Since starting at Entertainment Plus, the editor had had plenty of time to get acquainted with most parts of the office building. Her favourite haunt was the rooftop garden – the view overlooked the surrounding buildings and the zen atmosphere provided some respite when the going got tough in the floors below. It was also where the smokers convened for their breaks. On occasion, Eunyoung had bummed a cigarette from Hani – everyone smoked in publishing – and took a few puffs when burning the midnight oil or mulling over story ideas, in the open air.

No – those one-offs didn’t qualify as falling off the wagon.

She was reluctant to bring Seunghyun to her retreat yet there was nowhere else to go. Her office would only retain any bad energy from his visit. Plus, she had to keep any eavesdroppers at bay.

Clutching her secret stash of nicotine from a drawer as she grimly walked Seunghyun to the rooftop, Eunyoung realised she had forgotten to borrow a lighter from Hani on their way out. OK, so she had bought a pack at the nearby convenience store for emergencies, more work-related but who was discriminating?

“This is a nice place,” was Seunghyun’s comment as he scanned the area. Making a beeline to the very end of the rooftop, Eunyoung slid a cigarette out.

“Do you have a light?”

A noticeable frown appeared on the man’s features although he still handed a lighter over, “You smoke?”

“You have a problem with that?” Inhaling the smoke, she visibly relaxed, flicking her wrist – a signal for him to get on with it.

Seunghyun was as handsome as ever. If you looked at him, that saying about how men got better with time like wine was true – how unfair. The six years had etched a sense of worldly maturity that only added to his attractiveness. Allowing herself to be engulfed in the man’s singular meaningful gaze instead of avoiding his eyes, for the first time in six years, Eunyoung recognised that she wasn’t angry with him any longer. Nor was she mad at herself for being such a naive idiot in her youth.

What the grown-up Liu Eunyoung was afraid of was falling in love with this person again – there was no way and no reason for her to do so but she needed to keep her defences up, just in case.

It was the CEO’s turn to stare at the woman as she puffed on the stick, short hair ruffling with the wind.

“When did you pick up smoking?”

Long ago, the young woman was aware that her then-boyfriend smoked although he took great pains not to do so in front of her. But her sharp nose caught whiffs of similar odours that permeated off nicotine-addicted friends – then, she didn’t see a need to make a fuss. If he did not reach for a stick for an entire weekend that Seunghyun spent glued to her, the girl figured he was a social smoker.

Glancing at the cancer stick between her fingers, Eunyoung felt guilty – Kevin was not going to be pleased. “I had quit. Well, then hit the fan at work, so …”

Her first cigarette had been a blur due to first-job stress. Her clean-cut best friend had been on her case, nagging for her to stop. Well, she had been smoke-free for a good half a year until moving back to Seoul. What had gone wrong?

“Eunyoung, can you please tell me, why did you leave without a word?”

Was that what the man wanted to know?

What had been lacking in the healing process six years ago was closure. There wasn’t any harm in telling him the truth, was there? Eunyoung thought, stubbing out the cigarette, buying time. Perhaps after this conversation, she could finally move on, without this thorn in her heart. What she didn’t understand was why Seunghyun was so insistent to talk to her about it. She would have thought he had f