9.30 p.m.

Seunghoon gave the receptionist a slight bow after she notified Intae about Seunghoon’s visit through the intercom. The young guy was immediately welcomed to his office. When Seunghoon entered his office, Intae was on a phone conversation. It seemed as if he was in the middle of a recording session as he told his client that he would be back at the studio soon. Intae finally ended his phone call and averted his whole attention on Seunghoon. Seunghoon cleared his throat and looked somewhere else.

“Why are you at here at this time?” Intae asked. His tone was calm, but patronizing. Seunghoon didn’t like how he sounded. He always acted like he had custody over him.

“You said I can come anytime,” the high school student said indifferently.

“Aren’t you skipping your teacher’s night class right now?”

Seunghoon sighed. “Whatever. Just get to the point.”

Intae nodded. He ejected a cd from the cd player behind him and returned it to Seunghoon.

“You left this for me yesterday evening wasn’t it? I have listened to it,” Intae told him.

Seunghoon had no reaction but truthfully, he was anxious to know Intae’s opinion on his songs. After all, Intae had been a professional in this industry for years.

“Honestly, it’s rubbish,” Intae said, straight to the point.

“What?” Seunghoon narrowed his eyes at Intae, offended.

“You can try and bring it to other people and they would say the same thing. What’s with the tacky bridge? The incoherent, messy guitar chords. No one would buy this .”

“The ? You’re-”

“Fix this and bring it back to me,” Intae said casually. Seunghoon scoffed.

“Whatever. yourself, old man.” Seunghoon turned around and left the office with a door slam.

-

It’s the weekend and Intae suggested we have a picnic at the park. I guess it sounds fun. We have been visiting restaurants for all our previous dates so I guess sitting under the sun in a nice place is a breather. I haven’t visited the park in a while too. Intae told me to bring lunch. It was annoying because I still don’t like him. What am I? His mother?

I did it anyway.

Well, we still have to eat during the picnic and I doubt he would bring anything.

To my surprise, he shows up with his ‘good guy’ persona today. Previously, he was always the confident, stylish guy in our dates but right now he was wearing a pastel colored sweater and had his hair down. Though I do admit I preferred this look better (I can’t get over how adorable he is right now) I wonder the reason behind it.

“Because it’s the first time we’re having a date during the day. In a public space,” he says with a smile; an innocent looking smile as we walk along the paved path in the middle of the park.

I roll my eyes at his answer and quicken my steps. So, he is the ‘good guy’ Intae in daylight.

“Yoonyul, wait! Ah!”

I pause and impatiently turn around. Intae is getting up from the ground and pat the dust away from his pants. He looks up at me and gives me a sheepish, yet adorable smile.

“Sorry. I can be really clumsy sometimes,” he smiles. That fake smile of the persona he wears for today. He is annoying me since I know that that is not who he really is.

“Whatever. Just find a place for us to sit quick!” I urge, irritated already. I suddenly realize that my tone was too harsh that people nearby suddenly pay attention on us. I can tell that they are gossiping at how rude I am towards such nice looking gentleman.

I bite my lower lip in frustration. Now I’m the bad guy. Can the day get any worse?

Intae just smiles at me as he walks closer to me. He surprises me by taking my fingers into his hand and grabs them firmly.

“Don’t worry about what they say. But I guess you’ll have to treat me nicer.” He chuckles.

I look away, embarrassed at the turn of event. Well, I guess I was too negative about the whole thing. I shouldn’t get mad at every little thing just because I am with Intae.

“Come on. I’ll find us a nice place to sit at.”

So we walk together hand in hand. I’m just so embarrassed that I couldn’t think of anything else except being overly aware that we are acting like real couples; me with my head low because of previous embarrassing incident and him with that constant gentle smile on his face. He found us a nice place under a shady tree and spread the mat for me. He immediately takes his seat and leans against the tree so I sat next to him, the lunchbox I prepared between us.

We just sit there quietly for a while, watching people, kids passing by. Everyone else is laughing and having a good time, but I’m just inwardly squirming in my seat. I don’t know what to do or talk about, especially when I couldn’t be sure how Intae would react. I mean, he was always that dandy, suave guy I meet previously but today he is playing the innocent, shy little Intae.

