(Nayeon's POV)

“No.”

The answer came out of my mouth even before I had time to think clearly. I didn’t know why, but rejecting any courting effort from a guy seemed to become a habit of mine in the past 6 months.

Stop hurting for that jerk. Hye Mi whined like that everytime she heard that one more “maybe the love of my life” got rejected. I just rolled my eyes and ignored my best friend’s tantrum altogether. Stop loving a jerk, he doesn't deserve your love love anymore. She thought I was still single because I still loved Sang Joo? Would denying that make me look bad? I mean, I didn’t know why, but after I broke up with him, I found myself stop loving him already, when just the day before, I still loved him with all my heart. Why? I guessed it was because my despise for cheaters. I loathed cheaters more than any kind of human being in this world, maybe even serial killers.

Maybe he got bored because we had no ups and downs. I met him in my senior year and had a puppy love for 4 years.It was funny how did we change over the years. When we're still in the university, I was the one who cared less about serious stuff like studying, but once we graduated, it’s me who engaged totally in business and all. I guessed Sang Joo was used to be taken care of and cared 24/7, that’s what I did to him when we first dated. I made him breakfast and lunch, and even offered to cook dinner for him. I often cleaned his room at least twice per months, and added more suppliers for his fridge once per week. I didn’t mind much, since I was his girlfriend. And I got his love and care in return. He’s very sweet and caring, always claimed that my food was the best, I was the best girlfriend, and I would make the best wife in the world. Yes, we even talked about family and future, husband and wife, kids and stuff.

Now I was starting to wonder if I was the one who was at fault now.

I had this dream, running some business of mine. I lived far from my parents since university, and that was my own’s decision, even though it took some protests and serious argument in the family. But since this business-blood was always inside our family, my parents eventually let me be free and do what I wanted, as long as they could always keep an eye on me. And I must admit they helped me with Heaven a lot, especially about the finance. I didn’t want to disappoint them, disappoint their trust on me.

We will come back here 5 years later. Better be something at that time, kid.

That was what my father and beloved brother told me on their latest visit about more than 4 years ago. Only several months left, and I was kinda scared of the day they would return here. You know, they were not the people you could be messed with, even though I was their princess and angel (or at least that was how they liked to call me at home).

“Why?” Jiyong’s confused voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I didn’t realize that I stare off in the air for quite a time. I glanced at his face. He was biting his lips, a sign of him either being nervous, or being mad and trying to contain his anger. Whatever it was, I found his face was really cute.

Kwon Jiyong was never a threat to me. To clarify myself, compared to other people I called in general as “men”, he was a special….exception. I had a soft spot for him, that was, whatever he did, said or acted, I would never be able to be forever mad or angry or hated him. Whenever we had confliction in business (since he gave me his best Japanese chef, sometimes I let him get into my business, even though it was just on consultant level. I was not stupid, if the CEO of Grand Hyatt consulted me, that was the best gift God ever gave me, so I better treasured it), it was always me who would make the first step of making up. Fine, you win, come over, I will treat you the best dish from Heaven. He never replied that text from me, just showed a sulky face at the door of my restaurant later and ate whatever I prepared for him. I would just sit across and watch him eating with a smirk, and soon, he would look up and smirk back, and we returned to be cool to each other again.

What I had with Kwon Jiyong, it was weird. If I said I never felt myself attracted by him that would be a lie. But at the same time, I didn’t really find his attraction that strong, enough to make myself think of things with him you know, like, romantic things. I acknowledged his charms as a man from the perspective of a woman, and I didn’t wish for us to go further, since I enjoyed being his friend, a very special friend. I didn’t wanna escalate our friendship to something else, and one day, when things turned out to be ugly like what me and Sang Joo had, I would also lost a friend.

“What’s with you?” I asked him annoyingly, reached out to grab my drink and downed it in a gulp. “Maknae! Dance with noona!” I stood up and shouted loudly over the music, winked at Seungri who was busy chatting eagerly with Youngbae.

“Yah I am talking to you!” Jiyong tried to snatch my attention back, went in front to block my view of Seungri. “Hey, I am serious here, Yeon Kim.”

“No.” I repeated flatly, tried to brush him away. “Lee Seu….…..”

