On the day of the wedding, Sung Gyu and Sung Jae sat in the living room of his parent’s house, dressed in identical suits with his mother admiring her impressive work. They were adorned in black tailored suits with matching red striped ties which she had located in a sale of some sort, she did their hair in similar styles too; in short, Sung Jae was a smaller, chubbier version of Sung Gyu at that moment, which one would easily find so asphyxiatingly adorable if not for Sung Gyu unimpressed smug face and Sung Jae’s angered little eyes. They weren’t least bit enjoying being called adorable every once Sung Gyu’s mother would pass by, and to add to that she had dressed up Sung Gyu’s father in the same way.

“If I were a man, I’d dress the same!” She had said, gesturing at the red dress she was wearing with a pearl necklace and shoes she could hardly walk in.

Eunji came around just around that time and Sung Gyu took that moment to enjoy the pleasure of walking away from his mother’s assertive eyes and opened the door for her. Sung Gyu had previously suggested that he’d come and pick her up from her sister’s place in Ansan (Which he found to be an inconvenience, nonetheless) but Woohyun had promised that he’d drop her off so he simply nodded and agreed; Sung Gyu couldn’t be too bothered anyway; besides he needed to be around Sung Jae and keep a close inspection on Sung Jae’s behavior. Since that day, there weren’t many complains. It was as if he had really taken Sung Gyu’s words to heart, though Sung Gyu had hugged him and taken him out to dinner that day, and he was fairly satisfied, yet he couldn’t be too sure of the boy’s erratic ways.

Eunji was clad in a tightly fitting lace dress which was a few inches above her thighs and shoes which made her look as tall as himself. He was wondering if she’d be doing her job right while being dressed like she was attending the movie premiers, yet he simply shrugged it off and let her in.

The moment she stepped into the living room, Sung gyu’s mother let out a loud gasp. Sung Gyu almost forgot that he hadn’t informed them that his cousin sister had allowed him to invite the baby sitter, and sure enough, his mother was assuming things of all sorts.

“Omo! Is this Sung Jae’s mother-to-be, Sung Gyu-ah?!?”

Sung Gyu groaned loudly and rolled his eyes. “No, this is Sung Jae’s baby sitter”

Eunji took that moment to properly introduce herself and bowed in greeting, yet her heels weren’t allowing her to, that she tripped and fell to her side, right onto Sung gyu’s shoulder.

“What the !” He bellowed, immediately straightening her, and Eunji was scowling, not feeling exactly happy about the sudden accident.

“One money to the swear jar appa” Sung Jae said from his spot on the sofa. “Why is the baby sitter here? It’s Saturday”

Sung Gyu didn’t want to tell his son about it any sooner, knowing his ways and was planning onto tell him at the last moment yet he forgot, what with the matching suits, so he really hoped he wouldn’t make a big deal out of it.

“Ah! That is because…because he knows your aunty too, Sung Jae-ah” Sung Gyu made up a quick lie since he didn’t want the kid to be troubled by it. “Aunty invited her”

“Hmph” Sung Jae went, folding his hands on his chest and stomped out of the living room, leaving the adults to their amusements. Sung Gyu frowned after him, feeling frustrated himself and then nudged at Eunji who was suddenly fascinated by the toes peeping out of her shoes.

“What?” She hissed.

“Go after him, it’s your job” Sung Gyu said.

And then she was trudging off, mumbling something incoherent under her breath and almost tripping off her feet a several times. Sung Gyu just shrugged it off since he couldn’t care less about women and their logic about shoes as tall as themselves and simply turned to his parents who looked slightly astonished by the exchange. He looked at either of them, eyes swaying back and forth and asked, “What?”

His mother smiled and quickly scurried towards him, grabbing his hand afterwards. Sung Gyu could do nothing but follow her movements, completely confused.

“She’s perfect!” She squealed, pulling his hand so hard that he almost fell off his feet.

“Well, of course, that is why I hired her” He reciprocated, a fake smug smile on his face since he couldn’t exactly tell his parents that he had to pay her extra to get her to do the job done.

“That’s not what I mean! What I meant is-!”

“Ugh!” Sung Gyu groaned loudly, rolling his eyes skywards after it finally hit him. “Omma, I am not getting married!”

“But Sung Gyu-ah!” His mother murmured, dejected by his reply. “Your cousin is thirty and she’s getting married, you’re thirty two and you’re not getting any younger! Besides, Sung Jae needs a mommy too, don’t you think?”

“No” Sung Gyu said and returned to the sofa to sit and fume on his bum on his own. “I’m not old and Sung Jae doesn’t need a mommy”

“B-but-!”

“Let him be, Jagi” Sung gyu’s father mused from behind her, and patted his arm on his shoulder. “Don’t force him if he doesn’t want to”

*

Later on that morning the five of them snuggled into warm clothes and were about to step out into the cold autumn ambiance when Sung Gyu’s mother threw a concerned look at Eunji’s direction, pursing a her crimson donned lips into a thin line.

