#217

Jaein woke up in the wee hours of the morning. And she packed her things back into her luggage. She wanted to leave once and for all and to never return again to this house. Her heart was broken over and over again by Jaejoong. She couldn't take it anymore.

She stepped out of her room and as she walked past Jaejoong's room, she stopped and stared hard at the door. She could imagine the two of them still resting together on his bed. Her eyes became wet. She blinked them furiously to force her tears back.

Jaein's thoughts: I'm not going to cry over you anymore Kim Jaejoong... I won't cry anymore... My heart is dead... I have no more tears to shed for you...

She lugged her luggages down the stairs as quietly as she could. She placed a note she wrote for Jaejoong's parents on the living room table, and slipped out the door. The sky was still slightly dark as it wasn't even dawn yet.

Jaein's note:
Dear Uncle and Auntie,
I'm sorry for my irresponsible and fickle behaviour. I know I have caused you a lot of trouble already. I don't wish to bother you anymore. I really appreciate all that you have done for me for the past few months. You have treated me like a real daughter, and I'll always think of you fondly as
my god parents. I am sorry that I have to go now.

Goodbye.

Regards,
Jaein

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She dragged her suitcases with much effort to the nearest bus stop and sat down to wait for a bus. She had no where in mind at all of where she could go to. She was alone, with no money, and no place to stay. All thanks to Jaejoong.

A bus came and she boarded it. She decided that she would go go to her part-time job store and ask her boss for a place to store her things while she went to school and look for an apartment after her working hours. This would just have to work. There was no way she was going to go back to that house again.

She got off the bus at the stop where her part-time job was at and sat there at the bus stop and waited until opening hours and she walked to the store to speak to her boss.

Her boss was kind enough to let her store her things at the store while she went to school. And even offered to let her stay at the store for the time-being until she found an apartment.

Jaein went to school half-relieved that even if she didn't find a place to stay today, she wouldn't be sleeping on the streets.

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A few months passed and when Jaein got her pay, she immediately went to rent an apartment far away from Jaejoong's district. But then again, his district was a rich district, so there weren't any cheap apartments for rent near there. She would never be seeing him at the run-down district where she rented her apartment at. It wasn't even any of those that she had looked at previously with Jaejoong's mum. This was much more run-down, and comparatively, the rent was much cheaper and she didn't have to pay three months' rent upfront.

These were also her last few months at school and she was going to graduate after her exams next month. As soon she got settled down, she crammed hard for her exams and didn't even let herself have any time to slow down to think about Jaejoong.

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Half a year later...

Jaein had already graduated from university. And she had found a job at a prestigious law firm as a lawyer, since her results were very good. With her stable income, she moved house again to a better district. But it was still somewhere far away from where Jaejoong's district was at.

But she did write to his parents to let them know that she is doing fine after graduation, always thanking them for what they had done for her. But he was never mentioned in the letters. And she never left a return address. So they could not trace her whereabouts. It was a mean thing to do. But she needed to make sure that she wouldn't be hurt by him again. She didn't want to meet him at all. Not even by chance.

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Jaein's workplace...

Micky: Jaein-ah... Can you please come over to my office now? I need to discuss a new case with you...

Jaein: Okay... I'll be right over...

Jaein grabbed her notebook and walked over to Micky's office. She knocked the door.

Micky: Come in.

Jaein walked in. Micky was sitting at his table sorting out some papers. She sat down at the chair in front of him.

Micky: Give me a minute. I'll be right with you.

Micky was her boss. And when she first joined the firm, all the female staff had already expressed to her how crazy they were about him. He was very well-mannered, tall and handsome, with a very sweet smile always. Not to mention rich. But compared to Jaejoong the Snow Prince, Micky would be considered as Mr Sunshine. However, he was still rumoured to be single, despite his fabulous qualities. So the female staff were all vying for his attention, all hoping that they would be the one for him.

Micky: Alright... Sorry about that... I have a new case for you...

Jaein: Uh huh...

Micky passed the information over to Jaein.

Micky: Our client is Kim Holdings. This is going to be a commercial merger between Kim Holdings and SM Holdings. The directors from both sides will be coming here soon for a legal discussion to set the terms before they sign the merger document. I want you to meet the director of Kim Holdings to know what are the terms they are planning on before we meet up with SM Holdings side and their lawyers. Let me know if you have any questions.

Jaein opened the file to take a look.

Information on merger:
Kim Holdings
Director: Kim Jaejoong

Jaein's thoughts: THIS ISN'T HAPPENING!!! OH NO!!! I DON'T WANT TO SEE HIM AGAIN!!!

Jaein: Erm... Micky... Can I not handle this case?

Micky: Why not? Is there a problem?

Jaein's thoughts: Cos I don't want to see him...

Jaein: I think I still have a few cases that are in progress. I don't think I have time for such a time-consuming case.

Micky: But you've just finished your other big cases. And commercial mergers are your strength. I really hope you can take this case.

Jaein: Is there really no one else who can take it?

Micky: Not really... Cos the rest of the lawyers are still busy with their own cases.

Jaein (reluctantly): Alright... I do it then...

Micky (smilingly): Thanks Jaein. Don't worry about the director from Kim Holdings. He's my good friend. He won't be too hard to handle.

Jaein's thoughts: Until he finds out his lawyer is me...

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