From Past To Present, I Still Love You

Terror filled Jaeun's heart when she realized the severity of the situation. As she felt the sticky substance on her skin, she knew it wouldn't take long for her to react. Usually it took around fifteen to thirty minutes for the symptoms to appear.     

She needed to act fast.     

This was an absolute disaster. What should she do? The hives lasted for a week and stood out despite packs of makeup. Should she skip school all together during that time? Not only that, but she would have to book additional dermatologist appointments due to scarring. All this work due to a single touch of garlic.     

She wanted to cry. How could this whole night turn out like this?     

The whole dinner was purposed to ruin Yoona further by intruding into her daily life. However, it was as if Jaeun was the only one suffering. Yoona was standing in front of her perfectly fine without a scratch. In fact, Jaeun could tell that the bitch was satisfied with her actions.     

Jaeun clenched her fists. She couldn't leave empty handed. There had to be something to be done. Why was it that in the end, Jaeun was the one that always triumphed? The person who should be number one was her, yet, without even trying Yoona always stole the spotlight. Life was not fair.     

Luckily, there were two things Jaeun reigned supreme over Yoona. The first was social status for she was the most looked-up-to girl in the school. The second was her wealth. Due to her position within the Moon group, she was able to accumulate mass wealth without trying. She was able to buy almost anything with the snap of her fingers, including this restaurant.     

If fate wasn't going to let her win, then she would force the world to comply.     

"I am going to make sure your life gets ruined," Jaeun hissed. "I will use all my money and power to make you beg for mercy. Just you wait bitch. You will find out how scary the Moon group truly is."     

For the first time in her life, Yoona had never seen such hatred targeted towards her. Yes the past two incidents were terrible. But they weren't on this level of seething hate. An unsettling feelings erupted in her chest. She just couldn't understand how someone could react this way.     

Before she could reply, someone interrupted their conversation.     

"Don't you dare try to make a move."     

A dark, powerful voice echoed through the room.     

Chae Minhyun had finally arrived.     

He had actually arrived earlier but chose to stay outside of the restaurant, watching through the glass windows as the scene unfolded.     

Due to rush hour, it had took a while for the car to reach Bianchi. When he arrived, the dinner had already started and he didn't believe that walking inside out of nowhere was the best tactic. After all, Yoona didn't know who Minhyun was yet. There was no fruit in going through all that labor.     

But now, it was the perfect time to intervene.     

Yoona, recognizing the unique timbre and quickly turned to face its owner. Although there was no reason for him to be in this restaurant at this hour, she could not have made a mistake in identity. When his dark eyes met hers, her thoughts were confirmed. The speaker was the man from yesterday. The one who gave her the large tip.     

What was he doing here? Yoona couldn't grasp the situation.     

As a member of the high-class, the girls at the table immediately recognized the man. All of them were shocked to see his presence in this restaurant. He was supposed to be in New York. What was he doing in Korea? They all subconsciously brushed their hair with their fingers while batting their eyelashes.     

How did the legend, Chae Minhyun, come to this humble place? They all whispered to one another as they eyed the man.     

Known as the King of the business world, Minhyun had taken up his father's steps to taking over the company. He brought the company to have higher sales to a number, unseen by the South Korean Industry. Although he was only twenty-four years old, he was already ranking above all his seniors when it came to their business sense.     

As young women in the society, they were constantly reminded of his presence. Not only was he capable but he was also good-looking. Any one of them would be thrilled to be acquainted with this man. He was a legend.     

When Jaeun recognized him, she wanted to run away. To think her luck today was this bad. Not only was she covered in food, but she swore that the MH CEO threatened her. Everything happening today was an absolute disaster.     

Chae Minhyun was her idol. The top of her list for potential husbands she would want in the future. Although she had only met him a few times on the rare occasion, seeing him up close was another experience. The man was absolutely beautiful and perfect for her.     

Was this love at first sight?     

But even with her thumping heart, there was one question she couldn't get out of her head. What was the relationship between the two? Yoona had recently broke up with her brother so there should not be any other male in her life, especially a renown CEO. There was something wrong with this picture.     

"I-i'm sorry sir," Jaeun began. A tight smile lifted on her face. "C-can you repeat what y-you said?"     

Since she looked terrible, the best she could do was act helpless. Perhaps, he could take pity on her victim state.     

Minhyun sent her a cold gaze, seeing through her disguise. Hatred filled his heart. He was disgusted to even be in the same room as this vile woman. Although he acknowledged her presence, he didn't bother to reply.     

