Eighteen [2]

"What are you doing outside when your party is going on… inside?" Hyun Min asked, still carefully holding me with all gentleness.

I swallowed a fake lump in my throat.

My heartbeat was maxing over an abnormal rate.

I couldn't find any words to say to him.

I just stared at him…

…dauntlessly.

And then, he touched my face while slowly wiping my tears away.

I honestly did not notice I had shed a couple of them.

And Hyun Min wiping them off…

I jerked off, standing away from him immediately.

"When did you get here?" I inquired, changing the subject of discussion at once.

"Aera?"

I turned my attention to the soul who had called my name immediately.

Hyun Woo.

Lee Hyun Woo.

My husband.

My baby.

I maintained my composure and tried my best not to spill a tear.

"Hyun Woo." I replied, giving him a beautiful smile.

He scoffed a little and finally caught up with us while Areum slowly tagged alongside him.

"This will be our first time meeting each other, how do you know my name?" He queried, tilting his head to the side a little while raising his eyebrows a little.

He had doubts.

He does that every time he's not convinced enough.

"Ah- my dad talked a lot about you."

"Did he?" Aruem butted in and I shot her a disgusting look immediately.

"Understandable." Hyun Woo continued, finally accepting my answer.

He smiled.

And I did too.

"I see you got the purple dress before your sister, Aruem"

Of course.

I picked this certain dress on purpose.

Just to impress my darling.

Hyun Woo's favorite color is purple and Aruem doesn't know this.

Hyun Woo has been mine before.

So I know this much.

I gave him a little shy smile and he handed the bouquet he had been holding to me.

"The flowers fit your dress perfectly, milady. Specially handpicked for the dazzling one." He added with his sly sweet coated tongue.

I couldn't help myself and smiled wholeheartedly while collecting the bouquet.

Areum scoffed and she rolled her eyes twice.

The devil deserves some jealous bait as well.

Cute.

Someone rushed out, grabbing all four of us attention.

"The dance will soon begin."

"Do I have the honors?" Hyun Woo said to me, stretching his left hand to collect my plush right hand.

Is this when it all started?

Is this when he fell for me too?

Is it love at first sight for him?

Oh, this heart!

Sit still, will you?

I accepted his hand and he led the way back into the mansion while I handed the flower bouquet to the maid who had come to make the announcement.

During the dance, Areum had to take dad's hands while mom took her dad's as well; my grandfather.

And me, I was held dearly by my sweet snow.

My Hyun Woo.

His eyes never left mine as we pushed our body rhythmically to the tune of classical music.

I missed this.

I missed his hand holding my waist.

Like I was his to claim.

Yes, I belong to him…

…and he belongs to me.

And Hyun Min? This is not a time to think about him. He was probably standing out with our school mates while they watched us; the centerpiece of the celebration for the night.

Suddenly, Areum moved out of the dance lap with dad and she grabbed a drink from the tray a maid was passing by with.

I've seen this before.

She stylishly walked up to us and eventually spilled the content of the glass on my dress.

Hell!

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" She panicked, dropping the glass on a table really fast. "Are you okay?" She asked, feigning concern.

That was on purpose, Areum.

"Are you okay?" Hyun Woo asked, touching my bare arms and as I raised my gaze to look at him, I caught sight of Hyun Min, lurching forward a little to check if I was okay.

Sigh.

"I'm fine." I simply said. "I will go clean up."

I walked away briskly towards the bathroom.

Areum is always there to destroy things and when I came back to the dance hall, she was gracefully swinging with Hyun Woo.

I clenched my fists tight and bit my lips.

And then…

"Do you want to get some air?" Hyun Min's voice whispered into my face. "I have somewhere to take you to as well." He added and showed me my weakness.

His smile.

I didn't know when I got out of the mansion and how I carefully got into the taxi he had hailed down.

We arrived at his pre-planned destination, and it was a simple open space with no single soul lurking around.

"What's this?" I asked him while still looking around to take my environment in.

"We shall see." He said, pulling me along with him into a small garden with lots of pretty flowers and the moon set a romantic illumination around us which also complemented the small little yellow bulbs surrounding the flower garden.

It was pretty.

"When did you get all these prepared?" I marveled.

"I-I didn't do anything." He stuttered and I knew he was lying.

He cleared his throat and walked towards the single bench in the garden. He pressed a button on a music box and a soft melo classical music began to play.

He walked back to me and said;

"Dance with me," He requested politely like a gentleman.

"You don't dance." I replied, a little stunned.

"For you, I will." He continued still holding his hand out for me to grasp.

I took a slight breath in.

And then, I smiled and nodded.

…talking his hands gracefully and we danced.

It was perfect.

My heart fluttered a little and I tried to avoid his gaze while succumbing to the awkward silence between us.

"When did you learn how to dance?" I had asked him curiously looking into his eyes for the first time since the dance began.

