Beep…

“Sajang-nim, Lee bujang is here looking for you.”

Lee Min Ho turned to the voice that was coming from the phone as he pressed a button on it. “Ask him to come in.”

“Yes, sajang-nim.”

Min Ho put his pen down and looked up when he heard the door opened.

“Hyung.” Lee Jong Suk smiled at him as he walked towards his table.

Min Ho pointed at the chair in front of him, signalling his brother to take a seat. “What are you doing here? You supposed to be at the hotel.”

“I had an appointment with a client nearby this area just now and since I need to pass the annual report to the Finance Department, I just drop by to see you. You haven’t been back for 3 days. Eomeoni is very worried about you.” Jong Suk replied.

“I was just busy these few days.” Min Ho said casually. “So how’s your work at the hotel? You have started working there for a month now. Is everything okay?” He changed the topic.

Jong Suk let out a deep sigh. “Hmmm… okay…”

Min Ho narrowed his eyes at his brother. “The way you reply doesn’t seem okay to me.”

Jong Suk smiled helplessly. “A businessman should possess the quality of leadership, like you. Look at me, how can I lead the whole Marketing team?”

“You have a degree in Marketing. What is wrong to put you in that department?” Min Ho asked.

“The problem is not with the department but my position. I’m still a junior in this area and you just put me to manage the whole department. People will think that I’m sitting in that position because of my relationship with the owner of Lotte Group rather than my qualification.” Jong Suk said.

Min Ho leaned his back against the chair with his arms crossed. “You are indeed the second son of Lee Dong Hwan. What is wrong with that? I was already leading the whole hotel when I was only 21 years old. I know you don’t have experience in business and that was why I put Secretary Kim to assist you. He will guide you and help you whenever you face any problem. You just need to learn and work harder.” He paused as he sighed softly. “Your future will not only be a head of department. Abeoji is not young anymore and I only have 2 hands. I will need you to help me in the future. This company is not only belongs to me. It belongs to both of us. This is our responsibility to be Lee Dong Hwan’s sons. So don’t ever dream that you can run away from this.”

Jong Suk looked down. “Eomeoni will not be happy to hear what you just said.”

Min Ho sighed deeply. “You don’t need to bother what people think and say. You just need to do what you supposed to do. The rest you can just leave it to me.”

Jong Suk smiled. “Should I be grateful to have a competent brother like you? Without you the weight on my shoulder will be as heavy as yours now. Because of you, the stress that abeoji give me lessened. You are always the best one for him.”

Min Ho held his brother’s eyes. “There is a great price to pay in order to become the best one for him.”

Jong Suk nodded his head. “I know. That’s why I don’t envy you and don’t want to be like you.” But then he paused, the smile on his face vanished as his expression changed. “The only thing that makes me jealous of you was So Ra. You had the greatest girl that every man dreams to have.”  

Min Ho raised his brows, waiting for him to continue.

Jong Suk smiled again looking at his brother’s expression. “But now, at least there is one thing I’m better than you. I have the best girlfriend in the world.”

Min Ho’s eyes darkened as he clenched his jaw. He averted his gaze and tried to control his wavering emotions. He then chuckled. “How long have you been with her? How can you be so sure she is the best girlfriend?” He turned back to him again. “She might be the most dangerous girlfriend in the world.” She has the most dangerous ability to change a person, to consume a person’s heart alive, he said silently.

Jong Suk laughed softly. “Although it was not a long time but being with her makes my heart feel safe and calm. She managed to fill the emptiness in my heart. The first time when I saw her in the restaurant, I know she is the one. The one that I won’t let go of her hand no matter what.” He said with a very serious expression but at the same time Min Ho saw a complicated painful gaze in his eyes, which he doesn’t understand why.

He exhaled a sharp breath. He hates to admit but his mood turned sour just by hearing how his brother talked about Shin Hye. “How much do you know about her?”

Jong Suk pursed his lips. “She doesn’t talk much about herself and her past. I know she is an orphan and she have no one left in Korea. She went to US alone.”

Min Ho creased his brows. “Just to study art there?”

Jong Suk laughed again. “I asked her that before. She said the main reason she came to New York was because of Statue of Liberty.”

Min Ho widened his eyes, looking in disbelief. “S-She… said that?”

