The restaurant Minhyun had picked was very small.

Different from what she expected, there were only five to eight tables in total within the room. From what she could see, the owner of the restaurant was an old lady. Working alongside an old man whom Yoona a.s.sumed to be her husband. It was a family restaurant.

A sense of nostalgia came over her. Back where she lived, there were many families working alongside the seash.o.r.e. She was one of them.

"Is it just you two?" The old woman asked with a smile.

Minhyun nodded. "Yes."

"Right this way honey."

They were led to the table near the windows. Beyond the gla.s.s, the ocean was in full view. The bright blue waters contrasted against the beige sand. She could see people playing around, swimming and laughing within the waters.

She took a deep breath. She really missed this place. Although mother and her had suffered trying to keep the restaurant afloat, the seaside still brought her great memories. Whenever she was stressed, she would sneak out and sit by the rocks, admiring the horizon.

"I really missed the seaside," she commented. "This was really the perfect place to bring me."

Minhyun glanced over at her, his eyes swirling with relief. "I thought the beach would be a good place to talk. Knowing you, you'd be a more relax in an environment like this."

She chuckled. "That's true. There's always a homey vibe at family restaurants too."

Fancy dinners were nice; the food being amazing, but she preferred being in familiar and warm areas. He was right, she was a lot more relaxed here.

"I've noticed," Minhyun said. There was a pause. "It's actually my first time being at a place like this. I should explore restaurants more often."

Yoona should've expected for this to be true, especially since Minhyun was rich beyond imagination. He had personal chefs to serve him and he could afford those pricey restaurants. Nonetheless, she still widened her eyes in shock. He did really live a completely different life. "You're crazy. It's so mind-boggling to see how much contrast there is between our lifestyles."

He chuckled. "Well, money and power really does change your outlook for life. Whether it be for the better or the worse." There was a moment of silence, where Minhyun stayed still, thinking to himself. Not before long, he gathered his attention back to Yoona. "Anyways, shall we look to see what we want to order?"

He grabbed the menu from the table and they began to skim through to see the types of foods the restaurant had to offer. After a good few minutes, the two of them decided to order the sukhoe [1]. A dish Yoona really enjoyed eating. When the lady came around, Minhyun pointed to the menu and ordered the large for two.

Yoona's stomach quietly growled. She hadn't eaten lunch today so she was very excited to fill her stomach.

As the two waited for the meal to come out, Yoona noticed the air s.h.i.+fting to the slight awkwardness again. She tried to uplift the mood.

"So, how has work been? From what I can tell, you've been really busy."

Minhyun nodded while taking a sip out of his water. "You're right. It's been very busy since there are a lot of projects to work on."

"Like the restaurant thing right? I never got to say this personally but thank you for that," Yoona said.

Lucas had always wanted to be the head of his own kitchen. This was his one and only dream, the point he was trying to crawl to. The main problem, however, was the financials that came along with it. He didn't have the resources to pay for his own restaurant.

Luckily, Minhyun's offer really helped Lucas jumped through all of those hurdles. Although Lucas didn't voice it out loud, Yoona knew that he was thankful and excited as can be.

"Well, nothing is finalized until the sheets are signed but you're welcome. It's the least I can do for them," he replied.

Yet again, the conversation had turned into this territory. Yoona couldn't help but ask. Why? Why was he doing all these things for them? Why did talk as if they had been doing him favours, while he has been the one giving them favours the entire time? She had to ask.

"What do you mean by 'the least I can do for them'?" She asked. She needed to know.

Minhyun was nonchalant as he took another sip from his gla.s.s. For him, his words were common sense. "Because they helped you."

She wasn't satisfied with this answer. He was being too vague and there was little reasoning behind his words.

Yoona took a deep breath. At first, she wanted to warm up before bringing up the confrontation, but she couldn't help but bring it up now. She couldn't stand another hour of hiding behind this facade of politeness.

Since she didn't know Minhyun well enough to understand how he would react, there was slight fear in her heart. What if he took this the wrong way? There was a possibility of him leaving and for the restaurant to be completely cancelled. However, before any contracts were to be signed and for this hole to get deeper, she still decided to drop the bomb.

Here goes all or nothing. There was no point in dragging it any further.

"Minhyun?"

He looked up and c.o.c.ked his head. "What is it?"

"I think - we need to talk," she began. An awkward chuckle escaped her mouth. How should she put this into words? "Now, before I start, I wanted to say that your a great guy and that I want to keep in contact with you for as long as possible okay?"

His eyebrows furrowed. Worry began to form in his mind. From her words, it was clear that Yoona was going to say something that could potentially hurt him. But what could it be? They just reunited and now, was she going to leave him again?

