Annyeonghaseyo, Chingudeul?

Nope, it's not gonna be Dara--the Noona, I mean. It's not Eun Hye either. And it's not Park Bom too.

I am going to introduce her in this chapter, so read along!

****

When Shin Hye reached the office the next day, she saw Jong Hyun typing away, concentrating on his task. She sat beside him and looked at him, and he noticed her looking at him. By now, he felt awkward, remembering Woori's revelation of Shin Hye having a crush on him before.

"My breakfast?" Jong Hyun casually asked to disperse the awkwardness.

Shin Hye flicked him on the forehead and chided him for not getting his own breakfast.

"Go hungry!" she frowned at him. "I don't care."

Jong Hyun mused and went back to his task. He would get to eat later, he told her, and typed away. But Shin Hye had other concerns. She asked him if, by any chance, she had told Yong Hwa that she called.

"Shin Hye-ya, Hyung was still asleep by the time I went out of his house," Jong Hyun told her sourly. 

"You should have left him a note then..." she told him.

Jong Hyun frowned and stood up. "I'm getting breakfast first."

She saw him walking away, pain etched on her face. Jong Hyun was not giving her any satisfactory answer. As she contemplated on whether to give him the cold shoulder or not, she remembered her interaction with Min Ho the night before. Her cheeks went red with giddiness, and she wished to see him again. Just then, her message alert tone came up, and she hastily checked her message. It was from Min Ho. He wanted to see her and asked her if it was all right if he will fetch her for lunch.

"Sure, sure!" she said as she typed back.

When all the other employees came in, they saw some glow on her face, and they because she should be sharing her love life already.

"Shirheoyo!" she replied with a pout.

"Aigoo, uri Shin Hye-ssi should be open to us, ahahaha," one eonni told her.

Min Hyuk and Woori came in at the same time and took their place. Shin Hye greeted them heartily, and they did the same. However, they hid the fact that they promised Jong Hyun not to tell Yong Hwa that she called, and they hid the fact that all of them (their circle of friends only) knew about Min Ho flirting with Shin Hye. As Jong Hyun came back, he looked at Min Hyuk and Woori, and pretended like nothing happened.

An hour later, Jung Shin and Yong Hwa came in the office. Everyone greeted the supervisor, who smiled professionally at them. His gaze landed on Shin Hye, and smiled at her, half-heartedly. His smile smote her heart like a dagger. Why was he smiling like that?

But then, she rationalized that she has the right to be happy too. 

"Oy, Shin Hye-ya, let us all have lunch together this noon," Jung Shin said to her. Of course, it was to check her possible reaction.

"Ya, she gets to go earlier than you do," Jong Hyun told him.

Jung Shin smirked and turned back to Shin Hye, who smiled awkwardly and with some guilt.

"Uhm, I have a lunch date today... Mianhae," she told Jung Shin.

"Ah, gwaenchanha," was Jung Shin's perky reply.

But Shin Hye looked at Yong Hwa, who only showed a poker face. She missed her best friend a lot, but could he, at least, be happy for her? He's okay with her not loving him, right? Right?

So that's what he said.

Heartbroken people do not tell the truth, that's for sure. 

She sadly looked at Yong Hwa get inside his office without any reaction, without any incidence. Jong Hyun tapped her on the shoulder and told her to let Yong Hwa take his time for him to get over it. And she turned to him, looking sad.

"You should not let Hyung rush," he said to her. "After all, the wound is still fresh... so..."

And he did not finish his statement. Shin Hye contemplated on what he said, and she had to agree that it was true. But to her, she felt she had betrayed her best friend a lot. She was so sorry that she could not love him back, but why did it have to hinder her own happiness?

****

That lunch time, Shin Hye got ready to leave when Jong Hyun came back from his one-hour break.

"Ah, someone is looking for you," was Jong Hyun's deadpan announcement.

