Zelo finally struggled into the kitchen mid-afternoon.

“You’re just in time for lunch. But first drink this.” I handed him a bowl with dark brown liquid.

“Thanks but it smells suspicious.”

“It’s an ancient Chinese secret. Great for everything especially hangovers.” I wasn’t lying but I knew other remedies that were way less bitter than this. Zelo made a face, but obediently choked down the dark liquid.

“That was gross.”

“The trick is to not breath while drinking it. And I think you mean thanks Jenny for getting me home and lugging my tall up the stairs.” Zelo at least had the decency to look a little embarrassed.

“Yeah. Sorry. It was not my night.”

“Apology accepted. Now the other thing. Do you remember what you said to me before you fell asleep?”

“Not really. I drank a lot last night.”

“You said that I was yours last night. Mind explaining?”

“Can I have some food first? I don’t think I have the energy to speak.” I pushed the tray of sandwiches towards him. He stuffed two sandwiches in his mouth before he answered.

“It’s simple, really. You’re supposed to be my fiancee. You’re staying at my house with my dog who you like so much. It’s more of a pride thing than a romantic thing. Sorry to get your hopes up.”

“Okay first of all I don’t belong to anyone. I am my own person. Second I don’t even like you so don’t worry about getting my hopes up. And third stop eating all the sandwiches.” I took the plate back. Originally I made eight sandwiches, but there were only three left now.

“I’m full anyway. We’re going to HQ again tonight by the way.”

“Again? Why?”

“We have a job tomorrow night. We need to do a final debriefing.”

“Why do I need to be there?”

“You don’t. Sunmi wants to meet you since she couldn’t yesterday.” I can get more intel from her.

“I guess I’ll go then. But no poker this time.” Zelo shrugged.

“Sure. Thanks for lunch. I gotta go take care of some things now.” He was out of the kitchen before I could ask him what things he meant.

I didn’t see Zelo for the rest of the day. He was holed up somewhere in the house. I spent the day playing with Mochi and learning the layout of the house. So far my favorite place was the backyard. It was a nice open space perfect for me to sit outside and read or play with Mochi.

Before long, we were on our way to Mato again. It was crowded yet again so Zelo had to help me through the crowd. You would think people would have better things to do than to go clubbing. Everyone was already gathered in the back room. Zelo went to go join the guys who seemed to already be deep in discussion. A girl with long black hair and sparkling, kind cinnamon eyes approached me.

“Hi! My name is Sunmi and I’m so glad to finally met you.”

“Oh hi. I’m Jenny. It’s nice having another girl around.”

“Same! So I hear you and Zelo are engaged and living together.”

“Yeah. It’s only been two days so I don’t know how to feel about it yet. I’ve learned the boy can eat.”

“Tell me about it. My Dae Honey is such a foodie. He wants like nine side dishes with dinner.”

“That’s way too many! I couldn’t even make three with the stuff in Zelo’s fridge. Does he even cook?”

“Not really. Why don’t you go out to buy some groceries?”

“I haven’t had time to explore the area yet. I’m pretty sure I would get lost.”

“Ask Zelo to go with you to the grocery store. It’ll be a good chance to get to know each other. Oh and there’s a really cute cafe near Zelo’s place. Why don’t we go tomorrow? The guys will be out for most of the day anyway.”

“For a job?” The look on her face answered my question.

“How do you deal with Daehyun being in this business? Doesn’t it scare you?” Sunmi took a deep breath and in that moment I saw behind the cheerful surface and saw eyes that knew sadness.

“I won’t lie to you and say it’s easy. Every time he goes on a job, I’m always scared it’s the one that goes wrong. But I love him too much to walk away now. It’s better to have loved than not to love at all.”

“That’s really admirable. But aren’t you scared for your life though?”

“The fear is there but I believe in Daehyun. I’ve also been learning how to protect myself.”

“I wish I loved someone the way you love Daehyun.”

“It’s possible. I think you and Zelo are good for each other.”

“How do you know? We just met.”

“Well you can call it women’s intuition.” We ended up chatting the whole time. It was way more fun talking to Sunmi than watching the guys play poker last night. Before I knew it, Zelo and Daehyun were standing over us, ready to go. I said bye to everyone and exchanged numbers with Sunmi. Zelo and I started to walk to the car.

“So how do you like Sunmi?”

“I like her, actually.” She was only supposed to be a source of intel but I really did like her. I guess she’s my first friend in Korea.

“That’s good. She really needs another girl who understands this life. It’s been hard for her, keeping all this a secret from everyone she knows.”

“This isn’t an easy life. We should know that more than anyone.” Zelo didn’t respond.

The next day I woke up to a quiet household. Mochi was still sleeping peacefully and Zelo seemed to have already left. I explored more of the house and got ready for my coffee date with Sunmi. I couldn’t help but feel a little excited. It wasn’t like those days I spent hanging out with Sunny in Hong Kong, but it was better than staying cooped up in the house again. Sunmi came to pick me up around 2 and we headed to the coffee shop.

“Have you ever been to a dog cafe?”, asked Sunmi.

“I haven’t. But I’ve been wanting to try one.”

“They don’t have any in Hong Kong?”

“They do, but I didn’t have anyone to go with. Sunny is allergic to dogs.”

“You didn’t ask anyone else?”

“I didn’t like anyone else to ask them to go with me. I would’ve went by myself but there’s just something sad about going to a cafe alone.”

“Well, it’s your lucky day. We’re not just going to any cafe, we’re going to a dog cafe!” I couldn’t help but squeal.

“That’s awesome! Thanks so much! How did you know I wanted to go to one?”

“Well, actually Zelo suggested I take you to this one. He told me you really like dogs.”

“Did he now?”