Life seemed to pass by so slowly.

Bong Hee sighed heavily as she prepared some documents for Lawyer Ji. The Attorney that she was now assigned to for her last internship was out since this morning for a trial.

She sighed again.

"Hey, don't you know the saying that a little bit of happiness slips out whenever a person sighs? At this rate, you're gonna be a shell of negativeness" Mr. Byun added in a whisper, "Not that you had happiness in the first place anyway. You're always lonely."

She ignored him as he passed by. The CEO was always so snarky with his comments towards her especially since she didn't react the way he expected her to.

Bong Hee returned to her mother's house, her eyes bloodshot that night she left Ji Wook. She remembers how her mom panicked when she suddenly came over, crying with the excuse that her landlady kicked her out of her apartment in the middle of the night. She had to stop her mom from going to her landlady, possibly committing murder and leaving her with the guilt of her lie. She had cried all night long, making her poor mother confused as to why she was so upset with being kicked out.

She had been so stupid. Assuming that she and Ji Wook had something special between them when it was in fact, just her. It was like Cinderella's magic blessing, where everything stops and vanishes at midnight. She had to return to reality and curse the fairy godmother for making her have a taste of a sweet fantasy just to rip it away from her not long after. 

Everyday was painful. She longed for his presence, his gentle stares, his fleeting touch, his smile, his hard-earned laugh, she missed everything. He was like a drug and she was having severe withdrawal symptoms. The days she spent with him were like shooting stars in the night sky, short-lived but unforgettable. It was much more painful than what she expected.

Sometimes, she found herself staring at nothing, the thoughts of him swimming in her mind. Then that burning feeling in her chest would start again, creeping up to , making her lips tremble until it reaches her eyes and she feels those wet tears in her cheeks again. She wouldn't be able to stop asking herself the questions over and over.

Were they back together now?

Is he okay? Is he still having nightmares?

Did he throw away some of the things I left behind?

Does he miss me the way I miss him?

Then she would let go and sob her heart out. The heart-wrenching feeling much worse than her old heartbreak. It was eating her alive.

Thankfully, she had to go back to school for a few months before being assigned to her last internship so she had something to be busy about instead of moping around depressed. She adamantly declined to intern with a public attorney, begging their department head to assign her to a corporate attorney instead. She wouldn't be able to bear being in the same building as Ji Wook everyday and seeing him again so soon when her wound was still fresh.

She was assigned to B&P law firm, quite a huge and known firm in the field. The CEO, Mr. Byun, was a peculiar person, saying that she looked reeeeaaallllyyy familiar when they first met and she wondered if he was one of those ahjussi erts whom she encountered a few times before and also one of the reasons why she decided to pursue law. The old men traumatized her with disgust. 

Lawyer Ji Eun Hyuk was a relief to have as a mentor. He was very friendly and bubbly, although his weird laugh never failed to amuse her and even confuse her sometimes.

She had also rented out a very small apartment nearer the office. She could bear the space as long as she could live in it and her mother won't have to worry about the rent pay. She had to lie that it was a big apartment though just so her mother wouldn't nag about it.

She looks at her watch. Only 10 minutes have gone by. She sighs again.

.

Eun Hyuk cheerfully opens the door to their office, his eyes quickly going to where his desk was located. "I'm baaacckk!!!!" he smiles as he sees his intern approaching him with a mug of coffee.

"You've worked hard Lawyer Ji, do you want some coffee?" Bong Hee offerred nonchantly. 

Really, his intern was so boring at times, why was she always so gloomy?

He sighs and pursed his lips. 

"Bong Hee-shi, do you not like being my intern?"

She quickly raised her head and waved her hands in bewilderment. "No Lawyer Ji! I really like being your intern! You're kind, you're friendly, and you teach me lots of things! I'm really lucky to be an intern to someone like you!" the blush that was creeping up to her cheeks made him smile in amusement.

"I see." he pockets his hand and thinks of an idea. "Do you have something to do later?"

"uhm....no?"

"Well then! You have to accompany me somewhere." he sets his bag down on his table and smirks at her. "As your mentor, i ought to teach you some lessons outside of office."

Bong Hee could only raise her eyebrows in confusion. Later would mean after office hours and aside from taking her to probably see a trial (which is not possible since the court would be closed by that time), she couldn't think of anything where she would be able to learn. 

She nods anyways.

.

"How is this a lesson Lawyer Ji??" Bong Hee gapes as she stood in front of an arcade station. The upbeat noise of different machines mixed all together and making a boisterous sound outside the building made her cringe. She loves playing arcades but she wasn't really in the mood for such games right now.

