Chapter 3: The Unwanted Union

wheYoung-jae's heart at ached the moment he saw her standing there drenched in the rain and he had willed to deal with anything or anyone that had made her walk in the rain in the middle of the night crying. His heart ached for this woman he had slowly fallen in love with, maybe not slowly, he had fallen in love with her the moment he locked eyes with her at her wedding. His brother did not deserve her, she did not deserve this kind of life her family had forced her to chose.

He noticed the bruise on her cheeks, who did this to you in said in a slow voice mixed with rage, who dare to hurt you, she did not answer in but stared into his eyes, he stared back. Those eyes that can make anyone get lost in it, those eyes that drew him in and made him thirst for more. He was still waiting for a reply when she leaned in and kissed him and all the self control he had been trying to muster ever since he saw her in her nighties soaked in the rain, left him and as she tried to pull away he pulled her back in wrapping his hands around her neck and looking once more into her eyes, as he kissed her back slowly at first until the hunger in him took over as his will to care for her and protect her increased so did the intensity of the kiss.

The kiss went on for a few minutes before Young-jae's phone rang bringing them back to reality. He stopped and awkwardly went to pick up his phone. it was his younger brother Young-han calling and that was when reality dawned on him, he had just kissed his brother's wife while he is still yet to complete his divorce so technically he was still a married man. He answered the the call a bit nervous he already knew why Young-han was calling.

'Is my wife with you? Young-han said as soon as Young-jae answered the call, but Young-jae hesitated before answering, he glanced back at Mi-soo, she was covering herself and shivering due to the cold. 'I'll bring her home' Young-jae said and hung up. He walked back to Mi-soo and held her shoulder slowly standing her on her feet. 'You need to shower, I'll bring you a change of clothes' and he left her there and walked away as if nothing had happened between them.

Mi-soo got into the bathroom and saw herself in the mirror, she was horrified and embarrassed at what she saw, she had been so out of it that she did not realize she was wearing her nighty and now it made sense to her why people were staring at her. She felt so devastated that she sat on the floor sobbing slowly on till she heard a knock on the bathroom door and she composed herself opening the door just enough for her face to be seen and Young-jae handed her a change of clothes and more embarrassment washed through her. She thanked him and collected the clothes closing the door and she started changing.

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After he called his brother, Young-han started pacing up and down his living room. The thought of his wife and his brother together was driving him insane. He contemplated going there himself but changed his mind as his brother said he was bringing her home. He checked the time again and it was past midnight.

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Mi-soo came out of the bathroom dressed in Young-jae's clothes that was obviously too big for her and she saw him sitting on the living couch dressed like he was about to step out. She walked to him and thanked him for the clothes feeling very shy. 'Come let me take you home he said to her leading the way to the door. She stood where she was. 'Your husband is waiting for you he said emphasizing on the word husband as if letting her know that she was a married woman and nothing can happen between them.

She took a deep breath and walked to him as he led the way to of his apartment and to his car without saying another word to her and they drove in silence. As they got closer to the house he stopped the car and turned to face her. 'What happened earlier was a mistake that should not have happened' he said 'You were vulnerable and I took advantage of that and for that I am sorry, but you are my brother's wife and legally I am still a married man, so let's end this before we get into anymore trouble' he paused expecting a reply from her but she just sat there in silent sadness and it broke his heart but he knew he was making the right decision.

'I hope you can understand and forgive me' he finally said and then her started the car and drove to the house.

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Young-han heard them drive in and as they entered the living room he rushed at his wife but Young-jae stopped him midway and pushed him away. 'How dare you hit a woman' Young-jae shouted at Young-han, 'Is that how you were raised?, How dare you hit someone's precious daughter? 'Precious my foot' Young-han laughed angrily, 'If she was so precious her father would not had sold her off so easily' he added in mockery. Young-jae rushed to hit him but Mi-soo stopped him by wrapping her hands round his waist and he was filled with instant calmness.

'Do you see how she is flirting with you? ' Young-han said angrily, 'Are the two of you sleeping with each other? Young-han asked in anger shoving Young-jae at his chest, 'Your marriage failed so now you want to ruin mine'. 'I have no intention of ruining your marriage but if you can't treat your wife right someone who can will take her from you' Young-jae said angrily and walked out of the house. 'And that someone is probably you right? Young-han yelled after him but he was already out the door.

'And as for you' he said moving angrily to Mi-soo's direction but she ran away and locked herself in her room and he stood outside banging the door and shouting for her to open it but she just sat on the floor closing her ears with her hand and crying profusely.

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In the months that followed Mi-soo did not hear from Young-jae, although she overheard during dinner with her in-laws that he had gone to the States to finalize his divorce and he might be relocating permanently to Korea and after then she had met him occasionally at parties and dinners but he always avoided eye contact and most times he was accompanied by a random woman.

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Young-jae had done he could to get Mi-soo out of his mind but it has proven difficult. He had tried to distract himself with his divorce proceedings and that has been finalized. He had also tried dating other woman but he seems to be looking for Mi-soo in them and they certainly were not her and the relationship had ended badly. It's been months since he had seen her. She had stopped going to parties and he had only gone because it was the only opportunity he had to see her face but he has not been able to in a while and he was losing his mind.

He went through social media and saw that she made a post about being at the vacation house that was close the the beach, his brother had travelled to Dubai with his side chick under the guise of business so he felt she had gone there to clear her head, he kept staring at her picture and then he was filled with and instant urge. He went to his room quickly packed a bag and headed out.

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Mi-soo sat by the pool in the vacation house sipping a drink and going through her phone. One of the perks of being married into a rich family was that you can have a vacation house all to yourself and somehow she was getting used to being around so much money. She tried not to think about her husband as she honestly did not feel like a married woman as she hardly ever saw the man that she was supposed to be married to. Her in-laws during the last dinner had asked them for a grandchild as they did not get any from Young-jae when he was married and that was the reason for the divorce, apparently his wife was not ready to ruin her body by having a child and he was not having it. She smiled at the though of him and suddenly the door bell rand startling her. She certainly was not expecting anyone and she was apparently alone in the area, she was suddenly filled with a sense of dread.

She grabbed the golf club that was in the corner and slowly opened the door and she just stood there in shock her entire defense crumbling down. The person she had longed for, the last person she had expected to see.

As Mi-soo stood there, she couldn't help but question the path she was set upon. The expectations of society, the obligations to her family—were they worth sacrificing the chance at true happiness? She longed to break free from the chains that bound her, to chase after the uncharted future her heart ached for. Was she really allowed to feel this way about her husband's brother?

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