It was getting too much. Jung Shin was very disturbed that Shin Hye managed to go out on a date with Min Hyuk no matter how awkward. There should be no problem, right? Besides, Shin Hye was available, and Min Hyuk was just as single too.

"Jong Hyun-hyung and I should not be bothered about this... But then... how about Yong Hwa-hyung?"

Nobody knows what Yong Hwa was thinking or doing on the other side of the world.

"Hyukkie should get a life. I should probably tell Johnny-hyung about this," Jung Shin said with a frown to himself.

He was busy pacing that he almost ripped his "Strobe Edge" manga to pieces. Just then, his phone rang, and he took it. It was his noona girlfriend, wanting to spend another cold evening with him in a posh restaurant.

"Anything for you, Min Young-noona," he drawled ily. "This handsome man cannot say no to a beautiful damsel, geuchi?"

"Awww, Shinnie, why do you always make me fall in love with you?" Min Young said over the phone.

"Because you also make me fall in love with you. Ciao!" Jung Shin crooned before hanging up.

He had to meet his girl on a date, but he had to set a date to  meet Jong Hyun too. Jong Hyun knew that Min Hyuk was home, but Shinnie had probably guessed that Jong Hyun did not know of the developments because Shin Hye might not have told him.

****

It was obvious, very obvious, that Min Hyuk was in courting mode. Instead of telling Shin Hye directly, he was acting out as a gentleman so that she can get it. Because of Min Hyuk's new look, Shin Hye was often flustered and blushing. How come Yong Hwa was never this...ritzy?

She did not care if Yong Hwa was not ritzy. All that mattered to her was that he made her heart beat irregularly. And now, it was Min Hyuk giving it to her, though Jong Hyun also gave her those blushing moments.

"Gwaenchanha?" Min Hyuk asked.

"Eung..." she responded.

Min Hyuk reached out to her hand from across the table and rubbed it with his thumb.

"Uh... is it too fast, Min Hyuk?" Shin Hye asked.

"Sorry about that," Min Hyuk said. "I can't help it if you are making yourself gorgeous."

Shin Hye laughed daintily. "So, now it's my fault that I am pretty?"

"'Pretty' is a term thrown out by guys to a girl, but I am not a guy. I am a man," Min Hyuk said. "And in my terms, you are beautiful, not pretty."

"What... does it differ between a guy and a man?" Shin Hye asked. "They're synonymous."

"Yes, they might be, but guys are immature and shallow, men are responsible," Min Hyuk said. "And that is who I am--a man."

Shin Hye blushed when Min Hyuk spoke. It was a bit clear to her that he was making her see that he could take care of her and love her and be responsible for her because he was a man.

And how about Yong? Is he a guy?

Probably, yes.

Among them guys, it was Min Hyuk who was already eligible enough to be husband material. If he was not accepting defeat and not aggressive enough to fight for his feelings in the past, now he was being obvious that he was still interested and willing to put up a fair fight. And by now, maybe Yong Hwa was not willing to fight for her anymore.

"Are you enjoying yourself tonight?" Min Hyuk asked.

Though he was being obvious, he did not want to appear creepy and obstinate. Unfortunately, Shin Hye thought of him as such.

"Y...yes..." Shin Hye replied.

After dinner, the two of them went to an art gallery, which will be closing at eleven. Shin Hye was in awe that Min Hyuk still wasn't the type to bring a girl somewhere dark--like a noraebang or a bar.

"I probably can figure out what you are thinking, Shin Hye," Min Hyuk said. "Maybe you thought I will bring us to a bar for some drinks."

Shin Hye smiled, mentally slapping herself for thinking of Min Hyuk that way. Why did he have to be so hot? And what about Yong Hwa?

"I knew you wouldn't do that," Shin Hye said. "You were never one who touches liquor, unlike me and Jong Hyun once upon a time."

Hearing Jong Hyun's name made Min Hyuk-- a bit jealous all over again.

"So, how's JH-hyung?" Hyukkie asked.

Shin Hye related how Jong Hyun was faring apart from the crowd. He was living in a pad and was enjoying a handsome pay at the university. But she did not tell Min Hyuk that she never told Jong Hyun that the former was being such a creepy guy by now. Min Hyuk only smiled his ritzy smile at her before getting his gaze on a painting.

"See that painting over there?" he asked her.

Shin Hye was not one for paintings and sculptures, but she was trying too hard to listen to him. Hyukkie gave out tidbits about each artwork, but Shin Hye was simply not digesting more of them.

