“Eat more.” Lee Jong Suk said as he put another piece of meat into Shin Hye’s bowl.

Shin Hye turned to him and smiled slightly before she looked down at her bowl again, continued to eat. The silent tension between her and the man sitting in front have been suffocating her. Without the need to look at him, she was very sure his eyes were following her every single move.

“I hope you like the dishes.” Lee Dong Hwan said, smiling warmly at her.

Shin Hye nodded politely. “I’m not picky with food. It’s very delicious. Thank you for having me here tonight.”

Min Ho who has been very quiet since just now, turned to Jong Suk and asked. “I heard you came to see me this morning. But after my meeting, you were gone.” He paused as he looked at Shin Hye and smirked. “Rushing to meet your girlfriend?”

Shin Hye stopped chewing her food as she inhaled deeply.

Jong Suk looked at his brother as he cleared his throat awkwardly. “I’m sorry for this morning. Hmmm… I thought your meeting will take long and I don’t want to disturb you. I should have let your secretary know before I go. I’m sorry.”

Shin Hye turned to her boyfriend and smiled at him before she looked at Min Ho for the first time since they started their dinner in the dining room. Her gaze was fearless and sharp. She curled her lips slightly. “I should be the one who apologize. Jong Suk was rushing over to my place today. I insisted him to accompany me to get the crystal vase for eomeonim. I’m very sorry, Lee Min Ho-sshi.”

Min Ho’s eyes darkened and his gaze was so intense as if wanted to burn her alive. He chuckled sarcastically. “Don’t need to apologize, Park Shin Hye-sshi. Girlfriend should always come first.” He then turned to Jong Suk. “So, how did you meet Park Shin Hye-sshi?” He asked.

Shin Hye sighed silently at his question. He wanted to know where she went after she ran away from him 3 years ago.

“We met at New York.” Jong Suk replied.

Min Ho raised his brows as he stole a glance at Shin Hye. She was expressionless and seems uninterested of what he was asking.

“She was a student in a small art school in New York. She studied visual art. She worked as a part time waitress in a fast food restaurant near my university.” Jong Suk paused as he smiled. “Almost all the guys in my university were crazy about her. Everybody will rush there no matter breakfast, lunch, tea time or dinner after class. Because of her, the business in the restaurant was so good.” He turned to his girlfriend and smiled proudly. “But too bad, she is mine. Although the process was not easy and it takes me almost 2 years to make her say yes.”

Min Ho’s face hardened as he forced out a slight smile. “So, Park Shin Hye-sshi is an artist?”

Jong Suk shook his head. “No. She is teaching in a children’s art school.”

“I see. She is a teacher.” Min Ho looked at Shin Hye again and smirked. “I’m happy for both of you. You two looked good together. Any plan to get married?”  

Shin Hye looked up and met his gaze. He was obviously challenging her with that question.

Jong Suk rubbed his nape embarrassedly. “We just started dating about one year ago. I think it’s a bit early. But if she willing to say yes, I’m ready anytime.” He glanced at Shin Hye shyly.

Lee Dong Hwan chuckled, looking at Jong Suk. “Married? You don’t even know how to take care of yourself yet. Do you think you can take care of your wife? You should learn how to manage a business before you learn how to manage a family. Go to work with your brother and learn from him.”

Kim Sung Ryung quickly stopped eating and turned to her son. “You should listen to you father. You are still young and have to work hard before you could take care of your family, arasso?”

Jong Suk sighed before he nodded. “Arasso.”

Shin Hye exhaled softly when she saw a smirk on Min Ho face. This was what he expected and he purposely asked that question to embarrass his brother, or to be exact, to embarrass her. She bit her lip before looking at him again. Okay, if this is the game he wanted to play, she will definitely play with him.

She smiled before she spoke. “How about Lee Min Ho-sshi? You are a successful businessman and have a handsome outlook. I guess your girlfriend must be very pretty too.” She asked, smirking at him when she saw his eyes were turning red in anger.

Everyone in the dining room seems to tense up upon hearing what Shin Hye asked. Jong Suk immediately put down his chopsticks and held his girlfriend’s hand. “Shin Hye…”

She turned to him. “What? Did I ask something wrong?” She acted innocently as she stole a glance at Min Ho.

Kim Mi Kyung looked at her son nervously before she turned to Shin Hye. “Let’s not talk about this. Hmmm… how do you…”

“She was missing.” Min Ho cut his mother off, staring straight into Shin Hye’s eyes.

Everyone froze with what Min Ho just said except Shin Hye. She held his eyes and waiting for him to continue. She admits that she was surprised. She never thought Min Ho will say it out loud especially in front of his family.

“Three years ago, my fiancée went missing on our wedding day. You are right. She is very pretty. I guess everyone in South Korea should know about it. The news was all over the papers.” He paused and narrowed his eyes at her, grinning. “Speaking about that, you do look a bit like her. Big eyes, small nose, pinkish lips and fair skin. Both of you have the feeling of purity and innocence.” He chuckled as he averted his gaze back to Jong Suk. “I think our taste on girls is quite similar.”

