“Check please.” – She asks after they cleaned up the delicious dishes of steak.

The waiter politely puts the check on the table. She reaches her hand on it but he already takes it away.

“What are you doing?” – She scowls.

“I can’t let a lady pay for dinner, especially a pretty one like you.” – He says, flirty.

She can’t hide a smile with the sweet compliment of him but she quickly steals the check in his hand. – “This is the treat for saving my life. I don’t want to owe anyone.” – And especially not him.

She knows a dinner is not enough to thank someone for saving her life. She could have died, injured, lost a leg or two if it wasn’t for him. However, dinner is the best she can do for him right now. She can’t get any closer to him. She expects this dinner will be the last time they have to meet in private. If she can avoid him a work, she would. However, thing doesn’t always happen the way she wanted. Paying for this dinner is the only thing she can do to ease the guilt in her. She knows she will hurt him and his family very much in the future. It is not in her plan to hurt anyone but those 2 cruel people. However, collateral damage is something that unavoidable. She doesn’t want to be a cruel person but she has no choice. Those two people pushed her in the corner.

If he was not that woman’s brother, thing probably would be different. She probably would give him more than just a dinner.  She probably would throw herself at the delicious masculine man in front of her. Unfortunately, reality doesn’t change. He is the brother of her enemy. Cutting him off in early stage will be better for him and better for her as well. She doesn’t know how long her heart can stay strong if they do one more dinner like this.

“You can pay next time.” – He winks.

Darn his wink!

 Her heart just skips another beat. She needs to stop looking at him or she will literally have a heart attack. It takes her more than a moment to calm her heart down and coldly tells him – “I don’t think there should be next time. Starting Monday, you will be my boss and I don’t like to out with my boss.” – Then quickly, she pulls out her credit card and gives it to the waiter who is very awkward standing between their fight for paying. He quickly grabs the credit card and leaves before one of them steal the bill again.

There, she said that. She draws the clear line for him to understand that there will be no more than a professional relationship between them. He is a smart man she is sure he understands. But somehow her heart feels a little empty thinking about this is the last time they are hanging out. A part of her wants this night lasts a little bit longer, a part of her hoping there would be something she can do to gives them a chance for a second date. However, there is nothing she can do.

 Her sister, she has to make a revenge for her sister …

He does understand what she implies and that’s why he can’t control the sadness in his eyes. His heart sinks low a little. From her words, her tone of speaking, he knows she is serious. This is the first time ever, a girl doesn’t want to go out with him. Normally, girls would die over him after the first date and can’t stop bothering him to beg for a second date. He ignored all of them. However, the lady in front of him, the only one that he wants to have more than just one dinner, already drew the finish line for their relationship. He really can’t understand her. He can clearly see the spark in her eyes when they talk. He can feel the chemistry between them and he is sure that he hasn’t do anything wrong to turn her off. Why she cuts him off so early in the race? Is he being her boss really the reason? Then should he just not accept her to his company. He can’t do that. Then he will neither be a boss nor a man to her. She probably will despite him for being unprofessional.  

“That’s unfortunate. I very much like to have dinner again with a car enthusiastic like you.” – That’s all he can manage to answer. He is sure there is no use to convince her at this moment. But he is not a quitter, he will not easy to give up. It is not easy to finally find a girl of his dream. She will not going anywhere. He will patiently and secretly persuade her. There will be the day she agrees to go out for a second date. He firmly believes that.

She manages to give him a soft smile. It is indeed unfortunate.

He drives her home after the dinner. He drives much slower than he did earlier, too slow in fact, even under speed limit. Because he wants to have a little more time with her, even just a few minutes, even they don’t say a single word after the dinner. That is fine to him, he just wants to feel her present, wants to feel her heart beat, wants to feel her. It is amazing how fast his heart pounds by just looking at her. Her eyes are somewhere outside the car window. They are darker than the sky, deeper than the ocean, sadder than a ballad. But somehow, he just can’t take his eyes off those eyes. They are too beautiful. He gets lost in her eyes and he doesn’t bother to find the exit. It is ok for him to just forever stay in those sad beautiful eyes.

