“What?” He said.

“What?” She said.

“What did you just say?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I think I lost my mind for a few minutes.”

“You want to take me to your friend’s wedding?” He asked again. He had heard her request but he wanted to confirm that he wasn’t getting ahead of himself.

“Please don’t pay any mind to me. Goodbye.” She said quickly and escaped into her office.

Hwan-gun placed a hand on the closed door for a minute before he left.

Later that night, Hwan-gun laid in bed and thought about Hae-kyung’s request again and pulled the covers over his head. He couldn’t believe he was actually contemplating it.

“You have a fiancée, what are you doing?” He said to himself. “You’re such a jerk.”

Hae-kyung wondered around the mall trying to buy a dress. It was Thursday after she had gotten off work and she forgot she was supposed to get a new dress. She didn’t want to spend too much time in the mall when she still had to go home to get packed, but she still hadn’t found anything she liked. She wanted something she could wear again after the wedding. She walked into a store and decided she wouldn’t leave until she found a dress and started searching through the racks. She smiled to herself as she looked at the price tags, it felt nice to not have to worry about money anymore.

“I said no. I don’t want that dress, it’s ugly.” A voice said very loudly. Hae-kyung turned to see the person protesting very loudly, she sounded young. It was a girl of about 11 years old and she had turned her back to whoever she was talking and kept searching through the racks.

“What do you mean it’s ugly? It’s such a pretty dress.” A man’s voice replied.

“Dad, I’m 11 not 51. The dress is way too matronly. I know you’re the conservative type, but I’m the one who has to wear that dress and I don’t want it.” The girl replied.

Hae-kyung smiled at the girl, she was amazed at how such a young girl was able to be so defiant against her father.

“I’m paying for it, aren’t I?” The man asked again, he seemed to be at his wits ends but the daughter wasn’t losing to him.

“Fine, if you like it so much you can wear it by yourself.” She said and stomped away. The father ran after her and as he passed by Hae-kyung, she felt her knees go weak. She grabbed the clothes rack for support and tried to breathe slowly.

“He has a daughter? He has a daughter?” Hae-kyung felt her heart fill with hate and she thought she would throw up. “How dare he carry on with his life after what he did to me? How dare he have a daughter when I can’t even be intimate with the men I love?” She thought she was going to be buried under the weight of how unfair it was. Just then, her phone rang.

“Y-yeobseyo?” She struggled to breathe as she answered Hwan-gun’s call.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“I’m fine. What do you want?” She replied. She pulled herself together and shuffled to a chair before collapsing in it.

“I’ll go with you to your friend’s wedding.”

“Oh, that’s…erm.” She said, she was gasping for air and she struggled to deal with her emotions. “It’s so unfair, so very unfair.” She thought to herself.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t sound very good.” He was beginning to get worried about her again, he wondered if she was having a hard time again like the night of the party. “Where are you?”

“Can I call you back later?  I’m kind of busy right now. I’m sorry.” She said and hung up.

Hae-kyung watched as Min-jae talked and smiled with his daughter, convincing her to go back to the store with him.

“Bastard.” She said quietly as a tear fell to her cheek.

Hae-kyung walked into her apartment later that evening, she had finally pulled herself together and gotten a dress after she made sure that Song Min-jae and his daughter had left. She threw the bag on the couch and reached for her phone. Hwan-gun had called her earlier but she was too out of it at the time to understand what he wanted.

“Yeobseyo.” Hwan-gun answered on the second ring.

“I’m sorry about earlier.” Hae-kyung said immediately.

“Are you okay? You didn’t sound so well before.” He said.

“I’m fine now. Did you really say you would go to my friend’s wedding with me?” Hae-kyung asked.

Hwan-gun sighed, he wondered if she was really fine. “Didn’t you ask me so I could accept?” He teased, trying to make her feel comfortable.

“I told you to ignore me. I don’t know what came over me when I asked.” Hae-kyung said, kicking off her shoes.

Hwan-gun, who was at home, leaned back in his chair in front of his computer. “But I really want to go.”

Hae-kyung pulled out a bottle of water from the fridge and planted herself in a chair. “Why?” She asked.

“Why what?”

“Why do you want to go?”

“I’ve never been to Ulsan and I don’t think I really need a reason to go on vacation.” He said. He really couldn’t tell her that he was going just to try to spend some time with her. He already felt like such a bastard for being attracted to her while he had a woman he was supposed to be getting married to.

“Well, thanks I guess. Anyway, I’ll see you at the train station tomorrow. Goodnight.”

“Wait! Um… what time?”

“10 am?”

“Alright, I’ll see you then. I really hope that you’re feeling better now.”

