One day, Kris was sitting on his office desk examining the models' portfolios. And when we say models, it only meant that he wanted to see only Chaerin’s photos. Lately, he had been staring at her intently and he was always feeling some kind of nostalgia, not for Song Jiyoon but for Lee Chaerin. He was confused and didn’t know what he was feeling. It kept on bothering him to the point that he couldn’t sleep anymore. He even had to take sleeping pills to be able to shut his eyes, mind and especially his heart off.

And looking at her pictures doesn’t really help. Each time he flipped a page for another picture, his heart and mind were even more shaken and confused, but it surprisingly made him feel peaceful. There was something in her that made Kris’ crazy world calm and gentle.

He kept on browsing until Chaerin’s candid shot appeared. It was taken during their first press conference.

His heart suddenly raced even faster. If his rib cage were a little weaker, his heart might have already escaped from his chest. “Yah! Calm down! What’s wrong with you?!” he loudly scolded himself. “She’s just a girl who looked like Song Jiyoon. She’s only that and no one else!” he forced to instill in his mind. But her eyes, her smile, her face and even her body was making him think otherwise. “Lee Chaerin, do I feel something towards you? Wae? I don’t even know you.”

Then suddenly, a very foreign pain struck his head. It was so painful that he had to close his eyes and rub his temples to force it to go away. The pain lasted for a long time until he was able to fall asleep.

The news about the top three remaining contestants became the talk of the town. Even Mr. and Mrs. Wu were not able to avoid the topic.

“You said you had everything under control!” Li Yin exclaimed. “Yeobo! Eotteokhe?! She is now in the top 3! She can’t win because if she did, it means that she will be working with Kris! And knowing my son, he would surely want to closely watch over that project!” She was already in the verge of crying. “All I wanted is what’s best for my son and yet here I am watching him going to the pit!”

“I’m still figuring it out!” Tony argued.

“Well it’s taking you so long to figure it out!” she shouted.

“What else do you want me to do, huh Li Yin? Do you want me to cheat on the competition and not let that girl win? Do you want me to go that far?” he desperately asked.

Li Yin fell silent. Was that really far from what you could do? I already did far more worse things that that, she frustratedly thought.

“So what do you suggest we do? Huh?” he sarcastically asked but before Li Yin could retort, a voice of a young man behind them interrupted.

“Eomoni, Abeonim, I can’t help overhearing your conversation about Kris hyung and the model, Lee Chaerin. Why are you so worried that Chaerin-sshi will win?” he skeptically asked. His usual gentle and innocent inquiring face was gone and replaced with a cold, dark and threatening smirk.

“T-Tao? W-what are you doing here?” Kris’ mother asked in shock.

“I heard you and abeonim arguing. I was kinda worried so I came to check up on you but then I heard you talking about Kris hyung. So back to my question Eomoni, why are you panicking?” he seriously stated.

“Tao-ah, you shouldn’t be interrupting this kind of conversation” Mr. Wu told him off.

“Wae abeonim? It concerns my models.” He let out a smirk. “Also, I think I might help you with your problem.”

Li Yin’s eyes widened. She was scared by his offer and at the same time attracted by it. She was already feeling hopeless. “Why will you help?”

“Seeing hyung suffering is a reward enough for what I can do” he coldly replied which made Kris’ mom cringe.

“Tao-ah, you don’t mean that right?” she sadly asked.

He ignored her question. Tao was already tired with people always favoring Kris so this time he wanted to be the one needed. “Eomoni, do you want my help?”

And before Mr. and Mrs. Wu knew it, they already had a mutual agreement with Tao. As long as he prevents Chaerin from interacting with Kris is enough but for Tao the pleasure was he could do it by any means he wanted to.

“We may want the same thing but our purposes are different. For some reason you don’t want Kris hyung to be near to Lee Chaerin, as for me, seeing hyung feel hopeless and breakdown is the best one I’d hope for” Tao said in a dark tone before leaving the couple in extreme shock and confusion.

After the special episode that day where no one was eliminated, Kris tried to catch up with Tao, just like old times. “Yah! Tao-ah! Are you still on arranging parties?” he gladly called as he tried to chase him.

“Wae?” Tao boringly replied.

“Let’s go hang out at the Galaxy! You, me and the gang?! What do you say?” He put his hand on the younger’s shoulder like how bestfriends used to do it. But his bright and calm mood was broken off when Tao brushed the older’s hand off his shoulder, and confusion suddenly etched all over his face. “Tao-ah? Wae?”

“Hyung, I’m not your assistant” he coldly said. The older was shocked at what he said.“What? Who said you were my assistant? Huh?”

“Hyung, we shouldn’t hang out like we are buddies anymore.” Kris became even more confused. “I don’t want to be associated with you anymore!” The younger began to raise his voice.

“Yah! Tao-ah, what’s wrong?” he still couldn’t grasp the situation.

Whenever I’m with you, I feel like dying! I’m always hidden under your shadow. Whenever they see me, they would always want and expect to see you because I’m your most loyal assistant. I should always stick with you like how they wanted it to be! But hyung, it’s so frustrating to be that person! Everyone sees me as the second and last choice. Even the people who are very important to me see me like that! It’s so dark living behind you! It’s like I don’t have my own life anymore!” he exclaimed. Tears began to form at the corners of his tired eyes but he didn’t let them fall.

