"Should we add a graph for this, Jiyong-ssi?" 

Dara glanced across the room at the sound of his name. She doesn't know why she always gets so hypersensitive when it comes to him. It didn't even matter if it concerned just the mere mention of his name or the feel of his presence, he would always end up catching her attention one way or another—be it intentionally or unintentionally. 

Looking through the crowd, her eyes instantly found him looking so focused that it looked too cute for his own good. When he suddenly looked up, Dara quickly fiddled with her notes and took off her glasses, looking as if the day's fatigue has already taken a toll on her. He saw it and frowned in concern. 

"Jiyong-ssi?"

Reluctantly turning back, Jiyong raised a brow at the questioning girl before shooting a brief glance of askance to the others who were also in their group. "What is it?" he asked.

"Do you think we should add a graph for this data?" A different girl chimed, pointing at a lengthy paragraph that showed an array of numbers. Jiyong's eyes peered over the text, scanning for any relevance while on the other side of the room, the same sulky woman continued to torture herself by watching him. There weren't a lot of guys in the class hence why Jiyong got grouped with only three girls. Dara really should've thought this through. She should've just put him in an all-boy group so that she wouldn't have to see these eager-looking girls on him all the time. 

Dara sighed. 

"Mrs. Park."

She blinked out of her reverie and smiled slightly at the sight of a questioning student needing help. "What is it?" she muttered a little too chirpily as he handed her his data. Her students don't usually come up to her for help so she savored every moment that they do in those rare times. It's such a shame, really. She'd go and ask if they needed any sort of help but they would always brush it off. Dara would go through miles just to help her students hence why the older woman was feeling overly happy at the moment while he asked her questions. 

"I don't think we should add another graph for this. We already have one too many, and besides, the data in here is shown on our 6th slide in the presentation." Jiyong explained. "Putting more unnecessary info would just waste space. This data is essentially redundant." He said, eyes unconsciously trailing towards the woman in the front who had a smile too bright that it made his brow twitch. What was that stupid Jin doing to make her smile so damn much? He better not be making moves on his wife! 

"That makes sense." Jiyong turned back again when he felt a hand on his arm. The girl didn't seem to notice what she was doing since she was too busy perusing through other papers. Not knowing what to do, he just let her touch him. He wasn't really very vocal around others and he felt that he would come out as rude when he puts it to her notice. Dara once told him that he unconsciously uses a cold tone with the people he wasn't close to and right now, he didn't want to come off as aloof. The project was 30% after all. There was no time and necessity to have bad blood between his group mates. So there he sat awkwardly while the girl's hand still lingered on his forearm. 

Dara's heart thudded painfully at what she saw before she forced a smile, looking back at her adorably confused student. It seems that he's having a really hard time getting his mind across some of the theories and points she taught a few weeks ago. It was understandable since this was a 4th year course after all. She even remembered that she almost failed in the same course that she was teaching right now! 

"You see, this correlates with our topic from the 1st quarter of classes. This is just the very complicated version of it." 

"I still don't get it though." He leaned closer to read the paper better. He started pointing at terms that he couldn't understand and Dara leaned closer to get a better look at them. From an onlooker's perspective, it looked like their faces were only inches apart and the two didn't even move away when they looked at each other. Instead, the older woman kept talking happily while the latter was nodding at everything she says. And it pissed Jiyong the off. 

HIs groupmates watched how irritably he brushed his hair and how sour his mood turned in such a short amount of time. The three girls shared a knowing look thinking that they were the cause of his bad mood. Fidgeting in their seats, they worked quietly among themselves while stealing concerned glances at him. And then suddenly, the man shot up from his seat while gripping one of their notes. 

"Ahhh... so this is just basically the cause of consumer consumption... right?" 

Dara's grin brightened. He finally got it! "Exactly! It's easy now that you understand it, neh?" 

Jin gave her a lopsided smile as he bowed slightly. "Thanks a lot, Mrs. Park." His hands brushed hers when he gathered his papers and that was when a loud clear of the throat got their attentions. They both looked up and Dara's pupils instantly dilated. 

