The kiss that she shared last night with Jongin kept on running in her mind. She could vividly remember how his lips felt on hers. The tingling feeling she felt when he lightly kissed her at first was too much for her to ignore. And her body took over. She lost rationality and threw herself on him.

They were both out of breath when they came to a stop. Their faces were flushed and she was sure she looked like a mess because of all the crying. But Jongin remained ethereal after all of that. His lips were a bit redder because of her smudged lipstick on his but he made it look like it was part of the getup.

They actually remained quiet for a good 5 seconds and just stared at each other as if asking themselves if the kiss really happened. When a small smile broke into Jongin’s face, she swore she’d be really hurt if he leaves her too. Last night, she opened her heart and she’s not sure if she’s going to regret it.

“Here you go,” Sumin said, sliding a cup of cold coffee on the table for her.

“Thank you.” Minjung reached for it and took a sip immediately. They’re currently outside Sumin’s clinic, sitting on their usual coffee date table for a midday break. Jiyoung said she would be a little late because of a bulk order. Hunter and Happy were being groomed inside by Sumin’s staff. Minjung could use some peace and quiet for a moment.

She’s been too caught up with the sudden appearance of Han Taejin that her thinking mind buffers every now and then. Minjung’s only worry is Sumin and Jiyoung knowing that Han Taejin’s returned from wherever hole he was hiding all these years. Knowing how protective her friends are, she’s sure that he’ll took a beating from them.

“You look extra blooming today,” Sumin commented and Minjung touched her face. “Are you using a new blush on? You’re like…pink.”

Minjung cleared . Her flushed face must be from recalling what happened last night.

“I’m not. It’s just a lot warmer today,” she reasoned out before taking another sip of her coffee.

Sumin put down her phone and leaned closer. “You need to spill the details this time. You avoided answering yesterday. How is living with Jongin? Don’t you dare dodge that.”

Honestly, not good for my heart. Especially after last night, I think I’ll be having mini heart attacks in the future. “Umm, good? Better than expected? I don’t know.” Minjung shrugged and waited for Sumin’s reaction. The latter raised a brow. Well, it’s not like she’s going to announce that they shared their first kiss last night and that they’re officially dating. She’s not even sure if they’re dating now. But isn’t that established after what they did?

“I need details, Lee Minjung. Is he a good cook? Is he good with household chores? Doing laundry? Bonding with the boys? That kind of stuff.” Sumin waved her hand, explaining what she needed to know.

“Are you looking for a housekeeper?” Minjung joked and Sumin swatted her shoulder. A chuckle left her lips. Then, her mind drifted to memory lane. She remembered the time when she put ointment on his neck after the hot cooking oil decided that it was a cool thing to jump there. She internally shoo the picture from her mind.

But honestly speaking, Jongin’s good and maybe even better than some girls she knew of. He’s got a neat freak side of him so her place is always organized since he stayed with her. The towels were always neatly lined up in the drawers. She could tell that he can cook even though the food that he had prepared before were pretty simple because his left arm’s being a nuisance. He’s also good at playing with the retrievers.

“He can cook. He’s good with household chores and he’s pretty close with Hunter and Happy.”

Sumin stared as if she was trying to sense something in there. After a second or two, Sumin grinned.

“Did something happen between you two?”

“W-What?” She just stuttered. Sumin’s outrageous question must be because of the smile on her face when she said her answer.

Sumin was grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Oh my freaking god,” she squealed. “That fast? I’m not complaining though. I mean, you’re two grownups living together with all the hormone raging and it must-”

“Sumin!” Minjung exclaimed, wide-eyed. Her friend’s mind was obviously in the greenery at the moment. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Sumin narrowed her eyes. “You did not?”

“No,” Minjung huffed, looking at her friend who looked a bit disappointed. “Seriously, you need a man for yourself. My hormone’s not raging.” Yeah, right. Her mind sarcastically rumbled as it replayed a clip from last night. If she heard herself correctly, she actually let a moan escape . “Maybe you’re the one with raging hormones.”

Sumin huffed and pouted. “Yeah, maybe,” she finally admitted. “I should probably grab that blind date my aunt’s setting me up with. But what if that guy does not like me because I’m old?”

And just like that, the topic changed. Minjung internally sighed in relief, thanking the heavens for not putting her into the ordeal of telling her friend about last night.

“You’re not old. We’re still in our early 30s,” Minjung stated, coolly shrugging her shoulders.

“You don’t know what guys are into. Guys our age like younger girls. They date-” Sumin halted and her expression became stone cold when her eyes caught something. “What the freaking hell is he doing here?”

Minjung turned to where her friend was looking at and all the good vibes flew away. Before she could say a thing, Sumin was already stomping her way towards Han Taejin.

“Leave before I sedate your sorry and drag you to Han River and throw over the bridge,” Sumin warned with venom-laced tone. She had her hands on her hips and she’s giving Taejin a murderous glare. She’s making it pretty obvious that he’s not welcome there.

“Sumin, calm down-”

“Hah! Calm down? Me? After the genius thing that you pulled off? Yeah, I can calm down.” Her voice got an octave higher as she pushed Taejin back. The latter looked so done with her. He held his hands up in surrender.

“I just need to talk to Minjung,” he said before looking at Minjung’s direction.

“No, you don’t have the right to talk to her.” Sumin’s acting like a lioness, looking out after her cub. She could rip the man apart if she wanted to.

“Please, I just need a minute or two,” Taejin said, eyes still on Minjung. He was ignoring the fuming lady in front of him.

Minjung sighed before standing from her seat. She walked towards them and placed a hand on Sumin’s tense shoulder. Sumin looked at her with a confused expression, asking her what the hell she’s doing.

“It’s okay. I can handle this,” she said, reassuring her friend that she’s not going to break like a twig. Sumin has seen her weak side after Taejin left her so she can’t blame her if she’s that confused that she decided to talk to the very man who she wanted to burn in hell. “I promise. Get inside.”

Sumin gave her a questioning look before giving in. She shot Taejin a dirty look before retreating inside the clinic.

“Look, I’m sorry for last night,” Taejin started with a sigh. He looked pretty exhausted. His dark circles were more visible than any other day. His stubble’s noticeable. “I shouldn’t have come at you like that without knowing what really happened. I guess I was getting paranoid.”

Yeah, I’ll give you that. But honestly, he looked so stressed out.

“I got this position after working my off. Those rumors made me panic and I know it was wrong of me to jump into conclusion that you’re the one behind it. I just found out this morning who spread it. Sorry.”

So now you know how to apologize? She bit back that comment. “Is that all? Your minute is up.” She sounded cold but she couldn’t care less.

Taejin drew a deep breath. “Why did yo