[A/N: Not much to say except brace yourselves :) poster by Nanazdaira] I have a bg music for later!

"No thank you, gentlemen. I will drink water. Alone." Ah Reum repeated when after two seconds, both Ji Hoon and Chanyeol's faces were still dumbstruck.

It was Ji Hoon who finally stopped zoning out. "Oh alright then, Ah Reum. No problem with me. I'll be mingling with Jong In for a while." 

When the all-perfect boss decided to leave Ah Reum and Chanyeol alone by the bar, the atmosphere went from friendly to frigid, just like that.

Chanyeol put down his bottle on the marble bar and faced Ah Reum intently. The unfruffled Moon Ah Reum faced him back with no hesitation, maintaining eye contact with no signs of discomfort nor intimidation. 

Wow. And to think, Chanyeol's gaze was so intense; it resembled a howling Siberian husky.

"Pardon me, Madame and my bluntness, but is it just me or the very idea of alcohol gets under your skin? Perhaps, a talkative drunk?" Chanyeol suddenly hissed at her.

His face was over-the-top-close, and for the first time, Ah Reum's shoulders actually raised in minimal astonishment.

Did Chanyeol just guess how much of a lousy drinker she was?

But Ah Reum was honest herself too. The very act of lying when caught made her uptight brain tick. 

"You are correct." She muttered, simple and short.

Her response elicited a really tempting smile from Park Chanyeol. "Very honest, aren't you, Miss Ah Reum? So tell me, what is your secret? Again, allow me to apologize for my straightforwardness. I like to think that I'm just a very curious person, and because we will be working together, I say, we try to open up to each other."

Ah Reum could not believe her ears. Was this man actually asking for her secret? This man must be nuts! He just beat Ah Reum in the I'm-so-blunt department!

Retaining his very, very mischievous lopsided smile, Chanyeol did not cease looking at Ah Reum. "I'm usually very impatient, but I must wait for your sec-"

He was cut off mid-sentence.

Ah Reum, standing upright with shoulders straight, did not have a habit of cutting people mid-speech, but she felt the urge to do so to Chanyeol.

"Webster's Dictionary defines secret as a noun, something that is meant to be kept hidden or unkwown to others." She blurted out and sipped her light gin tonic with grace.

Chanyeol's eyebrows hitched a notch. "By that you mean to say?" He was consciously leaning closer to her unblemished face,but Ah Reum was calm, despite the fact that Chanyeol's equally flawless face was near.

A little too near.

"I meant to say that based on the dictionary, a secret is a secret. Therefore, whatever it is that I am hiding must remain hidden." She replied, curt and polite.

Park Chanyeol's breathing shortened upon hearing her counter-arguement. Ever since 1993, he has been person of control and strong character, and spoiled as it may seem, he got what he wanted.

He had ways.

But tonight was an exception. Chanyeol could not stomach what just happened. He calculated every single move of his with the goal of intimidating The Moon Ah Reum, but dear heavens. She did not even flinch at his nearness and provoking words when ladies would usually blush at his actions.

"Fck. What is she made of? Steel?"  Chanyeol thought. 

And it absolutely did not help that Ah Reum's voice was doing something to his senses. He hated and loved her voice at the same time. Hated how it distracted him and loved how it distracted him. Very comprehensible.

Yup. Chanyeol cannot accept that he was the one losing control. It would have been impeccable if he had a Plan B, but Plan B did not exist. Ah Reum's smart little, uptight mouth caused his logical brain to stop thinking. 

Round 1 went to Ah Reum, but he definitely won't lose to Round 2.

Ah Reum tried her best not to give in to Chanyeol's aggressive approach to discover her secret. It must have taken her a painful amount of self-restraint not to reveal it to the very clever Chanyeol. For a minute there, she actually considered disclosing her best-kept mystery because Chanyeol's persuasive skills were really something.

But no, she had planned to keep her secret to herself, and nobody must wreck her plans. Wreck Ah Reum's plans, and she might go ballistic.

Oh wait. She cannot do ballistic- she had a fictional Master's Degree in Nerves Management.