Yn's POV
Ahhh, Christmas; my favorite holiday ever.
Well, it's not Christmas yet but, you get the gist.
Right now, I'm at work where we're having our annual Christmas party. We usually hold our party 2 days before Christmas since Dong Wook wants everyone to celebrate with their family on Christmas day.
"Ohh, I'm so excited for Christmas coming up." Joo-ryung chuckled out. "Me and Ae-Cha are seeing family for Christmas."
"That's nice." I commented as I sipped a cup of hot chocolate.
"Have you've seen Dong Wook lately? I felt like he's been in his office all day." Joo-ryung stated.
That's...actually true. I haven't seen Dong Wook the minute I stepped in.
I decided to walk off to see what's up with him, leaving Joo-ryung alone.
Joo-ryung's POV
The minute you walked off, Sung-tae appeared.
"Um, Merry Christmas Joo-ryung." Sung-tae spoke in a nervous tone.
"Merry Christmas Sung-tae." Joo-ryung replied in the same tone.
Then there was awkward silence.
"So...any plans for Christmas?" Joo-ryung asked.
"Nothing really, just drinking some egg nog and getting Namhani and Naju some cat toys as gifts." Sung-tae answered nonchalantly.
"No family to visit?" Joo-ryung asked, feeling a bit concerned.
Sung-tae shook his head.
"Me and my family aren't close like that." Sung-tae explained. "Especially when it came to me and my brothers."
"Poor guy." Joo-ryung thought.
"How's your daughter?" Sung-tae asked.
"She's well, ever since she saw your cats she's been asking Santa for a cat this Christmas." Joo-ryung explained as Sung-tae chuckled.
"And I'm guessing you're not gonna get her one because you're not a fan of cats?" Sung-tae asked.
Joo-ryung cocked an eyebrow at him.
"I-I-I'm sorry, that was crass of me." Sung-tae quickly apologized.
"It's alright, I never had any pets growing up, so I wouldn't say that I'm not a fan of cats, but rather I'd never had the chance to interact with one or...any other animals in general." Joo-ryung spoke.
"Well, I wish I could invite you to my place so you could see them but, I'm sure they'll hide since I rarely have company over." Sung-tae stated.
Joo-ryung chuckled.
"Well, I heard that's common in cats for them to hide when they see a person they don't know." Joo-ryung pointed out.
"Yes, that is true." Sung-tae chuckled.
"Hey! Y'all two both realize what you're standing over right?" A co-worker called out to the two of them.
Both of them looked up to see a mistletoe hanging above their heads.
"How long was that right there?" Sung-tae asked.
"I have no clue." Joo-ryung replied.
Both of them then locked eyes with each other then looked away with their faces red.
"Um, I should go get more hot chocolate." Joo-ryung stated as she walked off.
"And...I should go...do whatever." Sung-tae announced as he walked away as well.
Yn's POV
When I got to his office, I saw that his door was cracked open so I knocked.
"You may enter." Dong Wook announced as I walked in.
"Hey, are you okay? Everyone's out in the lobby and you're in here." I stated, feeling concerned.
"I'm fine Ms. Yn, go out to the party." Dong Wook dismissed.
I didn't leave.
"Dong Wook, what's the point of hosting a party that you're not gonna attend to?" I asked as I walked towards his desk. "You're being a grinch right now."
Dong Wook turned around to face me.
"What I do during this time shouldn't be any of your concern." Dong Wook stated. "Please leave."
"Dude what? How were you being vulnerable with her before and now you're pushing her away now?" Common Sense asked. "Make that make sense."
I sighed as Dong Wook looked at me with a frown.
"Dong Wook, if you're gonna be like this here then I'm gonna expect you to act the same if I were to come with you to your mother's house." I pointed out. "What would be the point of me going with you, if you're gonna act like this?"
Dong Wook's face soften as he looked away.
"What's with this shell of yours?" I asked. "Just a few months ago, you were trying to get me to come out of my shell but you couldn't do the same with yourself?"
"I'm aware of my hypocrisy Ms. Yn." Dong Wook sighed out.
"If you're aware of you not coming out of your shell, why not do something about it?" I asked.
"Yn, there's a reason why I'm in a shell." Dong Wook stated.
And I think I know what that reason could be.
"Is it because of her, right? Your ex wife?" I asked.
Dong Wook grew silent.
"P-please, go back to the party." Dong Wook ordered as he turned back around.
Yep! Called it.
I walked over to his side and grabbed him by the shoulders then set him down in his chair.
"What are you doing?" Dong Wook asked, taken aback by my action.
"Listen, you were being vulnerable with me when you admitted to being afraid of heights...did I ever judge you for it? No. Did I ever call you a bitch or a wuss? No." I replied.
"That's different. The reason for my divorce is more personal than just my fear of heights." Dong Wook pointed out.
"What? That the reason why you two divorced was because of you being abusive?" I asked.
Dong Wook's face grew even more shock.