Hae-kyung placed her forehead on the table and sighed, she was feeling much better after having heard his voice and she didn’t like it one bit.

The following day, Hae-kyung waited at the train station for Hwan-gun and fifteen minutes later, he showed up with his luggage in tow.

“Good morning.” He said with a big smile. He was surprised at how she managed to look so beautiful in just a long skirt and a short-sleeved top.

“Good morning.” She smiled in return. “I was waiting so we could be seated together.”

They made their way to the ticket counter and bought two tickets to Ulsan.

On the train, Hwan-gun pulled out a bag he had packed with some snacks inside.

“I remembered that you said you hated to cook and I thought it would be nice to have something to snack on. I should have asked if there was anything you didn’t like or were allergic to.”

“I like to eat everything, and I have no allergies. How early did you have to get up to make this?” She said, amazed when he opened up the bowls containing all the different kinds of food he had prepared.

“I told you, I like to eat.”

“What else do you like to do aside from eat?” She laughed.

“Listen to music.” He said, popping another kimbap into his mouth.

“What kind of songs do you like?” She asked, unscrewing the cap of the flask and pouring him a drink.

“Well, these days I’m into the American artist, The Weekend. Thank you.” He replied, taking a sip of the water she had poured.

“I like his songs too I think they’re very good. I especially like ‘In The Night’.” 

“Ah, that’s a good one. Can you sing?”

“Oh no, I’m terrible!” She exclaimed with laughter.

“Really, that bad? Alright, I suppose we will never go karaoking together.” He laughed in return.

“Hey, I said I couldn’t sing not that I didn’t sing. Two different things. I’m sure there’s something you’re bad at too.”

“Hmm, when I think of it I’ll let you know.”

“Heol. You know, I bet you don’t know how to dance. You have two left feet, don’t you?”  Hae-kyung replied, pushing the last piece of the rolled omelet into .

“Ha! How did you know? When I get on the dance floor, I don’t know what to do with myself.” He laughed.

“Really? I just managed a random guess.” She glanced at her watch and stifled a yawn. “We still have about an hour and a half in our journey, we should get some sleep since we don’t want to be tired when we arrive.” She rested her head against the window and closed her eyes and was soon fast asleep.

Hwan-gun leaned back and folded his arms and stared at her with a stupid smile on his face before drifting off to sleep.

The train pulled up at the station and they got off with their luggage, on the platform Hye-soo and Jin-young were there to greet them.

“Chinguya!” Hye-soo screamed immediately she saw her friend get off the train but stopped when she saw the strange man behind her.

“Hye-sooya!” Hae-kyung waved at her friend before hurrying to her and pulling her into a hug.

“Who?” Hye-soo whispered into Hae-kyung’s ear before she let her go.

“This is Seo Hwan-gun daepyonim, we were in a business relationship until last weekend and now we’re, friends?” She wondered as Hwan-gun arrived next to her with his carry-on.

“Friends. It’s nice to finally meet you Jung Hye-soossi, Hae-kyungssi speaks very highly of you.” He said in greeting.

Hye-soo gave him the once-over before nodding her greeting very briefly. “This is my fiancé, Kim Jin-young.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Hwan-gun replied.

“It’s been a while Jin-youngah. I can’t believe you finally decided to marry this crazy girl.” Hae-kyung tsked as they headed toward the car.

Jin-young had a very gentle personality, he was soft-spoken and kind-hearted. He was also the only one who could curb Hye-soo’s excesses, the calming water to her fiery disposition. 

“Well, we figured it was time and I’m not getting any younger.” Jin-young replied good-naturedly.

“Honestly, I was kind of shocked when Hye-soo told me about you proposing but now that I’m used to the idea, I’m very excited for you two. Hye-sooya, you can’t change your mind later.” Hae-kyung laughed.

“How did you two meet?” Jin-young asked Hwan-gun from the driver’s seat.

“I just opened a branch of our hotel in Seoul, and Hae-kyungssi helped me with the promotions.” He replied.

“He’s a chaebol?!” Hye-soo screamed, turning her head quickly to look at Hwan-gun and Hae-kyung in the backseat. She widened her eyes at Hae-kyung as if wondering what her friend was thinking getting involved with a chaebol.

“No, it’s nothing like that. My father owns a few hotels, most of them are in Japan where the rest of my family lives but nothing fancy enough for us to be considered chaebols.” Hwan-gun explained. From the first time Hye-soo set eyes on him at the train station, he got the feeling that she didn’t like him very much.

“What’s wrong with you Jung Hye-soo?” Hae-kyung scolded her friend.

Hye-soo narrowed her eyes at her friend and managed a “I’m sorry” but her eyes said they would continue this later.

