A/N: There is NO in this chapter, but there is some suggestive stuff and kind of a lengthy 'discussion' of future infidelity in the 'last friday night' flashback section. If that's something that would bother you, just skip over to where the story returns to the present, and you won't miss much of anything plot-wise. There's also a little more language (ie. cursing) in this chapter than others, just FYI.

Thanks to everyone who has followed/favorited this story! I'm so happy people have been enjoying my little experiment.

Also, if you haven't read Chapter 2 of my spin-off fic "Two Waitresses" yet, that covers what Ji Hoo and Jan Di were doing during the exhibition.

Ga Eul hadn't texted back.

And normally, Yi Jeong would have taken the hint.

But this time he didn't, if only because he knew he had to see her again on the following Friday.

Well, that wasn't technically true.

He didn't have to see her again. Ever.

But who was he to run from a girl?

He hadn't meant to text her at all the first time.

As for his second text, well...he'd been terrifyingly sober.

She hadn't texted back. So two days later, he'd texted her an addendum that he'd been impressed by her pottery and that there was currently an opening for an intern at the museum if she was interested. And that he wouldn't mind giving her a personal recommendation.

She hadn't texted back.

---

Last Friday Night

"So...do I get to know the pottery secrets of the talented So Yi Jeong?" Kim Ara leaned back against the door of Yi Jeong's studio once he'd closed them in; she clung to his open suit jacket and drew him against her slender frame. And if she'd looked enticing when he was sober, now that his head was swimming with alcohol, she looked positively ravishing. The kind of girl he liked to pick up on the weekend and bring back there. All legs and s and red lipstick.

And it would do him good to get laid.

Because he was tipsy, sure, and the tension in his body craved release.

But also because he needed to get his almost-kiss with a certain waitress out of his head.

He'd waited until Ga Eul left the room to invite Ara to his studio for a nightcap, having purposefully offered to pick her up and take her home for the sole reason of avoiding being stuck in the room alone with Ga Eul, either before or after dinner.

Of course, that arrangement also worked for the purpose of getting laid.

Yi Jeong knew he was breaking one of his own rules for these marriage dates—namely, not getting physically involved with any of them in case he decided against furthering their relationship.

But wasn't that, in a sense, what he had done with Ga Eul already?

Obviously, it couldn't be helped, then. He had an insatiable appetite for all things forbidden.

Pressing Ara against the door, Yi Jeong stared darkly into her heavily mascaraed eyes and instead saw the image of Ga Eul's curious, uncertain eyes meeting his.

Ara smirked as she loosened the knot of his tie, her other hand hooked into his belt.

Yi Jeong pinched the black string knotted at the back of Ara's sheer blouse between his thumb and forefinger. He drew the string down slowly so she would feel the exact moment the knot unraveled. The back of her blouse opened so that he could trace his finger along the bare skin of her shoulders and underneath the top of her camisole.

"You know, my parents have been stressing me out with all this marriage talk," Ara purred, dragging her nails down his thigh, "but I think we would work good together."

"Oh. How so?" Yi Jeong mumbled before kissing her neck, not particularly interested in her answer.

"We're not the sort of people who get emotionally involved." She whispered in his ear, "We're both animals."

"Mmm," he murmured, easing his hands down her hips. He wished she'd stop talking. With his eyes closed he could imagine things he wasn't supposed to imagine. A girl in cream and gold lace. A sky full of stars and a rooftop.

Until Ara's voice interrupted the fantasy.

Again.

"We don't believe in strings." She breathed through the last word. Grabbed one of his hands and laid it on her . Pressed his hand into her chest with her own hand.

But the sentence pulled him up short, and he stopped his assault on her neck long enough to mumble, "Strings?"

Fluttering her eyelashes up at him, Ara replied, "I just mean, I wouldn't mind having hot 'no strings attached' with my husband if he was the notorious So Yi Jeong."

Even in Yi Jeong's addled brain, the statement took him aback.

Maybe a former him would have been flattered by her interest, but the present him recoiled a bit.

Not that he didn't love a good 'no strings attached' , particularly with a model as y as Kim Ara, but there were quite obviously strings of some sort, given the nature of marriage. And marriage dates.

