"What are you doing here?" The words burst harshly from within you, but she didn't seem affected by your tone as she scoffed, "This is my mother-in-law. Why shouldn't I be here?" Then she crossed her arms and arched a brow before asking, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be working? heard from your Uncle that you've caused trouble already."

     "Yeah, did you hear about him beating me up, too?" You snapped back angrily and saw her eyes widen visibly, but like always, she only brushed it aside and changed the topic. Your mom cleared and shrugged as if the fact that you had been abused was no news to her. As much as you hated it and as much as you didn't want to admit it, you still felt that sting in your heart when she acted as if nothing was wrong with the fact.

     "You're old enough, Xue Hua--" She started when you felt yourself burst out at her again.

     "Don't call me that!" You lashed at her and she blinked, surprised, while you swiftly crossed your arms. To her, it probably looked like you were beyond pissed and you were, but the real reason why you crossed your arms were because you felt like you were about to physically fall apart on the spot. How many years has it been? How long have you avoided this meeting with her?

     "Well," She cleared , trying to collect herself from your outburst as she straightened up in her seat, "That is your name."

     "No. It's not. My name is Lee So Kyung. Xue Hua has already died a long time ago." You answered coldly even though you knew your answer was a lie. Xue Hua never left...she was still there, but you've hidden her away. Xue Hua was the mirror image of all the pain and hurt that you never wanted to face ever again. Xue Hua was the quiet and lonesome girl that fell in love with Luhan. Xue Hua was the girl that never spoke up. The one that always gave up. The one that always cried alone.

     "It does not matter what you think. You will always be Xue Hua." Your mother turned her eyes away from you, something that she always did when she knew that she couldn't win the argument. It was her way of ending a conversation and starting a new one, but you didn't care.

     "Of course. When did it ever matter what So Kyung or Xue Hua thought?" You muttered bitterly, letting your question sink onto her shoulders. It didn't matter who you were, So Kyung or Xue Hua. The way that you were treated wasn't going to change either way. You were still the outcast of the Li family. No matter how hard you tried, there wasn't going to be any recognition on your behalf. You've lived long enough to know and accept that fact. Which is the reason why you've avoided China for the longest time. It was the reason why you've stayed in America up until when Kris called you and told you about Luhan.

     "Why are you still here?" She turned her back to you and you felt that coldness from the darkness wrap around you again.

     "Why do you care?" You felt your heart shake. Luhan was the reason why you returned to South Korea and Nǎinai was the reason why you returned to China. Nothing else mattered.

     "I heard that you're working for SM Entertainment as a manager. Exo M? There's been a hype growing about them. Chun Hua was telling me about them. She said that Wufan is with them..." She paused and then asked quietly, "Luhan is with them, isn't he? " She glanced back at you, but didn't let you answer as she continued on, "Stay away from that boy. He's the reason why you're in all this mess in the first place." You felt the anger from before surge through your veins immediately and blurted, "Who do you think you are?!"

     "I am your mother." Your question must have angered her as much as her words did you, because she instantly got up from her seat to glare you down. Her stare had no affect on you though as you lifted your chin and snapped back angrily, "For your information, I've been taking care of myself since you left me behind when I was four years old! I've lived my whole life without a mother. And now that I'm actually back, I don't need you pretending to be care about me. You have nothing to do with the choices I make in my life. You have nothing to do with who I see in my life. You have nothing to do with me."

     You felt something hot and wet slip down your face and realized that you were crying. You immediately wiped the stupid tears away and stepped back when your mother stepped forward. There was a long silence between you two and you let the pain linger for a moment longer before remembering that you had come to check on Nǎinai. You glanced at the heart monitor to see that she was still doing okay. Then you sighed in relief before turning when your mother spoke up again.

     "That boy doesn't even know who you are anymore. Forget about him and move on. He will only cause you more trouble." Her whispered froze you on the spot and you forced yourself to take a deep breath before you looked back at her over your shoulder.

     "Should I remind you why he no longer recognizes me? Who changed my face? You say that he's the reason why I am in this mess? Why don't you take a closer look? He's the reason why I am still alive...or is that the reason why you hate him so much?" You turned to the side to look her straight in the eyes as you laughed dryly, "Because he's saved what you were trying so hard to get rid off?" Her eyes widened and you swore that you almost saw hurt in her eyes, but you pushed it aside and swiftly turned and left without another word. You turned the corner when you ran into Eun Ah. You glanced up, surprised, when saw the look in her eyes. You knew then, that she had overheard everything.

