Pay With Your Heart

It's been five days since Eun-sun's visit to Mrs. Lee's house. She had been so depressed since that day, so much that she canceled her outing with In-Ha and offered a rain check.

She kept scribbling on her note as she thought about the conversation they had back at her house while waiting for Dan-Han to come to pick her up so they could leave together as per routine.

Was life really short? She had been asking herself that for the last couple of days. She has been pondering on that word for days.

These days Dan-Han's attitude towards her has gradually been improving and she had noticed how he no longer tries to impose on her....well he still does, but he's been subtle about it. This morning he had politely asked her not to make breakfast or eat breakfast and had pleaded with her to join him at his private cafeteria where his chef had made a healthy and delicious western breakfast for them. He had also walked her to the elevator and placed a kiss on her forehead.

Her cheeks warmed up when she thought about those embarrassing and uncomfortable moments. It was as if she was having some awkward reaction towards his gestures. Playing with her hair and dropping Pecks on her face are the things she couldn't stop him from doing.

Thinking about Dan-Han she felt sad for him that he was going to lose such a wonderful mother. He wasn't even aware that he would be losing her soon, and gradually knowing his personality she doubted if he ever visits her on his own accord. Eun-sun didn't know when her eyes turned teary as she again thought about Mrs. Lee's generosity. For some unknown reasons she was feeling quite attached to the woman than she was to her mother, at least recently. Her relationship with her biological mother was hanging on a thin line, but she didn't think so much about her as her mind kept thinking about Mrs. Lee.

Good people never do live long. She mumbled to herself. Just like grandma Mae, she was going to watch another person leave her life again, the feeling was crushing.

Several times she had to watch people she cared about leave and not come back, and now she was yet to experience the same all over again.

Now she understood why someone had asked that question, 'Why do bad things happen to good people?'

To her Mrs. Lee wasn't just good, she was an angel who should live for a long time. But it was so unfortunate she had less than three months to live, then she'd leave them behind.

"Why are you crying?" A cold voice asked from the door making Eun-sun jolt. She lifted her head and she saw Dan-Han by the door with a worried frown on his face as he approached her. She raised her hand to her face and it was then she realized that she has indeed been crying. She wiped her face with her hand as she swiveled her chair around to hide her face. She couldn't believe she had been crying and he had just seen her cry. How embarrassing.

Dan-Han stopped behind her seat and turned her chair around so he could see her face. "Why are you crying?" He asked again as he paid rapt attention to her face. Eun-sun lowered her gaze and shook her head. "I wasn't crying" She denied even though he had seen her with his own and from her red eyes it was evident that she had cried.

Dan-Han narrowed his gaze on her. "Are calling me a fool?" He asked in a very cold tone, prompting Eun-sun to lift her gaze to him. When did she call him a fool?

"I...I didn't...call you that" She said with a shaky voice.

"You didn't but that's what you implied," He said as he brought out a handkerchief and he began to wipe her cheek. Eun-sun reached for the handkerchief and wiped her face herself. She was already embarrassed having Dan-Han see her cry. She couldn't remember the last time someone had seen her cry. She had always hated crying as it was a sign of being weak, but even when she did, she would only cry in her room.

"I didn't imply that. And It's nothing" Eun-sun said dismissively. Her eyes fell on the bag in his hands. It was a shopping bag, and she wondered why he was holding a shopping bag that belonged to a female brand. Dan-Han noticed her gaze and brought the bag closer to her.

"This is yours," He said as he handed it over to her, but Eun-sun stared at it confusedly as she tried to make sense of what he had said. She had her gaze fixed on the bag but she didn't receive it.

She had no idea what was lying inside and she didn't like the idea of always receiving gifts from him which he had turned into a daily ritual. This morning after having breakfast with she had returned to find lumbar support attached to her chair. She wasn't used to things like this and Dan-Han wasn't going slowly at all.

Does he think gifts were going to make her fall for him? Was that why he kept doing this?

"Thank you but I don't want it," She said without even looking at it. This was the first gift he was personally giving to her and she was outrightly rejecting it without seeing what he had gotten. This was why he had never given her a gift directly because he knew she'd reject it.

"Why?"

"Because you keep giving me gifts, but that won't make me have feelings for you," Eun-sun told him as she looked at him. Dan-Han silently kept his gaze on her for some seconds.

"Is that what you think of me? Are your feelings that cheap that they can be bought?" He asked her in a cold and stern tone. Eun-sun's lips quivered like she was about to say something but nothing came out.

"I don't give you things because I want your feelings but because I chose to"

"But I'm not a charity case" She spoke again, making Dan-Han's face darken.

"And who said you are?" He asked in an angry but calm tone. He didn't hide the fact that he was angry because of the kind of words she was saying.

Dan-Han bent down and placed his hand on both sides of the chair, trapping her between his arms.

"You're not a charity case, and you must never say that again, not in my presence or anywhere else" He drawled while Eun-sun looked at him blankly. He moved his left hand up and tucked some hair behind her ears.

"You're not a charity case to me or anyone else, neither do I give you gifts because I want your feelings, they're not something I can purchase. I give you these things because that's how my woman should be treated, and I'm only showing you how I'd spoil you if you say yes. So stop thinking about such nonsense and just accept it, because I have more in the trunk of my car and you're taking everything" He told her calmly while Eun-sun could only look at him. There were a lot of thoughts going through her head right now and she didn't know what to do about them, because they were all centered on the man in front of her, whose face was only an inch away from her and his hot breath was getting mixed with hers and his eyes were looking deep into hers. And her heart was beating a bit too fast, not sure if it was because of the proximity or because of the words he had said to her.

"What if I don't want to be spoilt by you?" Eun-sun manageably asked in a soft voice, with her gaze still glued to his face. She suddenly regretted asking because she was sure he'd have some silly reply for her, and of course, he didn't disappoint, because he replied.

"Then you'll have to spoil me rotten" He replied with a smirk.