JIYONG

Jiyong sat,too stunned to move, agree, or protest the two possible futures Dara's father had just outlined for him.

He couldn't deny that it added up. Proposing marriage to Dara had never even crossed his mind, but now that Teddy had laid it out for him...why hadn't he thought of it before? An official union would save Dara and her family from any potential embarrassment, and ensure that Jiyong's own family—not to mention clients—understood that he really had turned over a new, more responsible leaf. Besides that, it would be the right thing to do. It would be a bigger gesture than the one he had planned originally, and a more total display of his commitment. Everyone would approve.

Teddy was watching him process, before the buzzing of his cellphone drew his attention away. "I'll leave you to it," he said. "Just do my daughter a favour and don't think too long." Teddy clapped him on the shoulder one last time in parting, and rose to go.

"Mr. Park...just a second..."

Jiyong moved to go after him, but a hand locked around his bicep and arrested him in place. He turned to find Deukie staring at him with eyes as steely blue as his grip. There were two freshly-cracked beers already planted on the bar behind him.

"Deukie. ."

"Sit down, Jiyong," Deukie advised.

"I'm hungover, remember?" Jiyong gestured to the beer, but sat down anyway. He knew there was no escaping the conversation he was about to have. Judging by the look on Deukie's face, his brother had already overheard everything.

"I don't care. Drink," Deukie ordered.

Jiyong complied. His stomach turned in momentary revolt as he took his first sip, but a cold, foamy beer wasn't a bad replacement for the soda he had been nursing all evening. He propped his elbows up on the bar alongside his brother and took a deep, measured breath.

Deukie beat him to the punch. "Teddy Park is one tough bastard, huh?"

Jiyong expelled his long breath in a surprised laugh. Of all the things he had expected Deukie to say to him, he had not expected him to present himself as an ally. The evening was still early, and there was still plenty of time for Deukie to shred him, but he felt more grateful than he knew how to express for his brother's opening remark.

"Yeah." Jiyong raised his beer, and the two brothers clinked them together in solidarity. "I'm guessing you overheard everything," he added.

Deukie nodded. "What are you going to do?"

"Isn't that the question?" Jiyong laughed, but his mind was still spinning with everything that had happened to him in the past twenty-four hours. He wished he had Deukie's uncanny ability to mentally parse and pursue the best course of action, but maybe sitting across from him at the bar was the second best thing. "What do you think I should do?

"You know I can't make that decision for you." Deukie's piercing blue eyes studied him. "And I'm not going to bring company matters into this, either."

Jiyong snorted, even though he could tell his brother was in earnest. Deukie had only just recently learned to separate his personal life from his professional one, so to hear him promise as much now was certainly a gesture of love...even if it sounded unrealistic to Jiyong. Did Deukie really expect him not to factor Teddy Park's threat into his ultimate decision? He could weigh all the consequences and arrive at the best course of action to do right by everyone. He could multitask.

"Were you being truthful?" Deukie prodded. "About caring for Dara all this time?"

"All this time." The confirmation should have come more readily, but Jiyong still wasn't used to the torch he had always carried for Dara being semi-public knowledge. God, if he could have done this--any of this--differently, he would have planned it out better. He would have put his all into wooing the woman of his dreams and proving he wasn't the untamable, irresponsible man she thought he was. He would have made i