The conversation between Ji Hyo and Chang Joo had made Ji Hyo felt a little bit uncomfortable actually. Calling the boss ‘oppa’ was a big progress for Ji Hyo. She always called him Chang Joo-ssi before. She tried her best to build a nice professional relationship with him. On the other hand, Chang Joo was always being friendly to her. He was a serious guy but he tried his best to be funny around Ji Hyo. He called her Ji Hyo-ah, hoping that she would feel more comfortable with that. He expected her to call him ‘oppa’, but she never did. And that made everything more difficult for him.

When they came back to the party, the birthday girl was blowing the candles. Some guests were singing the birthday song to her and the rest were just looking and taking pictures of her. At that time, she saw her manager was preparing food for the guests. Manager unnie caught Ji Hyo eyes and waved at her excitedly. She left the food at the nearest table and walked towards Ji Hyo.

“Ji Hyo-ah, you really came!” She hugged her tight, still unable to believe what she saw.

“Do you really think I wouldn’t come?” Ji Hyo asked her with a weird looking face.

“I thought maybe you were still having a hangover from last night’s soju, Ji Hyo-ah.”

The two women didn’t talk for long. The manager still had some works to do in the kitchen, helping her sister. But she told Ji Hyo to stay at the party until 2 p.m. It would be over at that time and they can talk again after that. Chang Joo had to go back earlier because suddenly he was called to a meeting. Luckily he brought a tuxedo with him in the car so he could change to a more proper outfit. He excused himself to Ji Hyo’s manager and asked her to take Ji Hyo home later.

Ji Hyo spent two hours sitting alone in the kitchen doing random stuffs. She didn’t feel comfortable to talk with the other guests so she asked her manager to let her sit there. After the party was over, the two women continued their conversation.

“So unnie, I didn’t know you were this close to Chang Joo oppa.” Ji Hyo asked her the same question as the one she asked Chang Joo earlier.

“Woah, Ji Hyo-ah! Since when did you call Chang Joo-ssi ‘oppa’?” With a confused look on her face, manager unnie answered Ji Hyo’s question with another question.

“He asked me to call him ‘oppa’ this afternoon. I also gave him the chocolate I wanted to give you yesterday by the way. Is it okay?”

“Is it okay? Of course it’s okay. You have the right to give that chocolate to anybody. I’m just asking, why him?”

Why him? I don’t know, I didn’t think about the reason. I didn’t even think at all at that moment. The blank Ji Hyo realized that she really didn’t have any logical reason to give him the chocolate. She thought of nobody else to give it to. So why not? Ji Hyo told manager unnie that they were having a conversation together and she ran out of topic, so she managed to keep the conversation going by giving him the chocolate. It’s not a really good reason, actually. Her manager just kept on nodding her head during the whole story, asking herself was that really happening.  But she hid her curiosity and smiled instead.

“Unnie, you’re not mad at me aren’t you? What is really going on between you and Chang Joo oppa?”

“Why are you suddenly asking me this kind of question? There’s nothing going on between us.” The manager was more confused than before.

“You two looked so close together. You even invited him to your niece’s birthday party.”

“Ahh, I see. You think too much, Ji Hyo-ah. We had a professional relationship, not more.” She seemed to understand what was Ji Hyo talking about.

When manager unnie was just about to take Ji Hyo back home, her sister called her and asked her to stay. She needed to clean the mess after the party and her mother wanted her home until Monday. Not wanting to make the situation more difficult, Ji Hyo insisted to go home by bus. She made sure she would arrive at her place safely and rushed to the bus station. It was already 6 p.m at that time. The two women turned out to have such a long conversation after the party ended.

Ji Hyo wasn’t familiar with the neighborhood but she convinced herself she wouldn’t be lost. However, she got off at the wrong bus station. She looked around trying to figure out where she was. She noticed a small café across the street and took a deeper look at it.  Ahh!!! This is near Jong Kook oppa’s place. I took a bus home from here, the other day. I wonder where Jong Kook oppa is. He’s probably having a romantic dinner with a girl. But he said he doesn’t have any girlfriend right now. Well, it’s Valentine’s Day, anything could happen.

Ji Hyo waited for the next bus to come. She took out her phone and saw no new message. What a shame. No one gave her a Valentine’s Day greeting. She shook her head weakly, giving herself self-pity. She looked at the small café again and thought it would be best to wait there instead. Drank a cup of coffee and bought her own self a chocolate cake.

When she stood up from her seat, she saw a figure of a man walking out of the café. She could notice who the man was with just a single glance. It was Kim Jong Kook. The one that she had been thinking about all the day. She sped up her steps so she wouldn’t lose him. She called his name a few times but it seemed like he didn’t hear her. When she was about to cross the street, a young woman came out from the same café and approached Jong Kook with a smile. Jong Kook looked back and smiled too. Then the woman grabbed his arms and they walked side by side.

Ji Hyo couldn’t move. Some cars had already stopped, letting her to cross the street, but she still couldn’t move. She chose to step back and let the cars went through. She chose to let Jong Kook go with that woman. To be honest, Ji Hyo didn’t feel okay at all. She tried to convince herself that she was okay with that, but she was just not. To see Jong Kook with another woman, it hurt. There was nothing going on between Ji Hyo and Jong Kook, but still it broke her heart somehow.

Ji Hyo, what are you thinking?! You’re not jealous of him! You don’t like him that way. He’s just your friend. You don’t even know him that close. You’re just jealous that he has a date on the Valentine’s Day and you don’t. She kept telling herself that she was okay. That Jong Kook meant nothing for her.

The actress arrived at her house at 8 p.m. She had a dinner and took a shower. Her mind was still in the bus station. But suddenly her phone rang, bringing her back to the reality. She received a new message from someone.

Happy Valentine’s Day Ji Hyo-ah! You should date someone on this special day. I’ll be waiting for you chocolate yah miss mong Ji!! –Jong Kook Oppa—

Ji Hyo sighed. Jong Kook oppa is trying to be nice to me. I feel like a jerk for being jealous of him. She replied his message politely wishing him a valentine greeting too. He’s really just a nice friend to me. I don’t have any feeling for him. She convinced herself one more time and lay on her bed listening to Jong Kook’s song through her earphone. I’ll ask him about the girl next time when I see him at the running man set.

A/N: Please let me know if it's going too fast or too slow :)