♫ Excuse me, I really didn't mean to ramble on
But there's a lot of feelings that remain since you've been gone
I guess you thought that I would put it all behind me
But it seems there's always somethin right there to remind me
Like a silly joke, or somethin on the t.v. ♫

----------------------------------------

Three days have passed since that event in the restaurant happened and I haven't seen any sign of my boyfriend, nor has he contacted me ever since. I've seen Youngbae twice around the company since then though. When he talked to me, I felt happy to know that he still cared about me. At least that's what I felt back then.

“Ohayou Gozaimasu (*Good Morning).” I heard mumblings around the office, and when I turned around to look, I saw Minho who's looking rather pissed off.

“Ohayou Gozaimasu.” I stood up to bow when he walked passed, but he just ignored me and went straight into his office, slamming the door. I sat back down feeling agitated.

It was already lunch time and Minho has been staying in his office since he got in this morning. I wrote a note saying I've left for lunch in a sticky note and pasted in in the middle of my desk where it can be seen clearly – just incase someone looks for me. I was about to get up when I decided to knock in his office to check on him. He irritatedly told me to come in and so I did, sticking my head in first to see what he was doing.

“Aren't you going to lunch yet?” I started my way to his desk. He was diligently signing documents not even bothering to answer me.

“I'm about to go to lunch. Do you want anything?” He briefly looked at me but then continued signing the papers. I was about to go without telling him. I have to say I was becoming really irritated. One thing I hate the most is when people don't answer me. It may seem conceited of me, but it's only common sense to answer a question.

“I'm sorry, I'm just feeling very anxious and stressed. Proposal equals lack of sleep. Also, I'm sorry about what happened at the restaurant.” I heard him say just when I was about to open the door. I looked back at him who was looking back at me. He tossed his pen on the table and stood up. I walked to the middle of the room where he was stood.

“I'm used to it, so don't think about it too much.” I gave him a hug and little pats on the back.

“You shouldn't be! You're not supposed to get used to how my family treats you so badly.” He hugged me back tightly. I guess anyone would be concerned about this issue. I remembered how Youngbae reacted almost the same way, but minus the hugging.

“I'm sorry. But you know I don't have any other choice. I work for your family, and if I become rude to them I'd lose my job.” He sat me on the couch that was located about 2 meters away from his desk. He sat on the coffee table in front of me while he held both my hands.

“I know your afraid to stand up to them. Sometimes I just want to shout at their faces and tell them to be a little bit nicer. I'd love for them to eat their own words when they get to know the real you.” He gave a huff of smile and gave my head a pat.

“Right then! I need to finish signing all these documents. Go grab your lunch.” Patting his thighs, stood up and went back to his desk.

“Do you want me to buy anything for you to eat?” I just saw him shook his head and I left his office.

I don't usually eat the food in the company, since it's quite expensive. I went to my usual eating place just 5 minutes walk away from the office. It's my favourite ramen place. I ordered the usual paired with a can of coke. The shop was unusually peaceful, unlike usual lunch times where the shop is packed full of office workers. None of the company employees come here, since they all like fancy restaurants. I've never seen one of them come here, not once in my 3-year career, which is considerably good too.

“Hai! Here's you're food Dara-chan.” The old lady finally gave me my steaming bowl of ramen.

“Itadakimasu (*Let's eat)!” I started slurping the noodles and gave the old lady a satisfying grin then she left with a smile. Everyone in the shop knows me here, even some of the regulars. I would constantly always be in their ramen chart which was posted on the wall where you can see my smiling face with a bowl of ramen in hand. They would have a ramen eating competition every once in a while, and most of the time I would win. No wonder why most regulars know me.

I was about to finish my first bowl so I ordered seconds.

“Irasshaimase (*Welcome).” I heard the shop folks say and made me look up and saw Youngbae coming in. I tried hiding my face with the bowl I was just sipping.

“Hey.” I closed my eyes tightly then set the bowl back on the table. I nodded my head to him when he asked if he could sit with me. I didn't want to be rude.

