“Ok … I understand you’re not at your best, but you need to get out of the car,” Jay tried to convince his frustrated best friend, Taecyeon, to at least move a bit.

            Giving him a glare, Ok Taecyeon returned his attention back to the flask of whiskey.  Taking a large swig, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and laughed, “What if I don’t want to?”

            “C’mon you know tonight’s important,” Junho tried to remind his friend.

            “Yeah, you can’t be behaving like this.  Tonight’s Shim Changmin’s opening party for his new store,” Wooyoung joined in.

            Hearing that their friend would not get out of the car; Chansung, Junsu, and Nichkhun left their dates to assist the others.  Walking back to the car, they noticed Taecyeon’s date, Lee Jihyun, sitting at a distance from him.  Looking down, Jihyun fiddled wither her hands, as she toyed with her bracelets.  Her lips were for she dared not to make a sound.  Even though she avoided her date’s eyes, hers would dart at him every few seconds.  She was quite nervous and had a right to be.

            It had been three weeks since Park Gyuri broke up Ok Taecyeon.  Those who heard were shocked, for the couple seemed so perfect for one another.  No one could replace the other.  However, the few that were close to them were half-surprised.  It was expected that one might dump the cheater as it was normal for most.  Still, most of their supportive friends and family members thought he former couple would hurdle this issue.  They did not expect the two to escape scratch free, but they thought things would work out.  Everyone knew that they were made for one another.  Without one another, Ok Taecyeon and Park Gyuri were not themselves.

            A hard worker she was, Gyuri drowned herself in even more work.  Arriving at the office at 7:15 AM and leaving at 9:15 PM was starting to become her norm.  There were few, but short, breaks.  However, these were forced self-imposed breaks by her.  Conversations with her were different.  Before, talking with her was productive, but fun because of her wittiness.  Now these talks were still productive, but there was something more serious to it.  Besides that, Gyuri’s ideas turned darker and icier.  It seemed like every piece she came up was inspired by mourning and suffering.  Even though it was a new concept by her, the company superiors praised her work for they assumed that the magazine prodigy was experimenting and taking risks.  What they did not know was the inspiration behind it all.

            At home Gyuri was not herself.  Every morning it seemed like a drag, literally.  Sometimes Nicole would pull her best friend out of bed because of the annoying early alarm clocks that set off in the depressed girl’s room.  Once she was out of bed, Gyuri would be dragged into the bathroom to start her long days.  Her long days started and ended at home, where all she did was eat and sleep.

            Ok Taecyeon was naturally a busy guy.  Every morning the first thing he would do was turn to the other side of his bed.  Seeing it empty reminded him of his lonely reality.  It was difficult to get out of bed, but he somehow made the push.  What mainly inspired him was the thought of his blonde love, for the first thing he would do was check his phone and emails.  The absence of her contact tempted him to do something.  His fingers would brush against the button to call her.  He did not though.  Instead he would shower.

            In the tiled room, Taecyeon would shower for longer periods of time.  During the warm steaming showers, Taecyeon would lean against the wall.  It was him lost in thought.  There was too much playing and running around in his mind.

            Once showers were over he would finish getting ready.  Before he would leave his place, he would check his phone again.  No messages.  Seeing this would make him struggle with the decision of whether to call Gyuri or not.  He did not though.  She wanted her space.  It was made clear the day after he was released from the hospital.

            Sitting alone in his car during one of the company’s biggest deadlines was not what Ok Taecyeon planned on.  Instead, he was in DSP parking lot.  He needed to do this though.  His brain made all and any excuses for why he needed to be here though. 

            Not feeling calm enough, Taecyeon reclined his seat back.  Once he reached a decent position, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  Nothing happened.  This caused him to tense up more.  Then he counted slowly from one to ten in English.  Nothing again.  This time, his muscle started to take a toll.  There was no trick to ease the twisted nerves.  It was either now or never.

            Hastily grabbing the bouquet of roses on the passenger’s seat, Taecyeon swung the door open.  He tried to stand confidently tall despite the cast on his arm.  It was a sign of unwanted events, but he brushed them off.  Before entering the elevator Taecyeon observed the bouquet.  It smelled like typical roses, but that was not made it special.  These flowers were large bulbs from Ecaudaor that were known for being multi-colored.  The roses were mainly white.  However, the edges were reddish pink.  Not many flowers could outshine this particular type.  That was why it was Taecyeon and Gyuri’s favorite.

