twelve.

"Hey Hyojung—wait, what is that?" Bora paused as she rushed over to her friend and examined the mark on her neck. Stunned by the deep coloring of the bruise that had formed, she began to press her finger against the flesh as Hyorin hissed in aggravation at her super ridiculous friend. 

They—Dasom, Bora and Hyorin—had all decided to meet up at the tiny café downtown, right across the street from Dasom's college; they'd agreed to hang out an hour before the youngest would have to report to class. After finishing a batch of petit croissants and hot chocolate, they were just about to dive into the discussion of every day things when Bora was the first to notice the hickey.

"No way," Dasom gawked as she eyed her best friend in pure fascination. Concealer and powder hadn't done the trick as much as Hyorin had hoped but that's because her friends were women who haver sharp eyes for details. Nothing and no one could escape their microscopic sight.

"It's not a hickey, it's a marking." Hyorin began as she took the time to explain what she meant by the rebuttal. Once she was finished with the story, Dasom remained quiet while the latter only chuckled lightly at the entire ordeal.

"I mean at least Donghae was there to defend on your behalf," she added while the shorter woman glared at her beneath hooded eyes.

"I think I'm still for Kyuhyun," Dasom interjected with her own opinion. "I know deep down inside he's not as bad as he comes off. I believe in the good of people...even s."

"Well this is real life, Sommie but if you want to put it in such a nice perspective, we don't have to search for Donghae's inner good self because it naturally comes out."

"What do you exactly have against Kyuhyun when Hyorin likes him and not Donghae?"

"Well let's see," Bora grunted as she held up fingers to list off her points. "He's humiliated our best friend thrice and that's good enough reasoning right there. I don't want her to fall for him anymore than she has when he'll just end up doing the same thing all over again."

"How about we just end this discussion and allow me to figure out things for myself?" Hyorin interjected as the bickering duo settled down. "I'll learn from my own mistakes and although I haven't stopped liking him as of yet, it doesn't mean that I never will. It'll eventually come."

"But just how long will 'eventually' be, Hyorin? Because I'm worried, honestly." Bora concluded as the question hung in the air in suffocating silence.

Meanwhile, back at the corporate building where two best friends were busy chowing down on a three course lunch meal, mind you, one couldn't help but feel exasperated at everything that had occurred those four days ago. Although he wanted to focus solely on what Soyu had to tell him about the baby's nursery and its progression, the thought of Donghae pursuing Hyorin continued to gnaw at his conscience. How could Donghae boldly claim rights and ask that he stay away when Hyorin never gave confirmation of them dating? 

"Something about this guy just infuriates me," he interjected Soyu's crib talk. "He acts like I'll take heed to his warning and obey him like some trained puppy."

"Honestly, he got under my skin too when we first met but I've grown to like him as a person and I appreciate the way he treats ladies, specifically Hyorin." Soyu pointed out as she stuffed a forkful of teriyaki chicken in to . When Kyuhyun could do nothing but glare at her in return, she quickly swallowed down her batch of food before crossing her arms over her chest and setting the utensils aside sloppily. "Oh come on Q, don't give me that look!

Her ex boyfriend cheated on her and then you've humiliated the woman like five times in her life time. It's wonderful and a sweet miracle that she's finally got someone whose interested in her and he's not a jackass. He's sweet, educated and a man with a steady career and income. He won't cheat or humiliate either."

"I don't mean to humiliate," Kyuhyun argued under his breath before forking chicken into his mouth as well. "I'm sure that I don't have feelings for her in the same way she has them for me; she's my employee  that I'm currently training after all. Future colleauge to be, percisely."

"Maybe it's just me but your reaction to how Donghae is towards Hyorin says differently." She began, "I'm not sure if you're clueless or in plain denial. Let's try another approach: when you were dating Joohyun, how did she make you feel?"

"I felt good but I can't really explain it to you in a way that'll make much sense."

"If it felt so good yet you're not together with her now?"

"That's because it felt too good," he explained while rubbing his left temple with his free hand. "It was almost generic, there was no spark. It got boring as time elasped."

"Wouldn't people call that being comfortable?"

"Yet it wasn't comfort because that's what you and Jungsoo's relationship is like: comfortable yet never boring and loving."

"I think it's because we spend so much time apart that we come to appreciate one another when were together," Soyu chortled as she thought back to all the fun and sweet memories with her husband. "We don't even have time to argue when all we want to do is snuggle, gush about the baby and show affection for one another whenever we can."

"You're so in love," he jested as she slapped at his hands.

"Well while you're observing me, why don't you observe Donghae and the way he treats your woman because if you don't wake up any time soon, you're doomed."

Donghae was seated in his office, clicking at his pen absent mindedly as thought after thought lingered behind in his brain. He had noticed the way Kyuhyun and Hyorin had not been conversing except for a few exchanges of frustrated words at one another. After his demand to keep away from the fragile woman, Donghae felt relief in believing that Kyuhyun would honor his request. However, he hadn't meant to make the work-relationship between them so awkward. 

That night when he'd discovered the marking on Hyorin's beautiful skin, he'd lost it. He completely, undoubtedly lost it and if the women hadn't been present, perhaps it would have been more than a demand to stay away—a definite altercation. He knew that Hyorin still harbored feelings towards the sarcastic Mr. Cho and even that night when she had fallen sick, he had wanted to be the one to her home and nurse her back to health. He had hoped that by allowing Kyuhyun to take his place that Hyorin would come to her senses and realize the bad seed planted within him.

"Mr. Lee," Donghae's secretary called out softly as she poked her head in through the door's opening. "The boss would like to have a word with you." Needless to say, he hurriedly rushed to his feet and stomped across the room as he tried his best to quickly compose his emotions and aggravation towards everything Kyuhyun related.

"What is this?" Kyuhyun squawked as he held the portraits to the light reflected by the large office windows. Standing before him, Hyorin had just given her trainer the file that held all of Jay's photoshoot scans from