Soon Jong Kook started parting away from Ji Hyo, avoiding arguments with her and leaving as soon as she reaches her filming site and drops her home as soon as he can. He leaves her alone with every chance he got. He left her apartment, not camping there anymore. He didn’t want to come in between his friend’s feelings and woman.

Although Kye Sang hasn’t dated her yet, Jong Kook respects Kye Sang. He didn’t want to ponder feelings for Ji Hyo because the more he stays around her, butterflies flutter in his stomach. He acts cold toward her again and starts being mean to her. At times, he would even let her go to places alone but watch afar without her knowing. Letting her manager take her home too.

Ji Hyo could feel Jong Kook was avoiding her too. After that night, he would talk less to her and always stared at her with such dark eyes that sometimes she feels hypnotized by it. She wanted to ask him if something was wrong, did something happen but he would always be gone before she could ask. So she decided to stop.

Ji Hyo would often be in a dazed, forgetting that Jong Kook is not around her place anymore. She missed him making jokes and nagging her about staying healthy. She missed hearing him sleep soundlessly on her couch, waking up in an instant.

She was going to laundry her clothes as she found a black shirt in the washer. It was Jong Kook’s shirt that was wetted through the rain when she ordered him around to get her take out chicken. She sniffed it, as his aroma still lingers on the cloth. She held the fabric against her skin. Somehow, just his scent is making her long for him.

Jong Kook looked at her from the door which scared her with his sudden appearance.

“At least knock please.” She quickly hides the shirt behind her but before she could open to speak more, he left. She ran to the living room only to hear the door click, lock. There were food in the kitchen, fresh ingredients.

Always appearing and disappearing out of nowhere like a ghost. Kim Jong Kook, are you serious? Am I really that sickening? Ji Hyo sniffed as she remembered his words clearly. Crazy fool, he must have been busy. She pulled his shirt into her chest.

**********************************************************************************

A week has gone by… Today he was supposed to take Ji Hyo to meet Kye Sang because he had no choice as Kwang Soo was too busy. The ride to the restaurant was awfully quiet and long as they both didn’t say anything to each other. They avoided talking to each other but the urge to ask him the tons of questions in her head poked at her.

“I-“

“We have arrived.” He interrupted before she could say anything and went to open the door for her, leading her inside. She quietly followed him.

Kye Sang finished his board meeting and went to eat dinner at xxxx restaurant with Ji Hyo. He happily greeted her and ordered delicious food.  Jong Kook was outside eating his own meal, leaving them alone.

“CEO Yoon, what was it that you wanted to talk about?” Ji Hyo asked.

“As usual, you are really a business woman. I wonder why you didn’t go into business instead of acting. It would have benefitted you more.” He chuckled and started eating.

“Well, I’m not as intelligent as you CEO Yoon.” She coldly answers him, before eating.

“I wanted to ask you join me for the upcoming ball at the fashion show in XXXX.”

“Thank you for the invitation, but no thank you.” She stopped eating.

“Why?” He asked. “Are you busy?”

“I am.”

“This is an important event. Please be my partner.” He smiled.

“CEO Yoon,”

“There will be important guests and other celebrities. And I haven’t been out for a while now. Can you be my friend and help me?” Ji Hyo gazed at the man who tried to persuade her. She felt bad but she didn’t want to create any tension so she rejected him once more.

“CEO Yoon, I don’t want to be involve with you.” Ji Hyo put away the utensils. “To be more specific, I don’t like you.” He flinched at her response. “So stop wasting your time on me. It’s really uncomfortable.” She got up and headed out.

Jong Kook overheard her answer. A tingling relief spread his heart but a part of him was feeling guilty too. He looked over at Kye Sang who was stricken with pain and quickly swallowed the water beside him, gloomily.

Kye Sang had never been serious or like any woman before like Ji Hyo. His faint smile disappeared with the thought of stealing away the woman that Kye Sang loved, like he did.

*************************************************************************

On the drive back, Jong Kook was the one itching to talk to her while she just stared out the window.

“Miss Song.” She didn’t reply. “I heard that there will be a fashion show ball, maybe you should go. There are many people attending. It will be very beneficial.”

