"Min Ji-ah mianhae. I won't be able to come today. Something important came up. Maybe next time?"

I read the text message over and over again. He has got to be kidding me. I waited for 4 hours for him to come and he sends me this only now? Next time? How will there be a next time? It is my birthday.

I felt tears threaten to spill from my eyes, but I held them back. I am at an expensive restaurant, and I cannot start crying like a hopeless girl. I blew out a raspberry and asked for the bill. The only thing I drank was a glass of wine. 

"Your company won't be present today, Miss?" The waiter asked politely. "I am afraid not." I smiled politely. He bowed courteously and I offered another smile before getting up and leaving. It was cold today for a late Jaunary evening. Putting on a dress was a bad idea. I sighed softly before walking towards my house. 

How can he be so inconsiderate? Would it not be his duty to inform me and not make me wait so long? And why would he even schedule something when he promised me that he'd be there for my birthday? I did not ask him to be free. He himself volunteered to celebrate my birthday together... just him and I. And now he does this. I'd be better off celebrating my birthday by eating a tub of ice cream and watching my favourite movies. Gosh, I am so pissed at him!

I knew his busy life. I knew that he could not always be there for me. His job needs a lot of attention but I am always the first person to cheer him on and encourage him to go on with his goals. I understand his love for his job and I never interfere. I am not even one of those pushy girls that ask for attention all the time or constantly feel the need to call or text their man all the time. I am content by just being there for him, in person or just mentally. Then why does he behave that way? Why does he ignore me to such an extent? Am I a boring girlfriend? It has been almost 2 years since I started to date him and not even once has he told me that he loves me or wants me. We made love for the first time only 2 months ago and that was it. He simply put on his clothes and said that he had a meeting and left. I felt so lonely and depressed that night. Did I push myself on to him? Does he feel obligated to like me or something? Did I do something? I gave my all to him and I don't feel like he wants me at all. God, this is driving me crazy. I feel my phone ring in my purse and I take it out. The caller ID says Hae Ra. Hae Ra is my best friend and the only friend I can whole heartedly trust. I answered the phone knowing she could cheer me up.

"Hello?"

"Min Ji-ah! How is your dinner going? I am sorry I interrupted your precious time with your hot boyfriend."

"You did not interrupt me. My hot boyfriend stood me up so I am walking home." I rolled my eyes while saying. 

"WHAT?! That ! How dare he do this to you, again?!" Hae Ra yelled from the phone and I chuckled. 

"It's okay, Hae Ra. happens. I am going home anyway. If you don't have plans... would you like to come over? Let's have a girls night, what say?" 

"Min Ji-ah... how can you be so cheerful in such a situation? I would have never forgived Hyun Joong if I was in your place." Hae Ra reasoned.

"After everything he's done... I guess I still love him." I responded pathetically. I heard Hae Ra sigh. "You should leave him. He is no good. I cannot see you like this all the time. It's like he doesn't care for you at all." 

"That's not completely true. He cares, but he's unable to show it." I defended him. I don't even know why I am doing this.

"Seriously! When you come home, we're going to evaluate your relationship with that cold hearted bastard!" Hae Rae muttered angrily making me chuckle.

"Arasso. But I am sure I can put up quite a reasonable-" I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw my supposedly "caring" boyfriend laughing away to glory with his friends in a restaurant drinking and chatting up a storm from the glass window of a restaurant.

"Min Ji-ah? Min Ji? Yah, Han Min Ji!" Hae Ra tried to get my attention. 

"Hae Ra, I will talk to you when I get there, okay?" I hung up before she could even respond.

This was his "something important". I assumed it was an important meeting but he is simply drinking and having fun with his friends. He ditched my birthday celebration for this? This is ridiculous. Why did he lie to me? If he did not want to go out with me, he could have just said so! I did not force him to do that. He was the one who wanted to go out with me tonight. Why is he doing this? A tear rolled down from my left cheek. This is it. I really don't understand what he wants from me and what is going through his head. There is no way I can continue going out with this man if this only pains me this much. I walked off before he could see me. I hate to cause dramas and tantrums. It's better if I go away before anyone notices. If he sees me, I'll probably start to cry harder and then he'd find a way to somehow convince me that it's not a big deal or some crap. So much for being strong. I call for a cab and immediately head home, wishing I had done this before, instead of walking and finding out what he was up to. 

I walked into my apartment to find Hae Ra sitting on the couch. I almost forgot that I had given her my key. She saw my disgruntled expression and immidiately got up from the couch.

"He did something, didn't he?" Hae Ra assumed while brushing me hair. 

"He is out with his friends... drinking and talking. Seemed like he is having a good time." I mumbled while removing my coat and hanging it in the closet.

"What a scumbag! What'd he say to you, then?" Hae Ra shouted.

"Nothing. I don't think he saw me. I just saw him from the outside." I shrugged my shoulders before walking into the kitchen and taking out a botle of wine and two glasses. 

"Han Min Ji. Break up with him. He's not capable of loving such a wonderful girl like you. You are seriously wasting your time." Hae Ra spoke from the living room, searching for a movie to watch.

"I... I cannot. I love him." I whispered to myself and shut my eyes tight. 

