"...yes, and I believe you are planning to expand your software business, right? You already bought Unitech's shares."

"That is true, but right now we are contented with what we have. Probably by 2021, we'll fully buy Unitech to focus more on software engineering."

"That's an interesting pair... hotels and software."

It was a good thing that the food was scrumptious, because if it wasn't, Yerin would have left the dinner table and went home. All the exchanges happening around her were about business deals, buying shares, and expanding branches--things that never interested her and things that are irrelevant for her. She just continued eating the delicious baby back ribs in front of her, not minding what the other people were talking about.

There were eight people inside the room. Yerin was stuck with seven other people who share the same interest in business. She was the odd one out.

Uneasiness slowly crept inside her. She took a quick look at Junhui, who was seated beside her, and he seemed to be having fun conversing with Oh Junsu and his colleagues.

"Pfft. What a liar," Yerin thought to herself as she looked back at her food, "He said he didn't want to talk to too many people. He said he brought me because he will be bored. But look at him now."

Yerin sighed. She was in a room full of people, however, she still felt alone.

Oh Junsu, Junhui, and their other business partners went to the living room to talk more about their endeavors. Oh Junsu's wife, daughter, and Yerin went to the balcony to get some fresh air after having dinner, and since Yerin was the 'odd one out' again, she just took a seat at the far corner, alone, lonely, and disappointed.

"Tch. 'Stay beside me' my ," she muttered to herself after realizing that Junhui had already left her alone to be with his business buddies. Obviously, she did not appreciate to be dragged to an event where she would feel secluded. If she could only turn back time, she would have chosen to be with Sowon instead.

Yerin's chain of imagination about strangling Junhui for leaving her alone was suddenly interrupted by the girl who approached her.

"Um, hey."

Yerin looked up and saw a girl who was probably the same age as her, smiling at her and holding a small stool in her hands.

"May I sit here beside you?" the girl asked.

"Ah, yes, sure!" Yerin was flustered. The girl placed the stool beside the chair where Yerin sat and took a seat on it. Meanwhile, Yerin looked at the girl with such admiration. The girl looked very pretty and doll-like and Yerin did not expect that a girl as pretty as Oh Junsu's daughter would talk to her.

"You are Yerin, correct?" the girl asked.

Yerin nodded.

"I'm Hayoung, my dad is that Junsu guy who kept on talking to your boyfriend," Hayoung giggled, which immediately made Yerin blush, but not because Hayoung thought Junhui was her boyfriend but because Hayoung was literally glowing as she laughed.

"Um, he--he is not my boyfriend," Yerin responded without removing her eyes from Hayoung, "We--We are just friends."

"Really?" Hayoung's eyes widened, "But while we were eating dinner, he kept on looking at you and helping you with stuff."

It was true. Junhui kept stealing glances while Yerin silently ate her food and was very eager to help her slicing the food in half or reaching out the condiments for her. But Yerin did not really mind anymore because of the food.

But now that Hayoung had mentioned it, the uneasy and awkward feeling she had when Junhui held her hand suddenly came back.

"You sure you don't have something going on between you guys?" Hayoung grinned, to which Yerin responded with a "Yes, of course!"

The atmosphere suddenly became tense when Hayoung did not remove her gaze at Yerin. She rested her chin against her hands and just looked at Yerin closely, still suspicious of her answer. Meanwhile, Yerin could already feel how much Hayoung was anticipating for her to say something. Yerin thought that Hayoung was most likely thinking that she was lying, however, she did not realize that her new acquaintance was just trying to catch her off guard.

"I know something that you don't," Hayoung grinned, which only made Yerin uneasier. After noticing the sudden change of Yerin's expression, Hayoung just let out a hearty laugh, "OMG, I'm sorry for creeping you out," she spoke, "I know it was quite random, but I have nothing against you or Junhui. I am just really curious and I guess you don't notice the things I notice."

"Um, nothing's really going on between us," Yerin spoke sheepishly, "So if you like him or something, it's fine."

Hayoung could not help but laugh at Yerin's statement. She was amused by her new acquaintance's wild imagination, and Yerin even sounded like she was rooting for Hayoung and Junhui.

"No, silly!" Hayoung exclaimed after her laugh subdued, "I have a boyfriend already; how can I even like another guy?!"

Blood quickly rushed up to Yerin's cheeks. She did not intend to assume, but she already did. She felt like she was already the most embarrassing person on earth, "Ah, I didn't mean to say such thing! I'm sorry--"

"Nah, it's alright," Hayoung smiled, "You are actually funny and interesting. I like you."