“Aish, can you be quiet?” Ji Hyo was annoyed. He was the one avoiding her yet he wants to talk now. She won’t give in easily. Jong Kook was taken aback by her response. He only wanted to start a conversation between them. ‘I like Ji Hyo.’ ‘Protect her.’ The words constantly reminded Jong Kook his job. He cannot risk putting her between their friendship.

“I heard CEO Yoon is going to attend it too. You should partner with him.” He spoke again.

“I don’t want to.”

“Why?”

“Why should I?”

“He’s your biggest sponsor.”

“And?”

“Can’t you be a bit more grateful?”

“Can you take care of yourself before telling others what to do?” Her sentence made him gulped. It was true. He was fighting to stop himself from liking her but her words were challenging him. He didn’t want to admit it.

“I’m just being friendly and supportive.”

“What is there to be supportive of when there is nothing to begin with?”

“Do you think he’s just being a sponsor?”

“I know he’s not so stop telling me what to do. I’ll handle it on my own. I don’t need you to be like my boss.”

“So you’re saying, you knew how he felt towards you already?” Ji Hyo didn’t answer him. He stopped the car at the end of the hiway. “Tell me.” He asked, looking back to see her.

“Yes.” How can she be like that to someone who truly likes her? He never thought she would be so wicked to keep playing around, hard to get with someone’s heart. He regretted having the feelings grow onto him.

“Then why don’t you date him?”

“Because I don’t like him.”

“But he likes you.”

“So?” Her response ticked him off.

“Get off.”

“What?”

“I said get off here.” Jong Kook was angry now. How could he protect her, knowing Kye Sang has feelings for her?

Ji Hyo refused to get off so Jong Kook got out of the car and pulled her out.

“I don’t help devious women, no matter how much of a gentleman I can be.” He pushed her aside.

“Gentleman? You think that you are a gentleman? Ha.” She puffed. “What happened to you? Why are you avoiding me?”

“I’m not avoiding you.”

“Then look at me.” He turned to face her from the bridge. “Did someone do something wrong to you? Did I do something wrong?”

“It has nothing to do with you.”

“Then tell me why. You are always appearing and disappearing out of nowhere.”

“Why should I when you are no one.” Ji Hyo gazed at him unbelievably. Was she really no one to him? Was this really the same man who vowed to protect her? Was she really that disgusting to him?

“Am I, really that disgusting?”

“Yes,” He answered. He meant to hurt her feelings but he didn’t know how much it stung her heart. Ji Hyo took a deep breath, trying to suppress her anger.

“Then please tell CEO Yoon on behalf of me that I no longer need his assistance. I will no longer be in C-Jes Entertainment.”

“W-Why?” Was she seriously going to disappear from his sight?

“Because I can.”

“Are you trying to escape from him? Don’t you know how much he likes you?”

“But I like you.” Ji Hyo blurted out. Jong Kook was taken by surprise, at a loss for words. He felt excited and overwhelm b her sudden confession. “I..I-“

“Don’t.”

“What?”

“Stop it. Don’t like me. Cut off your personal feelings from me.”

“Why are you saying that?”

“Because I don’t like you.” Those words were like salt to her wound, the wound she had left to heal a long time ago.

“Is it because of your boss?” Ji Hyo wanted to hold his hand. Never had she confessed to a man after high school again. But here, she had been rejected by the first man she had finally confessed to.

“I don’t like you. What part of ‘I don’t like you’ do you not understand?” He shouted at her. “Fine, leave C-Jes. It will make it easier for me to stop avoiding you. Do whatever you want.” He coldly told her before driving away, leaving her out in the cold alone.

Ji Hyo held back the small tears in her eyes.

“Pabo. I like you. I-I like you. *tears formed in her eyes, sighs* I can’t believe I like someone like you Kim Jong Kook.” She sniffed and walked along the bridge as the car got further away.

From the back mirror he could see Ji Hyo slowly walking along the bridge grimly, helplessly. He wanted to turn back and fetch her but he demanded his heart to not soften up to her.

‘Hyung. If you can’t forget, then take this as a chance to pay back for you couldn’t do earlier.’

Jong Kook speeded away. He wanted to rip the steering wheel apart. He hated himself, his past, his mistakes. But he couldn’t turn back to her, afraid he won’t be able to stop himself from taking her away. Her smiling face keeps appearing in front of him. He hit the steering wheel and turned back to fetch her. But when he got there, she was gone.