Not that he hadn't planned on a loveless marriage.

Not that it hadn't crossed his mind that, given the constraints of a loveless marriage, his wife would probably have an affair or two.

Not that he'd planned on being a saint himself once he'd married, but he'd thought at least he would be more discreet than his father, who paraded around his affairs like they were something to be proud of.

Not that he hadn't been thinking of someone else just now and probably still would have been when he got Ara in his bed.

However, he hadn't expected Ara to put the expectation of infidelity so bluntly, before he even made her an offer.

Unfairly, he didn't like the idea of going into a permanent relationship with a woman knowing she would sleep with someone else any chance she got. That he was a notch on her belt, so to speak, and nothing more.

Maybe somewhere, in the far recesses of his mind, he'd also thought there was a tiny sliver of a chance that he and his future wife could form a functional, faithful relationship in the long term.

So something about the nonchalant way Ara rolled the words 'no strings attached' around in got to him, and he shoved away from her. Put a few feet of space between them.

A hypocrite to the end.

"What's wrong?" Ara asked, the lust in her eyes replaced by confusion.

"Nothing." He retightened the knot of his tie, if only to give his hands something else to do. "I'm just...not in the mood." He tucked his hands in his pockets and drew himself up, stoic.

Ara glanced around the room uncertainly and bit back, "You seemed to be in the mood a few seconds ago."

"Yeah. Well." Yi Jeong retrieved his phone from his pocket. "I forgot I have some work to do for tomorrow. I'll be staying here for a while. I'll message my driver to drop you at your apartment."

Ara lifted her eyebrows.

Yi Jeong knew he was being ty, but he didn't care.

"And what are you going to do?" she asked.

"Work," Yi Jeong repeated. He scowled. "Isn't that what I just said?"

Ara let out a disbelieving scoff.

"I don't understand you, Yi Jeong. You suggested we come back here." She crossed her arms and leaned her weight to one side. The undone neck of her blouse shifted as she did so, leaving part of her shoulder exposed.

"Yeah, I...I changed my mind." He stuffed his phone back in his pocket. "My driver should be here soon." He patted his pocket. As an afterthought, he added, "I'll make some tea while we wait."

"Tea?"

Without waiting for her answer, Yi Jeong ducked behind the counter where he kept his tea set and retrieved a canister of his favorite green tea leaves.

Ara stayed quiet while he set the water to boil and arranged his own handmade cups on a tray. Not until he began pouring the tea did she sidle up next to him, slide her hand down his other arm that wasn't occupied with pouring, and ask, "Is there something you don't like?"

She tilted her head, obviously referring to herself.

Yi Jeong had never understood why girls asked a question when they honestly didn't want to hear the answer.

Unfortunately, he wasn't in the mood to be flattering.

"I don't like people touching me without a reason."

"But I have a reason." Ara simpered.

"The answer's no." Yi Jeong set the tea kettle down and gave her a hard look.

She dropped her arm.

"Fine," she snapped.

A terse silence followed, punctuated by the tinkling of a teaspoon against his cup's porcelain rim.

Then Yi Jeong's phone buzzed.

"My driver's here," Yi Jeong stated calmly and took a sip of his tea. The hot liquid scorched his lips. He didn't look at her. "He'll take you anywhere you want to go." He brought the tea up halfway to his mouth again, but before he could bring it to his lips, Ara snatched the cup away from him. Tea sloshed over the side, but if it burned her, she didn't bat an eyelash. In fact, she didn't flinch when she threw the whole cup of hot tea back in one gulp, then slammed the cup down on the counter.

"You're crazy. Do you know how many followers I have online? Five million." She threw the fingers on her right hand out at him like she might fling them into his face.

Which only irritated him more.

He stared at her for a long moment.

"Then why don't you get one of them to you?" he answered calmly.

The slap she gave him next didn't surprise him; neither did the stinging rawness of his face that persisted after she made her way out, slamming the door behind her.

He guessed he deserved that.

For more reasons than one. He knew he'd been an to Ga Eul that evening. Ever since he'd taken her to that damn exhibition, really.

