Yong Ha stood on the edge of a dark abyss and worriedly looked back. His blood continued to leak from the wound on his neck. There was firelight in the forest behind and the waterfall was running down very fast in front of him. No time left, and he had to make a choice immediately. Jumping down the abyss or being caught? Both ways led him to death, but he had no other way.

“Hurry up! He is probably running to the edge. We can surely catch him there.”

An aggressive voice echoed from the bush near Yong Ha. He could feel the death was coming slowly to himself. Some stones on the edge began to fall down and almost made Yong Ha flounder. His eyes became blurred, his legs collapsed and his last strength was going to fade away.

“Se Ryung, I’m really sorry. I can’t come back to you. You must be safe and raise our child well. I promise you, I will repay your love in the next life. We will definitely meet again.”

Yong Ha tried to whispered final words in his life. Closing his eyes, Yong Ha sat on the cold ground and recalled his happy memories with Se Ryung. He knew what he must choose to protect his family and country. If he has been caught, everything would have become much worse than ever.  And he also knew that this decision would separate him and Se Ryung forever. The only faith he had was that he would meet her once again in the next life. There were a lot of promises he couldn’t keep, a lot of dreams that couldn’t come true. So he wanted to be reborn and do these things for Se Ryung.

Just at the moment when Yong Ha stood up and approached the edge closer, he saw someone from a near distance. That was a woman whispering his name. Her face was full of tears and her misery expression suddenly caused him an intense pain.

“Se Ryung, is that you?” He heard himself asking.

“Yes, finally I could find you,” Se Ryung cried.

“You can’t be here. The enemies are going to catch me. It will be dangerous for you. Leave here now!” Yong Ha ordered.

“No, I will live and die with only you.”

“Se Ryung ah, don’t be like this. We have no much time. You must continue to live and protect our child. You know he can’t live and grow well without you.” Yong Ha tried to persuade Se Ryung but she still remained stubborn.

“Prince, I will create a diversion. You have to run away right now. Remember my words, don’t look back or try to save me. Just run as far as possible and find the way to Palace. Quick quick!”

“What are you thinking? How can I let you do that?” Yong Ha asked angrily and push Se Ryung away, “Don’t be so foolish. Go now!”

But it was too late. Before Yong Ha could even said any word, Se Ryung had run to the troops rummaging in the forest behind him. Suddenly, Yong Ha felt a cold and huge stone falling down in his heart. He could not clearly see everything around. The only thing he could sense was the voices and laughs of some soldiers when they saw Se Ryung. Then Yong Ha was sunk in darkness and freeze, it felt like he was going to the hell…

Maru woke up suddenly and realized that he had just spent a familiar nightmare. He had been enduring it for over 10 years. But he really didn’t know why it continued to bother him over and over. And everytime he woke up, the name “Se Ryung” obsessed him. Maru had no idea of who she was or why she appeared in his dreams because he had never met her before.  Anyway, this nightmare had been disturbing him a lot and he really wanted to escape from it.

The phone ringtone brought Maru back to reality. Jessica was calling to wish him a good day as usual.

“Good morning, Sica.” Maru smiled while answering her call.

“Oppa, have a nice day. How was your sleep?” The soft voice of Jessica made Maru feel a little comfortable.

“Not really good. I had a nightmare,” sighed Maru.

“Again? Maybe it’s because you have been worked so hard recently. Oppa, I have told you to rest many times. If you’re still like this, I will have to bind you”.

“Okay, I will take time to relax this weekend. You know that I always listen to your advice, don’t you?” Maru joked.

“Ah, I prepared breakfast for you. See you at the office later.”

“Okay, bye bye Sica.”

“Bye bye, my cute Maru” Jessica replied with a soft laughter.

“Yah, a man should not be cute. I will only be happy if you say I’m manly or y.”

“No, you’re not y at all, baby Maru ah~”

“Jessica, don’t let me catch you. I’m going to take revenge”.

“Okay, come and catch me if you can. Hehe.” Jessica laughed provokingly.

After their conversation ended, Maru took a bath and went to his company. The secretary informed him about that morning’ schedule including three meetings with customers and a lunch meeting with a new partner. That day would be full of work for him.

………………..

When Maru entering his office, Jessica was waiting for him. She greeted Maru with a playful blink, “Before you are able to catch me, let’s have breakfast first”.

“I will have it after the first meeting, okay? I only have 5 minutes left,” Maru replied and hurriedly reviewed the papers on his desk.

“Kang Maru! This is the fifteenth time you skip meals in this month. Are you trying to ruin your health?” Jessica shouted.

“That’s because I’m too busy. You see, I always have a lot of work to do”.

“Then I will help you. Is it OK?”

“I have to go now. Sica, see you this afternoon. I will treat you coffee later, ok?”

Maru stood up and rushed out of his office before Jessica could say anything. She sighed and wondered when Maru could take time for her. They had not had any private date since last month and Jessica was really frustrated. But since her man Maru was a workaholic, she had no reason to blame him anyway.

………………….

The first three meetings of Maru happened smoothly. He signed two contracts and received praise from a potential customer. Therefore, Maru’s mood was lightened significantly and he almost forgot about the nightmare.

Because of traffic jam, Maru came to the restaurant for his lunch meeting later than scheduled. When he entered VIP room, his female partner was already there and reading a book.

“I’m sorry. I’m late, please forgive me,” Maru said anxiously.

“You don’t need to apologise. I decided to cancel our appointment.”

The woman stood up and faced Maru. Upon seeing her, the nightmare last night flashed back to him like a wind. Her face and Se Ryung’s were the same, not even different a tiny bit. But how it could happen? Was she really Se Ryung? Maru was too shocked to utter a word.

“I’m leaving now. Have a good day, CEO Kang.” She smiled coldly and went out.

“Are you… Se Ryung?” Maru asked painfully.

“What do you mean?” She stopped walking and stared at him.

“Your name is…Se Ryung, right?” repeated Maru.

“I thought you had knewn my name before coming here. Isn’t that a polite attitude you should have as a businessman?”

“I’m sorry. May I ask your name?”

“Seo Eun Gi,” she replied haughtily.

Seo…Eun…Gi?