My Love... by My Side [COMPLETED]

17: No More Chance

"Did you call her?" asks Joe. It has been a week since the incident.

"Shut it, Joe. I don't want to talk about it anymore.." Youn looks lifeless, slouching on the couch in his office room. Joe and Jazz decided to visit him because they are worried about how lost he seems lately.

"You told us you could handle it, but look at you now.." Joe expresses concern for his friend. Youn comes to work as usual, but he appears like a mere shell of himself, looking normal on the outside but with no spark inside.

"I gave you her phone number, why haven't you called her?"

"For what? So she can shut me out again?!" Youn's eyes fill with tears once more. He has lost count of how many times he has cried in the past week.

"Joe, don't push him anymore. Let him calm himself.." Jazz tries to persuade his friend to give Youn some space. Joe sighs, realizing he may have been too insistent.

"I'm sorry, pal... I should understand you more," says Joe.

"It's fine. Maybe I'm too emotional and irrelevant. But I love her so much. All I want is proper closure, at least... even if she doesn't want me back.." says Youn.

"I can convince her to meet you, but I don't think it will work.." Joe knows Rae well. She is strong-headed and hard to sway by others' opinions.

"Why did she run away from me? Is it because I couldn't keep my promise? I just want her to know that I never forget her. Not for a single day, I didn't miss her! I love her so much!" Youn's emotions overwhelm him, and he begins to cry again.

"Youn, don't be like this. I believe one day she will come to you again. Rae needs time, and you need time too. Only time can heal the wound," says Jazz, trying to comfort him. He gently pats Youn's shoulder.

"We need to leave now. Youn, please don't be like this, okay? Be strong.." says Joe. He feels reluctant to leave him in this state, but he knows that giving him space is essential.

Only time can heal the wound.

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

"Morning..." says Taylor. He looks at his sister who is making dinner in the kitchen. He leans on her and places a peck on her forehead. She is startled but then smiles, looking at Taylor.

"Feeling better now?" she nods. There's no way she would grieve for long. She needs to move on from the sadness. Besides, she won't see Youn again, so she knows she can forget him.

"You wanna eat? I'm done cooking.."

"Later. Come and sit here," Taylor grabs her hand and asks her to sit on the stool in front of him.

"I want to tell you that me, Mint, and Sunny decided to throw a birthday party for you this weekend! Don't say anything, don't ever reject it because I already arranged everything. But you need to cook, because your food is the best in the world!" says Taylor, flashing his boxy smile.

"Please.."

"Ah ha.. what did I say before? Never say no?" she looks at him with a sorrowful smile.

"Rae, you always think about me before you. You always threw a birthday party for everyone else, but you never had one. As far as I can remember, you didn't even celebrate your sweet 17 birthday either! So, this time, let us repay you. We gonna have a blast!" Taylor hugs her.

"Thanks, Tay. But please make it simple and small. Just for us only. Think about the amount of food that I need to cook..." she coaxes her voice, asking for his empathy.

"Okay, how about this. We make a barbecue party. We have a fire bone, grill some meat and seafood, roast marshmallows, drink, and tell stories. Like a summer camp?" his eyes glimmer as he speaks.

"Sounds like a good idea. I might just end up making salad, slaw, mashed potatoes, and marinate some meat.." she nods.

"Okay, so.. this party is on!" Taylor yells happily. He takes out his phone and calls Mint.

"Hey, she said okay!! So.." and he spends his entire time discussing the party with Mint.

Rae looks at Taylor. She suddenly feels sad. Taylor is a caring brother. He is willing to do anything just for her happiness. So, she firms her heart to go through all of her problems.

As long as Taylor's happy, she's happy too...

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

Rae is cleaning up the house in preparation for the small birthday party they will be having tonight. She knows that Sunny will be arriving soon to help her with the decorations.

The hanok is quite spacious, so it takes a considerable amount of time to clean it up. But Rae loves this traditional Korean house. She fell in love with it the first time she saw a picture of it that Sunny emailed to her. With the money she had, she bought this compound and made some renovations.

"Ohohoho, hello soon-to-be birthday lady!" Sunny arrives with some materials in his hand. Rae smiles as she puts the broom away and invites him inside the house.

"What is that?"

"Some lights and decorations.."

"It's not a wedding, just a birthday! Why so much hassle?" Rae asks, shaking her head as she sees him take out everything from the bag.

"Who knows, maybe it will end up being a wedding day..." Sunny teases, giving her a mischievous look.

"For whom? For you?"

"Oh... Nope... I haven't proposed to Shea yet!" Sunny suddenly blushes.

"Better hurry, or she might end up running away!" Rae playfully teases him. Sunny pouts and playfully smacks her forearm.

"Where's Taylor?"

"He has a prep class and orchestra practice. The competition is just around the corner, so they need to keep practicing," Rae explains. It's summer holiday, but not for Mint and Taylor, who are busy with exams and competitions.

"Oh, never mind, I think I know where to start.." says Sunny. He goes out to the empty space just next to the kitchen door, where there's a griller.

"Call me if you need anything, okay?" Rae says. She continues doing chores inside the house, checking the marinated meat and some food that she prepared beforehand. Since Taylor mentioned that he might invite some friends for a sleepover, Rae decided to clean up the guest room as well.

The hanok has five bedrooms in total - her bedroom, Taylor's bedroom, and three guest rooms. Sunny might need to go home right away, and his house is not too far from hers, so he won't be joining the sleepover.

A sound of a huge vehicle stops in front of her house. But she leaves it to Sunny to check while she continues preparing the beds.

"Rae!!"

"Yep!!"

"You better come here fast!"

"Why?"

"Just come here! Hurry!" Rae leaves her chores and walks outside her house, gasping in surprise.

"What the hell??"

"Hi, we got a delivery for Miss Raehannah Andrews?" the delivery guy says, passing her a device for signature. She stands there, feeling confused.

"Sunny... Did you order this?"

"No! Are you nuts? I'd break my bank if I did this, you know??" Sunny puts his hand across his chest.

"Where should we put all these roses?" Rae asks, looking at Sunny.

"Just put them inside. Come, let me show you where to put all of this," Sunny asks the delivery guy to follow him.

"Oh, this comes along with the roses as well.." the delivery man hands her a card. She takes it and opens it.

Dear my love Rae...

Happy 28th birthday to you. I hope you will have great years ahead. I know these roses might not be enough for you, but I just want you to know that you're always in my heart. Always...

From...

"Jackson.." she mumbles alone, looking at all the rose petals in front of her.