A foolish smile barely fell onto his lips as the quick urge to reach up and touch her face ate him up. Something about this person made him very soft. He was happy Ki Chan had told her to stay; it was the only thing that man had done for him. Even though he didn't know what he wanted to do, he was glad...overjoyed that they were alone as they'd always been in his apartment.
 
It had been so quiet without her and he hadn't known what to do without her around. The tremble of his heart made him flush in front of her. Did Namjoo know how he felt? Could she see it on his face that he was finally glad that her friends were no longer around? How relieved he was? 

His hand barely reached up for her before he quickly drew it back embarrassed and clearing his throat stood to his feet unsteadily. 

"Um...I..." he couldn't figure out what it was that was going through his mind. It was just he'd felt embarrassed for realizing he'd had the urge to do something to her, "I'm not a ert." 

"What?" Namjoo raised her eyebrows and Luhan wanted to flee and jump out of the window. 

What the hell was he saying? 

Darting his eyes toward the ground he stuttered, "I...just...I mean...sorry about earlier. I didn't walk in on you on purpose." 

Namjoo stared at him confused for a few second and burst into laughter. Again, Luhan felt himself immediately heat up from embarrassment. Why was it that it had to be now that he had to be a fool?

"I'll go make us something to eat," he quickly excused and darted down the stairs, almost tripping on his way down. 

Once at the bottom he resorted to leaning against the wall, pressing his hand hard against his chest. He could feel his heart thumping loud and clear. 

What the heck...was going on? 

"====="

A smile along with a short laugh burst onto Namjoo's face after Luhan immediately made his run. She hadn't meant to make him flustered, but she was glad he'd spoken to her at the very least. He wasn't going to ignore her after all.  

Her eyes softly trailed through the room and gently smiled when recalling how he'd come to her room. Leaning forward to glance at the bandage on her knee she smiled again. It was barely even a cut and she'd deserved a bandage for it.  

On her way down the stairs she could hear him moving around in the kitchen. Once she stepped off the last step she peered into the kitchen to see Luhan looking focused. It'd been a while since she'd seen him busy like this and it was good to finally see him in the kitchen again.

Feeling her stare Luhan immediately looked up and fell a step back as if surprised. She caught the gulp going down his throat as his eyes quickly darted around the room. The sudden joy she'd felt earlier dissipated and she wondered if she'd done something wrong to make him uncomfortable. It suddenly felt weird...and awkward.  

She finally looked up when Luhan said, "You're here? I couldn't find anything, but the leftovers from last night."  

Raising her eyes to look at him she pulled on a smile, "It's ok."

When he lowered his head to glance at the two plates she thought he looked uncertain for some reason. Maybe...he didn't want to be there with her.

Still urging herself to just be glad she stepped forward and sat down from across him. The food from last night's barbeque still looked delicious. She had to admit though, it was a little quiet and empty without Chae Yoon and Ki Chan at the table. For a while she hadn't eaten with Luhan like this, would they even talk at all?

When Luhan placed her food in front of her Namjoo quickly grabbed her fork to start eating. It would be unfair of her to make Luhan uncomfortable. Even if he had been kind earlier, it didn't mean she should expect anything else from him.  

Luhan quiet glanced up at her to watch her eat and quietly let go of his fork. "I'm sorry."  

Namjoo felt her teeth graze against each other and immediately looked up.  

Luhan's eyes chased themselves around the room anxiously before finally looking at her, "For lashing out at you. I was unfair to you; being angry with myself and using it on you. I'm sorry, Namjoo."

Namjoo thought about it for a few seconds and said, "It's ok. I realized you were sorry when you showed up at the terminal. I forgive you."  

A moment of silence swept over them before Namjoo got up and carrying her plate, slid the chair beside him out and sat down.  

"Since we're friends again, lets be comfortable with each other," Namjoo suggested and playfully bumped her shoulder into his. "Your rib looks better than mine. Lets switch." 

Luhan glanced at her and snorted before handing his over. And for the first time in a few weeks since that incident, Namjoo felt like she was herself again. 

