Tiffany and Taeng were in the Yoong’s company car on their way to Jeju-do to survey Yoong’s new resort. Tiffany was staring at Taeng. She didn’t realize that she was doing so until Taeng looked up and met her eyes with his. His eyes grew round and big when he saw that she was looking at him. She smiled awkwardly and looked away quickly.

 

“Erm… Do you have something to say to me?”

 

“Actually… yes I do.” Tiffany turned to look at Taeng again.

 

“I was wondering why you haven’t messed up at work recently.”

 

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Taeng raised an eyebrow in surprise.

 

“Yes… yes… of course it’s a good thing but I was wondering what changed.”

 

“Erm… I found a way to focus on my work.”

 

“You mean to say that previously you couldn’t? Why not?”

 

Taeng groaned inwardly. Her questions were getting harder and harder to answer.

 

“…I was distracted?”

 

“By?”

 

Taeng shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He hoped that his cheeks were turning red.

 

How do I answer this?!

 

“Oh look! Check out the volcano! It’s so awesome!” shouted Taeng, attempting to change the subject to avoid answering her question.

 

Tiffany didn’t even blink. She continued staring at him unwaveringly. When he realized that his attempt had failed, he looked down at his fingers and swallowed a lump in his throat.

 

“Why aren’t you answering my question?”

 

Taeng gulped. He squeezed his eyes shut.

 

“I’m sorry but I can’t answer that question.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“It’s too difficult to answer.”

 

Tiffany laughed out loud.

 

“Taeng… that’s ridiculous.”

 

Taeng stared at his fingers again, fiddling with them nervously.

 

“Taeng. If you don’t answer my question…you’re fired.”

 

“W-WHAT?” Taeng’s head shot up and his eyes opened wide in shock.

 

“You heard what I said. You’re fired.”

 

“B-but you can’t fire me over this…” stammered Taeng.

 

“I already have plenty of reasons to fire you for. All the schedules that you messed up previously are more than enough.”

 

“A-Are you r-really going to f-fire me?”

 

Taeng’s eyes welled up in tears and he looked at her pitifully through his puppy eyes.

 

Tiffany’s heart skipped a few beats when she looked at his puppy eyes.

 

Gosh! He is so cute when he’s scared.

 

How does he make his eyes look like that?!

 

She blinked and nodded. Taeng burst into tears and sobbed like a baby. Tiffany called on every ounce of self-control to resist the tremendous urge to laugh at him.

 

He is so adorable!

 

“So… Taeng… Tell me the reason…”

 

“W-what reas-son?” Taeng asked in between his sobs.

 

Tiffany rolled her eyes at his poor memory.

 

“The reason why you were distracted, silly. Remember, if you don’t tell me the real reason… I’m firing you.”

 

Taeng looked at the beautiful raven-haired woman sitting next to him.

 

If I’m fired I won’t get to see her anymore!

 

If I tell her the real reason… I might get fired anyway….

 

Tears continued to roll down his cheeks as he tried to find a way out of this fix. However, Tiffany did something that shocked him to no end. She reached out and wiped his tears away with her fingers. The contact of her cold fingers on his face sent electric jolts flashing through his mind.

 

“Don’t cry… Just tell me why and you won’t be fired.”

 

“Do you promise? You can’t fire me if I tell you the real reason, okay?”

 

Tiffany giggled and nodded. She held her hand up and promised. “I won’t fire you if you tell me.”

 

Taeng took a deep breath and held it for a while before exhaling quickly.

 

“I was distracted by you.”

 

Tiffany blinked.

 

Taeng didn’t dare to look at her, afraid that she might be angry with him.

 

“Distracted by me?”

 

Taeng nodded.

 

“Why? What did I do?”

 

“Nothing, you didn’t do anything… You don’t have to do anything. You’re just so beautiful. Every time you smile at me, I can’t think because all I can think about is how pretty your eyes look when you smile.”

 

Tiffany looked at him strangely. Then she inched closer to him but every inch she moved closer, he would inch away resulting in him being squashed against the car door with Tiffany sitting right next to him. She giggled as she leaned towards him.

