rewritten+new scenes.

Jongin glances down to his wristwatch, one of his shoes tapping against the tiled floor rather impatiently. He turns behind, looking through the enormous translucent window where people are walking under the brightness of the morning sun. When there’s no sign, he returns to the previous position while fixing his glasses. The person he’s supposed to meet today is approximately ten minutes late.

He has already memorized the things he wants to say. All he needs to do now is to stay calm when she arrives. He also needs to get out of here as soon as possible because there are people who seem to recognize him already. He tries his hardest to maintain his cover as he ducks his head low while leaning back against the chair, keeping himself occupied with his phone.

Jongin lifts his gaze towards the door when the chime rings throughout the café. “It’s been so long,” Soojung beams as she takes a seat across of him without delay after settling her handbag on the table, “I thought you’ve forgotten about me.” Jongin doesn’t smile back. The lady is finally aware of the gloomy atmosphere. She tries ignore it though, smiling forcefully, “Jongin?”

“I need to tell you something for one last time,” He finally speaks. Soojung blinks, “Last time? Why are you talking like that, Jongin?” She tries laughing but there’s no different response from the male in front of her. “What is it?” She’s scared now, Jongin can feel it. With a sigh, he leans forward to the table, never taking out his glasses, “Let’s forget about what happened between us.”

Soojung’s smiley face drops drastically. “You’re joking,” She chuckles which comes out as a forced one, “You must be joking.” Jongin shakes his head, “I’m being serious, Jung Soojung.” A chill spreads throughout her body after her full name comes out from his mouth. “But you,” She sniffles, frowning at him but her eyes are filled with sadness, “You promised me that we’ll be together. You said— You said there will be us.”

“I know,” Jongin’s voice nearly wavers but he quickly regains his composure, “We should’ve never met again after I was wedded. It’s my fault for letting you in our house that night.” Soojung is conscious of everything he said but she’s mostly aware and curious of a certain word he used, “Our house… ?” Jongin settles his glasses on the table top, looking serious as ever, “My wife’s house.”

Soojung gulps. She has never witnessed a grim-faced Jongin before. However, she’s totally upset. “Why now? Why haven’t you told me sooner? I came here all the way from work with hope but you— You ruined everything—” “Let’s settle this like adults,” Jongin cuts her off midsentence after noticing the unshed tears, “Forget me and move on. You’ll find a better man.”

Standing up after wearing his glasses, he tries his hardest not to look at the crying lady, “Goodbye, Soojung.”

+++

Baekri and Chanyeol are back from suspension. None answer the staffs’ bombarded questions. They completely ignore all of them. This past one week, the pair has been very happy. Both talked about their feelings. Baekri, too filled with glee, has easily forgiven Chanyeol once the latter apologized to her for confessing quite late. They meet every day during their suspension, both visiting each other’s houses.

Baekri has a smile on her face as she enters her office, her mood better than the previous week. Someone pushes her inside out of the blue. She shuts her eyes close before feeling the hard wood of the door pressing against her back. “Baek,” The intruder wraps his hands around hers before she can call for help, “Where have you been?” Baekri timidly opens her eyes only to see Jongdae. Guilt washes over her after spotting worry in his orbs.

“I was on suspension,” She isn’t even ashamed to admit it, trying to push the other by having her fists on his torso, “You shouldn’t be worrying about me—” “How can I not,” Jongdae cradles her balled fists before raising one of her hands to his mouth, brushing her knuckles lightly with his lips, “I called many times but you didn’t answer.” Baekri swears she almost melts by Jongdae’s soft gestures but she’s with Chanyeol now.

“Jongdae,” She forcefully retrieves her hands from him, ignoring the look of hurt in his eyes as she says, “Please leave me alone.” The engineer major is quite stubborn as he does the opposite. “Please tell me what happened,” He cradles her jaw so gently until he swears he can feel the woman melting as he gazes into both of her eyes, having a safe distance between them, “I was worried to death.” Baekri swallows hard. Her heart is racing and it’s not a good sign.

She thought she could break the news to Jongdae in a good way.

Not like this.