"What? I'd never dare to lay a hand a woman, no matter how vile she is!" Dong Wook exclaimed. "Where did you hear such a rumor!?" Dong Wook asked.
"Trust me, that rumor has been circling around for a while." I replied.
Dong Wook sighed as he rubbed his forehead.
"Well, that reason was complete bullshit." Dong Wook mumbled.
Well, Ho-yeon was right about the rumor being bullshit.
I grabbed his hands as he looked up at me. He could see the sorrowful look in my eyes then his face softens up again.
"In-na, my ex wife, she had an affair." Dong Wook admitted.
"Yup, I remember that day." Love sighed out. "That day was painful upon both me and him since heartbreak is what really kills me."
"Dong Wook, I'm so sorry." I apologized.
"To make matters worse was that... after I caught her, she was pregnant and I was sure that the kid was mine, until one day." Dong Wook continued.
Dong Wook's POV
Dong Wook was in the hospital when In-na was giving birth.
"You're doing well honey, keep going!" Dong Wook encouraged as In-na gave one last push.
The room was filled with the sounds of a baby crying.
"Congrats, it's a beautiful baby girl." The doctor announced.
When Dong Wook introduced the baby to his mother, she had a look of suspicion but said nothing.
After Dong Wook showed the baby to his mother, it's been bothering her ever since.
"The kid...doesn't look anything like him." The mother claimed.
"Well, kids could wind up looking like their grandparents." The father stated. "That was the case with me."
"Yeah I know that but, it's just...something feels off." The mother admitted.
Fast forward to when the baby was a year old, the mother definitely knew something was wrong.
"Honey, are you sure you're not overreacting?" The father asked.
"I don't wanna seem like I am but, this feeling wouldn't go away." The mother asked as she dialed Dong Wook.
Dong Wook's mother was anxious at what she was about to tell her son, but she mustered up the courage as told him her suspicions. She then asked Dong Wook to do a paternity test, to which Dong Wook complied to.
It's been three days since the paternity test. Dong Wook called his mother.
"Well? What are the results?" The mother asked in a worried tone.
"That kid...is not my daughter." Dong Wook replied in a defeated and sad tone. "There was 0% match in all 3 tests I took."
After that answer, the mother blacked out.
"Honey! Oh my God!" The father exclaimed as he hurried over to the mother.
After that, In-na was forced to confess about her infidelity.
"So, for a year...I've been playing, feeding, and changing that girl's diapers only to find out that she's not even mine?" Dong Wook asked in a calm tone.
In-na remained silent.
Dong Wook balled up his fists as tears began to slide down his face.
"Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is to our family!?" In-na's father yelled at In-na.
"I want a divorce." Dong Wook muttered out in a choked up voice. "I want my life back! Give me back my life!"
You watched as tears began to slide down Dong Wook's face.
"I'm really sorry this happened to you." You apologized as you wiped away his tears with your thumbs. "You deserve so much better than what you got out of that marriage."
"No I don't...ever since the divorce, I hooked up with Dal-Rae, Ha Jun's sister." Dong Wook admitted.
"You've been a bad girl." Dong Wook whispered into her ear as he handcuffed her to the bed.
"Punish me then sir." Dal-Rae whispered out.
"But even that didn't erase away my sadness and anger for In-na." Dong Wook stated. "I began to feel the shame rise in me after I realized that I'm taking my anger and frustration out on a woman, who had nothing to do with my marriage, and I let Dal-Rae go. I'm glad she found another guy and had a kid with him." Dong Wook continued. "However, I'm afraid that I'd do the same to you."
"Dong Wook, I'm not In-na." You stated. "Though, I've never been in an actual relationship, what that relationship between you and Dal-Rae was not a good one. Just because the sex was good, doesn't mean the relationship was."
"I know, I just don't wanna wind up doing the same to you." Dong Wook sighed.
"What do you mean?" You asked.
"Yn, you're like a kitten; you're small and innocent." Dong Wook spoke. "I'm like a wolf who preys on other small animals."
"Dong Wook, I don't see you as a wolf." You admitted. "You're more like an armadillo from the backstory you're telling me; you curled up into a shell of a ball in order to protect yourself from harm and you're now afraid to uncurl from that ball." You described.
Dong Wook let out a small chuckle at your comparison.
"Dong Wook, it's time to uncurl from that ball." You announced. "Can you please do that? For me?" You asked.
Dong Wook didn't say anything at first, but then he pulled you into his lap and embraced you into his arms.
"I'll try." Dong Wook mumbled into you shoulder.
"Don't try, just do." You corrected as you felt Dong Wook smile against your shoulder.
"She's empathetic and loving, that's a good feeling from someone, no?" Love whispered into his ear as Dong Wook hugged you tight.
"Tell me, does she make you wanna say those three words? Does she make you want to travel to Hell and back? Does she make you wanna do backflips whenever she enters the room?"
Dong Wook felt his heart pumping as you both pulled away.
"Now, c'mon, let's go back to the party." You announced as you grabbed his hand and both of you walked out of the office together.
October 12th,2022