It was another peaceful Sunday morning in early January, a day that Sung Gyu had made many plans for. He had planned to sleep until late, have a shower maybe, have brunch with Sung Jae, watch television with Sung jae, sleep some more, watch television some more, have a snack, watch television again, and if he happen to feel really adventurous, have a quick visit to the super market downstairs and fill up on the groceries, sleep some more, have dinner and go to bed. It was a very good plan to spend a bright winter Sunday, but only, all his plans were ruined the moment he woke up quite early on that day, because his parents had suddenly decided that they should pay him a visit.

He woke up to the sound of the doorbell. The sun had raised by that time, and for a winter morning, it was quite brighter than usual. Sung Gyu peeked at the clock on his nightstand through narrowed eyes and read the time as ten. It was still too early to rise, even Sung Jae was soundly asleep beside him because they watched this horror movie about a doll killing people the night before, and he really needed his sleep. The doorbell was the last of his concerns.

However, for the noble person he was, Sung Gyu got off the bed, blindly searched for his house slippers and trudged his way over to the front door. He didn’t generally open the front door on weekends unless it was absolutely necessary. Still being exceptionally sleepy, he couldn’t even open the door properly at the first go. He tried again, only to have it opened and be greeted by his awaiting parents, fuming as they did.

“Eeh!” Bellowed his mother. “Young men should rise early! Not snore till noon like pigs!”

Sung Gyu merely scratched his head and followed after his parents to the living room. They sat down, so did Sung Gyu, and took himself a moment to properly awake and get his mind straight. Once he was sane enough, he asked. “Would you like anything to drink?”

“Oh I’ll get myself some water” Said his mother, getting up on her feet. “You go and get yourself cleaned up, I have something to discuss with you”

“Okay” Sung Gyu nodded blindly and got up on his feet. “I’ll only take a minute” And he was off.

A few minutes after, an all cleaned up Sung Gyu, clad in jeans and an oversized t-shirt (which was not his usual weekend outfit) sat in the kitchen table, gaping at his mother who was explaining him her latest contour. She had a habit of coming up with various business idea and schemes, which she would concoct together with one of her friends; be it a food business or a party planning business and whatnot, only to have them ending up in the mid with nothing coming in turn. Sung Gyu and his father had been concerned of her business schemes and they had found themselves discussing this myriad times, but his mother had her own mind. Being the independent self she was, (much like his sister Jieun) his mother would follow her heart and come up with ideas of all sorts. Her latest one being a wedding planner.

“It’s this trendiest new business!” She was telling him, while he gaped at her, mouth ajar. “Your aunt Mija and I thought this through. We found this fancy place who would like to collaborate with us, isn’t that fabulous?”

Sung Gyu groaned, burying his face in his palms. There was this one time when his mother got tangled up in an interior designers business, collaborating with some aquarium or the other at the same time that Sung Gyu was investigating was about some corporate which smuggled koi fish from China, and then it turned out that the people they were investigating was the same ones that his mother was tangled up with. As for the rest of it, well, he’d say it was all rather unpleasant. Thus it’s been his and his father’s biggest fear whenever his mother would come up with a new business idea. His father had attempted to speak her out of it, which he had failed ceremoniously, and so he had opted to the last resort, to get his son to speak sense into her. Which he seemed to be failing in, as well.

 “Omma” He said, as sternly as he could. “This is not going to work out….if you need money, just tell me or Jieun! We’re both well off, you know”

Jieun’s job at the secret service didn’t work out after all, but she secured a place at this fitness company or something, the bottom line was that she was earning a heap out of it. Sung Gyu himself was going off very well, him having only Sung Jae and himself to spend on, so he and Jieun both deposited a monthly some to both their parents’ accounts. Even still his mother would still try to work herself for money, which was something he couldn’t really fathom.

“It’s not for the money son!” She said, which was something she would always say. “It’s because I’m bored!”

“Bored?” Sung Gyu echoed incredulously.  “Then read a book! Do gardening! Watch tele! Do the kind of things that people your age do!”

“People my age?” His mother said, sounding hurt. “People my age can be fun and dandy too!”

“Then do something fun and dandy!” He replied. “Like…like samba dancing…or whatever”

“That’s not what I’m here to talk about” His mother frowned. “Your father and I decided to take your marriage into our hands”

“And what?” Sung Gyu scoffed. “Your wedding planning business would single handedly plan my wedding?”

