>Lia<

"She left. Kaja," Gi Kwang-goon said. He took my hand and grabbed my bags.

I was surprised when he took my hand. I was even more surprised when he laced his fingers through mine.

We were still in my office, waiting for my secretary to go home.

"Wait." I pulled on his hand to stop him from moving to the door. He cocked his head at me, puzzled.

I stood in front of him and tugged the hood lower to cover his face. "You have to keep looking down until we've reached the car, okay?"

He smiled cheekily. "Why? Are you ashamed of being seen with me?"

I punched his stomach lightly. He pretended that it hurt. "I know you don't want to be seen with me."

He frowned a little and opened his mouth to say something, but I didn't give him the chance. "Come on." I pulled him out.

When I started the car, I opened the car's hood without waiting for Gi Kwang-goon to tell me. He grinned at me. The night air was cold tonight. The wind was a touch too freezing. But I was immuned to it. Gi Kwang's presence beside me was like a warm, safe blanket wrapped around me. I hadn't realized how much I missed him until I saw him.

While I was driving, I rested my hand on the gear shift. A minute later, I felt a hand placed on top of mine. Gi Kwang-goon fingers went in between mine and he gripped it tight. I looked at him, but he was smiling down at our joined hands. I smiled too.

I had to lift my hand off the gear to turn the wheel. He let my hand go but his hand when back to the gear.

"Why is your hand on the gear?" I asked, amused.

"So that when you have to change gear again, you'll have to touch my hand."

I glanced at him. "And that makes you happy, why?"

"I like it when you hold my hand," he said bluntly.

Gi Kwang-goon slipped his hand in mine again when we were walking up the steps to our apartment building. He must have really missed me during the five days I didn't come home.

We were about to go into the lobby when I heard cats meowing in distress. I stopped, glancing around.

I'd admit, I was an animal lover. But I never got to own any, because my father hated them.

"Waeyo?" Gi Kwang-goon asked me.

"Cats," I told him. I let go of his hand— he made a small sound of protest— and walked a little to the left. I found them, two adorable kittens, huddling together and shivering in the cold. One was an orange-yellow female kitten and the other was all white, a male.

"Aaawww... They're so cute. And they're shivering," I said. Gi Kwang-goon stood behind me as I crouched down. I looked up at him. "Can I bring them home? Please?"

He shrugged. "I don't mind. But who's going to take care of them? I can't do it. I'm busy with work. And you have to work everyday too."

I chewed on my lower lip. "I'll figure something out."

I picked both kittens up and cuddled them to my chest, cooing to them softly.

We went inside. In the elevator, the white kitten looked up at me with cute adorable blue eyes and meowed.

"Awww... Look at him. He's so cute," I said to Gi Kwang-goon.

He looked at them over my shoulder. "I think the orange one's cuter." He rubbed the orange kitten's belly and chuckled when she purred in pleasure. I thought he was an animal lover too.

"Both my babies are cute," I cooed to the kittens.

"Your babies?"

"Uh hmm. They are my babies now."

"They are our babies," he said. "Those cats are going to live in our house. So that means they belong to me too."

I looked at him, surprised. Gi Kwang was full of surprises tonight. I kind of liked it.

In the apartment, I took a basket and small pillows for the kittens to sleep in and put it in the kitchen. And then I gave them water and food.

"Eat up, you two. Then you can go sleep in here, this basket, see?"

"They won't answer you," Gi Kwang-goon said from the kitchen's entrance, smiling slightly.

"I know they won't."

He came to my side. "What names are you going to give them?"

"Hmm... I'll name the orange one Gi and the white one Kwang," I joked.

"Andwae andwae andwae," Gi kwang-goon said. "The orange one must be Gar and the white one field. So when we combine them, we'll get you, Garfield."

"Ya!!" I shoved him lightly and he laughed. "Sireo."

"Ah, waeyo? I still want Garfield, I don't care."

"Okay, fine. We'll name the orange one Garfield," I said.

"What about the white one?"

Since he named that after me, well, my not so glamorous nickname, I'd name the cat after him too. But coffee stealer pyeontae was a little bit too extreme, don't you think? I pity the kitten.

"I'll name him after you. Kwangie," I decided.

"Uh. You know I'm flattered that you named it after me, but, uh, you named a cat after me," He said, deadpaned.

"Yup."

"A cat. An animal," he repeated.

"What's wrong with that?"

He shrugged. "I just think that naming your son after me would be more appropriate. You know, more prestigious."

"Since I don't have a son yet— with which ever guy that's unlucky enough to be the father of my child— a cat would do."

I was watching the kittens when I said that. There wasn't an answer coming out of Gi Kwang-goon. I glanced up at him questioningly. He was watching me.

"What?" I said.

He kept staring at me with this weird look. "Why would the father of your child be unlucky?"

"That's what you've been quietly thinking?"

"Just answer the question."

"Because I won't ever sleep with a guy that doesn't love me and I don't love him. So if I was pregnant, that meant we would be in love. Even though I love the guy, I would still say that he made a big mistake falling for me."

"Why is it a mistake?" He asked, appalled.

I shrugged and half smiled. "My life won't ever end with a happily ever after. I don't deserve a happily ever after." 

"Everybody deserves a happily ever after," he disagreed.

"Not for me. I've done things that cancelled out happily ever after on the list." I forced a laugh and winked at him. "So beware, Gi Kwang-goon. Don't ever fall for me. If you're stubborn, you won't get a happily ever after. Don't say I didn't warn ya."

He was muted, taking my joke seriously. Except, it wasn't technically a joke. He looked at me with this weird look; eyebrows half frowning, his eyes wide and a little upset, the side of his mouth turned down. 

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked. It was making me a little uncomfortable.

He snapped out of it, but not completely. I could tell. "Nothing. It's late. We should go to sleep."

"Oh. Okay. You'll go ahead, I need to make sure Garfield," I rolled my eyes at that name. "and Kwangie settle down properly."

"Oh, arasso." He turned to go, but then turned back to me. I looked at him questioningly, waiting.

He took a step closer to me. His fingers circled around my wrist and then slowly slid down into my palm. My heart skipped a beat. He held our hands up between us.

"Lia-ah. Listen very carefully to what I'm going to say." His eyes held mine in an intense gaze. I couldn't look away. "Everyone in this world deserves to be happy in the end."

"Even me?" I whispered.

"Especially you." He smiled. "And when you get your happily ever after, I want to be in it."

I shook my head slowly. "You won't be in it because there won't be one. You don't understand. You don't know what I've done—"

He put a finger to my lips, cutting me off. "I don't care about what you've done. I care about the person you are now. You are going to get it, Lia. Because I'm going to make sure you get one."

Slowly, carefully, without taking his eyes off mine, he brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it. A long lingering kiss that took my breath away.

"That's a promise," He whispered.