Chapter 3

‘Oh, that stupid god damn agent! He practically blew up all my secret meeting places & what’s worse, he got me off guard & sent all his stupid police after all my gangsters! Oh well, good thing I survived. At least I didn’t die.’ The one thought bitterly, as she splashed her way through some mud & was getting a bad cold from the thunderstorm.

About an hour before, the one had been nice & cozy in her little hotel room, thinking about all the stuff that happened in the past few days. She met a karate expert a few days ago. He had taken her out for a few snacks & that was the last time she had ever seen him. Nice guy, strong & handsome. She liked him. It was no use denying it. Then, there was the new agent. Although he had blown up eight of her secret meeting spots, she liked him. There was finally some competition around here. In fact, she enjoyed the competition so much, she wouldn’t even kill him if she ever caught him. Of course, that was before what happened an hour ago. He sent his police & they like slaughtered so many of the gangsters & she, herself barely escaped.

Now, here she was, leader of the deadliest gang in San Francisco, wet, cold, vulnerable & trying to find the cabin she saw a few days ago. She had been taking a short walk with the karate master on the beach when he had pointed out his cabin to her. She was now trying to find the cabin. It was the only place left for her to go since she didn’t have her car with her.

Soon, she saw light. It came from a little wooden cabin by the beach. The cabin she had been looking for, “Ow!” Cried the one, as she had bumped into the door. Someone had opened it just when she reached it.

“Oh my god. I’m so sorry. Miss, are you alright? I saw somebody running here so I kind of opened the door to let them in. Didn’t know you could run so fast. You must be freezing. Come on in.” Explained the person inside.

All of a sudden, the one collapsed. She felt a pair of strong arms carry her inside the warm cabin & felt herself being laid down gently on the bed while the person closed the door.

“Tiffany, are you alright?” Asked a concerned voice.

‘Huh? How did this person know my name?’ Thought the one.

Slowly, she opened her dazzling wide, brown, almond-shaped eyes to only stare. Boy, the guy was handsome. It took a while for her to get her composure back.

‘For goodness sake, its Yunho Oppa. You can’t just stare at him like that. He will know you have a crush on him then. Hey, does that mean he’s the one that carried me inside? Guess so. So much for being the leader of the deadliest gang in the country. Got saved by the guy you like & you ended up blushing like hell!’ Thought Tiffany.

“Uh...thanks Oppa.” Said Tiffany, while she flushed furiously & cussed at herself for doing so in her head.

“No problem. I really enjoy helping out cute chicks. Especially when they are lying there with their eyes closed. Look so angelic when they sleep, you would never believe that they were the destructive & violent type.” Laughed Yunho.

That only made Tiffany blush even more. She was already falling for this guy that she only met twice.

‘Oh, why does god punish me so much? Why do I always have to fall for guys I know so little about? Will he abandon me, too?’ Thought Tiffany.

“Why were you in the storm?” Yunho asked.

“Well, I was nice & cozy in my hotel room about an hour ago & all of a sudden, these cops surrounded my hotel & since my brother went in jailed once, I’m scared of cops so I ran here.” Tiffany half-lied.

‘Was that a glint of guilt in his eyes? No, couldn’t be. Why would he be guilty? It’s not like he’s the FBI agent. Oh, my god. What if he is? No, can’t be.’ Thought Tiffany.

“Well...um, here’s some hot cocoa & because I caused the bump on your head, I will take you out for dinner tomorrow.” Smiled Yunho.

“Is that your way of asking if a girl would go out with you? How many girls’ heads have you hit in all?” Teased Tiffany.

“Well, you are the only one I tried that experiment on. Besides, usually, it’s the girls that beg me to take them out.” Explained Yunho.

“Why don’t you wait for me to beg you to take me out then?” Asked Tiffany.

“Well, you are special. You are the only one I actually want & whatever Yunho wants, Yunho gets.” Answered Yunho, with a sly grin on his small, oval-shaped face.

Tiffany blushed, ‘Wow, he’s hot.’ She suddenly gasped in surprises as she felt a pair of strong arms around her slender waist that gently pressed her s-line body to the firm chest.

There they stayed, in each other’s embraces, for the rest of the storm.

‘What do I think of Oppa anyway? I’m so happy when he’s around. Yet again, I always seem to be reminded of him, the guy I met at the masquerade more than ever when Oppa’s around. I know if I was to choose between Yunho & the guy at the masquerade, I would choose Yunho Oppa. I love him but why do I seem to think of the guy at the masquerade so much? Oh, what is it that I did wrong to deserve such a hard time with my love life?’

A small smile came onto Tiffany’s beautiful oval-shaped face when she heard the phone ringing. She knew who it was from. Yunho. They were going on their one year dating anniversary tonight. She quickly ran from the balcony to her bedroom. They had been dating for a year now, ever since that storm. Still, Yunho remained a mystery to Tiffany. He had told her he was a karate expert from Tokyo, Japan & also, that he was here for his brother’s university degree. His brother, Haewon, was in a university here & since Haewon ran out of university money, Yunho was here to pay off the bills for him. Somehow, something told Tiffany otherwise. She had met Haewon. Muscular & handsome. However, Tiffany had a feeling that Haewon & Yunho weren’t related & they weren’t here for some stupid school either!

“Hello, Tiffany speaking.” Said Tiffany.

“Hey there, baby. I will pick you up at eight & later, we are going to this new restaurant that just opened yesterday. I love you.” Said Yunho.

“Tiffany, there’s something really important I want to tell you.” Started Yunho.

“Oh good, there’s something I want to tell you, too.” Yuri broke in.

“I will start first. I love you but you aren’t the only one I have loved in my whole life. There was & still is someone but I don’t know her name. It happened eight years ago. At a masquerade.” Yunho paused, as Tiffany’s face turned pale as a ghost. Then he continued, “We were dancing & all of a sudden, there were people shouting things like ‘kiss her’. We ended up right below a mistletoe. We kissed. It was short but a kiss I would never forget. I knew I loved her then & there. We agreed to meet again, one month later at a nearby park. That meeting never came. My father died three days before the meeting. I had to go & arrange all the funeral stuff. It took five months to get all the relatives together & another three months for the funeral to take place & then it was the farewell to the relatives as they flew back to wherever they came from. My boss gave me a errand that lasted one year. Later, no matter what I did, I couldn’t find her anymore. I was depressed for the next three years. Still depressed right now, not as much, ever since I met you. I just thought you might want to know. If I was to choose between you & her right now, it would be you. I just want to know who she really was.”

“I...I met a guy at a masquerade, too. Eight years ago. I waited for him but he never came...” Stuttered Tiffany, “Tiffany. I mean it. This isn’t a joke.” Interrupted Yunho, ‘Did she think I’m joking around with her or something?’ Thought Yunho.

“I know. It’s true. Christmas night. The park was called lover’s lane. It was the Jung’s mansion. The girl was wearing a pink sleeping beauty dress & the guy was wearing a prince charming outfit.” Informed Tiffany.

It was Yunho’s turn to turned pale, “You...You were there, too?”

Slowly, Tiffany unhooked a miadora sterling silver blue sapphire & diamond heart necklace from around her neck. The necklace Yunho had given the girl at the masquerade as a present.

“You...You were the girl at the masquerade?” Stuttered Yunho.

With tears b in her eyes, Tiffany managed a nod. So, Yunho was the one she had waited all these years. Yunho’s arms made their way around Tiffany’s waist to pulled her in, “I’m sorry, baby. I shouldn’t have left you. I love you. I will never leave you again.”