Meetings after meetings, interviews after interviews, press-calls after press-calls; all were regarding about the unexpected death happened at their hotel. And the world wouldn't stop questioning about it even though the answer was given many times before. They had to keep bugging the company to apologize and demanded them to act responsible for everything.

Seokjin actually spent two days straight in his office, too busy answering calls and arranging meetings all by himself. Now that his secretary was gone, he was compulsed to do everything by himself, he even had to make his own coffee. Unable to find the documents and files, unable to keep working all alone, he was suddenly reminded of the terrible act he committed.

Gone.

Yoon Min was gone.

She was all he could think about. She wasn’t across his office anymore, she wasn’t around anymore, she wasn’t here anymore. He didn’t even know where she was. It was driving him crazy; the slow murder caused by her absence and the endless stress on him.

And when things finally decided to calm down, when the reporters stopped having interest in this matter, he could finally take a break and go home. After thanking all the employees, he drove his car for the first time in a while and it started to make him remember her again. He was feeling strange and empty; as if a large amount of his heart was gone and the remaining part was only bleeding profoundly.

When he came back to his apartment, he tiredly took the elevator as he leaned against the wall and shut his eyes. He remembered how she used to get excited and childish while riding an elevetor. He remembered her face everywhere he went and he couldn’t stop it, or wanted to.

He suddenly stopped the elevator to another floor, where she used to live. Taking a gulp down his throat, he stood in front of her door and hesitated to knock on it. He knew clearly there was no her inside as she must've left already, but he just wanted to knock and find her. A glimpse of her gaze would numb the uncontrollable pain in his body so he craved for her soul now more than anything.

He never told her he knew her pin-code secretly in case she would get offended. It was the date of their anniversary; as in his and Jisoo's, but according to her, it was also their friendship anniversary. Easily opening the door, he took a soft inhale as he stood still and scanned her flat. Her apartment was empty, the furnitures left as they were, a different kind of darkness lingering everywhere inside. He proceeded to check the rooms inside for practically no reason, maybe to satisfy his depressed heart with the thoughts of her living here before. She didn't take anything much with her, which caused him to start worrying about her.

Sighing, Seokjin found himself sitting on her bed and gazing at the pillows neatly placed. He didn't know why he was missing her already this much that he wasn't able to make himself believe she did something wrong at the first place. It felt like a terrible stab in his chest, a damage done to his body no one could mend. The pain was stabbing him right square in his heart, in his chest. He could feel his heart ripping from his body very slowly. His own hateful words that he spat at her out of anger repeated in his mind and it was a surprise how did he manage to hurt her like that.

Did he really do that to her? Was he that cruel? Was he that much of a monster? He was so mad at himself, for letting her slip away from his grasp.

Flashes of memories came rushing in; her soft whimper, her frightened expression, her eyes seeking million answers behind his cruel behavior towards her. And he couldn't bear it. If his own actions hurt him this much, he couldn't imagine what had he done to her even after she went through so much. Sometimes, words pierce through our hearts and leave an impression forever in our memories.

How was he supposed to live with this fact?

Without her?

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

A week.

More than a week had passed.

A week of pretending that Seokjin was alright, keeping up a stubborn facade to convince himself that he was doing perfectly okay without Yoon Min. A week of spending days with a colorless heart, with no smile or excitement. A week of doing everything by himself in his office and still not posting an official announcement that he was in need of a new secretary. A week of surviving with a dejected heart that longed for her in every second with so much painful intensity.

The employees in his office shot secretive glances at each other, murmuring and whispering baseless rumours and truths that sounded like shit. But he knew everyone was very disappointed with his action of firing a bright, helpful secretary. It seemed like they believed in her more than him.

Luckily, Seokjin managed to keep his emotions at bay whenever he was around Jisoo. Strangely, she was quite happy these days. She stopped visiting him at the office which was weird too. He suppressed his feelings of loneliness and despair from her, not wanting to have her add salt on his wounds. He knew clearly she would never console him so he didnt bother.

He spent the following days working in his office day and night, using that as an opportunity to keep his mind busy on something other than Yoon Min. At every place and moment of his life, he felt her absence and found himself in helpless situations where he didnt know what to do without her now since she's gone. It was funny how he wasnt hating her or being mad at her for creating a blunder in his business, but regretting his decision of kicking her out of his life. As if he had done a terrible mistake.

All these negative, aching thoughts were playing inside his mind so much that he didnt notice the large gathering of people in the middle of the street. He saw them once he drove his car nearer. Curiosity poked the back of his head so he got out from his car and took a look at the gathering. By the size, he guessed someone must've got into an accident. He walked forward and squeezed himself through the crowd of chattering people. Once he was at the front, he widened his eyes to see who the person was.

It was the same woman from the TV.

She seemed quite injured. Her limbs looked like they were coming off from her body under her clothes. Half-unconscious, she laid on the ground helplessly, wishing someone to help her. But the people there weren't doing anything. The teenagers were recording the whole thing while the others just kept watching her pain.