 

“Why are you so afraid of me Taeng?”

 

“I… I…” Taeng was at a loss for words. The proximity of Tiffany to him was way too close for his mind to handle.

 

Tiffany smiled, sending his heart into a frenzied state.

 

His lips are so kissable.

 

Should I? Just for fun.

 

She found his submissive nature highly enticing.

 

Oh… What the heck…

 

Throwing caution to the wind for the first time in her life, she pressed her lips against his and indulged in her craving. She nuzzled her lips against his, on his lower lip, feeling how his lips melded with hers. It felt comfortable and very cozy. In a far corner of her mind, she remembered how she and Siwon used to kiss. It was a like a battle for dominance each and every time. This feeling however, was new, refreshing, and thoroughly enjoyable. She found herself melting into the kiss and was pleasantly surprised to feel Taeng beginning to return the kiss.

 

His mind had turned into mush the instant he felt her lips on his. He blinked several times and even pinched his own thigh to check if he was dreaming.

 

Apparently not.

 

So he closed his eyes and let the delicious sensations wash over him. Moments later, he found himself responding to the softness of her lips. And there it was… His first kiss with Tiffany.

 

~~~~~

 

Moments later, Tiffany was back to sitting on one side of the car and Taeng on the other. He clutched his fist over his wildly thumping heart and tried to breathe normally. Tiffany stole a glance at him and giggled at the sight of him.

 

“Taeng.”

 

“Y-Yes Boss?”

 

“We’re even now.”

 

“W-what?”

 

“I won’t fire you if you won’t sue me for ual harassment at work.”

 

Taeng gaped and looked at her innocently.

 

“I-I was never going to s-sue you…”

 

Tiffany stifled her laughter and fought to keep a straight face as she nodded nonchalantly at him.

 

Taeng…

 

You are something special.

 

~~~~~

 

Stony silence made the journey to Jeju-do seem extra-long. Sunny glanced at Yoong a few times but he was always looking the other way.

 

Has he given up on me?

 

Well, even if he has… Why is he treating me like this?

 

“Yoong.”

 

“Hmmm?”

 

“Why are you ignoring me?”

 

Yoong kept his mouth shut, ignoring her question.

 

She prodded his arm with her finger.

 

“Are you deaf or something?”

 

Yoong closed his eyes and fought to keep his breathing even.

 

“Yoong.”

 

And he lost it. He turned to Sunny with a frustrated look on his face.

 

“I’m just trying to keep my hands off of you okay? Isn’t this what you want? Help me out here will you? Stop talking to me.”

 

“Yoong, don’t be ridiculous. I have to talk to you. We’re going to be working together for the next five days on an island resort.”

 

“Well then give me a better solution Sunny coz every time I look at you, I want you. I like you. I can’t help it. You’re like a drug to me… Addicting me slowly but surely.”

 

Sunny was shocked into silence by his outburst.

 

They rode out the rest of the journey in palpable silence. Neither of them spoke again.

 

~~~~~

 

They arrived at the resort in good time.

 

“Onew my man!” Yoong’s face lit up with a wide smile as he walked to the good-looking man standing at the entrance of the lobby.

 

“Yoong! Glad to see you here safe and sound.” Onew grinned and instantly looked extremely boyish. “I’ve arranged everything. Follow me.”

 

“I’ve arranged for you to stay in two villas—the most expensive rooms in the house. Any feedback on the place is welcome.” Onew flashed a wide smile at Sunny.

 

“Hi, I’m Onew, the manager of Jeju Joy.”

 

Sunny took his hand and shook it firmly. “I’m Sunny.”

 

“Sunny is mainly in-charge of this account. You can talk to her about any concern about the grand opening.” Yoong clapped Onew on his back.

 

Onew nodded and smiled. “It’s my pleasure to work with such a beautiful lady.”

 

~~~~~

 

The butler placed her bags in the bedroom and left.

 

“Tiffany ssi will be here soon. She will room with you and her personal assistant will room with Yoong. I’m sorry but we could only open two villas up. The rest are not ready for occupancy yet.”