“Child, you will freeze in this weather” She mumbled thoughtfully while assessing her length. “And my, the shoes! Let me get something comfortable”

Sung Gyu was doing his scarf around his neck at that time, and Eunji suddenly looked slightly sour. Since he had literally dragged her into doing this (And yes, fancy lunches and hotels hadn’t really appealed Jung Eunji into it as long as it involved heavy labor such as sitting with the eight year old kid) Sung Gyu was feeling quite upset, so he turned to his mother. “Omma, she’s-,”

She had already trotted off to their room and Sung Gyu could only let out a sigh just as he felt the soft tugging on his jacket sleeve. Sung Jae was seemingly having troubles with the new scarf which he didn’t exactly fancy but wore nevertheless since his grandmother forced him to; Sung Gyu gave him a soft smile, his heart swelling in adoration at just how precious his son seemed to him at that moment.

“Why Sung Jae?” he called out, crouching down in front of him. Sung Jae tugged at the wool of the hand knitted scarf, pouting his lips and Sung Gyu couldn’t help but laugh. “Why, you don’t like it?”

“It’s itchy” He mumbled, frowning deeply as he spoke. “I think there are bees living in it”

“Bees?” Sung Gyu mused through his chuckles. “Why bees? Silly boy, come here, come to appa”

Sung Jae grinned and stepped towards him, all the worries and fears wearing off. Sung Jae’s been feeling quite upset after his father scolded him after the incident at the café, and he had been worried if his appa hated him and wouldn’t like him anymore if he wouldn’t do as he would say. Sung Jae only had his father, and Sung Jae loved him so much that he didn’t want him to hate him, and when his appa talked to him so lovingly and with such warmth, he couldn’t help but run into his arms.

Sung Gyu was mumbling how much he loved his baby boy as he untangled the scarf and put it on again to his liking. He’d poke at the kid’s covered tummy, making him giggle so hard, and it was in these kind of moments that it was blatantly on display, how much the father and the son looked alike; the smiles, the giggles and the laughter, Sung Gyu and Sung Jae were one and the same. And from above, Eunji was watching the adorable exchange with awe-filled eyes.

After he was done, Sung Gyu patted at the scarf, grinning wildly and arranged Sung Jae’s collar. “You be appa’s good boy okay?” He asked and Sung Jae nodded gleefully before Sung Gyu leaned over and softly kissed on his tuft of dark hair. “Sung Jae is appa’s best little detective after all…be the best little detective too, Hm?”

Eunji couldn’t help but cover and smile, completely forgetting it that her boss’s mother had just proceeded to make her look like a nightmare inducer. This was the first time she was witnessing so much of their loving exchanges, and she couldn’t help but feel awed by the very sight of it. Sung Gyu had always looked strict and professional, or sleepy, bored and angry the rest of the time. This loving fatherly side of him was definitely so wishful and completely out of the world. Eunji decided that she liked it the most. And why was my heart beating so fast…? She wondered, her hand moving down to , panicking as she did. It was a first, she hadn’t felt it before, it was like was denying of air. She was deeply disturbed by this that she didn’t even feel it when her boss’s mother approached her, what she was certain to haunt her living dreams for years held in her hands.

“Here you go, sweetie!”

Eunji looked absolutely horrified as she frantically looked at her boss for help, but much to her chagrin, he was watching the entire ordeal, wearing a satisfied smile on his lips. He wanted it. And she had no escape.

*

Eunji was on the verge of tears as she sat still as a statue in the circle of crowd later on at the wedding reception, owing to the three of the following reasons.

1. She had been forced to take off her brand new peep toed pumps in exchange to a pair of platforms which seemed to have come from the early seventeenth century and was apparently cutting into her feet,
2. She was also forced to wear one of those fancy dapper scarfs with glittery  strings and sequins which was sure to have been pulled out of its confines after ages that the dust was making her sneeze consistently. And,
3.  And most horrifyingly, sitting among the wedding invitees, smiling brightly and all was her ex-boyfriend, looking dashing as ever, holding hands with the so-called girlfriend of hers, the one who creeped into their wonderful relationship according to Eunji’s speculation, smiling smugly as though she owned him.

And the long and the short of the whole thing was this; Eunji did not like it, Eunji did not like being at this wedding at all. At first she was fond of the fancy hotel and all the dressing up and the like, but they all seemed to have gone to the level of utter crap since she wasn’t exactly dressed up but was a fashion terrorist who might as well drive into a blazing fire at this rate and despite being really fancy, the wedding was a complete bore. She couldn’t understand how these people could just sit around and sip watermelon smoothies in champagne flutes (Apparently the whole wedding was non-alcoholic since the bride’s father was the church’s pastor or something) and blabber incessantly about how they used to run around in undies when they were kids. Where was the champagne? Where was the music and the dancing? Where were the charming young men seeking for the ladies to flirt with? None of it were there, and there she was stuck with an eight year old little bummer and his father on her right, scrawling something on a lavender sheet with a pair of spectacles sliding down the bridge of his nose.

In Eunji’s opinion, Kim Sung Gyu wasn’t conventionally attractive. He had boring dark hair which he never really bothered to style unless his mother would do it for him, and his eyes were inhumanely small that she could hardly tell if he was sleep-walking or not, but there were the moments, Oh! There were where she’d find him eccentrically yet undeniably irresistible; there was something about him when he was committed to his work, there was something about him when he would interact with his son and even now, there was something about him, tugging at her heartstrings so lightly as he scribbled on sheets with such concentration didn’t even realize that his spectacles were on the tip of his nose. There was something about him when he was wearing his second eyes, and Eunji didn’t like the feelings it was giving her either. It was making her want to do unspeakable things.