They finally arrived at Hye-soo’s family home and Hye-soo grabbed Hae-kyung’s hand and led her to her room while telling Jin-young to lead Hwan-gun to his.

“What are you doing?” Hye-soo asked when they finally reached her room.

“What are you talking about?” Hae-kyung replied, placing her suitcase on the bed and emptying it.

“Who’s that man?” Hye-soo asked, her arms folding across her chest.

“I told you, he’s just a friend.” Hae-kyung replied.

“A friend? I don’t think you have eyes Lee Hae-kyung, the way he looks at you is not a ‘friendship’ gaze.”

“What are you talking about Jung Hye-soo, that man…that man has a fiancée.” Hae-kyung replied with a sigh.

Hye-soo’s eyes widened. “Oh my God, oh my God Lee Hae-kyung you like him!” Hye-soo said and smacked her forehead.

“It’s nothing like that, I just find him a little…attractive is all. I mean, wouldn’t you? Even looking at him at first glance he’s the type to catch your eyes.”

“Snap out of it Lee Hae-kyung, you just said yourself that he has a fiancée.”

“So what? I only said I found him attractive, I didn’t say I was going to sleep with him. In any case, it’s not like I can even if I wanted to.” She sighed and sat suddenly, exhaustion catching up to her.

“I’m sorry Hae-kyung.” Hye-soo said, sat next to her friend and hugged her tight.

“Honestly, I don’t even care anymore.” Hae-kyung said.

“I’m sorry you have to share a room with me when we just met.” Jin-young said as Hwan-gun placed his carryon next to the neatly made bed.

“I don’t mind.” He replied with a smile. “I should be apologizing to you for tagging along when I don’t know anyone here, Jung Hye-soossi asked Hae-kyung to find you a groomsman because your friend’s mother suddenly got sick and I wanted to help out.”

Jin-young furrowed his eyebrows, “What do you mean ‘my friend’s mother got sick’? My friend is arriving later today.”

“Oh, so you do have a groomsman?” Hwan-gun asked.

“Yes, I do. I’m not aware of this plot Hye-soo made up.” Jin-young said shaking his head.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. Am I intruding?” Hwan-gun asked, he laughed at himself in his mind. What the hell was he thinking coming all the way to this place where he didn’t know anyone.

“Oh no, you are here as Hae-kyung’s guest not an intruder. By the way, I realized you said you were friends with Hae-kyung, is that all?” Jin-young asked, taking a seat on the second bed in the room.”

“Y-yes, that’s all. I have a fiancée.” He said, trying to convince himself more than Jin-young.

Jin-young’s forehead furrowed again, “Then why did you come all the way here?”

“I needed a vacation and Hae-kyungssi seemed like a really good travel companion.” He replied. ‘Lies!’ a voice in his head yelled.

“Listen Seo Hwan-gunssi, Hae-kyung is a very special woman and she deserves more than to be played with.” Jin-young said gently.

Hwan-gun felt himself grow angry, although he couldn’t understand why. “I am not playing with her. We are friends.”

“Okay, I hope you keep it at that.” Jin-young said quietly and left the room. Hwan-gun couldn’t have felt more threatened if Jin-young had held a gun to his head.

On Saturday morning, Ah-reum strolled into Ki-joon’s café and it was so packed even her regular table was taken. She saw Ki-joon hurry towards a table that had called for him and she realized he was doing it all on his own.

“He’s going to frazzle himself this way.” She said. “Sajangnim.” She said as he hurried past her.

“Ah-reumssi, I’m sorry I didn’t see you standing there.” He replied. “Please sit yourself and I’ll be right with you.” He hurried past her and went into the kitchen.

Ah-reum sighed, rolled up her sleeves and followed him into the kitchen.

“Sajangnim.” She said again to get his attention.

“What are you doing? You’re not allowed back here.” He said.

“I’ll help you out today, you’re going to wear yourself out doing it alone.” She replied, grabbing an apron from the stand and putting it on.

“What?” He asked, confused.

“Don’t worry, I worked at a café as a college student so I know what I’m doing. I may not know how to cook, but I know how to make a pretty good sandwich and a strong cup of coffee. Just point me in the direction of the ingredients and I’ll handle the rest myself.” She said.

Ki-joon was stunned for a moment until a customer called out to him. Ah-reum raised her eyebrow as if wanting him to decide quickly. Ki-joon sighed finally, “Fine, the sandwich ingredients are over there and I already started a fresh pot of coffee. Unfortunately, all I can pay you is minimum wage. Is that okay?”

