A/N: Hey Everyone!! Thank you so much for subscribing and commenting!! I hope you enjoy this new chapter.

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Chapter – 3: Please Don’t Stop The Music

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‘Good. I never asked for your love anyway.’

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His anger surged at her callously sarcastic words, and Ji Hyun shrank back as he stalked towards her, trying to punish her by intimidating her into silence. He towered over her, his arms caging her, and as his hands came up on the floor-to-ceiling window on either side of her, he let his forehead fall against the glass behind them. She squeezed her eyes shut, dazed by the sudden change. There was barely an inch of space, but he wasn’t touching her, and yet she felt an almost electric charge in the air between them.

And then he was shaking, his hot, broken breaths scattering across her collarbone where her shirt opened.       

A moment passed, he bit back a harsh groan of discomfort, and then subconsciously, her arms came up around him, softly drawing him closer against herself to soothe him. She almost jolted at the feel of his solid warmth. Several minutes later, his breathing began to calm down, and his head fell onto her shoulder as her fingers tentatively clenched his shirt.

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It had been a long time since he’d been this taken aback at himself. As he’d moved towards her, Wonho had seen the worry on her face melt into flickers of shock, and when he’d looked into her stricken eyes, his own had shut out of unease. He’d blinked, and the view of the glimmering city behind them had made his vision swim, making him seek out the glass for support.

And when he felt her unsure hands, he’d frozen in place, focusing on her soft and steady exhales to anchor himself back into normalcy as the dreadful dizziness passed.

Wonho pulled back slightly, his eyes raking over her small, oval face framed by the flyaway strands of auburn hair.

‘Ji Hyun.’

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Her eyelids fluttered open in shock at his whisper.

The tranquil moment was shattered by the jerk of the elevator as it started up again, the doors automatically opening as per the default, and Ji Hyun was stunned as Wonho almost ripped her arms away from himself in his rush to leave.

She supposed it might have been because of his acrophobia, but she doubted it. By the time the doors dinged closed, he had disappeared, leaving her muddled.  

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Wonho’s breaths left him harsh pants as he jogged down the stairs. Twenty floors down was definitely overdoing it, but he told himself he needed the cardio, and most importantly, that he had to get away from her.

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‘Are you still not going to tell me?’

‘There’s nothing to tell, Hyungwon.’

‘Fine, be that way.’

‘Nothing happened.’

‘Okay then.’

Ji Hyun paused. Hyungwon usually let his expressions do the talking anyway, but something was off.

‘What’s up with you?’ she asked.

‘She’s coming in today.’

‘Oh.’

‘Exactly.’

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‘Really, Wonho? Even Jooyoung noticed. Jooyoung. The whole building is talking about it. And it’s been a whole week of nothing but awkwardness.’

‘Yeah, because I care so much about this, Kihyun.’

The internal auditor sent him a sharp look, which was ignored.

Kihyun opened his mouth to argue some more, but he was cut off by the door swinging open dramatically.

A tall, tall, pretty woman with long, dark brown hair stylishly whipped off her Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses. And then she emitted an affected voice that was at odds with her stature.

‘Oh. My. Gosh!!’

Wonho winced. Kihyun’s jaw dropped.

‘D-Dodo?’

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An hour later, Chae Dodo, heiress to the Starship conglomerate was still in his office, and Wonho averted his eyes as she shifted positions in her chair. Kihyun had to send her an awkward glance before she remembered to appropriately cross her legs. He warily wondered why she didn’t just wear pants instead of her ostentatious dresses and spare him the views of perilous things.

‘Oppa, you should be free for dinner tonight, right?’ she fluttered her eyelashes at Wonho.

Kihyun grimaced as Wonho floundered for an excuse.

‘I don’t think so, I’m working on a new project right now.’ Wonho replied, and Dodo’s puffy lips pushed together into a childish pout.

‘You always say that. I just got back from Milan after a grueling fashion week. I’ll have to talk to Father about you doing all this work.’

