Hello everybody! I'm finally done with my exams and am waiting for my graduation!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Heehee, anyway, thank you for waiting patiently for my updates and I do apologise for the delay! So, this chapter is a little longer than usual! Okay, it'snot a little. It's about twice that of my usual. Hope you all will enjoy reading it! THANK YOU AGAIN :)

After pressing the doorbell, Hyukjae oppa turned to face me. The two of us waited patiently outside the door. We heard the pattering of feet from the other side before the door was opened. Standing in front of us was Soobin in her pajamas. Her dark eye circles were darker than usual and she looked like she didn’t sleep the whole night. I exchanged glances with Hyukjae oppa.

“Good morning, Soobin,”Hyukjae oppa greeted to ease the awkwardness.

“Did we disturb you? I thought you’ll be awake to get ready for work,”I said in an apologetically manner.

“Oh…, I overslept. Please come in,”she mumbled.

I walked in with Hyukjae oppa behind me. I gestured towards the sofa and signaled to Hyukjae oppa that I’ll be right back. He nodded his head and I went off to Soobin’s bedroom where I saw her heading to.

“Soobin?”I called out as I pushed the door open gently.

She was in the bathroom, washing up with her back facing me. I sat on her bed and waited till she was done.

“Soobin, are you okay? You aren’t one to oversleep…,”I asked, concerned.

“I’ll get your Hyukjae oppa something to drink first,”she tried to brush it off.

“He’s had coffee earlier on. He’ll be fine without a drink,”I stood up to stop her.

Looking at her blood shot eyes, I could tell she had been crying the whole night.

“I think you better stay home today…,”I sighed.

“No, I’ll just...go in late and pay back the hours. I need the distraction,”she shook her head.

Seeing as that’s the best method for now, I nodded my head to agree with her.

“I’ll get Hyukjae oppa to cook breakfast for you. Is there anything you would like to eat?”I asked.

“No, I’m fine with anything,”she hadn’t even protested against the idea of having Hyukjae oppa cook for her.

Normally, she wouldn’t even bother anyone when it comes to cooking. Her dishes were one of the best I have tasted.

“I’ll just…go get ready…,”she said distractedly.

“Okay,”I nodded my head as I watched her get her clothes.

I walked out of her bedroom to give her some privacy. Hyukjae oppa stood up upon seeing me.

“How’s she doing?”he almost whispered.

“Not good. But she wants to go to work to distract herself,”I replied.

“I think that’s the best for now. It beats having her here alone, thinking of Donghae,”Hyukjae oppa sighed.

“That’s true. Oh, Hyukjae oppa, could you cook breakfast for Soobin?”I asked.

“Sure. What would she like to eat?”he asked as he took off his suit jacket.

“Maybe a stew? That’ll warm her up,”I suggested.

“Alright!”he rolled his sleeves up.

“Thank you,”I gave him a peck on his cheeks.

“Anything for you and your friends, baby,”Hyukjae oppa smiled his gummy smile as he walked over to the kitchen.

The whole time, I watched Hyukjae oppa work his way around the kitchen to make breakfast for Soobin. When she was done showering, she came out and sat down just in time for Hyukjae oppa to serve breakfast.

“You guys can go off to wherever you’re heading to. You don’t have to stay with me. I’ll go to work once I’m done,”Soobin reassured us.

“Nah, I don’t want you to eat alone. Hyukjae oppa, do you need to go off first?”I asked him, worried that his work might be waiting.

“It’s okay! We’ll report to work together. It’s your first day, after all,”he grinned.

“You’re working now?”Soobin turned to ask me.

“Well, not really,”I started before launching into the explanation of my deal with Hyukjae oppa.

“That’s still better than doing nothing at home,”she smiled encouragingly.

And for the first time in two days, I finally saw her smile and was comforted that at such a time where she is sad, she was still able to be happy for me.  With that, I was sure that Soobin was much stronger than I thought she was and that she will get through this rough patch. After breakfast, Hyukjae oppa sent her to work and before she stepped into her office building, she had turned around to give us a wave and a big smile on her face.

“She looks better than she did this morning,”Hyukjae oppa commented happily as he started the engine.

“I think it’s the magic of your stew,”I grinned, happy that Soobin was feeling a tad better.

“You think so?”he asked, glancing at me, with a small smile.

Once we were at work, I began researching on the different things that I would want to do with the shop that Hyukjae oppa was going to invest in. I was pretty engrossed in it till my phone vibrated. Thinking it was Soobin feeling down, I hurriedly grabbed it. Instead, I was met with a message from another person.

