I learned well from my father.

I got off the car immediately and walked inside the building with confidence. I was led to his floor and led to his room. He was waiting for me already.

“You may sit down” the CEO said calmly.

I nodded and took a seat.

There was an awkward silence.

I took the moment to look around his office.

“I’m sure you know very well how important it is to deal with these kind of issues carefully” he began. “My question to you is, what are you expecting to get out of this relationship?”

I looked back at the CEO.

“Yesterday was the first time we spoke in 2 years sir, I am unaware of what he wants and where our relationship is going. One thing is for sure, I love him” I replied.

He blinked twice and then looked the other way as if thinking.

“You’re the daughter of the CEO of Winters, and Kyungsoo is a kpop idol, you can’t just have a ‘relationship’, I’m sure you know that very well Miss Winters”

“I was disowned from the family sir, I’ve been living my life for the past two years as a normal person. Working full time shifts at Walmart, having to pay bills and having moments where I don’t even have enough to pay my own bills. I am not the daughter of the CEO”

The CEO of S.M entertainment sighed heavily in discontent.

“Tell that to the press. They won’t believe you. That still doesn’t solve the problem for Kyungsoo. He’s going to lose fans, and his popularity will decrease significantly. Do you really want that for him?”

“I don’t want that for him, but I also don’t want to lose him” I replied trying to keep my calm.

“Call in Kyungsoo” the CEO of S.M demanded to the guard that was standing at the door.

Kyungsoo walked in, in pain.

“Kyungsoo, do you wish to continue being in EXO?” the CEO asked immediately. We both turned around to face the CEO startled.

“Of-of course” Kyungsoo stuttered.

“Do you acknowledge that you will lose fans and your popularity will decrease?” he asked.

“I do” Kyungsoo replied confidently.

“And you also acknowledge that your relationship might not work out, but you will nonetheless lose all these things”

Kyungsoo nodded.

“Young people now a days” the CEO mumbled under his breath.

Kyungsoo and I just looked at each other in silence.

The CEO continued to mumble a few things and then began to type things on his computer.

Kyungsoo reached for my hand and held it gently.

The CEO then saw the gesture and began to speak again.

“I will allow you two to date, under several conditions of course. It will be completely your responsibility if your reputations get affected. Please sign here” he asked of us. We both read the paper over and we signed it.

“Here are the rules:

You many not sleep at each other’s houses under any conditions.

If you do have relations, you may not blackmail each other with any explicit videos or details to the gossip magazines

You may go out in public but be aware that the paparazzi will always be on your case

You may not break up without letting us know

Really anything that has to do with your relationship should be reported to us, understood?”

We both looked at each other and then at him and nodded.

We signed a few more papers.

I felt like we were signing papers for marriage.

“You will now have to clear things up at the press conference. I advise you to simply answer yes or no to the questions when possible, understood?” the CEO spoke again. We both nodded eagerly. The CEO then sighed and sent us out. He seemed to have bigger problems at hand than just our scandal. It was quicker than I thought.

As soon as we stepped out of the room I grabbed a hold of Kyungsoo’s hand, turned him towards me and got on my toes to kiss him.

I wrapped my arms around his neck but he then winced in pain and I pulled back.

“I’m sorry” I replied feeling bad that I had caused him pain.

“Don’t feel bad Mina, it’s just that I have a huge bruise on my neck” he replied back and kissed my forehead.

I still felt embarrassed and guilty.

***

The press conference went by fast.

A lot of questions were asked and we tried to answer them in the best way possible.

The questions about my family I avoided for their sake.

It’s funny how we had to hold a press conference just to announce we were dating.

It was clearly our business alone.

He then invited me to his dorm after the press conference.

“This is my dorm!” he announced as he opened the door for me.

The dorm wasn’t the biggest thing on earth but it surely wasn’t the smallest.

I hadn’t seen a place that big in a while.

“Where is everyone?” I asked as I took a seat in one of their couches.

“Well, they don’t have broken ribs or scandals to deal with it…so they are probably practicing for the show tonight” he replied back and handed me a glass of raspberry iced tea.

“Thank you” I replied and gave him a smile.

“I wanted to show you something” Kyungsoo said and headed towards what I assumed was his room.

He came back with something in his hand but covered it so I couldn’t see it.

“Well what is it?” I asked raising one of my eyebrows and setting the cup on the table.

“Guess!” he asked excitedly.

“Kyungsoo!” I whined playfully.

After guessing nonsense, he finally revealed to me what it was. I was left speechless for a moment.

“KYUNGSOO! You kept it all this time?” I exclaimed in awe.

“How could I not? You told me to save it for you and give it to you when I saw you…obviously I didn’t see you again in 2 years…but I still kept it with hope I’d one day see you” he whispered and handed it to me.

It was my library card.