For his astonishment, his mother nodded. “Something along the line”

“What?” Sung Gyu almost stood up off his seat. “Omma!” He whined like a sixteen year old who was forced to eat broccoli, “Why can’t you two understand that I don’t want to get married?”

“Hush now” his mother said sternly. “You are thirty two now, and Sung Jae needs a mother too. Besides whenever are you going to think of another child?”

“But-!”

“Listen!” she said harshly. “It’s a friend of aunt Mija, who owns a wedding boutique. We’re going to start off a wedding planning business. Everything is all settled now and no-,” She held out a hand before Sung Gyu could protest. “-Trust omma on this one because it’s really happening. So this lady, she has a really pretty daughter. Younger than you, she’s a teacher. I showed her a photo of you, she thinks you are cute!”

“But-!” Sung Gyu tried again, his ears going red.

“No buts! Listen now!” His mother hissed, successfully silencing her son. “So this lady is holding a wedding photoshoot as advertising for the wedding planning business. A photoshoot and a CF. Her daughter is going to be the female model, so I got a chance to get you in as the male model”

Color left Sung Gyu’s face. “W-what?”

“Isn’t that fabulous?” Cooed his mother as though she didn’t see his horrified posture. “It’s going to be a perfect love story. You two, meeting up for a wedding planner’s CF and then falling in love! Aww!”

“Omma!” Sung Gyu yelled when he couldn’t take it anymore. It wasn’t the first time she tangled him up in a weird proposal. There was this one time when his mother contacted a daughter of one of her friends to baby sit, and that woman ended up stalking him, to the point where she attached a camera in his shower stall, and he almost got her arrested, but then she ran off to the states. The point was that he was not going to get fooled this time around. “Omma I am not going to fall in love with her!”

“Oh no you wouldn’t know!” She said, waving him off and giggled excitedly. “Oh this is going to be marvelous!” Then she turned around and called out the door for her husband, who came around and walked into the kitchen.

“He said yes!”

Sung Gyu frowned, his mind going ballistic. “No I did not! Omma!”

“No don’t mind him” his mother giggled again and grasped his father’s hand. “Isn’t this just great?”

Sung Gyu’s father looked from Sung Gyu to his mother and Sung Gyu again, and then he said; “Sung Gyu said yes to what exactly?”

*

In the end, Sung Gyu had no choice but agree. There were a exactly two reasons why he did. For one, his mother seemed extremely expectant and happy about it that he couldn’t help but reconsider it, for the second, the girl was a rather beautiful sight. So, after a week of preparations, on the weekend after that, Sung Gyu, Sung Jae and Eunji, whom Sung Gyu had to take along so that she could keep an eye on Sung Jae while he was unavailable, found themselves staring up at the building of the rather fancy wedding boutique. It was a Victorian styled building with high pillars and gargoyles, on the front glass panel in cursive writing was the name ‘Wedding bells’. Behind the glass panel was a mannequin donning a lace white dress, the train pooled around at the foot of it, coupled with a shiny pair of shoes, a clutch and a lacy umbrella. It all looked surreal to Eunji who didn’t believe in weddings. She merely stared at them, and when Sung gyu accidently took an evasive glance at her, she just shrugged.

“Boring” she commented, letting out a phony yawn. “Why am I here anyway? Sung Jae is being a good lad now, isn’t he?”

Sung Jae looked up and gave an approving nod.

“But Sung Jae will be bored” Sung Gyu said without a beat and gave Eunji a stern look. “I’m paying you. You’re not here to have fun, Miss Jung. You’re here to entertain him”

“Entertain?” Eunji echoed, as though it was something unheard of. “Why? He and I are both going to just sit and wait!”

“What’s wrong with you today Miss Jung?’ Sung gyu sighed. “I promised a raise and here you are-,”

“Ah fine, fine!” She threw her hands in the air. “Let’s go already!”

And so they stepped in.

The inside of the wedding boutique was a wonderland. It was al done in pearl white, with pillars and gargoyles and statues of cupids shooting arrows placed on every corner. There were a number of mannequins exhibiting various styled dresses and gowns, matched with shoes and clutches, and also designer tuxedoes with matching shoes and bow ties. A pleasant lady in a smart pale white suite welcomed them and wondered if they were on an appointment, and gave Eunji a meaningful look.

