Anna sat on the sofa, biting her last nail. She heard Seokjin leave the apartment earlier, but he hadn't told her where he was going. Now, five hours later, he still wasn't home. She never should have said those things to him. He wasn't disgusting. The words came out as a reflex to his ugly accusations. Yet, she could have said anything else. Why did she call him disgusting? Why did she bring back the Norma ordeal?

It must be jealousy. She closed her eyes. She knew—by now everyone knew—about his and Norma's scandalous love life. It was tabloid fodder. But it was the not knowing, the uncertainty of it that made her lash out. She'd told herself long ago that she didn't want to know any specifics about his relationship with Norma, and he'd never offered to speak of it. But it obviously still bothered her. Against her better judgment, she wondered if he missed Norma and what they did together. What if she was dull and unimaginative in comparison? Was he comparing her to Norma? Did he prefer his sex life with Norma over the one with her? She didn't know the truth of it all. These thoughts were driving her crazy, and they had made her lash out at Jin the night before.

The sound of keys at the door made her look up. She jumped off the sofa when Seokjin walked in. He looked at her for a few moments before putting his keys on the side table.

"I, uh, are you hungry?" Anna asked woodenly. She was afraid he was still upset.

Instead, he sighed, took four large steps toward her, and engulfed her in his arms. He placed one of his hands on the back of her head and cradled it against his chest.

"I'm so sorry, baby," he murmured into her hair. "I am the biggest idiot in the world. I hate that I hurt you so much because I wish I didn't. I love you more than my life, Annie. I want no life that doesn't involve you, and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that you stay by my side." He moved back a few inches and looked into her eyes. "I mean it. I will do anything for you."

Anna fell into the depths of his intense eyes. "Jin, I love you so much. I'm also very sorry for saying what I did. It was so stupid of me to act that way. If we could just forget—"

"No." His voice was soft but firm. He took her hand and led her back to the sofa, pulling her down next to him. He took a deep breath. "We should talk. We need to air everything out. I don't want any of these horrible thoughts to stay in our minds. If we clear it up, we won't have to argue about it ever again."

She looked surprised. "You mean that? You never want to—" She checked herself. It made no sense to blame him for anything. "I mean, I'm glad you want to talk. I'd like that, too."

An hour later, Seokjin nervously wiped his palms on his jeans. He got to his feet and paced the room. His eyes glanced at Anna, who had her legs crossed while hugging a pillow. He couldn't read her emotions, and it scared him. Perhaps he had said too much. He had tried to stay calm while she talked about her engagement to Namjoon. He had dug his fingernails into his palms as she talked about her physical relationship with him in broad terms. But it was still too much for him to bear.

She had asked about his life with Norma, and he, too, had not been overly specific. He just answered her questions as briefly as possible. He took care not to add too much detail, but now she was looking down, her face blank. He sighed. He probably had said too much.

"I'm truly sorry that I lashed out the way I did. I told you that my insecurities just came roaring back," he said softly. "When I thought you were not enjoying what I was doing, I wondered what else I'd have to do. I had flashbacks to Norma's crazy demands. She began making requests. It made me feel as if I weren't enough, that she didn't really care about me." He laughed bitterly. "Which, of course, was true. She wanted me to slap her, to hit her, to hurt her. You couldn't tell from our faces, but our bodies were usually bruised and marked. Sometimes it was painful."

"And...did you like that?" Anna spoke up suddenly. "Did you like hurting each other?"

Seokjin's shoulders sagged, and he sank back into the sofa. "Annie, do we really have to go into that?"

"I just want to know if that was something that you enjoyed. You said we'd be honest with each other no matter what. You said we'd be truthful."

He nodded slowly. "Yes, I did say that."

"Well?"

"Fine. The truth is I was no innocent virgin when I met Norma." He saw her raised eyebrows. "Not that I was a man whore, either, but you knew about me. I'd been with a few girls. That's all. But with Norma, well, she was a lot more experienced than any girl I'd known. She told me exactly what she liked and what she wanted, and then, well, I agreed. I was uncomfortable with the hitting and...and choking and the roughness of it all." He lowered his eyes. "But, after a while, I sort of began to like it, too. I mean, I did. I liked it."

She nodded. "I see. So, you must think our sex life is pretty plain."

"No," he said immediately and reached for her arm. "Not at all, baby. I love what we have. I love you so much. You are my life. When we make love, I can be myself. I don't have to play a role. You might ask why I did that with her, but the truth is that it was something I had to do to keep the interest level high. I don't need that with you."

"Is that so?" She stared at him. "And you're okay not doing anything like that with me?"

"Annie, what you and I have is different. It's incredible. We have so much love between us."

She pursed her lips. "But you loved Norma, too, didn't you?"

He let go of her arm and sighed deeply. "Early on I did. I was blinded by everything that she was. I wanted to be part of that world. But over time I began to feel an emptiness. I had to do more and more things, different things, to keep myself in that relationship. I began to feel that she didn't care about me as a person, only what I could deliver in the bedroom. I didn't feel like myself anymore. I had lost control. And then she so easily kicked me to the curb. I was afraid it would happen with you, too."

"So the first time when you told me you wanted to have sex with me, was that about Norma? Please tell me the truth."

Seokjin winced. "I want to say no because I really was very attracted to you—had been for a long time. But, truthfully, I wanted to prove to myself that I could make a woman happy just being me. I thought I could wipe the slate clean with you. I guess I went about it the wrong way because I spooked you."

"You did a little, but it wasn't because I didn't want to be with you," she replied. "I pulled away because I knew that you weren't over her yet."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"I didn't want to be your rebound, but I'm one to talk. Look at what I did." She uncurled her legs. "I hurt poor Namjoon by agreeing to marry him  when I was still in love with you."

"I'd say he got the better end of that deal," Seokjin said sullenly, his mind unable to erase the image of Anna with Namjoon. "I wouldn't feel too sorry for him. Actually, I will never feel sorry for him. I honestly never want to hear about your sex life with him again...sorry."

They remained silent for a minute. Then it stretched to two. Finally, she spoke. "So now what?"

He turned his gaze to her. "You tell me what. What do I need to do to make you happy? We both have our pasts, and we'll probably be dealing with those ghosts for a while. But what can I do now to make you happy that you chose me? I will do anything. I will get a better job. I will get us a nicer place. I will cook for you and clean and—"

She put her finger over his lips. "Sweetie, you don't have to become my servant. I love you, and what will make me happy is to know that you are happy with me. That our life together is enough, that you don't feel that anything is missing."

He reached out his long arm and pulled her into his body. "Baby, nothing is missing. I already told you that you are everything to me. I don't miss anything about the past. I love you."

She rested her forehead on his. "Jin. I love you, too."

Their kiss was equal parts tenderness and need, and Seokjin hoped that this was truly the start of the rest of their lives.