Not even an entire week had passed after she moved in when she heard someone pound at her door in the early hours of the afternoon. Jinri was busing herself with the unpacking she had put off for so long, frowned as the sound resounded through the penthouse. Who could possibly be at her door when no one even knew of her existence in New York?

For a moment, she contemplated ignoring it. When the knocking persisted, she dismissed the idea. She slowly made her way out of her bedroom and down the stairs, through the living room and hallway until she reached the door. Turning the key into the lock, she swung it open. Her eyes barely had time to widen before a blob of brown hair jumped upon her, clinging to her with arms wrapped tightly around her shoulders. The scent that enveloped her was so familiar that she nearly burst into tears right there.

“Don’t ever do that to me again!” Sunyoung exclaimed as she pulled back, scared and desperate as they tried to communicate the message to her.

Jinri had neglected to tell anybody else about her decision of leaving, not because she had wanted to keep it a secret but because she hadn’t had the strength to relay it to someone else. It had taken all of her to communicate it to Sehun. How would she manage to explain it to the girls? A while later, the two women found themselves curled up on the couch in the living room, a cup of hot tea in each of their hands.

“I’m sorry. For not telling you. I needed some time. I need to put some order in my thoughts. To start over, in a sense.” She whispered, staring down at the liquid cooling in her hands.

“But you don’t have the strength to leave him.” Her friend smiled knowingly.

“I love him, Sunyoung.” She returned the gesture with a small, somewhat sad smile of her own.

“I know, sweetie.” Her eyes softened at her confession. There were so many things she wished she could tell her, so many advices she wanted to give her. But she knew it was not her place to do so especially not here and not now. She could tell clearly that her friend did not want to talk about this matter anymore. The wound was still hurt.

“Want to go shopping?” So instead of being a friend, she settled for being a woman as she suggested cheekily. Those were the only words she said that day that managed to bring a true smile to Jinri’s face.

~•~

Time passed and the company profit skyrocketed. He worked harder than ever, determination burning inside of him as though winning a fortune would bring her back. He wanted to make her proud of him. He wanted her to be able to sense that he had changed from the moment she crossed the threshold to their house. He wanted her to see that he had taken her advice and solved his problems, so that when she returned, he could focus on her. That was the only reason why he entered the small coffee shop that rainy day. Glancing around, he immediately found what he was looking for and began to gracefully make his way towards a small table in the back.

“This has better be good, you bastard.” He seethed once Sehun had sat down across from him.

“Shut up, idiot.” He shot back, his composure intact despite the harshness of his words. He took the time to signal a waiter and order a cup of coffee before he continued, much to his companion’s displeasure. “I said I’d be here for a reason, did I not?”

“Well, who the hell knows with freaks like you?” The man scoffed, throwing his hands into the air dramatically.

“Jongin, do you honestly think I would voluntarily meet up with an idiot like you if I didn’t have a very good reason?” He blinked, gazing at him with mock pity in his eyes. His eyes narrowed dangerously as his mouth opened to speak, only to be cut off by Sehun. “You know Jinri left.” He said, calmly looking at him over the table.

“Of course she left.” He scoffed but was rudely ignored by him.

“She promised me she would come back. I want to make things right this time.”

For a moment, there was silence. Then slowly as realization dawned on him, a grin spread on his face. His body relaxed and he leaned back into his seat, folding his arms behind his head. “And you figured the fastest way to win her heart is by winning her best friend over?” He said, confidently.

“No, I am not in seventh grade. I did it because I know it would mean a lot to her.” Sehun continued. Jongin remained quiet for a long moment, stunned into silence.

“You know, I think I might even begin to like you now.” He slowly grinned.

~•~

Jinri could not tell for sure where her phones began to ring more frequently. At first, he would call once a month to check on her, not wanting to intrude, perfectly aware of what she had told him. He would sound reserved and pained as though there were a million things he was holding back, a million things he would like to tell her but was unable to. In time, things began to change. He began to call her to tell her about something, not just to find out how she was doing. More than simply checking up on her, he began to show an interest in the life she was slowly building there. Unconsciously, they began to know each other.

That night, Jinri was exiting the bathroom, dressed in her newest black, silk negligee when her phone began to vibrate on the nightstand. With a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes, she jumped on the king-sized bed, hair bouncing around her shoulders as she reached out for the phone.

“Hey.” She greeted breathlessly as soon as she pressed the accept button, giddiness pooling in the pit of her stomach.

“Hey.” Her heart fluttered at the sound of his deep voice on the other line. Nervousness cursed through her veins; this was something new.

“How was your day?” She asked, fingers wrapping around a lock of her hair.

“Good. Yours?”

“Also good.” She had to bite her lip to keep from squealing. Rolling over on her back, she grinned at the ceiling.