The flashback came to me instantly.

***

2 years ago:

“Did you have fun?” he asked me as he walked me to my door.

I giggled and nodded.

“Too much fun really!” I replied remembering the night. I then remembered I had left the book I was reading inside the van.

“Ah! I left the book and my library card inside the car!”

“Oh, I’ll go get it for you” he replied instantly and was about to run back to the car but I stopped him.

“You all have to go home, it’s really late you promised your mom you would be back at a certain time, don’t worry you can turn that book in for me at work tomorrow and give me the card when I see you, okay?” I whispered reassuringly and held onto his hands.

“Alright” he replied and looked into my eyes with a sad expression. I was sad that the night was over too.

He leaned in and kissed my forehead.

“Have a good night Mina” he whispered and I nodded.

“You too”

And with that we parted that night, and didn’t see each other again for 2 years.

***

Kyungsoo’s P.O.V

“But why did you keep it? Weren’t you mad at me for a long time?” she asked after she analyzed the card for a while.

I gave her a sad smile.

“Everyone has asked me the same question, but to be honest it’s hard to answer…” I began.

My flashbacks came to me at an instant.

***

A year and a half a go…

“YOU CALL THAT DANCING!” the choreographer demanded at me.

“No sir” I replied as I panted and wiped the sweat that was dripping from my forehead.

I had been trying so hard to get the routine down but it was a miserable attempt.

It seemed like everyone in the group was a pro dancer except me.

Even my own friends at some point betrayed me and yelled at me too.

I knew deep inside they didn’t mean it and they had just said certain things out of anger but their words still hurt. I was slowing the team down.

“I’ll try harder” I said to the choreographer and stood up. I had very little strength left but I used it anyways.

“That was fine for today, you may go home” the choreographer said to me in a much calmer tone.

We had been rehearsing the dance for 4 hours with very little break time.

I bowed to the choreographer and headed out the door immediately.

It was already 2 in the morning.

I had missed the bus.

I took the taxi to the dorm and with pain and little energy I climbed up the stairs, opened the door and quietly found my way to my room.

I flopped onto the bed and sighed heavily, my eyes droopy and my legs and body in aching pain.

The dim light came from the window, as I stared up to the moon.

“Mina Winters, why?” I asked. I was hoping she was looking at the sky and thinking of me too.

It would be a shame if she wasn’t. The sky looked too beautiful.

I was also hoping she hadn’t found someone else and had forgotten about me.

I reached for the library card under my pillow.

I remembered her smile, I remembered how she came in to the library soaked from the rain.

I always tried my hardest to remember the good memories whenever I saw the card.

Even in moments of pain and tiredness, I always tried to smile when I thought of her. She was the first to make me happy in a long time, and I tried not to blame her for the bad things in life.

That’s why I always kept the card close to me, it helped me remember the good things, whenever the bad memories came to mind.

***

“The library card helped me remember you in a good light even if the painful memories tried to overshadow them” I replied back.

She nodded as if completely understanding the situation.

“Kyungsoo” she whispered softly.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you”

“For what?” I asked confused.

“For keeping me in your memory” she replied with a tear rolling down her face. She held onto my hand tightly.

It was then that I was reassured that at no point in those two years had she ever forgotten me or stopped loving me.

***

Mina’s P.O.V

After I got home from Kyungsoo’s dorm, Eric was waiting for me at the table.

He was silent.

Eric was never silent.

Something must have happened.

“Eric, what’s going-” I asked.

He looked up to see me and then handed me a note.

The note said my father’s name and his number.

I felt numb.

“Wh-why” I stuttered. I could feel Eric’s concern for me.

“I don’t know Mina, but it’s time for you to make your decision…you either run or you face him” Eric replied back to me and stood up.

“Did he say anything?”

Eric shook his head.

“No, I don’t think it was him either, the person just asked for you and left the number”

I nodded and took a seat.

“He doesn’t make his own calls” I mumbled back to Eric.

“The clock is ticking Mina” Eric reminded me.

It’s funny, but I felt like I was waiting for a serial killer to come and find me, when in reality the person I was afraid of was my very own father. The same man who used to take me to park and give me piggy back rides. The same man who would sing songs to me at night and swing me on the swing set.

What had happened to my relationship with my father?

Why had we let it crumble?

When did I ever stop calling him “daddy”?

No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn’t remember.

***

Author's Note:

THANK YOU TO ALL MY 87 SUBSCRIBERS!

CAN YOU ALL FEEL THIS STORY COMING TO A CLOSURE!?!

Ah! The feels!

It's been a long way, and sorry to you all for the long wait!

I work now, and I feel like my life has changed so much in a week!

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and sorry if it was choppy and confusing, I have not re-read it or edited this chapter!

Once more, thank you to all!

Love, Carolina, the author :)