‘There’s no need for that.’ He said hastily, forgetting for a second that the spoiled heiress lived in the wonderful world where simply asking for things meant you got them.

‘Hmm, fine then. You’ll have to find another way to make it up to me.’ She said coyly, shooting him a flirtatious smirk before sweeping out of his office as quickly as she’d swept in.

‘Remind me why you decided to date her behind all our backs?’ Kihyun asked, and Wonho sighed.

‘She was hot, and it was high school.’

‘She’s Hyungwon’s twin sister. Identical twin sister. Do you know how weird that is?’

‘It’s been ten years, Kihyun. Let it go. It was hardly a couple of months with two teenagers deciding that making out on the rooftop was the best thing on the planet.’

‘Still gross.’

‘Yeah, well, people grow up after high school.’ Wonho said feebly. 

‘Have you?’

‘Yes!’ he exclaimed in frustration.

And it was true, he was well and over and done with Dodo. Apparently, she hadn’t got the memo.

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Ji Hyun idly stared at the buttons on the microwave as she waited for the water in her favorite purple mug to heat up. The small but stylish black, white and gray themed breakroom was quiet as its only occupant circled her hand around the edges of the Oolong tea packet that she’d picked out, and she grinned at the memory of Hyungwon’s face as she’d left him alone with his sister. After the initial surprise and awkward brotherly pat on her shoulder as she’d enveloped him into a tight hug, Hyungwon had settled his face into the plain expression he usually wore.

He’d tried his best to nod and react at the appropriate moments as an excited Dodo launched into a detailed account of her latest foreign trip. He was a good brother, Ji Hyun mused, and it was obvious that he loved his selfish, spoilt sister to pieces, but she could be a handful, even for Hyungwon.

A dull rhythmic buzzing interrupted her thoughts, and Ji Hyun picked up her phone.

‘Hello?’

‘Chief Choi! You finally have a minute to talk?’

‘What’s up, Mi Joo?’

‘It’s been months since I’ve seen you!’

‘Yeah, well, things have been – ‘

‘Busy, busy, always busy, yes we know. You’re still coming to the reunion tonight.’

Ji Hyun felt a familiar crease form on her forehead.

‘Mi Joo, I – ‘

‘It’s a ten-year reunion, you can’t miss it this time! Think of how long it’s been since you’ve seen some of us.’

With good reason, she thought, and she was glad the words didn’t slip out of .

‘It’s Friday. And it’s been a horrible week and it’s Friday.’

‘And that’s why you need to come.’

Alright, fine.’

‘And wear something pretty! Jae Hyun sunbae is going to be there too.’

‘God Mi Joo, I said I liked him once, in fourth grade. It doesn’t count.’

‘I’m kidding. He and Hye Sun unni got married recently!’

Like everyone didn’t see that coming with them being the IT couple all through high school.

‘Wow, that’s great.’

‘Yeah. Anyway, I’ll see you there so don’t be late!’

‘Okay.’

Ji Hyun sighed as she hung up, closing her eyes in dread at what the evening held for her. The microwave dinged, and she absently pulled out the mug.

‘Hey.’

That voice.

The mug slipped from her fingers as she whirled around. The loud shatter of the ceramic breaking on the white tiles brought the dim hum of the conversation outside the breakroom to a silent standstill.

‘Chief Shin.’

She blinked as she stared into his startled dark eyes. After a week of glances that passed over each other in conference rooms, and fleeting looks at short, forced interactions, it was like being doused with icy water.

Ji Hyun shakily bent down to clear up the mess and stiffened when his hand shot out to wrap around her wrist, stopping her fingers from reaching the ceramic shards.

The awkward tension in the air rose, and he immediately pulled away.

‘It’s alright, I’ve got it.’ She muttered slowly, eyes still locked with his.

‘It’s fine.’

‘I – ‘

‘It’s fine.’

‘Okay then.’

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Wonho’s stomach did a weird flip as Chief Choi’s uneasy eyes looked anywhere but him. All the usual barbs just didn’t seem to come naturally a