Chapter 1

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Jung Soojung gritted her teeth in frustration. She had been trying to write a particular scene for the past two hours, and everything she had typed into her computer so far seemed contrived, immature, and just plain horrible.

She pushed away from her desk, got up, and twisting her thick, wavy hair into a bun, secured it with a pencil.

"Coco!"

Her black white siberian husky trotted towards her, tail wagging enthusiastically.

"Yes, we are going for a walk, come on." Soojung stopped at her front door to bundle up in a warm, woolen scarf and coat before grabbing her house keys and dropping them in her pocket.

A walk would do her good, she decided, keeping a wary eye out for coco as she ambled at a casual pace. Clear the cobwebs in her mind, give herself a break to breathe in some fresh air. No matter what, don't panic, she told herself. The moment she thought that, however, she groaned as dread filled her.

It was stupid. She was incredibly stupid. How had she gotten herself into this position? Two years ago she had been a popular Korean History lecturer at NYU. She had enjoyed her classes, her students had liked her, and everything had been going well. And then she had to show her publisher cousin some material she had been working on in her spare time. Next thing she knew, she was signing a contract with the publishing house and her book was selling out across the country. Upon her cousin's insistence, she had taken a sabbatical and turned to writing full-time.

Bestselling author! She would have been honored, really, but her book was being read by female teenagers or bored housewives, for she wrote romance! Absolute romantic fiction, where the heroes were always handsome, and the heroines always beautiful, embroiled in passionate love affairs that had the Gods themselves jealous. She scoffed to herself. Yeah, like that happened every day.

She felt her face turning red in embarrassment. It was not easy being known as Krystal Jung: Romance Goddess, or whatever it was the press had nicknamed her. Book signings were always humiliating, but she took it in stride. She got paid very handsomely. She would be professional when housewives praised her and told her she must have a very fulfilling romantic life.

Yeah, life, you mean, she always wanted to retort. Instead, she smiled politely, signed the damned book, and moved to the next fan. If only they knew the damning secret that would have the entire nation laughing at her. She could scarcely imagine the hoo-hah, and that's why she always kept her own life extremely private, not sharing details with anyone except her parents and sister. At the ripe old age of 23, Jung Soojung was still a . Her face burned as she thought about it, but she quickly ran through the same rationalization she always thought about when this particular topic came up.

She never had the time. Soojung had breezed through college and had obtained her Master's degree in half a year before having been offered the position of assistant lecturer at her alma mater. She worked far too hard and had been justly rewarded. Look at her life! She was debt-free, had a beautiful house, a comfortable life, what more could she ask for?

A little romance, the tiny voice in her head said petulantly. She shook her head, dispelling the thought. She had plenty of romance. She lived and breathed romance these days. Which brought her back to her initial problem. Writer's block. Or more specifically, scene block.

Her second book had been completely mapped out. She knew exactly what she wanted to write, but the scenes were just not coming to her! And how could a bestselling romance author write a much-awaited second novel without scenes? She trembled in distress at the very notion.

Coco barked then, and she looked up. They had somehow rounded the block and she was almost walking past her house.

"Coco, you're a very smart." She grinned, troubles forgotten for a moment. She let her siberian husky in and strolled into the kitchen to fill her drink bowl with fresh water before setting it down.

"Look, you have two more months to the deadline, so stop thinking so much about it," she chided herself severely. What she needed now was to relax and get inspired. Shrugging out of her coat, she changed into pajamas, selected a romance from her extensive DVD collection, and snuggled into her couch.

The book could wait.

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A month had passed, and Jung Soojung hadn't made any headway at all. She was beginning to panic. She was teetering on desperation actually, and sat for hours in front of her computer, typing and typing, and pressing backspace so often she thought she might give herself a repetitive strain injury.

She had resorted to reading her previous novel, skipping to the scenes to gain an idea of what to write. Instead of being inspired, however, she could only think of copying and pasting the entire thing again, and that was not possible.

