Sunshine. A beautiful anomaly that we as humans are capable of visualizing. Sometimes you can get blinded by it strong rays, other times the silhouettes would come in different intensely hued fonts. A naked creamy canvas was lit up by the bright yellowish colors that this morning's sun was giving to the mesmerizing woman next to me. Her breathing was somewhat audible, yet not a disturbing nuisance whatsoever. My dark brown eyes moved from her slender shoulders to her neck veins and therefore her face which was truly God gifted. I could not help myself, to admire and cheers fearlessly to what I had conquered. Was I being a hypocrite? Maybe, perhaps based on the fact that I was a pure gentleman last night. The habitual smirk turned up on my lips, Jiyeon sensing my intense gaze on her while she fluttered her eyelids open, beaming at once. 'Good morning.'

There was a muted conversation going on between the two of us, delivering mature emotions that neither of us could fully understand. A thunderstruck gleam menaced to show in my dark brown eyes, instantly removing the chance as I mentally slapped the ambiguous streak away. Surprisingly, a little drop of tear fell from her right eye corner that I instantly vanished for good by removing it with my thumb. 'Good morning, Jiyeon-ah.'

Lingering my left hand a bit longer on her heated cheekbone, she shied away while almost turning her body away, but I was quick to stop that from happening. 'What is it?'

Jiyeon bit her lower lip in embarrassment, murmuring a revealing question to herself as a strand of her bangs fell right into the left eye. 'What is the possibility that you get yourself in one bed with your high school crush?'

What, she used to like me in our school years? Wow, I must be the most ignorant person ever. I grinned at the amusing thought, leaning into her lips while I whispered softly against them. 'High if the first party is as beautiful, pretty and gorgeous as you.'

Our delicious breakfast was cut short by time, standing at her doorstep in the dried-up clothing from last night while my right hand took Jiyeon closer into a warming goodbye hug. She grinned her eye smile towards me as I reminded the girl of her schedule. 'You are getting late for your train to Seoul.'

Jiyeon straightened the collar of my jacket, patting it into neat, flattened strokes. 'I know.'

One note, Kim Jiyeon definitely liked her moments of soothing muteness. As if she uses that time to mentally prepare herself. I would rather pass that time in another way, placing my lips on hers hungrily as she returned in the only way I would like it. Breaking the intimate touch, she sighed soundly which indicated huge disappointment. 'This is going to sound pretty stupid. I actually wanted to tell you and should have told you that I will miss you. I mean not that it matters much as you are already coming to Seoul in a couple of days anyway.'

This girl is the epitome of innocence. I tightened my hold on her waist, kissing the bridge of her nose slowly. And then it hit me right in the face or rephrased, her candid words did manage to do so. 'But I will miss you Choi.'

My mouth opened to tell her something I could not comprehend myself, still being able to sputter it without any interference. 'I will miss you too.'

A withheld sigh left her lips voluntarily, asking me a simple but deviating question again. 'Seungcheol, you will not break my heart, right?'

Breaking is a soft word to describe what I was about to do to her. I shook my head hesitatingly horizontally, her eyes disappearing from my clear view. 'I am asking you such a dumb question, aren't I? A man who values his relationships with his close ones can never break anyone's heart.'

Probably taking a dangerous road, I decided to walk on it anyway as I got nothing to lose anymore. 'Jiyeon-ah, do not take me seriously. Suppose if I break your heart, what will happen then?'

The twinkle disappeared at instant, scaring the death of me as she made her eye contact. 'I will break then, as if your life dies after colliding with death.'

Goosebumps were all over my body, barely holding Jiyeon in my arms anymore as she pushed the door open to let me out. A pair of lips were felt on my right cheek, closing my dark brown eyes as she whispered those eight letters without hesitation. 'I love you.'

