This will be the final chapter in my little one-shot series.  Everything is out of order but to clear things up, this chapter takes place after Midnight Without You.  So the order is Up all Night (Ch. 2) then Midnight Without You (Ch. 1) then Second Chance (Ch. 3)  The musical inspiration for this chapter is Second Chance by Shinedown.  For those of you confused by why a one-shot has three chapters, it started as a one-shot but I got requests to add more and so this happened.  Anyways, enjoy.

The letter stared at him.  Lying flat on his table, it stared up at him, weighing on his mind.  It was like it was following him, no matter what he did, he always came back to the damn letter.  He'd read it a hundred times and it still haunted him.  Lying on the table was a letter from Roc Nation LLC, asking him to sign with them.  

There was no reason not to.  He should have taken the letter and run all the way to New York, LA, Miami etc.  This was a dream come true.  No korean singer had ever really made it in America.  Various artists had tried and failed.  SNSD, the Wonder Girls, even Psy just couldn't make it work.  They were one hit wonders, momentary flashes of light in the midst of stars like Minaj, Rihanna, Bieber and Mars.  Americans were all too eager to listen to good music but to support new foreign artists was something that had stumped the biggest Korean stars.  An offer from Roc Nation was historic.  It would mean that finally, someone had made it.  All he had to do was sign.  But he couldn't do it.  Something was holding him back.  It was her.  

Three years ago she had broken his heart, walking out on him without telling him why.  The pain from that experience had faded slightly but his heart still ached for her.  Over the years, he'd learned how to hide his feelings and even be on friendly terms with her again but it was all an act.  Deep down, he had never stopped loving her.  

He knew that he was being stupid.  He knew she didn't care for him.  He knew they were over.  But why do I still hope that it will change?  Why do I want to stay here?

Grabbing the letter, he walked out the door.

She heard a knock on the door.  It was 10pm.  She wasn't expecting anybody.  Thinking she might have been hearing things, she ignored it, but she heard another knock.  There was definitely someone there.  She sighed and put down her magazine and went to open the door.  "Oppa..." she said, startled to see him at her door.  "What's going on?"

He held up the letter.  Her eyes scanned it, questioningly.  He handed it over and let her read it, watching the emotions play across her face.  Her eyes widened with shock as she read, and her normally blank expression turned up in a smile.  "Oppa, that's great!  Congratulations!" she screamed, gathering him in her arms for a celebratory hug.  Hopping up and down, she belatedly realized that he didn't look all that excited.  "Oppa, what's wrong?" she asked, holding up the letter.  

He looked at her dead in the eyes.  "I'm not going" he said plainly.  He watched the shock and confusion spread on her face.  "Oh...I thought you wanted to be a singer in the US."  "I did" he said abruptly, cutting her off.  He spoke with an edge to his voice.  After three years, he was giving voice to the thoughts that he had long suppressed.  "That was my dream.  To be a singer in America.  To get a number 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.  To be a true world superstar.  That was my dream."  He paused to gather the rest of his thoughts.  His courage was fading fast, but he had come this far and wasn't going to give up yet.

"This letter" he continued, "all those things I wanted.  All those things I thought I wanted.  All those dreams.  They're here.  In this letter.  It's all here.  But it means nothing to me.  I don't want those things.  I thought I did.  But I don't.  The truth is, all those things are nice but what I really want is you.  I want to be with you, here, not in America.  So tell me.  Tell me to stay.  Don't make me go."

She looked at him, mouth open in shock.  His spirit nearly broke right there but some inner fortitude gave him a second wind.  He started talking again, before she could say anything.  "For the last three years, I've tried to fight it.  I tried to live without you.  I tried.  I tried to forget you.  I tried to hate you.  I tried to pretend there was nothing between us.  But I can't.  Not anymore.  Not now.  I've regretted losing you every day of my life for the last three years.  So I'm telling you.  I can't go.  Because I want you."

Her mind buzzed with all sorts of thoughts.  She heard his words but couldn't formulate a response.  What do I say.  I can't have him give up everything for me.  He deserves so much better.  I need to get him to go.  But how.  OMG, I can't do this.  Oppa why are you doing this to me?  Does he know how hard it was for me to give him up three years ago?  He can't know.  Oppa why?  WHYYYYYYYY?

With her thoughts scrambled, she was unable to make a coherent response.  He looked at her, anticipation all over his face.  His body felt like it was on fire.  A nervous energy surged through all his muscles.  He felt like he could run a marathon in a minute the way his body was feeling.  He fought the urge to jump up and down to discharge some of that energy.  He focused on his breathing, slowing his heart as best he could.  All the while, he looked at her, watching for some sign.  Something to assure him that she wanted him back.  

