In another part of the city, stood a large penthouse atop a skyscraper. An old man was watching the city below with his hard gaze but his mind was elsewhere. The room opposite to where he stood housed a man who was lying still on his bed.

The young man was not responding nor was he moving an inch. He was still as a rock yet, his eyes were moving. Drool dripped from his open lips and a nurse rushed forward to rub his mouth. His grandfather was still gazing at the city, lost in thought.

​​

A pair of footsteps hurried towards the old man and a short man in his forties came to bow in front of his boss.

"Master!"

Kim Taek glanced at his subordinate. "What is it, Joseph?" he asked in a quiet tone.

"We found the girl who's responsible for the Young Master's state," Joseph revealed. He turned on the wall TV for Kim Taek to watch.

A woman in her early thirties appeared on screen. She donned a lawyer's coat and was ambushed by many reporters. The girl was visibly irritated and shoved them but they kept on hounding at her.

"Will you be suing the former minister for treason?" a reporter asked.

"No comments!" the girl protested but they kept on charging at her. Finally, another young man came to her rescue. Taek immediately recognized the young man.

"That's the Prime Minister's adoptive son," he noted. "And that girl…"

"She's the girl who was playing poker with the Young Master that night," Joseph revealed. "Her name is Han Sunye. Eye witnesses recognized her. At that time, she was posing as a common prostitute and was with another man."

"This man?" Taek asked.

"No," Joseph replied. "It was another man."

Taek did not reply but turned his attention back to the window. Beneath his calm demeanor was a cold fury which was bubbling dangerously in his heart. His beloved grandson, Kibum, had been paralyzed for life. No medicine would work on him and he would never know the pleasures of the world. That girl had attacked his jugular vein, leaving him completely limp.

"This girl made a big mistake by attacking my grandson," he stated. "She'll be punished accordingly. Bring me all her details. You have four hours."

"Yes sir," Joseph said and left the room. Taek was now staring at the blue sky which seemed to be mocking him. The weather was good, too good for his taste. The sun was shining brightly, illuminating the whole world in its glory. The people below were enjoying another sunny day either by lazing around or working. They remained clueless to his plight. No one cared about his grandson who was lying on the bed like a piece of meat.

While he wallowed in grief, the world was celebrating another bright day. And it was all because of Han Sunye.

"You will pay, my little pet," he hissed. "You will pay dearly."

He continued to curse at the sky which was jovial at his sadness.

….

Sunye slumped on to her bed, feeling very tired. The car ride was even more stressful than the court case. She had completely forgotten about Jonghyun's confession. Her mind was occupied with the case and the things she found in SD's bathroom.

Then why did Jonghyun bring it up? And that too in front of his secretary?

She sat up, frowning. There was something wrong. Do men usually talk about their love lives with their secretaries?

Ugh! She groaned inwardly. It was so awkward. She had planned on confronting SD about his medicines but it seemed like he was going to be the one who would charge at her.

But then again, she told herself. Why should he charge at me?

"That's right!" she told herself. "Someone confessed to me and I said no. That's normal. Why would he mind or confront me about it? It's my private business!"

However, the guilt in her heart was saying otherwise. That night, she had wandered into his house, not knowing what to do. Even though she had rejected Jonghyun, all that time, she was thinking of SD only. How she wanted to see him and talk to him. It was a strange sensation but she could not deny her own wishes.

She lay back down, staring at the ceiling. Her heart was beating fast and she felt her cheeks warm up. If SD ever heard that she was thinking of him and blushing, he would never let her live in peace. Sunye was not sure what she felt but for once, she was not pushing these thoughts away. There was an undeniable attraction between them but their secrets were keeping both of them from acting on those feelings.

Sighing, she turned on her side. Her phone lay in front of her and she debated whether to call him or not. Was he mad at her for not telling him about Jonghyun's confession? Or would he brush it off?

Truthfully, she was hoping he would ask her himself. That way she would know that he truly cared for her not as a wishful flirtation but as a friend. Or maybe more than a friend.

"Stop it!" she told herself. "These feelings are taboo. Don't think about them."

But who could stop her heart?

Screw it! She thought and picked up her phone to text him.

"Can we talk?" she texted and pressed the 'send' button.

