Staring at the sleeping figure beside him, on the passenger seat, he was captivated by the celestial beauty of her flawless demure. He knew by heart that she’s pretty, she could effortlessly dress up just to bring him to awe. If he hadn’t known her personally, he wouldn’t have believed that she would be turning forty very soon. Now when she’s in a deep slumber, he felt that she was so precious and that she needed to be protected.

Long before he realised, he was captivated by the glamour inside of her and he had always wanted to be her knight in the shining armour. The personalities that were exhibited by her, have always been the traits that he preferred.

Her care for the people she interacted with radiated from miles away. Sometimes, it stays within his memories and he would reminisce the thoughtful actions that she had done for him earlier that day. It may be giving him a back massage to ease his back pain or just passing him a bottle of mineral water, prepared by the staff.

Her determination to complete the missions assigned to her, caused him to feel challenged. Amongst all of the Running Man casts, he was the one who loves challenges the most and the next in line, the most determined one, was her. Her determination caused her to take many lessons of guidance from him, especially during Running Man filming breaks. Despite being harsh for her initially, her perseverance moved his heart.

The smiles that were drawn on her face never failed to bring warmth to his heart. He didn’t want to witness the face that doesn’t radiate the incandescent smile that can easily light up his day. Mondays have always been his favourite day of the week for that was the only day, the chlorophyll in him was able to photosynthesis under the presence of his warm sunlight.

The urge to remove sorrow from her face was his sole motivation back in December 2016 when the news that the two of them were removed from Running Man. If it weren’t because of this motivation of his, he wouldn’t care less, and he wouldn’t gather all the members to convince them to stay till the end.

Usually, her interests would be placed ahead of his, with his goal to bring a smile to her face. However, he was disappointed that he was defeated by the sleep-deprived monster in him, which had overtaken the control of him, that very day.

The sleep-deprived monster who would casually inject insensitive remarks that stung badly. He didn’t do it once, but twice. On two separate incidents, he had placed Ji Hyo in a difficult spot. If only he had known, he would have placed a shield around her to protect her from his ruthless attacks.

The sleep-deprived monster that left Ji Hyo to fight a lone battle when she was trapped with Dong Hoon’s question during the game of ‘Truth or Dare’. Instead of behaving indifferent and behaved like it wasn’t any part of his business, he could have chosen to say something to protect her. He could have done something such as menacingly glare at the younger ones. Out of all possibilities that he could have chosen to do, he didn’t do anything.

The sleep-deprived monster that caused him to have difficulty to focus on simple tasks. From not being observant that he should take the initiative to refill the ingredients to accidentally losing focus and caused a plate to slip from his hands, he wasn’t able to focus.

If he weren’t a monster that he was that day, he would have treated Ji Hyo better. He had no idea how coincidental it would be, but all his attacks were accidentally targeted on her. However, she was resilient and determined to remain cheerful and helpful to all of them, including him.

Despite the inhumane treatment that he had showered her with the entire day, she was always the one who was there for him in a nick of time. She was there when he choked and helped in by soothing his back. She was there when he broke a plate and wanted to help him. She was there for him to shower him with concern when she figured out that he wasn’t himself that day.

His eyes weren’t able to avert away from the pure sleeping figure. His hand listened to his heart instead of his mind as his fingers caressed aside the hair that blocked her forehead.

He sighed. If only, he hadn’t screwed up that much on that day, he might probably still stand a chance to date her. Yes, he had ever thought of dating her and had decided to confess to her on Valentine’s day. But it was impossible to amend for the countless mistakes that the monstrous Jong Kook had made, within such a short period of two weeks.

For the past twenty minutes, they had arrived at his apartment’s car park. Yet, he didn’t have the heart to wake her up for she had fallen asleep after struggling to stay up for more than half the journey.

“Oppa? Why didn’t you wake me up when we’ve arrived?”

Her slightly hoarse voice brought him out from the trance that captivated his heart. It was then, it dawned upon him that his hand was still on her head. He retracted his hand awkwardly from her head as he lied, “We’ve just arrived, and I was just about to wake you up.”

