In Three Years' Time (chapter 21 of 22)
Title: In Three Years' Time
Pairing: Dongwoon/OC
Rating: PG-13 to R/NC-17 (in later chapters)
Summary: Arranged marriages were something of the past, not commonly seen in this day and age. But contract marriages were different. With two parties both gaining something out of the union, this new form of marriage was slowly becoming an unsaid norm in certain societies; and Jaehwa and Dongwoon were no exception. What happens when two childhood friends, who let distance and circumstance drift them apart, are forced to enter a 3-year long union? Will they finally rekindle their friendship, even after realizing that they are no longer the people they once were, or will they drift further apart simply living side by side as strangers?
Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22
Chapter 21
Jaehwa tried not to cry as she sat in the back seat of the car as Mr. Kim pulled out of the driveway. She shouldn’t cry at least not until she knew for a fact that he only said those things to her yesterday to get something from her. As soon as she calmed down, she began to think up of ways to get an affirmation of his true intentions. She needed to put him on edge, make him so paranoid and worried that he would become frantic. Jaehwa needed to know exactly how devoted he was to her, and the only way would be to hit him where it normally hurt. Jaehwa was going to hold off on giving him what she thought he ultimately wanted; sex. She wanted to know how easily he would succumb to his player lifestyle, as she needed to be sure that he wasn’t going to run off to another woman if she wasn’t giving him what he wanted. Jaehwa wanted to know just how much he loved her before she fully committed herself to him - she wasn’t prepared for another heartbreak. She picked up the phone and called Soojin telling her of her plan on avoiding him and watching his reaction. Soojin laughed when she heard what her friend had been planning and promised to help in any way she could. Considering her husband, Kikwang, was a good friend, Jaehwa knew that Dongwoon would run to him with his frustrations, so Jaehwa wanted Soojin to be her eyes and ears. If Dongwoon was even tempted to look at another girl Kikwang wound know, and soon so would she.
But when she had to reject Dongwoon’s call for the third time that day, Jaehwa began to feel uneasy about her entire plan. It had been two weeks since he confessed that he wanted a second chance and she was dying just as much as he was as he relentlessly tried to call her each time leaving her a heartbreaking message on her voicemail. She had been purposely avoiding him but began to regret it when she heard from Soojin how tormented he was. But unlike before, instead of going to clubs or bars, he would mope around at home and endlessly bug Kikwang and the rest of the guys. Jaehwa even got confirmation from Daesung that he no longer entertained any women at work, as even his secretary was clearly sexually frustrated and hadn’t done so for the past sixteen months to be exact. Despite how irritated Jaehwa was at the fact that the women still attempted to make passes at him, she couldn’t help but feel relieved when she heard he rejected them all and apparently even threatened to fire one of them when she went as far as to try and caress her hand on his chest.
However, it wasn’t until later that evening when she finally got full assurance of what he felt for her was indeed real. Jaehwa sat on her bed staring at her phone recalling the phone call she just had with Daesung who was, just like her, shocked. Jaehwa had assumed she knew Dongwoon by now, knew exactly how he reacted to situations but she never saw this coming. Dongwoon had walked into Daesung’s office that day after Jaehwa rejected his third phone call and sat in front of him defeated.
“You win.” Dongwoon croaked out fighting back the tears he felt. “I’ve hurt her too much. She’ll never believe me, never trust me, and the thing is I’m glad. As much as I want to, I can’t go back in time and undo the pain I’ve caused her. But you…you’re still her good friend. You’ve never hurt her or made her cry.”
Daesung looked at Dongwoon confused. “What are you talking about? Where are you going with this?”
“I’m letting her go. I know you still love her-“
“What the hell are you saying? Jaehwa isn’t an object. She’s a person with feelings and I am completely aware of where she stands, and her heart isn’t with me.” Daesung simply said.
“I want to believe you I do, but I can’t. I wouldn’t trust me after everything I’ve done. I don’t deserve her.” Dongwoon continued to wallow.
“Look man, I’m not saying you didn’t do anything wrong, but you can’t say you don’t deserve her. The only person who has a right to say who she can be with is Jaehwa herself. And it was clear to me back when we broke up that she only sees herself with you.” After a long period of silence Dongwoon spoke up.
“How did you do it?” Dongwoon asked his face full of grief. “How did you sweep Jae off her feet? Because I’m trying hard here and nothing seems to be working. I told her I loved her and I asked her for a second chance. She initially agreed to it but now she’s just giving me the cold shoulder. And I don’t blame her at all.” Daesung got up and walked around the large desk to sit beside the young man.
