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"good night babe." he said, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss on her lips. that night park soon returned the kiss knowing her husband was a cheater.

and she couldn't sleep at all. the thought of being in the same bed with him somehow made her blood turn cold. she did not hate him. park soon knew she didn't have morals to even mention it.

but still it hurt and now she couldn't stop thinking about how he must have felt when he found out about her affair with hyungwon.

he must have been destroyed and too much in love to insist in a wedding that shoudl have never happened in the first place.

"shit." she mumbled when she noticed the clock on the nightstand. it marked 12:17 am. i just can't sleep, she thought.

she reached out for her phone and found two texts.

sarah parker: soon... are you okay? you left without saying goodbye.

sarah parker: did something happen?

she rolled her eyes. of course something happened, kim daesom happened. but she decided it was better to leave it like that, instead she decided to ignore hyungwon's texts.

she just looked for a contact, the same she looked for this afternoon. the one she didn't dare to call.

but she dial it this time.

after the second beep, the voice on the other line seemed surprised.

"noona?"

"ah... yes it's me. i am sorry to call so late-

"no. not at all... please... i was awake."

"really?"

"uh y-yes, of course. i was r-reading."

she didn't believe him, but her desire to speak to him was stronger.

"i know it's late... but can we meet?" she said stepping out of the room, trying to be as quiet as she could. she turned once more to get a glance of kihyun, who was resting soundly on his side of the bed.

so with that she went downstairs and looked for her boots and coat.

"s-sure... where?"

"central coffee would be fine, they open 24h."

"alright, be there in 20." he said. there was a long silence.

"and noona?"

"yes?"

"thanks." he simply said before hanging up. she shook her head as she glanced at kihyun's car keys.

her heart pounded against her chest but with a decisive move, she finally grabbed them and held them between her hands, staring at them in detail.

memories flashed on her mind, of the day when her whole family, backed up with dr. lee, practically prohibited of driving.

she missed it, she missed driving on her car. but they've told her it was for her own good.

soon swallowed hard and left the keys back into the pot and finally walked out of the house.

"a cab will be enough." she mumbled on her way out, after closing the door.

she knew it was late but even knowing, she also knew it was the only time jinyoung had free because he worked all day.

the cab arrived and she walked out after paying. park soon noticed his car was already there and she wondered when did her little brother grow up like that?

he was usually always late. it didn't matter the occasion, he was always fashionably late.

but tonight was different. he was there before her and his face said it all. he looked worried, hands on his pockets, moving his feet to a uncertain rhythm, glancing to both sides, looking for her.

and then her heart twitched. this was the man who betrayed her too. not only was her brother but also the person who betrayed her years ago.

once his eyes found her in the sea of cars and people walking around, he felt relieved and something else she could find in his eyes, guilt and sorrow.

she walked slowly towards him but with rushed steps he finally arrived her side. eyes glassy and rest raised.

"noona?" he mumbled with a voice full of regret. she knew he was regretful, he had apologized for years and he had tried to mend things with her but she always would refuse.

park soon could expect be betrayed from anyone in the world, even from kihyun, but never from her own brother. not her little brother jinyoung.

"yah... stop looking at me like that." she said rumbling his wild and dark locks, on her tip toes. he noticed something was off, she would always glare at him or kick him around or just don't talk to him at all, because she was mad and she felt he had given his back to her.

but tonight was different. she didn't come off as rude or angry at him, she seemed just overly sad.

"noona? a-are you okay?" he said checking her body for either wounds or sickness. he couldn't believe she called him this time.

she just looked at him and remained silent for a few seconds. her little brother was a grown up man now. and even after all these years, his eyes remained of that little boy who yelled noona at her and would chase her around the house, begging her to play cars with him.

she sighed. "no. i am not." she simply said, suddenly he worried as he took a step towards her, his hands grabbing each side of hers, squeezing it tightly, shaking her softly. "what is it? i can help... you know i am a lawyer, i have a good position, i am above-

"stop it." she said, he seemed agitated. she didn't want to lay problems to her little brother, not now that he had a loving family and a good job. she didn't want to worry him at all but she needed some answers.

"i am... fine but... i need to talk to you about something, actually ask you something." she said. his eyes widened in realization as he let her go softly, he finally nodded. "coffee?"

once they were inside the coffee station, they both picked a secluded table and sat down, a cup of warm coffee on her hands and a cup of hot chocolate on his. "i can't drink coffee past 6pm, it's hard for me to sleep if i do that."

she wanted to laugh but it was not a time for laughs. "i understand." she simply said.

he nodded nervously, he didn't know what to say or ask next, but he was willing to endure or answer anything, just to have her big sister back into his life. "what is it?"