Shin Hye's heart skipped a beat. So... did Min Ho really come for her?

"Is he tall?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah, he's tall," was Jong Hyun's assessment. He did his best not to tell her that he knew about Min Ho. "He asked about you at the front desk, and he's currently sitting comfortably on the couch."

Shin Hye smiled and waved him goodbye. As she was about to walk out of her cubicle, Yong Hwa and his secretary went out of his office, and he looked at her. Yet, he did not say anything.

"Uh..yeah, I'll be off for lunch," Shin Hye said so she could have something to say to him.

"Yeah, it's your break anyway," he coldly said before going out with his secretary to the main door of the operations area. 

Shin Hye was stung at his coldness. She wanted to fight back her tears, but she had to go out there for lunch. Trying to strengthen herself, she strutted out of the office too.

"Did you see that?" Min Hyuk asked his fiancee, who nodded back. 

Min Hyuk sent a chat message to both Jung Shin and Jong Hyun, with the latter responding that he saw it too. Jung Shin replied, asking what happened.

****

Shin Hye saw Min Ho standing up when he saw her, and both of them smiled at each other. Min Ho tenderly took her hand and asked her where she wanted to eat. As she was about to reply, the two of them saw Yong Hwa approaching the front desk to talk to the receptionist. When he noticed them, he gave Shin Hye a curious look. It was an awkward moment for Shin Hye, so she introduced her visitor to the supervisor.

"Annyeonghashimnikka?" Min Ho greeted politely.

"Annyeonghaseyo?" Yong Hwa greeted back.

It was already public knowledge in the office that Shin Hye and Yong Hwa were best friends, so she told Min Ho the same thing. Min Ho broke into a smile.

"Wow! Best friend! I thought Woori is your best friend," was all Min Ho could innocently and honestly say.

Shin Hye was embarrassed, but Yong Hwa was insulted. So, did Shin Hye deliberately hide the fact that she had a guy best friend? Still, he kept up a poker face. And since when did the two get so friendly?

"Ah... Woori is my girl best friend but Jung-jangnim is my best friend," she clarified.

Yong Hwa nodded and said to them that he still have some appointment in a coffee shop, so he left them. Shin Hye looked at him sadly, but Min Ho pointed out that her best friend was indeed a very busy man.

"Ah...ne, he is," was all she could say.

****

"So... your best friend likes you?" Min Ho asked for clarification.

It was an embarrassing thing to discuss, much so that it was still the first time that Min Ho and Yong Hwa met each other. Shin Hye told him that they will not discuss about it, as she knew that if Yong Hwa learned about it, it will also be difficult on him.

"Arasseo, if you say..." Min Ho said.

Nevertheless, the two of them enjoyed their time at lunch. 

****

"Annyeong, Noona?" Yong Hwa greeted the woman who was sitted in front of him in a coffee shop.

The woman had her hair in a bob, but she looked extremely good with it. She had thick makeup and a piercing stare that some guys thought she was hot and yet so snob. She did not wear a bloody red lipstick because she was in a business meeting. Though she was dressed to the nines, she looked so hot. To greet the said woman so casually would mean that the two of them had known each other for a long time.

"I'm sorry for being too early, Yong Hwa-ya," the woman said.

"Gwaenchanha," Yong Hwa told her.

The said woman pushed some files to Yong Hwa and even gave him her business card. Yong Hwa took the card and read "Son Ga In" and "General Manager" written below the name. He looked up to her and smiled.

"You're really big time now, Noona," Yong Hwa smiled.

"Big time?" Ga In asked before laughing sassily. Then, she went to serious mode, "So, what's this venture you wanted to talk with me?"

Yong Hwa smiled like a love-struck kid.

"You want coffee?" Ga In asked.

"Ah, Noona, it will be on me," he said. "After all, I asked you to come."

Ga In laughed heartily and agreed. "Omona, you are still the same guy I used to know back in university years. You are still so gentlemanly."

