Chapter Eleven

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Joon walked into the empty apartment and took a deep breath of air. He remembered doing the same the night he realized that Hyo Min had left him. That feeling in his heart… was so familiarly painful and sore, but he had no idea why he felt that way.

He walked into the bedroom, and opened the closet door. His clothes were stacked neatly next to Hyun Ah’s, which had taken up more than half the closet space.

He stared for a few minutes, before becoming conscious of what he was doing and shutting the closet door shut. But quickly he opened the closet doors again, and started pulling out Hyun Ah’s clothes angrily, tossing them onto the bed.

When he had emptied the closet with the last of Hyun Ah’s clothes, he noticed a box hidden in the corner, which was previously obscured by the many clothes that filled the closet. He pulled it out and opened it, wondering what was in it.

It was… all the white clothes that Hyun Ah owned. And on those clothes was a note, which had a list of items and actions that Joon previously expressed dislike about written down.

Joon read through it, and gave a bitter laugh, before saying to himself, “You forgot to add in ‘do not get drunk because you behave badly whilst drunk’ in the list.”

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The first time Hyun Ah got drunk in front of Joon was quite an experience for him. She was unbelievably noisy, throwing tantrums and making a fuss over the smallest things.

But drunk Hyun Ah seemed so vulnerable and child-like. Perhaps that was one reason why Joon couldn’t help but to clean up after her and take care of her even though she was a total hassle.

“Let me tell you, I’m Kim Hyun Ah, and I don’t care who you are! All you have to know is that you’ll regret it if you treat me badly!” Hyun Ah shouted as Joon piggybacked her back to the apartment.

“Do you understand?” Hyun Ah yelled and messed up Joon’s carefully styled hair.

“Yes, and could you please shut up,” Joon muttered under his breath as he tried to shake his fringe away from his eyes.

“My lover doesn’t love me, but it’s okay, because I don’t love him too,” Hyun Ah continued.

They reached the apartment and Joon placed Hyun Ah on the couch.

“Who am I kidding? Why can’t I find a man who loves me?” Hyun Ah cried out as she flailed her arms in the air wildly.

Joon wiped her face with a wet cloth and murmured, “When you get up tomorrow, you’re going to get it.”

The next morning when Joon woke up, Hyun Ah was already sitting up and rubbing her forehead. “Damn you hangovers.”

“Headache?” Joon asked.

“You’re up?” Hyun Ah said, before quickly putting down her hand and looking at Joon sheepishly. “Um, was I any trouble last night? I’ve been told that sometimes I behave pretty badly while drunk.”

Joon shrugged. “Really? You passed out after getting drunk so I only had to carry you back to the apartment.”

“Oh, that’s a relief,” Hyun Ah smiled before getting out of bed.

Every time Hyun Ah got drunk Joon told himself he would complain to Hyun Ah about it the next day, but somehow, those words never got out of his mouth. Somehow, he just really enjoyed taking care of drunk Hyun Ah.

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“Hey man, sorry I ignored your text. You were gone by the time I got there,” Doo Joon apologized.

“Nah it’s fine. Something cropped up, so I had to leave,” Ki Kwang replied. “So how was your date?”

Doo Joon shrugged. “That would be an open question, because technically speaking I didn’t go on the date I was supposed to go to. But I did go on a date.”

Ki Kwang raised a brow. “You picked up another chick?”

“Something like that. Well, I was on my way there when I saw some guy harassing this girl, so I went over and stopped him. And it turns out that the girl was Ga Yoon,” Doo Joon explained.

“The Ga Yoon?” Ki Kwang asked.

“The Ga Yoon,” Doo Joon affirmed. “So she told me she wanted to thank me by giving me a treat, so I kinda stood my date up.”

“You really like Ga Yoon, huh,” Ki Kwang commented.

“Nah,” Doo Joon denied, “C’mon, it’s a choice between getting a treat and giving someone else a treat. I’m sure the choice is obvious.”

Ki Kwang let out a laugh. “Yeah, whatever you say.”

“So how was your date then?”

“Good… and bad,” Ki Kwang confessed.

 He went on to explain what happened the previous night to Doo Joon.

“Well, I would consider that good news. What are you going to do about it?” Doo Joon asked after Ki Kwang finished his story.

