The headache she woke up with was nothing compared to the horrifying list of things her mind went through as it processed what happened yesterday. The hour she spent sitting in the bed just admiring the beautiful sunrise while going through all the disturbing things she had said and done yesterday was enough to give her the courage to step out of bed, take a shower and walk out of the guest room. All the talking points she prepared as she went down the stairs and walked into the kitchen disappeared as she caught her first sight of Jae standing by the corner. His left hand was in his pocket while the right held his coffee cup close to his lips; he stood leaning against the glass wall, eyes glued to the massive garden it opened. With his neatly brushed-back hair, and the black suit he had on, hyeon needed a second or two to admire the sight in front of her. Jae was lost in his thoughts and hadn't even heard her walking into the kitchen, let alone how she was staring at him.

“Good morning,” She whispered as she started her walk to the nicely laid-out breakfast on the table. Her body begging for some water was what she was focused on as she quickened her steps.

“ hi” taking a sip of his coffee Jae turned his attention from the garden to hyeon.

“ that's beautiful,” she pointed at the massive garden, which she got a glimpse of thanks to the glass wall Jae was standing by. Trying hard to read her body language, Jae focused on trying to find her eyes but didn’t get a chance as hyeon was solely focused on the leftover food from dinner they brought back for breakfast. Before he says anything, he must know whether hyeon knows what happened last night. If she doesn’t remember any of it, if she remembers, she wants to pretend like she doesn’t . . .he has to know what she was thinking to figure out how to deal with this.

“ thank you for this,” taking her first sip of the coffee she poured as she sat down, hyeon gave him a soft smile.

“ Thank you for yesterday, too,” she added, brushing her hair behind her ear.

“ It was fun,” she admitted. The coffee was exactly how she liked it; hopefully, it would help ease the headache and muscle pain even if the warm shower and peppermint body wash didn’t fix it. The tension on her shoulder and the headache she knew resulted from the alcohol she consumed rather than all the stress she had been dealing with, which had eased the moment she jumped into the cold ocean water.

“Huh,” she cleared as the image of her undressing and Jae turning around and giving her space crossed her head. Her eyes flickered as quickly as the image popped into her head, and she turned from the man to her coffee.

“ Do you have a meeting?” trying to make sure her mind wasn’t left to itself and replaying any scenes from last night, she asked the man who had turned his attention to the garden again.

“ Yes, in 2 hours,” came the raspy voice, which forced her eyes to move up from the food she was focused on to jae.

“ are you going to make it?” while her exploring eyes started scanning his tall figure, she asked.

“ yes, if we leave in 10 minutes” his response was short as he took a sip of his coffee. Her eyes zooming in on him; he wasn't quite able to read but noticed how she sat back, focusing all her attention on him.

“ You look good in a suit,” came her compliment, giving him the correct answer as to why she was looking at him the way she was. There was no alcohol to blame this time; Hyeon was entirely in charge of her mind and what she was saying.

“ good enough to make your words disappear?” he asked, hiding his smile behind the cup he raised to his lips. He has to make sure whether she remembers everything she said last night or if it really was the alcohol talking.

“ hahah” her gentil laughter was all he needed to know that she remembers it all.

“ was it the alcohol talking?” puling his hand out his pocket he started walking towards the table she was seated at.

“ Maybe” leaning forward and taking a bite she adjusted her seat. Her body , even in the exhausted and tense state it was in, was forced to be aware of the distance between them that was getting smaller.

“ we should try harder drinks nex time”

“ You want me to say and do even crazier stuff” her smiles were cuter in board daylight and when she was fully aware of them.

“ I want you to say and do what ever you want” placing the cup down on the the tabel he sat on the chair right across from her .His breakfast he ate minutes ago wasn’t fully finished as his full plate was still sitting infornt of his chair.

“ no filters”

“Completely free ” he crossed his legs as he sat back and focused his attention on hyeon.

“Be Careful what you ask for” avoiding his zeroed in eyes she focused her attention on her food.

“ you migth not be able to handle me when am free” she started eating faster as she remembered he said they had about ten minutes before they had to leave.

“ try me” his response was quick as she looked up and caught his eyes that hadn’t left hers.

“ haha,” she shock her head as she started laughing.

“ We just started building this friendship. I don't want to ruin it” the left over she was munching was beyond delicious.