“Oh no” Sung Gyu said with a smile. “I’m here for missus… umm…” He assessed the day card his mother had given him in his hand. “Missus Park Ah young?”

“Ah yes, let me call her up and see” said the lady, dialed up on the receptions phone and mumbled something before giving Sung gyu a smile. “Are you Kim Sung gyu-ssi?”

“Ah, yes”

The lady came round the reception cabinet and led the way. “Follow me,” she said with a smile, and led them through a stairwell downstairs, a stairwell which was done in the same classy Victorian style. Little Sung Jae was in awe. Never had he come to a place like this. He had seen them on TV of course, in dramas where Ahjummas where fancy dresses and trudge over on a stage and stuff. There was this one drama where the Ahjussie faints when the Ahjumma came out in a wedding dress. He thought it was rather lame at that time, but now he thought it was probably because of the light bulbs which was making his head spin.

They came down to something like a dressing room with mirrored walls and racks full of dresses and suits. There was the echoes of someone speaking coming from a corner, and when Sung Gyu, Eunji and Sung Jae rounded the trail of racks, he was greeted by his mother who was animatedly speaking to a classily dressed lady, somewhat around her age, along with his aunt Mija, who was clad in a blindingly green coat and pink heels. The moment his mother saw him, she threw her hands in the air as though she was seeing him after years and approached him. “Aigoo my son! Aigoo!”

Eunji rolled her eyes, her head already aching by all the lights, the brightness and glamour. She wasn’t a very girly person, so to speak. She wasn’t much into brides or weddings or that sort of things. She always thought they were rather too extravagant, just to announce that two people were legally bonded just so that they can legally hook up and legally make kids. It all seemed like a pile of bull to her, what with all the spending to feed a set of people who don’t need to be fed in the likes of an extravagant buffet lunch. If she was him, she’d have simply kicked her feet and downright rejected the offer rather than embarrassing herself. But now, all she could do was hopelessly watch as her boss’s mother went on about how precious her son was.

“Aigoo! Come here now! We were waiting for you with your suit! Uri Hwayoungie already went in for her bridal dressing-,”

The moment she heard the name of a female, Eunji’s ears perked up. She wasn’t exactly sure why they did, probably pitying the poor soul which was going to stuck with her pathetic old boss, even for a fake wedding shoot. She listened to the conversations, nevertheless, but as the four of them walked away, the voices died along. Once they were off, Eunji took one look at Sung Jae who looked equally somber as herself. She wasn’t sure how the day was going to go by, but she knew far enough to know that it was going to be one hell of a boring, long day.

*

Sung Gyu was brought into a separate dressing room at the back of the basement hall, and was given a pair of tuxedo suits to choose from. Nonetheless, the dilemma was that the both of them looked equally the same and were of the right size, and he, having already stripped out of his shirt had too peek out the door and yell at his mother to come and help. But only, she couldn’t because she and aunt Mija were having tea and cookies with Sung Jae and the lady Park Ah young. Sung Gyu’s mother, who heard him yelling beckoned the baby sitter.

“Can you check up on my son for a second, dear?” she said in an overly soothing voice that Eunji wanted to puke after hearing it. She nodded nevertheless, and cursing under her breath, she stomped off on the direction of the male dressing room. She simply pulled the sliding door open then, completely oblivious of the fact that Sung Gyu was partially inside. She was greeted by the rather glorious sight of the shirtless Sung Gyu, twisting his neck as he waited. He turned around, expecting his mother to be standing there, and jumped at the sight of Eunji watching him, mouth agape, basically in the likes of a creepy stalker.

“What the ?”

“Oh…” Eunji said and shook her head, coming off her daze. She couldn’t let unnecessary thoughts to distract her, although her boss being shirtless was rather delicious to stare at. She was here to work, and she was supposed to be mad at him for entangling her to this-this whatever he was doing here. So Eunji made a grumpy face. “What did you want?”

Sung Gyu quickly reached for his discarded shirt and held it against his chest, his face turning red. “I was asking for omma”

Eunji sighed. “She asked me to check”

“Where is she?”

“She’s having tea” Eunji said with a shrug. “What did you say you wanted?”

Sung Gyu sighed, ran a hand through his hair while the other securely held his shirt against his chest and gestured at the two suits hung in the hangers. “I was wondering which was better, I was going ask my omma but…” he sighed again. “Now that you’re here…what do you think?”