It is true that Hyun Joong is incapable of saying "I love you" to anybody. He even claimed that he cannot even say it to his mother. Why would I be an exception to that? It is true that he hates cheesy lovey dovey things. I hate it too. But that doesn't mean I don't want him to shower me with affection sometimes. But,whenever we are somewhere alone together, he holds my hands and kisses me passionately. "Komawo", he says after he kisses me and shoots a smile at me. When he does things like that, how can I not resist his charm. He talks animatedly with me about whatever interests him and it makes me happy that he opens up to me so much. He can be competitive sometimes but how can you not find that extremely adorable when he tries so hard to achieve something? I like to see him smile so wide when I cook him his favourite food. The way he holds me at night whenever we get to stay over at each other's place is the most comforting thing. His arms around me, his head buried in the crook of my neck, his breath hitting me softly is the safest place for me. They might be small things, but these small moments I share with him are so important to me that I did not even realize that I have fallen hard for him.

"You're thinking about him." Hae Ra says beside me and I snap out of my thoughts. When did she come here? Did I space out for so long?

"I..." I did not get to complete my sentence before I hear the bell ring.

"Who's that?" Hae Ra asked. I shrugged my shoulders before walking towards the front door and opened it. Before I was even able to completely open the door someone barged inside and brought me tight into their embrace. 

"Jagiya. Mianhae." The person said softly while tightening their hold on me.

"Hyun Joong-ah" I whispered shocked. My hands were on his chest, shocked by his intrusion. 1) He has never ever called me Jagiya. Never. He usually calls me by my name or just Yah. So this was surprising. 2) The fact that he is standing near the door, hugging me tightly and asking for an apology is so hard to even believe. 

"What are you doing?" I asked him, trying to pry his hands off me. "Jae Dong hyung saw you outside of the restaurant... I ran here immidiately." He said while holding on to my waist, not letting me go. I chucked darkly. "Why'd you come here and bother yourself? You seemed like you were having fun. You should have stayed." I replied and took his shock as a chance to escape from his persistent grip. He's shocked because I have never spoken sarcastically to him like that. Yes, we fool around sometimes, make jokes and all. But, I have never especially directed it at him.

"Why are you saying that? Of course, I'd come looking for you. " He said as if it was the most obvious thing before coming for me again. I put up my hand as to stop him from coming further. 

"You'd come looking for me? Why? Would you do such a thing for me" I faked a shock and he rolled his eyes. "You're my girlfriend. If you want to be such a drama queen, go bother someone else with this." He said as he went to take off his shoes to enter my house. Ouch. I was the last one to cause drama and he calls me that? I have been dating an for a long time. I am not going to waste my time anymore.

"Well, I am not anymore." I spoke up and crossed my arms.

He looked at me in confusion. "What do you mean?" 

"I mean that I am not your girlfriend anymore." I said arrogantly. I heard a gasp coming from the living room. Probably Hae Ra eavesdropping on us.

"Wh-what?" He asked with wide eyes. "You... you don't mean that." 

"Yes, I do. Go home, Hyun Joong. What we have is over. I am tired of having a one sided love with you. You are free from my clutches." I said and turned back, with full intention to curl up on my bed and bawl my eyes out. I felt my arm being tugged and I was made to turn around. Soon I was greeted with angry brown orbs staring holes into my faces.

"ONE SIDED LOVE? WHO SAYS THAT ONLY YOU GET TO DECIDE WHERE OUR RELATIONSHIP GOES?" Hyun Joong bellowed and it certainly brought goosebumps on my arms. Never have I seen him so angry or yell at me like that. His face was turning red and the veins from his neck were potruding.

"What the hell does that mean?! You don't answer my damn calls, you don't message me about your whereabouts, I wait for you for 4 hours at a restaurant only to have you text me that you have something "important to do." You think this is a joke?! You think I am a joke? If you don't like me, tell me so! I will stop bothering you! I did not force you to be my boyfriend, did I?" I counter back. I will let him know exactly how I feel. I will not sit back and suffer. Not this time. 

"I don't like you? I DON'T LIKE YOU?! I spend my entire day thinking about you and when I get to see you next and you say this?! I am frightened that what I feel for you is more than what you feel for me! I came to the hotel, but when I saw you looking so beautiful, I was afraid to feel like this! So I left! And now I regret it so much!" He yelled and grabbed me by my shoulders. "I am sorry that I did not answer your call! I am sorry that I did not message you back. I am sorry for keeping you waiting for so long. I am sorry that I completely ruined your birthday. I am sorry for not treating you right. I am sorry for everything that I have done wrong." His voice became softer after every sentence and his hold on me loosened. 

"Baby... I am so afraid. I am so afraid that you'll leave me and go and that I won't be able to handle it. I am so afraid to have my heart broken that I felt the need to put a distance between us. I am so stupid for doing that. I realize now. Don't leave me, please." He said while wrapping his arms around my body and pulling me close to him as he buried his face in my hair.

"Why would I leave you and go? Why do you think of such foolish things?" I asked him, feeling distraught. He is such an idiot. He let us ruin our relationship because of his doubts.

"I don't know. I just don't know... Probably you'll get bored of me or because I am not a romantic person and I hate doing and saying cheesy things." He said and hugged me more. I sighed and wrapped my arms around him. I inhaled his scent and closed my eyes before smiling softly. His scent smells so wonderful. It reminds me of home... it is very comforting. 

"I don't get bored of you." I mumbled. He drew back and looked me in the eyes. "Really?" He asked. I nodded once before averting my eyes. His gaze was penetrating. "I find it interesting when you talk about things you like. You also listen to me when I speak so it is balanced too." I reassured him and peeked up at him. I found him smile warmly at my face.

"Min Ji-ah... let's live our entire life together by being at each other's side. I promise to be there for you and with you for the rest of our lives. Saranghanda." He said before placing his lips on mine. I closed my eyes and smiled into the kiss while burying my fingers in his soft, short hair. 

"I love you, too."