Jisoo put down her bag on her desk. "Good morning," she greeted.

Sehun, absorbed completely in the extra pile of work that he'd been given in the last hour, jumped in his seat. Sehun looked over his shoulder and caught a quick peek of her. "Morning."

"Busy already?" She glanced at his computer screen.

"Yeah. Last night, we got all these calls from Busan. Apparently, something went wrong in the delivery and there's panic going on about not getting their orders on time. All I really know is Junmyeon's got me doing a lot of extra workload today." When that faint scent of flowers wafting in the air again, he couldn't stop himself. He turned in his seat and faced her. He subtly looked her over, the way men easily did without effort. Then he noticed the small bag that kept swinging back and forth in her hands. "What's that?"

"Hmm?" She hadn't realized she was still holding it. "Oh." Embarrassed that she was caught, Jisoo absently scratched at the back of her head. "Well…since you paid for all that food the last few times we went out," she brought the bag level to her eyes and patted it. "I…tried cooking and made some food for you."

The rush of pleasure came at him before he could block it out. Knowing her lack of culinary skills, the fact that she'd spent time in the kitchen and prepared something for him suddenly made him happy. He stood up right then and grabbed the bag from her hand. "Is it edible?"

The happy look on her face soured. "Just because I'm no good in the kitchen doesn't mean I would offer you inedible food," she muttered, giving him a shove. "Besides you don't have to eat it if you don't want to. I was merely trying to be a good person," she sniffed, turning her back on him.

"Thanks," he called out from behind as he watched her walk back to her cubicle.

When he sat back down, he bore holes at the white paper bag. Even from where he was sitting, he could smell roasted beef and fried seafood. He couldn't get his mind around it – why she would bother to cook it for him in the first place. He could count in one hand the number of people who actually did things for him to make him happy his entire life. There weren't many. So facing this now, he didn't exactly know how to react. Jisoo was…willing to go through all that effort for him, though he'd done nothing to deserve it.

Argh. This was frustrating. He didn't like thinking about his feelings. It was too messy and almost always led him to make very bad decisions. But with how things were going right now, it was hard to ignore it.

Sehun released a breath as he leaned forward. So he had feelings for her. He was aware of that. They weren't superficial, but all he really knew was that he didn't want to just play around with her. It was more than that at least. The realization brought along a huge sense of dread. The last time he let a woman in, she died.

And suddenly, it was like the rest of him was trying to catch up to his brain. His thoughts were leaping from one idea to another, and within seconds, a worrisome realization sunk in. Jisoo would leave too. Of course she would. If he let her in, she would leave just like everybody else who was special to him. No one ever stayed, so why would she be an exception? He straightened up in his seat. . Focus back on your work, Sehun, he reminded himself strictly. But even as he stared intensely at the folder in front of him, the words on the front page wouldn't register.

He clutched his forehead. The panic wouldn't go away. Sehun's gaze shot to the white paper bag again. Dammit. Then, as though feeling trapped, he made a swift and careless decision. He couldn't pursue this. He wouldn't let this – whatever it was between them – develop into anything special. He couldn't afford losing her.

…

At half past noon, Jisoo stretched out her arms and her back. Sehun and the white paper bag were neither in sight. Curiously she pulled away from her desk and got on her feet. Maybe he was eating it right now in the kitchen. Just as she was about to peek, her cell phone rang.

She quickly glanced at the caller ID. "Hey unnie!"

"Jisoo, I want to eat Chinese food today."

"Oh…" Jisoo's gaze shifted to the kitchen.

From where she was, she could see what looked like Sehun's arm. A part of her was itching to go there and find out what he thought of her cooking, but there was the other part that was afraid of what he had to say. Considering it was her first time even cooking something, a lot of things could have gone, and probably did go, wrong with the taste. Then she began to think up possible insults he could throw at her.

Jisoo snapped back to the present. "Okay. I'm coming down now."

With quick and firm steps, she walked to the elevator, purposely ignoring the kitchen from her visual field. Just as she pushed the arrow button, someone took hold of her forearm from behind. She yelped as she felt her body get pulled back at least two meters.

When she regained her footing, she spun around to face Sehun, who was watching her with an unreadable expression on his face. "What?" She demanded, touching her elbow absently.

"Where are you going?"

"Irene unnie wants to eat out for lunch." She glanced down, realizing the first button on her blouse had unfastened. Her brows furrowed as she attempted to button it up. "So did you-"

"Don't cook for me again."

She jolted at the tone of his voice. Her head lifted.

"Just…don't do it again."

Sehun immediately felt the guilt stab at him as the blatant look of hurt flashed on her face.

"It…it wasn't like I was…declaring any feelings for you!" She snapped, embarrassment quickly joining the bruise. "I owed you from before, so that's why I made it. Besides, if it tasted so badly that you felt the need to say that, then you shouldn't even have bothered eating the rest of it! You ingrate!"

Determined to see this through without breaking into a mess, Jisoo turned around jerkily and opened the stairwell door. Though there were a good nine floors down before hitting the lobby, she was going to walk it all.

Jisoo felt her shoulders shake as soon as she'd gotten down two flights of stairs. How could Sehun have so much power over her feelings like this? One little comment and it was enough to sorely wound her pride. Jisoo fisted her hand. So what, a simple, nice thing to do wasn't allowed anymore?

