Ah-reum blinked twice to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

“What did you just say?” She asked.

“I know that it’s sudden and it may seem really unfair but I want to end this engagement.” Hwan-gun replied.

“Why?” She asked.

“I-I have feelings for someone else. I’m sorry Ah-reum, I thought I needed to break it off before I ended up cheating on you. I’m so sorry.” He replied.

Ah-reum felt laughter bubble up in her chest and before she started to laugh loud, her shoulders shaking as she laughed. She launched herself at him and hugged him tight.

“Thank you.” She said between peals of laughter.

Hwan-gun was stunned for a second. “What?”

“Thank you. I was going to talk to you about this when you got back from your vacation.”

“So, you’re not angry? You don’t hate me?” He asked.

She pulled back, a big smile on her face. “No Hwan-gun. I’m so happy you brought this up first because I was confused on how to broach the topic. I am glad that we are ending on such great terms, you will always be one of my best friends and I will always love you.” She replied.

Hwan-gun smiled for the first time that night. “I love you too.”

The next day, Hae-kyung sat in her regular spot in Ki-joon’s café and ate her sandwich lost in thought. Suddenly, Ah-reum sat in front of her.

“Annyeong.” Ah-reum smiled.

“Oh Ah-reumah.” She replied. She felt a sense of guilt wash over her, she had been thinking about Hwan-gun.

“How did your friend’s wedding go? Did you have fun?” She asked.

“Oh yeah, it was great.” She replied, unable to look her friend in the eye.

Ah-reum took a deep breath. “Is your brother seeing someone?”

Hae-kyung’s head snapped up, her brow furrowed. “What?”

“Is Ki-joonssi seeing someone right now? Hae-kyungah, I think…I think I might like your brother.” Ah-reum replied.

“But, what about Seo Hwan-gun?” Hae-kyung asked. She felt a little annoyed that Ah-reum was telling her this.

“Oh. I should have led with that. We broke off our engagement.” She replied, leaning back in her chair.

“You did what? When? Why?” Hae-kyung asked.

“We broke off our engagement last night. Frankly, I was thinking about doing it since I met your brother. I have never felt this way about someone and I’ve had my share of boyfriends. It just happened that Hwan-gun brought it up first.” Ah-reum replied.

“He…he did? Did he say why? I mean you don’t have to tell me the reason if you don’t want to.” Hae-kyung said.

“He also started having feelings for someone else. Honestly, I’m happy for Hwan-gun. Now that I think about it, we probably would have lived our life together as passionlessly as possible. Hwan-gun and I have never felt passion for one another, it was all about not being alone at a certain point in our lives. Now, back to my question. Is your brother seeing someone?” The corner of lifted in a half-smile as she spoke.

Hae-kyung felt dazed. She was only half-listening to Ah-reum at this point. “No, I don’t think he’s seeing anyone right now. You would have to talk to him yourself though.”

Just then, Ah-reum noticed Ki-joon walking past them and she waved to him with a smile on her face. Her face fell when Ki-joon kept his head down and walked quickly away.

In the kitchen. Ki-joon leaned against the refrigerator and let out a deep sigh. He placed a hand on his chest, trying to calm his heart. He had tossed and turned the night before, unable to sleep because he kept thinking of the moment Ah-reum reached out to touch him. He wasn’t ready for another relationship; he wasn’t ready to open his heart up again to let someone hurt him again. He had decided he needed to keep away from her as much as possible. He didn’t know what to do since she came into the café every day and his heart fluttered every time he saw her.

Hwan-gun concluded an interview with one of the applicants for the secretarial position he had advertised and wonder for the tenth time that day what Hae-kyung was doing. He reached for his phone again and, this time he didn’t hesitate to dial her number.

Hae-kyung answered on the second ring. She was engrossed in the work she was doing, she answered without looking at the caller id.

“Yeobseyo?” she said as she furiously typed away at her computer.

“Hae-kyungssi?” Hwan-gun said.

Hae-kyung’s fingers froze above the keyboard as she recognized the voice. Her heart started thumping wildly. “Yes.”

“Are you free later today? Would you please have dinner with me?” Hwan-gun asked, clenching his fist.

“Would you come and get me from my house?” She answered after what seemed like forever. “I don’t want have to come back to work for my car.”

“Alright, text me your address and I’ll see you at around 8 pm?” He said in a manner of asking.

“8 pm sounds nice, I get off at 6, so I have plenty of time to get ready.” She said and hung up. She placed her face in her hands as a small smile spread across her face.

Later that night, Ki-joon finally returned to his apartment and kicked off his shoes. He pulled out his cellphone and looked at the message Ah-reum had sent earlier.