“ wouldn’t it make it stronger if we were truly honest and our selves” his eyes coudln’t help but wonder off to her lips she just brushed as she started chewing on the roasted potatoes she placed in ? How is it this interesting to watch her do the most human and mundane thing, eating?

“I don’t think being our selves is a good place to start or easy to do” she was entirely focused on her roasted vegetables to notice his wondering eyes that hadn't moved from her for even a second. In the hidden, never to be seen parts of her thoughts, she was slightly happy that she could keep his attention focused on her without even blinking. The hidden feelings she would never even acknowledge were all beyond dangerous as they fought to sip into her consiocuness and remind her why she felt such ease talking to him. The way he looks at her, the soft and warm voice he uses when talking to her, in the deepest parts of her heart and hidden behind emotions she didn’t want to recognize, hyeon was happy that she could still pull on the string she had wrapped around him and held him captive with.

“ i wasn’t asking us be to be ” his smirk brought her attention up to him.

“ Although you seem to be okay with undressing yourself,” he added forcing smilies out of both.

“ i was drunk” her protest hidden behind her smile was too adorable, just like the hint of color that started appearing on her cheeks. How can one be this beautiful just existing? Jae was a lost cause as even her soft smiles reminded him of why he fell and fell hard so quickly, to begin with.

“ I think we need to add it to the rules. No undressing in front of each other”

“ You’re crazy,” trying to hide behind the hair she was brushing, hyeon went on smiling.

“ I wasn’t . I had cloth on,” covering her chewing lips and her shy smile, she protested.

“ you were in a way.”

“ I had a shirt that was down to my thighs. I don't know what you’re talking about,” the image she was forcing both to remember was as straightforward as it could be as both recalled the thin silk she proudly claimed as the fabric that covered her up.

“ You've seen me with no cloth. Last night was nothing” She bit her own tongue and held her head down in shame when the words slipped out . It was beyond dangerous how comfortable she was becoming around him. Her embarrassed face was too easy to read, and for a second, he hesitated if he should let it go but no. There was no second chance; there was no other time he would ever get to see her, let alone talk to her like this, so he had to keep the conversation going.

“So you’re fine with undressing in front of me, kissing me, and sleeping with me.”

Cough cough. Hyeon choking on the food she was chewing on was just amusing as her startled hands grabbed the water she started taking a sip on in between her coughs. Her disoriented eyes avodiding his.

“ hypothetically,” his eyes and smiling lips didn’t lose their focus as her chest returned back to its regular breathing.

“I’ve noticed your eyes scanning me a few times. Should I be worried?” jae crossing his arms and thoroughly enjoying the chaos she was creating, smiled.

“ WHAT??” cough cough in between her heavy breathing hyeon wanted to protest

“ let me make myself clear” raising her right hand to make sure he understood well, hyeon started her rant.

“ I am not even touching you, let alone kissing you EVER.”

“ I don’t want to, and I am not going to,” she added, raising her voice to convince the man sitting across the table, but it was no use.

“ You have a girlfriend, and even if you didn’t, I would be caught dead before i do. '' She picked up the glass and started drinking the rest of the water. Brushing her hair, she tried to focus her serious-looking face on her food. Again, Jae, for a second, hesitated if he should say what was crossing his mind or let it all go. But when will he ever get her in his most sacred place, dressed in all his cloth, having cornered herself to let him guide the conversation to whatever he wanted to? This was a unique opportunity he would never get again and with nothing to lose, might as well play a dangerous game that will ruin their busy day ahead.

“ even if I whisper in yoru ears and beg you to,” Jae whispered out, relaxing in his chair. He had to catch whatever reaction his words were going to force. As always, the risk he took had a great return as Hyeon's eyes, doubling in size, turned his way while the spoon she had lifted up halted mid-air. His mischievous eyes were daring her to be very careful, very, very careful with the words being exchanged as Hyeon's frozen mind reminded her to breathe and calm down before she said anything. In an instant, his words reminded both of how much they knew each other's weaknesses. Although he acts like he isn’t aware, jae was fully aware of when and how to turn hyeon into a puddle in his hands. He might not be fully aware of his powers, but he had spent enough time around her to notice what some of his actions do to the girl now claiming she would never touch him, not even 24 hours past since she was digging her fingers into his hair and resting her body against his shoulders.