Ah-reum smiled and waved at him, “We’ll discuss my wages at closing, don’t worry about it. Now, you should go and attend to the customers before they start getting angry.”

Ki-joon stepped out of the kitchen worried about handing his kitchen over to someone he didn’t know very well. As the day went on, Ah-reum and Ki-joon worked together taking turns between waiting tables and preparing the food. They worked together in harmony like a well-oiled machine and at the end of the day they were both exhausted. When they closed the café, they sat at one of the tables and ate a sandwich.

Hae-kyung and Hye-soo were getting their make-up done silently, Hae-kyung’s admission the day before hung between them like a heavy cloud. When the make-up was done, Hae-kyung put on her dress before helping Hye-soo put on her wedding dress.

“Hae-kyungah, there’s something I need to confess.” She started while Hae-kyung zipped her up.

“What?” Hae-kyung asked.

“I lied about Jin-young not having a groomsman.” She said sheepishly.

“What?” She said.

“I’m sorry, I just desperately wanted you to bring someone. I love Jin-young but I absolutely cannot stand his friend. He’s weird and hits on every woman he sees. He’s heard me and Jin-young talk about you a lot of times and he’s being beginning for an introduction. I was afraid he would try something if you showed up alone.”

“Neo jinjja!!!” Haekyung yelled.

“I said I was sorry; you can’t be mad at me in my wedding day.” Hye-soo pouted.

Hae-kyung sighed and shook her head. “I’m going to deal with this creep on my own if he tries anything, you should know me by now.”

“I know. I wasn’t thinking when I came up with that idea, Jin-young didn’t even know. Jin-young sees the good in everybody so I can’t really tell him that I hate his friend.”

“You know what, let’s go get you married first and leave me alone to deal with whatever.”

“I’m sorry, you know I love you, right?” Hye-soo said, hugging her friend.

“I love you too, you crazy girl.” Hae-kyung replied and hugged her back.

Hae-kyung walked down the aisle ahead of Hye-soo and she caught Hwan-gun’s eyes. He held her gaze as she walked closer and closer to her position and her thumped like it was going to burst out of her chest. When she passed him, she noticed the man standing to the left of Jin-young at the end of the aisle. She supposed he looked handsome but she noticed the way he smiled at her and a shiver ran up her spine. Shortly after, the wedding march played and Hye-soo walked down the aisle and Jin-young had the biggest smile she had ever seen on his face as he looked at her. She glanced toward where Hwan-gun was sitting and their eyes met again, she quickly looked away but it was too late, jealousy was taking over her for the first time in a while and she wished he wasn’t engaged.

The ceremony wound down as the day wore on, the couple had exchanged vows and they were about to have their first dance. The dance floor cleared and the couple held each other as the first strains of Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud played over the speakers.

“When your legs don’t walk like they used to before and I can’t sweep you off of your feet, will your lips still remember the taste of our love? Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?”

Hae-kyung nodded along to the song, when suddenly someone sat next to her.

“Hi, my name is Park Kang-tae. I’m Jin-young’s friend.” He said, extending his hand to her.

She glanced at it for a second and loosely grabbed it. “My name is Lee Hae-kyung.” She replied and pulled her hand out of his when he tried to tighten his hold.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, it’s nice to finally meet you. I must say, you’re more beautiful in person.”

“Er, thank you I guess.” She replied, not paying him any attention.

Kang-tae pulled his chair closer to Hae-kyung and leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Would you like a drink?”

“What the hell is wrong with you?” She asked, shoving him away from her. She tried not to raise her voice so as not to cause a scene at her friend’s wedding, Jin-young and Hye-soo were not even done with their couple dance yet.

“I’m sorry, I was just wondering if you wanted something to drink.” He replied, trying to sound innocent.

“Is that why you were whispering in my ear like some sort of ert? This is both our friends’ wedding, can’t you act with some decorum?” She rolled her eyes. She was getting angry.

“Geez, why are you so uptight? I bet you’re a frigid , aren’t you?” He asked with a glint in his eye.

‘Frigid’. The word stung like someone had slapped her. “You’re lucky I don’t want to cause a scene or I would have kicked you so hard your generations to come would be missing a testicle. Crazy bastard.” She stood up from her seat and turned around only to run into Hwan-gun who had just approached her table.

“Are you okay?” He asked, gently. She didn’t answer him but kept on walking until she had left the hall.

She stood at the door and drew a few deep breaths, the words she hated the most were ‘frigid’ and ‘ice queen’.

“Hae-kyungssi, are you okay?” Hwan-gun said, he had followed her out of the hall to check on her.

“I’m fine.” She replied.

“You don’t look fine.” He said.

“Well, why did you ask then when you already know the answer?” She replied, exasperated.