Maybe he'd said it just to punish himself. He didn't know.

When he felt certain Ara wasn't coming back, Yi Jeong shrugged off his coat and tie and opened a new bottle of wine. Twisted his lips at the bitter taste. Not his favorite, but it matched his mood.

An hour later, he was sprawled out on the floor of his workshop, his chin resting on a bench while he poked at the screen of his phone with unsteady fingers.

The words swam in front of his eyes: How's your hand?

---

Present

When Yi Jeong entered his private dining room, Ga Eul was standing rigidly at the back of the room in her embroidered silver blouse and black pants. He'd chosen a silver tie to go with his otherwise all black attire that evening, so they matched. Not an intentional choice on his part, but it was an interesting aesthetic to note.

Ga Eul bowed when she saw him and dutifully approached the table to take his drink order, but her eyes remained flat. Uninterested.

"How's your hand?" he asked.

"Fine," she answered.

"I thought maybe it was bothering you last week. Because that other guy was carrying stuff for you."

That other guy who had also stared at Yi Jeong for a hard second like he was a scourge upon humanity.

Yeah, Yi Jeong knew that look. But he couldn't tell if it was a 'stay the hell away from my sister' look or a 'stay the hell away from the girl I like' look.

"No," Ga Eul replied, her voice clipped. He sensed he wouldn't get any further information from her on the subject, so he changed tactic.

"Oh." Yi Jeong adjusted himself in his chair. "I texted you over the weekend. Maybe you didn't see it?"

He didn't miss the way her eyes shifted before she answered, "No. I saw it."

"Oh. I guess you were busy—"

"Not any busier than you are, I imagine." Ga Eul rushed out, then smiled. The expression didn't reach her eyes.

Her statement hung uneasily in the air.

"Yeah." Yi Jeong cleared his throat. "Ji Hoo was asking how you were, so—"

"You can tell him I'm fine," Ga Eul interrupted a second time. Which was out of character for her, he thought. She struck him as someone who took pride in her work and would never want to be thought rude, even if the customer merited it. "Would you like me to go ahead and bring and out the wine?" she continued.

Yi Jeong studied her a moment, but he couldn't get a read on what she was thinking. Her face was neutral save for a tiny quiver of . Nerves, he guessed. Or irritation.

"No, that's okay. I'll wait for...my date."

"Of course." Ga Eul smiled sweetly and backed away.

Yi Jeong took out his phone and pretended to study the screen. Pretended to fiddle with his wristwatch. Pretended to note the symmetry and delicate perfection of the white roses that had been arranged in a small vase to one side of the table. Unfortunately, white roses only reminded him of the exhibit, which inevitably reminded him of the waitress standing behind him, silent as death.

"I was busy," he said, giving up the charade.

"What?" Ga Eul replied to his back.

He turned halfway round in his chair so he could look at her properly.

"I was busy, like you said. I'm sorry for not responding sooner."

She blinked.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." She pursed her lips.

"I did think your pieces were quite good," he pressed. "How many years did you say you've been doing pottery?"

She didn't reply right away, opening and then closing it. Swallowing. Shifting her gaze and then her feet.

"Yi Jeong Sunbae, if I may, I don't think we should discuss our personal lives anymore."

"I'm sorry?"

"I just mean that I don't find it appropriate, given the situation, and I would rather not."

"Appro—"

"I don't mind being your waitress for the next few weeks, but as I doubt we'll be seeing each other after that, we should probably just discuss the menu...or something...I hope you can respect my wishes."

Respect her wishes?

Yi Jeong could only stare at her, at the firm set of her jaw when she made that last pronouncement.

He frowned at her for a moment before finally answering, "As you wish."

Rearranging himself in his chair, he glared at the wood panels on the door for hardly a minute before the frustration in his gut bubbled over. Though whether he was frustrated with her or with himself, he couldn't say.

He jerked his body back to face her. "You know, most people would have jumped at the chance for that internship."

Ga Eul said nothing. If his irate demeanor bothered her, he couldn't tell.

"People like you should take advantage of every opportunity they're offered, yes?"

