"Can I get you anything?" the waitress asked Hyun Joong for the second time.

"Not at the moment. I'm waiting for somebody," Hyun Joong replied.

The waitress, a brunette with s that nearly spilled out of her low-cut uniform smiled saucily. "Sometimes we have things that aren't on the menu." She winked and slid a piece of scrap paper toward him. "My phone number' just in case you want to order à la carte."

Hyun Joong picked up the piece of paper and crumpled it into a ball. He wasn't interested. He wasn't interested in anyone except Jung So Min.

He took a sip of his wine and sighed in relief as he saw Min Ho approach the secluded table. He half rose, but Min Ho motioned him down as he slid into the chair opposite Nicholas.

"Kim Hyun Joong." Lee Min Ho nodded a greeting.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet me," Hyun Joong said.

"I'm not sure why I'm here," Min Ho confessed. "But I think I have an idea."

"Jung So Min," Hyun Joong replied, as if that said it all.

Min Ho nodded. "That's what I thought."

"It's been two days since I've seen her' spoken with her. I thought it best if I give her some time to think."

"And what does this have to do with me?" Min Ho asked.

"I need help," Hyun Joong confessed. "I need to convince So Min to marry me." He twisted his napkin between his fingers. "You know So Min, tell me what I need to do."

The waitress appeared at their table. Min Ho ordered a meal, but Hyun Joong waved her away. "I'm not hungry," he said.

"No appetite?" Min Ho's dark brows rose. "Not sleeping well? Having difficulty focusing?"

Hyun Joong looked at him in amazement. "Yes, all those. How did you know?"

Min Ho grinned. "I've been there. It's called love, Hyun Joong."

"Love." Wonder flowed through Hyun Joong. But of course. Love for Jung So Min echoed in every chamber of his heart, flowed vibrantly through his veins. He loved Jung So Min and he didn't know what to do about it. He leaned forward. "Min Ho, you've got to help me. Make her marry me. I need her."

"I can't make So Min do anything," Min Ho protested. "Have you told her how you feel?"

"I told her I didn't want to marry anyone else. I told her we would have a good marriage." Hyun Joong frowned. "I don't know what else to say to her."

"Have you told her you love her?"

Hyun Joong twisted the napkin once again. "No." He frowned thoughtfully. He said those words a hundred times in his past to a hundred women because he'd known it was what they wanted to hear. But, there had never been any real emotion behind the words.

Again Min Ho smiled. "Women are funny creatures, Hyun Joong. They don't want implied. They need to hear the words."

"I hadn't said those words to her because my feelings for her transcend those simple three words." Again wonder raced through Hyun Joong.

He'd been searching for love a long time, all the women he'd dated, all the relationships he'd had. But, it had remained elusive. And when he'd given up the notion, decided it was a foolish sentiment, it had reared up and slapped him in the face.

"I love her," he said aloud and looked at Min Ho in astonishment. He stood, unable to sit another minute. "I'm sorry, I've got to go."

Min Ho grinned. "I figured as much. Go on."

Hyun Joong raced from the restaurant, his heart pounding in his chest. He felt more alive than he?d ever felt in his life, and his heart ached with love for So Min.

It wasn?t until he was halfway to Min Ho and Hye Sun's house that a dreadful thought struck him. He loved So Min, but what if she didn't love him?

To be continued?