"Hey, I need help." Jiyong 'subtly' squeezed in between the two of them, earning him a raised brow from Jin. He looked at him for a fraction of a second before he nodded for him to get back to his seat. Left slightly confused, Jin silently went back to his table while Jiyong turned to Dara with an impassive look on his face.

Now it was the older woman's turn to arch a brow. "Need help?" 

"What are we having for dinner?" 

"Y-Yah!" Dara widened her eyes and anxiously looked around to see if anyone heard him. "What the hell are you doing?" she hissed. 

He offered her a mindless shrug before leaning down to look at his paper. Annoyed and bemused, she was left to follow his gaze thinking that he was going to focus on his work. 

"I wanna eat bulgogi." 

She looked at him incredulously for a second before quickly turning back to his notes. "What did you come here for, Jiyong?" she gritted. 

Another shrug. "I just wanna talk to my wife." 

"YAH!"

All of her students looked at her in shock and confusion while the embarrassed professor smiled guiltily and mumbled for them to get back to their work. Meanwhile, Jiyong was trying not to laugh but couldn't help the giggles come out from his mouth. Turning around, his shoulders shook as he tried to smother his laughter with his hand. Dara glanced back at him with a discreet scoff and kicked his shin, thankful for the table that obstructed the view of the act. Jiyong turned, glaring at her while the latter glared back. 

"If you just came here to piss me off then you better just go back to your seat." she muttered under her breath. 

Jiyong looked at her with the same piercing eyes that always made her squirm. Dara looked away, only to feel his warm breath hit her cheek. Turning slightly, she saw that his eyes were on his paper but what he said next told her that his attention was on anything but the content of today's lesson. 

"I don't like sharing, Dara." 

And at that, he abruptly left, leaving her slightly disoriented. What was that all about? She watched how he just casually sat back down and started discussing with his groupmates like nothing ever happened. Dara never liked this part of him. She always somehow leaves her flustered while on the other hand, he's always so calm and collected. Aigoo, he's really going to be the death of her. 

Her heels clanked against the hardwood floors of the crowded halls full of chatters and murmurs. It was midday already and most of the students seemed to have taken a break and were now going for lunch. Just thinking about lunch made her stomach growl and she grimaced at that. Pulling her books closer to her stomach, Dara scurried faster to her room to find her haven. Unfortunately for her, she was hurrying early in the morning hence the thought of no lunchbox in her office waiting to be devoured. Dara's impatient stomach roared even more, making her let out a resigned sigh. 

As she walked, she couldn't help but notice how some of the people looked at her. She didn't consider herself as a bashful person but their gazes unnerved her somehow. In response, she would either give them a ghost of a smile or fix her glasses yet in return, all she got was an unreadable expression, arguably full of wonder and scrutiny. She eventually decided to focus her gaze to the ground and concentrate on getting to her destination. 

But this was Sandara Kwon we're talking about so of course, she couldn't get there in peace.

"Are you alright?" 

Due to her fixated strides, she accidentally bumped hard into someone, leading her books to fall to the floor. She had bumped into something solid. And judging from their voice, it was a man—one who she was really familiar with, in fact. Instead of acknowledging the human brick wall, Dara quickly dropped down to gather her books and arrange her notes that have been scattered to the ground. She prayed for him to just walk away and go about his day but her eyes couldn't help but notice the unmoving feet in front of her. 

Grumbling inwardly to herself, she stopped when she found him squatting down to quietly help her. For a moment, she watched him with disbelief and... contentment. They have only managed to caught each other's glances but they haven't let one single peep out of their lips. She felt that familiar wave of electricity run through her when their fingers brushed. He always gave her that spark after all these years and by the looks of it, that current was only getting stronger as the time passed by. 

"I have lunch." She was momentarily startled by that, making her look at him in question. It was so faint that she barely heard it. Jiyong was still fixing up her mess, not even looking at her while she does it. Meanwhile, Dara was still looking at him, but then cringed when her stomach gurgled again.

Jiyong chuckled a bit. "Let's go and eat." His mouth moved so slightly that she almost didn't see it. 