She is aware of how slow he drives but she doesn’t mind that. Just like him, she does want to stay in this car a little bit longer. She knows he is looking at her, staring at her in fact. She keeps holding her breath, trying to ignore him, trying to not look at him because she knows her heart will not be able to handle any more eye contact with the man next to her. Her heart is overworking by just sitting next to him, by just feeling the deep gaze that he is giving her. Being with him is … breathless.

They finally arrive at her apartment. She quickly opens the door without waiting for him. She needs to get away from him, as soon as she can. She needs some air. But he doesn’t make it easy on her. Before she can escape, he already stands in front of her, super close, only thin gap of air between her chest and his. She can feel his breath flowing on her cheek. She can feel the heat flowing out of his masculine muscles. This heat is even hotter than desert summer. Every blood cell in her veins is aware of the existence of the hot creature in front of her. This feeling is hotter than any kiss, hotter than any hug that she has ever experienced. The butterflies in her stomach keep having a protest, a protest of not letting them feel the delicious lips of the man in front of her, the protest of not letting them get a little closer to the heat. She has to try her hardest to not take one step closer because if she does, she will be burned, burned to hell, the hell of pleasure she knows that but she can’t. Again, the thought of her sister rescues her from this crazy affection, from the sin that she was about to commit with the God-like creature in front of her.

She slides away from him, away from the heat that was almost burn her body to ashes.

“Thank you for taking me to a nice dinner. Drive safe.” – She lightly bows at him.

He softly smiles at her - “Thank you for being with me tonight.”  

She moves her lip up a little. That is all she can manage as a smile. – “I gotta go first.” – She walks away before he can pull her back. She walks fast, almost as running so she can be away from him, so she can calm her crazy heartbeat down, so she can think straight, again.

He leans against his car, looking after the woman that walking further away from him. He wanted to pull her hand back, press her in his chest, hold her waist tightly like in the morning but he knew he shouldn’t. It would be too bold. He is not sure if she would hate it but he is sure she would be uncomfortable. So he lets her go, for now. Even from behind, she is still so pretty. He keeps staring at her, until she gets into the elevator, until she disappears but somehow, he still feels her present, her scent, is still lingering around his nose, her voice is still echoing in his ears. He doesn’t want to get rid of them. He wants them to stay with him for a little bit longer, forever would be preferred.

As she gets into the elevator, she immediately sits down on the floor, trying to breath. He took too much of her breath away, now she has to try to get some air back. She felt like a half of the oxygen in her brain was escaped when she was with him that’s why she couldn’t function right. She needed to be stronger than earlier, colder than earlier. She can’t afford to have even the slightest feeling for any one, especially him. She rubs her hand on her chest, trying to calm down the crazy heart of her.

Her body gives up on her as she makes it inside her bedroom. She throws herself on the bed without even changing. She lost all her energy. It wasn’t easy to walk away from him without grabbing his shirt, pulling his head closer to her and presses a passionate kiss on those wet lips of him. It took all her strength to bravely ignore him.

She opens the drawer of the night stand next to her bed, takes out the picture frame that she carried everywhere with. That is the picture of her sister and her a few years ago when her sister visited her in Connecticut before moving to Korea to be with the man that betrayed her at the end. She still remembers how happy her sister was at that time. Sung Eun couldn’t stop talking about her boyfriend. Her eyes were always sparked with happiness. Ji Hyo was very pleased seeing her sister that happy. Her sister was normally a very quiet person but when she talked about him, she didn’t seem to know how to stop. It annoyed Ji Hyo big time but she still patiently listened to her sister. All she wanted was seeing her sister smile. Sung Eun smiled very brightly, even in that picture.

Ji Hyo rubs her thumb lightly on Sung Eun’s face in the picture. – “I am sorry Sung Eun ah. I should stay strong for you. I am sorry for letting my heart turned weak for a moment. Please keep me strong, Sung Eun. Please give me strength to complete this revenge for you. Unnie promise that unnie will never let my guard down again. Wait for me a little bit ok? Things are going as planned for now. I will not let any personal emotion interrupt my plan. Everything will be ok, Sung Eun ah.” – She says but her tears are shredding. Her heart is hurt, her head is hurt, her entire body is hurt. Why is she hurting this much?

She needs a painkiller. Please give her some painkiller …