"Isn't it nice washing dishes with someone else other than yourself?" Namjoo asked rinsing the dishes Luhan had scrubbed. 

"Sure." 

Namjoo nudged him with her elbow, "Why make your sentences so short? You could've said something like, 'It's not too bad' or something like that." 

"Do you talk all the time when you work?" Luhan asked. "Haven't you ever gotten in trouble for it?" 

"Who'd yell at you here? Are you crazy?" Namjoo questioned and made a face at him. "I wonder why Ki Chan and Chae Yoon haven't come back. I hope she's ok."  

"Are you that worried?"  

"Of course! A friend's injured, why wouldn't I be?!" Namjoo raised her tone.  

"I bet she's ok," Luhan calmly stated. "Why do you care about her so much anyway."  

"Why? She's my friend."

"Do you really like her that much?" Luhan looked at her. 

Namjoo glanced up at him wondering what he was saying. 

"Too much trust leads to treachery." He turned away leaving her to frown at him before hitting him with her lower arm. 

"What nonsense are you speaking about?" Namjoo asked washing the soap off her hands. "She's your friend too." 

"I don't even know her that well." 

"What?" Namjoo shifted to face him. "I saw you two talking here and there...and even looked close and all."

Luhan turned to look at her at if shocked or surprised by something she'd said. 

"W...what?" Namjoo uttered confused by the look in his eyes.

"That wasn't talking." Luhan said quietly. 

Namjoo stared at him and snorted, "Then what was it?"  

"Anyway, Chae Yoon and I aren't close." Luhan walked over to the fridge.

"Why do you sound angry?" Namjoo turned to let her eyes follow him. "Does she remind you of your ex?" 

Ignoring her Luhan leaned down to look into the fridge before straightening up, "Should we finish the rest of the drinks?" 

Namjoo stared at him suddenly even more curious about what he and Chae Yoon had talked about. There had to be something. If not, then Luhan wouldn't evade her questions. 

"Then..." Namjoo started, "lets go drink on the beach." 

"====="

While sitting down on the sand Luhan watched Namjoo walk along the shore of the water playfully like a young girl. She seemed so carefree and if it was the first time he was seeing her he'd think that she probably had the best life among the population of South Korea. In truth, even though Namjoo's heart had many holes she'd grown up in a perfect family. That was still something to be envious about.  

The way the wind coming from the waves forced her hair to flow back was a simply pretty sight. If only Namjoo could set everything inside her heart free, then maybe, she'd be as happy as the smile on her face.  

Finishing the can in his hand he set it aside and turned to watch her hop onto the damp sand the water had just , chasing the waves before running away from it. He then wondered if she'd been stressed during the time they didn't talk. Would Namjoo have gone back to make up with her mother yet?  

"What's this?!" Namjoo raised her voice running over. "You're just going to sit here?"  

"Yes."  

Namjoo made a face at him and plopped down onto the empty spot beside him. He felt their arms brush and turned to look at her. Cluelessly turning to him, she shot him a broad smile before turning away.  

This girl...really couldn't tell what his heart was confusingly going through, but it was ok. He'd rather her not know about how he was feeling. 

"Here," he handed her a can. "Since we made up, lets celebrate." 

"You know I'm not even good with one can of beer. If I get drunk and pass out are you going to carry me back?"  

"No, I'll leave you out here so the sharks can eat you."  

He felt Namjoo push him with her body and quirkily smiled to himself. He liked this cheerful calm feeling that came to him when he was with Namjoo. It felt right, for some reason it just felt right.

"The sun's going down," Namjoo started. "It's pretty."

"Is it?" Luhan asked staring at the dark orange sun, glowing as it started disappearing down the mountains on the other side of the sea.  

"You can't even tell?"

"I'm not a hopeless romantic."

"What a lie," Namjoo glanced at him. "I bet you would have gazed at the stars or watched the sunrise with your girlfriend."

"I never did."  

Namjoo turned to look at him as if surprised. 

"What?" He asked turning to her. "Is it shocking?" 