When everything had been rearranged and her book were now in his arm, Jiyong stood up and looked down at her expectantly. The almost helpless and lost look on her face almost made him want to groan and pull her to him but he restrained himself. She looked like she was about to cry too! Man, was she that thankful for being given lunch? Jiyong let out a resigned smile and leaned down a little to get her attention. 

"Mrs. Park." he called, waving a hand over her absent face. "Mrs. Park?"

Dara shook herself out of her reverie and blushed, hurriedly standing up and straightening her skirt. She offered him a grateful smile and was about to take her books away from him when Jiyong shifted them away from her and instead gave her a brown paper bag that she guessed had their lunch. 

"Can I talk to you about the project?" He asked loudly as if wanting the people to overhear. Restraining a grin, Dara just nodded and told him to follow her in the office.

They walked side by side together as a sea of wandering eyes focused on them. At that time, they could only think about getting to her office and not the inspecting stares that were directed towards them. They let out a shared sigh of relief as soon as they entered her room and reached their solace. Jiyong immediately locked the door and dumped her books atop a lone chair in the corner of the room. On the other hand, Dara was already rummaging through the paper bag full of food he handed to her. 

"I told you not to wear skirts anymore." Dara stopped to raise a brow at the sulky boy and laughed when he pouted. "I'm serious!" he frowned. 

She shivered when the steam of rice hit her face. "All my slacks are in the wash." she muttered distractedly while she put a huge helping of bulgogi on top of her rice. 

Jiyong shook her head, obviously still irked. "Did you see that guy who came up to you earlier in class?" He scoffed, "He was totally checking out on you!" 

Dara rolled her eyes. "What about those girls who wouldn't get off your ?"

Jiyong sputtered out his food. "M-Mworago?" 

She gave him a pointed look. "I get it, Jiyong. You're a hot piece of ." And then she ripped a piece of meat with her teeth and he widened his eyes. "But you're my hot piece of , you got that?!" 

He really didn't know what to make of her change in personality. One minute she's this shy, overly excited professor, and on another, she's his adorably possessive wife. So what did Jiyong do? He laughed and left Dara flustered as to what was so funny. 

"Yah, Kwon Jiyong!!!" 

But he just continued to laugh, snort, and cackle on his seat. Sandara Kwon was just too spontaneously lovable that he just couldn't manage to hold his emotions. She was like a warm breath of fresh air in a cold winter night. Watching her act so comfortably around him made her more endearing to his eyes. They've always been comfortable around each other ever since they were young but this right now was a different kind of ease. It was the contentment and happiness of a married couple. 

"Dara-ah."

"What?" she grunted with her chipmunk cheeks. 

Jiyong smiled at her as he cozied himself on his seat. "I love you." 

She scoffed and murmured, "I love you too." which will always and forever be her answer. 

His smile grew into a grin and he reached over to wipe some sauce off her lip when a sudden knock on the door interrupted him. Looking instantly panicked, Dara looked at him, mentally asking what to do. Jiyong answered with a chaste kiss on her head as he stood up and said, "We'll tell them that we're just two childhood friends eating lunch." 

Hesitantly—even reluctantly—he unlocked the door and let it creak open until a small group of his classmates from Dara's class appeared. Jiyong took a visible step back, not knowing what to make of their appearance. Out of everyone who had the possiblitiy of entering her office, why did it have to be the people that both of them were familiar with? 

Jiyong had been blocking the door hence why she couldn't see. She knew there were a few over her door but there was something about them that made her husband freeze noticeably. Craning her neck, her spoon hung midway to as her lips slightly parted to the sight of her students. 

"Do you need anything?" It was Jiyong who broke the silence first. 

Joosun, the illustrious 'boxers or briefs' guy, was the first to speak from his group. "What are you doing here?" He nodded questioningly to Jiyong,

He was opening his mouth to speak but Dara's loud voice intervened. "He's a childhood friend of mine!" she blurted. "We were just having lunch together... Come in, you guys." 

Jiyong shot her an amused look as Dara replied with a secret glare. As the group entered and took up most of the room's space, he took his food and moved back to the far-end of the office as he munched and watched his wife go back to teacher mode. 

Clasping her hands together, she gave them all a welcoming smile as the same giddiness from earlier coursed through her. "How can I help?"

