Two glasses of red wine were placed on the table. Dong Xian sat on the chair that is facing the door. Zhen Yin came in with an expressionless face. Fatigue was written all over her pale face. Dong Xian was heartbroken.

"You said …" she broke the eerie silence between them "… you wanted to see me?" he was sitting there, alone, under the dim lightings "mister?" she added the usual opening line.

She is so distant from him "Did Tai Jun ask you to come to me?"

"No. He doesn’t know I am here" she looked at Ding Xian. The hurt in his eyes pained her "Please tell me your demands, mister"

"Do take a seat" to Dong Xian, they should share a relationship that is beyond a hotel-guest-and-manager.

She took this as his demand. She took the seat which was back-facing the door "I am seated, mister" she sat on the left hand side of Dong Xian.

He placed a glass of red wine in front of her "You’ll feel better after a drink" he said this even though he know it’s against the hotel regulations for her to drink with a guest in the hotel room.

Just when Dong Xian wanted to raise his glass (for a drink with her), he found she has quickly gobbled down the glass of red wine. (She took his invitation to drink as a demand.) She put the empty wine glass on the table "I have listened to you … I drank a glass of wine … but … I still feel …" she tried hard to contain her tears "… feel horrible" she turned to face Dong Xian, her eyes flickering with tears "Do you have other demands, mister?"

Dong Xian pleaded, "Please don’t use such a tone on me"

"What kind of tone would you expect, mister?", she rebutted

He felt bad "Put aside our hotel-manager-guest identities. Please speak as Shen Dong Xian and Xu Zhen Yin."

"In that case, I have nothing to say to you, Mr Shen Dong Xian", she replied dryly.

"But I have …" Dong Xian stopped her "I have a lot to tell you, Xu Zhen Yin!"

"Why do you have to be so angry?" she thought of his pending lawsuits against Hotel Seoul "Are you angry that your plans are being interrupted … your true identity being exposed earlier than expected?" why did he want to see her now? "Or you are angry that I wasn’t being deceived by you? Did that hurt your pride? That’s why you placed all your anger on ‘Hotel Seoul’?"

‘Hotel Seoul’ is so important to you? "You can be rest assured … ‘Hotel Seoul’ will be fine" tears flickered in his eyes too.

Zhen Yin ridiculed "I am almost touched to tears. Can I use ‘crocodile tears’ to describe the current situation? Maybe I am wrong, but mister … your English should be better than mine, please pardon me if I am wrong" her eyes were red.

"Zhen Yin, please … don’t treat me this way. I have tried my best", he pleaded.

"What have you tried? An expensive restaurant? Or costly gift? … Do you think you could ‘buy’ me with those?", she accused him.

"I … I just wanted to treat you nicely. I wanted to see your happy expression. These are the ways I could think of to … to make you happy. If I am wrong, then … I apologize", Dong Xian explained.

Is she only a female hotelier in his eyes? Zhen Yin nodded, "From you stand, this may not be an incorrect way …"

"You still do not believe me …", Dong Xian’s voice got louder. He panicked.

She didn’t want to continue this fruitless conversation "Please excuse me, mister, I need to make a move" she intended to make a dash for the door.

"Why can’t you believe that my feelings for you are true?", Dong Xian almost shouted.

Why can’t he give up? She was rooted on the seat. She saw a blurred version of Dong Xian as tears have filled her eyes.

What can you change even if I do believe in you? "Why must we meet this way?" she cried. She exclaimed "You could meet me here with another identity. Why? Why do you have to destroy the hotel that I treasured?"

"I really couldn’t understand, Zhen Yin …" he was physically tired, he hasn’t been able to sleep since she confronted him with the ‘truth’. "’Work’ and ‘us’ should be separated. No matter who owes this hotel, you can still work here if you are willing to. You can even be the General Manager" he saw her crying "I don’t understand. Why are you so persistent?"

"You will not comprehend … there is more than just restaurants and hotel rooms in our hotel. Here, we faced numerous guests and tight situations together. These memories …" she faced him "how could I forgo such memories?"

Our hotel? Our memories? Dong Xian looked at her "Is it because of him?" he asked frankly "Han Tai Jun" Is someone else occupying her heart? "I want to know.

Between Han Tai Jun and the hotel, which is binding you?" He wanted to know the hurdle between Zhen Yin and himself.

She faced his question. She couldn’t provide an answer. She wouldn’t be confused now if she love Tai Jun "I don’t know …" she shook her head "I really don’t know …" she continued crying "I believe you. No …" she does believe him "I rather not believe you. I hope these are all lies. These are tricks you used to deceive me … I really hope to think this way … then I could feel more relieved."

"I have given up a lot to be by your side … I can’t let you go now … because I have walked too far …", Dong Xian can’t lose Zhen Yin.

"Me too …" Zhen Yin confessed her feelings for Dong Xian "Why do you have to treat me this way?"

Zhen Yin love Dong Xian. Tears rolled down Dong Xian’s cheeks "Can you come back to me?" they faced each other, tear-eyed.

How could she return to his side now? It pained her to see him in tears. Her defence has weakened.

She took a deep breath, "I am going to leave now if you have finished the talk, mister."

He saw her left. He heard the door closed. He sat down, with a fresh coat of tears. He walked to the balcony. There … Dong Xian saw Zhen Yin walking towards the main building, following Tai Jun’s lead.