“There, done” Sung Gyu said suddenly, pulling Eunji out of her reverie (Which wasn’t anything to talk about, and it did not involve her taking her boss’s tie off, in case anyone wondered) and pulled the wire-rimmed specs off his eyes. He gave one satisfied look at the card once more and smiled to himself. Sung Gyu had known Chorong since she was a kid. She was younger to him, and she was of the introverted silent kind, one could hardly grasp it when she’d speak a word, nevertheless she was undeniably lovable, there was something soothing about her demeanor and Sung Gyu wasn’t surprised that her hand was being taken so soon. She deserved it, and he was happy for her. And he was happy to be the one giving a speech about her at the end of the reception, there was so much to tell.

Eunji, on the other hand, wasn’t exactly feeling like herself. Sung Jae too, wasn’t enjoying as much, and was tapping his fingers impatiently on the plate, wondering whether they would get mousse for dessert. A moment later, his father stood up and left the table, leaving the two to their thoughts, and once he was off their ear-shot, Sung Jae said, rather sternly; “I hate the wedding”

Eunji sighed, relieved that someone felt the same way and replied; “You and me both kid”

“Baby-sitter” Sung Jae called then, still tapping his fingers on the plate. “Do you think they’d have mousse?”

“Mousse?” Eunji repeated, not exactly enthused. “I don’t know…maybe”

“Hm” Sung Jae wasn’t satisfied, but he was keeping to himself since he didn’t want to make his father upset, who had now gone off to entertain some old lady he had never seen. Eunji, meanwhile was deeply engrossed in observing her ex-boyfriend and that so-called girl friend of his. In her opinion, they were disgusting. She couldn’t understand what on earth he could see in her. She was stubby, short and boring, her hair was a fake bronze and looked like it had been pulled out of a toaster. She opened so wide when she laughed that Eunji could practically see what she had had for breakfast that morning, and don’t even get her started on her taste in fashion. All in all, she was no match for him, she couldn’t at all compete the utter perfection that Eunji was. (At least she thought she was) Eunji was certain that this woman had done something terrible to lure him into liking her, and she was sure, if she tried again, she could definitely get him back to herself.

“Dang you Yang Yeosob” Eunji mused, her manicured fingertips sinking into the dapper scarf resting on her thigh. “I am going to get you back, I am going to get you back”

“Baby sitter?” Sung Jae called from her side. “Who are you talking to?”

Sung Jae’s father was still blabbering with some aunt two tables away from them and Eunji and Sung Jae were the only two in their table so Sung Jae was sure his baby sitter was talking to herself.

“Him” Eunji suddenly said and pointed at Yeosob who was sipping on his watermelon smoothie two tables away on the on the right. Sung Jae followed her pointed finger and made a face. “But he can’t hear you?”

“I know!” Eunji exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. “That is the whole point! You see, he is my boyfriend, but he left me and went with that…that other ugly woman”

Sung Jae was still tilting his head, attentively pondering what Eunji just said and suddenly blurted out; “he left you? Like Omma did me and appa?”

“That…” Eunji began, and simply trailed off since she didn’t know what she could say about that. Sung Jae wasn’t just one person, he was many personalities put into one little casing; at one point he was an adorable little kid, then he was Mussolini, and at another point he was as wise as the Dalai-lama. And the wise Kim Sung Jae was the one that she couldn’t deal with the most.

Now he was back to concentrating on tapping his hand on the plate, and he was talking.

“Appa said we shouldn’t care about Omma because she left us; he said that people leave us because they don’t want us anymore so we should not want them too and only be with people who do want us…”

“Oh…” Eunji mumbled, more to herself. “So you mean…Yeosob doesn’t want me?”

“I don’t know” Sung Jae said, not interested in Eunji’s affair any longer. “Would they have mousse for dessert?”

“But I want him!” Eunji said, and there was a sudden rush of adrenaline seeping through her. It was like she was having some kind of a moment, like they do in movies. An epiphany, a moment of enlightenment. She did want him, and maybe he did want her too. She was going to fight. “Yes! I want him!”

“I am hungry…I want to go home” Sung Jae was busy speaking his mind out, and Eunji wasn’t really taking any of it. She had just had an epiphany.

“Sung Jae…I want him!”

He wasn’t really interested in her business yet he responded, nonetheless; “Okay?”

“I want him so I shall have him!” Then she turned to Sung Jae and placed her both hands on his shoulders. “Look, you have to help baby sitter now. We’re-we’re going to be spies!”

“Spies?” Sung Jae echoed, tilting his head. Eunji rolled her eyes, irritated, quite and said; “Detectives, yes right… we’ll be detectives and find out what the cruel woman had done to my poor Yeosob, and we will save his life!”

At the word ‘Detective’, Sung Jae’s eyes brightened with pleasure. He had always wanted to be a detective, and his father too, said that morning that he should be the best little detective at the wedding reception. Sung Jae wasn’t sure whether what his baby sitter was talking about was really a job for a detective, but he was dressed exactly like his father today, and he said he should be a detective too. So he smiled and agreed with a nod.

“Cool” said Eunji. “Cool” said Sung Jae, and they shook on it.

