They'd always been happy. They were seen as the perfect couple by others around them. Not once did they fight nor disagree on anything. They told each other they loved one another every single hour of the day; it was the first thing they did every morning when they got up and every night as they went to bed. Lee Donghae and Cho Hailee were soul mates, closer than soul mates.

Lee Donghae, the 26 year old man with straight brown hair that fell handsomely on his head; the man with brown eyes that could make any woman squeal on top of their lungs; the man with a perfectly toned body; the man with a personality so lovely that both guys and girls fell in love with him; the man with the smile that shone brighter than any star and that made everyone in the room feel pure delight and happiness. He was perfect in every aspect. His loyalty, good heart and faithfulness made him the ideal son-in-law. What could a man so perfect possibly do wrong? Did he really have any bad qualities about him? He wanted the best for everyone that he cared about too. His girl – the most lucky girl in the whole world – would be treated like a princess no matter what. He would care more about her than anything, cherish each moment he had with her and above all he'd love her regardless of what tried to stand in his way. That was the type of man that he was, Lee Donghae. He's a prince, a dream.

And the girl? She wasn't special until she met Donghae. She'd never been outstanding in school, received excellent grades or been the one the family felt proud over. She didn't have many dreams concerning her future; she didn't have hopes to become anything. That changed when she met Donghae. She knew that in his world, she was everything. In his world, her existence was crucial. Her hair suddenly became the waviest in the entire world; her eyes were sparkling like diamonds; her lips the most peachy kissable ones; her hands the softest; her smile the most beautiful that any person could ever have the honour to behold. Who made her believe all these things then? That's right. Lee Donghae, that's who. She loved him, without doubt. But she wondered how much his love excelled her own? If she told her she loved him, he would hold a speech about his unconditional love for her; when she said she missed him, he replied with words she couldn't understand that explained how much he'd missed her; when she felt sad, he'd be crying just as much because he hated to see her sad so incredibly much. Hailee couldn't keep herself from thinking the worst: I love him but he'll die without me...

The day was just like always when Donghae and Hailee woke up on Friday morning the 16th of July. They got up to get ready for work. Hailee drank her coffee and Donghae ate his yoghurt with cereals. They dressed into their work clothes and took the car to first Hailee's job then Donghae continued driving to his. Of course, a kiss was shared before they parted and the words 'I love you' were quickly exchanged as Hailee closed the door. She walked inside the building and greeted the receptionist, like she did every morning. It was only one thing that made this day special compared to all other days and it wasn't until Hailee stepped in through the door – leading to the floor she worked on – that she understood that everyone else but herself was aware of what day it was.

"Hailee!" her co-workers shouted in chorus. Hailee jumped since she was slightly taken off guard, but she was fast to smile at those who greeted her.

"Good morning," she replied. Some of her friends walked up to her after thanking the others who'd been helping them out in their surprise welcoming. Hailee's mouth felt dry upon hearing all the questions her friends welled out one by one. She wasn't able to speak. She had nothing to say.

Suddenly, Son-Hee asked the question Hailee really dreaded: "How are you feeling?" Hailee stared at them blankly, her hands were shaking. Was she nervous? No, not at all. She didn't feel anything. There was an emptiness in her that wasn't explainable and she couldn't possibly comment on it either. The consequences could become horrifying, if not plainly devastating! Son-Hee and the others were still awaiting an answer, eagerly.

"I've got to work." The words slipped out faster than she'd expected and her legs had moved before the brain had told them it was time. Without even reflecting over her actions, Hailee scurried into her office and closed the door behind her, letting a comforting feeling wash over her. Privacy at last, she thought. She slumped down on her chair and inhaled the familiar scent of roses. Hailee always had roses in her office, she loved them more than any flower. But not red roses like nearly all women liked the most, Hailee had black roses instead. She thought they were more mysterious and more unique than ordinary red roses.