     "I'm sorry..." Eun Ah whispered, "I didn't mean to hear anything...I was just worried about you."

     "It's fine." You sighed as you two sat on the waiting bench in the empty hallway.

     "I...I didn't realize that...that things are still so bad between you and your mom." She mumbled gently and then reached out to grasp your arm gently, "So Kyung, I don't know what else to say...I'm so sorry." You looked back to her before forcing a small smile, "You don't need to be sorry, Eunnie...There's nothing to be sorry about."

     "Yes, there is. I'm your best friend, and I still didn't know about anything..." She shook her head and leaned back onto the bench. Eun Ah looked up to the blank white ceiling and then sighed again, "So Kyung, please stop hiding things away from me, okay? I don't want you to hurt all by yourself like this. Do you know how that makes me feel, watching you, and not being able to do anything?"

     "I just didn't think you were ready to know the truth, Eun Ah...Especially because of Baekhyun and Luhan recently." You shrugged and leaned back beside her. She turned her head to look at you and then shook her head, "You need to tell me about Xue Hua and Luhan...sooner or later, I'm going to have to know about what happened between you and Luhan." You glanced back at her and then sighed again, "Ask away. Right now...we have all the time in the world, right?"

     "Just like that rainy night back at my house, huh?" She reminded you gently before you smiled and nodded, "Yeah...I'll tell you everything. You just have to ask." She stared at you for a moment and then looked away and across the hall to the framed mirror on the wall. You both stared at your reflections for a long moment until she took a deep breath and asked, "Why does your mom hate Luhan so much?"

     "I'm still alive because of him...that's probably why." You stared at your face and tried to remember how you used to look like before the surgery. But no matter how hard you thought about it, you couldn't even remember your old face.

     "What do you mean by that?" She asked gently and you looked away from your reflection.

     "On the day that of Feng and my flight...I missed the flight because I went back to go meet Luhan." Your heart skipped a beat as you remembered that day. You remembered so clearly how mad Feng was at you when you stopped the car and jumped out to catch a cab. He was angry, but you remember the look in his eyes. As angry as he was, he and you both knew that it was something you had to do...and he let you go. You should have convinced him to go with you. Maybe then, he'd be sitting by you right now, too. You saw the questioning look in Eun Ah's eyes and chuckled slightly as you began telling your story.

     "I met Luhan in high school, but we never talked. I honestly don't know why or how, but one day...he just started talking to me. It was weird at first and I didn't really like him, because believe it or not, Luhan used to be really similar to Baekhyun. He had his round of girls, but he was never as crazy as Baekhyun." You shrugged and relaxed your shoulders as you remembered the old days, "He was a lot more subtle. A lot of girls fell for his innocent image, but I could see right through it and he disgusted me."

     "That's funny...how'd you fall for him then?" Eun Ah arched a brow while trying to hide her teasing smile. You nudged her and glared at her playfully before laughing lightly, feeling a weight release itself from your chest as you thought about it, "I don't know...He just started talking to me and he kept asking me to sing for him...and somewhere between me making snide comments on the side about him and all his random acts of kindness towards me...I guess I fell for him."

     "Stereotypical hot guy falls for nerd girl romance, right?" Eun Ah sighed happily while you shrugged again, "I don't know. I didn't even know that he had feelings for me until you told me not too long ago." You frowned as you remembered the shock you felt when Eun Ah told you how Luhan wasn't over his ex-girlfriend.

     "Wait, what? Are you saying that you guys never even dated?!" Eun Ah's eyes widened in complete shock as she punched you lightly in the arm. You gasped and grabbed your arm where she punched you and laughed again, "Yah, what the hell?"

     "So Kyung, you've got to be ting me, right?" Eun Ah's jaw dropped.