The old lady came with 2 bowls of ramen, for me and Youngbae. He looked at me unbelievably, then smiled that made his eyes turn into crescents.

“You haven't changed.” He said while seasoning his ramen.

“I can't resist my temptation. At least the ramen I eat now are fresh.” I started slurping on the noodles again.

“Yeah, I suppose that's a little bit better, compared to before when your cupboard was full with instant ramen.” He started eating and let out hums of satisfaction.

“Daesung's getting married in 2 months by the way.” I looked up at him, but looked back down just incase our eyes meet.

“Wow! That's good. Who's the lucky girl?” I was stirring the noodles around my chopsticks.

“You remember the girl that used to serve us drinks at our favourite club?” He put a whole mouthful of noodles into his mouth. I remember that girl. I think her name was Park Ye Eun.

At first it was really awkward but the conversation somehow flowed like the normal conversations we had back then. We talked about old friends we knew in Seoul and how everybody was, and if he still hung out with them frequently.

“I'm sorry about that whole restaurant thing.” We both finished our food.

“Why is everybody apologizing to me about the restaurant thing today?” I shook my head and gulped the last sip of my soda.

“I was being a jerk and I didn't have the right to do that.” I looked at him for the first time since we met again.

“You were concerned. Minho also told me I'm not supposed to get used to how his family treats me.” I crossed my arms on the table and shrugged.

“He's right. Dad bombarded me with questions about you. He's worried too, and he didn't like the way Mr. Lee treated you.” His eyes turned into slits of worry.

“Look, I should get going now. It was nice talking to you, you know. I was reminded of what I've left in Seoul somehow.” I gave him a smile and a bow then left. I felt relieved to know I could still talk to him normally. I wondered what it would have been like if I tried doing this a long time ago. I guess I was too busy thinking about the past. I believe keeping a civil relationship with your previous lover/s is worth a shot. Since our break up wasn't bad, but not necessarily painless, it's worth keeping them beside you as someone you care about, even as just friends. After all, they used to be the most important person one point in your life.

After work, I went home almost immediately, stopping at the convenience store to buy some supplies we needed at home.

----------------------------------------

“Chaerin-ah~ Baby. My boo. Honey. Sweetheart.” The guy just could not get his hands off of me, kissing every bit of skin exposed on my face, neck and shoulder. We've been staying at home all day since it was my only day off. I'm tired from all the fashion week planning and I just wanted to take my mind off it for one day.

“Yah! Stop being alright. We just did it half an hour ago!” My boyfriend is probably the horniest guy I've known, and sometimes he would get his way with all the sweet talk. And to think I gave him my first time a month after we officially dated.

“Dara Unnie will be here in a minute OK? So leave me alone and keep quiet, I can't hear what I'm watching.” I could see him pout and cross his arms like a little kid.

“Noona wouldn't care anyway. We always do it before she comes home so she can't hear us, but that was before she started going out with Minho hyung. I'm sure it wouldn't be awkward now.” I gave him a sharp glare that made him jump on the couch kneeling, giving me a 'forgive-me' look and mouthing 'saranghae' to me with a little heart hand action.

“I'm home!” We heard the front door closed and saw Dara unnie emerging from the entrance.

“Oh, hey Seungri.” Seungri almost immediately jumped off the couch and ran to give Dara unnie a tight hug. I stood up to help her with the stuff she just brought in.

“Noona! I haven't seen you in 4 days!” The panda was so enthusiastic. Such a drama king, he always exaggerates his feelings towards unnie, saying he misses her even though he saw her an hour before. Well, we all love Dara unnie though.

“Oh yeah. Since that day with Chae's car.” I could hear the teasing tone in her voice, which made me laugh a little, not loud for them to hear.

“Haaaaaay~” I tried faking an annoyed sigh as if saying I didn't want to be reminded of that day, which made the panda run and say sorry to me over and over. I love how he gets scared of me. Makes me feel like I'm the boss.

