her || lee know ff

• t w e l v e •

As they walked out of the company, Felix turned to her and took in her appearance. He scanned her figure, noticing her bruised face and the way she held her stomach with one hand. A sigh escaped him, his heart clenching at the sight of her in such a state.

' Thank you lix . '

Areum murmured, her voice barely audible, her head lowered. She began to walk away, but Felix tightened his grip on her wrist. She winced in pain, and immediately Felix released her wrist and lifted up her sleeves. There, a fresh red mark on her wrist .

' did they do that to you ? '

Areum pulled her hand away .
' Im fine , lix . Don't worry , the pain will go away .'
' No , I can't let you go like this . Come '
' what about my ca- '
' its okay , I will send my man later . Now , let's go ? '

Areum just nodded and followed her .

~

' feeling better now ? ' asked felix as he placed a mug of warm tea on the table .
Areum just nodded and take a sip of warm tea .

' areum .. '
' yeah ? '
' mind telling me what happened ? '

She remained silent, unsure of how to begin the story or explain herself. Just as she was lost in her thoughts, Felix placed his hand on hers, catching her attention. Areum looked at him, her eyes filled with a mix of emotions.

' I won't be mad, Areum. Of course, we're still friends. You can always count on me. Just think of me as your close friend, and I'll be here for you. '

As she burst into tears, Felix's heart ached, and he gently pulled her into a comforting embrace.

' I miss him , lix . '

She pulled away , wiped her tears and told him everything .

~

felix pov

Right after she poured her heart out, she drifted off to sleep. Felix's heart clenched as he watched her, feeling a mix of emotions. He carefully tucked her in, making sure she was comfortable, and sat by her side, keeping a watchful eye over her. He sighed.

I guess im late . I feel like I missed my chance . Im not even her choice . I remember her reaction when she saw me at the restaurant where we supposed to eat dinner together with her dad . She's clearly doesnt like me at all . She likes that minho more . Its okay , as long as I can stay by her side .. Its does not hurt at all right ? Anyways , good night , areum . Hope your pain will fade away and replace it with your smile and happiness . Its really broke my heart when I saw you like this .

~

Another day another Hyunjin was chilling in the club, sippin' on his vodka. It seems like a part of his habit now . He was feeling frustrated cause he just lost track of Minho. He really wanted to know why Minho suddenly changed, like he was hiding something. Something fishy that he needs to know . Hyunjin's eyes caught Yoona walking in with a guy that he recognized.

' out of people she choose our boss ? funny. All she wanted the money , literally not caring about the looks . How can she even survived having a s*x with some old dude ? Euw , so disgusted . '

' are you that jealous , hyunjin-shii? '
Seungmin who is the bartender of the club, also known as hyunjin's other friend suddenly speak up .

' nah , why would I ? Im not interested tho , seungmin . You knew me right ? '
' who knows you suddenly having a feelings towards her ? '
' Me ? haha no. I dont like her personality at all . Being a whore all day , tch . '

Hyunjin take a sip of his vodka . Seungmin suddenly asked hyunjin ,
' yah , you knew about areum right ? I mean our boss's step daughter ? '

' yeah I knew her . Why ? '
' I heard that she will be marrying the rich CEO of LeeCorp . '
' yeah . So , whats the point ? '
' Dude , you don't understand what I mean.'
' Then tell me straight to the point , mr. kim seungmin . '
' you stupid . We were supposed to get rich too! Remember how our boss used to pay us such a small amount? So, if his daughter gets married and he comes into a lot of money, maybe he'll share some with us too.'

Hyunjin just chuckle . Seungmin raised his eyebrow , clearly doesn't get why hyunjin act like that .
' why are you laughing at ? '
' You still the same seungmin that I know . '
' huh ? '
' what's the point of having a big amount of money if it doesn't bring happiness to your life ? Money alone can't ensure a happy life . '
' you don't get it , hyunjin . '
' whatever . '

~

After Areum's shift over , Felix took her to the haneul park to hang out, wanting to enjoy each other's company like they usually do since they've both been caught up in their careers lately .

A few minutes later , they decided to take a break from walking. So , Felix excused himself to buy some drinks for them. Not long after , he came back and took his seat beside Areum .As they sat together, the wind in the park gently caressed their faces, bringing a sense of peace and comfort to Felix and Areum. Areum let out a sigh of relief, feeling a wave of happiness wash over her for a moment.

' Areum '
' yes ? '
she said while her eyes still closed .

' Actually I've been wanting to ask you about us. '
Areum quickly turn to felix , she sighed .
' Lix before you continue about that , I just wanna say that Im so sorry . Im sorry I can't do this . Im not ready and you know a- '

Out of nowhere, his phone starts ringing. He quickly makes an excuse to take the call. Areum lets out a heavy sigh, feeling frustrated about how to explain everything to him. She's torn between feeling guilty for turning him down and knowing deep down it's the right decision. A tear slipped out from her eyes , remembering her step dad's threaten.

A greyish bunny unexpectedly hopped out from the bush in front of her . Areum gently wiped her tear and approached that bunny . She extended her hand, wanting to touch it, but the bunny seemed scared of her, hesitantly hopping back a bit. Areum tried to reassure the bunny with a soft voice and calm movements, hoping to earn its trust. Areum turned around in surprise as she heard someone shouting from afar, giving her a warning. Her eyes widened as she saw a male biker struggling to stop his bicycle, the urgency in his voice matching the intensity of the situation unfolding before her.

Areum stood frozen , speechless . Her eyes locked on the biker in distress .Before the biker could hit her, Areum felt a sudden push that sent her tumbling to the ground. As she opened her eyes, she found herself face-to-face with the person who had saved her from the danger. Her eyes locked with his. She didn't know why, but she felt the stare was familiar. She had seen it before. She couldn't recognize it clearly at first because that guy wearing a black mask . That's when it hits her.

' Minho ? Is that you ? '

That guy immediately stood up and bowed to her .

' wait ! '
' Areum ? What's going on ? '
' ah , nothing '

Her eyes still searching that guy's presence but he was nowhere to be found .

If I can recognized him faster , maybe I would have caught him before he dissappeared . Damn , areum why you so slow ?! Im pretty sure that was minho ...

' hey , it's getting late now . Urm , about earlier .. Let's just forget it okay ? We will discuss it later . '

She just nodded .