Jiyong woke up with a loud crack on his back that made him open his mouth in silent agony. He blinked until his vision became clearer and he noticed that the room looked far more different than the one he stayed in on his dad's hotel. The one question that popped in his mind was...

"How the hell did I get here?" 

And just right then, his bedroom room burst open, revealing his trustworthy secretary who seemed to always be dressed in uniform. Jiyong quirked her a lazy brow as she strode towards him with a face full of seriousness. Classic Adrienne. There wasn't a day where he hasn't seen her dressed so business or formal-like. It looked plenty ironic to him since they were a in a company that mostly caters to street and casual wear. 

"Are you awake now, Mr. Kwon?" she murmured in a scolding tone. 

An obnoxiously loud yawn escaped his lips while the French woman continued to give him a flat look. Jiyong blinked again, his hair in total disarray and his mind still hazy. "Where am I?" he slurred in French. 

"We're in your sister's house, sir." Before he could speak up, she added, "You went drinking with her yesterday and she didn't know where you were staying so she just brought you here." she continued. "Please inform me where you are, sir. I almost filled for a missing person case because of your absence in the hotel." 

"You just love me so much, do you Adie?" he remarked with a hangover glint to his eyes. 

"Yes. I love you so much that I'm willing to live on without you." she replied sarcastically. "I'll even prepare your funeral myself."

Jiyong nodded, chuckling as he pushed himself off the bed, nonchalant to the fact that he was almost completely . Adrienne instantly covered her eyes with the folder she was holding as her boss made his way to the bathroom only to come out a few minutes later with a bathrobe. The blonde woman then casually handed him the packet that she was holding before she bowed slightly and left the room. Jiyong watched her retreating figure with an amused look on his face as he shook his head again. 

Adie has been with him since the birth of his small business. She used to work for one of his dad's firms as a desk jockey. When his father—out of the spur of the moment—asked a room full of his staff if they wanted to work for his son, Adrienne was the very first one to put her hand up. The dead look on the woman's face reminded him of his days in law school. When Jiyong found out about her mildly sarcastic quips and sassy attitude, he knew that they were going to get along great. He's mastered the art of figuring Park Bom out so Adrienne was going to be a piece of cake. Besides, the woman definitely proved herself multitudes of times with how much effort she's put through. 

Truthfully, the amount of work she's done for him would earn her a promotion as VP. Strangely however, the woman didn't want no such position and just asked him for a raise... a raise that almost made their salaries even in fact. Jiyong didn't know if she just grew really fond of her position that's why she didn't want to let go or if she grew attached to him, well because look at him! How could you not turn your head to such a god-like man like him? Even the elusive Sandara wasn't immune.

Ahhh, sweet Dara, he thought dreamily. 

That reminds him. 

*RING* *RING* *RING—*

"Hello?" came her groggy voice. 

"Your bedroom voice is making my body tingle in all the right places, baby." 

She groaned and he heard the sound of rustling on the other line. Did she just wake up too? "Isn't it a little too early in the morning for your ertedness?" 

"It's never too early for some lovin'." he chuckled earning him an annoyed grunt. "Did I wake you?" 

Dara absently scratched her head as her eyes darted to the clock. "No." She didn't know what compelled her to deny but she did. 

"Oh really?" 

"Yeah." she yawned

"So that bedroom voice of yours is a daily occurrence?" 

She shut her eyes and plopped herself back on the bed. "Don't start with me, Jiyong." 

"I don't mind if you start with me though." he smirked. 

Dara scoffed although her cheeks were going red. "You lousy smooth talker." 

"What can I say? I'm god's gift to the world."

"Ever the conceited one." she chuckled. 

Jiyong liked hearing her laugh first thing in the morning. He pressed the phone closer to his ear as he listened calmly to the sound of her voice. 

"Lucky you because you're my only world." 

Her soft laughter came to an abrupt halt. "You really know how to ruin the mood, don't you?" But her fast pacing heart said otherwise. 

"I beg to differ, sweetheart." Jiyong could definitely hear the bashfulness under her irritated tone and it made him smile. "Do you see me as a man, Dara?" he suddenly asked. 

"W-Wha—"

"Because you're the only woman I see." 

Dara shut her lips tight and winced inwardly. Why does he always do this to her? Was making her squirm his life goal or something? Where does he even get those stupid cheesy lines?! She didn't know any man other than Jiyong who would so confidently and openly tell her such sweet corny words like that. It was refreshing to say the least. 

Dara always thought that the change in time and trends had made the people in the country more drab concerning romantic gestures that were now only ever done in movies or in TV. Jiyong however seemed to break away from it and did his own thing. He didn't ride the forming wave of unromantics that wouldn't know a difference between a true love or a relationship wholly based on . 