Without a word, I just open the lunchbox. I’m getting hungry anyway.

“Those look delicious.”

His sudden comment made me flinch. They aren’t anything special to be honest. Just some large kimbab rolls, my favorite egg mayo sandwich and fruit salad. I wasn’t really putting my heart into making these food. I just wanted to make something quick and easy.

“Eat up.” I simply tell him.

“Feed me?” He requests, slightly pouting and frowning, looking endearing as a guy could get. God, he’s killing me! Why am I so attracted at these kind of cute charms?

Well, since I did play along to his plan (of being a corny-drama-stuff-100-day girlfriend) though I haven’t officially agree to it, might as well do my part. As little as I could, of course. I pick up the large piece of kimbab and place it right in front of his lips. He takes a bite but bits of rice crumbled down his chin and his clothes. I get a little uneasy looking at the mess but he just sits there like nothing is happening. He just chews on his food and smiles at me like an idiot. An adorable idiot.

“Aren’t you…” No, of course he won’t. The look in his eyes is obviously telling me that I should be the one to clean up the mess. Without putting down the kimbab, I rummage my handbag for a piece of tissue and then scoot closer towards him until our thighs meet. I brush away the rice on his clothes and wipe clean his chin, all while praying hard that my blushing isn’t showing too much on my face since it’s feeling so hot right now. All this time, his eyes are glued at me paired with a small smile on his lips. The most I can do is to act oblivious towards his subtle seduction, of course.

Only after I did all that, he finally takes the half-eaten kimbab piece from my hand and helps himself.

I heave a relieved sigh now that I’m free from his torture and pick a piece of kimbab for myself.

“You would make a good mother someday.”

I choke a little on my food. He chuckles while he quickly pours the tea I brought into a cup and hands it to me.

“That is so corny!” I mutter under my breath after I had the drink.

I guess he heard my comment since Intae laughs a little louder this time. The deep sound he makes when he laughs is just… Very attractive.

“It’s a great day, huh? The weather is fine and the air is good too.” He says, changing the topic after my little comment.

“Yeah.”

“Do you like this kind of lazy outing?”

“Yeah. Sometimes. It’s good to take my mind off things.” For instance, you. But since you’re right here, it’s not working so well.

“Why? Are you having a difficult time with the kids?”

“The kids have been good. They have toned down a bit since midterm is coming up.” I pause when a certain student whom I am concerned about comes to my mind. “Seunghoon has been avoiding me though. I tried to talk to him but he is so hard to catch. He has been skipping school the last couple of days too.” I shake my head, trying to shake off all this overwhelming uneasiness I have for him.

“Don’t worry. You’re going to handle him just fine.”

Easy to say. “How would you-”

“Stay still.”

“What?”

All of a sudden, he put an earbud into one of my ears and pressed play on his Ipod. He is so good at steering away from topics, isn’t he? That aside, I’m starting to pay attention at the music playing. It’s quite good. It has soft piano playing in the background, layered with upbeat electronics. It’s quite creative I think.

“What do you think?” He asks me.

“It’s very good, actually. Did you make this?”

He shakes his head, briefly closing his eyes while doing so. “Your Seunghoon sent it to me.”

“My Seunghoon?” I instantly light up. Intae mocks a frown.

“Don’t look too happy while saying other guys’ name. I’ll get jealous, you know?”

I almost blush again but quickly cover it up by ignoring the moment and shoot him another question.

“Seunghoon really came to see you? He gave you this song?”

Intae nods, smiling again. “He gave me this song a few days ago. I told him it wasn’t good so I guess he had been spending the last couple of days to re-arrange it to this.”

“It’s really good! He never shows me any of his work. He just never opens up to me. Did he talk to you? Did he talk about anything else other than this?”

“Don’t expect too much. When we meet, we only talk about business.” Intae chuckles.

“No matter what I do, he would never come to see me. I want to get closer to him.” I pick up a fork and feed myself a piece from the fruit salad.

“Yoonyul.”

“Yeah?” I turn to look at him.

“The salad dressing.”

I look into the lunchbox and the salad seems fine. Intae chuckles and reaches out towards me. My heart drastically pounds so hard as he presses his thumb at the corner of my lips and gently drags it down. And then, he brings back his thumb on his lips and it clean.