Jaeun felt her heart tremble with fear. His mere gaze already brought her to her knees.     

Instead, he walked over to Yoona, not letting his eyes off of her.     

Yoona gulped. From the reactions of the girls, it was clear that this man was dangerous and more then he lead on.     

She took a step back, surprised by this development. She couldn't understand why he was looking at her with such a longing gaze. Sure, there was a slight sense of familiarity she felt with him. But after searching through all the memories in her head, she couldn't recognize him from anywhere. Plus, this man was filthy rich. She could not have any connections with him unless it was through the Moon siblings.     

"Don't worry about her threats. I'll protect you."     

Yoona was very confused, wondering why a rich man like him would take interest in her. To the point of offering protection from the Moon group. Nonetheless, she nodded, waiting for the explanation to come. She was too scared to reject his offer.     

Seeing that Yoona was feeling uneasy by his presence, Minhyun chose to finally introduce himself.     

His heart beat loudly in his chest. Finally. After fifteen years, he was going to make his entrance to her heart.     

"I think it's time to introduce myself," he said.     

She nodded slowly.     

"Although you may not remember since you were young, we hung out a lot at my estate when we were kids. During that time, you used to call me 'Mini'." He let out a smile, one that could blind any female from a meter away. He wasn't one to smile, but the occasion was too joyous to hide his true feelings. "My name is Chae Minhyun. Do you remember me?"     

Mini... Yoona snapped her head up in shock. It couldn't be! Her voice was stuck in her throat, unable to reply. This couldn't be the childhood friend that she had when she was a child.     

Her eyes analyzed his dark hair, all the way to his eyes, to the bottom of his chin. When she pieced his words together with the rest of her memories, everything began to make sense. The young boy she used to play with had similar features to the man in front of her. The reason to why he gave her the tip was somewhat explainable as well.     

Flashes of all their memories together played back. Everything was finally together, no scene missing from the movie of their childhood. Their first meeting, first meal, the time they snuck out to watch the stars, all came back to her. She placed her hands in front of her wide mouth.     

He was indeed the child from her memories.     

She couldn't believe it. This was an absolute shock to her. Yoona didn't know whether or not to scream of joy or cry.     

But, wasn't Mini dead? That was what her mother told her the day they left the estate. Yet, from what she could see, he was indeed alive and well. He was definitely a physical person in the room. She was not hallucinating.     

"I-I can't believe it." She shook her head. She paced around in small circles. "This all seems like a dream. You cannot be real. I thought you were dead!"     

He scrunched his eyebrows. "Dead?"     

Yoona scrunched her eyebrows. "Well, clearly not since you are alive and well right now... I... I don't know what to say. I'm so overwhelmed. My mother told me you were dead. That's what I've been believing this whole time."     

Minhyun felt relief. He assumed that she had completely forgotten about him. He was glad that she at least remembered some memories.     

"Well, I'm alive and well," he replied with a strong gaze. He found her reaction to him so cute.     

"Clearly," she breathed. Her eyes sparkled as she made eye-contact with him. "You don't understand how crazy this is to me right now. It's like my whole world has flipped over."     

This reunion was better than Minhyun dreamed. Despite being in the harsh business world, his biggest fear was being hated or irrelevant in Yoona's eyes. She was the only person who mattered.     

To him, this moment felt like a pure dream. He couldn't believe he was finally talking to the person he waited so long for.     

His senses tingled as he watched the girl. Although he tried to control himself, he couldn't help it anymore. He wanted to embrace her in his arms, just like old times.     

Suddenly, Yoona felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist, pulling her closer to him.     

Although she was taken aback, she didn't dare to move. For some reason, the skinship felt so right - something she'd never experienced before.     

In his arms, she felt safe. Just like the past. No hug compared to the ones they had. This had always stayed true ever since she was young.     

Minhyun laid his chin against her shoulder before whispering in her ear. "I've been wanting to do this the moment I laid eyes on you. Please forgive me."     

Yoona shook her head. She was more than happy to see the person who brightened up her childhood. She let out a laugh. A sense of happiness overtook her when she realized that a special person had reentered her life. "It's okay. You can hug me as much as you want."     

She felt his grip tighten by her command.     

"I missed you so much," he mumbled.     

Yoona wrapped her arms around him. She was scared he could hear her heartbeat. "God, um, I missed you too."