1990

THIRD PERSON POV

"Seongjoo, you... you love me... right?" A young woman asked a young man. They were both in their mid-20s. And they held hands as the young man smiled.

"Of course I do, Yeongji! I love you with all my heart, you know you're the only woman I love!" Seongjoo replied as he looked at the woman.

Song Yeongji. She was the woman this young man desired to be with until he dies. He was her first love, and it was the same for the boy too.

They met in highschool, and they were college students now, getting ready to graduate.

"But... Seongjoo. What if your parents don't approve of us?" She asked as she hung her head low.

"Then I'll make sure to convince them that you're the right one for me. You're the only one I truly love, Yeongji and I'll show them that I love you!" He replied, looking into his lover's eyes and Yeongji smiled softly, before looking at him.

"Then... please. Promise me, that you'll never forget me, even if... even if we part ways. Or even if God seperated us," Yeongji said and Seongjoo looked at her before looking down.

"Yeongji, we're never going to split up! So there's no way I'm forgetting you! Please!" Seongjoo said as he placed his hand on hers.

"I hope what you're saying won't keep my hopes up high. I trust you Seongjoo, and I'll support you in whenever you go," the young woman replied and Seongjoo smiled.

"Oh, I'm so lucky to have you in my life. But I already told you, my dream is to create a company and make sure it stands at the top of Korea. And I'm going to make you my wife," Seongjoo said as he placed her hand on his cheek, looking at her.

"As long as I'm with you, that would be enough for me, I'll stay with you through thick and thin," Yeongji smiled warmly at her lover.

1991

"Y-yeon... Yeongji!" Seongjoo sobbed as he wiped his tears.

"What? What is it... Seongjoo? Why are you crying? You know it makes me sad too," Yeongji replied as Seongjoo's arms were wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly as he was seated, his head resting on her stomach.

"I... I... I'm sorry!" He cried as he wiped his tears.

"What are you sorry for, Seongjoo? You can tell me anything," Yeongji asked.

"I.... I don't want to get married," Seongjoo sobbed and Yeongji's eyes widened.

"What...." she trailed off.

"My parents... they've already set me up with this woman. And I don't want to get married to her! You know I only love you!" Seongjoo said as he closed his eyes.

"Why... would your parents set you up with another woman? Didn't we already.... tell them?" She asked and Seongjoo nodded.

"They... didn't like you. So they got another woman for me, and her name is Sehye. But I don't want her! I want you! Only you! Or they'll drop me off school and I'll never make it!" Seongjoo said with his eyes full of sadness.

"Seongjoo, I love you very much. But you must put yourself first, creating a company is your topmost priority," Yeongji replied.

"So get married to her."

"Why? Do you not love me, Yeongji? Why would you let me marry a woman I don't know?" He asked and Yeongji looked down on him before smiling weakly.

"If that's what it takes for you to reach your goal, then do it. Like I said, I'll always be here for you, and I'll be with you as long as you still love me," she said and Seongjoo smiled at her, softly.

"I love you. I love you Yeongji, you will always be the person I will cherish in my heart," he said softly and Yeongji smiled as she played with his hair.

1992

"I'm heading to the company to see how its doing Sehye, take care," Seongjoo said as he took his car keys and coat. He glances at the woman who was cleaning the tables, and he makes his way to the door to get into his car.

Just last year, Kim Seongjoo agreed to marry Sehye, and they had a good and contented household, where they got to know each other. On the other hand, Yeongji agreed to work in the Kim household for some extra money.

Or maybe it was because Seongjoo offered her a job with a very high pay.

Whenever Sehye was around, Seongjoo would ignore the maid or would be a bit professional with her. But whenever Sehye was out, he would ask Yeongji about how his day went and if she needed anything.

Sometimes, Yeongji would get insecure about herself whenever she looked at Sehye. She always wondered about it since Sehye was definitely prettier than her, and had a smaller body than hers. However, she had a good personality.

"Yeongji, can you get me some fruits at the market later?" Sehye asked as she peeled some fruits, looking at the maid as she nodded.

"Yes.. yes.. ma'am," she said slowly, but her eyes widened as she felt the sudden lump coming from her chest going to her throat, and she coughs before looking at the wife.

"E-excuse me for a while, I need to... go to the bathroom," she said before running towards the nearest bathroom, and her eyes widened as she got on her knees, coughing into the toilet bowl as she felt her head get dizzy.