"uh?" she asked, a bit distracted.

"uh... you said you wanted to ask me something, what is it?"

she looked into his eyes, wondering how exactly she was going to ask him what was on her mind but she didn't find a right way to do it.

"listen... i know you're still mad at me... but if you need my help, know that i'll do anything in my power to help you okay? anything. just tell me what's going on." he seemed desperate, his hands holding onto the warm mug as if his life depended on it.

she smiled, a sad smile.

that was jinyoung, he never lacked conviction. that's why he became a lawyer.

"i just need some answers."

"shoot." he said nodding eagerly.

she sighed. "what happeened 15 years ago? - she started. his eyes widened softly and his chest started raising - and don't give me the authorized version. i want- no, i need the real version jinyoung."

"noona...-

"no. if you really care or cared about me, i need you to tell me the truth. it's been 15 years."

he swallowed hard as his heart filled with worried feelings. could he though?

can he do this?

he scratched the back of his head, hesitantly he looked into her eyes. "aish..." he mumbled, looking away as he dropped his shoulders. "i know you lied in court."

that statement made him jump on his seat. "w-what?"

"i know it okay? so you can just tell me the truth now. it's time jinyoung... it's been so long-

"fine." he cut her, nodding eagerly.

"i am sorry but i can't keep lying... - she frowned - i am so sorry for what you're going to hear, because it will change everything you've known so far and it will surely destroy your life... but you're right. it's been so long and i can't keep doing this."

her heart raced for the first time that night, she leaned over the table, her hands looking for his, squeezing them tightly to somehow provide him with reassurance.

he looked down, at the table avoiding her eyes. he couldn't face her. it was too shameful.

"yes. i lied in court and i've been regretting it for the past 15 years... because i wanted to be a clean lawyer. i believe in true justice and i try to live that way... but i had no other choice... it had to be done."

she seemed confused now, a big frown appeared on her face. "what do you mean?"

"i was asked to say my statement that day... in court. i lied about hyungwon's state. i lied about him attacking hyunwoo with aim to kill him. i lied about hyungwon being aggressive towards other nurses and to attack them as well. i lied about him in every possible way and i've been living with that for years."

she blinked twice, confused. "w-what?"

"i know hyungwon didn't want to kill hyunwoo. i had to interview him as well. he just wanted to knock him down to create a distraction, of course it was wicked but not to frame him as homicide case." he was singing like a bird. she coudln't believe her own ears.

"i know he wasn't a murderer yet - he said full of regret, eyes glassy - yet i prosecuted him as one. and i am truly regretful for that." he said looking down.

she looked away, her heart racing. she knew he had lied in court but not to this extent.

"what else?" she asked facing him now. "what else did you lie about?"

he swallowed hard and sighed, nodding softly. "i lied about his state... with help of the clinic. the court needed the opinion of a lawyer too and i was asked to lie about his state-

"what do you mean?"

"well... the clinic thought he suffered from DID at first, that's why he was self-admitted there. he went there looking for help because he didn't know what was wrong with him. but... later with your statement, we found out he had planned it all, and faked his DID so clinic didn't know what was really wrong with him. so we lied about his state and then... also lied about a clinic in the us getting interest of him and ask him to transfer there."

she narrowed her eyes. "i... well... dr. lee asked one of his colleagues, who was the director of a mental clinic in the states, to take hyungwon's case there."

her eyes widened. "he mentioned everything that had happened with hyungwon and he took interest after dr. lee almost begged... but it wasn't him who convinced the clinic from states to take in hyungwon." he said now, with a hesitant voice.

she tilted her head confused. "what? who was it?"

jinyoung remained silent for a few seconds, frowning as if he had a headache.

"wait... you keep saying "i was asked" to do this and that... who asked you to do these stuff? who convinced the clinic from the states to take in hyungwon's case?" she sounded desperate and anxious now.

jinyoung swallowed hard as if he didn't want to say anything else. "noona..." he begged.

her eyes widened as she brought down a fist to the table. "speak now park jinyoung... who was it?"

her heart raced, pounding against her chest.

a name came to her mind right away, but no. it couldn't be.

"uh... well... you see.." he started.

jinyoung seemed nervous, he didn't want to tell her who had been.

and something in her gut told her she didn't want to know.

because truth hurts sometimes.

"tell me... please." her eyes turned glassy as the expectance hurt right away.

"kihyun... it was kihyun." 

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a·n: hey guys, double update today since i've been having free time during this quarantine. how have you guys been holding up? personally, i have tons of free time so i am writing a lot these days. thanks for being always around and for show support even if i was away for so long. 

lots of love. 

author g. 

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