"People like me?" Ga Eul repeated, her expression souring.

He could tell he'd said the wrong thing, but he persisted, "The art world. It's not an easy tree to climb."

Ga Eul scoffed, sudden anger in her eyes. He preferred it, at least, to her vacant expression from before.

"Oh, I'm sure you would know all about that," she shot back. "Being born into such inconvenient circumstances and all."

"Don't misunderstand." His eyes narrowed. "I'm just offering you some free advice."

"You can offer me anything you want. It doesn't mean I have to accept it."

"Now listen—"

"Please understand me." She dropped her voice so that he had to strain to hear it, but spoke with decisiveness. "I don't think it would be appropriate for me to accept any more personal favors from you. I. Don't. Want. Them."

Yi Jeong was about to snap back something, anything, but at that exact moment the door opened, and in walked his date for the evening.

Choi Eun Sang.

.

He'd thought that name sounded familiar.

Now that he saw her in person, he knew why.

He'd actually been on a date with her before. Two years ago.

He was a little vague on the details, but he did remember she'd been pretty pissed off when he hadn't called her back.

Karma was a in gold heels and a red mini dress. And she smiled when she entered the room—not a false smile like Ga Eul wore, but it unnerved him all the same.

Unnerved him more than if she'd looked pissed.

Well, it had been two years ago.

Maybe she didn't remember. After all, he hadn't recognized her from the picture his mother had shown him.

He stood and greeted her. Pulled out a chair.

Once they had both been seated and Yi Jeong had awkwardly made a wine request to Ga Eul, Eun Sang leaned forward and said, with seemingly genuine concern, "I hope your parents are well."

"They're doing fine," Yi Jeong answered lightly. Whoever married him would find out about his parents' self-destructive proclivities soon enough. No need to bring that up on a first date. "And yours?" He smiled. It felt like a wince.

"Mm. They're on holiday." Eun Sang sipped her water, the multiple gold bangles on her arm clattering against one another. "So, I hear you're working on a new exhibit."

"Yes, I..." Yi Jeong trailed off as Ga Eul entered the room again and began pouring wine from a bottle of merlot. She set his wine down in front of him. "Um." He cleared his throat. "Sorry, yes. I hope to have it ready early next year."

Ga Eul poured Eun Sang a glass of merlot.

"I look forward to seeing it. I've always loved the museum. So calming." Eun Sang gave him a gracious smile. "In particular, I've always found the Joseon Dynasty exhibit fascinating."

"Oh, really?"

"Oh, Miss Ga Eul." Eun Sang touched Ga Eul's hand before she could leave the table. "Please bring out one bottle of rosé as well."

"Oh, yes. Of course." Ga Eul nodded and retreated from the room.

The evening's main course was chicken bulgogi with traditional side dishes. Eun Sang chattered about the places in Europe and Asia she'd visited in the past year throughout dinner. Thankfully, her talkativeness took the burden off of Yi Jeong to maintain a conversation. He was not in the mood to maintain much of anything beyond a semblance of politeness.

After they finished the main course, Eun Sang pushed her empty bowl away and asked Ga Eul for a slice of cheesecake.

With a nod, Ga Eul gathered their two bowls up along with a few half-eaten side dishes and the larger communal plate of chicken.

Suddenly, one of the dishes Ga Eul was holding slipped from her grasp, causing the entire pile of dishes to tilt off-balance. Yi Jeong reached his hands out before he knew what he was doing, catching the dishes as they tumbled from her arms. He held them up until she was able to gather them to her body again.

Immediately, she withdrew from him, a disconcerted frown on her lips.

"Be careful," he admonished.

"Sorry," she said, and, having bowed her head in apology, scurried away.

"Did you know that the Greeks used to serve this as a wedding cake?" Eun Sang asked, scooping up a bite of the cheesecake once it had been brought out.

"I can't say that I did." Yi Jeong brought a half-hearted bite to his mouth.

