^^ AUTHOR ^^

A few days have passed after Shanshan left for NYC. Until now, Min Ho has not heard anything from his superior. He was anxious for days, especially knowing that there was something wrong with her health.

"Ah, I just hope she would come back soon." Min Ho thought while pacing back and forth in front of the airport with his hands crossed.

It was already the chilling month of December, and the young president was there to meet Lily. He looked at his watch while biting his lip in anticipation. In a minute, his noona will be here.

"Minho-yahhhhhhh!" A sweet, cheerful voice caught his attention, prompting his head to the direction it came from.

Lily appeared, waving her hand happily while dragging her luggage towards him.

Min Ho's world stopped, except for his heart, which started to beat at an increasing pace while the pretty lady approached him.

The moment felt like he was meeting her for the first time. After not seeing her personally for a year, Lily looked even more beautiful to him. Her silky hair grew longer, waving back and forth as she walked. Her body seemed to get stronger and healthier after her one-year adventure.

"Uy," the lady photographer poked him with a smile. "You're drooling."

"Huh?" Min Ho quickly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, only to make the other laugh, making him realize that he fell for her joke. "You..." He flicked a finger on her forehead, making her yelp.

"Yah!" She threw a hand on her forehead and winced with pain. "It's the first time we are meeting again, and this is what I get!"

Of course, Min Ho wanted to hug her, but he just made a smirk. "Let's go." He took her luggage while she followed beside him.

The lady did not bother to look for her friend, Shanshan. She knew what happened, which made her upset too. Despite it, she didn't want to talk about it with Min Ho, which can only destroy the other's mood, knowing that he had lots of things in the gallery to worry about.

After being settled in the car, Lily could not stop talking about her travels in Russia while Min Ho nodded and listened to her stories in quiet admiration. They've gotten quite close, and he was not shy around her anymore.

Ever since the first time he met her with Shanshan to apply for his position in the art gallery, he had his eyes on her. But his shy personality towards women took him long to realize his feelings for her, and even now, he couldn't confess to her directly.

They were already at the highway beside the sea, and the sun along the sea line was starting to set when Lily told him to stop driving.

"I need to take a photo of the beautiful sunset!" She spoke and immediately went to the trunk to take out her camera.

Min Ho watched her with amazement, letting out a scoff. This is why you couldn't get to travel straight with photographers. They always stop on their way to capture a beautiful scene.

He opened the car door and followed her towards the side of the road. The wind was blowing softly, making the woman's dark hair wave gracefully.

Lily was taking several shots of the sunset while the waves crashed and danced below. She was overtaken by the scene that she did not notice Min Ho taking a picture of her, too.

She turned to him, catching him lifting his phone in her direction. "Are you taking a picture of me?"

"Y-yup."

"Make sure I'm beautiful in there," she chuckled before looking at her camera to check the photos she took.

"You're always beautiful," Min Ho said unconsciously, then suddenly realizing what he had just said.

"Well, thank you," she answered while still looking at her camera.

"You're always beautiful to me." He tried saying again, testing if she still didn't mind him saying it.

"I know. You're cheesy." She lifted her camera and took another shot.

"I like you, noona." He confessed.

"I know that too. Now shut up." She mumbled while focusing her camera towards the sea.

"Then when are you going to tell me you like me too?" He put his pocket in his hands and went back to lean on the car. He wanted to complain about it. Now he knew that she knew about his feelings all along, but he wondered why she never talked about it. "Am I being used? Just because you know I have feelings for you?"

The woman sighed, putting the strap of the camera around her neck and walking back to him. "When you confess to me, do it directly. I just heard from Shanshan that you have a crush on me, but you didn't actually confess to me directly."

"Well, I just did."

"That's not how I wanted it to be," she patted his shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile before going inside the car, leaving him stunned.

"What do you mean?"

In the meantime, a tall, handsome guy lay on a couch inside the dark private room he booked in a bar, ignoring the constant ringing of his phone laid on the coffee table in front of him. Jungkook had been drinking almost every night since Shanshan left. He was wasted after a drink of bottles of strong alcohol, wanting to forget. He was in pain, brokenhearted at the same time upset and regretful. It was all these mixed emotions that kept him spending his nights without tasting liquor.

Once again, his cellphone rang, forcing the singer to push himself up and answer the call. "WHYYY?" he wailed at the caller.

"You're drunk again?! Jungkookah! You need to go home now. We have a shooting at 4 AM," RM's voice spoke with a hint of madness in it.

"I don't care," he retorted, not fearing his leader anymore. "That can wait."

"You have been drinking for days! When are you going to stop?"

"Until she comes back," he answered dryly, shutting off the call and throwing himself back on the couch. His phone lit up again, but this time, he did not care to answer the call.

"She won't ever come back."

He began to tear up, still unable to accept that the person who was most precious to him for how many years left him. He sniffed, stopping himself from crying more, and sat up with a deep sigh. He started to fix his mask on his worn-out face and put on his dark sunglasses.

Even if it was dark, he did not want anyone to notice his puffy eyes. Slowly, he walked out of the room and out of the bar. Although he was so drunk, he was careful not to bump into anyone and get recognized. He made sure not to risk his career while constantly going into every luxurious bar in the city.

After several minutes of searching his car in the parking lot, he got in his Mercedes Benz and sighed deeply, confidently gripping the wheel and ignoring the fact that he was too drunk to drive. He started the car, immediately going into a fast speed while driving along the highway aimlessly.

He couldn't get Shanshan out of his mind, and each time he would remember her, he would break down. He just wanted to forget her, but at the same time, he didn't want to let go. He was confident that she would stay with him and his family forever, but her family single-handedly took her away.

Things in front of him began to blur as he pressed more on the accelerator. During the past week, he was restless. Those tiring rehearsals and heavy schedules didn't help him forget. He wanted this pain away. He needed himself to get out from it.

But one thing was clear.

He couldn't.

^^. . ^^

^^ Jungkook dreams of Shanshan ^^