“Do you want to dance? It can help take your mind off of whatever’s bothering you since you probably won’t tell me if I asked.”

“I thought you didn’t know how to dance.” She said.

“I can fake a few movements.” He replied with a smile.

She stared up at him for few moments and finally nodded, his smile alone almost made her forget everything. As they arrived at the dance floor, other couples were arriving too and the song started.

“Settle down with me
Cover me up
Cuddle me in

Lie down with me
And hold me in your arms

And your heart's against my chest, your lips pressed to my neck
I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet
And with a feeling I'll forget, I'm in love now

Kiss me like you wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
This feels like falling in love
Falling in love
We're falling in love

Settle down with me
And I'll be your safety
You'll be my lady

I was made to keep your body warm
But I'm cold as the wind blows so hold me in your arms

Oh no
My heart's against your chest, your lips pressed to my neck
I'm falling for your eyes, but they don't know me yet
And with this feeling I'll forget, I'm in love now

Kiss me like you wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
This feels like falling in love
Falling in love
We're falling in love

Yeah I've been feeling everything
From hate to love
From love to lust
From lust to truth
I guess that's how I know you
So I hold you close to help you give it up

So kiss me like you wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
This feels like falling in love
Falling in love
We're falling in love

Kiss me like you wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
You wanna be loved
This feels like falling in love
Falling in love
We're falling in love.”

As they swayed together on the dance floor, it felt like the world melted away and it was just the both of them. The last coherent thought in Hwan-gun’s mind before he pulled Hae-kyung closer “I’m sorry Ah-reumie, I can’t help it. I’m falling for her.”

He had spent some time looking for her and he had seen her when the creep leaned into her, in that moment he had felt his blood boil so hot he wanted to break the guy’s face. He had seen her stand up for herself and had felt proud of her and then when she had stormed out of the hall, he had seen such hurt in her eyes that he had felt murderous rage. He hadn’t wanted to cause a scene at her friend’s wedding so he had walked away from the guy to find her and comfort her instead. He wrapped his arms around her and she placed her head on his chest.

Hae-kyung heard the sound of Hwan-gun’s heart beating and unconsciously, she wrapped her arms around his waist and lost herself in the moment, she would think about the consequences of falling for a man she can’t have tomorrow but now, she didn’t want to think of anything except the moment.

“Thank you so much for all your help today, I didn’t think you’d ever done this before.” Ki-joon smiled. He was really glad she had offered to help him, he watched her occasionally as she smiled at the customers while placing their food in front of time. He had caught himself imagining what it would be like if they worked together all the time.

“I had fun, although my poor feet are suffering so much right now. I haven’t done this in years, my current job requires me to be seated in front of a computer for hours on end.” She smiled in return.

Ki-joon’s heart thumped again, and he pushed his hand through his hair to distract himself.

“About your pay, would you like a cheque, cash, or a direct deposit?’ He asked, trying to take his mind out of dangerous territory.

“Will you go to the amusement park with me instead?” She asked.

Ki-joon stared at her for a few moments, trying to comprehend what he just heard. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I said, ‘will you go to the amusement park with me instead’? That will be my pay.” She replied.

“Now?” He asked, he was liking the idea the more he thought about it. This was bad.

“Of course not, they’re probably closed now. What about tomorrow? I know the café is closed on Sundays and I don’t have to work so that would be perfect.” She replied.

“Why?” He asked.

“Why what?” She wondered.

“Why do you want to go to the amusement park with me? Isn’t that something lovers do with each other?” He asked.

A slow smile spread across her face listening to him, he was so cute underneath that cool façade. “Friends can go to the parks together too.” She replied, even though it wasn’t entirely true that she saw him as nothing but a friend, she wasn’t going to admit to him that it was something like a date.

“Friends?” He asked.

“Friends. So, I’ll see you tomorrow? Do you want me to come and pick you up?” She said.

“Give me your phone number, I’ll text you my address.” He replied after what seemed like an eternity.

Ah-reum contained herself even though she wanted to let out a loud whoop, she would have to talk to Hwan-gun when he returned from his vacation. Her heart was fluttering for the first time and she wasn’t about to let it go without exploring her feelings.

Author’s note: Hi everybody!!! How have you all been? This update feels like it took forever, right? I’m sorry I’ve been very busy going to school and working two jobs. I’m a real life Candy guys! Lol. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it. I made it long to compensate. By the way, Kiss Me is my favourite Ed Sheeran song, that’s the song Hae-kyung and Hwan-gun are dancing to. If you don’t know it, check it out. Don’t forget to leave comments, subscribe, upvote and tell your friends. Kamsahabnida.