It’s difficult for her not to allow the seething acrimony to spill through her pores and onto the space between the two but she attempts to conceal it well, with the poker face she’d taken years to perfect. 

“Why are you here?” 

She’d never bring it to his attention, but despite the sour undertone in her voice, she felt a warm feeling in her chest. Her line of sight falls from his face onto the bag of takeaway in his hand.

“I need your advise on something,” he responds in his usually gravelly voice, putting the food on the table before he takes a step on the sofa chair, “… I figured you haven’t been eating so I picked something up along the way.”

She indulges, only momentarily in the idea that perhaps he relives the moments of their past where she’d be so immersed in her study notes that she’d forget her basic need for food. Though the idea quickly subsides when she remembers the headlines she’d heard before entering the office. Park Chanyeol was spotted with a mystery woman, with photographic evidence attached to it.

“Who is she?” 

She doesn’t care for the loud implications of jealousy in her voice. Either that, or she was marinating is so much acidity to hide it. Her eyes are sharp, lingering onto his as she takes a step closer to him, as though she needs to make sure first that she isn’t falling into one of his traps. 

She won’t sit down just yet.

Park Chanyeol chuckles, shaking his head.

“A family friend. She was lost in the neighbourhood and I had to pick her up, she’s staying at my fathers house for a couple of weeks because her mother’s sick.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

Park Chaeyoung hates how much she was hoping that he wasn’t. 

“No more lies,” he responds, “… it’s not like I could ever get them past you from the start right?”

He wasn’t wrong. 

She wonders if he remembers the countless times he’d lie about his whereabouts, and the way she wouldn’t question it, even though she knew. 

The young woman walks towards the other sofa, sitting directly in front of him before she clears . 

“You already have a legal team,” she reminds him, “… I’m not looking to create tension with other firms.”

“I want to know what you think,” he looks up, eyes lingering onto hers in a way that almost pleaded for her help, “… remember when you said you’d be my personal advisor?