The next morning, Aecha was just done preparing for her first day at work when she heard the bell rang. Taking her things, she walked to the doors and opened it.

Chanyeol stood in front of her, as handsome as ever. As he saw her, he scooped down to kiss her on the cheek.

 “Good morning!”

Aecha was surprised for a moment at his action, cupping her cheek, she glared at him.

 “What was that for?”

Shrugging, Chanyeol replied, “Greeting! It’s quite normal to do so.”

“No, it’s not. And don’t do it to me anymore. People could say things, and she would misunderstand us.”

Avoiding his eyes, Aecha scolded him. What was with him? If he wasn’t in good term with the girl he liked, he shouldn’t be kissing girls around like that. It was no wonder that he and she were not in good term.

But Chanyeol didn’t catch what Aecha was saying, he asked back, confusion in his eyes.

“She?”

He had forgotten about the lie he thought of yesterday.

 “Yeah she, the girl you talked about yesterday.”

Scratching his nape, Chanyeol laughed awkwardly, “Ah, ha ha, yeah. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

Then he took her hand, intending to lead her to his car, but Aecha snatched her hand back.

“Don’t do that either, and stop being so touchy around me. We aren’t the same as when we were in high school anymore.”

Aecha said coolly and walked to his car deliberately.  Chanyeol just stood there and pouted at her back. Seems like his lies were backfiring on him, Aecha was keeping her distance for the sake of “the girl” that was no other than herself.

Once getting in the car, Aecha looked out the window, avoiding Chanyeol. She felt uncomfortable being in a small, closed space with him.

It sent butterflies to her stomach, seems like all the time she had avoided him in the past three years was nothing. Her feelings were the same as before, they were surfacing against her will.

Chanyeol tried to find something to break the silence in the car and finally came up with one thing.

“Have you had breakfast?”

Aecha glanced at him, then back to her window. She was acting like the window was more handsome than his face.

“No, you came early, I had to prepare. Why did you come so early anyway?”

Chanyeol flushed in embarrassment. He wanted to come early because he didn’t want Aecha to go without him. But he couldn’t let her know his embarrassing reason, Chanyeol stuttered his yet another lie.

“B-because I’m…I’m a hard worker. I come to the company early.”

 “Really?”

Aecha raised an eyebrow at him and smirked teasingly. Chanyeol gave her a pointed look and snorted, not liking it that she didn’t think he worked hard.

 “Of course, I’m. I come to work early every day. By the way, if you haven’t eaten then we should stop by a café shop to get something.”

Chanyeol said and pulled over a nearby café that he spotted, not waiting for Aecha’s decision.

Aecha reluctantly came with him inside the shop. Noticing her discomfort face, Chanyeol assured, “She wasn’t around here so you don’t have to put on that face. Plus we have plenty of time before work starts, let’s enjoy our breakfast here.”

 “Thought you are a hard worker?”

Aecha shot right back, glared at him for taking her around without her consent. Chanyeol ignored her remark and took her to a quite table. They still had an hour before work started and he would spend that time to catch up with the girl.

Aecha didn’t cooperate with him at first, but when she knew that he had also studied in New York, she opened up more with him. And by the time they got to the company, what they did in their time apart were shared.

Oddly enough, she never heard him mention the girl he liked.

===

While Aecha worked at that company, Aecha could feel that people didn’t like her. She got a good friend in the company, and Chanyeol was more than good towards her, but she could still feel people’s hostility.

As Aecha was walking down the hallway, she heard Chanyeol’s name being said in a harsh tone. Stopping in her track, Aecha listened to see if she imagined it or not, she was near Chanyeol’s private room so it was highly possible. After listening for a while, Aecha could tell that it’s their director who was scolding Chanyeol.

 “Why did you choose her without discussing it with the other managers who also interviewed her?”

Her? Who is her? The girl he liked?

Aecha wondered curiously and continued to listen to their conversation. When she stepped closer and had a peek at them, Aecha could see that Chanyeol was having his head down a little as he answered.

“I had read her resume, she was good enough for the position.”

“How is good enough? You were never like that when you employ people. You always find the best ones for the company.”

The director raised his voice, obviously not being pleased with Chanyeol's answer. Chanyeol looked up at him and answered quite confidently.

“We need a representative working under me. We would often work with our clients and our partners in New York. She has studied in New York just like me, she was there for a time even longer than I was, she must know the city better than I do. She gets the qualifications we need. I think she suits the position.”

The director shook his head, still not agreeing with Chanyeol.

“But it’s a representative position we are talking about. You would represent for the whole company's imagine when you meet the clients. At least, for this job, you should have chosen someone good looking. It’ll make the negotiations in the future go a lot easier.”

“Is that the reason you chose me? Because I’m good looking, not because I have talent?”

Chanyeol challenged, his blood was boiling in his veins. He didn’t like the way his boss was talking about Aecha, it made him piss.

“Of course not, I chose you because you have the qualifications I need, and just as I expected, you please me with what you have done for our company. What I want to tell is, I just want you to be more careful next time you employ staffs.”

The truth was Chanyeol’s appearance was one of the reasons he got to such a high position at a young age. He was smart and he did work well. Because he was good looking, female partners liked to work with him. However, the director knew better than to let out the truth, it would bruise Chanyeol’s pride.

“Do your work well and don’t be like that anymore. You were never like that”, reminded the director one last time as he walked out of the room, obviously still pissed off.

Hearing his footsteps, Aecha immediately hid behind a wall and waited for him to walk pass. From what she heard, she knew clearly who they were talking about. And sadness slowly clouded her heart.

Chanyeol was alone in his room, sitting on his chair and looking out the window. He was in deep thought.

Aecha felt guilty for causing all the fuss to Chanyeol. He didn't have to do that for her, protecting her and caring for her. They were mere normal colleagues now. She didn't understand why he acted like that.

She was also hurt by the way the director, her colleagues saw her. They must have thought that she got her job just because of Chanyeol, well they were right after all. At least she had Chanyeol being good to her.

Chanyeol was scolded for getting her the job. He seemed like he didn’t regret his decision one bit. But Aecha did.

If only she didn’t apply for a job here. If only they didn’t meet again. Things wouldn’t be as complicated.

===

They were in a meeting, discussing the plan for the next month, what they would do to increase the company’s profit, etc. Aecha didn’t really pay attention to it, she was just a normal worker anyway. The plans were for directors, managers to worry about.

She sat there listened distractedly to all the people talking, discussing things. She already felt sleepy after thirty minutes into the meeting. 

Her mind was fuzzy with no thought in particular. It was until she heard what Chanyeol said that Aecha was fully awake.

“Next week, we will have a meeting with a regular client in New York. It’ll take two days to finish all the negotiations. I and my assistant will do the work.”

“You just need your assistant? Is it alright? Do you need anyone else to help?”

Aecha heard someone ask, then Chanyeol answered right back.

“No, just the two of us would be alright.”

Then they discussed something more, but Aecha didn’t hear anything else.

Her mind was in a whirl wheel.

So they would spend the whole two days together in New York? Should she feel excited? She didn't know anymore.