CHAPTER 18
JUNG HOSEOK

Hectic. Since the day that I finally received the acceptance from Noeul. I had been busy. I hadn't got the time to actually contact her when it was only hours since the incident had been resolved.

The real Jin had came back and had to fix back the shares that his twin brother had caused. It took the entire day to get FaceNotes back up running properly in the marketing department. Jin had also mentioned that it would be best that the incident happened to be kept between the three of us. He felt absolutely sorry for what had happened and for how his brother had successfully manipulated Jin's business and friendships.

I'm a man of my word and definitely put the incident behind us. We had another short gathering between the seven of us. Jin really fixed everything together with all of us, just that he left out in regards to his twin brother's incident. The atmosphere was back to how it used to be, how it was supposed to be. I found myself contented and then remembered that I hadn't contacted Noeul only for hours I already missed her.

"So, how are you with Noeul noona?" Namjoon asked. "The last time I remembered that she was upset about the bet."

"I managed to fix it," I said, glancing to Jin before looking at my empty glass. I asked for a beer refill. "We're dating now," I smiled, feeling like I was on the moon.

"Whoa!" Jimin beamed as his eyes disappeared when he smiled. "Congratulations, hyung! Which stage are you at?" He gave a teasing smirk.

I blushed and then I recalled the kiss that we had. Burning, her lips were burning against mine and I felt myself melted into the kiss. I had almost lost control of myself but I stopped before it leads to another. "What stage?" I played dumb.

Namjoon laughed knowingly, "Its nowhere there but almost there."

"The most experienced guy has spoken," Jin noted. "And I think Namjoon is right about it," He added, playfully implying that they had hit the bullseye.

"C'mon guys. I'm in no rush. And I respect her. Please."

"So you had gone to the kiss stage?" Taehyung asked bluntly when everyone smacked him as Jimin nudged his sides. "What?"

I remained silent as they expected the answer from the question. "I'm not going to answer that," I said before drinking down, finishing up my beer. "Alright, I don't want to get drunk. Good night," I left as I heard them groaned admist their loud guffaw.

*

Reaching home, I should have a great shower before calling Noeul. I was about to check the time when I realised I hadn't been wearing the wristwatch from the beginning. "Ah, Noeul," I whispered. I left it at her place, recalling the time when I took it off before cooking. I punched in my apartment password as the door unlocked, it was then I saw an familiar shoes in front of me. Someone is here.

"Welcome back!" She smiled widely.

"W-What are you doing here?!" Memories began to flood back.

She approached me, wrapped her arms around my neck before planting a kiss on my cheek. "I'm sorry for what I had done to you in the past," she whispered in my ears. "I am really happy that you hadn't change your password to your apartment."
Crap. I had forgotten. "But even if you changed, I probably waited for you outside."

I pushed her away gently, "Wait, we're done. We're  not in relationship anymore. Why are you doing this?" I asked.

"I had been wrong, Hoseok ah," She cooed sweetly in my ears, I tried to remain unaffected. "I was a fool to let you go," there was something else. There were something in her voice that made me curious about. Those weren't the reasons at all.

"Sunhee, what happened?"

She buried her face into my shoulders, not letting me see her face. "Please let me stay for one night. Just. tonight. I've got no other place to go." This person, this was the person that cheated on me with another guy in the first place. The person that I wholeheartedly gave my love to but only to be broken by her. And then now, I assumed that something happened with her relationship. "Hoseok, please?" She pleaded, pulling back and our gazes met. "Please?"

'You're just too nice, Hoseok.'

I remembered one of the guys said that to me. Yeah. Being nice is just in my nature. "Just one night," I sighed.

And I knew that I would regret this decision very much.

*

"You're out of my apartment by today," I told Sunhee as soon as I stepped out of my room, while getting ready for work. "And who was that?"

She smiled widely, "Some business lady, it's kind odd choice for her to pair her bag, green color on top of that." She shrugged. I felt my stomach twisted and my heart felt uneasy. They way Sunhee explained her appearance, I already knew who she was. "I asked if I could help her with anything but she just stormed off as soon as she found out who I was."

"What did you say to her?"

"That I'm your girlfriend?"

"YOU WHAT?!"

I chased Sunhee out of my apartment immediately, locked everything else and told her off completely. Noeul. Noeul had misunderstood the whole thing. . . Damn ex- girlfriends! Pressing the gas, I hurried to Flinders and hoping that I could find Noeul before she could reach her office.

Upon reaching, I got out of my car and ran as fast as I could towards the lobby and I was in time looking for her. Noeul arrived just about to head towards the elevator. "Noeul!" I called out to her when she turned around and her eyes widened. I had prepared for the worse and I was surprised when she actually dashed into the elevator as fast as she could and closed the door on me before I could even enter. I slammed my hand against the door and groaned. Her office is on the tenth floor.

Screw it.

I opened the door towards the staircase and began to climb up. Song Noeul, I will make you pay for making me climbing up the stairs like this. I took a deep breath before opening the door to the tenth floor lobby.  I panted whilst opening the front main glass   door of Flinders office. "Mr. Jung-" The receptionist words got cut off as I just entered and began to chase towards where Noeul was. "Mr. Jung!" I ignored the calling of the receptionist and headed towards Noeul's usual room. By now, I had already caused a commotion in the office. I spotted Noeul as her gaze met with mine. She immediately sprinted towards her meeting room and I dashed after her and only to have her door once again slammed against my face. With all my might, I tried to push the door when she did as well.

'HOW STRONG IS SHE?!' "Noeul! Please!"

"Go away!" She yelled out from the inside. "Just go! I don't want to see your face!" "Let me explain!"

"Explain, explain, explain! Is that what you all men do?! EXPLAIN?! What is there to explain when I witness everything in front of my eyes!" She was angry. Completely.

"I am not like them. This is all a misunderstanding!" I said to her. But indeed letting Sunhee stayed over was a mistake that I made. I was too nice, too easy, too kind to let her stay for a night. I was at fault but my feelings for Noeul didn't change.

"I thought you were better," Noeul said this time, her voice toned down. "I thought you were different."

And it hit me. Noeul had been broken because of her brother's marriage. Because of how her own blood had cheated on his wife, how her expectations of a happy marriage. I remembered the sadness when she told me of her disappointment of how she could move on from it, letting it go. She welcomed me in only because I had promised not to leave her side, opening up an expectation that she could believe in the love that she had once expected so much.

But I broke it. I made a mistake that I knew very well, it could lead to this. I could have refused Sunhee's plea and probably this situation won't happened.

"Hoseok?" I turned, my attention met with her team. "What's going on?" Eri asked.

I pulled my hand back from the handle and glanced around the office and probably thirty pairs of eyes were witnessing what was going on. "Hoseok!" Namjoon came out from the crowd behind. "Why-" Namjoon's words got cut when Noeul opened the meeting door. "Noeul-"

She glared at me as she placed my watch roughly into my palm. "You forget that and go away. I don't want to see your face again," She headed back inside as her team began to enter into the room.

I was about to call out to her again when Namjoon stopped me, "Hoseok. Leave her.  Let  her cool down."

Fine. But I am not giving up. No. I am a man of my word. I promised to not leave her. And I won't.