"MWO?????" each guy screamed as he read his phone. They knew the secret love that Yong Hwa had been hiding all along, as well as the picture that was his link to his old love.

Min Hyuk fell out of his bed upon reading the bad news. Jong Hyun, who was cooking breakfast, spilt some coffee on his hand. Jung Shin almost choked the water he was drinking. All of them tried to call Yong Hwa, but somebody always beat one to it.

"Let's meet," Min Hyuk said. "Come to my pisshibang."

*****

"Neo.... Hyung, you're kidding, geuchi?" Min Hyuk asked in disbelief.

The four guys and the female twin gathered at the conference room inside Min Hyuk's Internet cafe. His brother had taken the day off, so it was he, the boss, who would be going on duty this day. None of them could believe that Ara was the girl Yong Hwa had been looking for.

"It's a disaster," Jung Shin gasped.

"Ara," Yong Hwa said while keeping his face in check. "You don't have to tell me."

"Do you know about Shin Hye's feelings for you?" Min Hyuk asked out of the blue.

Jong Hyun and CL got pale. Of course, both of them did not reveal anything to Min Hyuk at all. Nor did CL reveal to her twin what she knew about Shin Hye's secret.

"Arasseo (I knew)," Yong Hwa said soberly.

"Hyung, since...when did you know?" Jong Hyun asked.

Yong Hwa did not know that Jong Hyun and CL knew.

"I had a feeling all along, though I sometimes got confused with her lead," Yong Hwa said. "Especially when she suddenly withdraws... I think I am certain about her feelings for me when... when she did not even answer my phone calls yesterday."

"Ara neun (What about Ara)?" Jung Shin asked.

"I told her to forget me," the beef resto owner revealed.

"Geuraeseo, hook up with Shin Hye-eonni already," Min Hyuk said while rejoicing.

"Mot-hae (I can't)," Yong Hwa said.

"Wae andwae?" CL asked.

"I broke up with her," Yong Hwa said.

"BROKE UP?????" Min Hyuk ed. "There was no you and her just yet. Why do you break up with her?"

Yong Hwa looked at Min Hyuk.

"Did I say wrong?" he asked helplessly.

"Ne! You used the wrong word and assumed the wrong things," Min Hyuk said.

After all, Yong Hwa never had a girlfriend in the past.

"Jamkkanman, you... searched for her yesterday.... and you knew of her feelings for you when she did not answer your call, and know you are saying you broke up with her?" Jung Shin asked in clarification.

Yong Hwa nodded helplessly.

"The correct term might be, you rejected her love, that's what," Jung Shin told him, while the other three nodded in agreement.

"You like her, and you know now that she likes you," Jong Hyun said carefully, trying not to spill Shin Hye's secret. "Why did you reject her?"

"Because I have hurt her a lot," Yong Hwa explained. "While I was flirting with her and winning her with my affection, I was also pining with the old love..... the reason why I could not be that intimate with her."

"Not that intimate?" Min Hyuk asked. "You just kissed her forehead during Noona's wedding!"

Yong Hwa suddenly remembered that evening. Indeed, for him, Shin Hye was so damn beautiful that he had kissed her as they danced. He was too stupid, and it made him think he had become a player. Because he had loved two girls at one time, he had hurt both. As for Shin Hye, he knew it would be unfair for her to hurt her again, so he decided to let go of her love for him, and his love for her.

Sad. Intensely sad.

But that has to be done.

"So... what are you gonna do?" CL asked in English.

Yong Hwa thought for a moment.

"I'll... settle things first here... then..."

"Are you going out of the country?" CL preempted him.

The room suddenly went quiet, and only the noise of the customers could be heard from outside. Yong Hwa looked at his buddies anxiously before nodding.

"Sigh...." went the others.

"If that is what you want..." Jong Hyun said.

"I'll just be on vacation," Yong Hwa assured them. "I'll just... cool off my thoughts..."

"Arasseo," Min Hyuk said thoughtfully.

Yong Hwa pondered on what he should do next, but Shin Hye never left his mind. He just had to let go.

"Jalgayo, nae sarang.... (Goodbye, my love)"

~~~~

("Jalgayo, Nae Sarang" is a title of the song sung by 8Eight.)

~~~~