 

“It’s alright, we understand.” Yoong nodded. “Sunny, we’ll meet about an hour after Tiffany and her PA arrives. Text me when you and Tiffany are ready to meet. I’ll come over with her PA.”

 

Sunny nodded and Yoong left with Onew to go to his villa which was next door.

 

Sunny bolted the door shut and began exploring the villa. There were two levels, with the upper level housing the two bedrooms. The kitchenette was well equipped and a BBQ grill was outside on the mini lawn. Each villa had a private pool that was linked to the common area of the ground level. The furnishings were grand and expensive yet simple and chic; not too overbearing. It was a perfect balance of everything.

 

She entered the first bedroom and jumped onto the most luxurious bed she had ever seen and felt. She was immediately swallowed into the soft sheets and she was certain that waking up on this bed would be the best feeling in the world.

 

She got off the bed and opened her bags. She wanted to change into something more comfortable. Yoong hadn’t told her what to wear and he had ignored all her text messages so she had gone for a slightly more official style which wasn’t the best look for this place. Yoong was dressed down casually and he looked like he was ready to hit the beach at any moment.

 

The doorbell rang as she stepped out of the bathroom in her beach shorts and tank top. Tiffany was at the door. The two girls greeted each other with their crescent eye smiles and giggled again.

 

“Come on in!” Sunny chirped, feeling happy to finally see a happy face. Yoong was just so depressing to look at.

 

Tiffany was thoroughly excited to be in the villa. She gushed about the décor and the pool and let out a shriek of excitement when she saw the bedroom. Sunny giggled and leaned against the wall, watching the younger girl prance around happily.

 

Moments later, the two girls were seated comfortably on the deck chairs in the lawn. They had some time before they had to gather officially.

 

Tiffany turned to Sunny.

 

“I hope you’re not offended by my question but I’m really curious…”

 

“About?”

 

“You and Yoong… Have you two…” Tiffany raised her eyebrow meaningfully.

 

“No.”

 

“I thought so.”

 

“You know what he’s like too?”

 

Tiffany laughed and nodded. “I’ve worked with him on several projects now. I know him quite well.”

 

“So I’m guessing that you two haven’t…either.”

 

Tiffany shook her head and smiled.

 

“How did you…handle him? He’s been really strange lately. I don’t know what is going on with him.”

 

“Well... he tried asking me out but I said no. I told him that I wanted to maintain a working relationship with him and that wouldn’t be the last time we work together on a project so we’d better not take it any further.”

 

“That’s basically what I told him too. How did he react to that?”

 

“He was cool. He agreed that it was the sensible thing to do. Till now, we’re purely friends and we’re quite comfortable with each other too.”

 

“Hmm… That’s where the similarities end. Yoong is now ignoring me.”

 

“Why? I noticed it the last time we met.”

 

“He said he was trying to keep his hands off of me. He said that every time he looked at me, he’d want me.” Sunny rolled her eyes. “If he can keep his hands off of you… why can’t he do the same for me?”

 

Tiffany looked at Sunny for a little while.

 

“Sunny… I’ve actually never seen him behave like that with any girl. This ignoring thing is weird. If I didn’t know him better, I would say he might have feelings for you.”

 

Sunny looked at Tiffany.

 

“You don’t think that he has feelings for me, do you?”

 

Tiffany shrugged.

 

“I don’t know. All I can say is…he’s definitely not acting his usual self around you.”

