After two weeks of staying in the hospital, Seokjin requested the people there to discharge him as soon as possible. He told them he had to return to his work, but mainly he was bored there so he used his job as an excuse. The doctors hesitated, but eventually decided to let him go but gave strict orders to have his medicines timely and take care of himself.

His secretary was checking the room thoroughly in case they were leaving anything behind. While him and Jisoo were waiting outside together, talking like normal couples. Yoon Min finished every task needed for his discharge and exited the room to join the others.

“Sir, we're ready to go.”

Jisoo clapped her hands first, “Great, let's head back to the hotel. I wanna visit the beach one last time.” The smile she had at last melted her boyfriend.

“Sounds good.” He said before started walking.

All three of them were shuffling through the hospital hallway, Jisoo somehow walked a bit faster than them so she was at a distance where she couldn’t hear their conversation. So Seokjin took this chance to elbow the girl beside him who startlingly glanced at him.

“Where do you wanna go?” He whispered, keeping his eyes straight on Jisoo.

Yoon Min didn’t expect him to ask her that. She furrowed her eyebrows, wrinkles appearing on her forehead, “What do you mean? Aren't you going to the beach with Ms. Kim?”

“No, I'll just tell her I'm not feeling well to go to the beach. You and I can go somewhere.”

She didn’t like his idea, for one, he would be lying to his girlfriend which she didn’t want. And two, she really didn’t want to hang out with him after whatever happened in Canada.

So with a soft sigh, she replied politely, “I don't wanna go.”

Seokjin flung his head towards her and almost snapped, “Why not? Don't tell me you have plans with that dancer.”

Yoon Min mentally face-palmed at his extreme jealousy. Why did he get jealous anyway? He didn’t like her or even planned to, instead only toyed with her emotions quite a lot. At this rate, she couldn’t help but fall for his protectiveness hard. If he was her boyfriend, she would be so happy for his cute jealousy.

She opened her mouth to deny but that's when, she received a call on her phone. Deciding to answer it first, she reached for her phone and took a look at the contact first. Seokjin peaked at her face and murmured to himself, “Must be that guy.” Frustration took over his mind, wishing to snatch that phone away from her; he walked further ahead, leaving her behind to talk alone.

Why was she so interested in that guy anyway? The only unique character Song Kang had which he didn’t have was height. That guy was taller than him by some inches. Other than that, he was better at everything than him. He couldn’t get why she liked that guy. What did he have in him? That’s why, he called her dumb sometimes for unable to figure out who is best for herself.

He didn’t realize he was thinking all these so easily when he shouldn’t at all. He was acting as if he never had a girlfriend at the first place, always tried to win Yoon Min's heart but now she was liking someone else. But his story was different. He had a girlfriend; a not-so-loving beautiful girl with short temper and ego. His forbidden feelings for his secretary was something he should be ashamed for.

A hand on his shoulder interrupted his endless thoughts as he turned around swiftly, only to find Yoon Min in an unexpected state. She seemed like she was panicking, her eyeslids blinking quickly, trying to breathe properly. She wanted to say something but she was unable to due to shock.

All Seokjin did was, he scoffed and mocked her, “What, your Kang-ssi decided to block you?”

“N-no...Sir, it-t's your m-mother.” She barely let out, facial expression breaking down slowly.

His teasing smile faded away when he heard that. He knew what she implied. Everything came crashing down when he realized what was coming after. His fists tightened and fear grew inside his heart. He definitely wasn’t ready for it. Not now.

Yoon Min didn’t know how to break the news so she just went for it, her own heart starting to cry as she whimpered, “S-she just passed away...about half an hour ago.”

---------------

It was Yoon Min's first time to attend a funeral.

And it broke her heart to think about whose.

They had to return back to Seoul that day, leaving memories and questions left in Jeju Island. The hospital informed Mrs. Kim had a sudden cardiac arrest, causing her heart to slow its pace and rest in the final sleep. They all thought she was going to make it, she tried her best by not giving up to death for years; but she wasn’t strong enough to breakthrough the curtains of life.