"What do we do with—"

And there, the group and his wife started talking amongst each other about their class project while Jiyong was left to observe their interaction. Most of them were comprised of men and most of them didn't seem to know the idea behind personal space. Joosun was practically breathing in her ear while another guy's arm was brushing Dara's. There's never been a day when Jiyong wanted to rip someone's... or a few people's heads off, but today seemed to be a good day to do it. 

Dara on the other hand, noticed that the only two girls in the group haven't spoken to her and instead were taking obvious peeks at her husband. Focusing her eyes on another part of him, Dara almost broke her pen when she saw that Jiyong wasn't wearing his wedding ring! Out of pure enraged instinct, she was about to throw an eraser at the two girls but a brush of a hand on hers snapped her out of her reverie and she instantly fixated herself at the task on hand. 

Suddenly, a weight of something on her left side caught her attention and she turned to see Jiyong sitting on her arm rest and leaning slightly on her side. Dara shot him another look but all she got was an innocent little smile. 

"Whoa, look who's getting chummy with Mrs. Park." One of the guys whistled. 

Jiyong shrugged, discreetly pressing himself more to her. "What do you expect? We're childhood friends after all. It's only natural." 

"Kwon Jiyong." the older woman hissed under her breath. 

"What is it?" He muttered teasingly, resting his cheek on top of her head. "Am I annoying you?" And with that familiar smirk, Dara knew better. She roughly pushed him off her, shot him a death glare, and went back to teaching much to his further dismay. 

He wasn't normally this possessive of her but when the realization came that the guys aren't treating her like the married woman she was, was pissing him the off. Like, do they not know what a personal bubble was? Giving her one last glance, he was out the door before she could notice. His meal was left, half-eaten and cold. 

Jiyong was avoiding her and Dara knew it. Every time they would pass each other in the halls, he wouldn't smile let alone spare her a single glance. He just kept walking, as if his wife's expectant eyes weren't looking at him. To say that she was hurt was an understatement. Dara felt... lost. It was like she had traveled back in time and saw how he'd treat her after she ruthlessly broke his heart. It was cold. He was cold. 

She didn't want his sudden aloofness to get the better of her so she kept distracting herself with her work. But at some point in the day, she caught him under a stairwell with a blushing girl that was much younger... much younger than her. They weren't doing anything bad per se. It seems that they were just caught up in conversation. Yet the fact that they were alone together in a seemingly hidden area didn't sit well with her. Stopping mid-step on the stairs, Dara slowly sat herself down on it and listened quietly.

It seemed like they haven't noticed her presence since they haven't acknowledged her yet. Her figure could clearly be seen with just a matter of them looking up and noticing her through the open spaces of the stairs. But they didn't. None of them did. So there, she continued to sit and listen, waiting for her husband's voice. 

"I'm sorry." 

"W-Why?" She could hear the tears in her voice. "I... I-I thought you liked me too!" 

He sighed, "Heesun-ah—"

"I give y-you food all the time and I..."

"Did I ever accept them?" At that, the girl grew deafeningly quiet, yet her sobbing whimpers held no bounds. "You're a great girl, Heesun. Anyone will be lucky to have you."

"But why can't you?!" she cried frustratedly. "I want you!"

Dara quietly stood up and dusted off her skirt. 

"But I dont." he mumbled softly. "I don't love you... I don't even want you.... I already ha—" The sharp slap on the face interrupted him from going further and before he knew it, the girl was already scurrying out of his sight. Feeling guilty, he was about to run after her and explain himself—that he was already married—but the he saw a shadow looming on top of him and there he saw, his wife's unreadable eyes. 

"Dara." he called, not knowing what else to say. The thoughts of going after Heesun completely vanished after Dara started running back up the stairs in a hurry. Jiyong quickly went after her, not even caring about the prying eyes of the few students who were left in the halls. 

Finally catching up to her, he instantly grabbed her arm and pull her to an empty room. Before she could even remove herself, Jiyong locked the door behind him and pushed her towards the desk where he caught her in a heated—almost desperate—kiss. She didn't reciprocate at first but the taste of him... his intense determination... made her waver and give in. Her hand found their way to the hairs of his nape, clumping, while his hands stayed rooted on the woman's hips. 