 

~~~~~

 

Yoong looked at Taeng in disgust as the man took a plush toy that looked like peas-in-a-pod out of his bag and hugged it tightly to his chest, grinning happily.

 

Is he a real man or a boy?

 

Even boys don’t act like that!

 

Shaking his head, he decided to leave Taeng alone with his peas and headed out to the mini lawn to lie on the deck chair.

 

He heard Sunny’s voice traveling through the air from the villa next door. He groaned and covered his ears with his palms. Being in the car with her for such a long time had been sheer torture for him. He could barely keep his hands off of her and now he couldn’t even get a moment’s rest without hearing her cute aegyo voice which turned him on so much.

 

He decided to go back into the house so that he wouldn’t hear her voice tingling in his ears. Upon entering the common area, he saw Taeng sitting on the couch with his peas. He had taken the peas out of their pod and was now having a conversation with them.

 

“Peas, I’m so happy today!”

 

Lowering his voice to a whisper, he said, “Guess what? Tiffany kissed me in the car! Hurray!”

 

“Congratulations Taeng!” said one pea which of course was really Taeng, pretending to be the pea. He had tweaked his voice into a squeaky one to suit the pea which totally freaked Yoong out. Yoong stood rooted to the ground, gaping like a goldfish for a few seconds before burying his face in his palms.

 

“WHERE CAN I FIND SOME PEACE AROUND HERE?!” he roared to no one in particular.

 

Taeng jumped in his skin when Yoong roared and he looked timidly at the taller man. Yoong smacked his forehead and marched upstairs to his bedroom.

 

Taeng turned back to his peas and comforted them.

 

“It’s okay peas… That man won’t hurt you. Here…go back into your pod where you’ll be safe.”

 

~~~~~

 

Are we going out a little too much?

 

At this rate, we might as well be a real couple.

 

Jessica looked at Yul as those thoughts floated around in her head. They were on their way to watch the latest musical in town, Catch Me If You Can. Her father had given them free tickets which he had gotten as he was a big sponsor of the musical. Yul was driving so she sat back and let her eyes take in Yul’s rugged good looks.

 

Fortunately for me…he is good looking.

 

She liked how his toned muscles filled out the sleeves of his shirt and how his hair was styled to look professional yet fashionable. She liked the arch of his nose that complemented his strong jaw line and of course his lips were kind of y too.

 

These three months won’t be too bad after all.

 

She smiled to herself.

 

Yul was concentrating on the roads and cars but he sensed that she was looking at him. Not wanting to take his eyes off the road, he asked without looking, “Is there something on my face?”

 

Jessica blushed and looked away, feeling embarrassed about being caught staring.

 

“Ahem. No…your face is fine.”

 

“Alright.”

 

Yul focused on driving, not noticing how red Jessica’s face had become.

 

They arrived at Blue Square where the musical was showing, in good time. Jessica was in a good mood. She always loved watching musicals ever since she was a kid. She’d follow her dad around and she even met many musical actors and actresses backstage. They got off the car and he offered her his arm. Hooking her hand onto his arm, they made their way into the building together.

 

There were many people milling around and socializing. Jessica’s grip on Yul’s arm tightened when she spotted Hara in the area. Yul looked at her inquisitively and followed her line of vision.

 

It’s that girl again.

 

He patted her hand and smiled at her.

 

“Don’t worry about this.”

 

He slipped his arm around her waist and held her waist securely. She felt a strange sense of security as he did that. They made many heads turn, understandably so. For one, the Jungs had always commanded much attention for their sheer wealth and power. On top of that, Jessica and Yul looked undeniably well matched. Her refined, elegant and rather fragile good looks were complimented by his rugged, chiseled and boyish good looks. Together, they looked like they stepped right out of a fashion magazine that had been photo-shopped to its limit.

 

It was a matter of time before Hara realized that they were here. She was enraged as she recalled how she had been completely humiliated by them the last time they met. Unwilling to let it go, she dragged her male companion with her to meet them.

 

“Hi again Sicaaa~ I see that you’re still with him… hahaha…” Hara laughed airily with the fakest smiled plastered on her face.

 

Jessica returned an equally fake smile and replied in an equally airy voice, “Yes, I’m still with Yul… Do I sense some jealousy perhaps? Oh hohoho… I’m sorry for hogging the best man in the house…”

 

Yul cringed inwardly as he heard Jessica verbally jousting with Hara. He hated such falseness and lies but he maintained a cool and impassive look on his face.

 

“Why you b*tch… you totally humiliated me the last time and here you are with him in my face again. You’re going to pay for this Sica.” Hara’s pretty face had contorted into a mean looking one with flashes of evil sparking off in her eyes as she lowered her voice to a whisper and delivered her words menacingly.