“The moment I realized I loved her I stopped. I stopped seeing other women, I changed the way I saw the world. But there’s nothing I can do to prove it. The past 16 months I’ve lived a new life because of her but I’m learning that that isn’t enough.”
Daesung was aware of Jaehwa’s concerns and fears and found himself smiling at how alike the two were. While one was worrying if he had changed the other was worried that they didn’t have enough proof. “What do you want me to do?” Daesung asked as he looked at his dongsaeng.
“You know Jaehwa better than I do. Help me hyung. I’m begging you. Please help me get her trust back.” Dongwoon never in his life asked for help. He would stubbornly try to work through it on his own, putting his pride before his own needs. But for the first time, he forsook everything just so he could have her back and that was all Jaehwa needed. Call it selfish but she needed to know she meant the world to him - because she clearly knew what he meant to her. Jaehwa thrashed about in her bed laughing with pure happiness disregarding the tears she had shed earlier or the banging on the wall from her neighbors because she was too loud. She didn’t care about anything at all, because Dongwoon loved her.
When she finally managed to collect herself, she picked up her phone and called Soojin armed with a plan. Just like the previous nights, she knew that Dongwoon would be moping around and most likely with Kikwang, so Jaehwa asked them for a favor. And just like she requested, the guys took Dongwoon out to a bar, more like dragged him against his will. They forced him to drink just the right amount of alcohol that he would pass out and threw him into the back seat as they drove to the Son mansion. Jaehwa told all the maids and butlers they could have the weekend off and took advantage of the fact that Jungho was out of town on business. Jaehwa ignored the knowing smirks on Junhyung and Doojoon’s face when as they passed her carrying an unconscious Dongwoon up to their bedroom and placed him on the bed.
“Thank you!!” Jaehwa smiled at the three men as they piled back into their cars.
“Yeah yeah yeah. Just take him out of his misery will ya?” Kikwang shouted back at her through the window before the boys drove off. Jaehwa chuckled as she watched the car drive off before running into the kitchen pulling out a few essentials and retreated back to her bedroom smiling when she saw Dongwoon’s sleeping form.
Word count: 1312
Pairing: Dongwoon/OC
Rating: PG-13 to R/NC-17 (in later chapters)
Summary: Arranged marriages were something of the past, not commonly seen in this day and age. But contract marriages were different. With two parties both gaining something out of the union, this new form of marriage was slowly becoming an unsaid norm in certain societies; and Jaehwa and Dongwoon were no exception. What happens when two childhood friends, who let distance and circumstance drift them apart, are forced to enter a 3-year long union? Will they finally rekindle their friendship, even after realizing that they are no longer the people they once were, or will they drift further apart simply living side by side as strangers?
Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22
Chapter 21
Jaehwa tried not to cry as she sat in the back seat of the car as Mr. Kim pulled out of the driveway. She shouldn’t cry at least not until she knew for a fact that he only said those things to her yesterday to get something from her. As soon as she calmed down, she began to think up of ways to get an affirmation of his true intentions. She needed to put him on edge, make him so paranoid and worried that he would become frantic. Jaehwa needed to know exactly how devoted he was to her, and the only way would be to hit him where it normally hurt. Jaehwa was going to hold off on giving him what she thought he ultimately wanted; sex. She wanted to know how easily he would succumb to his player lifestyle, as she needed to be sure that he wasn’t going to run off to another woman if she wasn’t giving him what he wanted. Jaehwa wanted to know just how much he loved her before she fully committed herself to him - she wasn’t prepared for another heartbreak. She picked up the phone and called Soojin telling her of her plan on avoiding him and watching his reaction. Soojin laughed when she heard what her friend had been planning and promised to help in any way she could. Considering her husband, Kikwang, was a good friend, Jaehwa knew that Dongwoon would run to him with his frustrations, so Jaehwa wanted Soojin to be her eyes and ears. If Dongwoon was even tempted to look at another girl Kikwang wound know, and soon so would she.
