For the rest of the evening, Sooyoung wouldn't stop saying how unfair it was that the snobby woman's team won despite the fact that they obviously cheated. Bom listened to her woes while she played with Jun. The child was too adorable, and the maternal instinct inside Bom kicked in everytime she saw the child's face. 
"What do you think the secret prize is, unnie?" Sooyoung asked, propping her arms under her chin as Bom made faces in front of Jun. 
"I'm not sure." Bom answered distractedly. "But I think it has something to do with Oh Sehun."
The man's name triggered various things inside Bom's head. She recalled the moment when he caught her fall, when he stared straight into her eyes with his black ones and the way her mind completely spaced out. She couldn't explain the feeling that arose in her heart then; it was a feeling of familiarity. A feeling you got when you saw someone from the past that you never expected to see again; a feeling that hinted you knew them yet you obviously didn't at the same time. She couldn't explain it. It was an enigma.
"Tomorrow's the first weekly competition." Sooyoung mused, staring at Jun. "I wonder what is it that they have in store for us."
"It'll probably be something you would never expect." 
Sooyoung nodded in agreement, and suddenly smiled playfully. 
"Unnie."
"Hmmm?"
"Do you like Oh Sehun?"
She stopped playing with Jun and turned to the younger female upon hearing that. She could tell that Sooyoung was only half-joking and chuckled before turning to Jun again.
"Why do you ask?"
"Because of what happened earlier." Sooyoung replied matter-of-factly. "He looked like he was about to devour you."
Both of them giggled.
"I don't think I'm his type." She stated, her eyes lowering to her lap. "Besides, I don't think I can ever love someone with all my heart again."
Sooyoung blinked at that. It was the first time she heard Bom said something about her past. The way the female said it told Sooyoung not to ask anymore, but of course she was still curious. 
"So don't you worry lil miss and have him all to yourself." Bom continued, pinching Jun's nose lightly. 
Sooyoung looked at Bom, who was playing with her child with a big smile. She thought Bom would make an amazing mother, and wondered about the woman's story. Sooyoung suddenly realized that the fact that they were friends might prevent Bom from grabbing her own chance at happiness, and Sooyoung thought that the woman deserved it after whatever she went through. 

"Unnie." She began, smiling. "Let's make a pact."
"A pact?" Bom turned to Sooyoung. "What kind of pact?"
"Both of us go for Oh Sehun, fair and square." Sooyoung explained. "Between us two, whoever he ends up falling for will accept his love without any hesitation. Whoever he didn't fall for will accept it without any hard feelings. Most of all, we'll remain friends, even if one of us becomes his bride."
Bom blinked at Sooyoung. She hadn't  know the female for that long yet and she was already doing something only close friends did. 
But that made Bom smile. The fact that Sooyoung was worried that she might get hurt made Bom warm inside.
"All right. I promise." With conspiring smiles, they sealed the pact. 
It wasn't as if she would seriously pursue Oh Sehun anyway, Bom thought, so might as well give Sooyoung the benefit of the doubt.
Sehun stared at the woman across the room was playing with a boy with a delighted expression of her face. Her smile didn't reach her eyes, but there was something in her eyes that drew him. No matter how hard he tried to look away, he couldn't. The way she was acting like a mother to the child only made him more protective of her. He knew too well what she went through, and was amazed that she could hold herself together to play with a child so gleefully. 
From the looks of things, she didn't remember who he was. Somehow, that fact relieved him and burdened him at the same time. He felt relieved that she wouldn't think of the past when she saw him, but burdened because he longed for her. Even after all these years, even after knowing what she went through, he still yearned for the woman. His heart threatened to burst when she stared into his eyes, and her frail form felt so right in his arms. He wanted the woman. Heart, body, and soul. He wanted to make her his and cherish her and protect her and tell her that he was there all this time.
"It's time for the evening chat." His mother smiled at him. He coughed and sat straight in his chair as his mother addressed all the women gathered in the big living room.
"Everyone, please listen." His mother said, silencing the room and drawing attention. "An evening chat is hosted every week in this room so we can all get to know one another better. The contests are for your abilities and points, but the chat is for knowing each of you individually. So, right now, starting from left to right, everybody please introduce yourself."
It was the first occasion where all the so-called contestants got to know each other, and it was a time when they can talk to Sehun and ask him questions about himself. The round of introductions went around, with each lady presenting herself and telling the others about her background and such. 
"Hi I'm Sooyoung." The female introduced confidently when her turn came. "I'm 25. I have a son." She lifted Jun up in her arms and smiled at him. "His name's Jun."
"He's very cute." Sehun's mother complimented. "Are you a single mother?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"That must be hard. What motivated you join us?"
"Well,...first and foremost I want him to have a father." She looked at Jun. "I don't want him to grow up without a father figure. And secondly I want to find and experience a lasting love again."
"With my Sehun?" His mother said teasingly.
"Yes, ma'am." The woman chuckled, and thanked Sooyoung for her candid sharing. After Sooyoung was Bom, who was also the last person. 
"Hello." Sehun watched the woman start timidly. "I'm Bom. I'm 31."
"What made you come here?" His mother asked politely when it seemed the woman didn't have anything more to say.
"I...To be honest, I didn't come here out of my own volition." Bom replied. "My aunts wanted me to go and...find love I guess."
"Why did your aunts do that?"
He could see her stiffene