Yongguk stretched his arm but felt nothing but an empty bed. His hands patted around the area but didn’t feel the body of the woman he loves. He rolled over and saw her standing by the window looking out to the crisp Thai sea. The silk blanket was beautifully wrapped over her bust and flowed down her body leaving a trail behind her. Her bed hair fell over her shoulders as the morning sunbeam radiated her soft skin. Getting up from the bed, Yongguk slipped on his boxers and quietly walked over to her. Not wanting to break her serenity, he hugged her from the back.

“Good morning.” he greeted. He planted a kiss on the edge of her shoulder and peppered kisses up her neck and to her cheek.

Mani turned away from his lips. “Take me home.”

Yongguk’s eyebrows slowly furrowed. He was hurt by her demand. “Why?” he asked as he walked in front of her. “I thought–”

“We shouldn’t have done that.” She couldn’t look at his eyes, afraid she would take her words back.

“Mani,” he lifted up her chin so she would look at him, “we love each other; last night proved it.”

“Exactly why we need to go back to Seoul.” She looked at him, despair in his eyes. “We can’t be together like this, Yongguk. I’m your wedding planner, for crying out loud.”

“But you were my lover first. Mani please,” he grabbed her by the hand, “don’t push away our love.”

“I can’t do that. As much as we want to continue this, it’s too hard.” She looked into his eyes, “Please, let’s go home. Before anyone gets too suspicious.”

“But what about us?” Yongguk questioned, “Did this all mean nothing to you?”

Mani took a dry swallow and looked away from him. “As much as I enjoyed it, we have to act like this never happened.”

Yongguk turned her chin so she was looking at him. “How can I do that when my heart is so filled with you?” He inspected her face. “Your voice says you want to go but your eyes tell me you want to stay here with me. Why don’t we just tell everything the truth; that we’re in love?”

“It’s not that easy, Yongguk,” she confessed. “Maybe our love will always be hidden from the world.”

He wrapped his arms around her, “If we go back, will you still love me the same?”

Mani looked deeply into his eyes. “Just know that my love for you will always be in my heart.” 

“Mani, we can’t stop now; our love just rekindled.” He wiped away the tear that streaked down her face. 

“I’m scared,” she told him. “Every time it feels like it’s going right with us, something happens. Last time it was your mother and this time it’s your wedding. Are we not supposed to be together, Yongguk?”

He shook his head, “Don’t say that. I love you and you love me. Our love can’t be stopped again, I won’t allow it.”

She hugged him back, pressing her head to his bare chest. “I want to keep it this way. You and me together with no one to separate us.” Mani took a deep breath, “I don’t know what to do.”

“How about this? We don’t stop. We continue seeing each other and eventually, I’ll confront my mom about this. She can’t control who my heart belongs to.”

Mani pulled away from him. “No,” she disagreed, “we’ll return and try to live our lives how it was before. I’m glad you know the truth now but I don’t think you should tell your mother. There will be too much trouble that will come from this.”

“Mani,” Yongguk moaned, automatically protesting her suggestion.

“No, Yongguk, we can’t keep doing this. We aren’t kids anymore. In life, we will lose, sacrifice, and compromise our happiness for security. Five years ago, I was the one that compromised. Now, I need you to be the one to do it.”

“But what about us, Mani? Haven’t we gone through enough already? I don’t need anything else in the world; I just need you.”

“You don’t understand,” Mani sighed, “it’s clear to see we aren’t supposed to be together. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but one day, if our love is meant to be, we can be together. But it’s clear to see I’m not the one for you, Yongguk.”

“Why?” His eyes drooped with sadness, “Why do you keep pushing us away, Mani?”

“Because,” she pressed her lips together, forcing another tear not to fall. “Because at the end of the day, Yongguk, I was the poor servant who serviced your family. We are two different people who aren’t supposed to be together. Goeun is beautiful, comes from a rich family, and has a great job. She is prestigious and is a better fit for you than I could ever be. I’m just a wedding planner who is ironically working for your family once again. You can’t mix diamonds with rocks.” Yongguk opened his mouth to say something, but she placed her fingertips over his lips. “Let’s just say this was a vacation for us to settle our differences. There is no more bad blood between us now. Everything that has happened here will be between us and no one else. You will continue to be a good son to your loving mother and a good fiance to Jung Goeun. Once we go back to Seoul, I’ll just be Im Mani, your wedding planner, and nothing more.”

Yongguk’s jaw clenched, unhappy from the ordeal. “You’re really cruel, you know that? How can you ask me to just forget everything that’s happened here? How do I forget about getting you back? How do I forget loving you, holding you, kissing you, and making love with you?”

Mani looked away, not wanting to see his tearful face. Yongguk was heartbroken. He felt like a teenager again. Fighting for his love but the world was holding them back. It was worse this time. This time, Mani was the one who made the decision. 

Defeated, Yongguk nodded, “Fine. We’ll go home. We’ll act like this never happened.” 

He walked over to a small locker and opened it. He took out her clean clothes, phone, and purse she came with then handed it to her. Mani looked at her stuff. It felt like it had been ages since she’d seen her belongings. Although they were hers, Mani felt so distanced from them. 

“You should text your family and tell