But when she had to reject Dongwoon’s call for the third time that day, Jaehwa began to feel uneasy about her entire plan. It had been two weeks since he confessed that he wanted a second chance and she was dying just as much as he was as he relentlessly tried to call her each time leaving her a heartbreaking message on her voicemail. She had been purposely avoiding him but began to regret it when she heard from Soojin how tormented he was. But unlike before, instead of going to clubs or bars, he would mope around at home and endlessly bug Kikwang and the rest of the guys. Jaehwa even got confirmation from Daesung that he no longer entertained any women at work, as even his secretary was clearly sexually frustrated and hadn’t done so for the past sixteen months to be exact. Despite how irritated Jaehwa was at the fact that the women still attempted to make passes at him, she couldn’t help but feel relieved when she heard he rejected them all and apparently even threatened to fire one of them when she went as far as to try and caress her hand on his chest.
However, it wasn’t until later that evening when she finally got full assurance of what he felt for her was indeed real. Jaehwa sat on her bed staring at her phone recalling the phone call she just had with Daesung who was, just like her, shocked. Jaehwa had assumed she knew Dongwoon by now, knew exactly how he reacted to situations but she never saw this coming. Dongwoon had walked into Daesung’s office that day after Jaehwa rejected his third phone call and sat in front of him defeated.
“You win.” Dongwoon croaked out fighting back the tears he felt. “I’ve hurt her too much. She’ll never believe me, never trust me, and the thing is I’m glad. As much as I want to, I can’t go back in time and undo the pain I’ve caused her. But you…you’re still her good friend. You’ve never hurt her or made her cry.”
Daesung looked at Dongwoon confused. “What are you talking about? Where are you going with this?”
“I’m letting her go. I know you still love her-“
“What the hell are you saying? Jaehwa isn’t an object. She’s a person with feelings and I am completely aware of where she stands, and her heart isn’t with me.” Daesung simply said.
“I want to believe you I do, but I can’t. I wouldn’t trust me after everything I’ve done. I don’t deserve her.” Dongwoon continued to wallow.
“Look man, I’m not saying you didn’t do anything wrong, but you can’t say you don’t deserve her. The only person who has a right to say who she can be with is Jaehwa herself. And it was clear to me back when we broke up that she only sees herself with you.” After a long period of silence Dongwoon spoke up.
“How did you do it?” Dongwoon asked his face full of grief. “How did you sweep Jae off her feet? Because I’m trying hard here and nothing seems to be working. I told her I loved her and I asked her for a second chance. She initially agreed to it but now she’s just giving me the cold shoulder. And I don’t blame her at all.” Daesung got up and walked around the large desk to sit beside the young man.
“The moment I realized I loved her I stopped. I stopped seeing other women, I changed the way I saw the world. But there’s nothing I can do to prove it. The past 16 months I’ve lived a new life because of her but I’m learning that that isn’t enough.”
Daesung was aware of Jaehwa’s concerns and fears and found himself smiling at how alike the two were. While one was worrying if he had changed the other was worried that they didn’t have enough proof. “What do you want me to do?” Daesung asked as he looked at his dongsaeng.
“You know Jaehwa better than I do. Help me hyung. I’m begging you. Please help me get her trust back.” Dongwoon never in his life asked for help. He would stubbornly try to work through it on his own, putting his pride before his own needs. But for the first time, he forsook everything just so he could have her back and that was all Jaehwa needed. Call it selfish but she needed to know she meant the world to him - because she clearly knew what he meant to her. Jaehwa thrashed about in her bed laughing with pure happiness disregarding the tears she had shed earlier or the banging on the wall from her neighbors because she was too loud. She didn’t care about anything at all, because Dongwoon loved her.
When she finally managed to collect herself, she picked up her phone and called Soojin armed with a plan. Just like the previous nights, she knew that Dongwoon would be moping around and most likely with Kikwang, so Jaehwa asked them for a favor. And just like she requested, the guys took Dongwoon out to a bar, more like dragged him against his will. They forced him to drink just the right amount of alcohol that he would pass out and threw him into the back seat as they drove to the Son mansion. Jaehwa told all the maids and butlers they could have the weekend off and took advantage of the fact that Jungho was out of town on business. Jaehwa ignored the knowing smirks on Junhyung and Doojoon’s face when as they passed her carrying an unconscious Dongwoon up to their bedroom and placed him on the bed.
“Thank you!!” Jaehwa smiled at the three men as they piled back into their cars.
“Yeah yeah yeah. Just take him out of his misery will ya?” Kikwang shouted back at her through the window before the boys drove off. Jaehwa chuckled as she watched the car drive off before running into the kitchen pulling out a few essentials and retreated back to her bedroom smiling when she saw Dongwoon’s sleeping form.
Word count: 1312