Nine months.

Nine months since Junmyeon and Nami had been in a relationship. And to say that Junmyeon and Nami are the perfect couple would be an understatement. Their friends agreed that they look great together and it was true, except some hardships aren’t unfamiliar to any relationship. Hardships were a part of life, an obstacle that one had to overcome or together with their significant other.

Now would be the time where hardships were present in Junmyeon and Nami’s relationship.

The pair were good together. They had fun with Jooyeon around, they did things that was enjoyable for both parties. Except – Nami had been working on more projects per her boss’ request and Junymeon also. He picked up more hours at the hospital and clinic. She didn’t quite know why he decided to pick up more shifts when he had enough to survive until he was old. Enough for Jooyeon to survive off for the rest of her life. And it was a rock within their relationship. A point came to where they had their first argument about not being able to see one another enough. Accusations were thrown, and words were weapons that wounded a person. It resulted in her storming out of his home. In front of his daughter – who had tears in her eyes. To the little girl, it looked like her parents were fighting because of her. When in reality, it was far from that.

Their relationship hit a wall. A very solid one.

Jisoo would notice the sour mood of Nami’s whenever she came into the office to brief their boss about the current project, and she’d avoid talking about Junmyeon whenever Jisoo brought him up. To which Jisoo never touched the topic again until the brunette was ready to talk about it. Nami had even stopped going to the sports center and Chanyeol was now taking his son to his swim classes. Her excuse was that she had a lot of work to do, and the deadline was near. Hence Jisoo being her back up and coming over to work on the project together. Their project? Well, her company had signed an agreement – an investment – with a fashion company in France. They were going to be pushing merchandise through their new partners. Nami and Jisoo had to work with the creative team and the merchandising team in both companies to make sure things came out the way they needed before they pushed the product out. Which meant that they were going to fly out to France to meet with the other company’s team.

As for Sehun and Jisoo. Things have been better, and Sehun had finally come to admit that he liked Jisoo just as much as she liked him. They made things official and Sehun promised himself and her that he’d communicate when things were appropriate. Well, as much as he could because Jisoo, herself, is very talkative.

Things were looking up for them.

“I’m just saying, Na,” Sehun uttered as they sat within Baekhyun’s café. His mouth slightly full of food as he spoke. She rolled her eyes every time he decided to talk with his mouth full. “You should talk to him.” Jisoo let out an exaggerated sigh, slapping his arm indicating with her finger to cover his mouth and finish chewing before he spoke. Nami glared at her best friend, taking a sip of her coffee when Baekhyun came over to join their table. His workers basically covering everything. “He hasn’t talked to me, so why should I talk to him?” She retorted. “Besides, he said some mean stuff.” She grumbled. Junmyeon, in the heat, said some things that he’d probably regretted coming out of his mouth. Yet, she’s stubborn. It’s just how she is. Just like her brother. “Ever heard of the phrase: ‘Be the bigger person’?” Sehun inquired with a sarcastic tone in his voice. The brunette glared at him even more. Oh, she wished she had something to throw at him at the moment. “Says the one who acted like a child because he didn’t know how to talk to the girl he liked.” She jabbed back, knowing very well that it would get Sehun to shut up.

It got him to back off while Baekhyun placed a hand on the brunette’s shoulder. “I think you should talk to him,” he added, and this caused the brunette to look at him also. Baekhyun, being the person that he is, often gave advice where it’s due. Most of the time, they were fair advices but Nami – just like Chanyeol – was stubborn and very hardheaded. “Yeah,” Jisoo added. They were ganging up on her, and it was one versus three. “Na, we’re going out of town for almost a month. Don’t you think you should mend some of your relationship before we leave?”

Her lips remained around the straw of her coffee, her eyes moving to glare at the three all in one. But she knew that they weren’t wrong. Again, she’s stubborn. “Drop the subject or I will abuse all of you.” She said, and they took it as a very serious threat. They knew that if she was in a sour mood, she shouldn’t be spoken to about the situation that put her in that mood. They knew. And they backed off. Now, she was left with her own thoughts.