"Mm. They thought it was a good source of energy," Eun Sang said. "I went to Greece last summer. Santorini. I went to this winery overlooking the caldera and the Aegean Sea. They said the Minoan civilization there was destroyed by this huge volcanic eruption, what, three thousand years ago or something. Just like Pompeii. Can you imagine? An entire city buried under rubble for centuries." She stuffed another bite of cheesecake into . "It's incredible how some things can just...disappear in an instant." She waved her fork excitedly.

"Ah, yes."

"Well, at least the art world must have had a field day. I went to the museum in Athens. The archaeological something something." Another wave of the fork. "But mostly I just went to the beach." She smiled convivially and continued on about the beach for a while as she finished off the rest of her cheesecake.

Yi Jeong leisurely chewed his own slice of cheesecake, not really tasting it.

When Eun Sang had polished off her plate and set her fork down with a clatter, Yi Jeong laid his own fork next to his half-eaten slice.

"Oh, don't bother, by the way." Eun Sang dabbed at with her napkin.

"I'm sorry?"

"About considering me." She tossed the napkin onto the table. "I have no interest in marrying you." She smiled like she'd simply said she had no interest in cats or piano concerts or juggling.

Yi Jeong had only been half-listening to her through dessert, ever since Ga Eul's tiny slip with the dishes, but now he was all ears.

"Excuse me?"

"You know, I wasn't going to accept your invitation, but then I thought"—Eun Sang brought a graceful hand to rest on her chin—"it takes forever to get on the waiting list for this place, and you do owe me dinner." She brought her hand down and cast him a quizzical look. "Or was it breakfast? I can't remember what was said."

"Wait. I...I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"Our date. Two years ago. Remember? The Joseon Dynasty exhibit?" she replied in a sing-song voice. She tossed back the last of her wine. Rosé from the extra bottle she'd ordered.

Among several extra things she'd ordered, he realized.

The Joseon Dynasty. He mentally snapped his fingers. Of course. Now he remembered their date perfectly.

A mental image of them making out against one of the glass cases after hours flew through Yi Jeong's mind and dissolved into another image of her yelling at him in a department store. Hitting him with a handbag while Woo Bin clutched his stomach in a fit of laughter.

"You wasted my time. Now I've wasted your time," she stated calmly, holding out one hand, then the other. Clapping her hands together, she concluded, "I think we should call it even, So Yi Jeong who 'doesn't actually do second dates.'" She put air quotes around the last half of the sentence and stood, having made her point. "Oh, and one more thing."

Picking up her water glass, she threw the half-full glass of ice cold water in his face. Into his mouth that had half-opened in a retort. "Idiot," she muttered.

"Hey! What the hell?!" Yi Jeong sputtered as the water soaked his hair and the top of his dress shirt.

Turning to Ga Eul, she said, "I'd like another slice of cheesecake to go. Please put it on his tab. I'll just be at the entrance."

What the hell?

Yi Jeong picked up the napkin in his lap only to realize it was dirty. Then he noticed Ga Eul following Eun Sang out the door.

"Hey!" he called out.

He'd expected Ga Eul to stay behind—after all, he was paying, and he hadn't told her to move.

"Miss Ga Eul," he said, clenching his fists. "A napkin, please."

"There's one in front of you." Turning slightly, she pointed to the dirty napkin he'd cast aside. "Oh, that's right. You don't like using anything twice." She walked back to her serving materials. Whipping out a clean napkin, she placed it on the table and continued, "If you'll excuse me, I'll be getting Miss Choi Eun Sang her cheesecake."

"Like hell you are."

"Like hell I am." She smiled.

And then, she left.

---

"Like hell I am," Yi Jeong mimicked Ga Eul's remark from earlier that evening. "Oh, let's not talk about anything personal. What the hell was that?" he ranted to Woo Bin, who had met him a half hour before for a spontaneous round of pool at their old F4 hangout. "She's lost her mind, talking to me like that," Yi Jeong asserted.

"Bro, you've been talking about this waitress since you got here," Woo Bin replied, lining up his next shot. "Why don't you just ask for a new one?"

"And you know what's another thing?" Yi Jeong continued, ignoring Woo Bin's suggestion. "I practically handed her that internship. And she spat it back like I'd offered her poison." He huffed and grabbed a cold beer out of the mini fridge. When Woo Bin simply stared at him, unmoving, he asked, "What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to take your shot?"