Eunji looked up and down at the two suits in a slight daze. It would both look marvelous on him with his rather toned and tall built, and especially with his strikingly white skin tone. They were almost the same, only except one had a striped design on the shirt while the other was a crisp plane white one, she thought the stripped white one went better, because it was trendy and classy, and it also complemented his eyes. Not that she thought his eyes were pretty or anything. In fact, they were quite very ugly, and also his nose, which she thinks were molded by god, but a little crooked on the left side, and his hair-

“Eunji?” Sung Gyu’s voice broke into her train of thoughts, and it was then that she realized that she was in some sort of a stance, and she was staring, specifically at Sung Gyu.

“Oh-oh… She stepped back, feeling a little self-conscious. There she was, staring at her boss in jeans and a shirt held onto his chest, it was him who must have felt self-conscious, and she felt like a creep. So she merely pointed at the striped one with a straight face. “T-that one”

“The one with the stripes?”

Eunji nodded, and turned to leave. But then, Sung gyu called her. “Miss Jung”

Eunji paused, cursed under her breath and turned around with a fake, charming smile. “Yeah boss?”

Sung gyu was putting on his shirt as he spoke. “Could you wait a bit?” Eunji gave a look, and he corrected himself quickly, clearing his throat. “I mean, outside…I am quite bad at doing the bow tie”

“Why?” Eunji said. “Aren’t there people to do that sort of things?”

“I don’t see any” Sung Gyu said, putting on the buttons of the cuffs. “It will take only a moment. Besides, I raised your pay-,”

“Okay fine!” Eunji exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. “Whatever! I’ll wait outside”

She stomped outside, feeling her face burning in embarrassment. Never had she felt this way before, and she was confused as to the reason why only he had that kind of effect on her. Sung Gyu was physically attractive, alright, but Eunji was someone who didn’t take physical attraction into account when she finds someone compelling. With Sung Gyu, it was totally different, or perhaps, it was not the case at all. Whatever it may be, Eunji was confused, and she didn’t like it. She needed to focus, and keep away from her boss as much as possible.

Yet, much to her utter disdain, the said subject himself graced her with his presence by coming out of the dressing room, shirt, slacks and jacket on, the bow tie undone on his neck. He gave her a look, which she found to be absolutely stunning. So did the shirt on him, complementing his pale skin perfectly well, the jacket and slacks fitting him in all the right edges, all in all, Sung Gyu in a suit was a masterpiece.

It took her a moment to realize that she was holding her breath, and when she was beckoned by Sung Gyu to do the tie, she felt like she was losing it.

“Miss Jung” He said, while Eunji did her best to keep her eyes focused elsewhere rather than his chiseled chest while tying the knot. “Are you alright?”

“Y-yeah” Eunji nodded quickly, tugging at his collar. If she was alright right now, then the sky should be pink. Eunji was hyperventilating at that point. Sung Gyu, in a suit, just after having witnessed him stretching his neck, half , and also having to do his bow tie. Eunji thought she must have saved an entire ship of people from sinking or something to be given such an opportunity.

Once she was done, she stepped away, feeling her heart slow down finally. Sung gyu was gorgeous, it is a fact which goes without saying, Eunji thought. But it wasn’t for me to be shaken by it.

*

Sung Gyu’s heart and mind were doing funny things. It had been like that from the moment he got into a suit and so he decided that he was only overwhelmed by having to dress up in wedding attire, all for the fact that he was an unmarried man at the age of having a wedding. But it quite worsened, in a totally different level when he saw the bride.

The model for the bride, just as Sung Gyu’s mother had explained, was beautiful. With dark brown, short cropped hair and a gorgeous eye smile, she had this compelling aura which caught everyone’s attention, and at many cases, hearts just by a single look. She was tall, and slender, the dress fitting her in all the perfect ways, and for a moment Sung Gyu felt completely out of the world. He realized that he was really doing the right thing. If it was for a girl like her, he’d model as a groom any day.