"Life lesson! You've been so gloomy since you started your internship at our office. You have to enjoy fun things in life Bong Hee-shi. I don't really know what you're going through but sometimes, we just have to let go of everything and play till our hearts content!" he grabs her hand and pulls her towards the entrance, all the while grinning excitedly. 

Bong Hee sighed as she let him drag her all over the place. She begrudgingly played table hockey with him, then basketball, then bowling, until she found herself getting competitive when they played Tekken and she found out he was good at fighting. She had never lost in Tekken so her pride was on the line, making her use all her secret combos until Eun Hyuk lost at the last match. She cried out in victory and ended up teasing him.

He pouted in mock anger and challenged her to a shooting game where they had to pair up with each other yet compete with the amount of points they gather during a mission. She found herself laughing and squealing as they yelled at each other during certain bosses. They gave each other high-fives when they finished the scenario, Eun Hyuk won with higher points but they were both satisfied that they performed great.

She sighed in contentment when they sat to rest in a nearby bench. It had been so long since she laughed without any worries. 

She flinched when something cold touched her cheek and smiled as she accepted the cold can of juice that Eun Hyuk gave her.

"Now, wasn't that refreshing?" Eun Hyuk gave his trademark laugh at her as he took a sip of juice and raised his head to gaze at the night sky. 

Bong Hee stared at him. Lawyer Ji is a really great person. He was always so cheerful and gives out vibrant energy all the time. She remembers that she once had that amount of energy too, before she seemed to lost it all after that night.

"Thank you Lawyer Ji." he turns his attention to her and she gave a heartfelt smile. "This means a lot."

Eun Hyuk couldn't help but gaze at her with wonder. Tonight was the first time he ever saw her smile and hear her bubbly laughter, as if the experience offered a glimpse to that cheerful girl that she was before. She certainly didn't look like a naturally emo person. What exactly happened that made her change like this? Wait.....why is he even curious?

His thoughts got cut off when she suddenly stood and stretched, smiling as she did so. "I know you're worried about me and i'm really thankful. I promise to lessen my "gloominess" in the office and try to be more cheerful." she made a quotation in the air as she commented and ended with a giggle.

Eun Hyuk stood up as well and followed her as she walked back to her car, glancing at her from to time as he took his steps in time with hers. He tried to hide the smile that was constantly creeping up to his face.

He actually enjoyed their time together much more than he expected.

.

Bong Hee was smiling more often now, Eun Hyuk noted.

He would sometimes take her with him when he has big trials in order for her to take note and learn more especially since she wanted to be a defense attorney as well once she passes the bar exam. She would be so enthusiastic in questioning him about different things while he drives them back to office and he was liking it.

Surprising her was always such a funny and cute event. He once surprised her with cotton candy when she just barely stepped out of the exit and she got so shocked, she nearly tripped and ended up with her face full of cotton candy. She had pouted at first but ended up laughing with him.

But there were days that he couldn't work his magic with her. She would frown the whole day and he would sometimes see her eyes glistening with held-back tears and he found himself being conflicted. What's making this girl so sad??

"Have you ever fallen in love Lawyer Ji?"

Ironically, her sudden question actually answered the silent questions he had in his head. So it had something to do with love after all. 

"Of course i have. With my family, friends, workmates and also with you, my intern." he finished with a laugh.

Her furrowed eyebrows made him stop laughing and he pursed his lips.

"I'm serious Lawyer Ji, i'm not talking about that kind of love. I'm talking about heart-wrenching, gut-twisting kind of love." she asked with her hands making vigorous actions to emphasize her point and she was so cute, he had to hold his laugh to avoid her possibly giving him an uppercut. He found out after hanging out with her that she was actually kind of short-tempered at times.

He straightened his face and avoided her eyes. "I have." he could feel her staring at him and he let out a breath. "But she loved someone else."

Bong Hee looked down in response, biting back her tears as she related with his words. "It must've been hard." 

He hears her taking a shaky breath and he didn't want to have her crying now after working so hard to make her smile again all this time, so he pats her back and gives her a happy grin. "It's all in the past now though, no use crying over spilled milk right? Life continues." 

She returns his smile, albeit weakly, and it was all he needed to see.

He always thought that she looked lovely with a smile on her pretty face.

.