 Should she be the bigger person and just spark the conversation first?

Or just continue to be hard-headed?

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

After their lunch, Nami and Jisoo went back to the office to debrief with their boss. They were going to France to be the representative for their company. Their boss, the CEO, had trusted them enough and knew that they won’t embarrass him or the company. They had to go over the plan once again on what they were going to be doing in France. Since the agreement – and investment – with France, they were going to make sure the product came out well, designed well.

“I can’t appreciate you two enough,” their boss mentioned as he seemed to approve the prints that they were going to use and discuss with the French. “Especially you, Miss Park,” he said allowing Nami to look up with raised brows. “Oh, it’s no problem, sir,” she said, striving away from the compliment. “I mean it,” he said, “you two work well together – a promotion is looking up for the both of you.” Nami and Jisoo exchanged a look to one another, and a smile plastered their lips. They thanked their boss for recognizing their skills within his company. Nami had been working for his company for a long time now, and it was coming around on Jisoo as well. It was a pleasure that they got to work with their boss, and it was a pleasure to be partners with one another. “Well, I wish the two of you the best of luck. If you have any problems, don’t hesitate to call and consult with me.” The two females nodded, piling up their work to take home with them.

The bid their CEO goodbye as they made their way to their offices. “Rumor has it, Na,” Jisoo started, leaning close to the brunette, “boss is looking for a COO. I heard that he hasn’t had a Chief Officer in a long time, and I heard he’s looking towards you for that position.” She said and this caused the brunette to turn her head with furrowed brows. “I’m sorry, what?” She countered. Where did these rumors project from? Jisoo grinned and nodded her head several times. “If I’m not mistaken, I heard that some of the workers here brought it up to the directors on the board.” “Stop it, Ji,” she dismissed. She wasn’t fit to be the CEO’s secondhand person. She wasn’t fit to take on internal operations for her boss. “Dude, you have a master’s degree in business and management. You literally help the boss with everything, and you’re not even his assistant. Everyone comes to you for help, I think you’re fit for the job.”

“I’m not, and we’re not going to daydream on it, Ji,” she replied firmly, nudging her best friend playfully with her elbow. Jisoo let out a laugh and agreed that she’d stop. “Okay, but if you do become COO, don’t forget to make me your righthand man – or woman.” She corrected, tilting her head up in question. Nami laughed and shook her head. She didn’t care what her position was because she is getting paid well now. She loved what she did, and if her promotion came – well, they’ll get to it when it comes. “Let’s just grab our stuff and go home. We have lots to pack,” Nami suggested, pulling Jisoo’s mind out of la-la land.

“Oh my god, we’re going to France,” Jisoo squealed quietly and excitedly allowing Nami to shake her head and roll her eyes playfully. She parted ways with Jisoo for a brief moment to grab her things from her office. She grabbed several files that she had to take with her and laptop containing all the powerpoints. She let out a sigh as she packed her backpack with her items – the several files and laptop.

“We’re going to France.” She muttered to herself.

The drive home was quiet after she parted ways with Jisoo. It left Nami consumed with her own thoughts all the way to the outer skirts of the city. She didn’t know if stress came to play, or she worried about her relationship with Junmyeon. She liked Junmyeon, she really did. He’s different from other men she’s dated or talked to. Maybe it was because he’s mature – with a child – or he just had that personality that made it easy to be around him. She just didn’t know. Maybe talking to him first wasn’t such a bad idea. No, no. She’ll keep it to herself for now. Besides, she hasn’t seen or spoken to Junmyeon in almost a week and a half. But she’d be lying to herself if she didn’t miss Jooyeon.

She missed Jooyeon.

A sigh left her lips, pulling her back to reality as she pulled into her driveway. A several cars parked on one side of the driveway – presuming that they gave her space to get into her garage. And she knew exactly who was in her home. Who was Chanyeol’s guest. She shook her head and pulled her car into the garage, closing it once she wa