Park Shin Hye slowly drifted out of sleep as she let her eyes open slowly and adjust to the new light, the soft light of dawn slow approach that seeped through the curtains from the windows. When her vision was completely restored, memories of last night came back to her in full force.

“Do you want to try and restart everything again with me?

She gently tilted her head up, blood rushing to her face in an instant the moment she saw the sleeping handsome face right in front of her. A small smile slowly curled onto her lips as she lifted her hand very softly to his face and not to wake him up. She tried hard not to gasp, her trembled hand moved closer to his face, hesitated for a brief second before she traced his powerful jawline, the tip of his pointy nose and slowly down to his lips ever so gently that it was like the touch of a feather.

This man… he is her husband… Lee Min Ho…

The redness on her cheeks deepened, feeling his steady rise and fall of his chest under her cheek, the strong, slow thumping of his heartbeat against her ear and listening to his gentle rhythmic steady breathing at the same time. She was cosily nestled in his embrace, his strong arm wrapping around her waist. She blinked her eyes several times, trying to make sure that all this is not a dream. Is this even real? Although she didn’t see the clock but she knows its dawn now and… he is still here.

In the past, no matter how early or how late he came home, no matter what they did, no matter how many times they did on that night… he will surely left the apartment before dawn. When she woke up in the morning, the space beside her was always empty and cold. But this morning, it was warm. He is still here, lying beside her and holding her tightly in his arms. This must be a dream.

After they had the heated conversation… or to be exact, after they openly discussed about their relationship yesterday, they have both came to one conclusion. They will give this marriage a try and start all over again.

As if nothing has happen, both of them acted casually in front of their daughter after their conversation in the room. Shin Hye prepared dinner and Yeo Jin was so happy knowing that Min Ho will be staying at home together with them. They had dinner together, Shin Hye cleaned the dishes after that, Min Ho played with Yeo Jin and keep her accompanied for the whole night.

When he came into the room after Yeo Jin fell asleep, an uncomfortable awkwardness and silence filled the room. Without saying a word, Shin Hye hide herself in the bathroom with an excuse of preparing hot water for him. After he went inside to take his bath, she quickly jumped onto the bed and pretend to be sleeping. She doesn’t know how to face him after the conversation they had just now. She felt embarrassed with her sudden outburst and shamelessly begging him not to leave.

A small, startled, gasp escaped her lips when she heard the door of the bathroom opened as she quickly closed her eyes and forced herself not to move a single muscle. Her hands fisted around the fabric of the comforter the moment she felt the movement and the weight fell beside her.

The silence did not stay for long when Min Ho pulled and gathered her into his arms. Shin Hye’s eyes instantly fluttered open as she held her breath, startled by his action. Her whole body turned rigid when he turned her around to face him. His hand slowly trailed up to the back of her head and crawled in her hair, his lips on her collar bone causing her to whimper. His strong arm was wrapping securely around her waist.

She thought something might happen, but it didn’t. They stayed in that intimate position for a long moment before he broke the silence. He said… he knows she doesn’t want it tonight and he will not force her. He just want to hold her like this and sleep together. He also said… hugging her to sleep will be the first step he took to start anew with her.

Shin Hye didn’t say anything to reply him. She just took a deep breath, stretching her arm out and rested on his waist, pressing herself closer to him. Slowly closing her eyes again, she let his warmth and fresh scent lulled her to sleep. Whatever it is, a dream or not, she just hope this moment could last forever.

And now… she knows it wasn’t a dream. Because… he is still here when she opened her eyes. Shin Hye continued to gaze at Min Ho’s face as the smile on her face widened. Is this the first time she stare at him at such a close distance? Yes, it was the first time. And it was definitely the first time too that they were being this close together without doing anything for the whole night.

“Don’t say the word ‘divorce’ ever again. I can’t deny how much I hate this marriage, but it has nothing to do with you.”

He doesn’t want to divorce her and… he doesn’t hate her.

“I don’t know why… but I was indeed very angry when I saw Jang Geun Suk with you. It might be a man’s ego or possessiveness… I don’t know.”

He doesn’t like other men to be too close to her. Besides man’s ego and possessiveness, could it be… he is jealous?

“But there is one thing I’m very sure. Sleeping with you… is not just because of physical needs.” 

He said… it’s not physical needs. Does it mean… he want her too?

“I’m confused too. I don’t know how I feel for you… I really don’t know. But if I really don’t feel anything… I know I will not let myself to touch you.”

Not every relationship starts with ‘love at first sight’. His heart already has someone when she first met him. It wasn’t his fault that he doesn’t love her. He has every right to be angry for being forced into this marriage. All this while, she thought divorcing her was what he wanted the most. If letting him go could make him happy, she rather end it now.

But… he said she thought wrongly. She is glad that they finally cleared all the confusions and give each other a chance to start again. Although she still wasn’t sure what makes his behaviour changed in a sudden, maybe because of the word ‘divorce’, or maybe because of his misunderstanding between Jang Geun Suk and her, but… she is still willing to try again.

