After her breakup, she applied to transfer to another company. She didn’t know why she did that but she felt the need to do so. Once he learned about his wrecked apartment, he called Junghee to confront her on why did she do that.

They met at a café near her office. She was looking at everywhere but him with a disgust look on her face. She sat there in front of him, looking authoritative and that she was not going to get shaken at his words.

“Why did you do that?” he asked her furiously. “Why did you move out?”

She shrugged, her expression full of smug. “Hmm… let’s see. Because I found out about your other relationship?”

He stared at her, shocked. “What…”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Ji Ahn. I saw the two of you,” she said calmly. She stood up and made to leave the café before she heard him slamming his palms on the table.

“You’ll regret this, Junghee!” he warned her. But she just waved her hand back.

-*-

Her transferring application was answered a month later and she was accepted to another well-known architectural company. They liked her resume and wanted her in the company. Once the news broke out in her current company, her colleagues were all sad about her leaving but she had to do this.

She transferred two days later and she felt like another life was about to be built here. She got out of the elevator with a box with her things inside on her hands. She was to walk passed the sliding glass doors leading to her department when she stumbled and was to drop the box. But it was quickly saved by someone who walked by.

“Oh, thank you,” she said and looked up to the person and felt like her heart had dropped instead of the box. She stared in disbelief at the person before her eyes. Jinki was beaming at her as though he had seen an angel.

“Junghee, what a small world this is,” he said.

-*-

Junghee paced around in her room, a hand on her hip the other on her forehead. How could this be? She was in the same company as Jinki and worse they were in the same department and he was the department leader. He was the project manager and it meant she had to meet him all the time every time.

Didn’t he study business? What was he doing here? Shouldn’t he be in the financial department or something?

She thought of the incident just now wherein she had tugged the box rather harshly from his hands and dashed to her room. What was she going to do?

She sat on her chair and sighed heavily. Her life was getting more and more interesting.

-*-

She was a 28-year-old woman who had no car and driving license. She sat crossed legs at the bus stop waiting for the bus to come, alone. She sighed in frustration. She was tired, from work and from avoiding Jinki. She did a good job today but she didn’t know how long she could hide from Jinki. She had no idea why was she hiding from Jinki.

A car stopped in front of the bus stop and the window slid down and appeared Jinki. Junghee looked everywhere but him. She tried to leave but where?

“Junghee, come in, I send you home,” he said. But Junghee didn’t want him to send her home. She could go home herself, thank you very much. She shook her head.

“Aw, come on. It’s getting late now,” he cooed. She waved her hand, dismissing him. “Junghee, please?”

She closed her eyes and eventually got up and approached his car.

-*-

“Have you eaten, yet?” he asked while driving. Junghee stared out of the window.

“Why does it matter?” she asked quietly.

“Because I want to take you to dinner?”

She snorted. “Didn’t you say you are sending me home?”

“But we can go and have dinner first then I can send you home,” he said softly with a smile.

“No, mom said, don’t go out with strangers.”

Jinki let out a bark of laughter. “Junghee, your mother knows me so well, okay. Fine, you don’t want to eat with me. I send you straight back home.”

She went silent.

-*-

He stopped in front of her house. Junghee opened the door but it was no used as Jinki was still locking it. “Please unlock the door,” she said.

She felt that he was looking at her. “Junghee, I’m sorry. I know you’re mad,” he said.

She scoffed. “Why should I be mad?”

“I’m sorry, I really wanted to text you but I got cold feet.” So he did remember her?

She laughed mockingly. “Jinki, if you think I got mad because you didn’t text me years ago, you’re completely wrong.”

Jinki was quiet for a while before he asked, “Then why are you avoiding me?”

Her mind raked on whatever lies she could make. “Well, I was just surprised and feel awkward. Because we suddenly meeting like that.” She looked at him for real. “Besides, you and I are not that close for me to greet you happily, Senior Jinki.”

He seemed to believe her words and nodded. “Okay then,” he said before unlocking the door.

“See you tomorrow then, Senior Jinki,” she said before got off the car. She opened the gate to her house before she heard him calling her back. She turned and raised her brows.

“Are you using the same number or you’ve changed?” he asked with the same smile he had been wearing.

“It’s the same,” she said curtly before turning back and walked inside of her house.

Fifteen minutes after she had done taking shower, she received a message from him.

Goodnight. - Jinki

She smiled. She changed his name to Mr. Lee Jinki.

She never thought he still saved her number.

-*-

She sat at the pantry with her other female colleagues. It had been a month since she worked here and she got well with everyone. Not just that, she and Jinki finally became close friends. Something she never thought to happen.

“Did you hear this one news?” asked a woman in brown uniform suit to everyone in the pantry.

One thing she knew about people around here after a month working here was that they liked to gossip. Both the male and female.

“What news?” asked a woman on Junghee’s left.

“Mr. Lee had broken up with her girlfriend,” the first woman said and that got Junghee’s attention. Jinki never mentioned his girlfriend to her. 

“Senior Jinki?” Junghee asked because she might mistake another Lee.

But the woman nodded. “Of course, our Mr. Lee,” she said. She sipped her coffee then continued, “It was such a bad thing I thought. He dated a very beautiful model.”

She smirked. Ah… a model, huh? She couldn’t believe he had such nice taste in woman. First a figure skating athlete, next a model. Soon?

She wanted to join in to the very interesting gossip but had to decline as her phone vibrated. She picked it up from the table and saw her mother’s name on it.