Seokjin wasn't like them. He immediately ran to her and dropped to his knees to look at more closely. "Are you okay, Miss?" Though it was a meaningless question, he asked it out of control. When she gave no response, he looked around and yelled, "Did somebody call the ambulance or not!?"

The people blankly looked at each other. So he sighed and called the ambulance himself. People are so unpredictable sometimes.

The ambulance came after a few minutes and they took her to the hospital. Seokjin didn't know why he also got into the ambulance and went to the hospital with her. But he had a slight reason behind that, for he wanted to know something from her directly.

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

Yeji felt her limbs in pain as soon as she felt her eyes fluttering. She heard the sound of a beeping and people's busy chatters around her. She opened her eyes and found herself in the ER of a hospital. Her left hand was plastered while other parts of her body were bandaged. She had no idea what was she doing here.

Oh, the accident.

She remembered after a second and felt at ease. At least, she didn’t die.

“Are you okay?”

An unknown voice asked her so she assumed it to be a doctor or some nurse and turned her head around to face him. She never imagined that he would be standing next to her bed, looking a tiny bit worried for her. Wait, what was he doing here?

Yeji wanted to speak but the pain, the tiredness didn’t let her. She blankly stared at him instead.

Seokjin understood her problem and decided to clear her head, “You were in an accident. I brought you here. The doctors said your left hand was broken but it'll get better soon.”

She bit her lower lip and softly nodded her head. Her mind was filled with questions about him, but she mostly thought of his kind action of bringing her to the hospital instead of leaving her at the road. She doubted if he recognized her as the woman who exposed the hidden truth to the media and wrongly accused someone else.

“And I paid your hospital bills so don't worry about it.”

Looking at him again, she didn’t know how to react to that so she nodded her head again. Okay this guy had a huge heart.

She found him slowly grabbing a chair and sat on it before looking at her. Her clever eyes figured out he wanted something from her. That's why he was still here despite his job being done as a stranger. She also guessed he might ask her about the incident so she was panicking mentally then.

Though she was greedy and worshipped money, she strangely felt guilty for acting like a bitch towards someone who eventually saved her in the future. But she took the money from his girlfriend so she must keep her mouth shut no matter what.

“I know this isn't the right time to ask this...”

She was getting ready for him to ask her about the death but he completely surprised her when he asked her a different question.

“Were you sure it was my secretary?”

Yeji blinked her eyes, not knowing what to reply.

Seokjin licked his lower lip and ducked his head, “It's just...I don't feel right. Right about what I did. She kept denying the allegation but I fired her, I didn’t listen to her. Since she left, I feel like my own heart is mad at me. I don't feel good. I can't sleep at night, I can't think straight, I feel broken honestly.”

He suddenly looked at her which made her taken aback, “I-I just need to know if the woman who told you about the death was really her. It could be anyone, right? You could mistake her for someone else too.”

Yeji never saw anything like this. She never witnessed a committed man willing to deny the truth for another woman. She never met a man whose eyes were holding a woman's picture instead of sparkles. This wasn’t normal for sure.

Without thinking for the good, she shook her head, again denying his question. She knew she was breaking his heart but she had to, she took the money after all.

Seokjin's last hope shattered on the ground when she denied. Yeah, what was he hoping? Did he really think the same woman who said Yoon Min was the one, would decline the truth and say something else?

Guess he just really missed her.

He gave a tiny, faint smile before getting up from his chair and turned around. He did nothing but wasted his time. He really should get a grip on himself. He was practically dying for some girl he took care of for so many years and developed secret feelings for her, which wasn't the point. The point was he shouldn’t be immature about this. She was just a small part of his life, a bird of a large tree that would eventually fly away some day.

She did something wrong and he should accept it. No matter how he thought she could never do something like that, she did and that's the truth. So he should move on from her and focus on his life.

Not to mention his life was Yoon Min, which he didn’t know.

So he attempted to walk away and from that moment, he should forget about Yoon Min forever, no matter how painful it was.

“It wasn't your secretary.”

Seokjin stopped in place and turned around instantly. The one sentence he wanted to hear so much for the last few days, he finally heard that. Heart accelerating speedily, he walked towards her bed again and stared at her like an eagerly boy.

Yeji didn’t know why she blurted out that. Yes, she was feeling bad for him because he could've left her on the road, but he didn’t; instead he helped her on her way to the hospital, paid her fees which she never could, saved her selfish life. She just couldn’t let him believe something that wasn’t the truth, especially something he wanted to hear so eagerly.

Well, she took the money anyway. It was hers so she could turn her back on Jisoo now. When did she ever think of morals?

She began to tell everything, “It wasn’t her, your secretary. I-I was...paid for that.”

Seokjin widened his eyes, “Wait, wait so you're saying Yoon Min didn’t say anything to you?” It seemed like he wanted to hear that more than the original truth.

Yeji nodded her head, “It was all part of the plan. To blame her for everything.”

He couldn’t take in everything all on a sudden. The truth was coming out, undressing itself layer by layer and gradually turning into more shocking.

“Who paid you?”

Yeji sighed, before inhaling a deep breath,

“Your girlfriend. Kim Jisoo. She was the one behind everything.”