She didn't know if they were going for true love but she definitely knew that Jiyong wasn't like the rest of the guys she'd seen. He reminded her of a Sandara Park that once was. 

A hopeless romantic that did everything to find their heart. 

"I just wanted to start my morning off with you." he said. "Good morning, Dara."

A gentle smile painted on her face as she looked at the ceiling with butterflies forming on her stomach. "Good morning, Jiyong." 

He bit his lip to restrain himself and heaved out a breath before announcing, "I have a pretty busy schedule today so I may not be able to call until late in the evening." 

Dara finally sat up, brows crinkling in disappointment. She thought that she was going to be able to spend time with him... not that she'd admit to wanting to spend time with him. "But it's a Saturday..." she couldn't help the sad tone in her voice and hearing it made him wince. 

"Sorry baby, today was the only time that I could get a meeting with one of appa's henchmen. Yes, I know it's a Saturday. I don't know why in the hell their only available today when we can very well meet next week on a weekday." he sighed. "I think I'll be free tomorrow but I can't guarantee as of now."

"Oh... you must be really busy."

Jiyong hummed in response. "Yeah a little bit. My team and I are going to try to test the waters by opening a pop-up store in one of appa's commercial buildings." he explained. "If it doesn't work out then we'll give it a few more years until we finally open a franchise in Seoul." 

Dara toyed with a loose strand from her blanket as she frowned. "And you're going back to France?" 

"It's not—"

The door suddenly slammed open making Jiyong slightly jump from shock. He glared at his secretary but the latter was clearly not having it. "I see that you haven't perused through the documents." she inferred with a sarcastic undertone. "I also see that you haven't read that the meeting is in 10 am sharp which is 15 minutes from now, sir." 

Jiyong widened his eyes and immediately shot up, muttering curses in his breath as Adrienne left him to his privacy. "Oh , oh , oh ." he chanted. 

"What's wrong?" 

"I'm running late, sweetie." he said apologetically. 

"Oh—"

"I promise to call you back later, okay?" Jiyong said hurriedly. 

Dara's frown worsened as she nodded to herself. "Okay..." And then a pause before shyly saying, "I love you."

"And I love you very very vey very much too, baby." he even had the audacity to throw in some smooch sounds in their much to her amusement. He smiled hearing her laugh once again. "I'll call you later?" 

"Yup. Good luck on the meeting." 

With one final 'love you', they both hung up the call and Jiyong quickly darted to the bathroom where he proceeded to wash the alcohol and vomit smell off of him with a huge grin plastered on his face. 

"What the hell...?" 

Durami and Sanghyun, peeked over the note that their older sister was reading but the older woman suddenly crumpled it, leaving them to look at her with shock. 

"Do they think I'm some babysitter?!" she bellowed, stomping over to the fridge and angrily downing orange juice straight from the bottle as if it were soju.

Sanghyun merely grimaced at her while his other older sister snatched the crumpled note on the ground and unraveled it. Durami's face turned just as sour as Dara did and it only made Sanghyun more curious to what was written. 

Dear children,

Appa and I decided to take a breather.

We're getting so old and our bones are

popping every time we move them and 

that's not a good sign. We hope you 

understand. It'll only be a week but still...

try not to burn the house down. We left our 

phones home because we don't want to be 

bothered. If you have a problem, handle it

on your own. Two of you are adults now. 

Claim responsibility since you're going to do

it in the future anyway. Might as well start now.

We didn't leave you money. Again, handle it on

your own. Dara and Durami have jobs. You'll live. 

Anyway, we wish you the best. If there's an emergency 

just call 119. We'll handle it when we get home.

All the best. Stay alive. 

-Love omma and appa <3

"I ain't paying for ." Durami scoffed, earning her a hit upside the head from her unnie. 

"YAH! Do you think we're swimming in money?!" she raged. "We're splitting the bills." 

Durami was about to retaliate when Dara suddenly saw her brother's grinning face. "And you." Dara narrowed her eyes towards him. 

Sanghyun blinked innocently under his thick (almost emo) bangs.

"Wipe that smile on your face because we're not giving you allowance."

"WHAT?! WAEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?" He whined. Durami sneered, pinching his ear earning them a wince. 

"You're lucky omma and appa even give you lunch money. Unnie and I didn't get a cent when we were in school." 

Sanghyun looked completely appalled and unbelieving. "How do you expect I'll eat in school then?" 

Dara rolled her eyes. "Have you heard of a lunchbox?" 

"Lunchbox?" he murmured incredulously as if it were the nastiest thing that had come out of his mouth. "What am I, in elementary? Have you seen a high schooler eat from that in years? Like hell would I have a lunchbox!" 

"Jesus, it's like omma and appa didn't spank you." Durami shook her head. 

"They didn't." he added smugly. 

The two sisters shared a knowing look before turning to Sanghyun with smirks on their faces. The boy visi