Jong Suk nodded as he smiled. “That silly girl.”

Min Ho chuckled, laughing silently at himself. Suddenly, Shin Hye’s sweet voice echoed in his ears.

“I wish that one day I could go to New York, sit at a place nearby where I can see and draw the Statue of Liberty right in front of my eyes… with you.”

“I will bring you there one day. I promise.”    

His attention slowly brought back to the reality when he heard Jong Suk’s voice again.

“You shouldn’t dump all your time into your work. You should find someone to fall in love.” Jong Suk continued. “It has already been 3 years. I think it’s really about time you should move on.” He said as he looked at his brother cautiously.

Without realizing it, Min Ho’s hand moved to his neck and play with the rings hanging on the necklace. “There is always something that will stop you moving and keep you in place. Unless I find out the answer, if not I don’t think I can move on.” He looked at him again. “I refuse to move on.” Because I have lost the will to move on, lost the one person who make my faithful heart wavered.

“Do you think she will still come back?” Jong Suk asked bitterly.

Min Ho heaved a deep sigh. “I don’t know. But if she is still alive, I’m sure she will come back.”

Jong Suk shifted his gaze as he inhaled deeply. He then smiled softly. “Let’s not talk about her. It’s almost 6pm now. Are you free? Want to join us for dinner?”

“Us?” Min Ho asked.

Jong Suk nodded. “Yes. I’m having dinner with Shin Hye at the French restaurant in our hotel later.”

“PIERRE GAGNAIRE à Séoul?” Min Ho asked.

“Yes. If you are free come and join us.” Jong Suk invited him.

Min Ho smiled awkwardly as he shook his head. “I don’t want to be a light bulb. And I still have a lot of work to do.” He said. He doesn’t want to watch how both of them act lovey dovey in front of him. The dinner at home that day was enough to make him crazy.

“I know you are very busy but still you need to eat, right. You can meet Shin Hye and I can show you how good she is. You will slowly understand why she is the best girlfriend in this world.” Jong Suk tried to convince him.

Min Ho sighed. To be honest, the way his brother says it was like a challenge to him. He doesn’t need him to show him or tell him about her. He knows her more than him. But this is going to be fun. That was the restaurant he gave the contract to Shin Hye 3 years ago. He looked at his brother and nodded.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

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Shin Hye let out a long sigh when she entered the French restaurant where Jong Suk told her they will be having their dinner today. She couldn’t say no since Jong Suk was now working in this hotel and she don’t want her boyfriend to suspect anything. It has been 3 years since the last time she stepped her foot in this place. All the feelings she had on that night come back haunting her again.    

“Annyeonghaseyo, may I help you?” A beautiful waitress approached her.

She smiled. Everything was the same like that night. The only difference was she is not underdressed tonight. She was wearing a knee length dress with embroidered flowers, not a pair of jean and sneaker anymore.

“I’m looking for Lee Jong Suk-sshi.” And the person she was meeting tonight is not the same one too.

The waitress nodded as she brought Shin Hye to a VIP room, the same room that Min Ho waited for her that night. She sighed again. What a pathetic coincidence.

“Thank you.” She nodded at the waitress politely when she opened the door for her. As she entered the VIP room, her eyes immediately widened when she saw Min Ho sitting there, at the same place, with the same smile, looking at her like how he did that night. And her heart was beating as fast as that night; her body was trembling as terribly as that night too. Their eyes were locked at each other like everything around them seems to stop moving.

“You are here.”

Shin Hye gasped softly when Jong Suk’s voice brought her back to the reality. She gathered all her strength to tear her gaze away from Min Ho. She smiled slightly at her boyfriend. “I-I’m sorry that I’m late. The traffic was quite bad.”

Jong Suk walked to her and wrapped his hand around her waist. “It’s okay, baby. We just reached not long ago.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I missed you.” He whispered with a smile.

Min Ho inhaled sharply as he looked away. He took the wine in front of him as he took a big sip. He cleared his throat awkwardly and shifted uncomfortably on his seat.

Shin Hye stole a glance at Min Ho and gently pulled away from Jong Suk. “What is your brother doing here?” She asked softly.

