\\\\\

If there was one thing that set apart the men in Choonhee’s life Namjoo had encountered so far, Sehun listened to her. The drive back to Choonhee’s was hallowed and silent, but he didn’t give her any pressure. All she could think about was taking a bath and going to bed. That was it. She wasn’t going to think about Sehun or Kai or Choonhee’s difficult life with the men around her. She was going to sleep everything off.

Only if that would really happen.

The second Sehun drove up to the front doors Kai stepped out of his car. Namjoo barely managed to hold back her exasperated moan before stepping out of the car. As expected, Kai started toward her. Sehun, too, stepped out of the car.

Seriously. What were they going to argue about this time? It was pathetic if it had to be about her.

Namjoo first spoke naively hoping to calm his anger, “I’m sorry.”

Kai only shot her a stern glance before turning to Sehun. “What are you doing?”

“I wasn’t feeling well,” Namjoo interjected.

“Oh?” he turned to her. “You weren’t? How? All you did was eat. I drank for you.”

Namjoo pressed her lips together then suddenly attacked, “What reason do you have to be angry right now? I even helped you put on a show.”

Kai grabbed her hand, tugging her toward him. Shooting Sehun a stare he ordered, “Leave.” then pulled her after him into the house. Once the door closed he let go of her, nearly shoving her away from him.

“What is your problem?” Namjoo hissed, rubbing her hand.

“Did I or did I not tell you not to talk to him?”

“I may be Choonhee in everyone else’s eyes, but I am not your Choonhee,” Namjoo pointed out. “You have no reason to be this angry, especially with me.” She narrowed her eyes and gave him a once over. Though the thought made her a little uncomfortable, she went forward, “Or do you like me?”

He only stared at her and didn’t even take to glaring or making a remark about how stupid it was of her to say that. Namjoo faltered, fearing the worst. Maybe she shouldn’t have said that.

“We’re going to Busan tomorrow to have lunch with an associate,” Kai icily told her, “we’re not returning until Sunday evening, so pack and wake up early.” With that he turned and walked out the door, closing it loudly after him.

Baffled, Namjoo scoffed, “What the hell is with him?”

\\\\\

Kai did come really early for her. The moon seemed to have only set when he annoyingly called for her to wake up. Forgetting to pack before bed Namjoo rashly tossed in a mix of clothes into the only bag she could find and hurried out. Now they were on the road to Busan with cars noisily driving by and the silence in the car annoying the hell out of her.

“Can’t you turn on the radio?” Namjoo complained. “I’m falling asleep here.”

“It’s irritating. I don’t want to.”

She shot him a glare and rubbed her face into her hand. He was doing this on purpose to her. She could feel it from deep within her soul. If he was still upset that she’d left with Sehun last night he was beyond childish. Not like they were some real couple about to get married because she wanted. She even thought it wasn’t even Sehun’s fault. Thank goodness for the walk she had actually slept well.

Unintentionally biting on her thumb as she replayed the memory of him kissing her she let out a yelp of pain. Kai shot her an irritated stare before turning his eyes onto the road. Switching her attention to the highway Namjoo her lower lip with her finger.

 “I...from the first time I saw you, I loved you.”

Her insides gushed, turning into globs as she melted over his confession. It had sounded so real. The way he looked at her and held her, she could still feel them on her – his eyes, his breath, his hands. God, she was going crazy.

Her attention returned when the highway roads transitioned into city roads surrounded by lively persons and businesses. After a few stops they pulled into the lot of a rich yellow hotel building towering into the sky. Namjoo followed suit into the building and checked in with Kai at the front desk. That was only when she began worrying over whether they were going to share a room or not.

“I reserved two rooms under the name Kim Jongin,” she heard him say and hand over his identification card to finish up the rest of the registration. After a minute or two he handed her the card key to her room and they headed into the lift together, riding up silently.

Namjoo first stared at the card key then snuck a glance up at Kai. Of course, she thought to herself, he wouldn’t want to sleep with her or anything. It was then that she suddenly realized that probably having a baby before marriage would damage not just his image but his parents. Reputation was everything in this scary world of money.

When they elevator doors opened and they walked out Kai told her, “Come down to the lobby in an hour. We’ll be having lunch then.”

In her entire lifetime she’d never imagine having a large hotel room all to herself, along with a clean white bathroom and a view of the city outside. The landscape of towers and skyscrapers was a thing to see and she thought it would be so much prettier at night. Throwing the duffel bag onto the ground she first jumped onto the bed, rolling into the soft sheets. This was nice, really nice.

