Three days later, within the last ten minutes, there had already been twenty-one incoming calls that were made by Daehyun this morning. I didn't know what else he had to tell me, and I wouldn't care. Whatever it was, I didn't want Daehyun to put hopes in me.

For me, his statement had been quite obvious since two weeks ago. It was enough to make me have to stay away. However, staying away didn't mean that I hated him or felt angry. I only thought that being away from him was necessary.

With a "ting" sound, a message arrived on my cell phone. After seeing that the message was from Daehyun, I was about to ignore it, but my finger acted ahead of my wishes.

"Chunghee, pick up my call. I beg you. I want to talk to you."

Reading the message, he suddenly called me, but my thumb rejected the call immediately and sent him a short message before turning off my cell phone.

"Daehyun, I'm sorry. Please don't call me again. Thank you for everything."

Am I being a bad guy for him now?

I didn't mean it. I had already said that I stayed away not out of hatred, but out of concern not to hurt our feelings both.

My feelings weren't for him, and if I forced something that wasn't the truth, my heart and body weren't strong enough for the painful feeling anymore. By enduring the pain of just one man, it would have made me barely able to stand up. He would also get hurt because of this.

"Hey, Chunghee?"

Donghwa's voice snapped me from this thought. I quickly wiped my eyes towards him who was neatly dressed in the black coat and shirt he was wearing.

"Today I have an important meeting and there is also an invitation to dinner from the Lim family, the owner of the Emperor Group company, to discuss a new channel from the agency, so I might come home late. You ...." He smoothed his sleeves from his coat before continuing, "No need to wait for me tonight, okay? Don't forget to have dinner and sleep early."

"Donghwa?"

For a moment his face became amazed before looking at me with a smile. "What's up, honey?"

"Tonight, there's a performance by a famous French pianist. I do love the music he plays. Will you accompany me?" I spoke with unconcealed expectations.

He took a deep breath like he was complaining, "I told you I was busy today. Next time, okay?"

"No! I don't want to." The refusal made me frown immediately.

There was no more 'next time' for me. I didn't want to wait for the next winter when I wasn't sure that I would see it again or not.

"I'll go even if you don't want to accompany me. Don't you understand? I've missed two performances from that musician because I always obeyed you. And now, after three years of waiting, I don't want to miss this chance again."

"..."

We were silent for a few moments. Only eyes met each other, until I broke the silence again, "Donghwa, I beg you, just this once. If you can't accompany me, at least let me go." This wasn't a plea. I just tried to act like usual which often asked his permission.

Touching his forehead, he sighed and then spoke in a pathetic tone but still sounded soft, "Do you want to go to that show? Are you going to go even if I kneel to you and beg you not to go? If I move the meeting schedule to another day, I don't know if the investors will agree. I fought for this contract for almost a year, will that make you understand?"

"I'll still go. Mind your business and I don't mind having to go alone," I said.

He inhaled and exhaled slowly. "Alright. Looks like I can't persuade you. I'll tell Hoonsik to attend my invitation tonight and move the meeting to another day."

"You don't have to. Isn't the meeting important?"

He smiled sincerely, touched my face gently. "There's no important thing except you. You're the only one."

Hearing this, there was a sudden joy like a colorful glow in my eyes. "But, you promise, right?"

The smile on his face had not disappeared yet. It continued to widen and radiated a warm atmosphere as if it had warmed me in winter.

He stepped closer to me, saying in his deep, intimate voice, "I promise. I'll accompany you." He then kissed my forehead with his warm lips.

"Don't disappoint me this time," I muttered softly as if I had planted that promise in my heart, then waited for it to grow, producing a sweet apple that could keep me going in this relationship.

Yes ... Don't disappoint me. Don't tell me a word with lip-deep that you often promise me. I hope in you, and if your words are true, keep it that way so I can survive for you.

"I won't."

He turned around, was about to go to the door, but I immediately stopped by pulling his wrist. "I'll be waiting for you."

Donghwa smiled and said, "Sure. I'll be back as soon as I can," with a pause, his hand touched my face softly, "I want to spend time with you."

"Don't mind me. You stay with me tonight, that's enough for me."

Paused for a moment, he suddenly said, "I'll cancel my schedule at the office and spend time with you today then."

"What are you saying? You don't have to do that. The people over there will need you," I said, smoothing his slightly crooked tie.

"Hmm, alright. You're right. Then, I'll go first. Don't forget to have lunch. I'll be back this afternoon." He kissed me on the cheek before he left.

After closing the door, I sat with my back against the sofa, then grabbed my cell phone from the table, then turn it on.

When the cell phone turned on, there were a lot of messages coming in. As soon as I saw the messages from Daehyun, I gasped in surprise. It caused quite a sense of guilt in my chest for ignoring him, avoiding him after many concerns he gave me.

I only opened the messages but didn't dare to read them. I was terrified and acted like a loser in the war. Reading it would only make me regret what had I done.

I hugged my knees tightly, sank my head between them, and imagined how bad I would be to someone who was always there for me when I was down with this painful feeling. Ignoring someone who often helped me and cheered me on, made me laugh as if I had lost my sanity. It made me become someone who would never be forgiven in my whole life.

I was indeed a selfless person who was ungrateful and selfish rather than appreciating the kindness of my friend.

It became the deepest and most painful wound.

In thought, the ringing of the phone brought me back from my muse. At first, I thought it was Daehyun and intended to ignore it, but after seeing that the caller ID was 'Dr. Jeong', I immediately answered, "What's going on, doc?"

"Sir, it's been three days since you haven't come to check your condition. Please, meet me this afternoon."

I took a silent breath before replying, "Hmm, alright. There is something I also want to tell you, doc."

"What is that?"

"I'll tell you later when I'm in the hospital."

"I hope that's good news from you, sir."

"Um, but what about we have lunch before talking about business. I promised to treat you, didn't I?" Although my tone sounded calm, there was strong hope for approval from him.

"That sounds good. Come to the hospital around twelve. I know the best restaurant around here."

Agreeing, I immediately hung up. Until it entered 11.00 a.m, I immediately got ready to head to the hospital.

Jeong Hoon was a caring person. All patients he handled would live with such concern. He also had soft facial contour and eyes that always exuded the warmth of spring. Even though he was a bit stiff, he was quite friendly in certain ways.

When I was about to get out of the room, suddenly the intense pain in my head felt like a rock breaking my head. I squeezed my hair with both my hands firmly and slumped down slowly until it seemed like I felt nothing but a crush in my head.

With the shaking legs, I tried to stand up and bring my body back to get some medicines that I put in my wardrobe.

Opening the wardrobe and fumbling around, I reached for some medicine, then immediately drank it in a hurry.

It took a few minutes until the pain subsided. I got up slowly, walking to the sink to wash my face from the tears and blood that came out. Then, I changed my clothes before heading to the hospital.

On foot, the cold air stung my body, puncturing the cotton coat I was wearing.

I walked weakly, without joy on my face, and just kept feeling sorry for myself until my tears dripped without me knowing it.

From the bottom of my heart, I wanted to live any longer by enjoying time much longer; waiting for a miracle in our relationship for a new harmony like it used to be.

But, I had suffered for three years, and now it made me almost give up on the complexities of adult romance. However, knowing love was also enough for me. At least, loving him made me understand more about the grace of love and the pain of being disrespected.