“I’m with Chanyeol,” She breathes in deeply after declaring out loud, her insides clenching with sympathy as Jongdae distances away from her within a second, “We were caught making out in the elevator by the Director and the Deputy.” Jongdae’s face flushes in what, she doesn’t know. She doesn’t want to know. The male is silent, eyes wide in pure shock. But his gaze is still soft on her. It makes her feel twice the guilt she’s feeling currently.

“I wanted to tell you this before you wanted to take me out for that date,” Baekri tears up for no reason. She just can’t stand seeing Jongdae like this. So blown away. So broken. “You should have. I even gave time for you to decide,” Jongdae sends a meek smile, his tight expression remains the same. When Baekri doesn’t seem to say anything else as her tears fall, Jongdae steps forward to her once again. He holds one side of her face before leaning in.

“What—”

Baekri shuts up when something warm presses against her forehead. “I’m not changing my mind,” Jongdae grins this time, causing the woman to blink rapidly, more tears falling. “I still want to try,” He wipes away the fallen tears before smiling warmly, “Don’t cry.” Baekri sniffles, looking away from him as warmth floods her cheeks. “I’ll see you again, Baek.” The woman doesn’t answer even after Jongdae is long gone. The man is so sweet to her even after what she did.

In a certain restroom for male staffs, Jongdae sobs pathetically in silence.

///

Joohyun flips page after page over the themes for the year-end dinner. Her employer sure has a nice taste. Thinking about Junhee, she glances over to the glass door which separates the Director’s and the Deputy’s office. Junhee is in there quite a long time. Curious, Joohyun gets onto her feet to peek on them. Her eyes widens slightly as she witnesses the Chinese male and his wife conversing merrily, both having smiles on their faces.

“What are you doing?”

Joohyun nearly tumbles to the other office by the sudden source of voice. She swivels around and spots Bogum giving her a soft smirk. “Have you chosen anything?” Bogum asks as he watches the scattered printed papers lying on the Deputy’s desk. “A masquerade-themed dinner will be nice,” She replies as she heads to the white table, taking the paper which has pictures of the said theme before showing it to him, “We never did this before.”

Bogum whistles at the decorations, “Looks like a lot of work to do.” Joohyun shrugs her shoulders before clipping the paper on her red clipboard, “She asked for my opinion and I’m going to choose this no matter what you say.” Bogum lets out a chortle, a very fond one, “I didn’t say I disagree. It’ll be nice to see everyone wearing masks. You’ll definitely look good in it.” Joohyun snaps her eyes to him at this. She notices the other’s cheeks are changing colours.

She ignores him on purpose as she heads to the door. She knocks twice on it before Bogum can even stop her, “May I come in?” After receiving positive replies, she pushes the door open to meet her smiley employers. Joohyun can’t help but to tease as she heads towards their way, “What a happy atmosphere I’m feeling. Am I missing out anything?” The Director becomes flustered a little as he straightens up on his leather chair but Joohyun knows it’s just his cover.

The Deputy saves them both by asking her, “Have you chosen anything?” Joohyun resists the urge to giggle by both of their obvious flustered-selves before masking a professional smile, nodding at Junhee, “This one.” Junhee’s face brightens as she receives the clipboard, “This is what I chose too.” Yifan tries to peek at the clipboard she’s holding but he can’t see it as the women are gushing about how their tastes are similar.

He ends up staring at Junhee who’s all smiles, telling Joohyun to get more pictures of the theme as a reference. “What about you? Are you okay with masquerade-themed dinner?” Yifan blinks and spots his wife right in front of his desk. He manages to regain his posture as he smiles, “Yes, sure. Can I have a look at it?” Yifan peers over to the picture. It doesn’t look bad. It’s expensive, yes, but it’s beautiful.

“I wanted to do something special for Dad since it’ll be the hotel’s 50th anniversary. Do you think he’ll like this idea?”

Yifan looks at her and senses the insecurity surrounding her face. “He’ll love it,” He delivers a smile as he returns the clipboard. His wife replies with a happy one before she informs, “I must remind you to choose what colour of mask you’ll wear or else there’ll be lots of people wearing the same colour. The first three colours can’t be worn by others. Joohyun had already picked purple. How about you?”

“I’ll settle with white, the purest,” Yifan replies. “I chose black, the elegant. Hey, we can be the yin and yang!” A wave of odd heat fills his cheeks almost instantly. Same goes to Junhee after she realizes what she said out loud. “I’ll be going now,” Joohyun excuses herself politely whilst stifling a giggle, leaving the pair in an awkward state. “They’re not talking again?” Bogum guesses once she returns to the Deputy’s office.