*

A few minutes later, Eunji was sitting a table behind Yang Yeosob with the silver scarf wrapped around her head and Sung gyu’s wire rimmed spectacles on her eyes, hoping her disguise concealed her true self, and Sung Jae sitting on her right-who insisted he had a disguise too-with a fake moustache drawn with eyeliner above his lips. Eunji was straining to listen to what Yeosob and the woman were talking about through the incessant buzz of the crowd, but she couldn’t really grasp much with this other stubby woman laughing to her heart’s content. Eunji hated the fat woman, she hated the bronze-headed-good-for-nothing girlfriend, she hated the wedding; she hated the entire world. And the other woman who was sitting in the same table as them, giving them a strange look wasn’t really helping either. Sung Jae on the other hand was wondering if his disguise was really accurate at that point, not really giving a care about Eunji and her eavesdropping and really wanted to go and see himself on a mirror.

“I still look the same” Sung Jae complained, checking his disguise on a spoon. “They will find me!”

“The target doesn’t know you, now shush!” Eunji hissed, nudging at the kid in the process. Eunji didn’t know the relation between Yang Yeosob and the Kims, and she didn’t wish to know either, but worse of all, she didn’t want Cruella de Ville to appear from a netherworld and destroy the ounce of dignity she had left.

“Ah…yes” Sung Jae said, now in his Dalai-Lama voice and he too began to take sneak peeks at the man his baby sitter was spying on. The target, in Sung Jae’s opinion wasn’t as cool as his father was. He didn’t understand why this person was their current target. Why couldn’t it be the person at the lunch table so that they can garner clues on the dessert? Because that was the only thing which interested him at that moment. Nevertheless he decided to help his baby sitter. “What is the current position of the target?” He whispered what he had heard his father telling into his phone numerous times.

“The table!” Eunji hissed and pressed a finger on her lips, then she got back to her work. By that time, however, the fat woman had gone on her way (And the woman on their table sure was considering moving from the table and possibly out of the country too) and Eunji could quite hear the things they were saying.

“The wedding is lovely isn’t it?” The woman was saying in this disgusting girly voice. Eunji never spoke in girly voices; she was smiling smugly to herself. She definitely had the upper hand.

“It is, yeah?” Said Yeosob, sounding nonchalant that Eunji almost punched in the air, convinced that he was bored with her, but she didn’t because after that he added in a low, husky voice. “Ours would be lovelier…wouldn’t it? With a bride like you…”

Hadn’t it hit Eunji right in the gut, she would have felt nausea by the amount of corniness in the very words he said; but when she realized that she and Yeosob had never really talked about having a wedding, she felt suddenly so dejected. “B-but…we can have a better wedding!” She whispered, and pushed the wire-rimmed specs up the bridge of her nose. “I will obviously look better than her!”

“What is the position of the target now?” Sung Jae whispered, this time, right in her ear that she could feel the warmth of his breath. “The table, goddammit!” She hissed and it garnered the attention of the lady too. She cleared loudly, trying to get Eunji’s attention, and when she did, the woman glared at her cruelly, pushed her chair back and left.

“That’s right” Eunji mused, turning back to her target. “Go away you fat ”

The target at that point had his hand draped over the Toasted-bronze-haired, pathetic-excuse of a girlfriend, driveling sweet nothings to her ear, and Eunji was angered even more that she could hear nothing of it. She wished she could hear what he was saying, even worse was the realization that they hadn’t really done this when they were together. She had to stop them before the woman would ruin his life for good. So coming to a greater measure, Eunji got up on her feet. She had previously checked her reflection on a spoon and sure enough, with the dapper scarf and the sorry-excuse of shoes, one could hardly tell it was her. Sung Jae-despite his ridiculous moustache-was a good distraction too, so she came into a spontaneous plan. She took the nearby flute of watermelon smoothie to her hand and gestured at Sung Jae to come closer. When he did, Eunji leaned down and whispered in his ear what he needed to do. He didn’t want to be a bad boy though, because he had promised his father that, so he promised under one condition, then they got into action.

Holding Sung Jae’s hand, the flute in the other, Eunji trudged on her killing platforms towards the table where the target was currently positioned, and in count of three, she pretended to have been pushed by the kid on her right (Since Sung Jae refused to agree) and successfully spilled the beverage all over the woman’s bronze hair.

“Oh god!” The bronze woman yelped and got up on her feet, clutching her now-wetted hair with both her hands. “Oh god! My hair!”

“Oh my god, what child!” Eunji then screamed in a squeaky old womanly voice, tugging at Sung Jae’s arm. “What did you do?” Then she turned to the woman and began to quickly dab the smoothie off the hair with a napkin. “I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry!!!”

Yeosob too, was on his feet by then, and was laughing awkwardly, trying to get the bronze woman’s attention. “It’s okay, we’re fine!”

“Will the drink stick to my hair oppa!?!” The bronze woman screeched in that annoying voice of hers that Eunji had this huge urge to gag her with the napkin in her hand. Instead she continued to dab it at her head, quite violently, feeling not least bit remorseful.

“Of course it would…” Said Yeosob, and slowly put a hand around her waist, then turned to face Eunji; she felt her heart constrict at the smile he threw at her direction. “We will be fine, miss, and its okay…”

And that was how Eunji ended up, just standing there, watching her boyfriend leading some other woman away from them to god knows where. Even if she wished she’d feel that it’s her taking him away, she couldn’t, because Eunji couldn’t deny the truth anymore. Yeosob had really gone away from her, fading away slowly like the snow in the spring. And he couldn’t even recognize her! Eunji wasn’t giving up, not yet, not while she still can win him back. She was going to prove to her who the better match for him and show him who could love him more.