“I asked him to join us for dinner. I was around his office just now and I think he work too hard. He needs to take a break and at least eat. Don’t be afraid. You see him before. He might look cool but he is actually okay. Come here.” He said as he pulled Shin Hye to the dining table and seated her beside him, in front of Min Ho.

“I have ordered the set dinner for you. The grilled beef rib-eye is the best here. You should try.” Jong Suk said.

Shin Hye nodded with an awkward smile.

Min Ho looked up at her. “Park Shin Hye-sshi, is this the first time you come to this restaurant?” He smiled when her gaze met his.

Shin Hye bit her lip. Still looking straight into his eyes, she smirked. “No. This is not my first time.”

Min Ho was slightly surprise that she admit it straightaway.

Jung Suk turned to her. “You came here before?”

“Yes.” She replied. “Three years ago I came here with a friend.” She smiled when she saw Min Ho’s eyes darkened and the grin on his face vanished.

“A friend? I didn’t know you have friends in Seoul.” Jong Suk asked again.

Shin Hye looked at Jong Suk and smile. “Thinking about that, I can’t really consider him as a friend.” She then met Min Ho’s gaze again. “He was just using me.”

Min Ho clenched his jaw. He felt a fire burning inside of him, extreme anger rushed to his chest.

Jong Suk widened his eyes. “He? That person was a guy?”

Min Ho inhaled a sharp breath before he chuckled and look at his brother. “Your girlfriend is so beautiful. It’s not a surprise that she have a boyfriend before you.”

Jong Suk took her hand and looked at Shin Hye seriously. “Yah, you didn’t tell me anything about your exes before.”

Shin Hye smiled slightly. “I already said he was not even a friend to me. How can he be a boyfriend?” Her eyes were still staring meaningfully at Min Ho.

It was Min Ho’s turn to look away this time. He took another big sip of the wine to calm himself down. He have a strong urge to drag this woman out of this room now and do whatever he can to make her regret for what she has just said.

Jong Suk smiled at his girlfriend. “I’m just joking. I don’t care how many boyfriends you have before me. I just know you are mine now.”

Another wave of anger washed over Min Ho when he heard what his brother said. He sighed in frustration and now he really regret for coming here with him. The level of his sour mood keeps increasing and he felt absolutely breathless in this room with them.

Just when Min Ho was about to tell his brother that he have something to do and wanted to excuse himself, Jong Suk’s phone rang.

He took the phone and sighed softly. He smiled at Min Ho and Shin Hye. “Sorry. I have to take this.” He stood up of his chair and walked out of the room to answer the call.

With Jong Suk gone, the tension atmosphere in the room became worse and more awkward. Sitting face to face together in the very same room, it brought back the painful memory that happened on that night.

Min Ho slowly looked up and the anger that suffocated him a while ago was now vanished. He studied her face and he found the same fear and nervousness on her face now. She was just pretending to be strong when her boyfriend was with her. He still has the same effect on her. She still feels nervous with him around her. His gaze softened when their eyes met again.

“Y-You…” Min Ho couldn’t finish his sentence when Jong Suk came back and let out an exaggerated sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Shin Hye asked.

Jong Suk sighed again. “I can’t eat with both of you. I have to go now. There are some problems with the promotion event tomorrow. I need to rush to the event venue now and meet up with the team.” He then turned to Min Ho.

“Hyung, please help me to send Shin Hye back after the dinner.” He said.

Before Min Ho could answer, Shin Hye quickly cut in. “It’s alright. I can go home myself.” She stole an awkward glance at Min Ho. “I don’t need to disturb your brother. I can take a cab.”

“No way. It’s dangerous to take a cab at this hour. Let my brother send you back.” Jong Suk argued.

“But…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll send her home.” Min Ho cut her off.

Jong Suk took her hand and squeezed it softly. “Don’t be stubborn. You will only make me worried if you go back with a cab. How am I going to concentrate on my work worrying about you?”

Shin Hye let out a defeated sigh before she nodded. “Okay.”

Jong Suk smiled and turned to his brother. “Thank you, hyung. I have to go now.” He kissed Shin Hye’s lips before he walked to the door and stepped out of the room.

Shin Hye sighed again when she felt the burning gaze following her from the man in front of him. Tonight will be very tough for her.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Shin Hye turned to Min Ho and looked at him with a shocked expression. “What are we doing here? You are supposed to send me home.”