Usually SD replied to her within five minutes. No matter where he was, he would always reply to her texts to the point that there were times when it felt they were conversing face to face while texting. He also claimed that once she had texted him about a case while he was being hung upside down by a group of terrorists. He only managed to text back to her within minutes because he was busy beating up his assailants just so he could reply to her. According to him, it acted as an 'inspiration' to him.

She was not sure if it was a true story or not. He always claimed he never lied to her but with SD, it was hard to tell.

Minutes passed by and he still had not texted. Sunye had changed into casual clothes and was trying to get her mind off him. She cleaned her house and sorted through her documents while glancing at the clock every minute. Her anxiety was only increasing with each second. He still did not text or call her back.

This is so unlike him, she thought. Picking up the phone again, she texted him.

"Where are you?" she wrote. She put it back down and tried to read documents for another case but her mind just was not into it. Frustrated, she put the papers away and tried to do something else. But nothing would distract her.

Then an idea struck her. Should I try it? She thought hesitantly.

Her face was completely red upon thinking about it. She ran her fingers through her hair, debating with herself. It was an embarrassing act but it was the only way to make SD come running to her.

"Here goes nothing," she finally said. Picking up the phone, she faced the screen. Putting her fingers up to pose as a victory sign, she clicked the picture.

….

Orea stared at the lump of potatoes and rice in front of her. SD had been in a funny mood that day. He did not cook dinner but just mashed up the potatoes and heated the rice from last night. Moreover, he did not even clean his house that day. It was weird because SD was particular about his chores. He claimed it kept his mind sharp whereas Orea believed his brain had rotted off long ago.

"Why am I being fed food for old people?" she winced. "What's for dinner?"

"That is dinner and it's healthy," SD said. He was not eating himself but was simply lazing on the couch. His face was covered with a comic book as he sulked away.

"What's going on?" Orea asked. "Trouble in the lover's paradise?"

SD slightly lifted the comic from his face and scowled at her. Orea understood the root of his problem.

"If you like her, tell her," she groaned.

"I tell that to her everyday," he sighed. "But it seems like she takes another person's confession seriously. Even though she rejected his ass."

When he heard Jonghyun talking about his confession to Sunye, SD wanted to crash the car somewhere just to seriously injure that git of a brother. Once Sunye was dropped off at her apartment, SD had actually considered killing his rival. But the thought of his end goal kept him from maligning the pretty boy's face.

Sunye had texted him a few times after that, clearly wanting to talk to him but he had deliberately ignored her despite reading her messages. He was not angry at her because he had no reason to feel like that. She was her own person and would once day, fall in love with someone and get married. The only reason he did not reply to her texts was because he was not sure if he could control himself anymore. His feelings for her only grew in the past eight years but it was simpler to control them when Jonghyun was not around.

Now that Jonghyun made his move, SD was holding himself back with great difficulty. If he met Sunye now, he might not be able to stop himself from whisking her away, abandoning his pursuit for the throne.

But that was impossible. He could not stop fighting for the throne. He had come too far to back out now.

"You guys are so weird," Orea muttered.

"We are," SD agreed. "But then again, one day, I'll lose my eyesight. If we get together, it'll only burden her. We have to finish our mission before that and then, I can disappear."

Orea clutched her spoon tighter. She had deliberately sent Sunye to SD's bathroom that day so that Sunye could find his medicines and confront him about them. SD was being too carefree about his life and Orea did not want him to keep on endangering his life. Only Sunye could rein him under her control.

Just then, SD's phone beeped again. He sighed and opened the message from Sunye, expecting her to ask about his whereabouts.

But as soon as he saw it, he leapt up, dropping the comic on the floor. His mouth hung open in shock and he was rubbing his eyes to see the text clearly.

"What is it?" Orea asked but SD only jumped to his feet, looking excited. He did not even change his clothes and rushed out of the house like a rabbit chasing a carrot. He even left his cell phone behind.

"What is going on?" Orea muttered and picked up his phone. A picture popped up. It was Sunye's selfie where she posed a victory sign with heart shaped filters on her cheeks.

"Well, looks like his resolve to stay away broke into teeny tiny pieces," she smiled.