Minji stirred awake from the warm sun rays that managed to seep through the gaps of the window curtain, shining down on her face. She closed her eyes before opening them abruptly and turning her head to look to her right where she found her husband fast asleep. She smiled softly at his peaceful looking nature and took her hands from under the blanket they shared to gently his cheeks. She stared at him as her thoughts started to drift away…What if this was another game he played? Another act he put up? Is she really willing to forget all the pain he caused and all the tears that fell because of him with one simple confession? But she knew that the confession was more than enough to make her forget because she was simply in love with him. She was intoxicated and so in love with him that she was willing to forget and forgive all his past doings. She was desperate, desperate to finally have his love and attention. Yet a part of her feared that this was just all an act, a game he played and in the end, her heart would be the one breaking into pieces but then again, it had been broken into pieces so many times before. And the other part of her wanted to believe in his words, trust him and offer him this one chance because she felt his sincerity. But despite all her internal conflicts, she knew that the breaking of her heart again was a risk she was willing to take with him.

She was so deep in her thoughts that he did not notice the opening of his eyes which stared straight at her blank ones. He smiled at her blank expression and reached to hold onto her hand that was left hanging near his face which brought her out of her reverie. She didn’t seem startled however as she looked into his eyes and offered a soft smile, watching as he laced his fingers through hers – connecting them together. He leaned in slowly for a peck on her lips, pulling back and looking back into her eyes before leaning in for a more intimate kiss. They pulled away minutes later, breathing heavily from the lack of oxygen before breaking into small laughter. Minji laid on the bed smiling from ear to ear as she remembered how he had whispered to her Good Morning before getting off the bed to cook her breakfast in bed. Her eyes glanced over their room only to have her realise that her belongings were not in the room but in another room – her room. She frowned slightly and contemplated about moving back into this room with him but decided against it as she still wanted some room for her thoughts and to just get away.

Her fingers brushed against each other as she fiddled with the blankets that were covering her, only for her to realise the presence of a metal wrapping around her marriage finger – her ring. It was just a plain silver band with small simple diamonds lining the edges in even spaces. It was simple and something to her taste. She was glad that it was not something extravagant – a ring with a huge heavy and shiny diamond just didn’t seem to match her at all. She sat in silence on the bed and let her thoughts wonder to the future before a sound stopped all her thoughts. She searched around for the source of the sound which had got to be from her phone in her clutch from last night. Minji found the black material and opened it, retrieving her phone to look at her messages. A message from a person she hadn’t heard from for so long, detailing her of the said reunion by Hwangssabu. She nodded her head as she scanned the text, reading the invitation in silence with a smile on her face. When she was done, her face suddenly turned from excitement to worry as she remembered the conversation she shared with Hwangssabu a few days back – the possibility of her husband and his group of friends coming from a rival academy. She frowned at the thought but quickly decided to ignore it as she stood up from the bed and headed to his closet to pull out one of his shirts and boxers to cover her body. A dark navy blue oversized t-shirt which fit her perfectly and comfortably, she walked slowly out of the room as she finished buttoning up the clothing’s last button.

She crept quietly down the stairs and walked towards him. Minji wrapped her arms around Taemin the moment she got close enough to him to do so and pressed her cheek against his . He was a bit startled from the action but broke out into a grin, knowing that it was his dear wife who was now back hugging him as he cooked them breakfast. He didn’t turn to look at her as that would mean she would have to let go of her hold on him and he didn’t want to lose this physical contact. Instead, he rocked with her hanging around him slightly as he continued cooking. When he was finally done, he turned to her and smiled as she looked up at him. He laughed at her cuteness before leaning down to give her another peck. He sure as hell loved kissing her.

“Breakfast is ready my princess” he said with playfulness in his voice as she blushed. She nodded wordlessly with her pinking cheeks before walking to the dining table and as he watched her disappearing back, he finally realised what she was wearing. His eyebrows rose up in surprise and he quickly brought the plates towards the table.

“Is that my t-shirt and boxers you’re wearing?” he questioned as he set down a plate in front of her.

“Yup. Why? You don’t like others wearing your clothing?” she asked with worry and knitted eyebrows.

“Of course I dislike people wearing my clothing”

Her face fell and her eyes became down-casted from his statement.

“But since it’s you, my darling wife, you are more than welcome to access my wardrobe and wear whatever you want – I’d prefer you not though” he continued with a sneaky smile.

She blushed and laughed at his response.

“You’re one ert mister”

“I’m only like this for you babe. And hey, you look absolutely stunning in that dress shirt”

She only smiled at his comment before devouring her breakfast in which they ate in comfortable silence.




The next few days for them both were spent in each other’s company. They went to the company together, ate together and left together. Everything they did involved each other and hell did news spread around fast. Workers, directors, investors and their friends were surprised of this sudden change but embraced it nevertheless because all they saw as the pair were together was love and happiness. Well her unnies and oppas who knew of their previous problems were a bit sceptical and all gave her a warning but did nothing after that. She was warned and she was taking a risk she knew the consequences of. She knew of the gossip that arose from their sudden public display of affection but paid no mind to it – it was however, definitely better than the published photos of her husband at clubs intimately with other women in the earlier stages of their marriage. She could still remember the lecture they had both been given by both of their parents and slightly cringed at the memory – it was nasty and would’ve better if it had never happened at all.