"I'll take my shot when you admit that you're not mad at Miss Ga Eul." He grinned. "You're just mad about getting that water thrown in your face. You were embarrassed, and you're trying to cover it up by turning it on her."

In his frustration, Yi Jeong had related the events of the evening—mainly his conversations with Ga Eul—to Woo Bin, who'd always been his partner in crime, so to speak, in all things concerning women. In doing so, he'd made the mistake of mentioning Eun Sang's revenge to him, and Woo Bin had broken into a good, side-splitting laugh about it for ten minutes or so.

Now Woo Bin was grinning at him like he might break into more laughter at any moment.

"What?" Yi Jeong scoffed. "Are you on her side now?"

"She seemed nice when I met her." Woo Bin shrugged.

"You saw her for all of one minute."

"I'm a good judge of character. Comes with the family business." Woo Bin leaned over the table to take his shot. "I can also tell when someone is bluffing. You do know that's why you've never beat me at poker, right?"

"Yeah, well, I always beat you at pool, so let's just call it even." Yi Jeong took a swig of the ice cold Heineken he'd been holding in a death grip. Clutching it with greater and greater intensity, he rambled on, his dark gaze sweeping over their old hangout at Shinhwa, "Women are something else. I even apologized to her. I offered her a ing internship at the museum, and she looked at me like I was a ing idiot."

"I like this girl," Woo Bin contributed. "Oh, by the way, I heard through a friend of a friend's girlfriend, you turned down Kim Ara. Apparently, she was raging mad about it. You've got some balls, bro."

"What? Oh, that. I wasn't in the mood." Yi Jeong frowned and tried to focus on his next shot. It missed its target and rolled into the pocket. Scratch.

Yi Jeong swore under his breath.

"She also said you called her fat." Woo Bin picked up the cue ball and placed it in his desired position.

"Fat? Well, now that's a load of bull. What am I? Crazy?"

"That's what I said." Woo Bin paused his game to give Yi Jeong a knowing look. "There's no way anyone would call Kim Ara fat, least of all the guy who's trying to...Anyway, what did you say to make her so pissed off at you?"

"Nothing." Yi Jeong bristled. "Some girls can't handle rejection. You know that."

"Hmm...My question is why. Like, how drunk were you the other night? Turning down—"

"Does it matter?! Look, can't we just play the game? It's your turn!" Yi Jeong flung his hand out in the direction of the cue ball.

"See, my gut is telling me things." Woo Bin knocked two balls into the pocket. "And if I didn't know you better, I might believe it."

"Might believe what?"

"You didn't sleep with Ara because you're so hung up on that waitress girl."

"Very funny."

"My gut is almost never wrong."

"Well, it's wrong this time."

"Suit yourself, bro. But for what it's worth...I think Miss Ga Eul is pretty easy on the eyes."

"You think—" Yi Jeong began, but his thought was cut off by Woo Bin's phone ringing.

Fishing the phone out of his brown leather jacket pocket, Woo Bin seemed to recognize the name on the screen and accepted the call.

"Hello?" he said, and a weird expression came over his face as he held the phone up to his ear. Yi Jeong couldn't tell if he was irritated or anxious.

"I told you I was coming...Yeah, yeah, that's fine...I'll be there...I said I'll be there. Bye."

Once he'd hung up, Woo Bin looked back up at Yi Jeong, a curious expression on his face.

"Who was that?" Yi Jeong asked.

"Uh, no one. I mean, it's family stuff. Mind if head out?" Woo Bin put up his cue stick.

"No, sure." Yi Jeong shrugged. The whole evening was ed, anyway. "Take care of your business."

"Catch ya later, bro." Woo Bin pulled on his leather jacket and headed out the door, leaving Yi Jeong alone with his tumultuous thoughts.

You can offer me anything you want. It doesn't mean I have to accept it.

Ga Eul's words came back to Yi Jeong as he dimmed the lights and slouched down with his beer on the black and white striped couch where Ji Hoo had played guitar during simpler times.

You can offer me anything you want.

But what, exactly, did he want to offer her?