"Geurae, Noona," Yong Hwa said.

Ga In crossed her leg ily over the other, and the other guys in the coffee shop stared at her white legs. Ga In was wearing her business suit, but her mini skirt was three to four inches above the kneeline. She knew she was getting attention. She did not mind, however, because she was just effortlessly y. But of course, Yong Hwa did not know about this.

"Okay, to start with..." Yong Hwa said before getting into details of their business lunch meeting.

****

The secretary came ahead to the office and passed by Jung Shin, who was talking with the company doctor earlier.

"Ah, who did Yong Hwa-hyung see?" he asked.

"Ah, he met with Miss Son Ga In," the secretary told him.

"M...mworaguyo?" Jung Shin asked as he blushed.

The secretary smiled before going back to the office. Jung Shin was shocked at what he had learned, so he went to Jong Hyun and told him about it.

"Mwo?" Jong Hyun asked in amusement. "Hyung met with your college crush?"

Jung Shin frowned. He knew that Jong Hyun loved y girls, but it was a wonder that Jong Hyun never fell for Ga In. He, the flamboyant nurse, was the one starstruck by the noona whom he used to adore in university.

"Who went out with whom?" Taecyeon eavesdropped before turning to Jung Shin with a blunt facial expression. "Ganhosanim, please leave me and Jong Hyun alone. We are still so busy we have to catch up on our deadline today."

Jung Shin frowned and went away, but went to Min Hyuk and Woori to tell them about Yong Hwa and Ga In.

"Eh??? So you're jealous?" joked Min Hyuk.

"Ani.... uhm... NE!!!!" Jung Shin wailed.

"Nuguya?" Woori asked.

Min Hyuk smiled and told the nurse to go back to the clinic so he could tell the story to his girlfriend.

****

Meanwhile, after lunch, Shin Hye told Min Ho to just drop her off at the coffee shop near the office. Min Ho obliged and did as she wish. Shin Hye strutted inside the coffee shop to buy some apology snacks for Jong Hyun. However, she was distracted by the sassy laughter of a woman, so she turned around to see a sophisticated woman talking to someone whose back was facing her. To her astonishment, it was Ga In, and she was with... Yong Hwa.

"Ga In-eonni?"

She hastily bought some snacks for Jong Hyun before strutting to the table where Yong Hwa and Ga In were sitting.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Eonni?"

Ga In looked up to see Shin Hye standing behind Yong Hwa. Yong Hwa turned around to see her.

"Annyeong, Shin Hye-ya?" Ga In greeted. "Oraenmanine?"

Before Shin Hye could explain, Yong Hwa cut her off.

"It's time for your work, geureohchyo?"

Shin Hye was slapped just like that. Ga In looked at the two curiously, and did not say anything when Shin Hye hastily apologized at Yong Hwa and bid them goodbye. Ga In still did not say anything until Shin Hye went out of the door.

"What was that about?" Ga In asked with interest.

"Ah... eopseo..." Yong Hwa said, lied.

"Eopseo, eh?" Ga In replied, raising her eyebrow. "Geureom, arasseo... Let's continue."

Yong Hwa felt it right to cut Shin Hye some slack. It was his indirect way of embarrassing her just as she did back at the reception area. He felt sorry for it, but at the same time, did not.

****

Shin Hye was holding back her tears as she went back to the office. She handed the pack of goodies to Jong Hyun.

"Eh? Is this to compensate for the breakfast?" Jong Hyun joked.

But Shin Hye was not in the mood to kid around. Yong Hwa cutting her just like that was... painful. She bit her lips and left in a jiffy, with Jong Hyun curiously looking at her. But Shin Hye went to the restroom to let tears fall.

"Is it Yong Hwa's way of getting back at me? Why is he being like this?

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So now, the noona is Son Ga In. So, who is she in Yong Hwa's life? Watch for the next chappie! ^_^

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