     "No. I'm serious. Why's that such a shocker?" You raised your brow when she gasped out loud, "Oh my god. Did you guys ever get together at all? Aren't you telling me that Luhan never confessed to you? Did you ever tell him how you felt before you left for America and everything changed?!" She looked back to you and you felt your heart squeeze tightly in your chest when you remembered the last time you saw Luhan before you left. It was a long moment until you finally looked back to Eun Ah and shook your head, "I...I was going to, but in the end, I never did."

     "What?" Her jaw hung open.

     "That's why I went back. I was going to tell him face to face...and he was going to tell me something, too. But then he changed his mind and made me promise him that we'd tell each other what we were going to say when I returned to China. So...I left without telling him that I loved him." You blinked as the memories slowly replayed themselves in your mind. You distinctly remembered him looking troubled and hesitant when he asked you to promise him.

     "So Kyung...he's still in love with you, too. You know that, right?" Eun Ah asked gently.

     "No. He's still in love with Xue Hua." You answered softly. Eun Ah opened , about to speak when you shook your head and swiftly explained, "Eun Ah, there were things about me that I never told him then. To him, Xue Hua was never So Kyung. Xue Hua was a quiet and lonely girl, who always minded her own business and who never spoke about what was on her mind." You looked back to Eun Ah when she frowned, "So, you never told him about anything? Your mom? Your family? Nothing?" You nodded when she added in confusion, "Why?"

     "Because...whenever I was with Luhan, those things didn't matter." You felt your heart skip a beat and your cheeks get hot, "I didn't ask about his life and he didn't ask about mine. We just...laughed a lot. And because I didn't trust him then, I thought that he was just using me to waste time. I didn't even believe that there was a possibility that he would like me back. Even when he made me promise him, he was hesitant and unsure about what he was going to tell me. I thought for sure he was going to say sorry and tell me that it was a joke and that he was never serious and that he only saw me as a friend, but then he promised me that he'd tell me when I came back and that was it." You looked back to Eun Ah and felt your heart start to hurt.

     "I even tried to contact him after the plane accident to let him know that I was okay, but I was never able to get a hold of him. I thought that for sure I had been tricked. Then Kris called me up a couple of months ago and told me about the job offer." You looked away from Eun Ah, "At first, I didn't understand, but then he told me that it was because he found Luhan. And--I don't know, Eun Ah. It didn't matter how much it hurt, at the same time, just the thought of seeing Luhan again made me so happy that I didn't even think twice. I just took the offer and now? Now, we're here and you're telling me that Luhan's in love with me."

     "He's still in love with you...the only problem you have is that he still thinks you're dead." Eun Ah replied quietly before you laughed darkly, "Yeah, and I'm suppose to just go up to him and be like: Hi, Luhan. I'm Xue Hua! I never died. It was all a misunderstanding. Oh, and I got surgery done because my of an Uncle practically smashed my face in and that's why you never recognized that it was me! But I really am Xue Hua and I'm still in love with you! Yeah. Definitely. He'll totally believe me." You sighed heavily and then shook your head and Eun Ah huffed when you both heard someone else reply,

     "He'll believe you."

Some more explanation in this chapter. So...you guys got to learn more about So Kyung and Luhan's past and that's another missing piece found to add to the incomplete puzzle, right? I hope it's not too confusing right now! It's still kind of vague, but there's a reason for that ^__^ Here's a little clarification if you're super confused:

So Kyung missed her flight because she went back to confess to Luhan before leaving. Luhan was going to tell her something, too, but then changed his mind. So they both made a promise to tell each other when they meet again...which was whenever So Kyung returned to China. Then she missed her flight and Luhan heard about the plane crash, so he thinks that she's dead.

Anyways, that'll be it for this chapter >__< I was going to make it longer, but I figured that it'd probably get to confusing if I tried to explain everything at once! So I'm sorry and I hope that I'm not boringing any of you guys! It's just that So Kyung's past plays a HUGE part in the future chapters, so that's the reason why the past few chapters and the next few are going to be explanations for you guys to piece together. I swear it'd be worth it >__< Please be patient!

Also, if you guys don't mind, please take the poll below and let me know what you guys think! Because I was thinking of writing about Xue Hua(So Kyung)&Luhan and their whole past, how they met, how they fell in love, etc. as a separate story (A Prequel) after I finish Beautiful Lies, and I just want to know if anyone would be interested in it if I did....

사랑합니다 ♥ 은애!