In the month that followed, Taeyeon had become one of Jiyong’s inner circles of friends. They had been so inseparable that Dara once remarked that it seemed as if Jiyong had grown another body alongside his and become a Siamese twin. But although they’re friends and did almost everything together now, Jiyong was still the devil he was before. Once, he had pestered her about going for a strip clubs hopping and almost made her heart jumped out from . But she had suspicions that Jiyong had been testing and teasing her when he had made that offer though, because he had laughed like a lunatic seeing her sputtering and her indignant and horrified expressions.

But what she remembered the most was the one when they were watching this daredevil stunt show on TV. She had remarked how stupid she thought the guy was, trying to skydive when he was so afraid of height. Alec had mocked her to be a chicken and how perfectly boring her life was. His taunt had been so bad that before she knew it, she was screaming her way down as Jiyong had pushed her from the plane before he had jumped himself. And how he had bent down in laughter when her legs had trembled like plucked strings when she had tried to stand up afterwards. She had had no other choice then but to give him a bump the size of a golf ball on his head for that. It’s not that she hadn’t had fun doing it, because it was the most exciting and exhilarating things she had ever experienced. It’s just the principal of things: nobody laughed at her and walking away with nothing. In her heart though, she admitted that Jiyong had been right to do what he had done. If he had waited for her to jump by herself, the plane had been likely to run out of gas before she had decided not to jump anyway and missed the greatest experience of her life. Of course, she would rather die a thousand deaths than to admit it out loud in his face. But then, she had expected that being friends with him would be enjoyable and thrilling.

What she hadn’t expected was that she could admire and respect him without even trying. She had thought him a spoiled guy, someone who would throw tantrum when he couldn’t get his wish, in which she had had experience. Someone who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth that he would be helpless and could only depend on his managers and board of directors when dealing with business. 

Someone who would spend his day playing, having fun, pulling pranks on people, and generally wrecking hell in Vegas. She had never expected to see the serious and brilliant sides of him the minute he had stepped into his office. The persuasive and charming sides of him when he had had to negotiate a deal. She could see the admiration and respect clearly on the faces of his employee when they had greeted him. And she had never expected he had this alluring side when he had had to deal with a woman who had flirted with him, although she had expected his cutting and acidic remarks when the woman had been too persistent for his liking.

And she had definitely never expected to fall head over heels in love with him. Although if someone asked her why she could fall for someone like him, the best answer she could come up with would be: just because. All she knew was that she had felt so alive when she was with him, that she had felt wretched and irritated when she saw a woman flirted with him. Luckily, Jiyong had never flirted back in front of her face so far; otherwise, she didn’t know what she would do. It was the first time she had ever felt this way after all. And although she couldn’t put her finger on the exact time she had fallen for him nor the exact reason, she could recall clearly when it had grinned at her and bonked her cheerfully in the head.

~ Flashback ~

It was a week ago. They had planned to go on a private cruise in the Gulf of Mexico with three of Jiyong’s close friends and their girlfriends. Since Jiyong didn’t have one, thank God for that, he had picked her to even out the number. She had been thrilled beyond belief. Not until she was on the deck sipping her orange juice that she realized with the fun, also came the risk of Jiyong finding out her secret. If she fell into the water, then the t-shirt would be glued to her body, and everybody could easily see the ridges of the binding on her chest. Her make-ups would be washed away, and she just knew that the padding on her waist would get loose and fall off, showing her curve to the world to see. What would Jiyong do then? She shuddered as she imagined his reaction to the truth, and immediately went to find him.

“Jiyong, I don’t feel well. I think I’ll just hop to the land and waited there until you’re back ashore,” she said as pitifully as she could.

Jiyong lowered the da