“For that, I’m going to need-” Ki Kwang was cut short by Ji Hyun, who had interrupted their conversation.

“Mr Lee, Mr Kim is here now,” she announced.

“All right, I’m going over now. Also, Ji Hyun, I need you to do something for me,” Ki Kwang told her.

“Yes?” Ji Hyun asked.

“Help me source for an apartment.”

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Hyun Ah spent the next few days holed up in the hotel room, confused as to what she should do next. Ki Kwang left a few calls, but she couldn’t bring herself to pick them up.

She knew that deep down, she had always seen Ki Kwang as a back-up plan, but she wasn’t sure if she should go ahead with it. What if… Joon wanted her back?

It was then the sudden realization hit her that she had lost everything once again. She was yet again broke, with no financial backing, no new clothes, all because she had lost her rich “boyfriend”. That only meant that she wouldn’t have any money to pay for the hotel room at all.

It was time to leave.

Just when she was about to pack up and leave, a knock was heard on the door.

She answered it, and the bellboy told her, “Miss, the credit card you used for your room is cancelled and no longer available. Do you have any other card that you can use to make payment?”

Hyun Ah bit her lip. If that card was cancelled, there’s no surprise that the other cards Joon had given her was cancelled as well.

“Could you give me a moment? I’ll get back to you,” Hyun Ah said as she shut the door on the bellboy.

She picked up her phone, and realized there was only one other way out.

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“Here you go,” Ki Kwang said as he finished his signature on the receipt.

The receptionist accepted it with a smile and returned Ki Kwang’s card to him.

He turned to Hyun Ah, who quickly told him, “I’ll pay you back soon.”

“When? Are you going to get a job? Find a new boyfriend?” Ki Kwang asked.

Hyun Ah pressed her lips together and looked at Ki Kwang, not knowing what to say.

“I…”

“Follow me,” Ki Kwang bossed, and grabbed Hyun Ah’s hand in his, pulling her out of the hotel lobby and into his car.

Hyun Ah knew she could resist, but she was curious about what Ki Kwang was planning to do as well. She watched the scenery that passed by, sometimes taking a look at Ki Kwang, who was driving with a vague smile on his lips.

When he pulled over, Ki Kwang quickly got out of the car, while Hyun Ah hesitated.

“What are you waiting for?” He asked after he opened the door to the passenger seat and reached over to unbuckle Hyun Ah’s seatbelt. Once again, he held her hand and dragged her up the building.

He stopped at a door among the many and took out keys to unlock it, then bringing Hyun Ah in.

“What… What’s this?”

Ki Kwang grinned. “I know you don’t have anywhere to stay now, and you need new clothes, and a new lover.”

Hyun Ah swallowed her saliva nervously, somehow knowing what Ki Kwang was going to say.

He continued, “I’m asking you to be mine. Be mine, and I will give you everything.”

Hyun Ah stared at Ki Kwang in surprise at his proposal. She thought back to the time when she asked Joon what was the extent to which he was willing to give her.

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“Hey Joonie…”

Hyun Ah played with Joon’s coarse hands while he murmured, “Yeah?”

“I know you said you can give me money and jewellery, but that’s all?” Hyun Ah asked tentatively.

“What do you want, greedy girl?” Joon questioned cheekily.

“What I mean is that, now that I’m with you, what’s all that you are willing to give me?”

Joon paused for a short while before giving his reply.

“Everything except love.”

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“If you need time to think about it, that’s fine,” Ki Kwang said after witnessing the silence from Hyun Ah.

“I…”

“But like I told you, I’m an impatient person so don’t let me wait too long,” he continued, and then took out a set of keys and shoved it into Hyun Ah’s palm.

“Ki Kwang…”

“You can stay the night here if you can’t find anywhere to stay,” Ki Kwang said before he left the apartment and walked back to his car without stopping.

His heart was beating so fast he knew he couldn’t let Hyun Ah have any chance to reject him, or he wouldn’t be able to say everything that he wanted to say out. He knew he was being presumptuous and selfish, but he knew that if he had let go of that opportunity, he would regret it deeply.

He waited for himself to calm down, before starting up the car with a grin.

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Hello guys! Shorter chapter today, but hope you guys enjoyed it anyway.

C/Cs are appreciated!