35 Do you hate it that much?

"You remember everything?" Seo Tae Il asks, looking into her eyes. "Everything?"

She becomes quiet and uncurls her fingers. "Yes, I do."

"I should go now." Choi Min Ho realizes that nobody is listening to him now. He doesn't try to listen to anyone's mind and leaves quietly while humming a tune. He doesn't go too far though. He watches them from a spot where they can't see him.

Nam Ji Won is staring at Seo Tae Il with complicated emotions. Seo Tae Il is doing the same. They do not realize that Choi Min Ho is gone.

"Tae Il." Nam Ji Won is the first one who breaks the silence. "Don't tell my family that I remember. I will tell them when I feel ready."

"What happened five years ago?" Tae Il asks her. "How did you get hurt? Why did you leave?"

Nam Ji Won sits on the swing again. It's going to be a long talk.

"When my ex-boyfriend broke up for another girl, I felt that it was unfair. I wanted to teach him a lesson. So, I dressed up as a boy and seduced that girl. After she broke up, I stopped contacting her."

She hears him sigh. He must have predicted this. She doesn't look at him.

"Second time, I pretended to be Ju Jimin for money. There were people who would pay anything for a couple to break up. Then, it became a hobby. It was fun. I thought that I was teaching a lesson to the boys who left girls for shallow reasons."

She pauses for a moment.

"Five years ago, I realized that I was doing a wrong thing. Lee Hyo Rin confessed to me again that night. You were asleep. I felt tired of it. So, I left. I came back home and told my father everything. He was disappointed in me. He wanted me to apologize to all the people I have wronged. That's why we left home in a hurry. We met with the accident on the way."

Choi Min Ho can hear her inner thoughts.

I wish that I could tell you everything. But, I can't make the same mistake that I did last time. Lee Hyo Rin is keeping watch on you because she knows that you are suspicious of her. As long as you are with me, you are in danger. A person like her can do anything. It's time that I let you go.

"It's not your fault," Seo Tae Il tells her. He looks into in her guilty eyes. She is blaming herself for everything. He resists the urge to hold her. He wants to hold her, but her despondent smile stops him.

'Those are not the right words,' Choi Min Ho thinks. 'You should hug her and never let her go. Before she falls deeper into her darkness, you should hold her tightly. Can't you see her eyes? She is clearly lying. All she wants is you to hold her.'

"Thank you for being with me for more than five years." She stands up and leans on his chest. "Thank you for being a friend. It's time that I release you. Goodbye, Tae Il."

"What are you saying?" He asks her in a low voice. "Are you going somewhere?"

She chins up to look at him. "I am sorry for lying to you."

He puts his arms around her. "Ji Won, I like you."

She smiles at him sadly. "Thank you."

That's not what he wants to hear. He wonders if she is misunderstanding him.

"I like you as a woman."

She pulls away from him. "When I was Ju Jimin, you treated me like your elder brother. I cared for you as my little brother."

"You doubt my feeling?" Seo Tae Il chuckles. He cups her face. "You kissed me ten times."

"I did." Her eyes are empty of emotions. "You can kiss me back ten times. Then, we are equal."

"That's it?" He feels like she is teasing him. "Earlier, you said that you missed me."

"For the last month, I was not in right mind. If I was, would I do things that I did?" She asks him in an emotionless voice.

Tae Il is irritated by her voice. By the look in her eyes. He kisses her lips, parting her lips with his tongue. His kisses her fiercely, but she doesn't respond at all. Warm tears roll on her cheeks, wetting his fingers. He lets go of her.

"Do you hate it that much?" Her lips are swollen. She looks at him miserably. This is the first time when he feels like someone has stabbed his heart. Did he hurt her?

"Yes."

I hate it because I don't deserve it. I hate myself. I am reminded of that time when I look at you. If I have never dressed up as Ju Jimin, I wouldn't meet Lee Hyo Rin. My father wouldn't have died.

"I am sorry for forcing it on you." Seo Tae Il speaks formally and distant. He doesn't look at her again. He turns around and leaves.

Choi Min Ho quietly listens to her sobs. At this moment, he is the last person that she wants to see.