They had yet to exchange words yet they were exchanging more than enough passion. With one last glide of his tongue, he slightly pulled away to breath but then stilled when he heard her hushed sniffling. Tipping her chin to him, he felt his heart break at the sight of her restraining her tears. Jiyong instantly caught her in a firm embrace, soothing her back and letting her cry on his shoulder. 

"I-I'm sorry." she sobbed. 

"Shhhhh." he cooed, cupping her face and wiping the tears from her cheek. "I should be the one apologizing. You... You shouldn't have seen that."

But she did and somehow, it made her feel more guilty and helpless than she should have. Weakly, she pushed herself away from his chest, earning her a concerned look and his firmer grip on her hand. 

Her sigh was shaky as she absently wiped her eyes and looked away from him. "You're 23, Jiyong-ah. You should be enjoying yourself right now and not be tied down." she sniffed. "I see the way those girls look at you and I'm just..." Her breath quivered. "I'm 30, Jiyong. I'm old. Hell, your parents haven't even made you yet but I already knew how to walk and talk at that time. I'll already be gray and old once reach middle age... Jiyong... I'm a m-mistake—"

He shut her up with a kiss and Dara took everything of him. He broke away but she was about to speak again so Jiyong pulled her closer and kissed her harder. Swallowing a moan, his lips caressed hers so fondly that it made her tear up even more. Despite the taste of insecurities from her tears, the sweet flavor from her lips outweighed everything. 

"Don't ever say that you were a mistake because you're the best ing decision I ever made." He actually growled. "I don't care if you get wrinkles or gray hairs. You'll always be the most beautiful girl to me. And you'll always be mine." He kissed her again. "I chose you, Sandara. I chose you because you're you... I chose you because I'm so goddamn in love if you that it hurts." 

She sniffled again and pouted. 

"Pabo-yah." Smiling, he weakly hit her on the head. "Why would I ever look at someone else if I already have you?"

He rested her head on his chest and she immediately heard how much his heart hammered. After all this time, she always belittled herself in comparison to everyone. Kwon Jiyong truly was her only cure for that constant anxiety. She's hoping that there will never come a day when he'll get tired of her. But until then, she'll live for today—she'll allow herself to live in bliss with her husband. 

"Are you done sulking now?" he joked and Dara pinched him in the arm for it. 

"Are you sure you'll stay with me even when I'm an old granny?" 

"Aigoooo, I'll stay with you even if you're s are already sagging to your knees."

"YAH!" 

He laughed and brushed her hair out of her face. "I'll stay until forever."

She looked for any doubt or apprehension on his face but there was none—she could only see the reflection of herself in his eyes and the genuine smile on his face. That was more than enough.

"I'll stay until forever." she repeated the promise and pulled him down for another kiss, this time softer and unhurried. She felt no more desperation, no more unease in the kiss that they shared. She'll always be happy if she has him by her side, and from the looks of it, he feels the exact same way. 

As they pulled away, a playful grin appeared on his lips as he s his arms on her waist. "Now tell me what you love about me."

She sputtered, "What?"

"I told you that I'll love you no matter what because you're you so... do it for me now."

"You hardly brought out a list." she rolled her eyes, smiling. 

"We're gonna play it like that, huh?" he nodded understandably. "First of all, I love you because you always work hard and put an effort on what you do. I love you because you take care of me when I'm sick. I love the way you smile and I love it even more when you laugh. I love the way you squirm when I breath on your neck and I love the way you say my name when ever you reach—" Dara covered his mouth and gave him a look. Jiyong just blinked innocently.

"Your turn." It came out muffled under her hand. 

She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "I love you because you always try and make me happy. I love the way you persevere and never give up too... I love your morning kisses and the way you sing to yourself when your washing the dishes. I love that you give me flowers even though you think that it's cheesy, and..." She stole a peck on his lips and smiled, "I love you because your mine." 

His grin grew broader while hers did the same. Jiyong hugged her tight and closed his eyes, feeling absolutely blissful and content. 

"Couldn't have said it any better."