“T-Tao-ah, I-I didn’t know you felt like that” he regretfully replied.

“Of course you wouldn’t notice hyung. Because you’re too blinded by your fame and power. You were too selfish and self-centered to even notice my feelings. That’s what I hate most. So hyung, let’s stop pretending like we care for each other. After this show, I’m done with you and anything that is connected to you. Hyung, I’ll start competing so that I can be first too.” Tao turned his back against him and began walking away leaving a very speechless Kris. After he was gone, the older’s body gave up and then he fell on the ground trembling in guilt, anger and confusion.

He sat near the building’s exit waiting for nothing. He just wanted to stay there to think; to reflect on what had happened a while ago. But lately, thinking too much had been quite burdensome for him. Everytime he tried, the pain on his head will come back and stab it like thousand needles. At times, it became unbearable.

He kept on blankly staring in front of him. Suddenly, Chaerin stepped out of the building. It shocked Kris but it also made him less gloomy. “Sajangnim? What are you still doing here? The show ended almost an hour and a half ago” Chaerin asked, also shocked at seeing him there. “You’re asking me? You’re the one who just went out the building” he retorted to try to avoid the topic.

Chaerin blushed at his response because obviously she lost at that argument. “I… I…” she didn’t know what to say until she was interrupted by Kris’ offer. “Chaerin-sshi, do you want to have coffee? Just in the shop nearby?”

The girl became even more dazed. “I don’t think that’s right. I mean you’re a judge and I’m a contestant. We can’t be seen together or else they would think that I cheated” she cautiously answered.”What? That won’t happen. So please, Chaerin-sshi. Have coffee with me?” he hopefully asked once more. “Just try. You can walk out when you became bored or uneasy. Tolerate it until we get to the shop and then you can decide” he sounded that he was begging. But who can blame him? He was feeling so down and he has no one else. The only person he could think of is a person, who was supposed to be a stranger to him but seemed like he knew for a long time already.

Chaerin felt that he really needed that coffee. His troubled face and his uneasy actions made it look like he was going to breakdown anytime now. She suddenly felt worried and she wanted to know why. “Okay, I’ll go have coffee with you.” She noticed how Kris’ expression became less troubled after he heard her answer. “Thank you” he sincerely replied.

The walk to café was quiet. No one dared to talk as Kris led the way with Chaerin a few feet behind him. She was observing his seemingly vulnerable state. A state she never knew the Amazing Kris possessed. Hearing things about him and observing him during the show, she was able to conlude that he had no weak sides at all. But her perception changed now; he was still a human after all.

When they arrived Kris chose the most hidden table inside in consideration for Chaerin’s concern. He helped her to her seat. “Thanks” Chaerin said. “What will you have? My treat” Kris tried to sound enthusiastic and he barely succeed. “I don’t know. Anything good I guess” she answered. “How about an Iced Caramel Macchiato?” The girl nodded in response. Kris stood up and left to place their orders.

After a few minutes, he was back and sat across Chaerin. And again, there was an awkward silence. It was only cut off when their orders arrived. Chaerin politely thanked the lady who brought it over. She started sipping on her cup and so did Kris. The silence was deafening to the girl until she couldn’t take it anymore. “Sajangnim, taking that you invited a random stranger to have coffee with you, you might have something very difficult going on? Am I right?” Kris could only nod. “So are you going to start talking or are we going to just sit here for an hour or two?”

Kris was surprised at the change in her usual calm voice. This time it was pitched higher and sounded firmer. He contemplated for a short while before responding with a safe question. “Chaerin-sshi, did you know how it feels when everyone important started leaving you?” he knew he hit the jackpot as Chaerin’s expression turned dark and uneasy. Tsk, I know you don’t. See, you’re afraid to answer no to that question in consideration for my feelings, he silently judged. But unfortunately, he was wrong. Instead, the girl answered, “Yes. I do.”

Kris was shocked. She’s lying right?, he thought. “I lost my parents in a car accident when I was fifteen. My brother was 8 then” she narrated. The boy was left aghast. He never expected that she would say that much especially to a stranger like him. “You also seem like you have experienced being left. Is that why you needed coffee?” she innocently asked.

“It’s not the coffee I needed. It’s your company that I want.” He said it so instinctively. He mentally slapped himself after he realized what just happened. Chaerin just stared at him. She didn’t notice that what he said was awkward but instead she thought that Kris’ really needed someone.

Kris was surprised at her next reaction. “I’ll always be here, you know. I won’t go anywhere” she said in the calmest tone he ever heard. After that they were able to more comfortably chat about things, but not too much. There were still moments of awkwardness.

That day, Kris heart became even more confused than ever. Questions kept floating in his mind. Why is a girl that looks exactly like Song Jiyoon appeared in front of him? Why is she so involved in his life now? Why does his heart races when she’s there? How can she make him look forward to another day? Is it really possible to meet two different girls that look exactly the same in different moments of his life? And the most important question of all, DOES HE LIKE HER? 

***END OF CHAPTER***

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