            Rising to each floor was a struggle to him.  The air in his lungs thinned as his throat became drier and arider.  His palms started to sweat while his grasp on the bouquet tightened each second.  Every moment his head became lighter and he felt like crashing.  However, the ping on the 23^rd floor alerted him it was time.

            The moment he stepped out of the elevator was when his mind had no control.  His feet did all the work as he walked to a rare, but familiar, path.  People in his direction turned their heads and rubbed their eyes to make sure they were seeing the right scene.  The Ok Taecyeon was on their floor in front of them.  People heard and knew of the Taecyeon-Gyuri rumors, but few had seen it to believe it.  It was one of those star struck moments.  Despite the silent attention he received, Taecyeon ignored it.

            Finally, he reached his destination.  One last deep breath and he knocked on the door.

KNOCK

KNOCK

            “Come in,” the sweet angel’s voice chimed.

            This was it.

            Taecyeon slowly opened the door.  Time seemed so slow.  Then he saw her.  She took his breath away.  Sitting in her chair was Park Gyuri.  To Taecyeon, even when she was working she was still amazing.  The way her head rested in her hand in thought showed her studious side.  Her blonde hair was in a high ponytail with her bangs loosely framing her face.  Even though she worked for a magazine, Gyuri looked like she could model for one.

            Her head was still low as she was reading a file, “Is there any-”

            Now she made eye contact with the man who pulled into many drastic directions.  Gyuri stopped what she was doing and slammed the file shut.  Her hand grasped onto her pen, “What are you doing here?”

            “We need to talk,” Taecyeon mustered the courage.

            “No, I think you should leave,” Gyuri pushed her chair out and walked to him.

            “I don’t like to defy you, but I need to.  The past week or so, you’ve been visiting my room and things were slowly taking a turn.  Now you want a break,” Taecyeon threw his uncasted arm in frustration. “Some explaining would be nice.”

            “There is nothing to explain,” Gyuri coldly stated.

            “Why did you pull a 180 on me?”

            “Have you thought that maybe I came to a conclusion?”

            “No, you didn’t.  You wouldn’t do something so impulsively in this.”

            “Some things are an exception,” Gyuri stated matter of factly.

            “You and I both know that something pushed you.  We were doing so well!” Taecyeon slightly raised his voice.

            “Well guess what?  I was going to pick you up yesterday.  I thought us starting as friends.  It was would be difficult, but at least we would regain our trust.  But it was thrown out!” Gyuri exploded.

            “What did I do?  Why am I wrong?”

            “All this time I thought maybe Yoona was finally out of the picture.  But NO!  Instead, I called the hospital to find out your checkout time.  What I was told was that someone was picking you up instead.  It wasn’t just someone.  It was Yoona!”

            Frustrated, Taecyeon rubbed his temples with the rose, “There is nothing going on between her and me.  She decided to visit and would not leave.  If I had a choice, I wish she would leave me alone!”

            “How can I trust you?  This could all be a lie!”

            “What benefit would I receive from two timing you?  I would never want to cheat on you.  There is no one I want besides you.  I love-”

            “Don’t say that.  I need to go.  Right now I have a meeting to attend to,” Gyuri pushed Taecyeon aside.

            Before she reached the door, he stood in front of it, “Can you at least take this before you go?”

            Taecyeon held the bouquet towards her hands, to which she grabbed.  She looked at it and walked back to her desk.  Then she pushed a certain picture frame down.  Next, she threw the roses into a black trash bin.

            “That didn’t mean I accepted them,” Gyuri icily stated.  One step before she left, she warned Taecyeon, “Leave me alone.”

            Since that day Taecyeon reverted to his old ways.  Violence and tempers were not uncommon sights.  If something did not satisfy him it was rewarded with a file thrown across the room or a long loud lecture.  However, if something was decent, he stayed silent and motioned people to get out.  Every order and demand was followed precisely as possible.  There was pure silence from those around him.  Tensions were high.  Everyone was on their toes walking on broken glass.  No one could stop him.  Not his secretary.  Not his father.  Not his grandpa.

            Taecyeon’s friends tried to help him.  They could not get to Gyuri, so they had to work on the hot mess in front of them.  It was no use though.  He was moody all the time.  Going out meant a time for him to drink.  Words would not be said.  Drinks were only consumed.

            Even though Taecyeon was in a gutter, something had to be done.  His parents knew he was suffering from a breakup, and though a good distraction was needed.  To them, Taecyeon was going downhill.  All the hard work would be put to waste and all because of one girl.  If one pushed him down, certainly another one could bring him back up.  That was where Lee Jihyun fit in the picture.