"Jisoo!" Irene greeted as she saw her friend walk out to the main entrance. Her smile died when she caught sight of her friend's face. "What happened?"

"What a bastard! Can't even appreciate a small act of kindness," Jisoo cried angrily as she grabbed Irene's arm and pulled her along.

"What? What happened?"

…

Sehun walked aimlessly back to his cubicle. Her words resonated in his ears. That expression on her face. Why…did he just do that? As he crossed the hallway, he bumped solidly into Junmyeon. Sehun looked up and saw the mild approval in his boss' eyes.

"Sehun, has Jisoo been a bother?" Junmyeon asked in feigned concern.

With a sharp gaze, he replied, "Why?"

"I didn't mean to overhear your conversation, but as your supervisor, I want to ensure everyone feels comfortable at the workplace, so if at any point you believe that she is crossing the line and being unprofessional or doing something that is interfering with your work, don't hesitate to let me know." He patted Sehun's shoulder then began to walk away.

"She wasn't doing anything like that," Sehun argued, turning back to stop Junmyeon. "It was my fault. Don't start assuming because of whatever it is you heard. She didn't do anything wrong." He didn't wait to see Junmyeon's response and instead marched off towards the opposite direction. Even if he wanted to punch the guy's face out, he had no right to, considering how he was being as big a jerk as Junmyeon.

When he reached his desk, he stared mindlessly into space. After everything that had happened between them, how could he have done that to her? He bit back a loud groan. Why was this becoming so much more complicated than it should be?

…

When Jisoo returned to her desk, she plopped down on her seat. The lunch break had been a nice, therapeutic session with Irene, but now, being in the same room as the jerk that couldn't even show an ounce of gratitude, she felt her anger come back completely and fast. From her visual periphery, she could tell Sehun was walking around her cubicle and settling right in front of her, his face hovering just above her monitor. She kept her eyes fixated on the keyboard and ignored him perfectly.

Then he leaned against the cubicle wall. It made her blood boil. For a good minute, she was able to withstand the patient, lazy stare he was sending her. Then as her patience snapped, she threw the words at him with a clipped tone. "I'm busy. Leave me alone."

He was unfazed. "Are you still mad?"

"I'm not mad."

"You are."

"I'm not mad." She repeated with emphasis.

Sehun inched forward and caught the flare of her nostrils. Yeah, she was still pissed off. "Stop denying it."

"THEN WHY…" She stopped, realizing her voice had gone two octaves higher. "Why bother asking if you already know!" She hissed.

He knew exactly how to push the right buttons. Of course, after all this time, how could she have been so stupid to forget that? With restraint that she had to dig up from all the way inside herself, Jisoo spoke again, this time more calmly. "My reaction is perfectly normal. Why wouldn't anyone get mad over that kind of cruel, heartless comment? The least you could've done was show some gratitude, but no, you had to insult me and my cooking, so yes, I'm still very mad."

"I didn't-…I wasn't insulting you."

Frustrated to the point of exhaustion, she leaned back against her seat and threw him a murderous stare. "So what exactly were you doing?"

Sehun restlessly moved around. Because he did initially want to hurt her, he felt the guilt. It was all because of all that fear and worry and distrust that had built up in a matter of moments during his emotional epiphany. That swift and careless decision that he'd made on the spot was probably the most idiotic one he'd ever made in his adult life. After he saw that look on her face, how hurt and angry she was, it left him feeling ugly and downhearted. It was scary how she could affect him so much.

So he'd sat himself down and really thought everything through. He decided to stop denying it. He liked her in that serious, only-want-you-for-myself way that he had successfully avoided for four years. And as much as it scared the out of him, it was foolhardy to push her away and act like there was nothing there. Because just looking at her face made him want to go after her.

Hell, looking at her right now was making him want her even more.

So knowing she was still feeling testy, he chose his words carefully. "First off, I'm sorry. I… only meant, don't go through all that trouble for me again. I don't deserve it. You must've had a rough time too. Cooking takes a lot of time and it can be hard, especially for someone who has no experience in the kitchen." Sehun straightened up in discomfort. "But thanks…for cooking for me. It was good."

Jisoo stared up at him for one more moment, trying to measure his sincerity, before looking away in embarrassment. She had just spent a good a half-hour throwing insults at Sehun behind his back, and now, those simple words he'd just said easily swayed her heart. Was this how it was to be in love? No, 'in love' was probably too strong a phrase right at this point. With pursed lips, Jisoo met his gaze squarely.

"You can't just take everything back like that," she responded hotly, unwilling to soften up her self-control, despite the way her heart did. "It sounded like an insult to me." She added with a miffed tone.

An apologetic smile came out, and as small and hidden as it was, it was genuine. "I'll do whatever you want me to do."

"Make me dinner. If you really didn't mean to insult me, you'll make me dinner," she challenged. "You need to pay me back for all the hard effort I put into making your lunch."

Irene had said not to give up on him, amidst Jisoo's angry release of words. She hadn't been planning on doing that anyway…all it was, was just that it hurt to hear that from him. Taking out her anger on Irene had helped, since the woman had laughed and comforted her through it, assuring her that Sehun was probably just as confused about his own feelings as she was. Though she didn't believe that assumption the moment it was said, Jisoo studied him