The funeral was filled with a tense air, dullness, hopelessness and desire residing in the air. The cold silence of the atmosphere was the scariest. Most importantly, the emptiness and the loneliness. Not a lot of people came, approximately 16 or 17 people, mostly from the hospital. The nurses and a few doctors came to show their sympathy towards the dead woman. But the person who surprised her was Mr. Kim, Seokjin's father. She had no idea how he got the news, but within two day's time, he was here on his first wife's funeral. He brought sufficient foods for the visitors and arranged the funeral in a rich way. As if his son was penniless.

Thinking of him, Yoon Min once again looked at the centre of the attraction, the guy who lost his mother at an unexpected time. Seokjin was sitting, leaning against the white wall, his eyes staring at his mother's portrait for God knows how long. Jisoo was there beside him too, only she was standing. Yoon Min guessed some people only came just to see the actress and capture her photos. No wonder why the media was here as well.

The people paid their condolences to Seokjin, who wasn’t even bothered of being grateful for their presence. He looked wrecked, hopeless, like a mad man, staring at her photo where flowers were being placed as respect. Jisoo mostly bowed to the people and accepted their words of hope and encouragement. She looked rather different, a side of her Yoon Min never knew existed. She was sad too, smiling sadly and acting like a responsible girlfriend. It was unknown whether she was pretending or not, how did she manage to gain love for her boyfriend's late mother all on a sudden when she never visited her at the hospital?

Everything was complicated, hard and sorrowful. Yoon Min only watched people coming, paying respect, gossiping, drinking and eating, leaving. Mr. Kim was handling everyone’s meals and Jisoo was thanking everyone for coming. But Seokjin? He did nothing. He sat there like an unbrothered, heartless man.

She wondered if she was the only one who could see his actual heart crying in pain, black pouring out from his chest. His eyes were begging, begging to something that would bring back his mother. His wholy body was aimless now. He was scared to think he was an orphan now. His father didn’t count, he had his own family.

The word Orphan terrified him.

-------------

The clouds in the sky also showed their condolences by showering their tears on Earth. Rain began pouring some time later, after Mrs. Kim was buried peacefully in a graveyard. It was around 8 p.m. when the rain started. Yoon Min was the only one in the funeral place, clearing out the alcohol bottles and plates. The others went back home, soon forgetting about the dead woman and focusing on their daily life.

She did cry since the last two days. Mrs. Kim's death pushed her quite hard unlike she thought. Funny how she wanted her permission to call her mother. If she knew she would leave the world so soon, she would've considered Mrs. Kim as her own mother since the start and take care of her. She felt like she didn’t do enough for her. She should've done something more to keep her alive.

Torturing thoughts occupied her mind as she worked there alone, thinking to finish up everything quickly and go home. A long sleep could help her.

Suddenly, the sound of high heels clicking on the floor echoed and she didn’t have to guess the person. She looked at the entrance and found Jisoo coming, searching for something. When her eyes caught her, she asked worriedly,

“Have you seen Seokjin?”

Yoon Min furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head. “I thought he went home?”

“He was supposed to wait in the car but when I got there, he wasn’t there. I searched the whole place already.” She sounded frustrated.

The thought of his disappearance worried Yoon Min as she began to feel unsettled, the concerned feeling bugged her to search for him immediately. The clouds roared outside with lightenings every few minutes, almost impossible for a person to stay outside in this storm. But a person can lose his mind after his loved one's death. Staying out in a storm was nothing.

Breaking her thoughts, she asked Jisoo, walking towards her, “Have you checked the graveyard?”

“Don't be stupid. Why will he be there?” She rolled her eyes in response.

“That's the most likely place for a mourning son to be, Ms. Kim.” Yoon Min kept it simple before running out of the place in search of him. Jisoo frowned and followed her.

When she arrived at the porch, she couldn’t see properly due to the mild storm in the dark, rain pouring in heavy amounts and wind blowing profoundly. But her heart helped her to sense his location and like she guessed, she actually spotted someone, kneeling beside Mrs. Kim's grave.

She pointed her finger there and told Jisoo once she stood beside her, “There he is!”

Jisoo squinted her eyes to look at him clearly and exclaimed annoyingly, “Is he mad? What's he doing there in the rain?!”