            Born in to a family of well-acclaimed doctors, Jihyun was raised to be intelligent, polite, and respectful.  Many thought she would end up in the medical field.  She dallied with it by attending med school.  However fate and her beautiful feature halted her plans when she received a modeling agency contract.  Since then she enjoyed being in the fashion industry with the perks.  Enjoying the newest fashion, being beautiful, and hanging out with a variety of people was the kind of lifestyle Jihyun enjoyed before she would resume her studies.  However tonight was not exactly one of those nights.

            A few nights ago she was set up with another date courtesy of her mother.  Nothing was unusual about it.  In fact, she liked it because it took a load off her shoulders.  Finding the ideal man was difficult.  To her, he needed to be smart, ambitious, and successful, while receiving both of their family’s approvals.  So when her mother announced that she was set up with Ok Taecyeon, Jihyun was surprised but delighted.

            At first, she had second thoughts because of the rumors regarding his love life.  Some said he was in a relationship.  Then there were rumors of him cheating, the girlfriend cheating, and/or both.  Along with it, there were words of him being hung over and head over heels with his ex.  Her questions were answered when he picked her up that night.

            Usually, when Jihyun had a first date, she would meet them at the destination.  However, when her dates picked her up, they would fetch her themselves personally.  With Taecyeon, she did not hear a ring from her door bell.  Instead, she received a text to go to her family home’s front gate where the car was.  Once she stepped outside, she was greeted by a large white limo and a man who did not seem familiar.  He introduced himself as Chansung and that they, along with Taecyeon’s friends and their dates, were picking up Taecyeon from Legion Trading.  She understood a man of status like Taecyeon was busy, but Jihyun wished that he would have been here.

            Once they arrived at the intimidating skyscraper, Taecyeon was not prepared yet.  It was not until twenty minutes later, they were able to leave.  When Taecyeon was finally at the parking lot, he was holding a silver flask in his uncasted arm while yelling at a few workers running behind him.  Some of the words were incoherent, but Jihyun knew that it was something work related once she saw Taecyeon use his casted arms to whack a few files.  The moment the angry bachelor was a couple feet away, Jihyun got out of the limo to personally greet him.  Saying her intros, she expected the same, but received a grunted hello.  Acting bothered would only add more frustration for Taecyeon also she decided not to push anything and just be on her best behavior.

            The ride to the party was not any better.  Taecyeon’s friends and their dates were enjoying themselves.  There was always excited chatter and laughter spreading except for one corner of the car.  Taecyeon and Jihyun sat further apart than most.  Even though it was their first date, it was not just them being awkward with one another.  Once and awhile Jihyun or one of the guys would try to initiate a conversation with the moody individual.  In return, she received a short grunted answer accompanied with a growl and a swig from whatever drinks were available.  Only a dark aura beamed from Taecyeon.  However, whenever he glanced at his phone, he changed somehow.  A glimmer from his eyes would twinkle for a moment, but there was a longing frown.

            Eventually curiosity got the best of Jihyun when she decided to peek at her date’s phone screen.  On the screen was Taecyeon kissing a girl.  Not just anyone, this one had to be the infamous ex.  She really was something.  Gorgeous, blonde, and jaw dropping, this ex was even more attractive than she was, Jihyun thought.  This one was eye-catching.  The type of person no one would ever forget seeing.  Based on the way Taecyeon silently adored that one photo, Jihyun could tell she was special.

            After what seemed like a long car ride, everyone finally arrived at the party.  That was then drama started to brew.  At this point, Taecyeon was drunk and insisted not to leave.  Since Taecyeon’s friends knew him best, they tried to talk some sense into him.  However, seconds passed by.  Then a minute.  Over time, fifteen minutes passed and after sitting to the side, Jihyun decided to talk to him herself.

            She slowly placed her hand on his arm to grab his attention, “Hey Taecyeon, maybe we should go inside.  I don’t want to hold up your friends.”

            Taecyeon scoffed, “Who cares, Jihyun.”

            She smiled and ignored his attitude.  Instead, she decided to treat him as friendly as possible, “Jihyun is used by my parents.  Call me Qri-”

            “Did you say Qri?” this caught Taecyeon’s attention.

            Ari nodded her head, “Do you want to go inside now?”

            Taecyeon loosened a bit, “Let’s go then.”