Chapter Ten

---

It seemed a while to Hyun Ah ever since she thought about the day she met Joon and how she struck a deal with him for their relationship.

Their relationship had progressed so much ever since the first awkward time together, and the night they first spent together as a couple.

---

“What… what about me?” Joon asked.

Hyun Ah looked at him, surprised. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, for one thing, I’m rich.”

Hyun Ah walked up to him and placed her face near to his, “So you want me to seduce you?”

Joon smirked and pushed her away. “I’m not interested in a romantic relationship right now.”

“So what were you planning to offer?”

“You know I just had a bad break up, right? I just thought it’ll be great if there could someone there for me waiting, but right now I can’t bring myself to like anyone else.”

Hyun Ah blinked at Joon, attempting to digest what he had just said. “So you just want me to be at your beck and call?”

“Something like that. But before you say no, I’ll give you money, enough to pay for all the expensive clothes and jewellery that you want,” Joon said.

“That…”

“If you need time to consider, you can find me when you’re ready.”

Hyun Ah watched him closely, wondering if he was really serious, or simply joking around with her. Although on second thoughts, perhaps there was no losing party, because it was not as if she would love him, since with her previous rich boyfriends, she only dated them for the money. Joon, as a guy, would only be on the losing end if Hyun Ah actually managed to spend all his fortune away.

That only meant that when the worst comes, Hyun Ah wouldn’t be the one losing out. It would be Joon, whose money got all away by her.

“I accept the proposal.”

“No regrets?”

Hyun Ah grinned and placed his arm around her waist while pulling him into a kiss.

“No regrets.”

---

Hyun Ah lay on the bed of her hotel room and sighed.

Now, it wasn’t so clear to her as to who was on the losing end and winning end. Maybe both of them were losers in the situation right then. She knew that she had accidentally put in more than enough emotions, but she couldn’t speak for Joon.

They may have spent a lot of time together, but even till then, Hyun Ah couldn’t really understand what went on in his mind.

She got up from the bed and poured herself a drink.

It was going to be a long night.

---

Ki Kwang flipped through the pages of his documents, frustrated. None of the information was going in, because the only thing he could think about was what happened earlier at the theatre.

He gave Doo Joon a call, but Doo Joon didn’t pick up. Deciding that perhaps Doo Joon was in the washroom or busying concentrating on something his date had to say, Ki Kwang simply left Doo Joon a message to meet him at the bar.

---

 Joon took another gulp from the bottle of beer he had bought, and then dropped the empty bottle on the ground. He had no idea but his legs had been so accustomed to going home despite drunk nights that he had ended in front of the private apartment he owned again.

The image of a soft gentle touch on his face reached his mind as he subconsciously placed his right palm on the part of his face where his lover loved to caress.

It changed to another image of a swish of a white dress in his eyes, a giggle, and then the door closing on the back of the svelte figure he so loved to hold in his arms.

The blinding reflective light against shimmering jewellery hit his mind, and Joon drank from the new bottle of beer to chase those frustrating memories away from his mind.

Frustrating, because he had mixed up Hyo Min and Hyun Ah yet again.

---

Hyun Ah had decided to nip down to the bar to have a drink, because she hated sleeping in a bed alone after she started her relationship with Joon.

She wasn’t drunk yet, but her mind had gotten into a slur before she heard someone calling out her name.

“Hyun Ah?”

She turned and blinked in the light, managing to let out a vague “Yeah?”

The person sat down next to her at the counter and held her shoulders firmly to put her in an upright position which she struggled doing.

“What are you doing here?” Ki Kwang asked.

“None of your business,” Hyun Ah said and tried to push him away.

“Is my brother here?”

“Joon?” Hyun Ah let out a laugh, “Why would he be here? We can’t be together while we’re having a time out!”

“You guys are having a time out?” Ki Kwang asked.

Hyun Ah said bitterly, “I can’t believe he actually said yes to the time out.”

“You’re drunk,” Ki Kwang said as he tried to pull Hyun Ah’s glass of alcohol away from her grasp.

“No, I’m not! I’m sober and I know exactly what I want right now!” Hyun Ah shouted.

Ki Kwang pulled Hyun Ah off her chair and carefully leaned her against his left arm which circled around her waist.

“I just don’t want to be alone,” Hyun Ah whispered softly, but Ki Kwang caught it.

He turned to look at her, and noticed a tear escaping her closed eye.

“I’m right here beside you,” Ki Kwang whispered back, even though he wasn’t sure if Hyun Ah heard it.

---

Hyun Ah woke up the next morning with a heavy headache and utter confusion about the previous night’s proceedings.

She sat up and took a look around. It wasn’t the hotel room she checked into the day before.

Sensing someone next to her, Hyun Ah turned and realized it was Ki Kwang who shared the bed with her.

Almost immediately, she looked down and touched her body, which was still fully clothed. So was Ki Kwang, even though his top half was dressed in a white singlet.

The headache hit her again as she flopped back down onto the comfy pillow. Perhaps the impact of that disrupted Ki Kwang’s sleep, but he stirred from his slumber and flinched.

“You’re awake?” Ki Kwang muttered, not even taking a look at Hyun Ah.

“What happened last night?”

“You were drunk, and since you said you were in a timeout with my brother, I didn’t think it was good to bring you to his apartment. So here we are,” Ki Kwang said after he sat up and rubbed his sleepy eyes.

“All right, I need to wash up,” Ki Kwang got up and left for the washroom.