“Yes. Just like always whenever one of them says something unexpected,” She shakes her head as she heads out to her own office with Bogum by her side, thinking about her employers, “They can be adorable sometimes.” Bogum raises both of his brows in agreement. There was once a time he saw his boss becoming so flustered after he slipped out that his wife looked cool during her presentation in the meetings. He had to admit it was the funniest moment ever.

///

Luhua is disappointed. Her date got cancelled because there’s an impromptu meeting tonight. Everyone received similar emails about it. She also received a text from her date. When the time comes, she puts on a fake façade covering her sadness as she heads to the boardroom. On her way there, she bumps with her date. “Hi,” Minseok greets her, out of breath as if he has just done a sprint. “Hello,” She tries hard not to show her dejection as she forces out a smile.

Minseok clearly notices it though. He feels so bad for turning down her expectations. “I’m sorry,” He bows a little before looking at her, “Can you forget about the text I sent earlier?” Luhua looks taken aback. “What I mean is,” He smiles a little too fondly, “The date is still on. Will you still go out with me?” A smile breaks Luhua’s face before she nods twice, “Sure.” Minseok almost collapses out of relief but he doesn’t, “Let’s go?” Luhua shyly avoids his eyes as she walks next to him after giving him a nod.

Minseok fights the urge from holding her hand. “So, did you get the chef’s number?” Zitao sighs out loud so dramatically, “I heard he’s taken.” Zhoumi gives him a look of surprise, “Where did you hear it from this time?” Zhoumi can only make a worried face when he doesn’t get a reply. He hopes the younger will be patient on searching a partner. “Junhee noona has gotten strict, don’t you think?” Jaebum asks as he and Jinyoung are heading to the meeting which will start ten minutes later.

Ever since the Chinese male has become the Director, they tend to be early before the meeting even starts. “You’re right. Just like Mr Wu,” Jinyoung responds as he scrolls through his phone for any updates of Kyungsu the model. “Like husband, like wife,” Jaebum comments after that, earning a chuckle from the other. Baekri and Chanyeol act like they don’t exist when they’re working or when they’re on break. Getting caught by the Director and his assistant for once is enough.

They will be able to spend their nights in private at each other’s houses. Chanyeol has been treating her like his queen for making it up to her and that’s all she could ask for, to be appreciated by him. There’s only one thing though. Jongdae still tries to win her heart whenever he sees the chance. Baekri admits he has his own charms but she just can’t leave Chanyeol either. How can she say she wants both of them? She has made her decision but why does her heart hurts every time Jongdae sends her a smile which doesn’t even reach his face like always?

She can’t even look at him for too long because of guilt. It feels like she has done something terribly wrong. She hopes she has the courage to talk it out to Jongdae one day. She just can’t right now because she has hurt Jongdae enough. Yixin notices everything. She just wants to smack Jongdae’s head really hard. She also wants to scream at him to look at her, that she’s here but of course, she can’t. She doesn’t want to. Yixin wants to wait a little more.

Good things will happen to people who wait. She will do that. She will be patient. Her crush liking someone else isn’t the end of the world. There will be a time he will get tired. She’s willing to wait. The meeting ends quickly this time. It’s just a briefing for the annual dinner. Yifan has announced to everyone about the theme with his wife handling the presentation. Yifan assumes she made it right away after she left awkwardly to her office earlier in the morning.

He admires how fleet she is with her work. Junhee seriously has professionalism within her. He somehow wants to see more of this side from his wife. “Can we go to my Mom’s place? I need to… I need to talk to her.” Yifan blinks and suddenly, there’s no one in the boardroom. All of them have left minutes ago. He doesn’t even realize the meeting has ended. “Sure,” He stands up from his leather chair while sending her a comforting smile, already knowing her distress about meeting her mother.

They haven’t reconciled yet so it’s understandable. He wonders what happened with her and Jongin. He knows he can just ask but… Junhee probably won’t like it if he meddles in with her family matters. She’s soundless throughout the ride to the Kim’s mansion. Yifan is somehow worried. He wants to ask but he strongly holds it in. He doesn’t want them to break out in a fight again. “Your mother has been awaiting of your presence, Mrs Wu,” The butler greets her after bowing towards Yifan’s way, sending both a polite smile.