[Sigh, who knew you’ll look so pretty when you’re being all serious~~~ -Hyukjae Oppa ^^]

I looked up immediately but was met with him looking at all the files seriously. He even had a frown on his face. It was as if the message came out of nowhere and he never sent it.

[Aigoo~~ who knew you can act so well. Yah, stop pretending to be hardworking!]

I sent that to him while stifling the giggle that threatened to come through. I went back to work and was met with another message that came really quickly.

[I just wanted to show how charming I am when I’m hard at work kekeke –Hyukjae Oppa ^^]

I rolled my eyes upon reading it and was about to type a reply when someone cleared his throat. Seeing as there was only him and me in his office, I looked up to find him staring at me.

“What?”I asked him.

He didn’t answer as he rested his elbow on the table as he continued staring.

“What?”I asked again.

Without answering me, he stood up all of a sudden. My eyes followed his every move as he made his way to my table. Seeing as how he was nearing it, I put my pen down.

“What?”I asked for the third time.

He stood in front of my desk and stuffed his hands into his pocket. Just as I was about to open my mouth for the fourth time, I was forced to shut it as Hyukjae oppa leaned forward and landed his lips on mine. As he slowly pulled away, he looked into my eyes so lovingly that I felt heat crept up my cheeks.

“Blushing?”he asked cheekily.

I couldn’t answer for I was still in a state of shock.

“Cute,”he grinned as he stood up straight.

A knock at the door startled the both of us but he regained composure quickly.

“Come in,”he called out.

A guy in a suit walked and bowed to him. Seeing me, he bowed at me as well and I quickly stood up to bow back. Hyukjae oppa walked over as he began talking about something and I sat down while watching the guy explain it to him. All the while, Hyukjae oppa kept nodding his head and when he sat down, the guy put the file that he was holding onto the table and used his finger to point it out to Hyukjae oppa. I was about to go back to work when Hyukjae oppa shifted his focus to look at me. He gave me a quick wink before looking back. It left me breathless but he was still engrossed in his work, this time round, even looking up at the guy to ask some questions. Geez, why does he get away with everything?

When the clock struck six, Hyukjae oppa immediately stood up to pack up his files. I looked up from the computer that I was using that was across his office.

“Are you ready to pack up, baby? Remember we promised your parents to eat with them tonight. You don’t want to keep them waiting,”Hyukjae oppa gave me a warm smile.

“I’ll save my stuff and continue at home,”I turned back to the computer.

“You’re becoming a workaholic. We need a new rule in the apartment. No working from home!”he came over and stood near my chair, looking at what I’ve done the whole day.

“Sounds good to me. That way, you’ll only look at me at home,”I grinned to myself.

“How could I take my eyes off you?”he reached out to move my face towards him, making sure I was looking at him.

“Mr Lee Hyukjae, this is an office. You need to maintain professional behavior,”I turned my head away to shut the computer, remembering the kiss we shared earlier on.

“Then, what was that kiss earlier on, huh?”he asked as he rested his on the table.

“That’s unprofessionalism on your part. I didn’t agree to it,”I replied.

“Fine! Can we get out of here now? This is killing me. Maybe having you in the office isn’t such a good idea, after all,”he groaned.

“Who was the one who loves being stuck in here months ago, huh? Look how different you are now,”I laughed.

“It can’t be helped that I’ve learnt a lesson the hard way. Ready to go yet?”he asked again.

“Yes, yes! Gosh, you’re so impatient!”I pinched his nose as I stood up.

“It’s only once in awhile. I’m usually really patient with you like how I waited a whole month for you to be my girlfriend. That counts as something, isn’t it?”Hyukjae oppa smirked as we walked out of his office.

“And for that, I’m really thankful,”I gave him a smile.

We got into the car and he drove us to my parent’s house which was in another side of Seoul that was a little farther from his apartment. This is the reason why my parents rarely visit us since they don’t drive and taking a subway or bus to our apartment would be too troublesome. Hearing the doorbell ring, the door to my parents’ house swung open, revealing my father.

“Haemin!”he quickly rushed out to hug me.

“Daddy! I missed you so much!”I giggled.

“Come in! Your mother is cooking!”he gestured towards the house.

“Hello, uncle!”Hyukjae oppa bowed.

However, he took one look at Hyukjae oppa and just walked in without greeting him. This was unusual for he was usually fond of him ever since we got together back in high school.

“What’s with him?”I asked Hyukjae oppa.

