“Sorry I’m late.” Ji Hyo apologized to the man who was waiting downstairs of her house patiently. She was busy running around her house to match the appropriate shoes and clothes. Jong Kook invited her to join him at a private function that was organized by his company. In order to dress appropriately, Ji Hyo took longer than usual to get herself ready.

Jong Kook had no words except to admire at the stunning beauty in front of him. Ji Hyo was wearing a red peplum dress with matching heels. She let her hair down and he noticed the different make up she had from usual. It was slightly seductive with the red lipstick she was wearing. “You look….absolutely stunning.” Jong Kook could not stop staring at her.

“You don’t look too bad yourselves.” Ji Hyo giggled at the man expression who was wearing a black suit with a white shirt inside. “Shall we go? I think we are late.”

Jong Kook opened the car door for Ji Hyo and drove off to the hotel’s location. “Are you nervous?” He asked.

“A little, I have not been to such event before.” Ji Hyo said. “But, I’m more interested in the food there.”

“All you think about is food, coffee and alcohol.” Jong Kook . “Do you have other thoughts in your mind?”

“You.” Ji Hyo joked to tease Jong Kook back. Both of them smiled at Ji Hyo’s answer but she quickly changed her topic before it turned awkward. “Are you going to nag my coffee intake again?” 

“Nope, I’m tired of doing that.” Jong Kook said. “I give up.” Ji Hyo laughed at Jong Kook’s words and they continued to tease each other on the car ride.

Arriving at the doorstep of the hotel room, a staff drove off Jong Kook’s car. “Shall we?” Jong Kook asked as he offered his left arm for Ji Hyo to hold on. As both of them walked into the venue with Ji Hyo grabbing onto Jong Kooks left arm, Ji Hyo could feel that many were staring at her and gossiping about her. When she was walking, she immediately felt intimidated by the amount of stare she was getting. Instantly, she felt slightly uncomfortable.

“Mr Kim.” A few people came up to greet Jong Kook. They gave Ji Hyo a weird gaze but still smiled at her. “And this is?”

“She is Song Ji Hyo, my companion for the night.” Jong Kook mentioned. Jong Kook introduced Ji Hyo to some of the people around. Ji Hyo could feel that the people around are staring at her strangely, but she gave a professional smile to conceal her uncomfortable feeling.

“Pleasure to meet you Song Ji Hyo-sii, you looked very beautiful.” One of the business partners mentioned. “And…” He did not continued what he wanted to say but instead changed the topic to something else.

As Jong Kook was mingling around, her instinct was telling her that she was the reason that all the weird stares and whispering was occurring around. She kept silent and only spoke when she was greeting someone. As time passed, the uncomfortable feeling grew and excused herself to the leave the ballroom a while.

When she was making her way out, she heard her name and saw two women talking at a corner. Out of curiosity she hid herself to overhear what they were saying.

“That Song Ji Hyo-sii, she really looked like Cheon Seong Im-sii, don’t you think so?”

“They totally looked exactly the same. I got a shock when she walked in with Mr Kim. I thought I had seen a ghost.”

“I guess Mr Kim could not forget his late fiance, even after a year, he still chose someone that looked like her to be his date.”

“But you heard what Mr Kim said right? She was just a companion. She was not even a girlfriend or so. I guess she was probably a substitute in replace of Cheon Seong Im-sii.” The words that they were saying made Ji Hyo felt like a thousand thorns had pricked into her heart.

“My Kim really loved his fiancé afterall. Poor Song Ji Hyo-sii, perhaps she did not know she was just a replacement. She was really quiet though, very different from Cheon Seong Im-sii who tends to mingle around more.”

“But do you think Mr Kim might like Song Ji Hyo-sii? He seemed pretty happy with Song Ji Hyo-sii around.”

“Even if he did, I guess it was due to her looks. Perhaps he only likes her looks that was similar to Cheon Seong Im-sii. They were so loving when she was still around. He probably treated her as Cheon Seong Im-sii, you know how devastated he was when she passed away…”

Ji Hyo could not continue to hear what they were saying and walked towards a different direction. Her heart was hurting from the conversation she overheard. “Is that really what I am? Am I really just a replacement?” Ji Hyo thought to herself. She felt a sharp pain in her heart as she was thought about the conversation again. She controlled herself to prevent any tears from flowing down. She sat down at the couch near the lobby to calm herself down. “Kim Jong Kook, am I really a replacement to you?” She could feel goosebumps forming up her skin and her face started to turn a little pale when she continued to think about it. Despite that, she masked her emotion well by portraying her usual blank face.

 “Ji Hyo yah, are you alright?” Jong Kook who came out to look for her found her staring blankly in space.