****

"I thank you for bringing me here," Shin Hye said when the two of them were at the rooftop.

Shin Hye was thankful that the rooftop wasn't dim either. There was a small cafe where a number of patrons sipped coffee even when it was almost bedtime, and most of them were busy with their gadgets. However, the two of them stayed a bit far from the crowd to gain privacy.

Min Hyuk smiled as he nodded. "I'm glad you like it here."

WIthout warning, he pulled Shin Hye into an embrace, and Shin Hye was stunned at the act. Much as she was excited at the feeling of Min Hyuk's embrace, she did not want to be unfair to him.

Because no matter how it all turned out, her heart was not with him.

"Mianhae..." she whispered.

Min Hyuk's heart was shaken in pain. Was this another rejection? He pulled her so he could see her reaction. And she was crying.

"Mianhae, Hyukkie... I... I still consider you as a friend, but please... I don't want to be unfair... I'm sorry that I still cannot feel the way you do for me..."

"Wae? Is it because you are still in love with Yong Hwa-hyung though he left you?" Min Hyuk asked bitterly. "Huh??!"

"Mianhae..."

"Or... is it Jong Hyun-hyung?" Hyukkie asked. "Is it Jung Shin?"

"Jung Shin's with Eonni..."

"I don't care!" Min Hyuk spat his words to her face. "Your eonni and Jung Shin might be a couple, but I could not help but get jealous everytime I think that for all these years, you and Jung Shin had been living together in the same house!"

Shin Hye pushed him, eyes hurt.

"Are you telling me that Jung Shin and I are playing behind my eonni's back?" she asked him. 

Min Hyuk was taken aback that he had insulted her. And it was not the ways of a man.

"Shin Hye-ya..mi..mianhada..."

But he was met with a hard slap on his face.

"I had been very patient with you, Hyukkie... I was hurting that you threw away our friendship for your jealousy. But you insulted my womanhood... and I cannot forgive you for that!"

She cupped her hand and ran away. Min Hyuk was about to run after her when his own feet felt being cemented to the floor. Because he had insulted her, he felt the world had turned upside down.

"Shin Hye...ya..." he cried.

The other patrons had witnessed the ordeal, and Min Hyuk, in his shame and pride, exited the area hastily.

****

Min Hyuk dolorously walked to the parking lot to get to his Porsche when Goo-ssaem passed by with a young lady with her.

"If it isn't our Kang Min Hyukkie," Goo-ssaem remarked.

Min Hyuk turned around to see the good old Goo-ssaem looking fair and grand as always, though struggling with her cane. His heart suddenly melted at the sight of his favorite teacher, whom he had treated like a mother in his younger years.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Goo-ssaem?" he greeted with a bow.

Goo-ssaem smiled and introduced him to her granddaughter, Kim Yu Jin. Min Hyuk and Yu Jin greeted each other politely, and he asked the two where they would be going.

"Oh, we will be going home now," Goo-ssaem said amiably.

Min Hyuk was flustered because he had not talked to his favorite teacher in ages. He invited them to his car, and he offered to take them home.

****

Goo-ssaem noticed that Min Hyuk's eyes were red with crying though he was keeping his demeanor well and good. Yu Jin offered some refreshments for the visitor, though coffee was not an option, for it was already almost nine. Before the old woman told him of her observation, the two of them exchanged information regarding their days gone by. Goo-ssaem was already comfortably relying on her pension, and Yu Jin lived with them because she was taking up additional experiences as a cellist.

"Cellist? Wow!" Min Hyuk gaped.

Finally, when the two of them were alone, Goo-ssaem broke it to him that she noticed his red eyes.

"Had you been crying?" she asked him.

Though Min Hyuk was no longer the nice guy that he used to be, he could not help but be nice still to Goo-ssaem, so he told her what had transpired that night, and everything about his encounter with Shin Hye.

"Omo, so Park-seonsaengnim and Jung-seonsaengnim already split up?" she asked him, to which he nodded. 

Goo-ssaem gave him her motherly advice. It seemed that she did not want Min Hyuk to cling to a love that will never be.

"There are times that love will never come to us no matter how hard we try, Min Hyuk," the old lady said wisely. "If you are a man, you will accept defeat and move on."

Min Hyuk wanted to hold back his tears, but the old lady let her cry.

"I don't believe that real men should never cry," she told him. "After all, what are our tear glands for?"