Smile continued to spread across her face as she continued to enjoy the beautiful sight of her handsome husband. Letting herself immersed into the sweet moment, she didn’t realized that her fingers has become greedy and the touch on his face has become braver. The delicate touches tracing the shape of his lips has slowly wake the sleeping man up.

“Ahhh…”

Shin Hye screamed in shock when Min Ho suddenly parted her lips and bit the top of her index finger. She instinctively wanted to pull her hand away, but before she could do so, he was faster and grabbed her hand tightly. With his eyes still closed, his lips curved up onto a smirk. She was completely startled with her eyes widened, big and round looking at him.

“You are very energetic this morning. I hope you enjoy the view.” He spoke, his voice deep and husky.

A light pink blush covered Shin Hye’s cheeks as she tried to pull her hand away. But the more she pulled, the tighter his fingers wrapped around her hand.

The smirk on Min Ho’s face deepened when he didn’t get any response from Shin Hye. He bring her hand to his lips, planting soft kisses against her knuckles. Slowly opening his eyes, he turned his head to the bedside table and glanced at the table clock.

6.15am.

“What are you doing waking up so early in the morning?” Min Ho asked, turning back to look at her.

“I…” Shin Hye looked up and cleared at the same time. “I’m working morning shift today. And… my car is still in the workshop. I need to wake up earlier to… to avoid the long queue.”

Min Ho narrowed his gaze at her. “What long queue?”

“Long queue at the taxi stand.” She replied in a very soft and cautious tone.

“I beg your pardon.” Min Ho asked as he raised his brows. Did he hear wrongly? Did she not understand the whole thing he told her yesterday? He is right here beside her and she is telling him that she is taking a taxi later? She must be kidding.

Shin Hye bit her lower lip and averted her eyes from his intense gaze. “T-The… the taxi stand is usually very crowded and if I’m late… ahhh…” She didn’t have the chance to complete her sentence when Min Ho suddenly pulled himself up and hovered on top of her. He grabbed both her hands and pinned them above her head, not allowing her to move.

He slowly lowered his head, the rush of his breath caressed her lips as he spoke right against . “I think I was too considerate for letting you have a good sleep last night. I should have torture you and give you a sleepless night. I would like to see how you can climb down from this bed and walk to the taxi stand when you couldn’t feel your limb at all.”

Shin Hye’s eyes grew wider, his erted tease reddened her face.  

Min Ho pursed his lips, stared into her eyes and felt helpless at the same time. “Do you know how angry I was when I came back and ahjuhma told me you already left to get a taxi to the hospital yesterday?”

“Y-You… came back yesterday morning?” Shin Hye asked in surprise.

“I promised you that I’ll send you to work. I always keep my words.” He glowered at her.

“But…” Shin Hye blinked her eyes nervously. “… you were the one who left first without saying anything.”

“That was because you made me angry.” Min Ho raised his voice, almost shouted at her. It boiled his blood whenever he thought about that night when she brought up the ‘divorce’ topic. “Come to think about it…” He paused and looked at her meaningfully. “… you are always good in provoking my emotions.”

Shin Hye couldn’t help but let out a soft smile. “You mean… since the time when we were still studying?”

Min Ho’s expression slowly softened and a smirk curled onto his lips too. “I will not marry someone who doesn’t respect me.” He repeated the sentence that Shin Hye once said to him in the campus seven years ago. He chuckled and gazed deeply into her eyes. “I still remember every word you said to me that day. I never thought you would dare to speak to me like that. The impression you gave people are always gentle and soft. And when you suddenly fought back, I was… amazed.”

“You don’t know how annoying you were at that time.” Shin Hye laughed too. “If not because I love you, I think I will give you a slap or…” The remaining words got stuck in when she realized the words that slipped out from . Looking at Min Ho’s gaze that was covered with surprise, she felt extremely embarrassed and wanted to bite her tongue off.

“Love me…?” Min Ho pursed his lips. “If I’m not mistaken, that day was only the third time we met. How can you so easily fall in love with a stranger for only meeting him three times?”

You are wrong. It was the fourth time. Shin Hye whispered inside her heart. He still couldn’t remember the first time when they met at the front gate of their campus. That day, she almost hit by a bike and he was the one who saved her. And yes. That was the moment when he walked into her heart and make her fell in love with him at the first sight.

“I-It… it just happened.” She replied with her voice quaked. She quickly looked away and tried to break her hands free from his tight grip. “Let go.”

Min Ho smirked playfully. “Let go of what?”

Shin Hye bit her lip and looked back at him. The playful expression on his face dazzled her. “L-Let go of my hand. I want to get up.”

“It’s still early. I’ll send you to work later. You can sleep a little longer.” He said.