Sung Gyu’s mother was the most excited person of all. She was all bright eyes and exhilarant while cooing on and on about how gorgeous his son looked while Sung Gyu bashfully stood on the small stage with Hwayoung on his side. They had previously introduced themselves, and Sung gyu thought Hwayoung had the most uniquely beautiful voice he had ever heard. It was thick, like honey, but hoarse. He had thought out loud whether she was a good singer to which she had given him a shy smile. Sung Gyu searched in the crowd for Sung Jae, and found him sitting on the assortments table with a rather dark faced Eunji. Sung Jae looked awed, and he realize Hwayoung quite had that effect on any man. And also he was sure Sung Jae was in wonderment in seeing his father like that for the first time, with a bride. But then there was Eunji. Sung Gyu wasn’t sure what her problem was, even after he had promised her a raise in her pay. It was as if she was having her tail forever on fire. He made a mental note to talk with her once he was done.

Meanwhile, Sung Jae, chewing on an almond cupcake from the Ahjumma’s tea assortment table, watched the entire debacle of the wedding shoot. The lights were too bright, but they made his Appa look brighter, and it was good enough. He was surprised by the Ahjumma in the lacy white dress. She was pretty, he thought. And he also hoped his Appa would be done soon because it was getting from boring to even more so. He looked at Eunji and asked if she would like a cupcake. He didn’t like the cupcakes, or the tea. They all tasted quite bland. And the almond one tasted like grass. His plan was to give the half eaten one to the baby sitter so he wouldn’t look like he was wasting food. But the baby sitter looked very scary at that time, like her hair was on fire. So he decided against it and kept the half eaten cupcake on a stool, and he waited like he did nothing.

‘I can do better, I can do better!’ was the only thing in Eunji’s mind for some reason, as she watched the soapy pair posing for the photos. Her boss looked dashing, which was one thing, but the way he looked at the girl was making her want to throw up. Eunji didn’t believe in romance, and she hated the kind of couples who looked at each other as though they were the only pair of people on earth. It was in that manner that Sung Gyu and the bride girl looked at each other. So real, but so soapy. Better yet, in her mind, a weird nasal voice was singing, ‘I can do better’. ‘You better shut up!’ Eunji’s conscious said to the inner voice, but something weird was happening, every time the couple would hold hands and pose for a photo. Something was twisting and twisting inside her. Something she just couldn’t fathom. She tried her best to overcome it by thinking of other stuff but she was doing no good.

While Eunji was busy glaring at them, Sung gyu and Hwayoung enjoyed their time together. They talked about everything under the sun while restfully posing for the photos. Sung Gyu loved it when she spoke, he loved hearing her thick, honey like voice. It reminded him of summer, and the warmth, and also something, someone else, someone with a similar voice perhaps? He couldn’t tell. But he liked it. Hwayoung asked him about things too. He told her about his son, how he came about and how much of fun they had together. She seemed enthralled by it all, smiling and laughing at all the right points. Sung Gyu liked her smile too. It was like sunshine, so brilliant and beautiful. He was finding himself with her, and he decided that agreeing to come for this wasn’t a bad idea after all.

So once the shoot was done for the day, with plans to do the CF the next week end, Sung Jae dropped everything and flew over to his father who took him in his wide opened arms.

“Hey, how did I look?” Sung Gyu asked Sung Jae, giving him a smile.

“Okay” Sung Jae replied with a shrug. “But I want to go home”

“Aw!” Cooed Hwayoung who was standing beside him, now clad in a printed summer shirt and jeans. “He’s such a cutie, Oppa!”

“He is, isn’t he?” Said Sung Gyu, smiling. “Sung Jae-ah…I want you to meet Hwayoung…”

Standing behind them, at the foot of the staircase was Eunji, watching the exchange in disgust. She was wondering what he even saw in her. Bummer. She could do lot better than a flowery shirt and jeans! Who wore flowery shirts now anyway? She was totally lagging behind in the fashion department. And her boss seemed so smitten, like he was under an enchantment. She found this highly disturbing. He was a man with a kid. He could be more considerate. Besides he wasn’t that good looking even. She could do better than going for an old man like him. In that way maybe they were totally suiting for each other, because Eunji could do better, yes, loads better than her…what was she even thinking?

“Anyway, Hwayoung-Ssi” Sung Gyu was saying in his lowly, professional voice. “Would you like to come for lunch with us?”

“Of course!” Said Hwayoung with a smile. “I would love to!”

“Wait, give me a moment then” Sung Gyu said, put Sung Jae down and left him with Hwayoung to go and speak to his baby sitter.