Min Ho unfastened his seat belt without looking at her. “I told you I need to get something here before I send you back.”

Shin Hye bit her lip. “Okay. Since you are not free I can go back myself.” She said but before she could even open the door, Min Ho grasped her hand. She turned around and glared at him. “Let go of me.”

Min Ho inhaled a deep breath. “I just need to take something. Just a while. I’ll send you back after that.” He lied. He brought her here intentionally. He knows it was wrong especially she was with his brother now but he couldn’t help but needs to know very badly that she really forget everything that has happened between them.

Shin Hye looked at him for a long second before she averted her gaze. “I’ll wait for you here.” She doesn’t want to go up to the place that had hurt her very deeply. That night when she decided to leave this place, she never plan to come back again.

Min Ho sighed before he opened the door and stepped out of the car. Instead of leaving her there, he walked to the passenger seat and opened the door. Ignoring her struggles, he grasped her hand tightly and pulled her out of his car.

“Yah! I told you I’ll wait for you here. What are you doing? Let go of me. You are…” Shin Hye yelled but stopped and bit her lip when Min Ho turned to her and looked dangerously at her.

“Don’t make me use my way to keep your little mouth shut like how I used to do it last time.” He threatened her with his deep voice.

Shin Hye pursed her lips tightly together, dare not to make another sound.

Min Ho grinned slightly before he pulled her towards the elevator.

Shin Hye clenched her hands tightly in fists when she saw the familiar door, the familiar place.

Min Ho glanced at her before he punched in the passcode. 900218.

Shin Hye saw the passcode he keyed in and she quickly looked away. She felt a pang in her chest seeing that 6 numbers. When she first saw it, she thought that passcode was meant for her but she was stupidly wrong.

Min Ho opened the door and switched all the lights on. He looked at Shin Hye. “Come in.”

Shin Hye closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. She slowly walked into the apartment that she once stay before… with him. When she entered the apartment, her eyes were out of her control. She looked around and a soft smile curled up on her lips unconsciously. Everything was still the same. The couch, the TV, the dining table and even the crystal vase was still there.

“Oppa… ahhh… not there not there… stop tickling me please… oppa…”

“Oppa, you don’t like to watch TV? This drama is very sad. The heroin was diagnosed with cancer and will die soon…”

“Oppa, do you like it? This is my first time cooking galbitang.”

Without realizing Min Ho who was looking closely at her from behind, she continued to walk further and stopped at the side wall in the second living room. Her eyes reddened when she saw the Statue of Liberty painting hanging on the wall. She lifted her hand up and touched the surface of the painting. She smiled sadly as a tear slowly rolled down her eyes.

“You draw this? It’s very beautiful.”

“I wish that one day I could go to New York, sit at a place nearby where I can see and draw the statue of liberty right in front of my eyes… with you.”

“I will bring you there one day. I promise.”     

Min Ho moved closer to her when he saw the tears on her face. Looking at her expression, he was very sure that she remembered every single thing that happened in this house, everything single thing that happened between them.

“You are still keeping this painting here.” Shin Hye broke the silence.

Min Ho looked at her intensely, trying to figure what is in her mind now. “I didn’t throw a single thing in this house. Everything was still here, still the same like 3 years ago. Everything was remained untouched.”

Shin Hye smiled slightly. “You should throw everything away or just sell this apartment off. There are too many painful memories in this house.” She inhaled deeply before looking at Min Ho. “I thought you said you need to take something?  I’ll wait for you outside.”

“Are you sure there are only painful memories?” Min Ho asked before she could walk away. When she remain silent and no intention to say anything, he pulled her hand and pinned her against the wall, caging her with his own body.

Shin Hye let out a startle gasp as she tried to break free from him. But she knows it was useless because he was too strong and every time when he held her like this, she won’t be able to escape. 

He tilted her chin up, holding it firmly in place, forcing her to look at him. “I’m here tonight not to take anything. I’m here to find out something, find out something from you.”

Shin Hye held his eyes and chuckled. “What can I still offer to you, Lee Min Ho-sshi?” She was almost soulless when she left this house the last time. She was completely drained by him. She have nothing to give him anymore.

Min Ho clenched his jaw, trying hard to control himse