She sighed before focusing on her current situation which was by the way pretty amusing. Taemin and her had finished work early and decided to reward themselves by shopping. She stared on as Taemin ruffled through the clothing, trying on this and that whenever he could to make sure it looked good on him. She silently laughed at his behaviour which was pretty similar to that of a ladies but smiled when she noticed that their taste in clothing were pretty similar. The two walked out from the store with their hands entwined with each other, ready to head to the food court for lunch before they met someone they didn’t expect they’d meet, Taemin’s brother from another mother. Minji was the first to notice him and flashed him a bright smile, despite him being her husband’s friend, the two got along pretty well and also shared a few lunches before.

“Hi Jong In oppa!” she beamed at him. Taemin’s ears perked up at the name of his best friend. He let go of their entwined fingers to hug his friend whom he hasn’t seen in a while. Jong In smiled at the couple and the three agreed to have an early dinner date to catch up. The three walked towards an Italian restaurant with the couple sitting side by side facing the lonely man.

The three exchanged laughs and smiles as they caught up with each other, speaking of recent events and much more. As Minji excused herself for the bathroom, Jong In’s joking and playful nature turned serious as he looked at his best friend.

“I thought you hated her so what’s with the sudden display of affection?” Jong In questioned his best friend with raised eyebrows. He knew that Taemin didn't hate his wife, he was his best friend afterall but he just couldn't help but ask.

“Hey, have some faith in me alright? I do love her. I’m not messing around! What’s with everyone confronting me about this? You’re like the billionth person or something” Taemin replied back with a frown.

“Sorry if I misunderstood then but your history does make us a bit sceptical with your actions. I mean, you used to refuse to even touch her and now you’re holding hands and all that so willingly… is what everyone would say to you as a reply to your queries but since I am your best friend, all I can say is I told you so.”

Taemin sighed and rubbed his temples.

“Was I really that bad?” Taemin whispered softly but the sentence did not go unheard by his best friend. Jong In sensed the change in Taemin’s mood and felt slightly guilty for being the cause of it.

“Well that aside, are you going to the birthday event on Friday?” Jong In tried to change the subject in hopes of lightening the atmosphere.

“Yeahs. Obviously, it’s basically a compulsory event every year” Taemin replied with a nod.

The two began to indulge in their memories with Jong In unaware of his friend’s occupied thoughts.

Conversation between the two ceased as Minji made her way back to her seat.

“So what were you to so into talking about?” questioned Minji with a smile before she continued with her meal.

“Oh nothing you know. Just about you and how much you at dancing” stated Jong In with sarcasm.

“Oh really? Let’s have a dance battle one day and see how it turns out” replied Minji with fierceness in her eyes.

The two continued to banter and argue amongst each other, leaving Taemin to quietly think through his thoughts…

Taemin’s POV
Our early dinner date ended and I was less than pleased with the process. Meeting Jong In just reminded me of so many things – how I’ve been to her, what I don’t know about her and so much more. I was jealous that my best friend knew my wife more than I did and I was worried, worried about the news Jong In had informed me. I’m not sure how I’ll act at the event with her there, she hasn’t attended this events since we broke up, deciding to stay away to allow everyone to accept and forgive her actions. I don’t know. I just don’t know anymore. My mind was a complete mess, an absolute mess.

I waited for Minji to finish her shower, sitting on the bed staring blankly into space as my mixed emotions began to take over. I heard the hair dryer stop and the door open with Minji appearing in an oversized shirt and comfortable tracksuit pants with her hair still slightly damp. The scene had me heating up, it was nothing but to me it just was. I stared at her and our eyes met. She smiled at me and walked over to me, sitting down next to me and hugging me in a side hug. I smiled at her warmth and leaned into her embrace, the feeling was comforting and nice but my previous thoughts appeared as she let go and stood up. I felt a surge of disappointment at the loss of contact and reached out to grab her hand, turning her around and pulling her down to me for a kiss.

My intentions must’ve been kept well because before she could process what I wanted to do to her right now, half of her clothing was gone. However, she did not protest and willingly allowed me to do whatever I wanted to her and I knew that with her easy submission, this was the first time in our newly developed relationship that I did not make love to her. It wasn’t love I felt. It wasn’t love I conveyed. It was only pure physical satisfaction and pleasure on my part. But she didn’t complain, not once did she tell me to stop and I knew for a fact that she was far from enjoying what I did to her yet she didn’t utter a single word – only looking at me with loving eyes, conveying her love with gentle gestures. I look at the sleeping girl on my chest and I feel my thoughts running wild again, she had fallen asleep after our heated contact but I couldn’t. I saw the extent of her love for me and I felt insecure – insecure that I did not deserve her love, that I did not deserve her forgiveness and most importantly, that I did not deserve her at all. From the start, she was pure while I was tainted. From the start, she was someone way out of my league. But the biggest problems amidst my insecurities regarding Minji was that maybe, maybe...I was still in love with Jin Ri and that Minji was a pigment of my infatuation to forget my ex.

I continued staring at her sleeping figure, my fingers softly tracing her arm. I felt guilty, so guilty for having used her and I know she knows that I love her but while she whole-heartedly loves me, a portion of my heart did not belong to her. And in short, I did not love her like we both believed. My heart was heavy with all the thoughts – it was suffocating and I needed out. I needed to be away from her and that’s exactly what I did. I moved softly and suavely out of our embrace and dressed up. As I wore my clothes, I bent down to place a soft kiss against her forehead, whispering a soft “I’m sorry” before I my heels and left. I left our room, I left our house and I was in my car, driving towards a club for a getaway because the intoxication from alcohol and physical pleasure were my gateway from reality.