“Nothing, baby. Let’s go greet your mum, alright,”he ruffled my hair with a reassuring smile.

I nodded and went on in with no further questions.

“MUM!”I shouted as I walked into the kitchen.

“Hello, aunty!”Hyukjae oppa greeted.

“Oh, you two are here! Goodness, I’ve missed you so much, Haemin!”my mother had her hands on my arms as she surveyed me up and down.

“Er, aunty, I’ll just go talk to uncle a bit. He must be lonely in the living room,”Hyukjae oppa spoke up.

“Ah, Hyukjae…,”but she was cut off by him.

“Don’t worry,”he gave her the same reassuring smile before my mum nodded.

“What’s going on?”I asked as I looked at his retreating back.

“You didn’t know?”my mum asked me.

“What did I miss out on?”I asked.

“I should have guessed! Hyukjae wouldn’t have told you anything. That boy,”my mum shook her head.

“Mum, please don’t beat around the bush anymore,”I pleaded.

“Alright, alright! Anyway, Hyukjae came by for a visit yesterday…,”

“What? Why?”I raised an eyebrow.

“Well, he came over and apologized to us. He confessed to getting you pregnant and sending you away,”my mum glanced at me.

Seeing that, I immediately avoided her glance.

“I know it was an accident but of course, as a mother, I was furious with how he dealt with the whole situation. But seeing as how he came over and told us in detail what happened and how he was deeply regretful for his wrongdoings, I tried my best to forgive him. Your father, on the other hand, just couldn’t accept the fact that he had lied to us. Although we could tell from his eyes that he was truly regretful for everything, your dad needs more time to accept it,”she patted my back.

“I’m sorry for lying to you,”I looked down.

“I know how you are like with Hyukjae. That is why I wasn’t surprised when he told me that you two are back together. Your dad was upset when he found out though. But we just want you to be happy and if Hyukjae can make you happy, then we wouldn’t object,”she smiled.

“Please help me talk to dad about it. Hyukjae oppa was really miserable after I broke up with him. He really is trying to make it up to me as best as he can. I have to admit that the whole incident was traumatic but I’m happier now than ever after everything. I really love him,”I tried to explain to my mum.

“We all know, dear,”she gave me a soft smile.

With that, I helped her prepare the table for dinner. I walked towards the balcony, all ready to tell the men that it was time for dinner. But the scene right in front of me, made me freeze. For the first time in 22 years, I saw my father flare up. He had never done that to me or my mother but he was doing it now to Hyukjae oppa. I couldn’t hear what he was saying. But with the way, Hyukjae oppa had his eyes lowered and head bowed, and how my dad was being so agitated with his finger pointing at him, I knew he was scolding him. It seems he was done when he finally let his arm fall to his side, turning to look out into the darkness outside. Hyukjae oppa bowed again, supposedly to apologise. Deciding to save him, I knocked on the glass and he stood up straight in an instant.

“It’s time for dinner, dad. Don’t be angry anymore,”I said softly into his ears as I massaged his shoulders.

He turned around abruptly to look at me a bit before brushing past me towards the dining table. I looked at Hyukjae oppa, giving him a smile to cheer him up. In return, he gave me a forced one as he took in a deep breath before walking into the house again. I hurried after him and gave his arm a quick squeeze. We settled down for dinner quietly and unlike the past, where my parents would always talk to us, it was a quiet affair this time round.

Dinner was so awkward that I couldn’t wait to get out. But as my dad opened the soju, Hyukjae oppa put his chopsticks down and offered to pour it for him. My dad eyed him before passing the bottle to him and lifting up his cup for Hyukjae oppa to pour. He did the same for my mum’s cup before turning to look at me.

“I’ll pour it for you. I’ll drive later on,”I smiled as I tried to take the bottle for him.

“I’ll pour for him,”my dad spoke up all of a sudden and he reached out for the bottle.

Hyukjae oppa and I were puzzled and we looked at him.

“Do you not want me to pour it for you, Hyukjae?”my dad asked.

“No, no. It’s an honor,”Hyukjae oppa grabbed his cup.

He poured it for him and Hyukjae oppa turned to his side to drink it up.

“One more, Hyukjae? Just like the old times?”my dad asked again, this time round with a smile.

That was when we know he was trying to hint to Hyukjae oppa that he have forgiven him. Realising it, Hyukjae oppa let out a relieved smile and lifted his cup again.

“Thank you, uncle,”

My mum and I couldn’t help but mimick the smile on Hyukjae oppa’s face. All was well again. 

End of Chapter

DarkAngel