It's been months after Bong Hee had finished her internship with him but Eun Hyuk still liked having contact with her. They would sometimes hang out and even have drinking sessions with Mr. Byun and the other lawyers. He didn't want to disturb her so often since she was studying for the bar exams.

He was sometimes sad when he was in the office. It was only 2 months with Bong Hee but he missed having her tail behind him. There wasn't anyone who would put sticky notes on his table or documents with cute emojis anymore. He had always looked forward for her messages of encouragement. 

"I placed Mr. Cha's documents on your drawer Lawyer Ji, please rest earlier today, fighting! (⌒o⌒)"

"How about some cocoa to sweeten up your spirits! Don't be too stressed Lawyer Ji! ( • ̀ω•́  )"

"i'm still mad at you for playing that cockroach joke on me so only one choco pie for today. (¬_¬)"

He snickered when he remembered his pranks on her and eventually sighed. Ahh, how he missed that girl.

Today, he felt especially sad. 

It was his birthday but Mr. Byun seemed to have forgotten again and his other colleagues had appointments later so they couldn't go when he invited them. They had greeted him though and offered him his favorite choco pies as gift. He didn't want to make it such a big deal so he ended up buying his own birthday cake and going to the usual park where he liked to hang out. He had finished all his work for today anyway, thinking that they could all go out and drink or something.

He goes at an area near the sea and positions himself under his favorite tree as he laid out a picnic cloth. Taking his birthday cake out of the box, he carefully places the candles on top and rummages in his bag to look for the match.

"Lawyer Ji!!"

Her distinct voice called out to him from far away and he quickly turned towards her direction. Bong Hee was wheezing and had her hands on her knees as she took deep breaths. She slowly approached him in her tired state.

"Bong Hee-shi? What are you doing here?" he couldn't hide his smile as he stood up and gestured for her to sit beside him. She was still breathing hard when she sat and drank from the water bottle that he had near his bag.

"It's your birthday right? I went to the office but they told me you went out earlier to go somewhere alone and honestly, this was the only place i could think of. Thank goodness you were here." she took one last deep breath and cleared . "Saeng-il Chukahaeyo!!!" she then proceeded to sing him a birthday song while clapping her hands in beat.

Eun Hyuk was grinning widely and clapped in time with her as she sang. He had told her about the place and how he had especially liked how quiet that side of the park was. They had hanged out here sometimes and play jenga and other games to pass out the time.

She finished the song and they were both clapping like penguins, making them both laugh. She handed him a small box and smiled sheepishly. "It's not much but i thought it would really suit you Lawyer Ji."

He laughed as he received her gift. "I'm sure i'm gonna love it whatever this is." It was true. No matter what she gave him, even if it's just a mere tissue paper, he would still treasure it like gold and probably hide it somewhere to preserve it. He was that happy.

He opened the box and saw a simple yet sleek black wristwatch nestled in between the foam and he gasped exaggeratedly. "Wooowww!!! Daebak! I love it!!" he quickly removed his Fossil watch and wore it, stretching his hand in the air and marvelled at the special gift she gave him.

Bong Hee was blushing from embarrassment and she slightly slapped his arm. "Aigoo! You don't have to make such a show Lawyer Ji, how could that compare to this high end brand?" she raises the Fossil watch and laughed awkwardly. "I'll be glad even if you just display it among your endless display of watches."

He laughs and places the now forgotten watch in his bag. He knows he'll be using the watch Bong Hee gave him more often than not and he could only apologize to the other high end watches he had in his home. His new wristwatch was gonna steal the limelight after all.

"Thank you. I really love it. I'm serious!" her responding smile was dazzling and he didn't know if he could smile any wider. His cheeks was already hurting from smiling too much. She remembered his birthday compared to those people in his office whom he had worked with for so long and honestly, her greeting was the only one he looked forward to the most anyway so he was extremely satisfied.

"I don't suppose this is gonna get ruined so easily right? Cause i might wear it everyday and i'm expecting this to survive for a lifetime."

Her amused laughter was definitely the best thing he had heard all day. 

---------------------

NOTE: And yes, i ship Eun Hyuk and Bong Hee too! So go ahead and shoot me MWAHAHAHAH ( • ̀ω•́  ) sorry, no Ji Wook for today ^^ i wanted you guys to fully grasp the concept of her coping up without Ji Wook.

*whispers* i'm actually planning to make a standalone EunHyuk X BongHee fic but i'm still conflicted with the plot outline hwehwehwehwe (✖﹏✖) i hope no one tries it yet when the time comes cause i'll end up trashing the whole idea (╥﹏╥)