I think I’m blushing again. I quickly reaches for a tissue and wipe my mouth.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I mutter, not intending for him to hear me but I don’t think I did a good job at that.

“I’ll tell you. Whenever he comes by, I’ll tell you. So maybe you can find a time to talk to him later on.”

I hesitate a little, but out of courtesy, I reply anyway. “Thanks.”

-

The midterm exam is starting. The teachers mostly are in good mood because this is the time when we  could breathe easy; until we have to mark the exam papers, that is. Anyway, the day was smooth since the kids were being serious for once. It’s good to see them trying their hardest during the exam even though they fool around on normal school days. However, I started getting anxious after recess. Seunghoon wasn’t coming to school. I tried to call him but my calls were all ignored. I prayed so hard that he would come but until the bell rang, there was not even a hint of him.

After school ended, I took the taxi to his house. I was just standing outside the gate of the alre mansion, talking through the intercom. It was probably the maid of the house, telling me that Seunghoon hadn’t been home since yesterday. I just hope he didn’t make his maid lie to me or anything. But what if the maid was telling me the truth? Seunghoon couldn’t be getting in trouble gain, would he? I tried calling Sanghyuk as well. He said he hadn’t seen Seunghoon either. It sounds like he is in a night club or something. Maybe Seunghoon is there with him. I want to go there to check on these kids, but I’m scared that something like last time happened again.

Maybe… I can ask Intae for help?

I take a deep breath and press ‘Call’ on his number.

“Yoonyul?” His deep voice startled her.

“Um, Intae. Hey, I think I need your help.”

“Is something wrong?” He sounds concerned.

“Well, um, it’s the midterm today. And Seunghoon wasn’t taking it. He skips school, but never on exam days so I’m wor-”

Intae chuckled. “The kid is here at my place. At the company.”

“He- He is?”

“Yeah. He’s working hard right now. Why don’t you come over and take a look at him?”

When I arrived, the receptionist immediately smiled at me and sent me to Intae’s office. Intae was in the recording studio , working hard that he didn’t realized I was there. After the kind receptionist notified him, he paused all his work and got up to greet me.

“Is Seunghoon really here?” I ask him right away, after he sent the receptionist away.

He doesn’t answer me. Instead, he places his hand on my back and leads me somewhere else.

Outside the recording studio is a narrow hallway with lots of doors lined up along the wall. We stop in front on one door. It was a glass door so I can peek inside the room. I guess it’s a dance studio because the room is rather empty and has mirror installed along one side of the wall. Inside the room, there is a familiar figure. A tall, lanky boy, working hard wiping the floor spotless.

“Is that him?” I whisper to Intae. Intae nodded.

“I’m teaching him a lesson, for skipping on his midterm exam.”

“He listens well to you!” I am amazed, honestly. How does he do it? Seunghoon mopping the floor? He would never do that even if I told him a hundred times.

“Other than the ‘good guy’ Intae and the ‘bad boy’ Intae, I can be ‘dictator’ Intae too. Come on, let’s not disturb him. You can talk to him once he finishes.” He leads me back to his recording studio. I’m not really complaining since Seunghoon is all well and is not getting in trouble.

“Since you’re here already, let’s have dinner together. I’m about to finish my work so is it okay if you wait here for a bit?”

I nod at him and take a seat next to him. Intae explains a little bit of his work to me, saying that he is simply recording a guide tape for the moment to be sold to the artist who would actually sing this song. I recognized that it is the song that he let me listened to during our picnic a couple of days ago so it must be the song that Seunghoon made. For some reason, I feel proud.

On another note, Intae looks different in his working ethics. He is more serious, a little scary even. He seems like the type to snap at the smallest mistake.

Just as the song is about to reach the end, Seunghoon comes in without knocking. That sorts of irk me but I’m anticipating Seunghoon and Intae’s interaction more.

“The practice room is done,” he said with grimace. Intae is still focused on his work, but I can tell that he acknowledged Seunghoon’s existence from the way his eyes finally look up from the control board.

