The air outside was pleasant to Miyeon's lungs, much better than the air inside the house. They were on the terrase, from where they could see the beach. Jongdae took out a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one. Exhaling a cloud of smoke, he supported his arms on the railing and gazed in the distance. "The answer to your question is yes", he said, not daring to look at Miyeon. She gulped, looking away from him to stare at the darkness. "I know that I'm not the one who is supposed to tell you this, but you deserve to know the truth." He had another smoke before continuing. "When he was younger, he was quite out of control. He was responsible when it came to his grades or his job later, but his private life was quite the opposite. Parties and clubs were basically his second home. Of course, women were a very important part of his life. Lots of women. He had no self control when it came to them, he just couldn't stop at one."  He turned his head to her slowly, as if he was afraid of the sight of her. She was looking at him intently and he could clearly see the tears forming in her eyes. Afraid to continue with the story, he brought the cigarette to his mouth and had another smoke.

"Go on", she muttered, wondering where she found the strenght to speak. She had heard more than enough and it hurt.

He heaved a sigh. "When he was 26, he met Hyeri. At first she was only one of those women he played with, but as the time passed he became more and more attached to her. He fell in love, for the first time in his life." At that point Miyeon didn't want to listen anymore. His every word was more than painful for her and she had a feeling that his next words would be even worse.

"They got together, they were really happy. She was there for him when..." he paused to lit another cigarette, "when our father died."Miyeon couldn't hold her tears back any longer. The pain in Jongdae's voice only made it worse. She wiped them hastly, trying to stay calm. 

"She became the center of his world, the only woman he had eyes for. She managed to change him. They were the happiest couple I've ever seen. Until she left, two years later. She just left and no one knew why. He was mad at first. He looked for her everywhere, but it was all in vain. But then one day she appeared at his door. He begged her to come back, but she strongly refused. She came to tell him the reason of her sudden departure. She told him that she couldn't stand his jealousy and possessiveness any longer. And of course, she had found out about all the women before her. His past had haunted him. She left him completely broken and desperate."

A sob escaped and she gripped the railing tightly. Jongdae turned to her. "He blamed himself for everything and became the person you met. The cold, distant Joonmyun who ran away from life. For the past three years the only thing he did was pitying himself and suffering. I know that you might say that he deserved all of that and that he maybe deserved even worse, but trust me, he had suffered more than enough."

Miyeon wiped her tears again. It took her a lot of power to find her voice. "This is too much for me", she said and Jongdae could only nod.

"I believe so. But I had to tell you everything so you could understand. My brother has changed, he is completely different now and he is much better." He smiled at her. "I think that he has found his life again." He took a few steps towards her and patted her back. "Don't cry anymore." She nodded.

"What is that? I thought you stopped", she said, looking at the cigarette between his fingers.

"I stopped, but sometimes I can't fight the urge. And only when Sunmi isn't around", he said, putting it out. "Because when she catches me, I am punished with a week without ." Yes, Jongdae was that blunt. Miyeon laughed a bit too loud and he gave her a side eye. "It's not funny", he said and she could only laugh more. He patted her back once again and smiled. He managed to cheer her up and he was satisfied. "Now let's get inside. It's cold here."
______________________________________________________________________________

The first few days after the vacation were tough. No one was really ready for the work to start. There wasn't much work, but it was still difficult to do it. Miyeon was working diligently, as usual, but she could not always perform her duties because Sehun was always there. He kept asking her about the vacation, even though he was more than well informed about everything that happened.

"Sehun, please find someone else to bother", she said. He only shook his head. "You are my favourite person here, that's why I'm here and I'm not bothering you. Now tell me, did he get jealous a lot? I wish I had been there too."

"Who are you talking about?"

He huffed and waved his hand. "Nevermind. I'm leaving, if I'm annoying you so much", he said and left. She huffed and got back to work.

"Miyeon." The voice made her look away from her laptop. It was no one else but Joonmyun. He called her just by her name, without any formalities, and it made her feel warm. She smiled at him, unaware of the things her smile did to him. He stared at her for some time before speaking up. "Come to my office, please."

"Have a seat", he said while taking off his coat. He took a seat and she looked at him in expectation. "There is a business dinner tonight and I would like you to go with me." She smiled.

"Of course, Joonmyun-sshi", she replied excitedly. He frowned upon hearing her calling him like that. "I think we dropped the formalities, Miyeon."

She looked at him, confused. "But we are at work. I don't think it's alright for me to call you like that."

"But you call Sehun just by his name, right?" he said with a frown.

"But you are the president. What would other employees say?"

He sighed. "Do I look like I care?" he said. Her heart was speeding up from his words. The look in his eyes melted her.

"Alright then, Joonmyun." 

He smiled and nodded. "That's better. Now, I think we should get ready for the dinner. Here is the plan", he handed her the papers. "I think we should go through it together." He took his copy and pretended to start reading. All he did was looking at her, exploring her every feature with his eyes. Lately, just a mere thought of her filled him up with warmth. He began to realise how much he actually wanted her. It was scary how much he craved for her presence.

He thought about confessing a lot. But there was always that fear of rejection, it was present in the back of his head, it sticked to him all the time and he could do nothing about it. But he knew that at one moment he would have to do something. Changmin's words kept ringing in his head. 

"Hurry up, Joonmyun. Someone else might snatch her away and then you won't be able to do a thing about it." He hated to admit, but Changmin was right. Damn right.