❝chapter11;
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                                   "You'll be seeing me around very often."

 

“Yixing! What are you doing here?” Ji Ae grinned the moment she opened the door just to meet a familiar face. Her shoulders slouched back down in ease and relief seeing him, Eun Jae had been begging her to take him to see Uncle Yixing, complaining that he has no one to play with these days.

 

 

“Surprise,” He smiled and stepped into her house, “I bought dinner for you and Eun Jae. Let’s have it together.”

 

 

Ji Ae grinned as she closed the door, taking the food takeaways from Lay's hands, "You could have told me you were coming! I would have cooked you a really nice meal. Do you still doubt my cooking skills? Yah, I improved okay!"

 

 

"Great, then I don't mind tasting a home cooked meal someday." He let out a small laugh, watching Ji Ae set the dinner table, "Where's Jae?"

 

 

Just then, foot sounds running towards the door could be heard, “Uncle Yixing!”

 

 

He watched as Eun Jae ran towards him with open arms, and instinctively, he scooped the little boy up into his arms, a huge smile plastered across his face. Seeing Eun Jae always made him feel a whole lot happier. “My Eun Jae! Did you miss me?” He cooed at the little boy, making Ji Ae smile at the sight.

 

 

“Why don’t you visit me these days uncle Yixing?” Eun Jae pouted, “I have no one to play with since Mummy is always busy too.”

 

 

Ji Ae sighed at her little boy, shaking her head with a smile on her face. "Jae, didn't Mummy tell you that Uncle Yixing is very busy these days?"

 

 

Eun Jae pouted and made a sad face, causing both adults to soften at his adorable puffed up cheeks, “Then the both of you forgot about me..”

 

 

Lay chuckled as he placed the little boy down on the chair and got seated too, “I promise to make more time for you, okay? Have you been a good boy for Mummy?”

 

 

“Yes!”

 

 

After dinner, Lay and Ji Ae were busy washing the dishes in the kitchen, while Eun Jae was kept occupied playing with his toys in the living room. Lay had insisted to help her with it, despite her saying that she can handle it alone. Besides, he get to spend more time with the both of them by staying longer. 

 

 

“Is everything alright, Yixing? You didn’t look to good during dinner just now.” Ji Ae asked the man beside her. Lay was quieter than usual over dinner today, and it definitely did catch her attention, since he was always the chatty and bubbly guy she knew. Something must be up, she thought.

 

 

 “Actually, I.. I came today because I have to tell you something too.” He finally said, making Ji Ae look up to glance at him.

 

 

“Really? Sounds serious. Is it bad news?”

 

 

Lay hesitated before speaking. He didn’t know how he was going to break the news to her. News just came in back at the office that the Chairman from the US who was supposed to come down to meet Kai and Ji Ae regarding the project cannot make it in time, and that the two of them would have to make a quick trip there instead. Even though it was just for a week, it still bothered Lay very much. Having her accompany that Kim Jongin to US didn’t sound like a very good or wise idea to him. Not at all.

 

 

 “It’s not exactly good news..” Lay finally said, and he saw Ji Ae stopped washing the plates beside him to pay more attention to his words, “You and Kai will be going for a business trip to the US, for a week.”

 

 

“What?” She gasped, sounding shocked, which was not at all surprising to him. He had kind of expected for Ji Ae to react in this way.

 

 

“I know this is really abrupt.. But Chairman Lee can’t make it here by this week.” Lay sighed as he turned to look at her with disappointed eyes, “And because you are to assist Kai in this, you are needed to follow him there..”

 

 

“Oh..” Ji Ae muttered as she let the info sink in. She couldn’t believe her ears. A business trip with Kim Jongin?! And to the US together?! Oh no, she wished she heard wrongly. Her last meeting with him didn't go very well, either. 

 

 “I’m really sorry, Ji Ae.” Lay managed to say after a few minutes. Honestly, he felt extremely bad. He knew she would agree if he asked, but deep down, he knew that she would be hesitant about it. Whatsmore, it’s Kim Jongin. Not just any odinary man, not just any ordinary client. The jerk who he still has suspicions about.

 

 

“Don’t apologize, Yixing.” Ji Ae smiled slightly at him and resumed washing, “It’s not your fault. I’ll go. It’s just..”

 

 

Lay knew what exactly Ji Ae was worried about - Eun Jae. Immediately, he assured her, “Don’t worry, I’ll bring Eun Jae over to my place to stay for that week. My mum will be home and she’ll ensure that he’s well fed, you know her.” He chuckled lightly at the mention of his mother.

 

 

Ji Ae smiled, knowing she can be rest assured having Eun Jae under the care of Lay’s mom. Mrs Zhang had always treated Eun Jae just like her own grandson too, always feeding him non-stop, showering him with gifts ocassionally, whenever they visit the Zhang’s residence. 

 

 

“Then I won’t have to worry. It’s been long since I took Jae to visit your parents anyway.” She replied, smiling as she looked at the little boy in the living room, "I'm sure he misses them too. When are we leaving?” 