Coming to a new resolve, she put the flute down on the nearest table and grasped Sung Jae’s hand in hers. “Come on, Sung Jae….we’re declaring war”

*

Meanwhile, Sung Gyu was going frantic after he realized that his son had suddenly disappeared along with the baby sitter. He was already regretting bringing her along, knowing the things she could possibly do; and he wasn’t even fearing for the safety of his child, no, he could assure that in her hands. Sung Gyu was fearing for the safety of the rest of the people at the reception. They could be planning a guerilla attack on random people for all he cared.

His mother, on the other hand was making other assumptions, panicking on her own.

“Sung Gyu! What if she had kidnapped her!?! What if she had already sold him off for something terrible?”

“No Omma!” Sung Gyu bellowed, now lifting a table cloth, looking cautiously under the table. “I’m sure that Sung Jae is safe, what I’m not sure of is whether they are committing murder right now”

“What are you even saying?” His mother yelled frantically. “How could you trust that girl and leave the child to her!?!”

Sung Gyu sighed, feeling tired of searching already and rested his hands on his waist. “Omma. I have left him with her for days and nights for almost a month now, and she had left him without a scratch, I do trust her”

“You’re outrageous!” Said the mother, still not buying it. “I’m sure she-,”

“Excuse me?” came a voice then, and both the mother and the son turned towards a middle aged woman who had a kind smile on her lips, concern etched in her eyes. “Are you looking for your son? A little boy about-“She gestured with her hands up to her hip- “This tall? Dark hair? And oh, same eyes as you.”

“That’s my kid” Sung Gyu said, breathlessly, relief finally seeping in.

“He was with this lady with specs and a silver scarf” She said, mater-of-factly, her demeanor changing into something somewhat distasteful. “They were playing some game or the other…and they went on that way a moment ago”

“Specs?” Sung Gyu echoed, trying to recall if Eunji ever wore specs. She was wearing a silver scarf, alright, but definitely not specs. And then it hit him; he turned to their table, just to double check, and hit his palm on his forehead. They were playing a game, alright; that was exactly what he could expect if he’d leave the two on their own.

“Thank you, madam” Sung Gyu said hurriedly with a cordial smile. “I think I just found my son”

*

Eunji was trotting with Sung Jae right after her feet, hiding occasionally as she made it through the serpentine corridors of the hotel.  She had been following Yeosob and the woman after they had gone on for a while now, and though she had expected Sung Jae to get bored with it, he was definitely finding his joy in it, and was doing most of the running and checking for her. Even now he was rounding a corner and running back to her; once he was there, he whispered; “The coast is clear. No target in sight”

Eunji nodded and took the boy’s hand. Together they began to run on the said direction, only to land on another turn to the left. “Quick, Sung Jae, check!”

Sung Jae nodded and did as he was told. When he returned at this time, however, he looked quite excited; widening his tiny eyes. “Target in sight!”

“What, no!” Eunji almost squealed loud, and quickly covered . “Really?” She mouthed out, afterwards. “He’s there?”

Sung Jae nodded, wearing that certain Mussolini face and gave her a cruel smile. “I saw the target”

“Well, come on then!” Eunji screeched and took hold of Sung Jae’s hand. She didn’t even bother hiding behind walls and tiptoeing down the carpeted floor. She was basically declaring war right now, and no war needed discretion; she was going to face her enemy like one brave woman, because that was what brave women did, facing her enemy in utmost bravery.

But only, the moment she rounded that corner, the target was no longer in sight. It was getting ridiculous now.

“Where is the target?” She screeched under her breath.

“Dunno” Sung Jae shrugged. “He was over there…”he said and pointed at the door on the end of the corridor. Then he tilted his head to a side, narrowing his eyes. “They were doing something really weird…”

Eunji felt like she just got stabbed by a long, pointy icicle. Were they kissing? Were they making out on the door? Why? We haven’t even done it before!

“Come on” Eunji said, now gripped by her new-found determination. “This is war, Kim Sung Jae. And we will win no matter what”

*

Sung Gyu was hurrying through a set of corridors, checking all the potential locations where the two fugitives could hide and plan their no-goodness schemes with his mother trudging on behind him when he was gripped by a sudden ear-pitching scream from somewhere close by. He listened close, wondering what kind of a scream it could be (There were varieties of screams, he had learnt those during his eight years of experience as a private investigator) and decided that this possibly implied surprise and maybe even interruption. He wasn’t certain if this was where the two could really be, but he couldn’t be too sure either since there weren’t anyone else at the wedding reception who could possibly cause this kind of screams, so he quickly got into action and turned to his mother.

“I think they just killed someone”

“What?” She bellowed with horror stricken eyes.

Sung Gyu shrugged, rolled his eyes and began to lead the way on the general direction where the sound came from.

“Come on, Omma, hurry up!”

*

Eunji had been right, they were making out, and she had caught them red-handed, just in time. Well, technically, they were kissing and pulling at their clothes and stuff and Eunji wrenching open the door did cause quite a stir and the hell of a woman had to let out a blood chilling scream which Eunji was sure had garnered the attention of possibly the local army, and since the woman was revealing more than necessary by then, Eunji had to cover Sung Jae’s poor, innocent eyes with her silver scarf and drag him away from the scene.