“I thought that always worked,” he added, not giving her enough time to come up with a great excuse or diversion. It was beyond fascinating to see her mind work to control the situation in real-time. He had hoped she would keep herself free and not filter, but he could easily tell she was trying to find something to say.

“ huh” hyeon taking another sip of the water took a deep breath as she raised her eyes to his. The battle of honesty his dark eyes were challenging her to was accepted as she forced herself once to let go and say the first thing that crossed her mind.

“ Do you want to play this game?” picking her fork she asked, giving herself a second.

“ What game?” His smiles were very coy as hyeon turned her eyes to her food.

“ you couldn't even handle sharing a cup with me, Jae. I don't think you want to play this” her direct eyes zoomed in on him as she started chewing her food. The warning signs she was sending were well received.

“ I used to worship the ground you walked on, so I am sure I would lose every time” jae whispered, finally forcing his eyes away from her and to his coffee cup.

Everything went silent. Even their heartbeats were sent to mute as his words sent both into the void where nothing but silent memories exist.

The silence they were enjoying was only disturbed by the radio he as they started their drive back to the city. The news lot going on and on about the market wasn't paid sy thinking about what stories they were going to tell for the hours they had disparaged to yesterday. Jake, who never needed excuses, was trying to find how this would make sense to Joon, who was going to gril him about every detail of the day. On the other hand, hyeon was beyond nervous about Jessica, who, at this point, is beyond mad and worried and hasn't called because of that. Choosing to start with the agreeable one, hyeon had called Mrs Park but what she heard from the lady had left her even more curious about what the universe was doing yesterday when it paused everything and provided her a gateway.

" Jessica is not here; she is in Jeju for the meeting, remember" Mrs. Park whispered the words that calmed hyeon heart as she took a deep breath and finally understood why her friend, who would have called a dozen times by now, didn't do so.

" How was your meeting?" Mrs. Park had asked, startling hyeon that even she wasn't aware she wasn't at home last night.

" she said she called you to check by you didn't pick up" Mrs. Park was giving her all the answers needed to understand how nobody was aware of her disappearance or the two meetings missed yesterday afternoon.

" Are you okay?"

" I am fine. I am gonna stop by for dinner tonight. Is that okay?" Hyeon asked. Their phone conversation was cut short before hyeon jumped into the shower and woke her body up.

“ is Joon going to help me reschedule the meeting from yesterday?” hyeon, finally back to her reality, she asked after spending the last five minutes on how on earth she was going to make up for the meetings she missed or didn't follow up with yesterday.

“ It’s done,” Jae leaning on his window, responded without lifting his eyes from the empty road and the beautiful morning sun coming from the east.

“ What do you mean it’s done?” Hyeon asked as she started forcing all her hair into the ponytail. Mrs. park was right; it was time for a haircut and finding a way to make handling this hair as easy as possible.

“ They signed all the documents and sent it to your office” she could be shocked by the amount of time it takes these people to get things done, but she was sure some kind of deal was behind getting things done this quickly.

“ he is good at what he does” jae gave her the excuse her eyes were asking for. Joon had promised to handle it and had to only make two calls to get everything scheduled as a task for her afternoon done in less than five minutes.

“ Thank you”

“ You work for the company, and you know him, so take advantage of Joon.” Jae still focused on the road, could only hope she would listen to him and make her life easier by asking for help. No matter what, he knew she would never come to him; it was better to offer Joon. She was close to Joon anyway.

“ Can I take advantage of knowing you?”

“you're the director after all,” her question seemed genuine.

“If it's regarding work, no” his response was startling as it caught hyeon off guard.

“ Joon is better for that. He knows the ins and out of the company,” he provided some explanation.

“ but let's say I need some million for some things. Can i just come and ask you”

“ If it's for work, you can just raise funds or ask for a budget review.”

“ we all know you're never coming to me for that anything” her funny question was given a serious response.

“ You never came to me to solve your problems, so I never came to you for mine,” she explained herself. The number of times he had to hear from everybody around him what was going on with her was too much for him to notice a trend of her not telling him any of the problems she was facing he could quickly solve by throwing some money at it. “ She doesn’t want you to save her” had been Joon’s explanation as to why hyeon never seems to come to him, and he was the last person to know.

“ But I should have taken advantage of it” with some regret in her voice, hyeon stated her honest feelings towards her stubbornness. She was known for that, making her say no to anything involving h