I helped unnie prepare dinner for the 3 of us, since Seungri will be staying over tonight. After dinner, unnie insisted she wash the dishes, so I didn't argue. After cleaning the kitchen, I noticed her quietly go into her bedroom, while me and Seungri lazed about in the living room.

Once Seungri was snoring away, I sneaked out of my room to go to unnie's room.

*Knock (3x)

“Unnie, still awake?” I slowly opened her door. Surprisingly, it wasn't locked as usual, it's like she knew I was coming.

“Hey Chae.” I saw her on the bed, reading a book.

“It's past 12 already, why aren't you sleeping yet.” I crawled over her bed and positioned myself beside her. She closed her book and settled it on her bedside table.

“I was just having a late night reading.” She tilted her head on the headboard and sighed.

“Can't sleep?” I asked and she gave me little nods. “I noticed you were sort of gloomy earlier, though you were putting up a happy face in front of Seungri. What's the matter?”

“I talked to him earlier.” She looked at me then tilted her head back to it's previous position. I noted the sad tone of her voice.

“About the past?” Right now, I'm the only person Dara unnie has to support her. Without her family here, and Bom unnie to give her advise and Minji to cheer her up.

“Yeah. But it wasn't about us particularly. We just talked about our old friends. If there's any changes around the area we used to live in. I don't think we're both ready to discuss us.” Unnie is a very strong person, mentally, but she's just as delicate, emotionally.

“When I saw him, old feelings came rushing back, just like that.” She snapped her fingers to put exaggeration into her words.

“Do you think he still feels the same about you?” She looked at me and shifted her body to face me more.

“I haven't told you, but Minho and I had dinner with his dad 3 nights ago. It was with his father, Youngbae and his dad.” Hearing this for the first time definitely gave me a shock. She never fails to update me about her life, like I don't fail to tell her about mine too.

“Wow! It must have been an awful night.” I gave her a pitiful look.

“Yup! Trust me, I felt like I did a crime that was beyond forgiveable. I felt so guilty and awkward. And as usual, Mr. Lee never failed to insult me. After that Youngbae came after me when I went to the toilet. He got sort of angry when I said I was used to the whole insulting thing.” Seriously! That's old fart will get it from me, if not from Minho oppa.

I will definitely tell my father, who happens to be his only brother, on him. My uncle has only met Dara unnie once when we were very little, so there was no chance for him to remember her at all. My parents moved to Busan since they got married, and that's where me and Dara unnie grew up together.

“Don't worry about it. They'll eat their words someday.” I sat up and positioned my body opposite hers so we could talk face to face. And about what Youngbae oppa did, it's pretty obvious he still cares for her.

“Is there some kind of 'Dara alliance' going on between you and your cousin? Both of you keep saying his family's gonna eat their words someday.” She let out fits of small laughters.

“You bet'cha!” I gave my best friend a reassuring smile. I think it would be good if we visit Bom unnie and Minji soon. Dara unnie needs more comforting words, especially from her mum and Bom unnie.

“Unnie...” We stopped giggling and looked at each other.

“Hmm?” She gave a little smile.

“How about visiting Bom unnie and Minkki? We can go in a month or two after I finish the show, and so you have time to ask for an annual leave. It's only for a week, or if you want longer, then we come back here.” I took her hand and gave it a squeeze, as if encouraging her to say yes, and telling her it would be good for her to take her mind off things.

“Yeah, why not.” She gave in and laid herself on her bed as I followed her. We both laid there looking at the ceiling.

“Ssantokki~ When do you plan on going back to Seoul? Or do you think you want to settle and make Japan your new permanent home?” I only came here because of love of fashion, and Tokyo was one of the fashion capitals in the world, so it was a great opportunity to show my talents. But I know for sure I'm going back to Seoul to pursue my dreams and show them what I'm made of.

“Hmm...I wanna go back to Seoul, but I don't think it's the right time for me yet, so I'm gonna stay here for another few years.” She said, almost whispering. Well I'm not leaving Tokyo without you unnie so I'll stay with you until you're ready to go back.

“Can I sleep here tonight?” I heard her reply a 'hmm' in return. We just kept quiet till I could feel myself slowly drifting off to sleep.

