Zico’s POV

I opened my eyes to feel Kasumi’s hands on my chest. It made me smile when I turned to see her sleeping peacefully next to me. I kissed her forehead and she stirred a bit. Then she looked up to me, opening one eye, smiling sleepily. “Hi, Jiho Oppa,” she said softly. “Good morning.”

I wrapped an arm around her, knowing I couldn’t ignore the big leap my heart took when I touched her. “I think it’s way passed morning,” I replied gently.

She glanced at the clock and groaned when her mind registered what time it was at the current moment. “Is that really the time now?”

I nodded. “Yes, babe, it’s twelve-thirty in the afternoon.”

“Were we really that tired last night?” she wondered aloud innocently.

I burst into laughter, my chest heaving up and down as I did. “You tell me, Sumi,” I teased. “What do you think?”

Kasumi’s face turned a bright shade of crimson and hid her face in my chest. “Oops.”

I kissed her forehead again. “How are you?”

She looked back up and blinked, as if she was thinking. “Erm, I’m a bit sore,” she admitted. “But I should be okay.”

I was instantly worried. “Was I that rough on you?” I asked, full of concern.

“Anni,” she quickly replied, pecking my cheeks reassuringly. “You always made sure I was enjoying it as much as you were.”

“It wouldn’t be fair if one of us were only enjoying it.”

She smiled timidly and snuggled up in my arms. But then Kasumi abruptly sat up, her eyes going wide. “, is that the time? I’m late in meeting up with Myungsoo Oppa! Omo, he’s going to kill me!”

I roared with laughter as she rushed to get ready. Myungsoo doesn’t like it when people are late. But then I smiled widely, remembering last night. I looked at the bathroom where my wife had disappeared off to and grinned broadly.

Kasumi . . .

The wedding gradually grew nearer. Soon it was only a month away until the big day when Kasumi and I realized we had forgotten the most important thing for the wedding: the wedding cake.

One morning, Kasumi was frantically trying to remember where she had placed the list of people confirming their attendance to the wedding when I received a call from my mother. I answered it. “Yeobosaeyo?”

“Darling, I’m afraid the car broke down. Could you come and get me?” she asked. “I’m at the prison visiting your father, but you don’t have to come in if you don’t want to. I just need a ride back home.”

I nodded. “Sure, Umma.”

Kasumi looked up as I grabbed my jacket. She smiled and came over to kiss my cheek. “I’ll call you when I’m nearly there, okay?” I said distractedly, hugging her tightly. I said goodbye and kissed her on the lips.

“You have to go?”

“Umma’s car broke down so I’m going to get her.” I glanced at the clock. “I’ll meet you at the café for lunch and then we’ll go cake hunting, okay?”

Kasumi nodded, wrapping her arms around my neck. I kissed her even deeply, wishing I could just stay here with her. But I couldn’t. So I reluctantly pulled away from her but she pulled me back. I laughed.

“Five minutes,” she pleaded.

I looked at her the exact moment she chose to do aegyo. I blinked. Damn . . . I nodded and we cuddled with each other on the couch, kissing and hugging. Ten minutes later, I got ready to leave the penthouse.

“I love you,” I told her, pressing the button for the elevator to come.

Kasumi laughed, pointing, and I looked down to see that I’d buttoned up wrongly. She fixed it for me, but not without kissing my chest. “I love you, too,” she replied, moving up to kiss my lips. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

“I promise I’ll be there on time,” I replied before I walked down to pick my mom up. “I love you, too, Kasumi. I always will.” I winked.

Kasumi only laughed.

I drove to get my mom. When I got there, she didn’t answer her phone call I made to her to let her know I was there. In fact, there wasn’t any ringing tone. Her battery must have had died. But I saw that her car was parked near the prison, but she wasn’t anywhere near it. So I got out from my own and looked around.

Something moved in the alley.

I squinted my eyes to get a better look and gasped when I saw a figure lying on the ground in there. I took a step closer. It was a body. Gasping, I ran over to the body and kneeled down next to it. It was a figure of a woman. When I gently turned the head to me, placing it on my lap, I froze.

“Umma!” I cried out, shaking her a bit. “Umma, Umma, what happened? Who did this to you? Umma?!” I delicately held my mother’s body in my arms as I searched for any signs of recognition.

Her eyes were opened. . . .

My mother was dead.

I couldn’t breathe properly as I dropped her back down on my knees. I couldn’t seem to be able to breathe properly anymore. Blood was dripping from her head. It was dried up, which meant she’d been . . . dead . . . for quite some time now.

Someone left her there to rot.

Something prickled on my skin, telling me to run and get out of there. I sensed that I was in danger zone, but I couldn’t just leave my mother here.

“Well, well, well, look who we have here,” a familiar, musky voice spoke up from behind.

I looked up, to see someone I hadn’t seen ever since my father had been arrested. “Uncle Choi,” I quivered.

He was there the day my father was arrested, and had almost gotten away with it if my mom hadn’t dropped hints of his whereabouts and the police took him to prison. They gave him light a sentence, since he didn’t kill anyone. But I had heard that when he came out, his children didn’t want to interact with him anymore and his wife made him sign the divorce papers, leaving him homeless and jobless.

But why was he . . .?

“Because of your family, I suffered a great deal and I’m not going to let you be happy while I’m not,” he said in a low voice, growling angrily.

I frowned, standing up. “It’s not our fault that you chose to follow my dad. You had your own will when he asked you to join,” I pointed out.

Uncle Choi brought his fist back and before I even knew that I should’ve reacted, I felt a smart punch landing on my cheek, making me to stagger back until I banged my back against the wall behind me. “Ugh . . .” I groaned.

“I’m going to finish you like I did with your mom,” he sneered. “It’ll send a message to your father to never mess with me ever again.”

“Uncle . . . no . . .” I couldn’t say anything because he punched me again before kneading me in the stomach. I doubled over, cursing silently.

“Too late,” he said, taking a gun out and pointing it toward me. “Any last words before I kill you off? I’ll be nice enough to let you do that.”

As he pulled the trigger, I closed my eyes with only one thought in my mind: Sumi-yah, I love you, but I’m sorry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: best if you listen to this song from now to the end of the chapter [link]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kasumi’s POV

I was getting ready to go out to meet with Zico when the elevator dinged and — low and behold — my favorite oppa entered with a frown on his face deeply imprinted on his handsome face.

“When were you going to tell me that you are already married to Zico on papers and are making it official with a wedding?” he demanded to know. I shrugged as he threw his arms high up in the air. “After all these years I had done for you, I had to find about it through a wedding invitation?”

I gave him a withering look. “You were the first person to know we were engaged after my dad, you idiot,” I told him. “And I’m pretty sure I told you that we were already married. Check your watsapp.”<