In the middle of the peaceful moment, there was a knock on the door. Hailee knew who it was and asked the person to come inside. It was her assistant, Eun-Sang. A petit, cute, young girl who Hailee had hired to help out with the payment for Eun-Sang's studies. Hailee smiled. "Good morning, miss Cho," the girl respectfully greeted, bowed and then placed Hailee's normal cup of café latte on the desk.

"Good morning, my dear. How are you?" Hailee asked. She took her coffee and started the computer while sipping some of the hot liquid.

"Very well, miss. But how are you feeling? Aren't you getting married tomorrow?" Hailee didn't know if it was the way Eun-Sang's sugary, sweet  voice had asked the question or if it was the question itself, but nonetheless, she choked on her coffee and an endless coughing took its beginning. Eun-Sang – chocked – rushed over to her side and put the cup down while gently brushing her back.

"I'm fine," Hailee coughed out. Eun-Sang moved to the opposite side of the desk once more, worriedly observing as Hailee again took a sip of coffee.

"I'm sorry, miss Cho. It wasn't my intention to scare you or ask such inappropriate questions when it's obvious that you don't feel comfortable answering them," Eun-Sang apologised. This time Hailee stopped herself from choking and instead looked at Eun-Sang with a serious face. How dared Eun-Sang tell Hailee what she felt?! Hailee slammed the cup down on the desk, startling the poor assistant.

"Why would it be inappropriate?" Hailee questioned. Her voice was sharp, almost too fierce for the assistant to not interpret the whole situation as she'd done something terribly wrong. "I'm feeling good. And I've got work to do. I don't have time to worry about the wedding now!" It was more as though she spoke to herself than to her assistant, but Hailee just wanted the girl to leave.

"I'm so sorry, miss!" Eun-Sang exclaimed. She bowed deeply then hurried out the fastest her legs could carry her. Hailee sighed, resting her head in her right hand. After a while she came to her senses again and could finally begin the day's tiresome administration business. She worked like a bulldozer without a stop button. She didn't even notice that it was past one o'clock and that lunch for the other workers had ended already. A buzz next to her made her take a pause to see who'd disturbed her during her intense working. She wasn't surprised by whose name it said on the screen and read the message immediately.

Hi beautiful, would you like to have lunch with me?

The text message was short, simple and was the last thing Hailee wanted to receive at this moment. Although, how could she ever reject the man behind the text message? She took a second to reply and went to put on her coat. The message with the location was also short and simple and within twenty minutes, Hailee walked inside the restaurant where the man already stood, waiting impatiently for her. His wide smile was unmistakeably kind, too kind, and now Hailee felt the dagger stab her heart as she smiled back. She spoke first; "Hi Jae-Hwa. Why am I not surprised about your text?"

Jae-Hwa chuckled and pulled her into a tight hug – too tight, too kind, too warm. "Because I always ask you to have lunch with me whenever I know your future husband hasn't asked you? Honestly, he's been working extremely hard all day. A true workaholic. Are you sure you want to marry that kind of guy?" He was joking, Hailee knew that. And yet, it was spot on and it was provoking. Maybe he asked it like that because he knew she wouldn't defend Donghae after all? Why didn't she do that? Hailee pondered over that every time she met Jae-Hwa. Why had she insisted on inviting him to the wedding anyway? He was the perfect candidate for the role of the 'wedding ruiner'. She didn't reply, instead Hailee smiled like she'd found the joke amusing then she made her way to grab a table. Jae-Hwa sat down in front her, smiling that strange smile. Hailee hated sitting here with him, but she couldn't deny him. Never. They ate a simple lunch and chatted for about an hour, Jae-Hwa added a couple of more jokes – most of them were hurtful to Hailee since they were taunting against Donghae. As the time went on, Hailee began feeling less comfortable by the second, and her excuse to leave was hardly believable at the end of the day, but she truthfully just wanted to get out of there. Convinced that what she was doing right now wasn't in any way offensive towards Donghae, Hailee returned to work.