"Sam, if.. if I had come home earlier... Would you have given me the chance? Would you have loved me again?" Nathan looked at her with eyes full of yearning. The woman he loved, the woman he still loves is just in front of her.Nathan Yun didn"t plan on opening up to Samantha and asking her this question. When he arrived at the Kim"s Family Estate with Seo Joon, Samantha"s mother had already invited the couple over. He knew Samantha moved out a little after they broke up so he didn"t expect to see them there. And after learning that Daniel Cho is Samantha"s boyfriend, his heart broke. He wanted to mend things with Samantha and possibly get back together. How is he able to do that now? Facing Daniel as his rival, his resolution wavered. With his emotions being stirred, he just had to know.. Would she have loved him if he came back earlier?... Before Daniel Cho happened?
Upon hearing this question, Samantha froze on the spot. She couldn"t look at him in the eyes. How was she to answer this question? She pondered and thought, "Would it have been possible to accept him again after he left? Did I love him that much to receive him again?"… She likes Daniel Cho, and even if their relations.h.i.+p has just started, she doesn"t like even just the idea of not knowing Daniel. The thought of it… the thought of it actually scared her.
Just as she was about to answer Nathan, Daniel"s voice and the sound of footsteps were nearing.
"I"ve been looking all over for you."
Samantha saw Daniel sauntering towards her and her gaze turned gentle as if she found her savior, "Daniel…".
Samantha was rubbing her arm gently when Daniel found her. So without thinking twice, Daniel took off his coat that he just managed to put on before looking for Samantha so that they could leave. As he reached her, he carefully placed his coat over her shoulders. "Why are you outside? It"s cold."
Witnessing the sweet couple in front of him, Nathan Yun couldn"t bear it. The woman he loves, in another man"s arms? "I don"t need to see this. I don"t want to see this.", he thought.
"Sam, I"ll leave first. I need to drop by at my parent"s place." Nathan excused himself. "President Cho, Have a good evening."
Samantha nodded and Daniel replied, "Take it easy.".
Daniel turned to face Samantha and she smiled up at him. "Are you okay?", he asked.
"Yes.", she tiptoed and kissed him on his lips quickly before she escaped from his arms.
"Hey... I need more than that!", he grinned at the way Samantha stole a kiss from him.
Before Samantha and Daniel left the estate, they said their farewells to Samantha"s parents and then they looked for her brother.
"Joon, we"re leaving.", Samantha said when she found his brother in the living room.
"Oh, you are?" Seo Joon nodded, "Okay... I"ll see you guys out."
Before they took a step, Daniel Cho brought out a package and handed it to Seo Joon, "Here, I heard you were looking for this."
"What"s this?" Seo Joon accepted the package and pried it open.
When Seo Joon saw what was inside, he gawked like he saw something so unbelievable.
"You"re s.h.i.+tting me." Seo Joon couldn"t believe it, he thought he was dreaming.
Ever since Seo Joon was a child, he had collected comic books. And he had been searching for a particular one but he couldn"t get his hands on it. Now, Daniel Cho just hands it to him.
Seo Joon gaped at Daniel, "Y-you"re serious? You"re giving this to me? How did you even know?"
"I got it from a charity auction last year. I used to read The Flash before but I don"t really collect, I just thought it was cool. I asked your sister what your interests were on our way here earlier and it just so happened that you were looking for this."
"We dropped by his home very quickly and he said he"s gonna give it to you. Are you happy? You"ve been looking for it for a while." Samantha smiled, his brother is obviously elated.
In his hands was The Flash Comic Book #104: The Last Golden Age Issue. It"s a very difficult one to find. It was said that the highest record sale reached $31,000. Although Daniel Cho won it from the auction for a lower price, it was still very valuable.
Seo Joon was speechless, he couldn"t take his eyes away from it.
Before, when he heard that this Issue was sold at an auction, he tried to look for it and see if the buyer was willing to trade it with him but he couldn"t get any information as to who won it. It was Daniel Cho, and now he was simply giving it to Seo Joon as a gift. Just like that, Daniel gave a limited edition whiskey to Samantha"s father and a rare comic issue to Seo Joon like he was handing candy bars to kids.
"Bro... I"mma call you bro from now on! Heck, I"mma call you "boss" if you want!" Seo Joon was so emotional. "When you guys get married in the future, I will be your biggest supporter!" And just like that, Seo Joon has already betrayed and switched sides from Team Nathan to Team Daniel.
"Just bro, is fine I guess?", said Daniel, a little amused by Seo Joon"s reaction.
Daniel got accepted to Samantha"s family without a fuss. Even without the gifts, he is still a very likable man. So although Samantha was a bit nervous earlier, she was sure that her family would like him.
-------------
One week later at The Busy Bean Cafe.
The Busy Bean Cafe is a coffee shop owned by Hannah Chu. She"s actually a certified barista and because of her love for coffee, she opened a coffee shop and a year later, she opened a few more branches all over the city.
Hannah was talking to Samantha about the things she did a few days ago when she visited a nearby city. The two friends planned to travel to a nearby country when they both have time and they were both excited.
While they were having afternoon tea, Hannah"s phone beeped.
She checked her phone and read the text message she received. Upon reading, her expression changed and Samantha noticed this,
"Han? Everything okay?"
Hannah quickly closed her phone and put it aside. She forced a smile, "Yeah."
Samantha knew her best friend very well that she can"t keep secrets from her, "Tell me. You can"t hide it from me, Han."
Hannah thought for a second. She didn"t want to make a big deal out of it knowing that Samantha is quite protective of her. In the end, Hannah gave Samantha her phone.
When Samantha received her best friend"s phone, she read the message...
Unknown number: [ I will destroy you, Hannah Chu! ]
Samantha scrolled to the previous messages and they were similar texts.
Unknown number: [ Your happy days are over. ]
Unknown number: [ I spy with my little eye, Hannah Chu, I can see you. ]
Unknown number: [ It"s payback time. ]
"Han.. this is... you"re being threatened?" Samantha was shocked. "When did this start? Why didn"t you tell me about it?"
"A couple of days ago."
"Why didn"t you tell me? Who is this?"
"It"s just a stupid threat, S. Don"t worry about it.", Hannah said as she sipped her tea.
"How can I not? What if someone is trying to hurt you? Did you tell the cops?"
"Come on, what are they gonna do?"
Samantha tried to convince Hannah to tighten her security or maybe hire a bodyguard. But Hannah"s dismissive, she wasn"t guilty of anything and didn"t think she had offended someone. Hannah received another text.
Unknown number: [ You look cute in that pink dress. ]
Samantha and Hannah felt chills on their back as they turned their heads from left to right but couldn"t see anyone suspicious. Hannah has a stalker!