-

It was 7 in the evening, and Seongjoo just arrived at the door, he placed his belongings down before hanging the car keys and looking at his wife that was sitting next to the table.

"I'm home, Sehye, how are you?" Seongjoo asked as he gave her a smile, and Sehye returned it as she approached him.

"No, you tell me about yours, I've been home all day, you should talk to me about your company," Sehye said as she wrapped her arms around Seongjoo's neck, and he nodded.

"I have to change first, wait for me and we'll have dinner together," he smiled before slowly slipping her arms off of him, and he makes his way to the shared bedroom.

"Seongjoo...."

Before he even stepped inside, a voice whispered to him, and he stopped in his tracks as he turned his head towards the person.

"Yeongji.... what is it? You know we're not supposed to be close to each other because of her, you know? She'll tell my parents," Seongjoo said and Yeongji looked down on the ground before slowly looking up to meet his eyes.

"We... we need to talk," she said and Seongjoo looked behind him, before looking back at the young woman, before nodding.

"Fine, we'll talk later. After Sehye goes to bed, so we won't get interrupted," he replied and Yeongji agreed.

A few hours later, Seongjoo slowly rose from his side of the bed, looking over to Sehye who was fast asleep beside him. He sighs deeply before standing up, walking towards the door before opening it, making his way to the living room where they agreed to talk.

There, he saw her sitting down on the couch, her hair in a messy and tousled bun as she wore her dress that was used for household chores. And Seongjoo's lips slowly curves up at the sight of her.

She always had this soft spot in his heart. No matter if a different woman sleeps beside him every night he always gets swayed by that woman who first stole his heart.

"Hey," he said as he approached her, standing infront of her form that was seated. She looked up at her supposed to be lover and smiled softly at him.

"Hey, it's been a while since we've been alone like this," she replied.

"Yeah, I missed you... alot. Our talks shorten every time we meet," he says and she nods silently, looking down on the floor.

"What is it that you want to talk to me about?" He asked, and Yeongji looks up at him, unsure of what she has to say.

"Seongjoo, I'm pregnant."

Seongjoo's eyes widened, looking at Yeongji as his eyes lowered down to her stomach that doesn't have the slightest bump yet.

"You're... p-pregnant? How?" He asked as he looked at her, his lips trembling a bit.

"Yes, Seongjoo. I've been throwing up a lot lately and.... my periods haven't come," she explained and Seongjoo looked at her before nodding.

"Oh, of course. Yeongji..." he trailed off, his face emotionless and stoic, probably from the shock.

"But.... we can't just raise the baby when we're not married! What will happen if they find out that it's not Sehye's child?" He asked, and she looked at him before biting her bottom lip.

"But Seongjoo, you're the father of this child that I'm bearing. You can't leave him! I thought... I thought you would be happy to hear the news," she said.

"Yeongji, if you were my wife, I would definitely be happy. But I can't be when we're not married," he explained.

"I see. I understand, Seongjoo. It's sad that we aren't married yet and we still love each other," she sighed to herself, clenching her skirt as she looked at him.

"But Yeongji, I don't want you yo abort the child. It's ours afterall, it has the right to live. But I can't take responsibility! Not when... not when Sehye's also pregnant," he mumbled, and Yeongji's eyes widened as she felt a sudden pang in her heart, as if a sudden pain hit her and she bit her bottom lip harder as she hung her head down.

"Oh, she's also... pregnant? But... don't worry, I do plan to... raise the child myself if you don't want to," she said softly.

"S-seongjoo...," she continued, her voice coming out softer than usual.

"Do you still love me?" She asks, and Seongjoo's eyes widened a bit as he looked at her.

"M-maybe.... I do... maybe... I don't, but I... don't... think we should be... seeing each other anymore, even though I love you, it seems impossible for us to keep going with her in the picture," Seongjoo trailed off, and she looked at him, her eyes glassy.

"Well then... thank you for taking my hopes up high, thank you for doing your best to keep loving me, thank you for making me trust you, I still remember the time you would even talk about the future with me, but it seems like I won't be there anymore," she said, and Seongjoo's eyes widened.

"Yeongji, that's... that's not what I-"

"But I'm asking you for only one favor Seongjoo," she said as she looked down.