*************************************************************************************

The dark entrance of a big mansion with an old man sitting in his chair, with gangsters lining up to welcome him.

“Any news yet?” He asked.

“Sir, we found some crucial information.”

“Spit it out.”

“Yoon Kye Sang have many women surrounding him. But the main ones he had showed interest in is Song Ji Hyo, a model/actress from C-Jes.”

“Interesting.” The old man grin. “You three, remember her clearly?”

“Yes sir,” Hee Jun answered.

“Sir, I heard that Park Soo Jin from Keyeast has been with him for a while now too.”

“Oh really? So that b*st*rd is two timing. Hahaha.”

The phone rang and he picked it up.

“How is it?”

‘No progress yet sir.’

“Then why are you calling me?”

‘The doctor said that there are chances for consciousness but paralysis is also high.’

“Just follow my command.” Then he hung up.

“Sir, Yoon Kye Sang has refused to help with the underground ship out to China. The others are not willing to help if he isn’t. They say that the risk is too high.”

“Too high?” He laughed at the information he received.

“Sir, would you like us to take any actions?” the minions asked.

His smile was creepy and eerie as the classic music turned up.

*******************************************************************************

Jong Kook has been waiting outside her apartment building for 5 hours now but she hasn’t returned. The music in the car bombarded all noise. He was contemplating if he should stay still and decided to call her manager.

“Kwang Soo, is Ji Hyo with you?”

“No hyung, I haven’t seen her ever since noon when you took her out.” She is not with him? Her hometown is a bit far away, she wouldn’t have gone home right. “Wait, don’t tell me you lost her?”

“I-“ He told Kwang Soo what happened in a more polite version.

“AH Hyung! How can you do that to her?”

“It was on impulse.” He excused.

“Ji Hyo is not someone who does anything just because you or anyone tells her to.”

“I know, she’s stubborn. But don’t you think she would have returned home?”

“Ani, she would never return to her hometown.”

“Never?”

“She doesn’t like talking about it her hometown, a huge turn off ahaha.” Kwang Soo chuckled.

“Why?”

“She never told me why, but she has always been like that. I heard that after her mother remarried, she changed.” So she was ignored? Was that why she always had that ‘leave-me-alone-look’?

“Noona has a strange habit though.”

“I can tell.”

“I mean really.”

“What is it?”

“She hates it when men who she is not attracted to tries to confessed to her. She becomes oddly cold and rude.”

“I know.”

“You know?”

“Mmhmm,” Jong Kook nodded.

“And, she often get nightmares.

‘What are you bluffing here? She sleeps peacefully most of the time.”

“Seriously Hyung that is only when she has calm down unconsciously. Or else, she eats sleeping pills to fall asleep.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.” He was worried now. He felt bad for yelling at Ji Hyo. Her family was broken, stubborn, sleeping pills, etc. What was going on in her life?

“Why don’t you try calling her then?”

“Okay hyung.” And hanged up.

He kept looking out back and forth out the window for Ji Hyo but she was nowhere in sight.

--Ring ring!

He turned around to follow the noise.

--ring ring!

He found the phone. Ji Hyo’s phone. She doesn’t even have her phone with her. Aish this woman. Always giving me a headache.

He told Kwang Soo that Ji Hyo didn’t have her phone. As soon as he hanged up, the phone rang again.

“Hello.” He was panicking as the other line was quiet. “Hello, is it you Ji Hyo-ah? Hello-“

“Seong Im-ah,” a hoarse voice spoke. “It’s me, oppa.”

“I’m sorry but Song Ji Hyo is not available.”

“S-Seong Im ah, I’m sorry. Oppa-“ Jong Kook heard slurs and puking. The man surely is drunk.

“Excuse me, but there isn’t anyone called Seong Im here.”

“Who are you? Why do you have Seong Im’s phone?” He seemed sober now.

“I should be asking you that.” Jong Kook responded.

“You-Huh Seong Im… Why are you here?” He heard the drunk man say before the line got cut off. Strange, weird man? Who is Seong Im, thought Jong Kook as he ignored it and stayed still, waiting for Ji Hyo’s return.