Author's Pov:

Aera again went to the abandoned park, sitting on her favorite spot gazing at the stars. "What did I ever do to deserve such things?", she whispered leaning against the tree.

"Hello! Nice to meet you again", the same man said. Aera frowned, "Do you live here?".

He laughed and shook his head, "Nope but I love coming here. It gives me peace". He sat down beside her. Aera instantly moved away from him, a habit of hers.

"Are you still afraid of me? I am not a creep", He said, "Anyways, my name is Ming- Myungho", he introduced.

Aera squinted her eyes, "Ming Myungho? What kind of name is that?". He cleared his throat, "Umm no. I have two name, one is my original, Xu Minghao and the other one is my Korean name. Out of habit I was about to say Minghao".

"Minghao", she murmured. "Yep, you can call me that. Whatever you are comfortable with", he smiled, "I was born and brought up in China. I came here as I got a decent job". Aera nodded waiting for him to go away but he still sat there.

"So, what have you thought? Divorcing him or giving him a second a chance", he asked. "I know I might sound rude but can you please move and do you own work? It is my personal life and I don't like sharing my personal life", Aera said.

Minghao have an awkward smile, "Umm, sorry for disturbing your personal space. But he looked worried yesterday when he came here".

"He came here?", she asked and patted him to sit beside her. Minghao nodded, "Yeah, he was searching for you. He looked so worried, maybe giving him a second chance won't hurt".

Aera sighed, "I hate second chances and I also hate people who ask for second chance".

Minghao raised his eye brows, "You hate your husband?". Aera immediately shook her head, "I never said I hate him. I can never hate him, Minghao. If my life is the darkest night then he is the brightest moon light. He was the one who helped me come over my past. I can never hate him, not even my dreams. He was ready to do everything just to give me happiness".

"So, you love him?", he asked. She nodded without any hesitancy, "I am in problem, Minghao. My heart wants me to give him a second chance but my mind is asking him not to".

"What about him? Does he still love you?", Minghao was curious. "He does or maybe did. We could read eachother like an open book. You know, before I knew anything could happened like this, I saw he was guilty about something. Since that day he trying his best to talk to me and today we did". She smiled, "You know, even after knowing my past and how I was, he never gave up. I ignored him a lot of times, like a lot but still he never left my hand. He was ready to accept me despite my past and how I was. He helped me accept myself the way I was. Not like some others who always taunted and never believed me".

"So, what's wrong in giving a second chance? You love him, he loves you. Just give it a try", Minghao said. Aera's face hardened, "I just hate it, Minghao", her voice showing no intentions of talking more.

She hated talking to someone she didn't knew but with Minghao it was different. She wanted him to go away but at the same time she wanted him to stay. Maybe it was because of his aura which made her feel comfortable, the way he gave her advices helped her.

"So, you had a bad past?", he asked, "How did you get to know about this place?". Aera smiled sadly, "Umm, to cut it short, I had a really bad day and someone had told me about this garden saying no one else comes here. So, I came here. It became my favorite place. Everytime I had something bad, I'd come here. Let me tell you something, I have known this place for a long time. Something like 10 years".

Minghao gaped, "10 years? Woah. It's been a year since I came here. I was new, I thought of exploring this area, I found this place and it instantly became my favorite one".

Aera laughed, "This is actually a beautiful place. I don't know why this place is abandoned but still that is a good thing other wise people would have made it a dirty place".

"Yes, that's true. It is beautiful just like this", Minghao looked at her, an unknown feeling crept in him. Aera noticed his gaze and shifted aside. "Are you still afraid of me?", he asked. "Huh? Umm no it's not like that, it's-"

Minghao laughed, "I was just joking". Aera too smiled hearing his giggles. "I know, I am just a stranger you encountered one day. So you  might be afraid of me". Aera smiled. "You are good at giving fake smiles", he suddenly said.

Aera fake laughed, "What are you taking about? I never give fake smiles".

"Liar", Minghao squinted his eyes, "It is totally visible that your smile is a fake one".

Aera cleared her throat, "You caught me. It is only Mingyu or Jeonghan who can see if my smile is real or a fake one".

"Who is Jeonghan? Your son?", he asked. Aera shook her head, "My brother, elder one. My son's name is Jiho but some times he can too. He is smart compared to his age".

"Ohh, Jiho. I would like to meet him once", Minghao smiled. "He would love it. He is totally extrovert just like Mingyu", Aera said.

"How did you two meet?", he asked. Aera smiled, "Wow, is that your real smile?", he whispered.