My sentence wasn’t finished when I was pinned down back onto the sofa. I yelped, blinked back at the very close face in front of mine. I could smell alcohol from his breath, combined with his always-smelled-like-mint usual breath, it was such an intoxicating feeling dancing inside my stomach.

He had both my arms above my head and hovering over me, eyes piercing through mine with such a very intense gaze. The lights of the night clubs silhouetted behind his head, created an illusive aura around him, making my head dizzy with its already slightly drunken state.

I said nothing, just stared back at him equally intensely. If I stayed immuned to his charms for 6 months, there was no reason for me to fall into that mess just because of stupid lights and alcohol now.

“You and I, it will work, trust me.” He leaned closer to whisper to my ear. “Put down your guard and let me in, Yeonnie.”

I shivered when his hot breath brushed through the sensitive area around my earlobe, his voice sounded like honey to my ear, and his grips on my wrists were gentle yet firm. And that pet name. When he started called me Yeon Kim, I felt annoyed as hell, but gradually I just learned to accept it. But this Yeonnie, , it sounded so good rolling off his tongue smoothly like that.

“You wanna ruin what we are having right now?” I was a Libra, and people said that Libra did things mostly by their mind, not by their heart. I could not let his charisma take the best of me.

“Why do you think that will ruin what we are having right now?” He pulled back a bit, but still kept his face dangerously close to my face, his nose almost touched mine. , his intoxicating breath and luring voice was nothing compared to those soulful deep brown obs. I was a er for eyes, especially his.

“Uhm...would you mind….backing off a bit?” I said uncomfortably. I didn’t want him to work his sedutive method to me.

“No.” He smirked. “Distance is an advantage, and right now I am having the best one.” He said with a sweet smile. “Now, answer my question.” He reminded me.

“I didn’t think. It’s a fact.” I scoffed. “Don’t complicate things.” I said annoyingly, staring right through his eyes. “Let’s stay as what we are right now.”

I knew my fierce stare distracted him, so I took the chance and tried to get out of his hold. I was almost succeeded, stood up and quickly straightened my skirt, yelling loudly. “Seungri! Go with noona…..”

“Why you are so stubborn?” I heard Jiyong quietly grunted angrily before I was grabbed by the waist harshly, then shoved back onto the long and wide velvet sofa, this time I was lying entirely on my back. Hadn’t had time to recollect myself yet, Jiyong already once again hovering above me, this time he was straddling me.

“What the you think you are doing?” I asked him incredulously and angrily. There were boundaries in our relationship, whatever they were. But right now he might already broke millions of them.

“You know damn well how weak I am with your eyes, and you used that to distract me?” He said, it seemed like he was equally angry as me. “What to do with you now, Yeonnie.” He sighed, looked down at me and smiled affectionately.

I narrowed my eyes when I saw how he was looming closer to me, to my face. His eyes never left my lips. “Hey hey what wait no wait…..” My panic was silent when he quickly smashed his lips on mine.

I tried to struggle, but well, a man was still a man, and a woman was still a woman, he was much stronger than mine. Besides, he was straddling me, easily blocking my struggling arms completely.

“Don’t fight it, Yeonnie. The feeling is too strong to ignore.” He whispered against my lips, before he took the claim of my lips again.

It was more than 6 months since the last time I had a kiss, and I nearly forgot how to do it. But I knew one thing, he was a kisser, a damn good one.

He moved his mouth delicately over mine, gently on my lower one then nibbled and it. He went from small ones, just simple pecks, then slowly turned them into slow yet inviting ones, repeatedly coaxed me to join the party with him.

And in one moment where I later blamed for alcohol, I accepted him.

Then, it was like someone ticked the right button on him. The moment I slowly started kissing him back, he ravished my lips hungrily and passionately. When my hands stopped struggling to push him off me but tangled in his head and his hair, he let out a moan and hard on my lower lips and went down to my neck, his hands started the mission of exploring my body. One s around under my back to lift it up, the other started drawing tickle and shivering lines on my neck.