“Ahh…” She nodded in understanding.

He bit his lip, trying his best not to break into a smile at how cute she was with her blank face.

“Let’s go,” He decided and left his car to open her car door.

“Let’s go!” She cheered, as she left the car.

-

Chuckling by the entrance of his house to close his door, he watched Ji Hyo exclaimed in awe upon taking a step into his house. Watching her staggered around his living room, he was entertained by her energy as she squealed, “We are here in that neat black house!”

Shaking his head, Jong Kook lowered his guard as his tight lips broke into a smile. He couldn’t comprehend how would someone who would be turning forty very soon behaved like a teenage girl. Was his house that fascinating to create such a change or was she reacting that way due to alcohol’s influence?

Standing by his kitchen counter, his eyes were fixated on her as she roamed around his corridors.

“Where would I be sleeping tonight?” She slurred her question.

Was she here just to sleep?  

Flustered by the thought, he decided to make himself more at home. Besides, they’re at his home, not hers. But why does it felt like it doesn’t feel at home? Attempting to bury the butterflies which resided in his stomach, he sat down on his black leather sofa and leaned back. Stretching backwards, to feel more comfortable, he asked, “Are you sleepy already?”

Jong Kook couldn’t help but furrowed his brow in worry. Would Ji Hyo be able to continue drinking? Just minutes ago, she seemed perfectly sober but now, he could see how she was already surrendering to the effects of soju, slowly but surely. But he couldn’t comprehend why would someone of the opposite gender want to come to his house just to stay the night instead of having the choice to return to her own house.

She retorted blatantly, “No way! I’m still perfectly sober!”

He raised a brow, shooting a querying glimpse at her. Isn’t that what everyone insisted when they’re drunk?

Again, she probed, “You have a guest room, right?”

He was quite certain that she’s was drunk, for she had failed to read his expression. Before he could answer her question, his eyes trailed after the movement of up and down as she bounced on his black leather sofa with her both hands up in the air.

Hurrahing, she declared, “Actually I’d like to sleep here! I like this! It’s so bouncy like a bouncy castle!”

Watching Ji Hyo bounced on his black leather sofa caused his heart to ache for his sofa, for he’s thrifty by heart and there was no way he would want his furniture to be damaged that easily. If any of his male dongsaengs were the one who was doing so, he would immediately tell them off or throw them off his beloved furniture. However, Ji Hyo wasn’t one of his male dongsaengs.

Placing his large hands on her tights gently but firmly, he successfully restricted her attempt to continue to bounce on his sofa. Despite so, he had no heart to be harsh on her. Furthermore, it was an advantage for him as he was glad that she was probably too drunk to remember to , that it was he who wanted to drink.

Looking straight into her eyes, he gently yet firmly reproached her in his soft voice, “Ji Hyo-ah, this isn’t a bouncy castle. I’ll let you sleep in the guest room, okay?”

“Sure!” She exclaimed as she attempted to struggle out of his strong muscular grip.

Why are you so complacent? He chided himself. All it takes was a second of carelessness in underestimating Ji Hyo’s strength. A second was enough to cause his defence to crumble and for him to tumble onto her. With his face centimetres away from hers, he was certain that her breathing was in his earshot. Her perfume had wafted into his nostrils, and he knew that it was the perfume that she usually puts on, but what he didn’t expect was that he would be addicted to such an intoxicating scent and wanted to inhale more of it.

That was the closest encounter that he had of her, taking the opportunity he studied her features that spelt beauty. Never in his life was he a fan of art, yet here he was admiring the art that was embedded in her. The favourite part of this artwork was her enthralling hazel orbs when he locked his gaze with hers by accident. Had the time come to a pause?

Wait. This is wrong. His mental note was colour coded red. He was reminded by his very well conscious mind that they had acknowledged each other to be close friends, yet there he was paralysed as he laid on top of Ji Hyo. His heartbeat was pumping rapidly. Yet, she didn’t push him away but stared at him.