"I used to work in a cafe before. It was quite famous and one of his friend used to come there daily, one day he joined too. That was the first time we met, I think. He used to come everyday trying to have a normal conversation with me. I always ignored him though until one day...", Aera stopped, "He never gave up on me, Minghao. A lot of times I have pushed him away, a lot of times I had such harsh words that will hurt him but still he stayed. Now, don't ask me why I did that".

Minghao looked at her curiously, "You are like a puzzle but somewhat mysterious". Aera looked at him, "You got to know a lot about me today so why not my chance? Tell me about yourselves, leaving your introduction".

"Umm, I won't say I had a bad past but I was not totally good too. I was in relationship with a girl. I loved her, she loved me, well that's what I had thought. Turns out she was just using to get close to my friend. She liked him all the time, I was so in love with her to notice it. She proposed him but he rejected her, maybe it was her karma. She loved him as much as I love her but I would say her love was quite more", Minghao said.

"So, you still love her?", Aera asked. Minghao clicked his tongue, shaking his head, "No. It was something like 2 years ago. We still talk but not much. We all three are on our own ways".

"Minghao", He stopped playing with the grass and looked at her, "Do you think it is the karma I am getting now? Like in past I have hurted Mingyu a lot, like in all possible ways just make him stay away from me".

"Maybe, as you said before, he loved you with his all heart and you tried to hurt him. So, it is possible. I don't know", Minghao replied.

Aera sighed, "I need to go back now. It will be late by the time I reach home. Even Jiho is alone". She got up as Minghao followed her. "It was nice talking to you", She grinned.

"I'll be here if you need my help", Minghao smiled back. Aera nodded.

At Home:

Aera entered the house expecting Mingyu to be sleeping in room. But she saw him sleeping on the couch. He slept there while waiting for her.

She went to her room, brought the blanket and cover his body, "Sleep well", she kissed his forehead.

Eventhough, she hated him for cheating, her love was more than her hatred. He loved her, she knew it. But her young self couldn't help but remind her past, how her mother always struggled to keep the family together and how her father always wanted the opposite.

Flasback:

A 15 year old Aera was sitting in her room while her brother, Jeonghan was standing by the door hearing their parents fight.

"I wish he leaves us", Aera said with pure hatred. Jeonghan looked at his sister, "I know you hate him, Aera but he is our father-"

"He. Is. Not", Aera stopped him, "If he was our father, he would have believed me, he would have never cheated on mother, he would have never kept it a secret".

Jeonghan kept quiet knowing Aera is right. He hugged his sister, "I hope everything goes right".

Their fight continued until they heard their mother's scream and sound of breaking the glass. Aera and Jeonghan looked at eachother. Without having a second thought Aera ran.

"Aera, stop. They have asked us to stay in the room", Jeonghan tried to stop her but it was late. Aera stood infront of them, her body trembled.  She stood beside her mother who had covered her ears. She opened her eyes to see Aera, "Didn't I ask you to stay in your room? Why did you leave her Jeonghan?".

Aera looked around and within a second she understood that her father threw the vase at her mother. "Why can't you just let us live in peace? Don't you have your so called family?", she shouted.

"Watch you mouth, Aera", her father growled. Jeonghan tried to take her with him but Aera pushed him away. "Aera stop", her mother shouted, "You don't even know what's going on".

"I know everything that is going on here. I am not that small Aera anymore. I know he had been cheating on you with his secretary for 5 years even after you gave him countless number of chances. I know he is even having 2 daughters with her. I know everything, mother", Aera said, "And you still want to live with this man? You are pleading him to be with you just even after he has another family? He is the one who always ignored us and prioritize this second family".

Her father looked directly into her eyes, "Even if I have 2 daughter they are pure, unlike you. For me they are my first priority". Aera looked at him pure hatred, "Even if I am impure, the person who made me impure is none other than your so called girlfriend's brother, remember that".

Giving a glance to her mother, she again went to her room. Jeonghan shook his head and said, "If this keeps happening again and again then I'll take Aera with me and start living some where else. I earn enough for that. We both don't need you to support us".

He went to her room to see her crying while rubbing her whole body harshly, "Aera, stop". He tried to hold her hands but she pushed him away, "Don't touch me".

Persent:

Aera wiped her tears, her past never left her. She was afraid what if her life turns out to be just like her mother. She knew Mingyu is not like that but she couldn't help but think like that because of her past. Minghao's word's played in her mind.

'So, what's wrong in giving a second chance? You love him, he loves you. Just give it a try'.