The Love That Remains

What love? This man doesn't love me at all. He doesn't even recognize me. He thinks that I only have the same face as his 'dead fiance'. He is even daring to call me a flat board. Who was it that almost ate me in the shower at a hospital? Was I a flat board that day? My hands are itching to strangle him.

"You want to go out looking like that, Miss Yu?" Sung Jun looks at me thoughtfully. There is no familiarity in his eyes. He is looking at me like a stranger. A stranger he slept with.

I can't help but feel empty.

"Miss Yu, take a bath. I will arrange some new clothes for you." He gets up and wraps the sheet around his waist. I feel a tinge of disappointment. I can no longer enjoy the view. Secretly.

I guess I am a pervert. It can't be helped. I am a human too.

"It's almost lunchtime." He picks up the phone. "What do you want to eat?"

"Anything you want, Mr. Sung" I say in a low voice. It's just lunch. An hour at most. After that, I will leave. We might never see each other again. I have not seen him for eight years. I have spent the night with him like it's fate. A few more hours can't hurt. He can't recognize me anyway.

He gives me nods and orders. I feel awkward standing there near the door. I am Fang Aisa, pretending to be Eshe Yu. He thinks that I am someone who looks like Fang Aisa. Even after eight years, he still feels for me. In this lifetime, we didn't spend much time together before I faked my death and left from his life.

I love him. He loves me. Still, I can't be with this person. I can't go and tell him that I am Fang Aisa. I can't love him. I can't wake up next to him every day.

I don't want him to see me like this. I go to the bathroom and lock the door.

"Miss Yu?" Sung Jun knocks the door. "I am putting clean clothes near the door."

"Okay," I yell back loudly. After two minutes, I open the door slightly and peep. He is not in the room. I take the clothes from the floor and lock the door again. I stare at the clothes - Plain blue shirt, white skirt, and undergarments. How does he know my size? Does he have experience in buying undergarments? He didn't mistake other women like me and slept with them, did he? He could have a girlfriend by now and committed last night mistake because he was drunk. Last night doesn't mean anything to him, does it? Should it? To him, I am not Fang Aisa. I don't understand what I am feeling. I am happy and sad.

When I come out, he is still not in the room. I guess that he left me alone to avoid me. I should leave before he comes. I find my shoes and wear them. I hear the door click.

"You are done?" He is holding a bottle of wine.

"Do you want to drink in the daytime?" When did he become an alcoholic? I am not the cause, am I? He didn't become an alcoholic because of my death, right? Probably, I am overthinking.

His eyes sparkle when he laughs. "It's not wine. It's grape juice."

I suspiciously stare at the bottle. "If you say so."

"If you don't believe it, take a sip." He pulls out the cork and hands it over to me.

"Okay." If he really drinks in the daytime, he needs help. I take a sip. It tastes like grape.

"Come." He holds out his hand. "Let's not waste this bottle."

"I am not sure." I hand him the bottle. "I have to be somewhere."

"Just for a little while." He smiles at me casually. "I don't want you to leave on empty stomach after our..." He pauses and blushes a bit. His eyes linger on my body before he looks away. He is acting like a new bride. If I was someone else, I wouldn't have mistaken him as a shy boy.

"Wait for a while." He hands me the bottle back. "I want to take a bath before lunch. Don't leave, alright?"

"Okay."

***

After Sung Jun comes out of the shower, he finds her drinking the 'special wine'' from the bottle while sitting on the ground. The food is already set on the table, but it's not touched. He is pleased that his plan worked.

She gives him a dreamy smile when she sees him. "Sung Jun, you $#@%! You don't even recognize your master. What kind of plaything are you?"

He sits next to her and takes the empty bottle away. "What do you want me to do? You left for eight years."

"It's just eight years." She pokes his chest. "But I forgive you. You have taken care of your body well. Did you let someone else touch you?"

"No." He caresses her cheeks. "I can't promise you about the future though."

Fang Aisa becomes agitated. "What do you mean? I will give you everything. You can't leave me."

"I won't leave you..." He gives her a kiss on her fingers. "If you sign some papers."

"What papers?" Fang Aisa climbs on his lap possessively. "Why do I need to sign some papers?"

"There are people who want to buy me and take me away from you." He makes a pitiful expression. "If you sign these papers, they can never take me away."

"Is that so?" She smirks at him. "I will sign all the papers. Bring them to me. Let me see who can take you away from me."

Just like that, Fang Aisa signs the papers. She doesn't even read a single paper once. After she is done with the signing, she looks up at Sung Jun and commands him to take her to bed.

He obliges like a gentleman. He carries her to bed and lay her down on the bed. After Fang Aisa is too tired to stay awake, he gets up from the bed and calls someone.

"The papers are ready." He tells the other person on the phone.