Shin Hye breathed in sharply. She bit her lip hard, meeting his gaze again. “Missing? How come? She runs away from you? You said it has been 3 years and you still couldn’t find her? That’s sad.” She was definitely adding fuel to the fire, adding salt to his wound.

Min Ho chuckled again; pretend to not being affected by her words. “Very sad indeed. She must have run to somewhere very far away so that I couldn’t find her.” He said as his eyes darkened. “But this world is very small. If she is still alive, I believe I will see her again.” He then tilted his head and smiled at her. “Perhaps… Park Shin Hye-sshi has seen her before?”

Shin Hye’s face slowly turned pale as she looked at him, unable to say a word.

Min Ho smirked as he leaned slightly forward. “Her name is Kang—So—Ra.” He emphasized on the name very clearly as if afraid that Shin Hye couldn’t hear it.

Shin Hye quickly looked away as she brought her trembling hands and hid under the dining table. After so many years, this familiar name echoed in her ears once again. She doesn’t know after three years, it still hurt so much hearing this name.

The smile on Min Ho’s face slowly faded as his eyes softened when he saw the tears started to flood in her eyes. He knows it very clearly that this name will hurt her very deeply but because of his impulsiveness, his anger that she triggered, he choose to hurt her once again after all these years. His heart was still having the same strange uncomfortable feeling whenever he sees her like that. But he was very angry with her at the same time. She owed him an explanation. No! She owed him two weeks. Their deal hasn’t ended yet and she ran away. She breached their contract and breached his trust on her.

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After their heated conversation, the dinner continued with an awkward tension. She realized that everyone in the house were very careful and dare not mention about Kang So Ra. That was why they were all so shocked and stunned when she asked about her just now.  They know Kang So Ra meant a lot to Min Ho and her missing was a big impact to him.

Min Ho excused himself and went back to his room after the dinner. He didn’t talk to Shin Hye anymore and just made his way to the stairs without looking at her.

It was almost 10pm when Shin Hye wanted to go home. She greets and thanks Lee Dong Hwan, Kim Mi Kyung and Kim Sung Ryung before she walked out to the car porch with Jong Suk.

“Oh my god, where is my car key?” Jong Suk asked as he put his hands into all his pockets searching but couldn’t find it.

“Did you leave it in the house? You were still holding it when we go inside the house just now. Maybe in your room? You went in before dinner.” Shin Hye asked.

Jong Suk sighed. “I can’t remember. Let me go inside and check. You wait for me here. I’ll be quick.” He said.

Shin Hye smiled and nodded her head.

Jong Suk squeezed her hand softly before running back into the house.

Shin Hye sighed deeply as she turned around, looking up the dark sky mindlessly. She thought the storm, the sadness was finally over when she ran away to New York and her life was so much better since she met Jong Suk. It took her so much time and courage to open herself up to accept a new love but why must he be Min Ho’s brother. How will he think about her if he finds out her past? She doesn’t want to hurt him and most importantly she doesn’t want to have any more relationship with Min Ho.

As her mind was still bothered by all those things, Shin Hye heard footsteps behind her. She took a deep breath and smiled before she turned around.

“Found the car key? Where did you…” She stopped at mid-sentence and her eyes were widened when she saw Min Ho standing right in front of her now. Her legs weakened as her hands started to tremble again.

Min Ho smirked at her reaction. “Waiting for your boyfriend… my brother?”

Shin Hye quickly took a step back after she got back to her senses. Her heart was pounding so fast with him standing so near to her. She averted her gaze. “Y-Yes.”

Min Ho chuckled. “Why do you look so nervous? You have a very sharp tongue during the dinner just now. Wae? Feel nervous because only two of us here?”

Shin Hye inhaled softly before looking back at him. “Lee Min Ho-sshi. I don’t understand what you are talking about. If I offended you by asking about your fiancée just now, I apologize.” She knows it very clearly that it would be very dangerous to make him angry when there were only two of them. She gulped nervously.

Min Ho curved his lips up as he took a step forward, closing the distance between them. “It’s okay. You don’t need to apologize. I was used to women running away from me. Kang So Ra was not the only one. Don’t pretend to be stupid or lose your memory. You know exactly what I’m talking about.” He said as he looked into her eyes dangerously. He laughed softly when he saw her face turning green. “Choosing my brother was a smart move. But let me remind you, a gold digger like you will be dumped by him very badly when he finds out about your past. Hmmm… knowing my brother’s personalities, I guess he will be deeply hurt when he knows that his girlfriend…” He paused as he leaned closer. “… slept with his brother before.”

Shin Hye clenched tightly onto her skirt as her breathing started to get uneven. Glaring at him, she lifted her hand up, wanted to slap him. But before her palm could touch him, her hand stopped at mid-air when she heard what he said.

“You better be rational and think wisely before your slap landed on my face.” He glanced at her hand and smirked. “You know me better than anyone. You know what are the consequences when I lose my control.” He leaned forward and whispered into her ear. “And don’t forget, you still owed me 2 weeks. You will have to pay for that.”