“Don’t move and keep your eyes closed” Eunji had told Sung Jae before she went.

“Are you going to murder the target?” He had asked quite innocently, and since Eunji couldn’t be too sure herself (And also since the stupid heel of her platforms could hardly cause a dent) Eunji had sighed heavily and had replied. “Yes, stay put. Don’t move!” and gone on her way.

So Sung Jae was standing outside, eyes closed, ears covered; counting sheep in his head, trying to close down the screaming voices in the room nearby when he heard an eerily familiar voice calling his name.

“Appa?” He whispered, finally finding relief. “Appa?!? Appa!”

“Sung Jae-ah!” Came his father’s voice again, followed by the loud echoes of footsteps, and soon, from the corner of the corridor emerged the sight of his father which Sung Jae was longing to see for long. “Appa!”

“There you are!” Sung Gyu bellowed, finally feeling relieved and hurried towards his little boy. His heart was beating terribly hard in his chest, and though he was certain Sung Jae was in safe hands, he wouldn’t deny that he was a little worried too. He held the boy closer to his chest, feeling the tiny built against him and breathed into his hair before pulling back, only to witness a poorly drawn moustache above his lips.

“A moustache?” Sung Gyu asked, raising his eye brows, fighting a smile.

“Its disguise” Sung Jae said proudly, and gestured towards the room behind him. “Baby sitter is in that room. I think she is killing the target”

“Target? Killing?” Sung Gyu echoed, confused, and was all about to ask Sung Jae more about it when Eunji’s voice erupted angrily from the room that Sung Jae previously gestured at.

“You bloody ! How could you!?!”

“Uh-oh” Sung Gyu mumbled, suddenly realizing that something wasn’t right. He then turned to his child, patted on his arm and said, “Stay here, Jae. Appa will check and come” And he too, stood up and walked towards the said room.

Inside, it was hell set on loose. Eunji was screaming her lungs out, the bronze haired woman was crying like a road kill and then there was Yeosob, the hopeless, distraught Yeosob, standing with no ways to go. This wasn’t even the first time this was happening; hell, and it wasn’t even getting old! He couldn’t understand which part of ‘We’re breaking up’ that Eunji couldn’t understand.

She understood none of it, of course. Listening to her now, he could say that much.

“We loved, Yeosob and me” She was saying rather dramatically, swishing her scarf hither and tither in the air. “And you, ! You stepped into it! And-and you forced him into this outrageous relationship!”

“I did not!” The bronze haired girl was screaming with teary eyes. “Look at her, oppa! She’s a witch! You should have broken up with her sooner!”

“I ain’t no witch, you !” Eunji screeched, now lunging towards her. “You’re the one who-! God! I will murder you!”

“I’m going to call the cops!”

“Call ‘em alright!” Eunji yelled back, followed by a cruel laughter and soon her face changed into something devilish. “Because you’re going to be already gone from this world after having  a Slow. Painful. Death”

And then, with Yeosob watching hopelessly, Eunji began to step towards the bronze woman, and she was stepping back, screaming incoherent words under her breath. If he were anywhere else, Yeosob would have found the scenario rather comical because Eunji could really pull it off, but he was irritated, seriously irritated. He wanted to break up with Eunji for a reason. Yeosob had always wanted to be with a sweet, innocent, lovable little lady of his liking, and Eunji wasn’t lovable. She was passionate, she had fire, and she was never the sweet innocent kind. Yeosob admired her fire alright, and he always would; but she had no potentials as a girlfriend. He had often imagined her in the hunger games and such, and that was it, nothing more.

So there, Yeosob was patiently waiting for all the nonsense to end so that he could go home and have a good sleep just when Eunji actually lunged towards the bronze woman and clutched her hair, and all before Yeosob could step in and stop the cat fight, there came in an unfamiliar yet an undeniably handsome young man who fearlessly stepped in and grabbed Eunji by her waist.

“ing stop it Jung Eunji!”

And Eunji stopped her clawing, alright. Just like that. It was like magic. She stopped it, dropped her hands, and the man too; moved away, looking like he just touched hot coal.

“B-boss?”

“Miss Jung” Said the man breathlessly, his demeanor unwavering like a true soldier, and Yeosob couldn’t help but be intimidated by it. “This is strictly irresponsible of you!”

Eunji seemed thrown by his words, like he just casted a spell on her. Yeosob had screamed and yelled at her, myriad times but not once did she listen, yet this man; just by few simple words he could completely tame the ferocious Jung Eunji. Yeosob decided that this man really deserved something for his brave act.

“B-boss….I-I’m…”

“That’s enough” Sung Gyu said, and turned to Yeosob who was still duly beckoned by Sung Gyu’s inspirational deportment. And then he gave him the most charming smile. “I apologize for Miss Jung’s disrespectful behavior…I hope everything is fine?”

“A-ah! Yes, yes…” He didn’t speak but so much as stuttered out his response with a shy smile. “Everything is fine…”

“Miss?” He was asking the bronze girl now, and she too, gave a quick, embarrassed nod while hiding her face.

“Alright then…once again, apologies behalf of my employer’s behavior…I hope you’d enjoy the rest of the reception!”

