[JIYONG]

I’m parked at the driveway of ICC as I wait for Dara. She’s been cooped up in their office for a couple of nights now doing overtime. I’m aware of her indifference to her immediate boss, and as much as she’s trying to brush off the topic, I know she feels off about him stealing the job from her.

I’ve met Haejin a couple of times during their office affairs, but Jung Ilwoo was an elusive motherer who always stays out of my way. I have seen his back from afar once or twice, but Dara has never approached him on those occasions.

She doesn’t badmouth him, but I can sense that she’s really not going along well with him, especially since I’ve seen her rapport with her former bosses, Honey and Hwangbo.

So I’m on high alert. I may not know what’s really going on, but I’ll always be on Dara’s side.

I looked down on the cheeseburger and fries I picked up for her, as she requested, when I heard a couple of hushed laughter coming from their lobby. I went out of my car and waited to see my girl with a little thrill inside me.

She was just stepping out when another guy walked after her. They were laughing at something, probably work-related, but that’s not what’s bothering me. I don’t know who this guy is.

Could he be Ilwoo? 

No. I don’t remember Dara mentioning that he’s just around our age. She said he’s been with ICC long before she did, so I just assumed he’s just an old rat.

The more they approach me, the more I can see that the guy looks at Dara differently. My senses heightened as I started to walk towards them, to break their happy bubble.

“Babe!” I called out to her. Dara immediately perked up and her smile melted my heart for a beat.

“Hey, Ji. Thank you for picking me up, baby.” She rushed towards me and kissed my neck while her arms wrapped around me.

Maybe I’m worrying for nothing. Dara and I are crazy about each other. No one will ever stand a chance to break us apart. But as I dragged my eyes to the other guy, I can see his face looking smug at us.

“You must be Jiyong. I’ve heard so much about you.” He approached us, offering his hand.

“That’s me, Dara’s boyfriend.” I gave his hand an ample squeeze, and so did he.

“Jiyong, this is Ilwoo, my boss.” Dara muttered at me.

I’m still blown away by this revelation. So Dara’s been spending overtime work with this tool who looks at her like she’s good enough for his dinner?

“Oh, I’ve heard so much about you too from Dara.” I felt Dara froze on her spot by my side and I held her closer to me.

“I hope they’re good things.” Ilwoo smirked at us.

Dara shook her head, laughing nervously. “What else could I have told my boyfriend, boss?”

“I told you to stop calling me boss. You’re making me look old.” He countered.

Well, me, I even thought he was actually old.

Dara giggled at his reply and I knew I had to remove her from this conversation already. “Your burger and fries are getting cold, baby. We should probably go now.”

“So that’s why you turned down my invitation to order dinner.” Ilwoo said.

The er is just getting inside my head now.

“I’ve been missing this handsome guy for nights now, Ilwoo. I’d rather eat with him than you. You’re boring me already.” There’s a hint of laughter in Dara’s tone, but it still did not dissipate the fact that Ilwoo wanted to spend more time with my girlfriend.

“Let’s go now, Dee.” My tone was a bit harsher this time, and Dara may have sensed the discomfort of this conversation so she waved her boss goodbye.

I gave her food so she can eat while I drive and avoid anything she may have wanted to tell me about that little chat with Ilwoo.

But it was actually me who was itching to say something regarding the matter.

“So, you never mentioned Ilwoo is around our age.”

Dara, who was snooping around the bag of fries looked up and gave me a piece before she ate one for her.

“We weren’t really talking about him a lot. And he’s not around our age per se, he’s five years older.”

Still too young and in his prime to look for a possible wife.

“I thought you weren’t getting along?” 

Dara was chewing a bite of her burger and I had to wait for her to finish before answering me. “We’ve actually been more casual these past few months. He’s a decent boss, to be honest, and I really have no reason to hate him.”

She was taking my line of questioning casually, so I tried to push more.

“I think he likes you.”

She chuckled at me and offered me another piece of fries. She sat there quietly and I had to look away from the road for awhile just to gauge her reaction. She was actually grinning at me with her cheeks full of burger and fries.

“What?” I asked, trying not to sound too affected by her silent teasing.

“Are you jealous of my boss, Ji?” 

I snorted like I find her delirious. “No ing way. I’m just telling you, you know. In case he’s planning on taking advantage of all these late night schedules. I just want you to stay alert.”

“Oh my god, you’re serious?” Now she sounded irritated.

I kept driving until I had to turn to the parking area of my apartment building. Dara is now stuffing her leftover burger inside the brown bag holding her fries. With the way the bag is wrinkling noisily, it’s easy to say she’s pissed.

After I parked the car, I kept the doors locked so she wouldn't bolt out before I said my piece.

“Baby, I’m just telling you what I saw. He definitely has a thing for you. He was even smirking at me and looking arrogant when your back was turned from him.”

She huffed exaggeratedly and turned to me. “Why are you always like this?”

Now I’m irritated. “I’m just looking after you because you’re my girlfriend. You may be spending nights with me, but you’re spending more time with that douche. And I just want you to be alert in case he suddenly makes a move. Have you heard of harassment at the workplace?”

“I know what that is, and I know when to draw the line when things get uncomfortable. Unlike you, I don’t line up body shots with the guys at work when it’s my birthday. Now open the ing door!”

I should have handled this better, but now that she’s fired up, I should just let her cool down first.

I unlocked the doors and just as expected, she almost ran out to the elevators. Since we’re at the basement parking, the lift was taking a bit longer to come down than usual.

I can feel her hatred emanating around her so I tried to diffuse it a little. I don’t want us going home with these negative vi