“I’m alright, just feeling a little cold.” Ji Hyo lied. She told herself to calm down and forced a smile out.

Jong Kook could feel that something is not right; the woman in front of him looked slightly pale after leaving the room. “Do you want to leave?”

Ji Hyo nodded at Jong Kook’s suggestion. She knew she could not get back in to handle the same tension she was feeling previously. In her mind, she knew everyone in the ballroom had the same thought as the two women outside. She was the reason that there was so much discussion in the ballroom and it made her felt more uncomfortable. “I could leave by myself, you could get back in.” Ji Hyo suggested shakily as she did not want him to know the truth.

“No, let’s leave together.” Jong Kook rejected. “Let’s go somewhere else.”

Ji Hyo quietly followed Jong Kook to his car and Jong Kook drove off. Instead of driving her home, Jong Kook decided to drive out to Han River. Neither of them talked in the car. Jong Kook could feel that Ji Hyo was hiding something but was unable to say it out. He did not want to ask as he knew Ji Hyo would have told him if she wanted to. Hence, the whole car ride was pure silence.

“Shall we go for a walk?” Jong Kook asked when they arrived at the Han River. Both of them got down the car and walked silently along the Han River. Ji Hyo was too occupied by those thoughts and she did nothing but quietly followed his footstep. It seems that the thoughts she had for the past one month where she convinced herself that Jong Kook was not taking her as a replacement had gone to nothing after hearing the conversation. As much as she tried to think otherwise again, the weird stares and words kept ringing in her mind. 

“Ji Hyo yah, are you alright?” Jong Kook asked again in a concerned tone. “What happened? Why do you look so pale?” Jong Kook discovered that Ji Hyo was shivering slightly so he took off his blazer and draped it over her.

 “Oppa, could you hug me for a while? I feel so cold.” Ji Hyo requested shakily.

Immediately, Jong Kook wrapped himself around her to keep her warm. Even though Ji Hyo felt protected being inside his embrace, those words were still hitting her hard. “Perhaps he only likes her looks that was similar to Cheon Seong Im-sii.” She tried to calm herself down by breathing, but it does not seem to work. On the contrary, it made her felt worse to know that she needed and wanted his hug to feel better. The confusing thoughts made her body shiver tremendously. “Kim Jong Kook, am I really Cheon Seong Im to you?” She asked herself in the mind.

“Ji Hyo yah, please tell me what had happened.” Jong Kook felt so worried for Ji Hyo. He knew something must have happened inside that made her act this way. When he saw her staring into spaces in the lobby, he could feel that something serious was going through her mind. His heart was cringing to see her acting this way. He could feel that her body was still shivering inside his arms. He tried to keep her warm by hugging her slightly tighter.

“Oppa, what do you feel about me?” Ji Hyo asked in a shaky voice as she looked up to him.

“Ji Hyo yah, why did you ask that?”

“Just answer me Oppa, I want to know.” She wanted to confirm his feelings for her, if the connection she felt within that one month was true, or was it a just a false feeling that she had been getting.

Jong Kook placed her head on his shoulder gently and started her back.  “Ji Hyo yah, don’t you know my feelings about you?” Jong Kook whispered into her ears. “For the past one month, it was so hard to contain my feelings for you. Every time when you are not around me, my mind is always thinking about you. When I thought about your smile, your little action, it always made me smile without fail.” He confessed. “I like you Song Ji Hyo, you made my heart raced everytime when you are near me. During the past one month, I had to literally control myself from getting too close to you. I wished that I did not have to hide my overwhelming feeling I feel inside. I just want to hug you and never let you go.”

Unfortunately, the heartfelt words from Jong Kook were not registering in Ji Hyo’s mind. Instead, it only reminded her of the first time when they met. She got reminded of how he hugged her when he was drunk, telling her to not let go because he thought she was Seong Im. The thought of Cheong Seong Im had completely overshadowed the feeling she thought Jong Kook had for her. This made the pain in her heart even more agonizing. She wanted to cry but she held back her tears.

“What about you Ji Hyo yah?” Jong Kook asked the woman which had no reaction to his plain confession.

“Oppa, I like you a lot. I really do. I might be even falling in love with you.” Her mind repeated. She hung her head even lower to avoid the man’s gaze. She knew he was waiting for her to say something. But she couldn’t. Those words in her mind seemed to be stuck in and no voice came out.

She really wanted to be with this man, but the thought of his late fiancé was killing her. She really wanted to trust his words, but she can’t push through this barrier she was feeling. Even in another person point of view, they could feel that he was probably interested in her for her looks. She needed to let go.  Slowly, she pushed him away to let go of his embrace. “I need to go.” She finally managed to mouth some words out. As she turned to walk away, a strong hand from behind grabbed her wrist to stop her.