“Ki-joonssi, are you mad at me? Did I make you uncomfortable yesterday? I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. I was upset about you just ignoring me when I tried to say hello to you at the café. If you have a reason to be mad at me, then you should let me know.” He read the message three more times and sighed. He wasn’t mad at her, he was scared. His heart went crazy when she smiled at him but he had felt that way when he first started dating Ma-ri, and he ended up getting hurt because of it. It wasn’t the first time he had loved a woman. He pulled out his phone again and decided to reply to her.

“Ah-reumssi, I’m not mad at you. I think that we should take things slow for now, just friendship. I didn’t know if it was the right time to say this to you, but I just recently got out of a relationship and I’m not looking for anything romantic right now. Please understand.” He finished typing the message and hesitated for a few minutes before he pushed the send button.

Ah-reum, who had just finished taking a shower after returning from her evening run, reached for her phone as she dried her hair. She read Ki-joon’s message. Friendzoned! She didn’t know how to reply. Should she say she was okay with him wanting to be friends even though she wanted more or should she tell him she could no longer be around him because she was too attracted to him to remain friends? She laughed at the ridiculousness of her situation.

“How long ago has it been since you met the guy and you already think you’re in love with him? What are you, a teenager?” She said to herself. However, even as she tried to chastise herself back to sanity, she realized that she would rather remain friends with him than never see him again. “You know what, it’s not like he’s obligated to like me back just because I like him. Besides, a romantic relationship is not the only relationship that we can share.” She said to herself again. She planted herself on her sofa and began to reply his message.

“Ki-joonssi, I completely understand your position and it’s okay.” She read the message repeatedly before saying “screw it” and hitting the send button.

Hae-kyung had just finished doing her hair when she glanced at the clock, 7:45pm. She stood up and looked at herself in the full-length mirror behind her closet door. She was wearing a knee-length royal blue sleeveless dress made of velvet, two pearl studs in each ear and a simple silver bangle. She smiled at her reflection. Just then, the doorbell rang and her heart started thumping. She looked through the camera and saw Hwan-gun standing at her door. She took a few breaths before pulling the door open.

“Hi.” She smiled.

Hwan-gun stood shocked for a moment, she was breathtaking. He had to contain himself from drooling like an idiot. “Um, I brought you flowers.” He said.

“Oh thank you, I love flowers.” She answered and took the flowers from him. “Come right in while I put this in water and grab my purse. Would you like something to drink?” She called over her shoulder as she headed into the kitchen.

“No. If you’re ready, we can go.” Hwan-gun said after pulling himself together.

She grabbed her bag and they left.

At the restaurant, they had ordered their food and were about to start eating when Hwan-gun spoke.

“Hae-kyungssi, I’ve been thinking a lot about us since we returned from Ulsan. I really like you.”

Hae-kyung put her spoon down and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “What do you like about me?”

“You’re smart, dedicated to your job, funny, not to mention beautiful. I want to get to kow you more.” He said confidently. He figured that the worst that could happen would be that she didn’t like him the same way.

Hae-kyung tried to contain her smile. “But what about you and Ah-reum?” She already knew, but she needed to hear him say the words. “I will not be made into a homewrecker.” She said quietly.

“I broke off the engagement. I told her already and she was very welcome to it. Ah-reum will always be a friend I treasure deeply but we have never been in love with each other. I want to be with you and I hope that you feel the same way.” He said.

“Hwan-gunssi, I like you too. It’s a little weird because we haven’t known each other that long but I want to spend time with you too. I realized it on the night of Hye-soo’s wedding.” She looked him in the eye and said, “You make me feel safe.”

A slow smile spread across Hwan-gun’s face and he reached for her hand across the table. She smiled back at him and they ate their food. Afterwards, Hwan-gun took her home and walked her to her apartment door.

“Can I see you tomorrow?” He asked.

“I have to work.” She replied.

“What about when you get off?” He asked again.

“We can do lunch instead; I’ll probably be too tired because of all the work I have to do.” She replied.

He sighed. “Can I hug you goodnight?”

Hae-kyung stepped towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “You can hug me any time you want.” She replied.

He wrapped his arms firmly around her and sighed again. “I think I miss you already.”

She laughed and pulled away from him. “Goodnight.” She said and went into her apartment. Hwan-gun stood at the door for a few minutes before he turned around and left, he felt as if someone had lit a fire in his belly.

Hae-kyung leaned her back against the door and let out a giggle, however her excitement died when she realized what this meant. “What happens when I want to sleep with him?” She buried her head in her hands and sighed, she wouldn’t think about that now. She pushed her fears to a corner of her mind and decided to focus on the present.

Author's Note: Hello everybody. I'm back. Life is so busy these days I barely have time to breathe. Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement, thanks for taking your time to read and comment on my story. You guys don't know how much your comments mean to me.