“I’m not sleepy anymore.” She protests. “I’m fully awake now. If you are tired, you can continue to sleep. I’ll wake you up later. I need to prepare breakfast.”

“That’s not your job.” Min Ho shook his head. “Ahjuhma will do it later.” He smiled mischievously. “And since we are both awake now, maybe… we should do some morning exercises.”

Shin Hye widened her eyes further.

“We already agreed to work this together. I think… we should do something that could improve our relationship.” Min Ho said again.

“Meo? I… you… we…” Shin Hye thought he was teasing her at first and wanted to ask him to stop, but before she could do so, he has already leaned forward and claimed her lips in a deep kiss.

With one deep , his tongue pushed through the seam of her lips to travel beyond, giving her no chance to protest anymore. Her hands were still firmly pinned above her head, unable to move. His lips curled up when he felt her body slowly relaxed against him as she slowly gave in and melted into his kiss.

At first, he was still worried that his decision to give both of them a chance to start again was just an impulsive act and he might regret it the next morning. But when he opened his eyes and saw her the first thing in the morning, his mood was surprisingly good. Just holding her in his arms without doing anything felt pleasant and gave him an unusual good sleep. He likes it.

After a very long moment, the fierce kiss has now turned passionate as Min Ho slowly let go of her hands and trailed down to her waist. Feeling her hands moved downward and pushed his chest softly, he reluctantly broke the kiss when he knows she needs to breathe. His lips went down to the crook of her neck, continued to kiss her there, softly at first and then with more pressure.  

“O-Oppa… no…” Shin Hye mewled, her breath rose and fell together in an uneven and heavy breathing.

“Why?” Min Ho asked lazily as he hooked his finger underneath the strap of her nightgown and gently pulled it down.

Shin Hye gasped breathlessly, feeling his warm lips burned her exposed skin. “I… I need to… prepare everything before… before Yeo Jin wakes up.”

“It’s okay. We still have plenty of time.” He doesn’t buy what she said and continued with what he is now more interested to do. He gently pulled her arms out of the straps and moved the soft fabric even lower, exposing her smooth and beautiful pale skin. When he finally got rid of the last barrier between them, he lowered his head down again and covered her lips with his, plunging his tongue deep into . 

Shin Hye tangled her fingers in his hair and kissed him back, drowning in his manly scent. His large and warm hands were playing and caressing the skin of her back, touching it lightly to feel her smoothness and it make her shivered involuntarily. She knows what is going to happen next. She could hear his laboured breathing, as if he had run many miles.

Two nights ago, she still felt reluctant and unwilling for him to be this close to her. But after last night, everything came and happened so naturally. Although he doesn’t love her or may not fall in love with her in the future, but with him willing to try now, she can finally see some hope in them. And now… it’s the first step heading towards there.

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On the first day of their new beginning, the happiest one among all of them was definitely be Yeo Jin. The word ‘happy’ wasn’t even enough to describe how much happiness she felt when she saw Min Ho and Shin Hye sitting at the dining room, waiting for her to have breakfast with them. They rarely have breakfast together like this, especially with smiles on her parents face. Everyone in this house was already used to Min Ho’s cold expression. But surprisingly he looked happy, as if something happened this morning that satisfied him and brightened his mood.

After they were done, they went down to the basement to take his car and the first destination was Yeo Jin’s kindergarten. When they arrived and stopped the car at the front gate, Min Ho and Shin Hye got down together and opened the door for their little princess. A big and sweet smile was spread widely on Yeo Jin’s chubby face since she entered the car. This was the first time both her parents send her to school together.  

“Good morning, seonsaeng-nim.” Yeo Jin greeted her teacher adorably as she pulled Min Ho and Shin Hye forward with her, holding their hands tightly.

“Good morning, Yeo Jin.” The young woman smiled at her. She took a curious glance at Min Ho before looking at Shin Hye with another smile. “Hi, Doctor Park. This is…?”

“He is my appa.” Yeo Jin quickly cut in before her mother could reply. She glanced up at Min Ho and then back to her teacher again, smiling proudly.

The teacher turned to Min Ho and both of them nodded at each other politely. “Annyeonghaseyo, Mr Lee. I’m Yeo Jin’s class teacher, Im Soon Hee imnida.”

“Hi, Lee Min Ho imnida.” Min Ho greeted her back.

“Seonsaeng-nim, my appa is very handsome, right?” She giggled as she glanced around, looking for someone. “Where is Ji Eun? I want to tell Ji Eun my handsome appa send me to school today.”

“Yeo Jin-ah…” Shin Hye gave her daughter a warning gaze and shook her head softly. She then turned to the teacher and smiled at her apologetically. “Sorry, Im seonsaeng. Yeo Jin was too excited this morning. Please don’t mind her.”

Im Soon Hee smiled slightly and shook her head. “No worries. Yeo Jin is just a kid. She doesn’t mean any harm.”

Min Ho raised his brows, looking at the two women