“What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?”

“No, you didn’t, it was all me.” Ji Hyo replied softly. Gathering her strength, she turned to look at him. “Jong Kook-sii, let just remain as the way before.”

Jong Kook was completely stunned by what the woman said. “Did she just call me formally again? I thought we were way past that?” He thought to himself. “What do you mean?”  He asked her.

“I can’t do this anymore.” Ji Hyo blurted. “All this, I just can’t.” Ji Hyo’s breathing turned louder between each sentence.

“Ji Hyo, what are you saying?” Jong Kook questioned. “What happened after you left?”

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

“Please tell me.” Jong Kook probed. “It pains me to see you acting this way.”

“Nothing!” Ji Hyo screamed. “It’s all me. So stop asking!” Ji Hyo shrugged Jong Kook’s hand away and walked off.

“Song Ji Hyo!” She stopped after hearing him shouting his name. “Why are you like this? You made me confess to you, and then you just walked off without saying anything. Why are you doing this to me?”

“Because this is who I am.” Ji Hyo turned to answer him.

“No, you are not like that.”

“I am.” Ji Hyo repeated agitatedly. “This is who I am. This is how Song Ji Hyo behaved. I’m not whoever your heart is thinking.”

“What are you trying to say?” Jong Kook probed, seemly to get the hint of who Ji Hyo was referring to.

“I’m trying to say, I’m Song Ji Hyo, not Cheon Seong Im!” Ji Hyo screamed. “I’m just your companion, not your girlfriend and definitely not your fiancé! Are you happy with what I said?” Her emotions got the best of her. She was not even sure she was upset about the fact that she was just a companion, or the way that people thought that she was the replacement. As she was shouting, tears was starting to form at the corner of her eyes. She felt like a mess inside out.  It was as though she was drunk and could not control what she wanted to say. “I could not tell your confession was for me, or for someone you thought I was. I’m not her. I’m Song Ji Hyo!”

Jong Kook was shocked by the words of Ji Hyo. Jong Kook figured someone must had commented about how she and Seong Im looked alike during the event which affected her feelings. “It’s not what you are thinking Ji Hyo yah. My feelings for you are tr…”

“Tell me you had completely forgotten about Cheon Seong Im.” Ji Hyo uttered.

“What?!” Jong Kook could not comprehend what she was saying.

“Tell me you had completely forgotten everything about Cheong Seong Im. Tell me you no longer love her.” Ji Hyo repeated.

“I…” Jong Kook could not bring himself to say that. He could not lie to himself neither he could lie to Ji Hyo. Seong Im was still a part of his heart. However, this did not affect the way he felt about Ji Hyo. The feeling was true, he was falling for her and it had nothing to do with Seong Im. 

“Kim Jong Kook I’m not a substitute for the one that you are missing in your heart.” Ji Hyo shouted. “I’m not, and I don’t want to be. I’m not a replacement!” Ji Hyo spoke her mind out. She wanted to avoid saying this out but she could not contain it any longer after Jong Kook’s constant probing.

“You are not a replacement!” Jong Kook shouted. “Why do you feel that way?”

“Because people around you feel that way!” Ji Hyo screamed.

“And that is what you thought of me? Because other people feel that way? That’s why you are shouting all this now?” Jong Kook questioned, starting to feel a little angry as his voice get louder. “Even after all this while? Don’t you trust me? To me you are Song Ji Hyo. Those words I had said just now were for the one and only Song Ji Hyo. My feelings for you are true. Why can’t you believe me!?” Jong Kook shouted.

When Jong Kook saw Ji Hyo turned quiet, he immediately regretted raising his voice earlier. “You hardly see Noona be sad or even cry. She usually kept things to herself.” Kwang Soo ever mentioned to him about that before. He walked up to her and gave her a strong hug. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Jong Kook whispered repeatedly into her ears. “I should not have raised my voice.”

She reflected upon herself when she kept quiet. His anger had awoken her. “Maybe he is right, I should trust him a little more.” She thought to herself. “If you ever doubt yourselves, just think about the kiss you shared...”  Kwang Soo’s words echoed in her mind. She closed her eyes and thought the sweet feelings when they spent time together. The feeling was real but she let the pressurizing attention clouded her mind. “Sorry…” She whispered and reciprocated the hug after hearing his soft words. “I should have believed in you. I’m sorry. But your late fiancé… and what others said…”

“Just trust me Ji Hyo ah.” Jong Kook interrupted when he slowly let go of her and looked into her eyes. He wiped off the little tear that was slowly forming from her eyes and caressed her face.  “Give me a chance to prove to you what I said to you is true.”

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I struggled alot writing this chapter. Hope it made sense. T.T