Honestly, it took me days to believe that I actually grew fond of that old classmate. Jiyeon took a slice of me with her in the most rarest way possible and I was clearly not amused by that. How could the Choi Seungcheol be wavered by an ordinary girl like her? I had to do something, something to let this increasing guilt fade away and make it replace with remorselessness. No ideas were coming up, until the very main meal plated right in front of me. The skyscrapers of Apgujeong lit the glitter in my dark brown eyes, grunting at the taste of strong liquor that drove down my throat while two girls were entertaining me from various angles. Bachelor life is what I am made for anyway. I raised my thick eyebrows in surprise when I saw a raging Minhyun coming into the room, dressed up like if he came from an important event. 'Did you miss the fucking notice Choi Seungcheol?'

The undeniable swearing did not go unnoticed as I knew that my best friend would not curse unless we were in a complicated situation. One of the girls started whispering seductively, making me smirk smugly as I grabbed her upper thigh while sighing at the bewildered guy. 'Why the profanity Minhyun? I am busy as you can see.'

Setting both of his hands on the waist, the best friend grabbed my attention at once while my dark brown eyes shot up to his, expanding at the revelation that filled the space. 'Jiyeon's mother unexpectedly passed away last week.'

Wail washed over my demeanor in one swift as I grabbed my whiskey glass tighter, hearing Minhyun sputtering his frustration without an ounce of pity. 'She expected you to be there for her, being the required anchor in one of the toughest times that someone could ever experience. Jiyeon called you countlessly, texted you through whatever platform and you chose to ignore her with your whole ass stance and ethics. This is insane for even your own good.'

Maybe my intoxicated self started blabbering ludicrous sentences, arrogantly moving forward to lean both elbows on my knees, hiding my dark brown eyes for a moment. 'Is it my fault that some useless stranger died? No. Please let me be what I want to be Hwang. I have said this already, I am a handsome guy who just casually sleeps around.'

Minhyun shook his head disapprovingly in a cadence, making me down my glass at once to grit the upcoming grieve away. 'Keep telling that to yourself Seungcheol. Even that tainted soul will not believe a single letter. You are denying yourself right now and we all can guess why that must be. This is the time that you chose to make her realize the truth? I am ashamed that I am even within your inner circle.'

A hoarse voice that left my mouth raised up to the mirrored ceiling, the girls getting caught off guard by my sudden outburst as I hastily stood up on my feet. 'Then step out of it you loser! Do you want to know the real truth?! Really?! Minhyun, I am going to break Kim Jiyeon more than I already have! She might be better off without me. I...'

And in that exact moment, a familiar silhouette appeared from behind the wall. The usual smiling eyes were nowhere to be found as they were puffy red in sight. Minhyun slowly held the graceful girl back from coming into the intoxicated chamber, pushing her shoulder gently in the opposite direction. 'Jiyeon...'

The clock stopped for a period of milliseconds, my breath getting hitched with emotions I had not ever felt before. She was here. She heard everything. Those eyes screamed hurt, pain and disappointment. Her whole presence vanished from the view again, my heart giving me an order to run after Jiyeon which I followed up immediately. Minhyun had no chance to stop me, a distinct whiff of smoke and alcohol slapping the nostrils as I jaunted outside the venue in search of the one I wanted the most. Drops of water were falling out of the darkest sky, but that did not cover my overflooded emotions as I stood in front of her. 'I...'

Jiyeon bit her lower lip in pain, stopping me from making the first move. 'Must I be punished like this just because I trusted you?'

Uttering a regretful sigh deeply, salty tears threatened to come out at any time soon while I stepped two steps closer. 'It is...I am sorry. I know that I cannot be forgiven no matter what I say. I know that ignoring you was not the best plan that I had. If I am being honest, I did have my serious intentions towards you Jiyeon-ah.'

She looked up into my dark brown eyes, disbelieve captivating her glint in one swift of a marker. 'Serious? If you were even a bit genuine about me, you should have ended everything before something could ever happen. No matter how much fun it was to see the idiot I was for believing you, how amusing it was to see the way I embraced you with open arms. You should have stopped right there and then. If you were even a bit honest, if that is the Choi Seungcheol I knew, then I have never loved you.'