He and and kissed my neck slowly and deliberately, his hand now roaming pass my side, lingered a bit too long at the swell of my before continued to my waist, hip and thigh. His mouth went back to my lips, searching for my tongue. I refused to let him in, because my mind started to act rationally again, but that was not before he used his palm to rub my bare thigh and hiked it up, and nestled himself between them.

I gasped when I felt how he pushed forward to settle himself comfortable between my legs, and I could feel his tight pants from my inner thighs. My skirt was pulled up a bit for his easier access, and he took the chance of my gasp to invade my mouth with his lips. I involuntarily clenched my legs tighter around him and grabbed his shoulder when his hot tongue touched mine and making out with it.

“, I know you’re something. You taste so good.” I heard him murmured and that was what pulled me back to reality.

“Wait….” I said breathlessly, tried my best to pull out of his greedy mouth. “This...isn’t right.” I used all my strength to shove him aside and got up, tried to regain my breath.

“God damn it!” Jiyong groaned loudly.  “Will you stop being so denying, Yeon Kim?” He glared at me.

“You have the last chance. I will pretend like tonight didn’t happen. Behave yourself.” I muttered and grabbed my things before leaving in a flash, avoided looking at him. The last thing I remembered well was the amusing faces of 4 people looking at me not far from where I and Jiyong were almost making out on a sofa.

____

3 weeks.

That was the longest. Me and Jiyong never not saw each other for more than 1 week, less than 3. After that night, we went on a “silent treatment” towards each other. He stopped visiting my restaurant, and I didn’t bother to ask. Well I did, but I didn’t wanna make him misunderstand my intention. I told him clearly and flatly, this was his last chance to have a normal friendship with me.

“You should have seen him these days.” Jiyong was absent, but it’s not like his friends had to do the same. “Hyung was fuming all and everyday, but it was so cute.” Seungri said through a mouth with full of food when he visited me on the 1st week, his excuse was “I craved for Heaven’s taste”.

“That was quite an impressive and hot make out session, I must say, Na Yeon.” Youngbae said amusingly when he visited me on the 2nd week at a late night, said that he was too hungry to not pass by Heaven.

“I don’t know what is your problem, just kiss him back and him, let the dude get laid. He annoys me as hell, always asking us to drop by to see if you are “affected” by his hot and gross make-out that night.” Choi Seunghyun, the TOP star, grunted like that when he visited Heaven just a few nights ago, didn’t even bother to cover for Jiyong’s real intention, even though he did say he wanted my restaurant’s ramen.

Daesung was the least to talk about that day. He just visited as usual, had some meals and chatted about anything but Jiyong with me. I felt relieved. I didn’t want to think about what happened that night, at least not now. I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t think I wanted a relationship right now. And Jiyong was such a good friend, I didn’t wanna lose that.

“Ms. Na Yeon,” The restaurant manager whispered to me. “That lady at the right corner requested to see you.”

“Why?” I raised my brow. “You guys didn’t do anything wrong, did you?” If customers requested to see the restaurant’s owner, it might be something about bad services, right?

“No!” He looked fakely hurt. “She ordered steak, the one we are most famous for. And we are super polite to her, since she gave out the feeling of someone important.”

I followed his eyes. Sitting neatly at the right corner in my restaurant was an old lady in a dark violet suit. She looked exceptionally outstanding, like those old ladies you saw in Korean dramas, all authority and such. I took a deep breath and walked over her.

“Madam,” I bowed politely. “I am the owner of Heaven. May I help you?” I flashed my best business smile.

“You have a good restaurant.” She said with a slight smile. “I am very pleased with the food.”

“Thank you so much.” I grinned and tried to contain my excitement. “We’re honored to please you.”

“You’re Kim Na Yeon right?” The lady asked me with a look, it was like she was looking me up and down. It made me kinda uncomfortably though.

“Yes, madam. May I ask how do you know my name?” I asked as politely as I could.

“Sit.” She commanded. “I have some things wanna talk with you.”

“I’m sorry, but we don’t….”

My sentence was cut off by her next words. “I need to see what’s in you made Jiyong reject the proposal to marry my partner’s daughter. My son said he already had someone named Kim Na Yeon in his heart.”

, Kwon Jiyong, what did you do?

______

A/N: thank you so much for your sub & comments & upvotes! Much love from Rosie ♥