The other took first decisions, “He's probably emotional and misses his mother. He needs you, Ms. Kim. You should go and bring him back.”

“Are you kidding me, Secretary Song? There's no way I'm getting drenched in this rain! I don't even have an umbrella.”

Yoon Min mentally wanted to slap this woman first, how could she think of herself when her boyfriend was going through a hard time? She should feel his pain instead of herself. Shaking her head, she didn’t ask her permission and stepped into the heavy rainfalls without caring about anything.

Jisoo opened her mouth to stop her, but she was already running in the rain.

The harsh wind wasn’t letting her move, the cold droplets fell on her like stones, the thunders scared her a lot. But she didn’t stop. Her mind was only swirling around Seokjin, rendered her ignorant of the uncomfortable feeling of wetness and coldness. After running through the water cascading from the night cloudy sky, she was near the certain grave and called out his name.

Seokjin didn’t answer. He didn’t hear her. He didn’t even realize it was raining heavily around him, soaking his black suit and hair. He didn’t even know what he was doing there. He just felt like being close to his mother might numb his unhealed pain.

“CEO Kim!” Yoon Min kneeled down beside him, taking her jacket off and held it over his head to block the rain from touching his skin. Though she knew it was useless since he was already drenched a lot, she wanted to help him as much as she could. The cold wind made her shiver as she gritted her teeth and closed her eyes to avoid the water.

“What are you doing here? You need to get back inside now!”

He heard her voice, faintly. He placed his hand over the new grave and smiled bitterly. “Everyone leaves, Yoon Min.”

Yoon Min breathed heavily, the rain affecting her health badly. But she stared at his face sadly, wanting to listen to him first.

“My father left first. Now Eomma. Soon Jisoo will leave me too. Am I that bad? A-Am I really a jerk that people gets tired of me?” If it wasn’t for the rain, his tears would've been more visible.

The clouds roared again, creating a quick lightening in the sky. The cold rain was intensifying each minute, making it harder for her to stay there. But she had to. For the sake of him.

“I-I don't know how I feel. I feel so sad, so broken, so guilty. I feel so useless. My heart is numb and I can't think straight. She left me. My own mother left me without any goodbye. I-I feel so... lifeless.” Seokjin started sobbing painfully, chocking some times due to the suffocating pain and the coldness hovering over him. “Why? Why did she have to go? Why couldn’t she s-stay?”

Yoon Min couldn’t stand anymore as she hugged him in a way she could again. Mostly to protect him from the cold and to emotionally help him, she patted his back for comfort and whispered a few consoling words. “It's going to be okay. She has returned to God who will keep her safe now, CEO Kim.” It was really hard for her to speak in this heavy downpour, fearing the thunders and feeling weak to the cold wind.

“I'm never gonna leave you. I promise. I'll always be there with you.” She didn’t lie when she said those words. She meant every word of them. Just how she was sticking by his side in this rain, she wanted to be there for in his hard times.

Seokjin felt himself into a dark pit of despair that was far too deep to escape from. His lungs were suffocating, his sobs were becoming faster and faster. Desperate cries left his lips, his heart bleeded bloody tears out of his chest. But there was warmth around him; he knew he was home in someone's arms, someone who was protecting him.

A sudden realization took birth in his mind and he suddenly woke up from his uncontrollable mind. He looked around, only to find raining everywhere, and Yoon Min there with him, equally drenched as him. He gasped in realization as he tried to speak but the water droplets didn’t help.

“Sir? Can we go back now? Please? You'll get sick!” She yelled to make sure he could listen among the heavy rain dropping on the ground.

Yoon Min stood up on her feet and pulled him to stand. Seokjin was clueless for a while, how could he be so fool? How could he let her protect him? She grabbed his hand and ran again. He stumbled a few times due to the headache and heartache both, but thanks to her endless support, she managed to bring him inside the funeral room.

Meanwhile, Jisoo did nothing. She stood there on the porch, watched how a mere secretary didn’t hesitate to run through the rainfall to protect her boyfriend. She watched how she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend again and how he was crying with her. She watched how she brought him back from the rain, never caring about her own weak heart.

She had to do something about Yoon Min.