Mi Nyu followed Shin Woo all the way up the tree house. She could not understand what else she had done for her Shin Woo-hyung to be cold to her. She knew she rejected him, but what else had she done? She was determined to make him talk at all cost.

"Jeremy and you built this tree house?" Mi Nyu asked as she looked around the small house which could accomodate at most three people. She got busy examining the door and everything and was basically amused at the house like a little child. Through it all, Shin Woo never talked.

Then, it started to rain so hard.

"I think I had to go," Shin Woo grimly said as he scooted past her to get out of the opening.

He was planning to leave her behind. He thought he could stand not talking with her even if she was around, but he found it difficult. He just wanted to walk away from her.

"No, please Shin Woo-hyung. Gaji maseyo (please don't go)..." Mi Nyu sobbed as she hugged her hyung from behind.

Shin Woo felt his heart being trampled all over, the bittersweet feeling of falling in love and being rejected drowning his being. He shed tears and held her wrist, only to pull it away from his body. But Mi Nyu was persistent. She tightened her hug and leaned her face on his back.

"You will get wet. You will get sick. And I do not want it to happen to you," she sobbed.

Shin Woo stiffened and answered stiffly, "Please don't hold me."

But Mi Nyu insisted. "I don't want you to get wet in the rain, Shin Woo-hyung. If you go, let me go with you. I want to go with you. I want to be where you are. If I have to go further for you, I would. If I would have to share my health with you, I would. If I have to die for you, I would."

Since when did Mi Nyu learn those things? And he asked, "Wae (Why)?"

Mi Nyu buried her face deep upon his back. "Because you are my friend, Shin Woo-hyung, and you are precious to me. Even if I cannot love you the way you me, but I also love you so much, Shin Woo-hyung."

"What?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Shin Woo-hyung. I also love you. I love you very, very much. I love you so much," she cried. "I love you, Shin Woo-hyung."

She loves him, and yet she doesn't love him.

"Mi Nyu, please don't make me fall for you again," he softly told her, with a tinge of bitterness in his voice.

Mi Nyu loosen her grip and looked at him as he turned around to look at her. "Did I hurt you that much, Shin Woo-hyung?"

"I'm not sorry for ever falling in love with you, Mi Nyu. But yes, you have caused me so much pain that I had to let go and get away from you," he said. Of course, he thought he had let go. But it was not letting go. It was avoiding and running away.

"Shin Woo-hyung," she gasped. "I am so sorry that I can never reciprocate your feelings for me, but at least, let me love you the way I know how."

They looked at each other with tears in their eyes, but Mi Nyu only sees a cold heart in Shin Woo.

"Can I kiss you?" Shin Woo begged, hurt evident in his voice.

Mi Nyu did not agree nor protest. She just closed her eyes slowly as Shin Woo leaned forward to kiss her. As their lips met, Mi Nyu just stayed there, feeling Shin Woo's lips caressing her own lips. His lips felt so soft and warm when he kissed, and she could feel the love he has. But she did not love him, and thus let tears fall down her eyes. Shin Woo could feel that she indeed did not love him, so he let go of his kiss and looked at her in hurt.

"I'm so sorry, Shin Woo-hyung," Mi Nyu sobbed.

With that, Shin Woo cried too. He wanted more than the love she has for him.

The moment was broken when her phone rang. When she checked, it was Mi Nam. She forgot to compose herself and answered the phone.

"Mi Nyu-ya, where are you?" the brother said in his concerned brotherly tone. "Are...are you crying?"

"A...aniyo," she lied. Then, firming up her voice, she replied. "I'm in the tree house, with Shin Woo-hyung."

"Tree house? Where is that? Is that a new bar?" Mi Nam asked.

Mi Nyu realized that her twin did not know about this place. "Ah, this is Jeremy and Shin Woo-hyung's secret hideout."

"Hideout? What are they running away from? Tigers? Lions? Debtors?" Mi Nam asked, which made her laugh. "No, seriously, where are you?"

"I'm in the tree house," Mi Nyu reiterated. "Wae?"

"It's raining cats and dogs already, and I am worried. Tae Kyung is not yet home, Aunt Mi Ja is having some outing with friends, and I am sure Jeremy is gonna eat me alive," Mi Nam said.

"Oppa! Don't talk like that to Jeremy," she protested.

"Kidding... But, do you want me to fetch you there?" he asked.

"But Oppa, Shin Woo-hyung and I cannot go down. It's also raining here and we don't have umbrellas," she said as she bent down to snoop.

"I have a car," Shin Woo said, enough for Mi Nam to hear.

"That figures," Mi Nam said to his sister. "I don't even see his car in here."

"It's really raining outside, and the lake is starting to flood," Mi Nyu said, bending even more to snoop.