She had even run through her DVD collection, picking out her favorite love stories and forwarding to the scenes, watching as the actors enacted passionate love affairs, but everything she wrote after that was sincerely appalling. At best, she could find certain loving phrases and actions; at worst, she couldn't even initiate the scene.

Screaming in frustration, she threw her remote across the room. One month to go and she didn't have anything! What sort of writer was she? Was her first book a fluke? Was she just a one hit wonder? She cursed the cousin, Im Yoona who had gone to bat for her with the publishing house, regarding the passionate sell with annoyance now. If her cousin had not done that, Jung Soojung would still be happily lecturing!

She sighed, glancing at the silent TV screen in despair, her mind going back to her unfinished novel. She had written most of the book, leaving only the scenes and related sections blank, and was starting to seriously consider paying someone to anonymously write those scenes. There were what, only four or five scenes? It could be done, couldn't it?

She grabbed her phone, dialing her literary agent.

"SM Publishing, Lizzy's office, how can I help you?"

"Hi, this is Krystal. Krystal Ju-"

"Ms. Jung! Of course! Let me put you through."

Soojung waited a beat, before the gruff voice of her agent came through.

"Krystal, I hope you are calling to tell me you are done so we can put the book out earlier than expected and give everyone else a run for their money!"

Soojung groaned.

"Lizzy unnie, I'm stuck."

Silence.

"How do you mean?" Lizzy's voice was polite, and Soojung cringed hearing her Busan accent. That meant only one thing, Lizzy was pissed. Pissed.

"I just can't seem to get the scenes right. They're not working."

Lizzy laughed, and Soojung frowned. Trust Lizzy to laugh at something as important as this!

"Oh, Soojung-ah! I thought you meant you had writer's block or something awful like that!"

"Unnie! I can't write the scenes! There is no romance book without scenes!"

Lizzy fell silent.

"Well, just grab your man and do some research then! You'll find those scenes flowing through your fingertips in no time." Lizzy cackled.

Soojung groaned, grabbing a cushion and squeezing it.

"I need an extension."

She hadn't meant to say that, but she realized that even though her relationship with Lizzy was more friendly than professional, she couldn't swallow her pride and ask her for an anonymous contributor.

"No."

"What? Unnie! Why?"

"No, we can't extend the deadline. I heard that Bae Suzy is putting a book out two weeks after you, and I am not going to allow your book to debut on the bookshelves whilst hers is selling out, Soojung-ah."

Soojung groaned in aggravation.

"Look, you're a bestselling author. You're my best author right now, and you're excellent. You weave a story like honey being dripped all over my skin, and let me tell you, Soojung, every woman wants to be you because they want what you are getting. Your scenes are that good, Soojung. So stop whining, get off your , go do some research, and get that book to me in a month!"

"Unnie."

"Krystal Jung! Don't even. What you call research is what everyone else calls fun, and some people don't even get that on a regular basis. Now, I'm hanging up. You've used up too much of my time. One month, Soojung, one month!"

And with that Lizzy hung up. Soojung sat back on her couch, trying to fight tears of frustration. Research? She would have laughed if she wasn't trying to stop tears from forming. How does a do research on ?

She picked up the phone again, needing some comfort, and dialed her sister.

"Hello, what's your poison?"

"A shot of arsenic please, straight up," Soojung mumbled.

"Hey, Soojung-ah!"

"Unnie, I need some comfort."

"Oh, what's up?" Jessica's voice was appropriately tinged with concern, and Soojung sighed.

"I'm stuck. Can't write scenes. One month to deadline. Failure." Soojung could only speak in key points at that moment.

Jessica started laughing, long and loud, and Soojung couldn't help but crack a smile. Her sister's laugh was contagious, relentlessly so.

"Only you, Soojung. Only you would have such a problem," Jessica snorted in-between laughs.

"Hey, I take offense to that."

"Yeah, the would."