\\\\\

As appointed, they met again in the downstairs lounge. He recognized the beige top and navy blue pants Namjoo wore as the items he bought her the other day. She was the perfect splitting image of Choonhee. Just looking at her nearly made him believe she was Choonhee. That was only if she didn’t open her pretty little mouth.

“So who is this associate of yours?” Namjoo asked.

“They’re already waiting for us,” he said walking by. It flustered him to be nice.

At forty-eight years old Young Ae stood in the publishing business as one of the top 5 entrepreneurs. Creating a network with her would help expand his father’s business, which he would inherit later down the line. At one of the dining tables she was already seated with her husband who suffered a case of thinning hair. The both of them stood up to greet him and Namjoo.

“Welcome,” the elder woman smiled graciously. “You didn’t have a hard time coming down, did you? I’m so sorry for the trouble. If only our son wasn’t occupied this week we would have come up.”  

“It’s no problem, ma’am,” Kai sat down. “A little getaway is needed once in a while.”

A waiter formally dressed in white and black attire greeted them at the head of the table. “What kind of drinks would you like today?”

“Is wine alright?” Young Ae asked, her eyes gazing over at them.

Kai expected it to be done with quickly but could feel that it wasn’t something Namjoo wanted, even a little sip of. He was frustrated with himself for even looking after her.

“Is that fine with you?” he turned to look at Namjoo who couldn’t be any more obvious.

“No.” she quietly said. “I just want water.”

Turning to the waitress he said, “Wine for the three of us, but water for her.”

Nodding, the waitress left and as soon as she was out of earshot the elderly woman asked, “Are you two expecting?”

“Expecting?” Kai repeated surprised, unfamiliar with the term.

“Ah…” the woman smiled slightly embarrassed, “I mean, is your wife pregnant? I should have been more careful. Alcoholic drinks aren’t good for pregnant women.”

Namjoo coughed loudly from beside him, almost choking on air. He turned to glance at her, wondering if she could be any more normal.

Although taken aback himself, remaining calm was an attribute he was used to relaying. “No. She’s not and we’re not married yet.”

“My apology,” the woman formally apologized. “I must have made the both of you awkward.”

“No. Not at all,” Kai feigned a smile.

\\\\\

When they headed back into the elevator after lunch Namjoo was first to ask, “That was all?”

“That was all.” He muttered in reply.

She frowned, “Then, why can’t we head home? It’s barely nighttime and the sun is still up. Why are we even staying one night?”

Her questions slightly irritated him. Was she so impatient with heading back home that she couldn’t focus on her time here, away from all that noise in Seoul? Away from his worst possible enemy, Sehun?

“Why are you so eager to return home?” he peered at her to find her words caught in . Her eyes swayed toward the side nervously, as if she was guilty. “Anyway,” he turned away and tucked his hands into his pockets, “if I say something, it goes my way. And I paid for both our rooms.”

“Did I complain about that?” she muttered underneath her breath, meaning for him to hear her.

Dejecting her, he went on, “Where are you sick?”

“What?” surprise was clear in her voice.

Did she really have to sound so taken aback when he acted nice for one mere moment? It was as if he’d never been kind to her at all when he was tricked into believing she was Choonhee. He was even disturbed himself for caring willingly, but he couldn’t help it.

“You said you weren’t feeling well.” He reminded. “So what is it? The flu? The cold?” Then he slightly shifted to look at her, “You don’t have a fever, do you?”

opened surprised by him but only a breathless sound came from her lips. Then she finally managed to say, “It’s…it’s nothing. I just…I just feel nauseous sometimes.”

The elevator doors opened to their floor and he watched her quickly shuffle by before slowly walking out after her. Namjoo appeared almost rigid, stiff and obviously nervous. He didn’t get her.

“The rest of the day is yours. Do whatever you want.” He called out before she disappeared into her room. Kai was left standing in the middle of the empty hallway before he turned back toward the elevator. Half an hour later when he returned with a bag of medicine in hand he found that Namjoo wasn’t in her room.

\\\\\

Bored. That was it. Namjoo was bored out of her mind. The shows on TV weren’t of her interest. What did Kai expect her to do the rest of the day?

and sighing to herself she turned to stare out the window. Going out sounded nice, but she didn’t know her way around Busan nor was she keen on spending Choonhee’s money lavishly as if it were her own. After leaving her room she paused beside Kai’s closed door, wondering if something was wrong with him today. Was he trying to be nice to her again? Why?

Perturbed by it, she shuddered and quickly headed downstairs. After wandering aimlessly she discovered an empty pool room which finally caught her interest. The only matter at hand was that she didn’t have a swimsuit and couldn’t find any shop in the hotel. Finally walking out the doors she discovered a clothing shop nearby where she purchased shorts and a t-shirt. Returning to the hotel she quickly pulled the newly purchased clothes on and found her way back to the pool room.