With that, both Eunji and the man was gone. There was silence in the room once again as the echoes of the hasty footsteps sounded inside, and Yeosob could only stare at an empty space, allowing his mind to accept it that he just witnessed a man who was as good as an army officer putting a halt to what seemed like an outrageously hilarious cat-fight of two women which apparently left him completely helpless. Yeosob couldn’t help it but feel degraded as a man. However it was then that he noticed it that the main from moments ago had actually left a card on the dressing table of the room. Yeosob hurried towards it and took it in his hands.

“Kim Sung Gyu” He read out loud, a smile playing on his lips as he did. “Private investigator…Kim Sung Gyu”

*

Two hours later, Eunji and Sung Gyu were sitting face to face as though they were in an interrogation of some sort while in fact they were in Sung Gyu’s parents’ kitchen after they had left the wedding reception, after, once again, Sung Gyu’s dignity had gone down the gutter, this time not owing to Kim Sung Jae but Jung Eunji, the so called baby sitter of his. The incidents that followed, according to Sung Gyu’s speculations, definitely required some investigation. So they were there at his parents’ house, Sung Jae put to bed and his parents in the living room; and the only thing which was different from questioning a suspect was that Sung Gyu wasn’t really taking any notes.

“Okay now, if you do realize, Miss Jung…this behavior of you can possibly cause you to lose your job…” Sung Gyu said, sounding as serious as he could. “You lured my child into doing bad things, you let my child to see bad things, adult things, and you gave no consideration to your job, and also you tarnished my dignity in front of a crowd. I hired you for a reason, Miss Jung, I hope you realize that”

Eunji on the other hand wasn’t taking any of his words very seriously. She was just watching him, her eyes following his gestures; and for the last two hours she had only been replaying that moment when Sung Gyu appeared from nowhere and got hold of her waist. His hands…oh! His god given hands…and when he called her full name…And that line, ing stop it Jung Eunji! Was possibly the iest thing she had ever heard a man say, and she just couldn’t get it off her mind. Even as he spoke now, she was only watching his hands, and the only thing she can hear was him saying the same thing. ing stop it Jung Eunji! ing stop it Jung Eunji! ing stop-!

Clap! Went loudly right before her face, and Eunji was quickly thrown out of her reverie by the sight of the very hands of her fantasies right before her face. Sung Gyu looked irritated, like he wanted nothing but to let everything to go to hell and sleep on it.

“Huh?” Eunji went blankly, earning an irritated sigh from the other.

“Miss Jung…You seem pretty pre-occupied…”

“I-I’m not!” She exclaimed, panicking by the thought that she could have possibly given the other inklings on her not-so-innocent fantasies involving the very hands he just clapped with. “I’m perfectly fine!”

Sung Gyu tilted his head to a side and simply observed her. He was an investigator after all, and he had had his handful of people making up excuses to hide their true emotions. Although he wasn’t sure what exactly Eunji was trying to get away with, he was certain that in her mind were an entire pile of worries, he could tell that much by one glance.

On the other side, Eunji was trying her best to overcome her strange overwhelming urge to lean in and her boss all over. It was odd, indeed; she had never felt this intimately attracted to another humanoid of the opposite gender ever in her life; and what was worse was that Kim Sung Gyu wasn’t even that attractive. He didn’t even have buffy arms or a chest to stare at, and he was too fair to her liking, his hair was a boring black and his lips quite reminded her those of a girl. All in all he seemed much like a Korean male version of a snow-white, and of course, normal red-blooded women will not be sensually attracted to a male version of a snow-white even if he were the last man on earth. The entire ordeal was so outrageous that Eunji momentarily felt like hitting her head on a wall repeatedly. But still, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. Something about Kim Sung Gyu was definitely making her feel all sorts of unspeakable things.

She wasn’t going to admit any of those to him, obviously.

“Is it about him? That guy who was your boyfriend?” Sung Gyu asked, suddenly while resting his chin on his hand, and soon Eunji was pulled back to the real world.

“Who is my boyfriend, no past tense” She insisted in a stern voice.

“Okay fine!” Sung Gyu groaned, rolling his eyes. “Is it about him? You seemed pretty serious just today”

“Well I am serious!” She said a little too loudly. “I love him, and I know he loves me!”

“Okay…” Sung Gyu replied quite calmly and tapped his fingers on the table. After a moment of silent contemplation, he asked; “So…do you want to talk about it?”

“Talk what about it?”

“Well…you know” Sung Gyu began, seemingly uncomfortable. “Talk and get it off your mind and stuff…since, as it seemed to me, things are pretty much over between you two…”

This time, Eunji seriously lost it. Why were everyone insisting that they were over? Eunji and Yeosob were not over because they were meant to be together. In fact, she believed that the two were so madly in love and that he needed only a little trigger to suddenly realize it. She was sure he would get a sudden epiphany and realize that she was the one for him and that they were each other’s’ fate; therefore Eunji wasn’t going to give up any yet. She was going to be the mighty warrior and save the love of her life, no matter how many stupid asses would come on her way and tried to change her mind.

“We’re NOT OVER!” She yelled, getting up on her feet and slamming her fist on the wooden table, in a manner which she believed was pretty heroic. “We are madly in love and I will prove it to you!”