"Oh stop rubbing that in my face."

"Well, it is really funny when you think about it. Best-selling romance author." Jessica was stressing the word 'romance', and Soojung cringed, cutting her off.

"Okay, okay, I get it."

"Fine, fine, what help do you need? I know! !"

"What? Ew! No! I write tasteful scenes!" There was no way Soojung was resorting to watching a , just to find some inspiration. No way.

"Okay, you have one more month, right? Don't panic. How about you come out with me tonight? We'll go out, have some drinks, go dancing, just relax a little and let loose, and then tomorrow we'll both work on your scenes, okay? I'll help. I'll drag Wu Fan with me and enact scenes out with him if I have to." Jessica snickered.

Soojung grimaced. "Ew, Unnie! I do not need to see my older sister and her Chinese boyfriend doing anything other than chaste kissing," she muttered indignantly.

Jessica simply chuckled. "I know, I know, I was just kidding. So, tonight? I'll pick you up at eight," Jessica said, and they both hung up after Soojung agreed.

At eight precisely, Jessica rang the doorbell and Soojung threw the door open, a huge smile on her face. She saw her sister less these days, now that Jessica was busy with her fashion brand. Her sister looked gorgeous, as usual, dressed in a form-fitting white tank top and black skinny jeans.

"Soojung-ah, you are not wearing that," Jessica said, frowning.

"What? What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Soojung looked at herself. She was wearing a full black skirt that fell to her knees, and had paired it with a yellow blouse.

"You look like we're going to dinner. We're going dancing," Jessica said, and started tugging Soojung up the stairs, striding into her bedroom and throwing open the closet. Jessica rummaged through, tossing out random pieces of clothing.

"Strip," she ordered, her face still in the closet, and Soojung sighed, but obeyed without protest. Jessica turned around just as she was shimmying out of her skirt, and smiled.

"At least you know how to buy lingerie."

Soojung grinned. She loved lingerie. She went lingerie shopping every time she wanted to relax. It was a principle of the matter: even though people rarely saw her in her underwear, Jung Soojung always felt y and confident with the right lingerie, and no matter what she wore over her underwear, the confidence always shone through.

Jessica tossed her a pair of jeans, and she caught them, before grimacing.

"I don't like this one. Let me wear my favorite one, okay?" she said, already moving to the closet to pluck the dark wash from the depths.

"Wear it and we'll see," Jessica stated ominously, and Soojung laughed.

"Yes, ma'am."

She tugged the jeans on, pulling them over her slim hips and buttoning them, then took a black tank top from Jessica and pulled it on. The tight tank top clung to her slender body. She shook her brunette, wavy hair out to neaten it.

Jessica smiled proudly. "Now that's an outfit for dancing," she said, clapping her hands, her hazel eyes sparkling. Soojung grabbed her tan leather jacket from her closet and a woolen scarf, one that was similar to Jessica's, only a different color.

"I love Mom's scarves," Jessica commented as they walked towards her car. Soojung nodded in agreement. They both received a knitted scarf for Christmas every year, and although Christmas was more than a month away, they'd received this year's scarves already. Jen drove them to a nondescript bar that was slightly less than half an hour away.

"This place is fabulous, Soojung. Wu Fan told me about it. This is only my second time here, but I'm sure we're both going to have fun!" she said, grabbing Soojung's hand and tugging her towards the entrance. As they neared the large wooden door, Soojung was finally able to see the crooked sign above it, which read 'The Irish Borthers'. She groaned.

"Giving us all a bad name," she said, shaking her head.

Jessica laughed. "What? You mean the misspelling? Come on, you have to admit it adds character."

"Dad will love it," Soojung commented.

Warm engulfed them as Jessica pushed open the heavy wooden door. The bar was packed. People were crowded around booths, others were at the bar itself, and a lot of them were dancing to some jukebox tune.

Soojung loved it.