Love is such a powerful word, I felt the bullet hitting the artery in my heart before I grabbed her right hand tightly. 'Jiyeon-ah, although I never said this to someone ever in my entire life, you are the first person that I have came to love so much. I know I was not supposed to make you suffer like that. I tried to extend this day by day and eventually ended up like this. At one point, I felt such a strong connection that I forgot about how guilty I really felt. I was scared to see time passing by, but I wanted to remain as the guy who loved you for just one more day.'

My confession relieved a part of my burden, hopefully scratching Jiyeon's feelings yet that was too much of a good thing. 'Sure, it certainly was not in your plan to actually come to fall for me. What you planned was to see me struggle in pain after I would get abandoned.'

I let my right hand cup her wetted cheek rapidly, the rain contributing its part to our sorrowful exchange of words that could predictably lead to a drastic end. 'Jiyeon-ah, please...'

There was no movement nor stepping back, her lips were the only aspect in motion as they gnashed their harsh sentences. 'Do you not get it Choi Seungcheol? The idiot that you wanted to humiliate will end up loathing you for a long time. I want you to be in as much pain as my hatred, to make you suffer for what you have caused. I hope you will never be all right. If not, I will end up despising myself for knowing you and hating myself for accepting you into my life. I do not want to ever see you again.'

One deep breath later, her warmth disappeared into the streets of Seoul, leaving me wondering about one thing. Gathering our ever-growing hearts, did love really overpower my steadfast believes?

Dimmed colors of our lamps illuminated their lights into the appartement, making the grey couch we were sitting on brighter and more visible. Telling the eventful story was one thing, acceptance from my best friends was the other hurdle that I had to overcome. I stayed silent after what felt like long-dragged minutes, Jeonghan giving me a reassured pat on my shoulder as the sincere smile played on his lips to make me feel better. 'Aera is your daughter. You are her father, Seungcheol.'

Biting my bottom lip harshly, I lowered my head to extent the journey in words as my voice tremblingly moved further ahead. 'When I came back from Daegu to New York, I did try to call Jiyeon after much hesitation. Her number was out of service, and my former best friend had blocked me everywhere.'

Somewhere is my mind wondered a thought around where it said that my friends should have at least taunted me for my wrongdoings. This logic showed immediate life, knowing that my other friend would not understand a single thing while he expressed his distinct emotions. 'Seungcheol, you deserved that. Just clarify this for me, why did you let her take Aera away?'

I puffed a bit of carbon dioxide out of my lungs, eye contacting Joshua while he stood up from our couch to jaunt around again. 'What could I have possibly done better? She is her mother.'

There was a negligible taste of annoyance in his voice that echoed through the room, grabbing his messed-up hair strands as Joshua yelled at me. 'Come on Seungcheol. If this woman was really a mother, she would not have left her at our doorstep. I mean, where was she all these months? It is obvious that she does not care about Aera! And today she suddenly realized that she is Aera's mother? This is straight-up bullshit! Aera's home is right here, together with the three of us. I cannot live without her.'

My neck stretched up to the ceiling, being aware that the gentleman had his total right to say these words to my muddled mind. This was the slap in the face that I needed the most. Jeonghan added weight to Joshua's statement, grabbing my diverted attention at once. 'I cannot agree more Seungcheol. Aera is the U-turn that we truly wished for in our lives. We raised her which makes us her rightful parents and guardians. Do not tell me that you can forget about her, let alone that you can expect the two of us to do the same.'

Following Joshua's suit, I sprung up from the slouchy seat which got me out of balance for a second. My lips parted to whisper my thoughts out, playing on the anticipation of my best friends. 'Jiyeon must have a good reason why she disappeared from her daughter's life. The truth will be recovered by asking her, yet that would be another problem as I got no contact number whatsoever.'