“You can go home now” he said, pulling out his wallet to give her the pay cheque. “I think your part here is done. Thank you for coming Miss Jung. It’s been all a great help”

“Huh?” Eunji stared at the pay cheque incredulously. “I thought…”

“Hm?” Sung Gyu raised his brows and Eunji quickly stopped herself from saying that she thought he would invite her to join them for lunch. Instead she said “I thought you were paying me for the entire day!”

“Oh…” Sung Gyu began and gave her an embarrassed smile. “I wasn’t thinking that way, but if you are willing to-,”

“Yes!” Eunji said before she could stop herself.

“To join us for lunch?”

“Of course!” Eunji said, nodding. And Sung gyu gave a small laughter. “I didn’t mean to avoid you or anything if you thought that way” He said. “I thought you wanted the rest of the Sunday off”

“Oh…” Eunji shrugged. “Well if that’s the case…”

“But please do come with us”

Eunji looked up. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely”

*

Sung Gyu’s mother was absolutely delighted when he mentioned her of going out for lunch together. She asked Park Ah young to join them, but she refused, and Aunt Mija had something to do over at her place too. In the end, Sung Gyu’s mother decided to not to interfere them as well, that left the four of them for the lunch out.

In Sung Gyu’s opinion, the lunch was going on great. Sung Jae had been telling stories from his school, enthralling the whole table with his cute tales, and Hwayoung seemed to be enjoying his company. They picked this fancy new place which had the best sashimi as Hwayoung said, as their lunch spot. The food and the service was great, but he kept having this nagging feeling in his heart as though something was missing. Nonetheless, he enjoyed his date. Hwayoung was a wonderful girl. He liked everything about her. Her carefree bubbly personality and her humbleness, and also how great she was with little Sung Jae, he liked it all. He made up his mind to spend more time with her, to get to know her better. He wondered if he stood a chance with her, and to find that out, he thought, they needed more time together. His mother’s plan was working out after all. But he was slightly disturbed by Eunji’s fake smiles and slippery remarks as well as how somber she looked when she thought no one was watching. Eunji was normally happy-go-lucky. The new change in her irked him. He, again, made a mental note to talk to her once they were done.

Eunji on the other hand felt like she was a fish in a bowl in a house which was on fire and had no oxygen to breathe on. She felt angry for some reason, and whenever she spoke, the spite latched along with her words though she didn’t intend to. There was a number of feelings pooling inside her. A part of her was happy that she got a free lunch, a part of her was angry at herself for deciding to join them with the lunch outing. A part of her was feeling sad about having to be a third wheel, and another part of her felt something else. Something strong, something which kept stabbing onto her without reluctance. Something, she knew, she couldn’t stop or avoid. Eunji couldn’t help but notice all the negative details about Hwayoung. Firstly, she had short hair, which looked so –well- short and ugly. Her skin had a golden tan which she was certain, was fake, and her eyelashes, which she kept batting at Sung Gyu were certainly about to fall off, because they were fake too. And her teeth, so perfectly white. Eunji was sure she took them off every night before bed, because they were fake. All in all, in Eunji’s opinion, the lunch date was a wreck, a wreck because this Hwayoung girl was there. And no, she shook her head. It wasn’t because Hwayoung was there. Sung Gyu could do whatever the hell he wanted with Hwayoung. She shouldn’t have come. She should have left because, after all, she was here for the pay.

“And then the teacher said, ‘Everyone go under the table and bite onto your pencils!” Sung Jae told everyone in his high pitched voice while Sung Gyu kept a piece of radish into his bowl of rice. Sung Jae was having a good time. The food was great, and the bride Ahjumma was nice. He listened to her story at least, unlike baby sitter who was poking onto her food quietly.

“So did you get under the table and bite onto your pencil?” Hwayoung asked after she was done laughing.

“Nah” said Sung Jae, waving it off. “I told her that Mister Jong-Un wasn’t going to attack any sooner”

Hwayoung laughed loudly, her voice echoing like thousand chiming bells. Sung Gyu looked up at her, smiling, and then, when their eyes met, his heart started doing somersaults.

“So what did she say?” Sung Gyu asked his son, though he had heard this story million times.

“Nothing” Sung Jae shrugged. “Only that I was getting detention”

Hwayoung laughed again, so did Sung Gyu, the only grumpy person on the table being Eunji. She looked down at her watch again. The time seemed to be running slower. They still haven’t had dessert even. She just hoped she could just stand up and leave.