Sung Gyu just stared at her, completely thrown by the outburst and blinked twice, trying to defeat his utmost befuddlement. This, Eunji took as a momentum of misunderstanding, thus she went on. “Did you not see how passionate I was? I am passionate because I know that he loves me! And he knows it too! In fact, we’re the most perfect couple in the world!”

“Ah! Fine! Jesus!” Sung Gyu exclaimed, all of a sudden and pushed his chair back a little too roughly. He head was pounding like he’d been stomped on by thousand ogres, and he had had a hell load of ludicrousness for a day, and apparently he had had enough. “Just…! Just go home then Miss Jung”

It suddenly occurred to her then, that she had just yelled at her boss after all the crazy she had put him through for a day. After hearing the most asphyxiatingly beautiful thing from him just a few hours ago, Eunji was feeling terrible about putting her boss through such a mess; so she gathered her courage and asked, in a tiny voice which she was surprised she could actually manage, ”Boss…I’m sorry?”

Sung Gyu, who was currently standing and was about to leave, simply placed his hands on the counter on his side and leaned in towards it, a silver of sunlight casted over him, his lean figure glimmering brilliantly against it. “You know what Miss Jung? I am seriously considering firing you right now”

“You…are?” Eunji muttered in an extraordinarily tiny voice.

“Yes!” He echoed and turned around to face her. “Hell! yes I am, but I won’t, because it will be too much trouble to replace you…”

Eunji was suddenly so overwhelmingly happy. After all she had put him through, her boss still didn’t want to replace her?

“Really?” She was squealing like a teenaged girl at that point.

“Ah, don’t be too flattered, Miss Jung. You’re one hell of a terrible baby sitter, but I really can’t find anyone else; besides Woohyun’s whining is an ear sore so I’m keeping you…” Sung Gyu explained in a haste, his words tumbling out in such a rush like water down a stream. “But please…keep it in mind, I don’t expect any more disappointment. Next time I will seriously fire you…”

Eunji nodded, nodded and nodded then, still not entirely listening to all that he was telling her since the sunlight on his pale skin was apparently becoming such a distraction, and she was still seriously reconsidering of him all over. Maybe she’d pour maple syrup all over him and every inch of him; angry, serious Sung Gyu was most possibly the iest piece of meat ever on earth, and she really couldn’t get her mind around it.

“Good…now go home…”

“Okay…” She whispered, but though she did, even after he had gone from her sight, Eunji was still glued to her chair, fantasizing.

‘B-but…I love it when you’re angry….’ She mused in her mind, smiling at her thoughts. ‘I love it when you’re like this, Boss, I absolutely love it’

*

Later on, when Sung Gyu stepped into his old bedroom at his parent’s house to call Sung Jae so that they could go home, he happened to find the said little boy sitting up on the covers with a rather sullen expression pasted on his face. His cheeks were red, eyes lowered to his hands and fingers tugging impatiently at the comforter as though he was deeply troubled. Sung Gyu pursed his lips, concerned and slowly sat on the bed before him.

“What’s up, Jae? You alright?”

Sung Jae slowly lifted his head, and he seemed like he was all about to cry. “Appa…”

“Hm? Why son?” Sung Gyu asked in a low voice.

“Appa, do you hate me? Today…today I wasn’t being a bad boy. I told baby sitter that I don’t like it…I didn’t do anything wrong! I-I…”

Sung Gyu stared at his little boy, at how he struggled, at how worried he just seemed and stifled a laughter. “Why, baby; I don’t hate you”

“You don’t?”

“Nope” Sung Gyu really laughed this time, a slow raspy chuckle and lowered his gaze to align that of his son. “I don’t hate you…I will never hate you, because Sung Jae is my son, and I will only love you…you okay now?”

“B-but…?” Sung Jae started, looking quite dubious. “Today…?”

“Today…” Sung Gyu began and ruffled Sung Jae’s soft hair with a smile. “Today uri Sung Jae was the best little detective ever…baby sitter was bad though…”

“So did you scold her?” Was what an enthused Sung Jae asked.

“Scold?” Sung Gyu echoed with a chuckle.

“Yes, because it’s not fair…baby sitter was being bad today; she made lots of trouble and-,”

“Okay, okay” Sung Gyu laughed, his eyes disappearing into crescent moons. “I did scold her.”

“Oh” Sung Jae mused, quite satisfied himself. “Okay”

“Okay?”

“Hm, okay” Sung Jae mused and threw both his hands around his father’s neck. “Let’s go home!”

“Okay!” Sung Gyu said with a laugh and cradled his little boy in both his arms. He stared into his face, at the eyes which were doubtlessly his own, and saw that gorgeous glint in them; the happiness, the pleasure; they were all of his own. “My Sung Jae” Sung Gyu whispered, smiling warmly down at his son. “My precious little Sung Jae…you certainly are the best little detective in the world…”

Hello there!

Thank you for all the subscriptions, upvotes and the comments and also all the love you gave me; I love you all too! Apologies for the late update, uni's been a and I've got this ugly black blotch on my wrist and it's terrible! And my ex who is a med student suggested I give my hand a little rest, so yeah, but nah.
Anyway, Eunji is not exactly in love because love and attraction are two different things, and Yes! The ex is no other than YEosob himself!
Apologies for the long chapter,  might put the two parts into one before the next update and hopefully everyone would be done reading this by then. Hope you enjoy!
Don't miss GyuJaeJi too much! Haha!

Loads of love,

Achini