"See! I told you that you'd love the place!" Jessica exclaimed upon seeing Soojung's bright expression. Soojung would have informed Jessica that she hadn't said such a thing, but decided to focus on the rowdy atmosphere instead. People were yelling and laughing, but dark wood paneling and dusty memorabilia made it cozy and inviting. There was an air of ease to the place.

Jessica was already at the bar, ordering drinks for them both, so Soojung took a seat, crossing her legs and looking out over the bar. The music was so loud she almost didn't hear Jessica calling her name. She turned to her older sister and took the proffered glass of dark beer.

"Here's to going back to our roots!" Jessica exclaimed, before clinking her glass with Soojung's. They both drank the cold aromatic brew. Soojung grinned at the bartender when she placed the empty glass back on the counter.

"Keep them coming!" she shouted. The barkeep grinned and nodded, handing them both refills.

The next few hours were spent drinking and laughing as the sisters caught up on each other's lives.

"So, are you having fun?" Jessica finally asked, as they sipped at yet another glass of beer; Soojung had lost count somewhere after the fifth.

"Yes!" Soojung exclaimed. Just then, a blond sauntered up to Jessica, asking for a dance. Jessica's eyes twinkled, and she looked over at Soojung. Soojung nodded.

"Go for it!"

Jessica took the blond's hand and the two walked off, disappearing into the crowd. Soojung turned back to the bartender and laughed uproariously as he set another glass of beer down in front of her before she had even opened . The barkeep grinned.

"I'll have one of what she's having."

A deep voice resonated beside her, and she turned to see a tall, dark-haired man sliding into the seat Jessica had vacated. He glanced at her.

"You seem to be having fun," he commented, his voice raised slightly so that he could be heard above the noise. His voice was like rich velvet, and she smiled.

"I need that," he sighed, stretching, clasping his hands as they moved into the air. She couldn't help but notice how he rolled his black shirts sleeve showing his arm, his muscles rippling behind that clothes as he moved.

"You need fun?"

He placed his elbows on the counter, nodding his thanks as the bartender placed a glass of Guinness in front of him, and drained the liquid before turning to her. His eyes were an intense deep brown.

"Yes. I definitely need fun," he agreed.

For some reason, she immediately remembered her publisher Lizzy saying how was the most fun anyone could have. Did he need fun, or did he need ? She laughed to herself, turning to the barkeep, signaling for a refill, not noticing that he was looking at her until she felt his gaze on her.

She turned to him.

"So, what do you do?" he asked.

Soojung shrugged. "I used to lecture, but I write now."

"Lecture? Aren't you a bit too young for that?" he asked, his eyes questioning.

"How old are you?" she asked, ignoring his question.

"25," he replied.

She nodded. "I'm 23," she offered.

"Graduated early?" he guessed.

She smiled. "You guessed it."

"So, why do you need fun?" she asked after she'd taken a healthy gulp of cold beer. She silently noted that he was already on his third glass.

"Because I'm knee-deep in a PhD thesis and about to crumble to certain death."

Soojung's interest was piqued.

"Oh, what are you working on?"

"The Literature, which is basically -"

"Basically, literature comes from Latin Language, ”littera” which means the smallest element of the alphabetical." Soojung completed, her black eyes sparkling.

The man's mouth parted in surprise, his hazel eyes widening slightly, before his lips quirked in a smile.

"I lectured Literature and Arts," Soojung explained.

The man laughed. "So, what do you think then? My personal opinion is that-(bla bla)" he said, leaning slightly closer to her.

Soojung frowned. "No, I don't believe so."

"Oh?" His voice had lowered, taking on a silky tone. Soojung smirked as she recognized the beginnings of a debate. She squared her shoulders, readying to throw the argument. Nothing made her feel more alive than an intellectual debate.

She suppressed a twinge of annoyance at the fact that he had made a damn good point, not even two minutes into the argument, but cut him off.

Soojung was forceful, stating her points firmly, but the man was equally as persistent in his views when Jessica burst into their conversation.