"No," Namjoo quietly said, "I guess it's something I bet everybody did. You know I've never really dated before, so I wouldn't know. I imagine it sometimes; how nice it would be, you know, with someone you like. You'd sit together, talk, and enjoy the scenery. Something simple like that is a good date."

Luhan felt his fingers run over the can in his hand and turned to look at her. How did someone of such high value like her think of such simple ideal dates? Any other girl would want something more splendid, like a date at well known restaurant. She'd be well dressed up along with her boyfriend, they'd drink wine and have some steak. They'd take a walk before he'd take her home and end the night with a kiss.

"You’ve," he started, "never watched the sunrise with your brother before?"  

"I have." 

And Luhan felt something pass through his chest. He wouldn't be the first to watch the sunrise with her then, if ever they were to do it together.

"What about the sunset?" He curiously asked, hoping Kai had never shared it with her. 

"I don't think so. Sometimes he came home late from after school lessons, so we'd just watch the stars together." He could hear Namjoo reminiscing the precious memories in her tone of voice.   

"Aren't we watching the sunset though?" He asked.                               
        
"Yea," Namjoo said. "We are."  

When she turned to him with that smile on his face he could feel himself becoming mesmerized by it. There was something about her he couldn't define with words. It was perplexingly beautiful

"====="

Ki Chan sat calmly in a chair in the lobby blankly watching the TV. There was currently news about a homicide being streamed across the nation, but it didn't interest him. Chae Yoon's checkup was taking much longer than he anticipated and he wondered if this was how patients always felt when coming for checkups. Waiting seemed like periods longer than actually going through the examination.  

Unable to sit still anymore he got up to walk to the window. The sun was more than halfway down the sky signaling that night was about to fall. He wondered how Namjoo was doing...and what she was doing with Luhan. The way Luhan had turned back to hold his hand out for Namjoo earlier in the mountains bugged him even more.  

Although he'd never seen Luhan intentionally approach Namjoo to romantically pursue her and he hadn't seen him talk to her for long, he had to admit he felt simply threatened by his presence. Perhaps it was the things Chae Yoon had been telling him about the two that was getting to him, but he was sure he could feel it coming from the guy himself. There was something about Luhan toward Namjoo. 

"Chae Yoon's guardian?"  

Chae Yoon might have some broken bones, but her ankle would take some time to recover due to the fall. Other than she was in perfect health. When Ki Chan walked into the room Chae Yoon was propped up onto the bed. 

"Are you ok?" He worried. 

"I'm not dead." 

Smiling he grabbed a chair by the bed. 

"Are you ok?" She asked. 

"Of course." 

"You sure?" 

Ki Chan glanced at her confused.

Smiling she asked, "Aren't you worried about Namjoo?"  

"No, she'll be fine."  

"Are you sure?"  

Chae Yoon's continuous questions threw his secure feelings off foot.  

"Namjoo might not be in good hands as you think her to be."  

Straightening up in his seat slowly feeling alarmed he asked, "What do you mean?"  

"There's something Namjoo doesn't know about Luhan."  

Ki Chan felt all his senses zoom in on Chae Yoon.  

"That ex-girlfriend of his," she started, "is me."  

Ki Chan's lips slightly fell apart.  

"So," she went on, "why do you think he approached her?"  

He slightly gritted his teeth before standing up and turned toward the door.  

"Where do you think you're going?" Chae Yoon called out halting him in his steps. "If you go now, do you really think she'll believe you?" 

"Why wouldn't she?" He turned around. 

"Namjoo," Chae Yoon began successfully drawing his attention more and more, "likes him." 

His heart thumped and his blood boiled. His Namjoo...his Namjoo...

"If he used her to get back to you, I'm not going to let it go on anymore," he stated determined. "I won't let Namjoo get hurt. You know how important she is to me! You knew all along that he was lying to her and you let it happen!"

"Don't be stupid," Chae Yoon hissed. "Luhan has already started warming up to her."  

Ki Chan gripped his hand into a fist. Just what the hell...was this?!

"But I want him back," Chae Yoon finished, "so, if you're willing to listen to what I have to say, lets quietly go back to Seoul and leave them here."    

***Chae Yoon has really started going this time!