----------------------------------------

I woke up and looked at the alarm clock on my bedside table – 5:58AM – 2 minutes before my alarm goes off. I looked beside me when I felt Chaerin stir on the bed as I reached out for the clock to turn the alarm off before it goes ringing. I groggily went into my bathroom to get my robe and wash my sleepiness away with cold water then went out to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast.

It was already 6:30 when I looked at the clock again, and I heard a door shut and saw Seungri come out of Chaerin's room.

“Ohayou (*Morning) noona.” He yawned and stretched his way to the dining table where all the food were already set up.

“You start digging in, I'll go wake the baby up.” I smiled at him as he nodded his head heavily.

I managed to wake Chaerin up without having to call for drastic measures, like usual. She's very hard to wake up, she loves her bed too much. If she could marry a bed, she would so do it without second thoughts.

“I'm leaving first. Thanks for the food noona.” Seungri came out of Chaerin's room again after eating so fast he could choke. It was only 7 but he said he needed to go to his other work, other than modelling.

Me and Chae left at the same time, 15 minutes after Seungri left. My work starts at 8 and my work was only, more or less, 15 minutes drive with the traffic. We honked at each other when we went our separate ways. I arrived at exactly 7:33 at work, and my boss rang and informed me he was still 10 minutes away. I went down into the cafeteria downstairs to get 2 coffees – for me and Minho.

As if on cue, after setting the coffee and necessary documents on the desk, Minho came in holding his suitcase out for me to take as he took off his tuxedo jacket and hang it on the rack.

“Ohayou Gozaimasu (*Good Morning).” I bowed after putting his suitcase on the other side of his desk, as he walked to sit on the swivel chair.

“Ohayou. Is this everything for todsay?” He pointed out the pile documents I just set on his desk. I nodded and explained to him which documents he needed to sign by the end of today, pointed out which ones were the proposals for the previous meeting, and vice versa. Right after explaining, he didn't beat around the bush and started reading the documents while sipping on his coffee once in a while. I waited for a bit to see if he needed anything else.

“Is that all for now sir?” I saw him nod so I made my way outside and do my own thing. Today was rather busy – accepting so many calls regarding the documents that needed to be signed and sealed by today, and people asking when my boss was free for a private meeting etc.

*Phone Ringing

“Moshi Moshi.” I answered the phone on my desk immediately after hearing it ring. It was Mr. Lee's secretary asking for Minho's proposal regarding the previous meeting. It's true that Minho approves all the employees proposal, but his own proposal needs to go through his dad's strict screening before he could put the idea on the table.

“Sir, you're father is asking for your proposal to be brought to his office immediately.” I came into Minho's office to inform him. This is one of those rare days that I see him put all his attention into his work. He rummaged through his suitcase to find that one document his father wanted me to bring to him.

*Knock (3x)

“Sir, this is Lee Minho-sshi's proposal that you asked to be brought to you.” Mr. Lee's secretary had let me in after knocking. Seriously, I don't think his secretary ever leaves his side. They're so inseparable.

“Just put it here for now and you can go back to whatever you were doing.” I forgot to mention that Mr. Lee also speaks Korean to me except when we're with other people.

“Hai! I'll be going then.” I bowed after putting the proposal on his desk.

“How's Chaerin?” I looked up from bowing. I wasn't able to speak for about 5 seconds but regained my self after.

“Uhm...She's fine sir. She's been busy preparing for the Tokyo Fashion Week next month.” I just saw him nod.

“Remind her to visit the house when she's free. You can go now.” Even though Mr. Lee doesn't like me very much, he would never hesitate to ask me about his favourite niece. Sometimes, I start thinking if he was being nasty towards me because of his wife's family.

----------------------------------------

Update update !! Future chapters will be better so keep coming back for more =D I have a secret to share with you guys >< Actually, I have 2 more chapters stocked up but I don't want to publish them yet since I'm stuck on the latest chapter I'm doing =/ So I'll update again once my brain is puking ideas again (ewww~) . . . kekeke