CHAPTER TEN

-+- NORMAL POV -+-

Hae looked at the beauty beside him. The maiden which is in deep slumber, visibly tired from what transpired between them. He had been staring at her for quite some time, unable to move away from her. He kept telling himself that he got to move. He needs to go away from her, he needs to escape while he can. But the view in front of him restrained him, keeping him still in the same position.

He closed his eyes.  He took a deep breath and managed to stand up. He dragged his heavy feet away from the bed, and when he has reached the door, he turned his head and take one last look. I swear, just one look. He sighed and went out of the room. He closed the door behind him and slowly walked towards his room.

He stared at his bed for a couple of minutes and approached it. He laid his heavy body on it. He moved his gaze on the curtain which is partially open, sunlight is peeping on the small space. It's already morning. He silently thought.

He had a long day, he was discussing about existing and new projects with Jessica. He was not supposed to meet her yesterday, but he was prompted to. He needed to escape. He needed to go out of the house. He needed to go away from her. Away from Dara. Without any plan to come to the office he phoned his secretary and told her to come to the office. He knew, it was an unfair call, it's weekend. He apologized to her and told her she can file it in lieu for another day. He felt guilty seeing the poor girl completely dressed, maybe going out with friends or her lover. He already called Jessica to meet him in his office and being as workaholic as she is, just like him, she agreed without any hint of hesitation.

His thoughts went back to how Jessica looks that afternoon. How refreshing it is to see her the same way as before. Still beautiful and alluring in all possible way. She never changed. Her confidence in herself, how she brings herself, it always impresses him. He always admires that, how strong of a woman Jessica is, she is powerful in their industry, being one of the best and all, he knew that ever since. He knew that Jessica will shine and will continue shining in this career, that's why he has too much respect for her.

Then his thoughts drifted to how she purposely flirts with him. It's not a new thing. They always have this electricity between them, which most of the people call which for them is the constant flirting. He doesn't even know if it still called flirting, after all the things they have went through and shared with each other. Maybe it's already a constant thing between them, the sense of familiarity which opted them to act so comfortable with each other. They have already crossed the line. That line of friendship, they already passed that line and even went beyond. They knew each other since middle school, grew accustomed to each other and fell in love. They were college sweethearts, and almost did get engaged. He slightly shook his head and pressed his palms on his face. It's the past. No need to think about it. He sat up and stared on the side of the bed where Dara sat earlier.

It felt empty. He shook his head again, trying to erase the longing he is feeling. He stood up and walked towards his bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. He looked at his reflection on the mirror and his thoughts drift back again to what happened earlier with Jessica. After their long business discussion, he invited Jessica for dinner. He bugged her to work on weekend and he feel obliged to treat her somehow. He sent a quick message to Dara and he waited for her to reply but she didn't. He thought maybe she was busy with her own scheduled agenda for the weekend and just ignored the fact that maybe she intentionally ignored his message.

He can't help but feel pissed by how Dara ignored his message, he wasn't used to this kind of treatment from her. She usually replies to all his messages, even a simple 'okay' will do, but he didn't receive anything after that text and he began to feel wronged. After freshening himself up, he walked towards his couch and sat. Suddenly, he heard a faint knock from his door, he felt tensed, thinking it is Dara, but this tension subsided when he heard ahjumma calling his name. Immediately, he walked towards the door and smiled at her.

"Good morning." The old lady greeted him. "Breakfast is ready."

"Thanks ommoni." He smiled. "But I have no appetite today."

"What? You too?" The old lady asked him.

This made Hae curious, did Dara skipped breakfast too? Maybe she's still too tired and decided to sleep more? The old lady waited for him to answer but when he didn't she frowned. "I won't accept this from you too. Eat what I have prepared. Dara was in a hurry and didn't even glanced at the food I made, so you better finish it all."

"In.. a hurry?" Hae asked her.

The old lady nodded. "Yes, she told me she needed to work today and might not be back for a couple of days. Your companies must be too cramped with work that even during the weekends you both work. Poor kids." She shook her head as she walked towards the stairs. "Hurry up, the food will get cold."

Hae stood there limply while staring at ahjumma's back. A couple of days? Where is she going?

-+- NORMAL POV -+-

She knocked again the second time and still nobody answered the door. She cursed as she breathed. "Bommie-ah, please open the door. Where are you now?" She spoke in a low voice as she stared on the door. She looked left and right, afraid that she was bugging Bom's neighbors early in the morning. She knocked again, only to stop midway when the door opened exposing Bom who is graciously yawning.

"Dara?" Bom squinted and carefully scratched her eyes. She looked at Dara's worried face again and looked down to see her friend holding a bulky bag. "Waeyo? What happened? Did Hae kicked you out of the house?"

Dara pouted and hugged her friend. "Can I stay here for a while?"

"Of course you can. Come on in." Bom said as she pulled her small friend inside her place.

They went towards her sofa and sat there. "What happened?"

Dara's tears began welling up and Bom can't help but feel worried for her friend. "I screwed up Bom." She said in between her sobs.

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