiffany told her.

“Which channel?” Yoona asked, heading for the living room.

“Ummm… I don’t really think it matters,” Tiffany said. “Just turn it on.”

“Tif…” Yoona was interrupted by a click. She sighed and gave her phone a dirty look. Quite frankly, she was sick of being hung up on.

She grabbed the remote, and turned the television on. Yul’s face filled the screen.

“The reason that my marriage has never been revealed to the press up to now is because we were on rocky ground. I am convinced now, however, that Yoona and I are going to be fine.” He looked directly into the camera. “My wife couldn’t be here today, so I just wanted to say one thing to her. ‘Yoona, no matter what happens we’ll face it together and I promise you, I’ve never been happier. Everything’s going to be okay and I love you’.”

Yoona’s mug full of coffee fell to the floor, shattering into hundreds of little pieces, but she didn’t even notice.

“Is the accident the reason for your recent reconciliation?” a reporter fired off.

“That’s part of the reason, yes,” Yul conceded. “I always thought that Yoona and I would find our way back together again, and I was content waiting for someday. Until I realized that… someday is now. We had to find our way back together to get our someday. We couldn’t just wait for it to happen.”

“Was your marriage a happy one, Yul?” a reporter fired off.

Yul grinned, as if lost in contemplation. He didn’t look at the camera for a minute, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. Finally, he looked up. “Happy doesn’t even begin to describe my marriage,” he said fiercely, then took a deep breath. “The truth is... Yoona “Im” Kwon saved me. I wouldn’t be the man who is standing before you today if not for her.”

“What does that mean, Yul?”

“It means that in every way possible, Yoona has always been able to drag the best out of me, even when I didn’t want to give it. Even when I didn’t know it was there. And she never once gave up on me.” He smiled tenderly. “Before Yoona “Im” Kwon was American Sweetheart, she was mine.”

What Yoona saw next had her fuming. Jessie appeared by Yul’s side. “That will be all. No more questions,” he said, ushering his brother away from the podium.

Yoona grabbed the phone again and dialled Tiffany. “What in the hell are we going to do?” she said in a panicked voice when she picked up the phone.

“We?” Tiffany asked.

“Well, yeah. You are my PR person as well as my manager,” Yoona reminded her.

“Yoona, I quit.”

“What?” Yoona asked in a high pitched voice.

“Effective immediately,” Tiffany informed her.

“What? Why?” Yoona asked, wondering when the universe had started spinning out of control.

She heard Tiffany take a deep breath. “For years, I sat by and I watched you exist. Not live, Yoona. For the last four years, you’ve merely existed. And I helped you. No more. Jessie and I knew that you needed Yul. And that he needed you. But we didn’t have the balls to push the subject. We were too busy tiptoeing around both of you because your son died. I won’t do that anymore. And neither will Jessie.”

“Fany...”

“I work for Yul now.”

“Fany, please,” Yoona begged.

“When it comes to YoonYul, I’m in Yul’s camp from now on. I’m for you and Yul finally finding your way back together again and being grown up enough to make it work this time.”

“YoonYul? Am I talking to Tiffany or is this Sunny?” Yoona asked furiously.

“Goodbye, Yoona,” Tiffany said softly, then hung up.

Yoona sighed miserably and flopped down onto the couch.

So this was what he had meant when he’d said she could ride out the storm.