That tight feeling in her chest that kept her feeling sick since last evening loosened up when she jumped into the pool. Some time after shivering from the cold water Namjoo gradually grew accustomed to it. Within just a few minutes she was wading at the lower end enjoyably. The pool room was warm and humid with a few empty tables surrounding her with rack of towels placed near the doors. In a room next door she spotted gym equipment and a small arcade room beside it. Having money was sure nice, she thought before a voice made her turn.

“You were here?”

Her eyes landed on Kai, his eyes scourged with the usual disapproving glaze she saw often in them.

“Why?” Namjoo asked then playfully added, “You want to join me?”

“No.” his statement was bland. “Come up. You don’t even know how to swim.”

“Why do you think I’m here and not at the deeper end?” Namjoo asked jumping in the water and waving her arms about through the water. “It’s fun.”

“You’re not even wearing the proper clothes.”

“So?” she shrugged. “No one cares and you told me I can do whatever I want the rest of the day, so why are you here?”

“Come up, I bought you medicine.”

The eager boost of playfulness almost surging to the surface lessened when she finally noticed the bag in his hand. He’d really gone out to buy her medicine? She thwarted her gaze as a strange feeling of uncertainty swept through her.

She listened to him grab a towel and walk back toward the edge of the pool, holding it out for her. “Here,” he called.

Namjoo stared at the towel for a mere second before moving through the water toward him. Since they were here with nothing to do for the rest of the evening she would rather stay here than go back to her boring room, and Kai was always so melancholic and boring. She could believe that he had been Choonhee’s lover, but not that he was this boring.

Reaching her hand up halfway she paused and hesitated, wondering if she would later regret it. Oh well, she decided, a little joke would do no harm. With swift hands she grabbed the towel with the other grabbing the sleeve of his button down and pulled him into the water. A loud splash resonated into her ears as she was forced into the water along with him. For a short abrupt moment everything deafened. Tossing her arms about finally brought her up to the surface and she instantly burst out laughing.

The excitement roared through her body like crashing waves before suddenly dying. In front of her Kai, who was already up with drenched hair glued around his face, stared back. His clothes – button down and pants – were ill mannerly stuck onto his skin like tape to paper. The towel and bag of medicine floated cozily around them. Next to the noise of some humming machine Namjoo heard nothing else.

Fear crept up her spine. As expected, Kai was angry. Maybe it was a joke gone too far. Should she quickly apologize and plead for forgiveness? The effort, even if it seemed like a little, to get the medicine was now spoiled in the water. She could only hope it was well protected in the box it came with.

The corner of curved up but fell back into a straight line when he started moving toward her. Anxious, Namjoo held her arms out as if doing so would protect her in some way.

“Uh…Kai…” she mumbled unable to ease back and merely yelped when he neared and stopped before her. The pace of his uneven breathing suddenly entered her ears. She regretted it at once when she looked into his eyes. The atmosphere swirling around them was no longer that of him being upset at her trick, but something else she didn’t want to consider.

Within a split second his hands locked around her face and his lips locked onto hers. A muffled cry jumped up and her hands pushed against him, but his grip was tighter. Whinnying and struggling for another few seconds, Namjoo finally managed to free herself for a short second with hands pressed against his shoulders before he kissed her again, harder. His lips slick and wet demanded her return.  

This time with a stronger shove she managed to him away from her. As she stepped back she clumsily slipped and dove backwards into the water, merely drowning and coming up for air a few times before stabilizing her balance all the while Kai watched her quizzically.

Unable to even look at him while sinking in utter shame, as if a part of her laid at fault for letting it happen she grabbed the edge of the pool and tried to lift herself up. Her mind was in a flux, unable to think. She needed to get away, that was all she knew. Only the water on her clothes also added to her weight, making it embarrassingly difficult. It took four tries before she finally pulled herself up, struggled to her feet, and rushed out of the pool room looking like a mess.

People she ran passed along the way to the elevator shot her curious stares, whispering behind her as she jammed her finger against the button to bring her up to her room. Once the doors closed she finally breathed again and pressed a hand up to her lips in utter disbelief at what just happened.

Once in the safety of her room she shed her clothes and jumped into a hot shower, as if burning her skin would also wash away the remnants of Kai’s touch.

Her phone was beeping noisily when she walked out. At first she hesitated, wondering if it was Kai who’d left a message. Praying it wasn’t she grabbed the mobile device to see a message sent by Sehun half an hour ago, “Where are you?”