Hyun Ah sat up again and rubbed her temple. That’s right, she was in a timeout with Joon right then, she realized with a heavy heart. The events of the previous night slowly came back to her, how she was preparing to watch the musical with Ki Kwang, how Joon caught them together again, how they quarreled and how she went to the bar to drink.

“Your turn,” Ki Kwang said as he emerged from the toilet.

Hyun Ah managed a weak smile and stepped into the washroom. It was only when she looked into the mirror that she realized what a mess she looked.

Her mascara smudged all over her cheeks, her lipstick had stained past the corners of her lips, her eyes were red and puffy, even though she didn’t remember crying the night earlier, and her nicely dolled-up hair had gone out of shape from sleeping on it.

Even so, Ki Kwang hadn’t made even a peep out of it and acted as though nothing had happened at all.

Her headache took over again as Hyun Ah quickly washed up and awaited to get some hangover soup.

When Hyun Ah came out of the toilet, she was greeted by Ki Kwang, who had a bright smile on his face. “Here, I thought you might need some Panadol,” Ki Kwang offered with a glass of water.

“I don’t think I’m supposed to take dubious looking pills from weird guys,” Hyun Ah joked.

“C’mon, you think you can escape my clutches now that you’re locked in a room with me?” Ki Kwang teased back.

Hyun Ah gave a light chuckle, as she accepted the Panadol and popped it into . “Thanks.”

“So, you want to grab some breakfast?” Ki Kwang asked as Hyun Ah nodded readily.

---

“Really, normally I can hold my liquor quite well,” Hyun Ah insisted, as they stepped out of the hotel entrance.

“You should’ve taken a look at yourself last night then,” Ki Kwang refuted, telling of the loud shouting and clinginess of drunken Hyun Ah.

He grabbed Hyun Ah’s arms and mimicked her, “Don’t let go! I won’t let you let go of me!”

Hyun Ah laughed, and said, “All right, I get the message. But seriously speaking, I don’t get so crazy when I’m drunk. Your brother gave me his word.”

Then, Hyun Ah stopped mid-track. Had Joon been taking care of her whenever she got drunk but not mentioning anything about her bad drunk behavior?

But why would Joon do that? He always pointed out her flaws when she showed them, and made sure she never did the same mistakes again, because it irked him.

“What’s wrong?” Ki Kwang asked.

Hyun Ah looked at Ki Kwang’s concerned face and wondered if she had made a mistake. Was it why Joon was so exceptionally pissed?

“Gosh…”

“Yeah?” Ki Kwang asked.

“We have to stop doing this.”

“Stop what?”

“Meeting each other,” Hyun Ah replied.

Ki Kwang’s face changed. “Why not?”

“It’s not doing us any good! You’re not getting what you deserve, and I just get more and more confused when I spend more time with you.”

Ki Kwang looked at Hyun Ah and a short silence aded.

“If you’re confused, I can give you more time. Just know that I’m still waiting for you. But you have to know that I’m an impatient person too, I’m not selfless enough to wait forever,” Ki Kwang said.

“Sorry.”

Ki Kwang pulled Hyun Ah into an embrace. “That’s not the word I want to hear from you. When you’re ready, just tell me a ‘yes’ and I’ll know.”

Hyun Ah nodded in Ki Kwang’s chest, deciding that it wasn’t the best time to verbalise her affirmation.

They pulled apart, and Hyun Ah gave Ki Kwang a smile, ready to part ways with him.

“What the hell do you guys think you’re doing?”

Both Hyun Ah and Ki Kwang turned around to see Joon storming towards them angrily.

“It’s not what you think!” Hyun Ah explained, but Joon had pushed her away and given a punch to Ki Kwang on the face.

“What was that for?” Ki Kwang shouted as he picked himself up from the ground.

“Giving you a wake-up call! You have to stop messing around with Hyun Ah!” Joon yelled back and then turned to Hyun Ah, “How could you sleep with my brother just because we’re having a timeout?”

“We didn’t sleep together!” Ki Kwang exclaimed.

Joon scoffed, “Yeah right! Emerging from the hotel together, and showing public displays of affection?”

“It’s really not what you think,” Hyun Ah said.

“I should’ve known what kind of person you are right from the start,” Joon replied.

“You knew right from the start that I’m a materialistic ! But that doesn’t mean I slept with him! You know what? I don’t really care about your opinion because we’re in a timeout right now. I can do whatever I want,” Hyun Ah said.

“You don’t call the shots in our relationship, I do!” Joon demanded.

“I don’t think this is working out. Let’s end this here,” Hyun Ah replied.

“What, did my little brother promise you what I’m giving you if you sleep with him? You think you’ve got something to fall back on? Okay, let’s end this, but when you’re dumped again, don’t even think of finding me again,” Joon sneered, and walked away.

Ki Kwang went up to Hyun Ah. “Are you feeling okay?”

Hyun Ah nodded.

“Let’s get you back to the room and order some room service instead.”

“I’d like to be alone now, actually.”

“All right, but give me a call when you need to talk to someone,” Ki Kwang said.

Hyun Ah gave a light smile to assure him and entered the hotel again.

Once her back was turned to Ki Kwang, the tears she was holding back came all out again.

---

Hi guys, happy new year! Okay, before you hate Joon, etc, let me just say that I think Joon was so angry and furious not because he’s a jerk, but rather, because he was jealous. As to what he’s jealous about, you guys can guess or just read on to find out. ^_^

C/Cs are appreciated!