JIYONG

His one night-stand was coming back to haunt him, and Kwon Jiyong had never been more eager for the reunion.

"Kwon?" The haughty venture capitalist attempted to reclaim his attention. "You all right? The punch hitting you a little too hard there?"

Jiyong blinked. He had almost forgotten where he was in the  Seoul bar, and who he was talking to...scratch that, he had forgotten who he was talking to. "Yeah. Hey, I'll be with you in a minute," he promised the suit in front of him. Any investment he had in their tedious conversation had gone out the window the moment he noticed the familiar vision sitting alone across the room. Jiyong moved past the capitalist, passing off his drink in the process. The other man clearly didn't approve of being treated like a waiter, but Jiyong couldn't have cared less. His focus was elsewhere.

It was Sandara Park sitting at the bar. Jiyong had known her since childhood. She was one of his oldest and dearest friends—and the beautiful woman who also happened to be his most memorable recent hookup. It had been a slow burn between the two of them, spanning a decade at least; even now, seeing her like this, he couldn't help but mentally replay every and arch and sweet purr of pleasure their union had elicited. Dara was his oldest friend, and his newest lover; it made for an unforgettable combination.

Even if he had never seen her before, Jiyong would have noticed her now. She bloomed like a rare night flower in a field of interchangeable daisies. Her black cocktail dress stood out starkly against the spring pastels; where other skirts flowed breezily around bare, athletic legs, her skin-tight selection hugged her every curve as intimately as the gaze of a hopeful lover. Every subtle shift of her legs might as well have broadcast itself at a ten on the room's male-only frequency.

Dara was gorgeous. She have that beautiful and flawless skin. Even from across the room, Jiyong could make out the strikingly dark eyebrows that overshadowed her wide-set, innocent brown eyes; they were both a contrast and a complement to her long, blonde hair.

He was moving toward her before he knew what he was doing. Not that he minded, or even normally ignored, the whims of his body. His hand found her waist almost as soon as she was within reach; it slid along the small of her back in quiet, intimate greeting. Dara started and turned in her stool. Jiyong had heard of the deer-in-the-headlights look, but he had never been on the receiving end of it before.

"Jiyong!" she exclaimed in astonishment.

"Me," Jiyong agreed. "How are you this evening, Dara?"

"What are you doing here?" Her surprise was so profound that Jiyong had to momentarily fight to keep his smile fixed in place. She didn't sound exactly unhappy to see him, but there was a definite note of disbelief in her voice that made him wonder.

"I have Lee Soohyuk's fall from grace to thank for my invite tonight," he admitted. "Is this seat taken?"

Dara shook her head, and Jiyong sat down beside her. He let his hand slide from her waist, even though he hated to break contact with her. Her surprise at seeing him had caused him to rethink the familiarities he had been planning.

He conceded privately that it was possible he hadn't been on her mind as much as she had been on his, even if it did come as a bit of a blow to his ego. Dara had been almost all he could think about since their searingly-hot night together almost two months ago. She was the distraction he couldn't afford, now that he was finally moving up at the agency and winning his brothers' respect...but she was also the rising addiction he couldn't find it in himself to overcome. Not yet.

There was no denying that Dara looked distracted herself. She had pieced together a simple, stunning outfit, but paid no attention to the season's colors; her golden locks looked teased by the wind rather than any sort of styling apparatus. Jiyong would have bet his inheritance that he wasn't the first guy to approach that evening, yet here she was: perched in self-imposed solitude and staring vacantly past the bartender standing sentinel. She didn't even have a drink in front of her.

Something had to be done.

"Lee Soohyuk? Soohyuk Of LG Mobile?" Dara inquired. "I hadn't heard anything. What happened?"

"They dropped him from the Thirty Under Thirty," Jiyong co