Hello my readers, here's a belated MERRY CHRISTMAS to you!!!! Hope you had a wonderful time just like I did ^^ AND AND AND PLEASE STAY TUNED TO THE NEXT CHAPTER BECAUSE...IT MAY WELL BE THE ONE THAT YOU ALL HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR :)

The next day, I sat around in bed, hooked up on the internet looking for a job. I looked through various companies, hoping to find a desk bound job that did not mind my Hotel Management degree. But…it was rather hard. That was until an email came in. Curious, I looked at who was it that sent that email to me. Park Taesung? Who in the world is that?! But when I read the subject title, I didn’t hesitate to click on it. It was a job offer!

“ASSA!”I cheered.

I was about to start popping champagnes when I realised that I hadn’t even sent out my resume to any of the companies that I was looking at.

“It’s a spam email…,”I sighed in defeat.

I continued scrolling, feeling upset about the momentary happiness. As I was about to click on delete, I happened to glance through his signature after his name.

“Park Taesung, Human Resources Manager…JEWEL HOUSE?!”my eyes nearly fell out.

It was the company that Hyukjae oppa owned. Why was this Park Taesung sending me a job offer out of nowhere and for the company that Hyukjae oppa owned?! I scrolled up to read the contents.

“WHAT?! Secretary for the CEO?! Hyukjae oppa wants me to work as his secretary?! Whatever happened to his current one?!”I frowned.

My jaw dropped when I looked at the benefits that he was offering me to be his secretary. On top of an apartment in Hyukjae oppa’s block, I will be given a salary that I was pretty sure that is much higher than his managers. I grabbed my phone to call the number that Park Taesung had given me.

“Good Morning, this is the Jewel House. This is Park Taesung speaking. How may I assist you?”he answered the phone.

“Good morning, Mr Park! I’m…Kim Haemin. You sent an email to me…,”I raised an eyebrow.

“Ah yes, Miss Kim. Good morning. Are you taking up the job offer?”he asked.

“Sorry? Aren’t you going to ask me to go down for an interview? Besides, whatever happened to Shinae sshi? Wasn’t she Hyukjae’s secretary?”I asked.

“Well, I’m not too sure about that. But he said he needed another secretary and gave me your email address just so we can hire you according to our company procedures. Besides, we all know who you are so I guess there’s no need to go through an interview”he explained.

“That guy is crazy…,”I muttered under my breath.

“Sorry?”he asked.

“Nothing, nothing. Anyway, I’m sorry but I will not be taking up the offer,”I apologized.

“Miss Kim, why don’t you think over it? That offer will still be there for you so don’t make such a rash decision. If you look at the email carefully, this is a good opportunity,”he tried to convince me.

“Mr Park, I’m very sure that you don’t try to persuade candidates in taking up a job offer that often. You’re doing this because Hyukjae asked you to hire me. Don’t worry, I’ve got your back. I’ll put in good words when I talk to him,,”I explained.

He could only sigh.

“Thank you so much though. Goodbye,”I hung up.

A knock on the door startled me and I turned to find Donghae standing at my door.

 “You’re awake? Why aren’t you coming out for breakfast?”he asked as he came nearer, looking at the laptop and the newspapers beside me.

“I thought I’ll quickly scan through to see if there’s any job before breakfast but…,”I looked around helplessly.

Donghae chuckled as he settled down next to me. He reached out his hands to get my laptop.

“What are you doing?”I asked.

“What do you think I’m doing? Stealing your laptop? Fool, I’m helping you search,”he laughed as he focused on the screen.

There was a pause as he stared intently at the screen before letting out a chuckle.

“This is so Hyukjae,”he laughed

“I know right. Anyway, you don’t have to help,”I said as I stood up.

“I insist. Go eat breakfast, I’ll be done soon. Go, go!”he pushed me a little.

“No! You go eat breakfast first! I’ll be done soon,”I crossed my arms.

“You’ve been cooped in here since you woke up and found near nothing. Go on, I’ll do it faster,”he replied with an amused expression.

“Okay, we’ll go eat breakfast together and come back later,”I suggested.

He fell silent before brightening up with a cheeky smile. We went out to the dining table where he cooked kimchi soup and rice. It was like how it was back in the days where I had been staying with him.

“Old habits die hard, eh?”I joked as I drank abit of his soup.

“Of course, I cook all my meals. There isn’t many places to eat outside at my town, anyway,”he answered.

The two of us chat while eating and when we were finally done, we went back to my room to continue looking for a job to no avail. Donghae put my laptop aside and stretched a little.

“Donghae ah, thank you,”I patted his shoulder.

“You’re very welcome. Shall we go out today? I’ve been rather bored at home,”he grinned.

I nodded my head eagerly. The two of us showered and got dressed before heading out. Although I had a car, I decided against driving. It’ll be awkward for Donghae as a man to be seen ferried around by me. Instead, the two of us got around by public transportation. As we waited at the bus stop for the bus, he grabbed hold of my hand all of a sudden.