She’s drunk. You’re not. He reprimanded himself. That tiny voice in him caused him to be aware of the situation he got himself into. Thereafter, he regained his consciousness. He broke the gaze with her and shifted himself away from her. He figured out that she was on the way to lose her sanity of consciousness. It wouldn’t be too much of a problem as he knew his alcohol limits and that he wanted an accompaniment for casual drinking.

“Are you drunk already? You’ve not even drunk a sip!” She exclaimed pushing him away.

Being caught by a sober Ji Hyo caused him to feel embarrassed and it was then he realised that his face was burning red. However, not wanting the tension to linger in the atmosphere, he turned his face away from her and declared, “Ha! There’s no way that I’d be drunk!”

Shrugging, she challenged him, “Well, there’s only one way to find out!”

He trailed after her, who stood up and bolted towards his kitchen, “Where’s the promised tuition fees?”

“Here,” He pointed out while he showcased the bottles of soju which sat orderly in one of his kitchen cabinets.

“Did you secretly drink without letting any one of us know?” Ji Hyo teased.

More often than not, he would automatically pounce aggressively on the person who asked such a question and not let the person off the hook. He didn’t understand what the reasoning behind her accusation was, but no, he didn’t like to drink. That day was a day like no other, as he was tempted to drink to induce relief on the burden that was clinging on him.

Yet, his lips curved up into a smile and laughed.

Maybe that reaction wasn’t that normal coming from him, but he insisted on his statement, “I swear it’s my friends who brought them over to drink them here!”

He was pleased that he was able to use his friends who frequently used his house as a hangout venue as a scapegoat. It wasn’t his fault that all insisted to drink soju at his house when hanging around there in the first place. Sure, he does nags at them, but they were immune to it after many years of training. Defeated by his friends who refused to bulge from his endless naggings, he still persevered on his values by not drinking a sip as he watched them drink.

Yet that day, he wanted to drink just to destress to escape from reality. Countless times, he had witnessed how silly his drunk friends behaved. I wouldn’t be sillier than them, especially so when he would be drinking with this drinking tutor of his. Besides, cheap soju wouldn’t be able to cause a grave mess, right?

She held a bottle of soju, “Alright, I want to drink this! What about you?”

“We’ll first share a bottle; I’ll decide what I want later.”

“Wait… We’re not drinking straight from the bottle?” Ji Hyo asked.

“Silly girl, soju is meant to be drunk from soju glasses,” Jong Kook commended.

Well, if it’s his male dongsaengs, he would be super strict with them and would force them to chug the drink down their throats straight from the bottle. But right now, it’s him with a woman that he wouldn’t want to classify as his dongsaeng. That being said, it was okay to waste some resources for the sake of impression.

“Take the soju and bring to the living room,” He instructed while he fished out two soju glasses from his kitchen drawer and placed on the box of soju and carried them out.

-

Now, with five soju bottles opened on his coffee table, he poured another shot of soju into both of their glasses. He didn’t know what’s with him that day, but the taste of soju was exhilarating. Lingering on the tip of his tongue, he was addicted, and he couldn’t restrain himself from drinking the next shot.

“Oppa, did something happened that makes you want to drink suddenly?”

Wasn’t she drunk a while ago? Why is she asking such a decent question now?  By now, he could no longer tell if she was sober or drunk. Like a flickering lightbulb, one second, she behaved like she’s sober yet the very next second, she wasn’t.

He knows that alcohol might be able to force one to admit to truths. But it was clear as day that he was still sober, he wasn’t drunk. There was certainly no way that he would succumb to answer genuinely and cost his pride.

Averting her gaze, he hastily replied, “It’s nothing.”

It was just two words, but he stuttered on them.

“I don’t believe it! Look oppa, I’ve known you for so long and I know that you’re lying. You stutter when you attempt to lie.”

“Well…” Jong Kook trailed off.

An internal conflict stirred up within him as he contemplated if he should be truthful to her or not. A small part of him wanted to be truthful for sh