(I split the massive chapter in half. Do not skip 26.)

Monday, Last Week of July

IBGDRGN: anae....

IBGDRGN: jagiyah.....

IBGDRGN: honey...

IBGDRGN: baby.....

IBGDRGN: yeobooooooooooooo

IBGDRGN: JOOOOOOOOOODIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

OhJoFoTo: WHAT!?!

IBGDRGN: .......I'm hungry

OhJoFoTo: And?

IBGDRGN: Can you make me something?

OhJoFoTo: I have a plane to catch soon.

OhJoFoTo: And don't you have a cafeteria in the building?

IBGDRGN: but I want your food.

. . . . .

. . . . . .

. . . . . . .

IBGDRGN: Jodi?

OhJoFoTo: Fine. What do you want?

IBGDRGN:  Anything you make is delicious. I will eat well.

OhJoFoTo: I'll bring it by on the way to the airport.

realtaeyang: Can I have some, too?

IBGDRGN: ask your own wife!

realtaeyang: yeobo..... @Rae_n_Bae

LunaRae: Don't even try it.

* * * * *

“Did we really have to have that exchange via Twitter?” Jodi asked as soon as she set foot in his studio.

“The fans get a kick out of it.” He told her as he took out his earbuds. He took the lunch bag from her and started spreading the food out on the desk with a smile on his face. He took a picture of it and posted it for the fans to see. Then he hugged her and kissed her lingeringly. “Thank you for the food.”

“Whatever, brat. I would have been called all kinds of names by your fans if I hadn't.”

JiYong pouted and sat back down in his chair. He brought Jodi down with him to straddle his lap. “You know, if the fans are giving you any kind of trouble online, I can have them investigated by our team.”

She shrugged. “It's not that bad. Just the random, 'You fat . Stay away from oppa' message.”

“You aren't fat, you're healthy,” he said admiringly. To further prove the point, he squeezed her backside. “I have a liking for healthy women since I met you.”

“Right,” she said flippantly, but was pleased with the compliment. “Look, I had Soo break some laws to get here, so eat before the food gets cold.”

“I want to hold you for a minute first.” He tightened his arms around her waist and she leaned forward to rest her chest against his. His hands up and down her back and buried his nose in her hair. “I'm gonna miss you.”

“Me, too,” she mumbled and shifted closer. JiYong massaged the back of her neck and between her shoulders blades. She turned into putty in his hands and moaned next to his ear. JiYong pulled back and kissed her. The heat flared between them quickly. Their lips parted to allow better access to the others tongue. Jodi's hips rocked forward and JiYong groaned into . His hands slid down her back, gripped her behind tightly and upwards. Jodi gasped and broke the kiss. Momentarily. She buried her hands in his hair and circled her hips experimentally. The sound that passed his lips made her smile. She pulled back and watched his eyes slowly drag open. “I love your eyes.”

“I love everything about you.”

“You just have to upstage me, don't you?” Jodi rolled her eye and scoffed. “And I doubt that's true.”

“It is true. I love everything about you, Jodi Oh. I'm in love with you. The only thing that could make me stop loving you is if you left me and made it clear you weren't coming back. Other than that, you can do no wrong,” JiYong said seriously. He gazed into her eyes the whole time and she knew he meant every word.

“God, JiYong, all I did was bring you food,” she joked after a minute. The words touched her enough to make her tear up, though. He used his thumbs to wipe at the moisture from her cheeks and drew her in for another kiss. Their lips barely touched when his phone blared and cut through the silence.

JiYong sighed and reached behind him to pick it up. Then he laughed and showed the message to her.

Sajang-nim: That is not what the studio is for. Get back to work.

Jodi looked confused until JiYong pointed to the camera in the corner. She scrambled off of his lap and covered her face. Humiliated. Again. “Okay. No more kissing is public. I can't look your sister in the face, and now your boss.”

“Oh, it's not that bad,” he said reassuringly. He held her waist and brought her close. He pulled her hands down and held them behind her back. Little kiss after little kiss he planted on her face. “What time does your flight leave?”

“. !” Jodi jumped out of his arms and checked her watch. “I forgot about the flight. Damn you and your kisses.”

JiYong laughed, not offended at all. “I'll walk you out.” He waved to the camera and held the door open for her.

In the garage, he saw SooYoung leaning on the back of her SUV with her phone in hand. She looked up and frowned. “I was just about to call you. You have a flight in an hour, remember?”

“I forgot, actually. His kisses do that to me,” Jodi answered with no shame.

“I knew I should have gone up with you. You distract easily.” SooYoung looked at Jodi and shook her head. “Got the attention span of a goldfish.” JiYong laughed. Jodi hit them both. “Anyway, do you have everything?”

“I think,” Jodi said and picked up her backpack to double check. “Cellphone. Ipad. Charger. Laptop. Other charger. Book, just in case. Passport. Wallet. Headphones . . . . . I forgot my headphones. I'll get some from a gift shop.”

“No, take mine.” JiYong took the earbuds from around his neck and handed them to her.

“Thank you, baby.” Jodi turned and stepped towards him, planning to kiss him again, but SooYoung stepped between them.

“Get in the car now, or you can take a cab to the airport.”

“It's my car!”

“Not while I have the keys. Now get in!” SooYoung demanded. “It's bad enough we had to pass by the airport to come here. And there's always traffic. You miss your flight, you're just gonna have to wait for the next. I'm not going to Gimpo again until Friday night.”

“Fine, fine! Do you mind if I kiss my husband goodbye, warden?” Jodi said sarcastically. SooYoung stepped to the side, thankfully. Jodi kissed JiYong briefly and backed away. “Make sure you eat.”

“Are there leftovers at your house?”

“Some, but not much.”

“Good. At least I'll have something to eat tonight.”

“You're staying at my house? While I'm in a different country?”

“Why? Is that weird?”

“A little,” she admitted, “But so are you. Make sure you take care of my dog while you're there.”

“Get in the car!” SooYoung yelled from the driver seat.

“I have a feeling she would really leave you,” JiYong mused.

“Yeah, she would. I better not push it.” She threw her bag on the back seat and kissed JiYong one more time. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. Go,” he told her and pushed her gently towards the car. Jodi got in and waved once more as they pulled off.

* * * * *

“Did you make it on time?”, JiYong asked a little later.

“I did. The line for security wasn't so bad. The flight is delayed by a half hour. Go figure.”

“Ah, well, that's kind of good.”

“Did you just call to check on me, babe?”

“I did, and to ask what hotel you're staying in.”

“I will tell you after I check in.” She heard him start to argue and cut him off. “I don't want you messing with my reservations again, JiYong. My staff got in a lot of trouble on Jeju because they thought they were on vacation and acted accordingly. I have to be there to make sure they act like adults.”

He sighed heavily into the phone. “Fine.”

“But I appreciate the fact that you care and want me to be comfortable,” she said as sweetly as possible, hoping it would soothe him. “I see a Starbuck, well, three of them, ahead. I'm going to get a drink and relax for a bit. I'll text you before take off.”

“And when you land.”

“And when I land,” she repeated with a smile. “I love you, Yongie.”

“Na do, anae.”

Jodi hung up and went to order her drink. She sat at a table off to the side and pulled out her borrowed headphones. She hooked them to her phone and nodded her head while scrolling through twitter and smiling at the comments. After responding to one, she had to look up. She felt like she was being watched. And sure enough, there were a group of teenaged girls not far from her, huddled together and looking at her in awe. Jodi smiled at them to be polite. They took it as an invitation. .