"Me-Tube?" He chuckled.

What?

"So, the cliché attitude you showed me yesterday was for the dance?" I gasped taking backwards steps as required of the dance.

"About that, I'm sorry. I had to practice with my sister so I wouldn't make any mistakes when it comes to you."

I smiled a lot.

And then,...

"You have a sister?" I asked, a little bit taken aback that my shoe slipped out of my feet due to misplacement.

Tf?!

Pulling me away to sit on the bench, Hyun Min crouched down before me and wiped my foot before slipping my foot into the shoe.

"You don't have to though…" I mumbled like a princess.

He smiled softly and pulled out something from his suit's inner pocket.

What's about to go down?

He showed it to me and slightly opened the small box he had pulled out.

Pretty.

My eyes screamed.

A pair of cute earrings were sitting gracefully in the pouch and I almost jumped into them, but I had to hold back a little.

I cleared my throat, trying to show him how bossy I am.

"Other guys get girls' necklaces, but what is this? Earrings?" I complained, hoping my arrogant side was visible enough in my tone.

"A little difference makes everything special, no?" He countered my attack rendering me speechless. "May I?"

"Not like I like them, but you can." I scoffed.

How can I not like them?

I totally love them!

Cuties.

He sat next to me pulling me to himself a bit and he carefully wore the earrings in my ears while I watched his side features.

Sharp jawline…

He turned, after pulling a finishing touch.

"Beautiful." He muttered.

"Uh?!"

"The earrings… they are pretty… on you."

Tch.

"Aera," he suddenly began to say. "I want you to always be happy. I want to see a smile brighten up your face and make your day perfect."

"Why?" I asked as a smile crept onto my face poking a small dimple out.

"Because seeing you without a smile makes me worried. It makes me question myself, what is wrong with her? What is going on in her mind? Is she okay? It just keeps bothering me and all." He confessed heartily.

"Why?" I asked again, still full of smiles.

And if he continues, I might pour out with a wild burst.

"Because it's you."

The world paused and all we did was stare.

Stare into the depth of our souls.

When was the last time I was genuinely happy with a hearty smile on my face?

When I heard Hyun Woo's voice before my accident?

Or when I got married to him?

No, it was when Hyun Min unlocked his phone that night.

And in this moment, he is right here with me, making me smile again and this happy.

And then,...

Hyun Min began to slowly move closer to me while my heart beat sequence began to run past the abnormal rate.

This is not right!

Hyun Woo!

I pulled away abruptly.

"I h-have to go back, my grandpa will probably be looking for me by now." I stuttered a little walking away in an instant without looking back.

I got into the waiting taxi and my mind got flooded with eons of thoughts.

Was I too rash by leaving him behind?

This is stupid!

I got back home pretty late and the party was about to be wrapped up, but I managed to slip back into my room without calling unnecessary attention to myself.

Settling into my bed, I kept sighing, wondering if everything was going the right way.

The door suddenly barged open making my heart skip a beat.

Areum!

"What the hell is your problem?!" I screamed at her, really annoyed with how she barged in and out of my room without permission or knocking.

"I could ask you the same." She arrogantly replied pulling a stunt which meant she was angry and everything she was about to spill out was business.

Huge business.

"What do you want?" I continued, my tone calming down a little as I folded my arms against my chest.

"Do you like Hyun Woo or that guy you invited here… what's his name again?... Hyun Min?, and be brutally honest with me." She demanded.

How does she know his name?

This never happened in my past life's phase.

But, I was open to new things that are this flexible and relatable.

"Why does that seem to bother you?" I retorted, rolling my eyes at her.

"I have to know where I stand at least… you seem to know your way around Hyun Woo already while still flirting with that peasant boy." She flared, her tone rising really fast.

I scoffed and shook my head.

This is not the time for this.

"Let's go have our bath, your anger will cool off after a cold wash and we can talk about this too." I slowly said, pulling my dress off already.

"Bath my foot!" She cursed, dashing off immediately.

Well, I have to face this night all alone.

I walked towards my bathroom and carefully wrapped my fingers around the knob, not sure if I was safe to open the door.

What will happen when I close it again?

Will he show up out of nowhere?

Taking a deep breath in, I pushed the door open and got myself ready for a very quick bath.

But as the water seeped into my hair, Hyun Min marched into my mind and I was extremely worried about him.

Did he get home safely?

It was pretty late then.

Was I too mean?

Creak...

The door slowly opened and I sighed.

Areum?

Tch.

"Did you not say, 'bath my foot'?" I mimicked what Areum had said earlier while rolling my eyes and making a turn.

But…

He was here again!

With the same outfit.

With the same stance.

I gasped.

Unable to scream.

Why is this happening again?

And he blurred towards me, stabbing me the same way he had done the first time.

And he bashed my head against the wall horrendously.

And there was blood.

Lots of blood.

And then, all I could see was…

…infinite darkness.