“Excuse me,” she said then went out. She rushed to the emergency exit. She went down a few steps of stairs and called her mother back. “Mom, what’s wrong?”

-*-

She stared blankly at the wall in front of her. Her mind had turned numb she didn’t know what she supposed to be thinking. She was so absorbed in her reverie mind that she didn’t hear the door being opened and someone took a sit next to her on the step.

“Junghee,” the person said and nudged her arm with an elbow.

Junghee blinked and looked to her left. There sat Jinki, smiling at her. She bowed at him before staring back at wall. “You okay?” he asked.

She scoffed. “No, I don’t think I am, senior.”

“Why?” he asked with concern in his tone.

“I just got a call from mom.”

“Is she okay? Is she and your father all right?”

“They’re fine,” she shrugged. Thinking back about her call with her mother made her sad somehow.

“And?”

Junghee her lips and said, “Well, my cousin is getting married this Saturday and we are all invited.”

Jinki frowned his brows. “Then why do you look so sad?”

She chuckled sadly. “You know mothers and their ‘look at that cousin of yours who is younger than you and is getting married! When are you going to get married?’”

She had no idea why her mother wanted her to get married so much and why it was such a big deal. She told her mother again and again she was fine off alone. She didn’t man to be part of her life. She had a good life on her own.

“How young is your cousin?” asked Jinki and Junghee found it funny.

“Four years younger.”

Jinki made a face and she appreciated that. They went quiet for a while after that.

“What are you doing here anyway?” asked Junghee to break the silence. She turned to face the man.

“I saw you coming in here and didn’t come out for a long so I came to check.”

She laughed. “Aww… I’m touched.” She put both hands on her heart and bowed at the man who laughed at her. They were quiet again.

“You know people here gossip a lot?” she broke the silence again. Jinki nodded.

“They mostly like to gossip about me,” said Jinki. “Me being the hot bachelor of the year and all.”

Junghee’s laugh resonated around the emergency exit. “Please, don’t make me puke.”

He smiled widely at her. “What did they talk about this time?” he asked, though he surely knew what it was all about.

Junghee cupped her chin in her hand that was propped on her knee. “You broke up with a very beautiful model.” Jinki made a face again before smiling like usual. “Are you sad of the break up?”

Jinki shrugged. “I don’t know what I was supposed to be feeling actually.”

Junghee nodded because she understood that feeling. They went quiet again. They enjoyed the serenity until it was broke off by the door creaked open. “Miss Junghee?” said a sweet female voice from on top of the stairs. Both Jinki and Junghee turned their heads.

The woman looked at Jinki and Junghee back and forth. Junghee sensed that a new gossip would be coming their way. She stood up and faced the woman. “Yes, Young Yi?”

Young Yi blinked a few times before realizing why she was there all along. “Uh… um… the clients are here and they’re waiting in the meeting room,” she stuttered. Junghee smiled and climbed the stairs she left Jinki alone at the stairs without looking back.

-*-

Before she knew it, Jinki had become her place of comfort. Junghee had no idea how and why she started to tell him all her problems. From her breakup with her first boyfriend and how the man kept calling disturbing her to her mother pressuring her about marriage.

“I mean, I told for the millionth times that I don’t care but kept on pressing me. It’s killing me inside out!” she said after another glass of soju.

“Maybe your mother was worried about you being alone?” he poured her another glass of soju and to his glass as well.

She snorted. “I told you I don’t mind of living alone, growing old alone and die alone.”

Jinki pressed his lips together before saying, “No one wanted to be alone in this world, Junghee. Everyone needs a companion.”

She thought for this for a moment. Then she nodded her head. “True but that doesn’t mean I have to get married and stick with the same man forever.”

Jinki laughed at her.

“What about your sister? Does she receive the same thing from your mother?”

Junghee rolled her eyes. “She did but not anymore as she was getting married in the next two month. That betrayer.”

Jinki laughed at her again.

-*-

They were closer and it had been a year since they became close friends. This time, Junghee realized that her feelings on Jinki were more than just a friend but she didn’t dare to confess to him. She had no idea why. She thought if she did, it might ruin their friendship. So in the end, she kept and feeling shut.

Junghee managed to dig from her colleagues on how many times Jinki had dated and according to them he had been dating for more than ten times and everything didn’t seem to work out. They also told her that his girlfriends were either a model or an actress. None of them had any idea how he managed to get those women but they were surprised with his ability.

“Well, Mr. Lee is kind of hot and if he asked me to date him, I’d say yes right away,” said one of them and Junghee suppressed the urge to grimace.

That noon, her mother called her again and told her she had set her a blind date with a son of her friend’s.

“Mom, I told you I am not going to another blind date!” she yelled at her mother.

“I don’t care, why don’t you just try this one out? Maybe you guys clique,” said her mother before cutting the line off. Junghee let out a loud groaned of frustration. She slumped down on the steps. She was close to chuck her phone to the wall.

Five minutes later, came Jinki. He took a sit next to her. Another thing about their friendship was that whenever Junghee came here either to avoid from the stress of working or after a call from her mother, Jinki would come and talked to her. She felt a lot better after that.

“Blind date?” he asked.

“Stop eavesdropping,” she said, half-annoyed half-amused.

He grinned sheepishly. “Can’t help it. Your voice was too loud.” She pouted. “When?”

“Tonight.”

“You’re going?”

“Of course not or mom will skin me alive.”

He grimaced. “Call me after it ended, okay?”

She nodded and thanked him for being there when she needed.

---

AN: just want to spoil you, there will be 6 chapters only. haha :))