Shin Hye put her hand back at the side and looked away. Tears were threatening to escape her eyes but she has to hold it back and refused to show her weakness to him. She bit her lip hard, enduring the pain that once again attacking her heart. Until now, after 3 long years, she is still a loser in front of him.

Min Ho clenched his jaw when he saw her small body slightly trembling. He wasn’t sure she was hurt or angry but he doesn’t like to see her like that. He sighed silently as he moved closer and just when he wanted to raise his hand up to touch her, he heard Jong Suk’s voice behind him. He quickly hid his hand into his pocket and stepped away from Shin Hye before he turned around.

“Hyung? What are you doing here?” Jong Suk asked in surprise.

Min Ho smiled slightly. “I was just walking around to breathe some fresh air and saw Park Shin Hye-sshi standing here alone.” He said, glancing at Shin Hye who was still looking away from him.

“I see. I left my car key in my room. I’m sending Shin Hye back now.” Jong Suk said as he walked towards Shin Hye and held her hand in his before he looked back at his brother.

“Will you be free tomorrow? I’ll go to your office to see you if you are free. I think abeoji is going to kill me soon if you don’t arrange a job for me in the company.”

Min Ho smiled awkwardly before he tore his gaze away from Shin Hye. “Sure. See me at 10am. I have 30 minutes free time.”

Jong Suk nodded. “Okay. Hmmm… we are going off now. Hyung better don’t stay outside here for too long. The weather is very cold tonight.”

“Okay.” Min Ho replied as his eyes turned to Shin Hye again. “Good night, Park Shin Hye-sshi.” He said softly.

Shin Hye inhaled deeply before she nodded at him, still not looking at him. “Good night.”

“Kaja.” Jong Suk said as he opened the car door for his girlfriend.

Shin Hye quickly stepped into the car and before the car move, she looked up and met Min Ho’s eyes again.

 “And don’t forget, you still owed me 2 weeks. You will have to pay for that.”

Min Ho’s threatening voice was still ringing in her ears. She then averted her gaze and looked out the window, leaving Min Ho standing outside looking at them.

When the car has left the Lee Mansion’s compound, Shin Hye was startled when Jong Suk held her hand.

“Are you okay? You have been very quiet since the dinner.” Jong Suk asked with concern.   

She turned to him and smiled weakly. “I’m okay. I’m just… tired.” She looked at him with a heavy heart as Min Ho’s voice replayed in her ears again.

“I guess he will be deeply hurt when he knows that his girlfriend… slept with his brother before.”

Jong Suk squeezed her hand softly. “Then just nap for a while. I’ll wake you up when we reach your apartment.”

Shin Hye nodded her head before she closed her eyes. Instead of drifting into slumberland, her mind slowly brought her back to all the nightmares that happened 3 years ago.

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3 years ago…

“Shin Hye… Shin Hye… Shin Hye…”

Shin Hye stopped peeling the orange when she was brought back to her senses by her grandmother’s voice.

“Yes, halmeoni?”

Na Moon Hae smiled weakly at her granddaughter. “What is wrong with you? You looked tired and couldn’t concentrate the whole morning. Is it because of your work?”

Shin Hye was taken aback by her grandmother’s questions as her lips parted slightly. Of course she was tired because she worked until 4am every morning and sleep less than 3 hours every day. She have to rush to the hospital every morning so that she could see the doctor and check on her grandmother’s condition, rush to the restaurant to work before noon and most tiring was her job at the night club. But all those were not the reasons of her being like this today; blurred and confused.

Everything that happened between her and the man she served at the night club last night confused her. He was sober when he said that she looked like her, feels like her, and reminds him of her. But who is that ‘her’? His girlfriend? His wife? He said she vanished and his news was all over the papers but she doesn’t even know what his name is. 

Her heart was starting to race again when she recalled how close they were last night. The way he touched her lips with his thumb, the way he leaned over and their lips were almost touch. She could clearly smell his sweet breathing with mixture of alcohol. That was the first time she was so close with a man.

Na Moon Hae saw the blush on Shin Hye’s face and it makes her smile. “I guess you are not tired but something is bothering your heart.”

“Eo?” Shin Hye raised her brows in confusion.

Na Moon Hae took the orange away from her hand and put it on the plate. She held her hand and caressed it gently. “Shin Hye-ah, tell halmeoni, are you dating someone?”

Shin Hye widened her eyes as she shook her head. “Aniyo.”

A slight disappointment crossed Na Moon Hae’s eyes. Shin Hye sighed softly as she smiled slightly. “Halmeoni, I have no time for dating. I rather spend my time coming here and stay with you, taking care of you. Everybody needs to work and I’m not tired. I want to work hard and earn a lot of money to give halmeoni a better life.” 

Na Moon Hae sighed. “You shouldn’t just put all your time coming here and working. You should spend some times to have fun with your friends. You are only 21 years old. Your mother already married your father at your age. You should find a guy to fall in love.”

Shin Hye pouted her lips playfully. “Your granddaughter is not attractive enough. Nobody wants me.”

Na Moon Hae laughed softly as she caressed her cheek. “Who said my Shin Hye not attractive? You looked exactly like your mother, so beautiful.” She paused and inhaled deeply. “You have to find a man who l