Dara ambled her way towards Jiyong who was sitting comfortably at the couch, reading a fashion magazine in one hand and the other holding on to a steaming mug of what smelt like cappuccino. 

 

Sensing Dara's presence, he shut his magazine close and placed his mug carefully on the table. Looking up at her and meeting her hazel brown eyes, he said. "I was waiting for you." 

 

"You were?" Dara asked, brows creased in puzzlement. 

 

Jiyong nodded his head and stood up. He made his way towards one of the chairs in the dining table and took a seat. The dining table was humongous; it had like, around twelve chairs surrounding it. Dara, on the other hand, just remained rooted to the ground, not knowing what to do. It wasn't her home after all, she couldn't just act like she wanted to. It would be rude.

 

"What are you doing there?" Jiyong asked, with wondering eyes,  "C'mere and take a seat." He beckoned her to sit with him.

 

Dara complied and plopped herself onto an empty seat just opposite his. Glancing down, she was fascinated by the spread of food on the table. There were toothsome plates of sinful cinnamon rolls, sweet corn pancakes with blueberry balsamic sauce, coffee crepe with ricotta cheese and cherries in syrup, mushrooms spinach and cheese omelette, waffles with brown butter apple cinnamon and chocolate syrup and et cetera. The list could go on and on. Needless to say, it was a really fancy breakfast.

 

So many sweet delicacies. It's making my mouth water.

 

Dara bit her lip and casted a glance over Jiyong, she found him slicing a triangular piece of buttered pancake; silently observing how he dipped it in chocolate and blueberry syrup before elegantly popping it into his mouth. He began chewing it closed-mouthed and soundlessly.

 

This person eats with style. No doubt he has perfect dining etiquette. 

 

She kind of felt intimidated by his presence. Kwon Jiyong was no ordinary man.

 

"What are you waiting for?" Jiyong said, looking up at her with a cool expression. "Eat."

 

"I'm not hungry." She uttered, but as soon as those words spilled out from , she was betrayed by the low grumbling sounds her stomach made.

 

Traitor!

 

"You were saying?" Jiyong asked, quirking one eyebrow and half-smirking at the same time.

 

Shoulders sagging in defeat, she picked up her fork and knife and helped herself. Choosing the buttered pancakes as well because she remembered how her mother used to make pancakes for her when she was little. Reminiscing the good old times, she ate to her heart's content; pouring different flavored syrups every time she took a new piece.

 

"You like pancakes?" Jiyong asked all of a sudden, he was silently observing her every move. She nodded her head and chewed her breakfast delightfully. "Eat more, then." He added, putting more pancakes on her plate.

 

Jiyong was already done but there was still a myriad of leftovers. Dara continued to eat while he just watched her.

 

"So... I recalled what happened last night and turns out, we did have ." Jiyong muttered nonchalantly.

 

Upon hearing the word '', Dara spat out her food and it went flying across to Jiyong's face, she choked in the process as well, hitting her fist to her chest continuously to calm herself down. She grabbed a glass of orange juice and chugged it down hastily, forcing the food down . When she finally calmed down, she looked over to where Jiyong was sitting and stared at him wide-eyed.

 

Bits of chewed pancake were stuck on his face. Some of it fell slowly on his pants. It looked like someone splat a disgusting piece of... it couldn't even be identified.

 

Oops.

 

Clearly guilty, she stood up from her chair instantly and ran to where he was sitting. Grabbing a table napkin on the table, she wiped his face quickly, like how a mother would when she finds her son looking all dirty. 

 

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry." She apologized profusely as she continued to clean his flawless face.

 

Noticing that there were also bits of pancakes on his pants, she mindlessly wiped it, but in reality, she was actually rubbing near his crotch area. Being oblivious to what she's doing, she continued to wipe a little faster.

 

"Ugh. D-Dara. S-stop." Jiyong groaned, and his breathing getting a little deeper.

 

Dara didn't listen for she was feeling too guilty. She continued to unintentionally rub that sensitive part, until she started noticing how Jiyong's cheeks turned crimson, his breathing became quicker and he let out a low groan. Finally realizing what she had done, she jerked her hand away immediately and backed away from him, apologizing once more.

 

"Oh my god! I didn't mean to. I- I." Dara was too stunned, she was at a loss for words. 

 

Can I just dig a hole right now? Why the hell did I do that? You're so stupid, Dara.

 

Mentally cursing herself, she lowered her head, unable to face him. 

 

"That was... that was...." Jiyong was equally at a loss for words. He didn't expect that after all, it was also an embarrassing situation for him. Before he could form a sentence, Dara beat him into it.

 

"It's all your fault!" Dara exploded.

 

"Mwoh?!" Jiyong exclaimed incredulously.

 

"If you didn't say the 's' word while I was eating, then I wouldn't have been taken aback!" Dara reasoned, voice rising in anger.

 

Jiyong pondered for a moment, thinking about what she said, then he finally realized what she meant.

 

"Oh. You mean ?" Jiyong said, smirking full on.

 

"Yah! Don't say it so casually!" Dara warned.

 

"Why not?" Jiyong said, simply. ". . . . ." He taunted, laughing at Dara's shocked expression.

 

Flustered, Dara covered her ears with both hands as to block out any sounds she was hearing from him. She was not comfortable with him chanting the word '' while they were having breakfast at the dining table. It was so inappropriate.

 

"Shut up!" She exclaimed, gritting her teeth in exasperation.

 

When Jiyong finally quietened down, he began talking seriously. "Look, what happened last night.." he paused and looked at her in the eyes.

 

"We're both responsible for it." He breathed. "I mean, we found our lovers cheating on us and drunk the night away till we couldn't drink no more. I guess we just got caught up in the moment." Taking his mug of coffee and sipping it slowly afterwards.

 

Dara had to agree with him because she agreed to drink with him after all. She just wasn't expecting this to happen so soon, and what she meant by that—sleeping together.

 

Awkward silence enveloped them for a few minutes.

 

Sighing, picked up her glass of orange juice and took a huge sip, feeling the cold, acidic taste linger down . She wanted to confirm if he had used a the night before but she decided not to ask. She wasn't ready to receive another blow, too much had already happened, she wasn't sure if she could take anymore of it.

 

"I've thought about it." Jiyong muttered.

 

"Thought about what?" Dara replied dryly, eyebrows creasing questioningly.

 

"I figured, since our lovers cheated on us, you might want to take revenge." Jiyong grinned and shrugged his shoulders playfully.

 

"So, what are you trying to say?" Dara quizzed.

 

There was a beat of silence before he finally spoke.

 

Jiyong gave her a knowing grin before uttering these few words, "Sandara Park, how would you like to be my girlfriend?"