Devastation got me dizzy in one swift, Jeonghan holding me up by my shoulder until the familiar ringtone of my phone could be heard near us. I tapped the lighted screen to answer the anonymous call, slightly hoping that it would be the girl in question. 'Hello?'

A moment of peace and silence, breathing in and out as I watched the daylight seep onto our large appartement windows. The three of us were joined by a rather charismatic man, also known as my former best friend Hwang Minhyun whose dark circles were seemingly more evident. My body experienced little trembles, anger mixed with confusion was the only thing I could perceive. Joshua squinted his deer-like eyes, clicking his head to the side to express his disorientation. 'So let me repeat this for once. You had the audacity to throw someone else's child away without her knowledge? I just do not get it.'

I could hear Minhyun gulping, hearing Jeonghan filling the gaps of the story to make me fully comprehend this situation we found ourselves in. 'Jiyeon was lied to that her daughter was stillborn. Their family association's secretary took the child in her care without her knowledge, refused to raise Aera any further which left you with no other way but to put her in front of our house. And not to let Seungcheol meet his daughter, but because this child became a burden for you. What kind of a friend are you? You should be ashamed...'

The charismatic man stopped Jeonghan's mid-sentence, raising his normal calm voice at once. 'I was protecting her God dammit! Jiyeon is more like a sister to me so if the question was answered, I had the total right to do so because this idiot friend of yours and unfortunately mine broke her. Seungcheol, you can get physically hurt while injuring the heart will cause the wound to last a lifetime. I did exactly what I thought was right in the spur of moment. And I admit I was wrong because more parties became involved than intended.'

I finally dared to put my view up, staring into the former friend's eyes for the first time since he came into our house. 'I know I should have done it way sooner, but I sincerely apologize for my actions. And for what I did to you Minhyun. I ruined our friendship over my foolish believes. Just explain to me why you told Jiyeon that Aera is alive and stayed with the three of us and moreover, how she ended up here in New York.'

My best friends stayed silent throughout our conversation, still feeling their supportive emotions transferring over to my strengthened posture. Minhyun sipped on the lukewarm Jasmine tea, clearing his throat before explaining what happened. 'Jiyeon heard that she was suffering from a rare case of pre-eclampsia. The treatment was not yet available in South Korea, her father being the one who send Jiyeon here abroad with me to get the needed medical care. There was no happiness during her pregnancy, no joy to feel and that is why I decided to give her a life without any hardships and worries. I was wrong, Jiyeon went through a slump and still found herself in that dark pit after months. The spark in her eyes appeared magically when I told her the hidden truth, pressuring me to tell her where I hid her daughter and the rest is no news for you all. Seungcheol?'

I bended down to my knees, rubbing my face swiftly as I glanced up to Minhyun again. 'I need your help. Aera deserves her family to be back together and in order to do that, you and Jiyeon will have to become one once again.'

Standing up on both feet, the other men followed my suit while I shifted my frame in front of my former best friend. 'Although this will be a difficult journey, I promise that I will get my family back together no matter what.'

My hand stick forward to grabbed Minhyun's hand, my other friends forming a bigger fist as we vowed determinedly. Jiyeon and Aera, we are coming for you! 

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FINALLY

I hate uni. Thinking how to drop my ass out of it. 

Nah just kidding, but here is the second-last part of this imagine which is basically a short story at this point. By the way, Seungcheol seems like a scumbag in this story but is he not the sweetest irl? I mean, the man came in blood and flesh to receive their first Daesang at MAMA 2023. Ugh, be my hubby haha. And yes I cried too when I watched their speech. They are honestly the sole deserved winners of all these end-year award ceremonies.

For my (Indian) readers who know the movie which this is based on, I drifted a bit away from the orginal story to make it more my own so sorry if that disappointed some of y'all.  

I am so grateful to all the readers and people who are sticking with me even though I updated moderately slow :-) Love you all!!!

Love,

dahliainjeolmi01