Hello! Guess what? Today is Donghae's birthday! >.< Yay! Hahahaha. So, I rushed this chapter to finish it today so I could purposely post it today, although I planned to finish it tomorrow. Anyway, I've been really busy this week, so the chapter may seem a little rushed. I hope you still like it. I really don't seem to be getting any new subscribers with each coming chapter, so I've resulted in shameless advertising. Now that I think about it...I feel really bad about myself. I've never done it before, and I feel like I'm sounding a little desperate now >.< Aigo...

So...aside from all this, I just wanted to give a quick heads-up. Updates will be slowing or may go on hiatus starting on December 12th due to a competition/challenge I joined: http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/83442/can-you-write-better-than-me-challenge-open-apply-challenge-infinite-kpop-shinee-superjunior-boyfriendband 

This is the first challenge or writing competition I have ever joined, so I decided "Why not try?". So, that's where I stand now.

On an end note, Happy Birthday Donghae, and I hope all you readers like the chapter.

A groggy Park MinJee awoke to the sound of her cell phone ringtone. She inwardly groaned after realizing that she had fallen asleep on the desk, in the middle of her work. Now she would have to face both neck cramps, and catching up on her unfinished work. Great. With a tired yawn, she brought the phone to her ear. 
 
"Yoboseyo?" She suppressed another yawn, knowing just who it would be this time. 
 
"Hello." A deep voice greeted back. She suddenly felt her cheeks flush at the tone. She brought the devise away from her ear, glowered at it angrily, and the brought it back. 
 
"Hello, appa." She greeted simply, although through clenched teeth. MinJee was now doing everything she could not to allow her emotions to run wild. Her fists clenched as she squeezed the material of her skirt. She gritted her teeth, her gaze glaring towards the ground. As expected, he didn't ask how she was like a caring parent; she honestly didn't think he cared. As always, he was blunt and to the point because he only came to find out what he wanted to find out; to know what he wanted to know. Just like how he only wanted to hear what he wanted. 
 
"I trust that you dropped that ridiculous case?" 
 
"Yes, appa." She replied coldly. She wanted nothing more than him to hear her disrespectful hostile tone, but she knew that he wouldn't. After all, he ignored whatever he didn't want to hear. 
 
"Good. Your umma and I will be sending you a small sum to account for your cooperation." She cringed at the statement. What kind of trash did this man think she was? Was she just another greedy profit obsessed freak to him? Did he really believe that spoiling her with money would solve everything? What a laugh. She marveled at how easy it seemed to lie to her appa, although lying to anyone else seemed so much harder. 
 
"Please, appa. There is no need to do such a thing. I am financially stable, and find no need for such a thing." She could already imagine the man slowly nodding his head as he puffed out another smoke ring. The smell of his cigar, although only in her imagination, already felt so suffocating. 
 
"I understand, although your umma might not. Please understand too that that case was not fit for you at all." MinJee opened to protest, only to be cut off by her own thoughts. She was in no place to argue. She didn't have that right against him, so she had no choice but to let him continue. "As if it weren't already a losing case; the prosecutor on the other side was just announced today. It's Cho Kyuhyun." 
 
MinJee's eyes widened and fell open in shock. The words replayed through her head over and over again. 
 
This was bad news. Very very bad news. 
 

Lee Donghae awoke with a smile on his face. He wasn't sure how-with the chance of being convicted and all-, but he suddenly felt like himself again. The past week he had been feeling nervous and scared, but now...it actually felt like someone was on his side. There was a feeling of normalcy, like everything was finally fitting into place the way it should even if there were a few changes, including him being suspected of theft, and living with his FEMALE lawyer. 
 
He cupped a hand over his mouth, yawning loudly, as he entered the kitchen. He quietly took a seat at a chair in front of MinJee who was surprisingly already at work. He silently watched her as she quickly performed a variety of tasks at high speed. She quickly slid a cup of coffee across the table towards him.  He gave her a questioning look at this, unsure of whether it was a friendly gesture or not. 
 