"I- I think that you can feel this too. But there is something odd between the two of us. You're awkward. I'm terribly awkward. We're both eyeing each other, making sure that our words are polite. I think since we were friends during childhood, when we met, we already had expectations for one another and this prevented us from knowing the other's true personality. We've created a wall in between us," she explained.

Minhyun stayed silent. His eyes boring into hers with a mix of different emotions. As much as he wanted to deny her words and tell her that she was wrong, everything Yoona said was true. In fact, he had always known from the bottom of his heart, but didn't want to admit it himself. They did create a wall between themselves.

Partially it was his fault. He was too eager to meet her. Since she was someone he cared about so much, he didn't want to lose her like everyone else in his life. He wanted to be loved. This was why he hid the dark side of him, only exposing her to a mask. He became careful with his words, scared of what she would think. However, even though he tried his hardest, he knew that eventually, this mask would backfire on him. There was so little he could do behind the happy face he put on for her.

But if Yoona met the real him, would she still accept him? n.o.body had accepted him. Everyone left.

Minhyun nodded. His facial features were iced up, emotionless to the core. "Continue on."

She gulped. No matter how hard she tried to read his emotions, Minhyun was purely a blank page. There was no way of knowing what direction this conversation was going to.

"And I know that the childhood me was important to your life, but I'm not who I was fifteen years ago. I've grown and became a different person. You have too. But since fifteen years have past, do we really know each other enough for you to be doing all this for me? Like paying for expensive dinners or giving a business opportunity to my friends and I? Sometimes, I feel like I'm using you because of our childhood."

Minhyun never knew that she felt this way. Throughout the years, he had always clutched onto the thought of her and the information intel would give him. In the back of his mind, Yoona was the same person in his memories and this was enough for him to sacrifices his time and money for her. However, it was clear that his actions could be taken the wrong way.

Of course, he still cared about her. But perhaps, he'd been clinging onto the idea of her rather than who she was as a person.

She could sense his melochany, something she'd never experienced from Minhyun before. However, she couldn't help but continue. "I - I am the same too. You know, since you're such an important person in the business world and someone from my past, I can't help but put on this awkward front too. I always feel like I have to choose my words carefully when talking to you, in case you get offended."

A bitter laugh escaped her mouth. "But clearly it all backfired, seeing this situation between you and me. But I can't help it. I have to be honest. There is so much hiding I can do before I explode." She took a deep breath. "I want to be friends with you. I want to know you. But since I don't know your true personality, I don't think it's possible unless we start on a new slate."

Minhyun understood. At first, he was taken aback and hurt. Not because of her words, but because he believed that his actions had created this mess. However, he too realized that these expectations that he created for her, and she with him, had messed up the potential relations.h.i.+ps they could've had.

They were not acting as themselves. This was not what he wanted. At first, Yoona's mere existence in the room was enough to make him happy. But perhaps, he was just creating delusions for himself due to his loneliness.

They needed to start over.

Minhyun ran his fingers through his dark hair. There was another thing he realized throughout the whole exchange. Something that touched his heart quite like no other.

He was really glad Yoona had taken the courage to explain her true feelings. n.o.body in the world has ever done this to him.

Everyone hid their true thoughts, hiding behind the same despicable mask. There was no genuineness in their words. They only acted in a way to please him, hoping to get his favor for future relations. This was why his faith in people disappeared. He knew everyone had others motives when being friendly with him. n.o.body wanted to really know the true Minhyun, they just wanted to use his power.

The whole time, Minhyun was doing the same, except he blocked Yoona from seeing the true him altogether and he treasured her because of his own expectations of who she was. He was far worse.

But Yoona was different. She was real. Even though he was slightly hurt, these words were exactly what he needed to hear. The raw genuineness in her voice showed that she actually cared and wanted to have a good relations.h.i.+p with him. She wanted their friends.h.i.+p to work.

No matter what, she wanted to see what he was hiding behind his mask.

But he, was reluctant. He didn't give a s.h.i.+t about anyone in this world, yet he couldn't take off this mask easily. Why was she the only person to affect him in this manner? He actually gave a d.a.m.n. But for what reason? He did not know why. There was something about Yoona that made him feel happy again, a feeling he hadn't experienced in a long time.

Minhyun fixed his collar, unb.u.t.toning one b.u.t.ton, then two, loosening the choking sensation around his neck.

His eyes suddenly darkened, to a shade Yoona had never experienced before. Chills ran down her spine, not in a bad way, but with a sense of intrigue.

"I understand your words, but before anything, I wanted to ask you." There was a pause. "Would you be able to handle finding out who I really am?"

---

[1] Korean version of sas.h.i.+mi. Raw seafood accompanied by dipping sauces.