"Soojung! Who is this?!"

Soojung blinked, turning to look at her sister, who was grinning far too cheekily for her own good. She had lost herself in the argument, so much so that she had forgotten her surroundings. She glanced at her adversary to realize that they had leaned towards each other during their argument, and as a consequence, were much closer to each other than before. Her bent knees were snug between his, and his hands were on her thighs, holding her in place. She gazed at his hands, and he dropped them, retreating slightly. She looked up then, glancing back and forth between her sister and the man, who had quirked his lips.

"Uh, unnie, this is, uh-"

"Myungsoo. Kim Myungsoo."

The man held his hand out for Jessica, and she took it, smiling mischievously. "And what exactly have you been doing with my sister, Mr. Kim?"

"Unnie! We were just talking about the Arts in Literature," Soojung interjected, trying not to blush.

"The what?"

"The-, well, it doesn't matter. Literature," Soojung simply said.

Jessica nodded, her eyes sparkling. "Ah, Literature. That's a forte of Soojung's here, Mr. Kim," she declared.

"Well, I count it as a forte of mine as well, and just call me Myungsoo" Myungsoo stated, fixing his gaze on Soojung. This time, Soojung turned to the bartender to yell for a drink to keep her face from burning. The look in Myungsoo's eyes was much too intense for her, she thought.

The barkeep promptly placed two glasses of beer in front of her, and Jen swooped between the two of them to grab one.

"Gosh, I'm so thirsty," she said, chugging the drink.

"Where's the blond?" Soojung asked.

"He left when I told him that the only person I slept with nowadays was my boyfriend, and that no, I really couldn't bend that rule," Jessica replied, shrugging.

"Oh!" She perked up suddenly. "There was this really cute guy back there interested in you. I've sold you to him," she grinned.

Soojung laughed. "Yeah, right."

"Well, okay, so I told him that you'd dance with him. I'm only looking out for my sister!" she pouted.

"Ah, so the both of you are sisters" Myungsoo commented, nodding sagely, adding, "I had a vague idea."

Jessica nodded, turning to him. "Well, she's younger by 6 years, but what's six years between sisters?"

"Of course." Myungsoo grinned, and Soojung fought a blush.

"It's not that difficult to tell, isn't it? I mean, we both have the same brunette hair, only she got her pretty black eyes from our dad, and I got my hazel eyes from our mom," Jessica offered. Soojung smiling.

Jessica then scoffed. "Come'on. You're like lee minjung to my han jimin, Soojung-ah. I mean, who doesn't like lee minjung?" She directed the question to Myungsoo, and he grinned.

"lee minjung is hot, she’s beautiful" he agreed, turning his gaze to Soojung.

Soojung was really going to blush now, so she quickly gulped down her drink, hoping the cool liquid would assuage her skin.

"hey, that guy's coming, go, go!" Jessica squealed urgently then, pushing her slightly off the seat, and Soojung acquiesced, getting up. She swayed slightly, her hand flying out to clutch the counter.

"You okay?" Myungsoo's voice shot right through her belly, and she fought a groan.

"I'm fine, just a little drunk," she said, smiling, before turning around and quickly disappearing into the crowd. The debate, when it grew heated, had really turned her on, she realized. Myungsoo's voice, low and rich, arguing about semantics, had lit a fire in her belly, and what she needed to do was to dance it off.

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To Be Continue

kimmyungsoojung © 2016

a/n Did I wrote this long enough?

Anyway, in case you miss my update for another story, I wrote this for the change. But i definitely want to quicly finish the other but well, just like ths story i got writer's block, my life had been very busy and I'm still working on my thesis t.t so it got delay...

However after watching your every comment it really give me some energy to write back. I really grateful for you all, my lovely and loyal reader :)

I promise to update, this saturday or sunday so... 

Thanks for reading I hope you'll like my story & don't forget to leave review:D