“Really?”

Junhee is so taken aback. “She could not stop talking about you,” The elder man continues to appease her curiosity. Junhee exchanges glances with her husband who looks the same, surprised. “She might look angry but inside, she feels bad for what she had did to you and Young Master Kim.” Junhee clutches the hem of Yifan’s suit out of nervousness, wondering what to say to her mother later when she meets her.

She knows what she said that night was wrong and right at the same time. She hopes she hasn’t hurt her mother deeply, or else she’s never going to forgive herself. Yifan notices her anxiousness. He calms her down by having his hand on her shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. “Can you, um, can you call her for me, uncle? I don’t think she would like me to be inside the house…” The butler bows and complies her wish.

“What should I do? Will she let us in? I really didn’t mean to snap at her that night, it just came out without my will…”

“Junhee,” Yifan turns her body to face him, stopping her from rambling out even more out of anxiety, “It’ll be okay. I—” “What if it isn’t okay?” Yifan knows she must be feeling tensed right now. It’s so new for him to see his wife like this, all vulnerable and all nervous. Luckily, he knows how to comfort people. “It’ll be alright, Junhee. Do what you think it’s the best for both of you.” At that, the young lady becomes totally silent.

When they hear the main door opening, Junhee takes the initiative to confront her mother. Yifan follows, standing next to her as a support. “Mom,” She pauses as she simply notes the dark circles under her mother’s eyes, “Mom, look at me.” The elder woman does look at her; hurt, rage and guilt all mixed together. Junhee gives her a small smile as she takes her mother’s hands with little courage she has left, “Mom, I’m sorry for what I said to you that night.”

It’s quiet for a few seconds until Madam Kim pulls her daughter for a hug. Yifan internally sighs out of relief, his shoulders slightly slumping. “I’m sorry too,” Madam Kim halts for a while as she breaks the embrace, holding her daughter by her forearms, eyes teary, “For not listening to what you and Jongin wanted.” Junhee shakes her head while smiling, “It’s all in the past now. It doesn’t matter.”

The women nearly forgotten that Yifan is there if it isn’t for their family butler’s reminder. “You both better come with your hands held next time,” Madam Kim teases as she leads them to the lounge. “Why not do that now?” Junhee saves the very flustered Yifan by linking their fingers before pressing their palms together. Yifan looks down to their locked hands before up to his wife.

‘Thank you for earlier,’ Junhee mouths those as their mother is too busy squealing at the sight. Yifan gives their hands a little squeeze before nodding with a small smile despite his oddly racing heart. He’s too busy figuring out why his heart is beating so fast until he doesn’t even realize there’s another guest. “Jongin?” Yifan breaks out from his trance when he feels Junhee’s fingers leaving with his tangled ones.

“Hi,” The younger Kim stands up and greets his sister somewhat sheepishly. Their mother has head over to the kitchen. Junhee takes notice of his hand where it isn’t bandaged anymore which is good. “You okay?” She takes the healed hand, checking it as Jongin simply nods. “I’m sorry for hurting you that night,” Junhee hugs him suddenly, surprising Jongin. The younger male replies the hug nevertheless, grinning as he doesn’t feel hurt anymore.

He must apologize too. “Me too,” He mumbles, trying hard to ignore her husband’s presence because he feels shy, “For not being responsible for my mistake…” Junhee looks at him and gives him a tight-lipped smile, “You’re still searching for her, aren’t you?” Jongin nods. His eyes hold many feelings which are untold of. Junhee is glad he’s back to his self again. “How are you both going along?” Junhee blinks at the question, “What?”

Jongin throws a look behind her before to herself, “You and hyung.” Junhee then gets it. “Oh we’re doing great,” She stresses the last word with a fake chuckle as she heads to her husband’s side so that he won’t fumble with words. Linking her arm with his and leaning her head against Yifan’s arm, she hopes Yifan smiles brightly as she does, “We’re happy.” Jongin sends them a suspicious look, causing both of them to almost lose their cover.

Jongin eventually smiles, “I’m glad. Hey, doesn’t this bring back memories from