"Before we.... start to see each other as strangers in one house."

"Please... when this child is born, let him stay in this house before he starts to go to school, I promise I'll raise the child into a good person. But please, be there for him when he needs you, talk to him and treat him as a friend, without telling him you're his father, so that he wouldn't be lonely, that's all I want, all I want is for him to be happy and healthy," she said as she slowly stood up from her seat.

"....fine, I'll do it, but... in order for me to support your pregnancy, you must work here and I'll double your pay, I'll even give a pay once a week for you until the baby is born," he replied, not maintaining eye contact with her and she stares at her.

"Is this... what's going to happen to us, now? Are we going to start ignoring each other as we share the same roof? Just like that?" She asks and Seongjoo turns to her.

"Yeongji, I have a wife. My wife is pregnant, and I think I should prioritize her, for our sake. Even if I still have feelings for you, it's still the right decision," he explained and Yeongji nodded.

"I understand. I guess, I'll have to go now. Thank you for everything, Kim Seongjoo," she smiled softly as she passed by him, and Seongjoo swallows the sudden lump in his throat, a hard tug in his heart was felt as he looked at her figure, and then he felt something wet roll down his cheeks.

Is he... crying?

Meanwhile, Yeongji also wiped the tears that stained her rosy cheeks. She was sobbing into her pillow for the past 2 hours. She looked down at her stomach and smiled, rubbing it.

"It's going to be alright. We're going to be fine. I'll take good care of you, I promise. I promise you'll grow into a fine person without your father."

2019

"Yeong... ji...," a voice echoed in the empty room, and it was 4 P.M. No one was there, they all left already. Mrs. Kim Joonseo already left the room for Seongjoo to rest. And his two other sons left as well.

The old woman walked inside, carrying her small purse as she knocked on the door, before opening it, a small plastic bag hanging on her arm.

She closed to door before walking towards the old man who was on the hospital bed, breathing through an oxygen.

"Yes? I came here to watch over you, Mr. Kim. Your wife said that I should be here for you if you need anything, she said.

"Yeongji?" Seongjoo called and Yeongji set the plastic down before walking towards the weak man, looking at him.

"Do you... need anything?" Yeongji asked and Seongjoo reached his hand out, and placed it on hers.

"I need... to tell you something, I have lots to tell you. I have been bottling these things for... many years but I can't tell them," he said.

"What... is it?" She replied, her hand not leaving his as he closed his eyes slowly.

"I... regret saying all the things back then. And we were still young, sometimes I always called myself stupid for saying that. I should've been... there for you when you needed me the most. You deserved... someone better," Seongjoo explained as he looked at Yeongji.

"S-seonjoo... there's a reason why I never left you...," she said as she looked at the man.

"I... regret not marrying you when Sehye died while giving birth to Seokjin. I... regret marrying someone else just so the company would expand," Seongjoo whispered as he looked at the old woman.

"And now... it's too late because we're old now. I can't say these things to you... ever since we let each other go," Seongjoo said.

"Seongjoo... I never saw you as a stranger. I saw you... as my first and last love, I still loved you, that's why I never left," Yeongji replied, holding his hand tightly.

"I... really don't deserve you. I should've married you in the first place," he cried and Yeongji sighed.

"Maybe it's better if we weren't married. Because if we did, I wouldn't be seeing you being successful and happy at the same time," she replied.

"I was never happy... I never felt it ever since I left you," he sighed.

"By the way, how's our son? Is he healthy? Is he happy... even without me?" He asked, and Yeongji smiled.

"I'm sure he is. That reminds me, do you remember the time when we were still together, that you already planned the name of our first child?" She beamed and Seongjoo looked at her before nodding.

"You see, I didn't name my other sons that name, because our son is my first child," he said.

"You never knew his name, didn't you? And I bet you forgot," she said.

"Yeah, it was a long time ago, I don't remember it. And I'm getting older too," he replied.

"I named him Kim Taehyung."

-----
(UNEDITED)

A/N:

Give this book a vote pliz •3•

Yes, Taehyung is older than Seokjin by three months. I did it so the book would make sense lol.

And I placed this chapter here because I wanted people to know more about Mr. Kim and his "affairs", and I want you to understand his father more.

And also the reason why I used his first name instead of the usual Mr. Kim lol.

Cover by @Bangtan_Smollchimchi❤