But she almost fell down the house door if it were not for Shin Woo, who instantly grabbed her waist to avoid her from falling down. As she collided with him, she could hear him wince in slight pain.

With eyes wide shut in shock, she said to him, "Shin Woo-hyung, joesonghamnida..." 

She always do that. Apologizing a lot of times. When she slowly opened her eyes, she saw the look of concern which he showed to her in the past. The look of the comforting and warm Shin Woo that she missed.

"Gwaenchanha?" he asked in deep concern.

"Shin Woo-hyung..." she half-whispered. 

They had been staring at each other when she realized that his eyes were deep that she wanted to get in and understand him more. On the superficial side, his eyes were beautiful--very beautiful. His eyes seemed to suction her soul away from her body. No wonder fan girls love him so much.

"Shin...Shin Woo-hyung..." she half-whispered again.

"Please don't be kind to me...That's why I avoid you so I won't fall for you again. Please don't make me fall for you again," Shin Woo begged.

Those words broke her trance.

"It can't  be helped, Shin Woo-hyung. You are my friend and you are precious to me. I want to be kind to you," Mi Nyu explained.

"Just please...please don't," he said, holding back tears.

"Shin Woo-hyung..." Mi Nyu said.

"YA! Are you still there?" Mi Nam shouted from the mobile phone. Shin Woo could even hear it even amidst the downpour from outside.

Mi Nyu realized she had not dropped the phone and was still holding it. She returned to talking with her brother. "Y..ye, I am still here."

"What's going on with you and Shin Woo? What seems to be the drama there?" Mi Nam asked.

"Nothing," Mi Nyu lied again. She hated lying. "I was helping Shin Woo-hyung remove a flint stuck in his finger."

"Sigh...there seems nothing that I can do. I just hope Shin Woo will not leave you alone," he said to his sister.

"Anio, Shin Woo-hyung will not leave me behind," she confidently said to Mi Nam.

When she hung up, she looked at Shin Woo, who was leaning on the other side of the wooden house. She scooted next to him and looked at him on his face.

"Shin Woo-hyung?" she asked.

Shin Woo looked at her and spoke sadly. "If you can only love me the way I do, I'd be the happiest guy. But if you love me with all you have, even just that, then, I will just accept it as is."

"But please understand, I don't feel the way you do," Mi Nyu explained.

"I know. I truly understand. Maybe I am just too selfish," he told her. "I don't know if your love for me is greater than my love for you, but logically, no one can quantify love. So, if you love me the way you do, then, I'll consider it as a blessing and a privilege that you love me. I will treasure it my whole life."

He was a bit disappointed that she only loved him as a friend, but he had to accept that fact.

"I'm sorry, Mi Nyu, for acting this way," he said. "I will continue to be a good hyung to you, just like you wanted me to be."

"Does that mean we will be friends again, Shin Woo-hyung?" she smiled at him.

After a few months, Shin Woo finally smiled back at her. "Yes, we will."

Mi Nyu smiled as he ruffled her hair again. It felt so good that he'd be doing it again, after all these months. He gave her a hug and kissed her hair.

"Gamsahamnida," she said. She was finally at peace to be able to gain back Shin Woo's friendship, just as she had gained Tae Kyung's friendship after their breakup.

Little did she know that those two young men, though trying their best to love her as a friend, still had deep feelings of romantic feelings for her which they could not say anymore.

Shin Woo thought it was best not to say it anymore, for her own peace. Just as he had sung before, when the one destined to her is yet to come, he will be there beside her when she calls, and holds his hand if she needs a hand to hold. Just that. He was consoling himself with that thought. Maybe, just maybe, he will totally get over her. Or, by being close to her and being kind to her all the time, she will eventually fall for him the way he did for her.

*****

The rain still had not stopped, and Mi Nyu was getting sleepy and hungry. Shin Woo did not even bring food to the house, as his original plan was to go there to meditate. When the rain stopped, it was already night, and the forest was a bit dark.

"We will be in great trouble if we stay here long," Shin Woo told her.

As they got out of the tree house, Mi Nyu could sense that there was a bit of light along the road far away.

"We are close to the road, are we?" she asked.

Shin Woo nodded and looked at her, "Yes, we are."

Even with the dim light, Mi Nyu was able to get a glimpse of his face in the dark. His deep eyes captivated her again, like in the house, and the look of those eyes made her confused of her feelings. Now what?

When they got inside the car, Mi Nyu declared, "Where are we going to eat, Shin Woo-hyung?"

"I think your brother is cooking for his dear sister," he told her hopefully. "Gaja (let's go)."

As he started the engine, Mi Nyu told him again. "I love you, Shin Woo-hyung."

Shin Woo, who was usually perceptive to her feelings, just answered her casually with a smile. "Thanks. I love you too."

But he misunderstood.