“I said-” Seunghoon pauses. His eyes briefly lands on mine, probably surprised that I’m here. But then, his eyes widen at the person singing his song in the recording booth. He seems to be more shocked at something else. The boy stomps towards Intae, reaching for him but Intae catches his wrist before Seunghoon manages to touch him.

“You stole my song!” Seunghoon says through gritted teeth.

“I’m not. I’m buying it for you.” Intae calmly pulls out an envelope from his jacket and handed it to Seunghoon. “Those are the official documents that you need to sign so that we can legally sell this song to a recording artist.”

Seunghoon looks at him in disbelief and the proceeds to scan the content of the documents. He looks up again; his face shows that he isn’t truly convinced because the deal is too good.

“Why? Not enough?” Intae takes out a pen and scribbles something on the letter. “That’s the highest we can offer to you. If you agree to that amount, I can ask the clerk to prepare the document again. But if you don’t, I’m afraid we have to return the song to you.”

I can’t help but smile as I witness Intae acting oblivious at Seunghoon’s reaction. Anyone can obviously tell that the boy is beyond happy that his work is recognized and the payment is more than he could ever imagine.

“You don’t look too happy with our offer,” Intae adds.

“N-no! I mean, it’s good! The offer is good! I agree to it.”

Intae finally smiles at him. “You’re finished with the practice room, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Go home now. Take all your midterm exams and bring me a new song next week. Tablo has been begging me for a new song since forever.”

“T-Tablo?” The boy stutters, overwhelmed to hear the monster name in mainstream Hip Hop. To think such figure might be buying his song was unimaginable.

Intae got up and slapped a couple of bills in Seunghoon’s hand. “Get yourself a dinner on the way home. Don’t get in trouble.”

Wordlessly, Seunghoon nods and bows at Intae.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Intae ask him.

“Ah!” Seunghoon turns to my direction and bows to me. “I’m sorry that I didn’t come to school today. I’ll take all the exam starting from tomorrow.”

I nod and smile at him. “Becareful on your way home.”

Seunghoon bows again towards us and finally leaves.

Intae turns around and look at me. He smiles to see me smiling at him. I’ve never thought that there will come a day where I would smile at him but I’m just too happy and thankful. He offers his hand for me, and this time, I willingly take it.

-

After our simple dinner, he send me home. He says that he will be returning to his office even though it’s late and that he has a class tomorrow. He is quite the workaholic. As he walks me to my door, I thank him again.

“I’m so glad that he’s actually working hard at something. Thanks, Intae. For giving him the opportunity.”

Intae chuckled. “I wasn’t doing it or you. It was all business.” We both stand facing each other in front of my door.

“But still.” I smile at him, hoping that he could recognize my genuine thankfulness. I have been mean towards him so far, I should at least do this right.

He chuckled, the one corner of his lips moved upward in a handsome smirk.

“I’m feeling slightly nervous right now, now that you’re actually being nice to me,” he tells me. His voice gentle and slightly husky. His teasing embarrasses me, but I guess he is just being friendly. I’m not annoyed or anything but I’m not ready to let my guard down just yet.

I sulk a little, on purpose. “Stop it.” I narrow my eyes at him. My reaction doesn’t affect him the slightest. He still seems content and is smirking with full confidence.

“Don’t you know that you look cuter when you’re mad? Makes me feel like kissing you.”

K-Kiss?! How come it looks so easy to spill such difficult words whenever he said it? What is he thinking? Does he think my feelings would be shaken through those easy pick up lines? Never in-

I automatically take stumbling steps backwards as he steps closer to me. My back hit the cold wall behind. I pray that he doesn’t get any closer and thankfully, he stops just barely from touching me. I look up and see his face leaning closer to mine. I look down, lowering my neck as if I could hide my face between my shoulders like an awkward turtle.

I close my eyes, and all I hear is the sound of my heart, pounding wildly against my chest. I feel his lips on my forehead. It lingers there for a moment, two moments, followed by the brushing of the cold wind breezing by. When I open my eyes again, he was a couple of steps back, looking back at me, smiling tenderly.

“Goodnight, Yoonyul.”

He gently caresses my cheek and then let go. Finally, he turns around and goes down the steps, further and further away from my sight. Even when he is no longer in front of me, my heart couldn’t calm down.