“Let’s consider this a date, shall we?”he asked with a small smile.

“Huh? What?”I exclaimed.

“You and me. Right now. On a date,”he broke it up to explain to me.

“Date?”I asked to reconfirm.

“Yes, date,”he nodded his head to confirm.

Seeing as how his eyes were so bright, my mind did a flash back to the night where we had kissed and guilt over washed me again. Donghae had always been so nice to me and all I did was brought him nothing but trouble. I couldn’t even begin to express how grateful I was to have him as my friend.  He only had such a simple request…I ought to fulfill it, right?

“Cool,”I nodded my head to show him that I was complying with his request.

Unable to hide his true feelings, his right hand went up to his lips and I could see a slight smile beneath. His eyes seemed to have came alive and I couldn’t help but chuckle at his child-like ways. I don’t know how any of his girlfriends could think about hurting him. He was too nice a person for that.

“Donghae, I haven’t gotten the chance to say this but I’m sorry,”I spoke up as we settled down for lunch.

“What are you sorry for?”he asked.

“Sorry for dragging you along to Japan. You looked so miserable throughout the whole trip,”I sighed.

“Yeah, well…, I kinda expected it, with Hyukjae being there and everything,”he shrugged it off.

“But he didn’t have to be so mean to you. You’ve been friends for so long,”I replied.

“Don’t worry about that. This is how men are like especially when it comes to the woman they love,”he explained.

When he said that, it seemed like he made it a point to stare at me and I felt my heart do a quick flip. But it wasn’t because of the way he stared at me. It was the words he said. How men are like especially when it comes to the woman they love…This means that I have quite an important place in Hyukjae oppa’s heart…right?

“Donghae ah,”I called out.

“Yeah?”he looked up from the menu he was looking at.

“Thank you so much”I asked.

“First, you’re saying sorry and now you’re thanking me,”he looked at me with a ‘you-are-weird’ expression.

“Well, I had to thank you for all your help throughout this period,”I grinned.

As he chuckled, he lowered his eyes at his food then at me.

“Here,”

I looked up to see his chopsticks near me with a piece of meat in between. I looked at him and he raised his eyebrow abit before tilting his head a little, gesturing for me to eat it. I gave him a small smile before taking it from him.

“It’s delicious, isn’t it?”he asked.

I nodded vigorously before picking up a piece of the chicken I was eating to give it to him. Without hesitation, he ate it off my chopsticks and couldn’t stop talking about how delicious it was.

“That chicken was awesome, wasn’t it?”he asked even after we were done eating.

“Yes, you’ve said it a thousand times,”I laughed.

“Our Haemin is really good at picking which food to get eh?”he grabbed my hand again all of a sudden causing me to gasp.

Donghae just looked at me with a smile, as if it was all natural for us to hold hands. With his warm hands enveloping mine, I couldn’t help but feel awkward for holding hands with a guy that wasn’t Hyukjae oppa. I felt like I wasn’t acting myself. Moreover, because it was Donghae, I felt embarrassed about holding hands with him. I mean, weren’t we just friends?

“Fool, are you blushing?”his face came near mine.

“No! Go away,”I pushed his face away and began walking.

“You are, right? Let me see, fool! Come here,”he pulled my hand causing me to fall back.

Afraid that I would fall, Donghae reached out to support my waist with his other arm. He let go of my hand and cup my face. He stared intently at my face and I lowered my eyes, unable to meet his.

“You’re really blushing,”he laughed.

He pinched my cheek, earning a yelp from me.

“You’re so cute, you know that?”he grinned at me.

“You are cute yourself, idiot Hae,”I pinched him back hard as revenge.

“What the heck was that?!”he asked as he massaged his cheek after I let go.

“What?”I smiled innocently.

“Wow, fool, you wanna play this game, huh? Don’t let me catch you, Kim Haemin,”

I took off before he could even react. With the adrenaline pumping, I felt a gush of oxygen rise up my lungs and I screamed when I realised he was hot on my heels. Strangers on the street turned their heads to look. Ignoring the looks of everyone, I kept running till I was pulled back by someone’s arm on my stomach. I landed with a loud thud on Donghae’s chest. The two of us were panting from all the running and were unable to speak. Just like that, we stayed in that position, not moving. Slowly, he let go of me and ruffling my hair a little.

“Don’t run so fast. You have a history of asthma. Besides, it’s not like I’ll do anything bad to you even if I catch you. Stupid. Let’s go sit there,”he pointed towards a bench away from the busy street.

Settling down, I turned to look at him. Perspiration was dripping down his head so I could quickly reach into the bag I was carrying for a piece of tissue paper. I began helping him wipe them off. All this while, he just kept staring at me. He blinked a little and did the same to me, helping me wipe off my perspiration as well. He lifted up my fringe to dab the tissue on my forehead. As his tissue moved down my nose and onto my cheeks, he rested it on my left cheek.

“I love you,”

End of Chapter

DarkAngel