Sara was cooking dinner when she heard the front door open and close.

She heard Junsu take his boots off and drop his briefcase next to the door. Without needing to see it, she knew that his next move would be to leave his coat hanging on the stair’s railing.

She heard him go up the stairs. Sara turned down the heat on the sauce she was making and walked to where the stairs were. She sighed when she saw the coat hanging off the railing, just like she knew it would be. She grabbed the coat and walked towards the closet. She opened the closet and picked a hanger; she slid the hanger into the coat and suddenly something caught her eye; a flash of cream colored paper.

She looked into the coat and reached into the inside pocket and pulled out a ticket of some sort.

“Oh that’s right; the Christmas party!” she said, excited.

She rushed back to the kitchen to keep an eye on the sauce; she placed the ticket on the island countertop.

Junsu came down the stairs and entered the kitchen; he had changed into sweat pants and a t shirt. He walked towards the island countertop and saw the invitation laying there.

He froze mid-step.

Sara turned and smiled at him, “Junsu! I saw the ticket in your coat, I’m so excited! Last year’s party was so fun!”

He smiled, unfeelingly, and replied to her, “Yeah it should be good this year too.”

Junsu walked out of the kitchen and into the living room; he the TV and settled down onto the couch. He sat there with the sports channel playing but he was entirely lost in his thoughts.

He knew it was right for Sara to go and he shouldn’t be mad that she found the ticket. The reality was that he had forgotten about the ticket and he never expected Sara to find it. Now he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.

The next day Junsu walked into his suite; he saw Morgan sitting at her desk with her headset on her head. She was chewing on a pen cap and jotting down notes. He guessed she was listening to voicemail messages.

He stood and watched her for a bit; he smiled to himself and instantly felt lighter, happier. He loved the way she seemed so serious when she was concentrating on something.

He walked to her desk; she looked up at him and half smiled. She jotted down a few more words and then took the headset off.

“Hey Su, I finished your messages. Here you go” and she handed him the cue cards.

“Thanks Morgan; hey you’re going to the Christmas party, right?” He couldn’t resist asking her.

Morgan nodded, “Yeah I wouldn’t miss it! Sounds like it’s going to be great”

Interestingly enough her enthusiastic voice didn’t match her facial expression. She seemed to have pasted a happy face once he asked her about the party; it didn’t look sincere.

“You’re going to wear something special, right?” Junsu bluntly asked.

He surprised himself and he could see that Morgan was surprised too.

She blushed and stammered, “Uh yeah, I’m going to go shopping…buy a dress….or something…”

He tried not to seem too happy about that, “I’m sure you’ll look great.”

Junsu walked past her and placed his hand on her shoulder, “I’m looking forward to it….”

He walked into his office. Morgan could still feel the warmth and pressure of his hand on her shoulder. She reached up and touched the spot where his hand had been. She smiled to herself; it had been the perfect touch. His touch was firm but not too commanding.

She felt so conflicted. She was a little sad that she would be going to that party alone. She had no idea if Junsu would be alone as well; he never mentioned much about his personal life.

Sure, they talked about likes and dislikes, but he rarely talked about family. He had mentioned a few things about his mother, father, brothers and sisters and friends back in Korea. Beyond that, Morgan had no idea. Not knowing made her feel uneasy. She would be excited to see him one second, but the next second she would feel scared of getting her hopes up too high.

The day of the party was busy for Morgan. She did her hair all on her own; adding product to keep it nicely tousled. She did her make-up and finally dressed herself. She sat waiting, at the couch in front of her window, keeping an eye out for the taxi she had called.

When the taxi arrived, she waved to the driver to let him know she was heading out; she put on her coat and before stepping out she took a deep breath.

“Here we go….”

A few hours into the party and Morgan already had the plan to drink until she wouldn’t be able to remember anything.  She wanted to drown herself in alcohol.

She had arrived at the party and looked for a seat. She saw Junsu and her heart soared; she broke into a huge smile.

What she saw next made her want to leave the room; it made her want to run from the party.

A woman walked up to Junsu; she had her hand on his chest and she smiled at him; she leaned over and kissed his cheek.

Morgan backed up a few steps and her knees felt weak. The turned around and made a dash for the Ladies Room. She walked into a stall; she pressed her forehead against the cool metal surface of the stall door.

“God, Morgan, you’re such an idiot…” she whispered to herself.

The curled her hands into fists and banged the walls of the stall.

“Ahhhh!” she growled loudly. She put the lid down on the toilet and sat down. She held her head in her hands and breathed in deeply; breath after breath.

“You had to know this would happen…someone like him would obviously be taken” she thought.

She sighed deeply and left the stall; she checked her appearance in the mirror and left the bathroom.

She walked to the bar and ordered a double rum and coke. She took a seat at a table close the bar; she had every intention to become good friends with the bartender.

Meanwhile, from across the room Junsu sat at a table with the woman at his side. He sat, his hand under his chin, quietly watching Morgan.  The woman at his side turned to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

“Junsu, are you alright? You seem distracted”, she asked him.

He turned to look at her. His eyes moved over her face; taking in her green eyes, fair skin and blonde hair.  He seemed at a loss for words but finally he spoke.

“I’m sorry, Sara. Work has been on my mind. How about I get us some drinks?”

Sara took a long look at him before replying; she took his hand and kissed the top of it.

“Yeah that sounds great; get me something fruity” she said. She smiled at him.

He got up and walked towards the bar; as he approached he met eyes with Morgan. She looked straight into his eyes and he could feel the burning questions in her stare.

She broke the connection and stared down at her drink. She smirked; a bitter smile, and gulped down her drink.

He turned to face the bartender; every fiber in his being was urging him to go and explain himself to Morgan but he knew that Sara was watching.

He ordered a beer for himself and a daiquiri for Sara. He began his return to his table; making sure not to meet eyes with Morgan again.

“Hey Junsu, let’s go dance, please?” Sara asked, when he returned. The DJ had a mellow tune and there were couples all over the dance floor. Dancing a couple’s song was the last thing he wanted to do, considering Morgan would be sure to see and he didn’t want to hurt her. But if he didn’t dance then Sara would be hurt.

Junsu made a mental note to beat his head against the nearest wall, at the first chance he gets. All this frustration was taking over.

“Yeah, let’s go dance…” he agreed.

Junsu and Sara made their way to the dance floor. Junsu held her loosely in his arms; Sara snuggled against his shoulder. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see Morgan watching.

The two danced the entire song; Junsu finally opened his eyes and immediately looked for Morgan. He saw her, at the bar. His eyes widened. She wasn’t alone.

“What the…” he mumbled.

Sara looked up at him, “Hmm? Did you say something?”

He shook his head, “Sorry, just coughed a bit”

Sara took his hand and led him to the table, “I hope you’re not coming down with something” she said.

“Aniyo…” he said.

Sara giggled, “Oh I love it when you switch to Korean”

He helped Sara into her chair then excused himself.

“Sara, give me a minute. I just need to go outside to check my voicemail, alright? I’m waiting on an important message from a client” He explained to her. She nodded her head and picked up her drink. She tasted it and seemed satisfied with it.

He walked towards the door; he passed by the bar and looked over at Morgan. She was practically fawning over a tall man with a shaved head and piercing blue eyes.

He put his head down and continued outside.

Outside he kicked at a boulder of snow and ice.

“I am so confused…” he said aloud to himself.

He stuck his hands into his pockets and stared up at the sky, as if he expected the answer to be etched out among the stars.

When the cold air started to numb his face he decided to give up with finding the answer in the sky. He walked back inside and went straight to Sara without bothering to see if Morgan was at the bar or not.