 

 

“Three days after today.” Lay replied shortly, before he placed the dishes down and turned to look at her with a serious expression, “But if you’re really uncomfortable going for this trip with him, you must let me know okay? I don’t want you to feel uneasy around him. Especially since he's your ex..”

 

 

How can she refuse? After everything that Lay had done to help her and Eun Jae for the past few years, surely she can do him a small favour like this right? This is the least she can do to help him. Whatsmore, she wasn’t planning on letting her personal feelings affect Lay’s company work, afterall. A buisness trip can't be that bad, right?

 

 

Seeing that Lay still looked worried, she gave him a reassuring look, “Don’t worry. It’s just for a week, right? I can handle it.”

 

 

That night as she laid in bed silently, she read the messages that was sent to her from yesterday by a certain someone.

 

 

“Ji Ae, I’m sorry for making you upset..”

 

 

“I really didn’t mean it. Please, would you talk to me?”

 

 

“Please stop being mad at me.. I didn’t have any rights to blame you at all. I was so stupid.”

 

 

“I heard about the business trip already..Call me, please?”

 

 

Reading the messages sent by Kai, she sighed and shut her eyes tight. He had been trying to reach her after making her upset at Namsan Tower yesterday. Honestly, she had to admit that she was a little touched seeing that he had taken the intiative and time to look for their old love locks, but she was also mad at him for making her have all of these confused feelings. And with the upcoming business trip, she’s unsure of how she’s going to face him.

 

At the corner of a small café in Myeongdong, sat two dashing young men, both dressed handsomely, seeming to be having a real serious conversation over their cup of tea. Everything seemed so perfect about the portrait of the both of them as people in the café turned to sneak a few glances at the two.. except the tension between them.

 

 

“You called me out so suddenly,” Kai spoke firmly as he eyed the man sitted opposite him, “Seems like you have something urgent to say? If this is about the buisness trip, Mirae has already told me about it.”

 

 

“I asked you out personally today to emphasize and set some rules regarding our contract, Mr Kim.” Lay looked back at the latter with a stern look as well. 

 

 

“We don’t have to be so formal with each other, Mr Zhang. You can just call me Kai.” He replied, straightening in his chair.

 

 

“Alright, I’ll cut straight to the point. I see that you have been hanging out with Ji Ae a lot quite frequently, do you have that many questions regarding the contract to ask her? You’re a client and boss yourself, I’m sure you should know where to place boundaries between work and personal feelings, no?”

 

 

Kai snickered after hearing what the man had said. Of course, he had asked him out to speak about Ji Ae. He should have known. Now what? Lay was even intending to in his buisness with her? “Boundaries, huh? Why are you interferring in Ms Park Ji Ae’s buisness anyway? I don’t think there’s a need for you to know about anything concerning the both of us.”

 

 

"If Ji Ae's not comfortable with you as a client or even seeing you around, then I wouldn’t mind at all to cancel this contract we have."

 

 

“You seem close to her, how long exactly have you known her for?” Kai ignored his threat from earlier, determined to know when exactly did this Lay guy pop up in Ji Ae’s life. 

 

 

“I knew her way back since she had Eun Jae.” Lay replied confidently, his gaze still fixated on Kai.

 

 

Kai was on the verge of flipping the table in front of him right now. What the hell? The fact that this Lay dude seemed close to Eun Jae made Kai suspect that he’s the father of Eun Jae. Isn’t he? He wanted to ask, but that would also mean hurting his pride. 

 

 

“To kill any of your doubts and curosity,” Lay cleared his throat before he took a sip of his tea, “I do know about your past with her.”

 

 

Kai froze, trying to maintain his cool. Lay knows about his past with Ji Ae? How even? No wonder this guy seemed all protective of her. How close can they be? Ji Ae even told Lay about him and their past? Things started to seem a bit more clearer. 

 

 

“Who is Ji Ae to you?” He spoke slowly, eyebrows creasing. 

 

 

“She’s someone important to me.” Lay replied, firmer this time, “And I will not let anyone hurt her, especially you, Kim Jongin.”

 

 

The man's words made Kai’s blood boil and his fists immediately tightened. What the ? Hurt her? Kai thought he had heard wrongly. He wasn’t intending on hurting Ji Ae at all especially after he broke her heart once years ago. But not anymore, not at all. He's determined to win her heart now. Kai glared at the man opposite him, "You like Ji Ae, don't you?"

 

 

Those words bitterly left his mouth. He could tell from the way he saw Lay looked at Ji Ae back at the restaurant since the first day they met. Call it a man’s thing. And Kai didn’t know what he was going to do next if Lay was going to admit to liking her.

 

 

"I don't see why I should engage in a conversation like this with a stranger I just got to know."

 

 

"Oh really?” A smirk crept up Kai’s lips as he stared straight at the man, “then you better start getting used to me, Mr Zhang. You'll be seeing me around very often.”