Sung Gyu who noticed her quiet demeanor picked a sizeable piece of radish, leaned over the table and placed it in her rice bowl. “Eat a lot” He said, but before she could stop herself, Eunji scoffed, loudly.

Sung Gyu sat back, surprised at her reaction. “Are you okay, Eunji?”

“No” She said, without a beat, and realizing what she just did, and seeing the faces of his boss and his date, Eunji quickly put up an act. “I mean, I feel kind of sick…”

“You do…seem so” Sung Gyu said. “Do you want to, like, lie down somewhere?”

“I don’t want to lie down!” Eunji snapped, surprising Sung Gyu yet again, and grasping her mistake, she cleared . “No, I’d-I’d rather…go home…”

“Oh…” Sung gyu said, seeming crestfallen. “Have you eaten enough?”

“I’m full” Eunji nodded, pushing away her hardly touched bowl of rice. And when Sung Gyu reached for his jacket to take his wallet, Eunji said “it’s okay, you can give it tomorrow”

“Okay” Sung Gyu shrugged. He was really hoping it was truthfully because she was sick, because there was no other explanation as to why she was behaving that way. He realized that it was the nagging feeling he had been having after all. Because he liked to have all the people on the lunch table to be happy, but one, for a reason he couldn’t understand but assumed as being unwell, was unhappy. “Shall I walk you to the door or-,”

“Okay” Eunji said, much to her surprise, and Sung Gyu stood up as well. The walk from the up stair dining hall to the ground floor was quiet, and when they reached the ground floor, it was a mayhem, Some couple was messily breaking up on the spot and the crowd was watching them, a waiter came rushing towards them, who was watching the couple as did Sung Gyu and Eunji. And then he happened to simply run into her. Eunji toppled, and just like she did that morning, she ended up falling onto Sung Gyu, who instantly put a hand around her to secure her from falling, and in turn, they were unintentionally pulled into a hug.

For a moment, she felt like the time stood still. Eunji could feel Sung Gyu’s warmth against her; that intoxicating scent, the beating of his heart against her palm, the rush of his breath, all in unison made her head spin. She felt like she was falling, almost, but then she held back because she couldn’t, because her pride was more important. And so she pulled away.

“Oh…” Sung Gyu started, blood descending to his face. “I’m sorry”

“No, I’m sorry, I toppled” Eunji said, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear, feeling bashful. “Umm…I’ll be fine from here”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah” Eunji nodded. “I’ll be off then-,” she said, and proceeded to move, but then she realized, she was stuck, the material of her sweater sleeve was stuck on Sung Gyu’s wrist watch, binding them together.

“Uh-oh” Eunji said. If she pulled, the sweater would unknit. It was an expensive one, and she didn’t want to ruin it, so she stood still.

“Hold on a moment” Sung Gyu said, and his other hand moved to Eunji wrist to hold it. Then, with so much of patience and concentration, he began to untangle it. Eunji could do nothing but watch, completely dazed.

Much to her annoyance, Eunji had begun to notice the smallest details of Kim Sung Gyu during the short span of time during which Sung Gyu carefully untangled the string. She noticed how his long eyelashes fell gracefully against his cheeks, how his ears turned crimson whenever he was embarrassed and how his hair fell effortlessly over his eyes, all the small details which made him, him. Eunji wondered what it was like to be Hwayoung, to get all this attention from him. She wondered how it was like to be Sung Jae, to get all his love. And then she realized that she was thinking of unnecessary things yet again. She was only overwhelmed by all the events of the day. That was what. There wasn’t anything strong or deep. She was only overwhelmed.

And done.

“Alright?” Sung Gyu asked, inspecting his handy work on the sweater.

“Yeah” Eunji said without looking and gulped hard. “I got to go”

“Err…okay?” Sung gyu asked again, but she merely nodded and gave him a brief bow. “Thank you for the meal. Good bye”

And with that, so soon, she was gone.

“What’s up with that girl?” Sung Gyu wondered aloud, staring after the way she went. I hope she’s okay.

“Hey” said a voice from his right, he turned to see Hwayoung on the staircase, looking gorgeous as she was. “Everything alright?”

Sung gyu took one last look at the way Eunji went and sighed. “Everything is fine”

*

Part 2 will be up soon!