Half a year had passed peacefully since Jong Kook lived in Ji Hyo’s house. Nothing out of the blue happened and there weren’t any minor or major accidents. Ji Hyo began to laugh at herself for being overly-paranoid.

“Ji Hyo ya, are you okay?” Jong Kook gently shook the dazed girl who was smiling for no reason. “Ah…! Are you that happy to see me every morning? Tsk, tsk, tsk… I know that you can’t resist my handsome face and muscular figure! All you have to do is to nod your head and I will be yours, totally at your disposal!”

Ji Hyo smacked the boasting man away and resumed eating the delicious breakfast prepared by her Suk Jin appa and sighed in bliss. However, her mood instantly dropped when she remembered that it would be the last breakfast prepared by her appa. “Appas…! I will miss both of you!” Ji Hyo looked tearfully at her fathers.

“Hahaha…! Ji Hyo ya, would you miss us or our food? You will have to be specific.” Jae Suk grinned at his daughter. “Anyway, it had been long since hyung and I go mountaineering. Just think of it as our holiday break after looking at how a baby girl grows up, okay?”

“But I had never been left alone before…” Ji Hyo pouted childishly and whined like a three years old kid.

“Ya! You’re not alone! Are you treating me as invisible? I’m still here and can accompany you!” Jong Kook voiced out but Ji Hyo ignored him. “Appas, is the wind blowing too strongly? Are there whispers of the wind? Or am I hallucinating? I think I heard some buzzing sounds… Ah…! I knew it! It must be an annoying fly!”

Jong Kook puffed in fake annoyance and argued with Ji Hyo. It was their daily routine of bickering session. Suk Jin and Jae Suk chuckled at the always fighting couple. It had been months since the two of them lived under one roof but there was hardly any progress to their relationship. They maintained as best friends for the moment as Ji Hyo refused to take their relationship one step higher.

After their breakfast, Suk Jin and Jae Suk left to catch their flight. The two protective fathers entrusted Ji Hyo in Jong Kook’s care and they threatened to kick him out if anything harmful happened to their lovely daughter. Ji Hyo hugged and kissed her fathers goodbye before reporting to work with Jong Kook.

The two of them had become the legend of the police academy. Jong Kook rose to be a capable detective within a short time and had the honour of being at the same rank with Ji Hyo. They complemented each other well and their high mutual understanding and cooperativeness led to them working efficiently whenever teamed up. Difficult cases were as easy as ‘123’ under their lead. Hence, their success rate was the highest among the police force. The duo was so heavenly-matched that they were nicknamed the ‘SpartAce couple’.

The two admirers of Ji Hyo eventually backed down after facing strong competition from Jong Kook. The young men gave up their beloved senior willingly as both thought Ji Hyo would be taken good care of under Jong Kook’s wings. Of course Ji Hyo was happy about the results as there was no ‘bloodshed’ or ‘fights’ occurred even though she had made it clear about her relationship with Jong Kook which no one either believe or choose to believe. She was exasperated that her explanation was totally ignored. But on the other hand, Jong Kook was glad to mark his territory and was very possessive and protective of Ji Hyo.

However, one must not belittle Yong Hwa and Nichkhun as they were not that easily shaken off. Though they had stepped back from courting Ji Hyo, they continued to pester and clinging to her, claiming themselves as the lovely dongsaengs of her. They had fun infuriating Jong Kook who would always be angered at their closeness with their noona. He looked so threatening like a tiger and so ready to pounce at either Yong Hwa or Nichkhun for initiating skinship such as a seemingly innocent and friendly hug with Ji Hyo or accidentally brushing of arms.

When Jong Kook had reached the peak of his patience, he would be walking towards Ji Hyo’s desk, giving off a deadly and dangerous aura. By then, the two boys would be hiding behind Ji Hyo and acting pitiful. Most of the times, Ji Hyo would defend them and shooed Jong Kook back to his desk. The powerful tiger would then be transformed into a pitiful and harmless cat. The station staff thought they would be hospitalised for inner injuries from holding back their laughter all the times.

---

Finally, Ji Hyo struggled through another day of work (plus nonsense) and whizzed out of the station at top speed without bothering to wait for Jong Kook. She had barely taken one step out of the station when her left hand was in the possessive grip of the said guy. She sighed and did not struggle as she knew it was fruitless and exhausting.

Ji Hyo glanced at their intertwined hands and could not help but felt the comfortable compatibility. Her small hand felt so warm and protected in Jong Kook’s that she was gradually reluctant to withdraw as time went on. It seemed tougher to reject Jong Kook every time and harder for Ji Hyo to abide by her regulation. No matter how peaceful it might seemed for the past six months and how Ji Hyo wanted to laugh at her overly-paranoid mind, she could sense danger lurking somewhere in the dark, preparing to catch her unaware. That was why she insisted on keeping a distance from Jong Kook. Ji Hyo was fully aware that any linkage with Jong Kook would mean brewing of trouble and the universe would certainly be unbalance. It was an extremely risky act that Ji Hyo would not dare try.

“Ji Hyo ya, are you alright? You seemed to be in a daze so frequently nowadays.” Jong Kook tenderly cupped her face and asked in a concerned tone. Ji Hyo was so immersed in her thoughts that she did not realise they have stopped in the middle of the pavement with Jong Kook leaning too dangerously close to her. They were so close that Ji Hyo could practically feel Jong Kook’s ticklish breathing on her face. Out of embarrassment, she pushed him away and tried to hide her furiously blushing face by walking briskly back home.

Though Jong Kook was surprised and hurt at Ji Hyo’s action initially, he broke into a devilish grin when he caught her reddened cheeks. However he decided not to further. He had taken six months to let Ji Hyo be comfortable with him. He dared not take the risk of provoking her for fear of her distancing away from him. Jong Kook could feel that Ji Hyo had feelings for him but he could not figure out the reason of her holding back. Hence, he decided to adopt a step-by-step approach of winning Ji Hyo’s heart. He knew and believed that they were fated.

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Hi my lovely readers!
Here's an update today and I must thank all of you for all the support provided! However, due to time constraint, I maybe only able to update once every two days from now on... T__T
But I'll try my best to make it a longer chapter, okie? ^_~

Does this chapter look very dull? But do look forward to more spartace moments! What will Jong Kook and Ji Hyo do in the house without parents supervision? Heehee :D

Hmm... Running Man is coming to Singapore and I'm soooooo looking forward to it....
But think I won't be going as I can't stand crowded places and I bet that it will be totally packed! >__<