 

“Don’t even try. Two can play at the game and we both know that I’m no worse than you Hara.” Jessica counter-challenged with an equally mean streak in her eyes.

 

Hara huffed and stamped her feet angrily. She tugged the arm of her companion and walked away from Jessica and Yul.

 

You haven’t heard the last of me Sica. I’ve gotten better at the games you don’t even know.

 

~~~~~

 

They stood up to give a standing ovation to the musical actors and actresses. The musical was outstanding and everything was perfect. Great acting, great voices and great music made Jessica feel elated after the show. Yul stood with her, clapping his hands to applaud the musical. He stole a glance at Jessica. Her face was shining with excitement and exuberance. It was a beautiful sight to see.

 

You really should smile like that more often.

 

They left the building in high spirits and got back onto his car.

 

“Are you hungry?”

 

Jessica nodded.

 

“Are you up for some naengmyeon then?”

 

Upon hearing the word naengmyeon, Jessica’s face lit up again as she nodded vigorously in approval of his suggestion.

 

Yul laughed a small laugh and drove off.

 

Jessica had a silly grin plastered on her face as she recalled how the actress had sung the song “Fly Fly Away” so beautifully. She was her favourite character in the whole musical—so pure, innocent and cute. Her melodious voice rang in her ears and Jessica hummed the song softly to herself.

 

Yul smiled when he heard her humming the song. That was his favourite song too. The lyrics were meaningful to him—seeing beyond the superficial and trusting your love ones when others don’t. Exactly the things he stood for and what his job was about. Unknowingly, he began humming along with her…their hums joining in unison harmoniously.

 

Jessica realized that she wasn’t humming alone anymore. Yul was humming along with her. She felt warm and fuzzy so she smiled at him sweetly. Yul caught sight of her sweet smile and his breath caught in his throat as he felt a sudden jolt of electricity zapping through his body as if he had just been electrocuted.

 

Oh my goodness. What was that?

 

~~~~~

 

Young was at work, mulling over some decision to make when he thought of Sunny. He hadn’t thought that it would be possible to meet the same girl for four times and not have done the deed yet.

 

It was fun though, regardless of whether we did it or not.

 

In fact, it was more fun than some nights I’ve spent ing some random boring girl from the club.

 

“So long as it’s fun and interesting…” Young murmured to himself as he picked his mobile up to send a text to the girl who was currently occupying his thoughts.

 

~~~~~

 

Young 15:24

Whatcha doing right now?

 

Sunny 15:28

I’m in a meeting.

 

Young 15:28

Are you free later?

 

Sunny 15:48

I’m not in Seoul.

 

Young 15:48

Aww… Where are you?

 

Sunny 16:16

I’m in Jeju-do.

 

Young 16:16

Argh, you’re taking such a long time to reply me :(

 

Sunny 16:51

Sorry, I’m really busy right now.

 

Young 16:51

Call me when you’re off work.

 

Sunny 17:36

Ok.

 

~~~~~

 

Sunny called Young after dinner. She relaxed on the deck chair and made the call. He answered almost instantly.

 

“Sunny, what took you so long to call me?”

 

Sunny laughed.

 

“My dear Young, I worked all the way till dinner time and only just had my dinner.”

 

“Aww… You poor thing… If I were there I’d give you a big hug to comfort you.”

 

Sunny laughed heartily. “Your hug wouldn’t be that innocent.”

 

“Ah… You know me so well and we’ve only hung out four times—amazing.”

 

Sunny giggled. “This much I know.”

 

“So what are you doing now?”

 

“I’m talking to you.”

 

Young rolled his eyes. “HAHA… Very funny.”

 

“I’m not doing anything. I’m just sitting on the deck chair outside my villa.”

 

“Are you sure you’re at work and not on a holiday?”

 

“Resorts are my job.”

 

“Oh, that’s cool… Coincidentally, one of my best friends happens to own a few resorts. I’ll introduce you to him sometime.”

 

“That’s nice of you.”

 

“Heh… I’m a nice guy.”

 

Sunny laughed. “You’re a playful guy.”

 

Young grinned. “You know me so well.”

 

~~~~~