Yerin's heart skipped a beat. Hayoung looked at her with such kind eyes, and her angelic face seemed like it was shining as she spoke. How could Hayoung even be real, Yerin thought to herself.

-

"Tch, where did she even go?" Junhui whispered to himself after leaving the living room. Talking to middle-aged men about business for 45 minutes made him feel like he had aged additional ten years; and the tired feeling of conversing with people was already his signal to leave and go home.

"I told her to stay near but she didn't listen," he grunted. As someone who had things under his control, making Yerin follow everything he said was indeed a struggle for Junhui. He went back inside the dining room; she was not there. He went upstairs; she was not there too.

"Next time, I'll bring handcuffs with me," Junhui thought to himself as he took his phone from his pocket to call her... but then he realized that he did not have her number.

All he could do was curse under his breath for not even asking for his tenant's phone number.

-

"...you should see my collection of BoA's albums!" Hayoung exclaimed gleefully as she pulled Yerin beside her and went out of the balcony to go to her room, "Some of the CDs I have were bought from Japan, those are the limited editions ones!"

Yerin was glad she found another friend who liked BoA. And Hayoung seemed like she was more than happy to show to her new friend the collection she had been taking care of since she was young.

"I--Is it alright for me to go to your room?" Yerin asked, "Your parents might get angry."

Hayoung shook her head and convinced Yerin not to be anxious about her parents, "Dad is busy with his guests. Mom is inside her room already."

The two young women passed by the living room and even before they could reach the stairs, a man's voice was heard behind them.

"Jung Yerin."

The two quickly turned to look where the voice came from, and much to Yerin's chagrin, it was a furious-looking Junhui. And it was obvious that she had angered him for some reason.

"We need to go home now," Junhui spoke with a stern look on his face. He quickly approached the two and swiftly held Yerin by the arm.

"Wa--Wait!" Hayoung protested, "You guys are leaving already? It's still early."

However, Junhui was not in the mood to listen to other people. He was tired and disappointed... and worried. He was clueless about Yerin's whereabouts for half an hour, and he could not even leave the place without her.

"I said we are going home now," he already held Yerin by the shoulders to snatch her away from a startled Hayoung. Without speaking another word, he just held Yerin and pulled her with him.

"Bu--But--I haven't told Hayoung abou--"

"Shut your mouth," Junhui interrupted her.

Yerin was quite startled by Junhui's reaction. He seemed antsy and disappointed at the same time; the way he held her arm said so.

"Ah, Mr. Wen," Oh Junsu called to him as the two headed for the door, "Thank you for coming tonight! I know you are very busy but you still took the time to be with us," he patted the younger man's shoulder. Junhui, who quickly replaced his frown with a friendly smile, just nodded and told Oh Junsu that he was glad to be invited to dinner and he would anticipate another invitation in the future. Yerin just kept silent while carefully observing how Junhui could just easily change demeanors depending on the person he was talking to. It was his talent, she thought. Even when they were still in high school, Junhui was known as that cool guy who was liked by everyone, and their schoolmates and teachers really thought that he was a nice and well-mannered.

However, Yerin knew his other side. He was cold and manipulating, brash and inconsiderate. But oddly enough, he only showed that side of his to Yerin.

"...yes, good night," Junhui gave one last smile to Oh Junsu before the latter closed the front door, leaving Junhui and Yerin alone in their front lawn. Yerin lowered her head; she knew that devil Junhui would suddenly come back now that nobody was around anymore.

Her arm was still held by Junhui tightly.

"Tch. You are such a nuisance," he remarked as he turned to look at a scowling Jung Yerin. Junhui's eyebrows creased after noticing that she was frowning at him, "What's with that face?"

Yerin huffed, "You're fake!" she swiftly pulled her arm away from Junhui's grip, "You're the fakest person I have ever met!"

"Are you PMS-ing or something?" Junhui smirked, "Why are you getting mad at me? I should be the one getting mad at you for suddenly leaving! Where did you go after dinner, huh?!"

Junhui was at it again, Yerin thought to herself. He was playing the blame game again, just like when he cut her hair back in elementary grade where he blamed her for disturbing him and provoking him to cut her hair, "Look, Mr. Wen, for your information, I was not the one who left," Yerin pointed at him, "It was you! You went with your amigos and left me with Hayoung and Mrs. Oh!"

"Hah, so are you saying it's my fault? Well, if you were really mindful and obedient, you would've stayed with me through it all!" Junhui retorted.

It was another brewing argument, and Yerin did not have enough time and energy to waste; she needed to go to work the next day and she knew that Junhui was too stubborn to back down from an argument. The least thing she could do was to let out a deep breath, turn her back and walk away.

"He--Hey!" Junhu