"It's coffee, kid. Drink." MinJee ordered, speaking quickly as she was in a rush. His eyebrows furrowed and he pouted at the added "kid" part. 
 
"I'm not a kid." Donghae argued. MinJee was kind of short. She looked young, yet acted mature. Despite this, judging by the way she looked, she couldn't be much older than he was...maybe even younger. 
 
"Sure. Whatever." She replied quickly in an indifferent tone. He glanced over at her flustered figure, suddenly wondering to himself just what she was in such a rush to do. He unknowingly voiced his thoughts, earning himself a flustered and slightly frustrated look from MinJee. 
 
"Work on your case. What else would I be doing? Jeez, kid. You really dug a hole for yourself." He lowered his head in guilt, his gaze meeting with the ground. He couldn't help but feel that he was being selfish. Although it was her job, he knew that he was indulging on her. Even though he did have his reasons, refusing to tell MinJee anything wasn't helping either of them. It only resulted in a conviction for him and added stress for her. 
 
"Listen, kid." MinJee suddenly started with a loud tired sigh. He lifted his head to meet her gaze, glancing at her sheepishly like a little boy being scolded. She puffed her cheeks out in annoyance and bashfully turned her attention elsewhere, yet she continued speaking to him without meeting his gaze. MinJee was obviously irritated with his use of aegyo. "You know I didn't mean it like that. It's not like this is a lost case, but it definitely won't be easy either. That's partly due to the fact that you refuse to tell me anything." She bitterly emphasized the words. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't mean anything harsh I say. I'm really stressed at the moment. It appears that an acquaintance of mine is the prosecutor to this case." 
 
"Is that a bad thing?" Donghae cluelessly questioned with a small frown. He noticed that MinJee's small hands now balled up into fists. She angrily bit her bottom lip, her gaze locked to the ground with a bitter expression. Her eyes were unreadable. She looked bitter, lost, and empty, with a hint of fury behind it all. 
 
"Let's just say that he's the king of tricks and manipulation. He's great at making you believe whatever he wants you to, and he's an even better liar." She hissed through her gritted teeth. She crossed her arms across her chest, and slowly exhaled, in attempt to rid herself of her anger. The only thing Donghae could do, was sit cluelessly, and hope for her anger to subside quickly. 
 
"That's not even the point of this all. I have a lot of work to do, and your refusal to talk isn't really doing me any good." 
 
His gaze flickered to the ground. That feeling of immense guilt had returned. He frowned to himself, feeling a bit disappointed with his actions, although he was certain that it was justified. Donghae glanced up at MinJee in wonder. He could understand her frustration, but he couldn't help but doubt that she would never understand his feelings, nor his basis for what he did. That was the one reason why he refused to tell her anything; why he refused to tell anyone anything...no one would understand. He couldn't tell until he was sure someone would understand. 
 
"Have you ever had a really good friend, that you would've trusted with your life? Someone that you would've taken a hit for no matter what, even if they wouldn't do the same for you?" He spoke quietly. MinJee tilted her head in confusion, frowning. She slowly shook her head. 
 
"I'm a lawyer, kid. Lawyers don't have friends; just temporary partnerships for mutual interests." She spoke, shaking her head. A bitter expression crossed her face. With a large sigh, she glanced away, before continuing her rushed morning routine. He sighed and lowered his gaze to the ground. Of course, she wouldn't understand. Who would? 
 
He didn't raise his head to look at her. He honestly didn't feel like it. He hoped that someone would understand; that he could tell someone the truth without them taking any action, but it had become obvious now that that was impossible. There was nothing he could do. As much as he wanted to be proven innocent, it was impossible. 
 
He heard rustling from behind him, getting fainter by the second. The sound of footsteps had gotten quieter, and he had assumed that she left.