"Oppa" she started, and suddenly it was completely silent.  "I'm sorry.  I can't do this for you" she said, handing him back the letter.  "I can't make you go, but I can't take you back either.  That ship has sailed."  She guided him towards the door.  His body was limp.  He had never imagined that she could so coolly say no.  He couldn't believe what was happening to him.  Unable to do anything, he felt her push his body towards the door but he couldn't stop himself.  It was like his brain was disconnected from his body.  Before she could close the door on him, he managed to eek out a sound.  "keh."

That made her pause.  :"keh"  what the hell is "keh."  That pause was all he needed to make one last ditch effort.  "Why?" he asked, reeling from the shock of rejection.  "Why not?"

"Oppa, you know why."  She gave him a bittersweet smile and touched him gently on the elbow.  "We're just not right."  She turned to go back in but he stopped her.  His pride was already gone, trampled in her rejection so he just went all out, mouth saying things he never had the courage to say before.  "What if you're wrong?" he asked.  "What if I don't care about all that?  How do you know we aren't right for each other?"  Suddenly, he noticed tears on her face.  She was crying.  "What if what?" she screamed at him.  "What if you love me?  What if I don't love you?  Do I still have to be with you?  What if I'm not who you think I am?  What if you stop loving me tomorrow?  What then?  What if I die tomorrow?  Huh?  What then?  You think this is easy?  You think you're the only one who suffered for three years?  You think what you want is the only thing that matters?  What about what I want?  What if I don't want to be with you?"  Her outbreak ended with a flood of tears.  She kept talking but her crying muddled her words.  He couldn't understand what she was saying through the tears and crying. But even if she had been coherent, he wouldn't have understood.  His mind was shattered.  He had never thought it would turn out this way.  He believed his love.  He believed in them.  He had been so sure he was right.  He never considered that he could be wrong.  What have I done?

What happened after that was all a blur.  He somehow left her apartment and made it to a bar.  He drank a lot.  He needed help getting home.  He screamed her name in the streets and cried alone on the stairs to his apartment.  

She was in just as bad of a state.  She cried all night, cursing her misfortune.  Back when rumors first surfaced about their relationship, she had been called to a meeting with the company president.  His threats were dire, his warnings clear.  No scandals.  "I will ruin the two of you" he had warned.  So she had to let him go.  And for three years, she'd kept that secret.  He could never know.  Because if he knew, she knew he would fight it.  And she couldn't bear to see him crushed by the pressures of the entertainment agencies.  So she faked disinterest even though it burned her inside.  She became a different person on the outside so nobody would see the pained and tortured inside.  She closed her heart to him even as he opened his to her. 

The next day, the weight of finality stepped in.  He held the letter in one hand and left his other hand empty.  In his mind, they were the two choices, the letter, or her.  Though his hand was empty, he felt a huge weight in it.  If I don't let her go, I'll never make it.  But he couldn't do it.  The words from last night burned in his memory, he tried to find any way but there was nothing.  No hope left at all.  But he still couldn't let go.  

She was plaguing him.  Holding him back.  Keeping him from pursuing his dreams.  But even as he thought that, he knew it was a lie.  He was holding himself back.  He was projecting his feelings onto her.  She didn't love him.  That she had made clear.  But he still loved her.  He was using her as an excuse.  

Days passed.  He still couldn't leave.  Everyday, he would pick up the letter and everyday, his heart made him stay one more day.  Most nights, he dreamed of her.  One night, he dreamed of their last encounter.  "If you really loved me, you would let me go" she said in his dream.  Alright.  Maybe I do have to let go.  Because that's the only thing I can do for her.

The next day he barged into a meeting with the president of his company to resign.  He called a press conference and announced his plans to debut in America.  He signed his contract, bought a plane ticket, and said his goodbyes.  At the airport, before boarding his plane to the US, he hugged his longtime manager and took one last look at his home.  Korea.  He was leaving it all behind.  He was moving to the US for the next 6 months.  But inevitably, his thoughts turned to her.  I know that it is selfish of me to ask this but wait for me.  I'll be back.  And even if you say no then, I'll keep coming back.  Because none of this means anything without you.  So wait for me.  I'll always be waiting for you.  This isn't the end.  This is just goodbye for now.  Because sometimes goodbye is a second chance.  And next time I'll get it right.  Even if it takes a million tries, I'll get it right.  So until then, wait for me.

Spoiler Alert:  since this is the end, I will reveal the couple inspiring this fic.  

Gary-Jessica

Thanks for reading.