8*

Jiyong passed by the break room when he stopped and took a step backwards. Inside the room he saw Dara standing next to the water cooler, one hand massaging her forehead, the other holding a cup of water. He immediately went in.

“Are you okay?”

She looked up at him, eyes squinting. “Jiyong…”

She swayed on her feet and Jiyong hurried forward, his hands steadying her as he helped her to sit down on the nearest chair. “What’s going on?” he asked, spotting the bottle of pain reliever on top of the water cooler. Worry was in his eyes as he placed a hand under her chin and gently tilted her head back.

Dara pulled away, her eyes shutting tight. “The light…” She raised her hands to cover her face, fingers pressing into her head. “Headache…” she whispered.

“I’m taking you to the hospital,” Jiyong growled. He’d seen her several times taking pain medicine and he suspected she wasn’t telling her father or anyone all that she was experiencing.

Dara gripped onto his arm, her eyes shut tight. “No... It’ll go away. Just wait…”

Jiyong stood feeling helpless. God, what was happening to her? He crouched down, his face close to hers as he lifted a hand and gently caressed her cheek. “What can I do?” he whispered. He’d noticed how she flinched when he spoke before and he suspected she was sensitive to even noise right now.

She opened her eyelids slightly, eyes filled with pain. Her hand was still holding onto him.

“I’m going to lift you,” he told her quietly, not wanting to cause her any more pain.

“No hospital,” Dara protested.

“I’m just going to take you to your office.” Jiyong stood and lifted her gently in his arms. He carried her out and over to her office. Bom wasn’t at her desk so Jiyong took Dara straight into the office and settled her onto the couch. He took her high heels off and placed them to the side. Next he took off his coat and used it to cover her as he knelt at her side and smoothed her hair back.

“Hurts,” Dara frowned, pushing his hand away.

Jiyong stood and looked around. He hurried over to turn off the light switch, then he drew the blinds closed, leaving it open just enough to let a faint light into the room. Next he turned the ringer on her desk phone all the way down. He grabbed his own phone and stepped out of the office to place a call. He found out that Bom was out for the day and Dara’s calls were being routed to the reception desk on the main floor. He instructed them to cancel any of Dara’s appointments and to hold off any calls for her or redirect them to the main PR office and team. Lastly he called his own secretary and asked her to get some clear broth soup from the cafeteria and have it delivered. When he was done he hurried back to Dara’s side.

She was breathing easier, the tension around easing up. Jiyong sat at the edge of the couch and his hand reached for hers. He quietly sat there holding her hand, his fingers the back of hers gently until he saw her face relax completely as she eased into sleep.

After watching her a few more minutes Jiyong stood and made his way quietly out of her office and carefully closed the door behind him. Grabbing a letterhead from Bom’s desk he wrote a quick note and taped it to the outer office door redirecting anyone that would stop by Dara’s office to go see Jiyong’s secretary instead.

*

Jiyong went back to check on Dara thirty minutes later. He had the soup with him that he had asked his secretary to get.

Opening the door carefully he peeked in and saw Dara sitting up on the couch, her head back, eyes still closed. She had his coat covering her like a blanket. She opened her eyes and looked at him when he entered. Jiyong made his way over and sat down next to her as he placed the soup on the table.

“How are you?” he asked quietly.

Dara managed a small smile. “Better. The medicine’s working.”

Jiyong turned and got the soup. He opened it, dipped the spoon in and blew on it a little before feeding it to her. “Eat. You need to eat something.”

Dara didn’t argue. After the first spoonful she did try to take the spoon away but Jiyong shook his head, his eyes meeting hers.  He felt his heart pound as he gazed into Dara’s eyes and right then, for certain, he knew that he felt something for her.

“I cancelled all your appointments,” he informed her, still being careful to speak quietly as he continued to feed her.

After a few minutes Dara sat back, eyes closed. She looked exhausted.

Unable to resist, Jiyong placed the soup back on the table and he settled beside Dara and gathered her into his arms. She stiffened uncertainly, but Jiyong shushed her gently. With great care he pushed her head to lean against his chest. “Rest,” he told her. “I’ll stay with you.”

*