She reached out and placed her wrinkly arms around the young man, giving him a warm hug to soothe the aching heart. When Yu Jin came with the refreshments, she hastily put it down and sat beside her grandmother.

"Wae geuraeyo?" she asked in concern.

The other two did not share the real situation, but Yu Jin somehow understood.

"If it is love problems, it really hurts," the young lady said solemnly, thoughtfully, and mysteriously.

Min Hyuk looked at her. How come she knew? Or, can she read his mind?

And suddenly, the strangest thing occurred. He noticed Yu Jin's fierce eyes, which were contrasting to her gentle nature. If no one would know her, people will probably think that she is a snob. And Min Hyuk suddenly found himself wanting to understand why such a gentle creature owned fierce eyes.

As if Jong Hyun himself never owned such kind of eyes...

"Ah, will it be all right if you stay here for the night?" Goo-ssaem asked Min Hyuk, remembering that the young man left some of his clothes inside the house. 

"Ne?"

And Goo-ssaem explained about the clothes. Yale Man Min Hyuk was embarrassed that his own clothes should still be in the house, and Goo-ssaem explained to Yu Jin that Min Hyuk used to come to the house to massage the old woman's arthritic joints and her husband's aching back.

"Wow, Min Hyuk-ssi really must have caring hands," Yu Jin said in amazement.

"Ah... gamsahamnida," Min Hyuk said shyly.

"Ah, Uee," Goo-ssaem said to Yu Jin using the young woman's pet name," Prepare the guest room beside your room, huh?"

Min Hyuk blushed. Uee's room was next to his room?

"Ah, ne, algesseoyo..." Uee said before going up the flight of stairs.

Min Hyuk got the glass of juice on the table and the muffin on the saucer. He did not want to make it known to his fave teacher that Uee suddenly caught his attention without her even trying.

But the old woman saw his little smile as he bit into the muffin.

"If there is a song to describe this young man, that would be 'Fixing A Broken Heart.'" the old woman mused to herself.

****

Min Hyuk got inside the old room which used to be his haven everytime he would visit the old Goo couple, and he found Uee arranging the pillows.

"Ja, the bed is ready, and Min Hyuk-ssi can sleep tight," came Uee's cheerful remark.

Min Hyuk let out a small smile. Shin Hye's slap and her words (and his mistake) was still painful, but seeing Uee and her optimism made the pain a bit bearable.

"Gomawoyo," he told her.

"Ah, geuge..." Uee said while grabbing something from her pocket.

Min Hyuk took it from her, and saw that it was a ticket.

"This coming Saturday, I will be performing with Park Go Eun," Uee said to him, telling him about 2NE1's Park Bom's elder sister, who was also a cellist. "If  you have time, you can watch our performance."

"Ne, ne, ne!" Min Hyuk said without hesitation. "I'd love to! I love music."

"Wow! Na do!" Uee said casually, radiating a carefree smile. "Uhm, does Min Hyuk-ssi play instruments too?"

"Ne, I play the flute," he confessed.

"Wow... I am amazed," Uee said as she put her hands on her hips. "Well, maybe we can do a duet sometime, or perhaps, we can opt for a concerto for you?"

"Co... concerto?" came Min Hyuk's flustered comment. His musical genius was only confined to his room.

"Ne. Perhaps we can talk about it sometime, but a cello and flute duet sounds interesting," Uee told him.

"Ah...ne..." he came in shyly.

"Oh well, Min Hyuk-ssi needs to rest," she told him. "Annyeonghi jumuseyo (Good night)."

Min Hyuk bid her good night, and watched her leave. Then, he lay on his bed and placed an arm on his forehead. He was not in the mood to change just yet. The thought of Uee's effortless charm made her interesting to him. If Shin Hye hated him to bits by now, perhaps, he could try to get to know Uee instead. 

And the thought of making music with Uee was... exciting.

Cello and flute? Perhaps.

And a concerto... Would it end his career in Yale? Or will music give him strength to go on? Or will it also give him prestige that he, a science teacher taking up advanced studies, is also a musician?

It would not be bad, right?

After all, even actor Ken Jeong is a physician AND an actor at the same time.

The thought made Min Hyuk smile, and a bit of the hurt was slowly washed away like rain. 

Thanks to Uee.

~~~~

Yeoreobun, so sorry for updating so late. Kinda busy these days. 

Up next, Min Hyuk and Shin Hye's closure, and the final chappy for the Shin Hye-Jong Hyun alternate ending.

~~~~