Tara was cleansing her face while Meela was brushing her hair before going to their beds.

“There must be a misunderstanding, Meela.”, said Tara for the third time, “Min ho isn’t like that at all. He is very nice and respectful to others. There has not been any single article on him that…”

“May be he is just like that,” countered Meela, “May be it’s his PR are always keeping such things hushed up.”

“The media would have turned that into a storm if that was his real self.”

“Fine, then explain those inappropriate behavior of him… he starts flirting, says sorry, and repeats same kind of ? Can’t believe he even objectified me!”

“WHAT!”

“WHAT?”, asked Il Woo, “you objectified her?” Il woo was lying on the loveseat of Min ho’s room after dinner spinning an apple in his hand.

“Somewhat,” nodded Min ho, lying on his belly in his bed, facing Il woo “on purpose though, just to get her more angry.”, then he repeated about the compliments he gave to her face, “Man, those expressions were priceless! Seriously if she were an actress, she would be every director’s dream.”

“So, you didn’t mean any of those compliments?”

“Look, she has a beautiful face so naturally her facial features caught my eyes, I am not blind for crying out loud,” said Min ho matter of factly, “But I only stayed back for the expressions. Her face speaks everything even without using a word. So does her body language. Very subtle changes at times, but man…they are mesmerizing from an actor’s point of view.”

“Point of view?” asked Meela incredulously, “you want me to change my point of view?”

“Not change,” said Tara “Just hold your horses a bit before jumping down his throat. Give him a benefit of doubt, or two”, she batted her lashes making a puppy face, “for me please?”, she kept on going, “Come on! Pretty please!”

Meela gave her a long look and sighed before saying, “Fine.”

“Fine?”, Il Woo shook his head, “How is it gonna be fine Minhoya, if you keep aggravating one of the employees like that?”

“Oh it was just a bit of fun,” Min ho sounded exasperated, “like I told you already, I am gonna tone it down. I promise!” and thought silently “just a notch or two.” then asked loudly, “Happy now?”

“Only if you keep your promise,” Il Woo asked in a hushed tone, “Btw, when you say she has a beautiful face…how much of a beauty are we talking about? Out of 10?”

“Ilwooya”, Min ho told him in a calm tone, “No objectifying. She would not like that.”

Il woo made a faux innocent face, “Aw, she wouldn’t like it.”, nodding his head for a couple of times, he added, “and somehow, in 20 minutes, she became so much important to my bff that all he cares about now what would she like or dislike. Some ‘actor’s point of view’ indeed.”

“Ilwooya,” Min ho who had been following every changes in his friend’s expressions with his sharp pair of eyes, suddenly became dangerously quiet in his voice, “Shut up.”

Il woo, knowing his friend all too well grinned in a ‘challenge accepted’ way and continued, “What else she would or wouldn’t like Minhoya? You know what I am wondering?” throwing Min ho a knowing-mischievous look, he went on, “since she was so unimpressed by the high and mighty Min ho, why don’t I try my lu…, he froze getting hit by a pillow right on his face…”Okay, okay, okay I get it. Friend’s girl, hands off.” He surrendered raising his hand like a shield, “Why do you always have to be a crack-shot man, can’t you ever miss?”

“Serves you right!” shrugged Min ho smiling.

“Right.”, confirmed Meela, “that’s what I am telling you.” Now these duo were discussing Tara’s disappearance from the front desk and playing Il woo’s personal maid as she helped him unpack, “No more treating him like a king. No more throwing yourself at him as well. If he wants you, he gets to work for you.”

“We are just friends, Meela. Nothing more.”, said Tara.

“In like what? Half an hour? You guys became friends?”

“We just clicked, okay?” huffed Tara.

“Just friends right?”, Meela looked unconvinced, “Make sure no ‘benefits’ tag along though, “and No Stolen Kisses!”

 “Sure! Now would you please stop Hitlering me around and let me sleep?” Tara made her special puppy face.

“When did I stop you from your REM cycle? And by the way, how is that Hitering huh?”

“I was just joking, Meela.”, Tara shook her head smiling “You are too serious at times sweetheart. let loose, live a little, okay?”

Meela looked like an annoyed kid right now, “Okay grandma, good night!”

Tara laughed before killing the lights.

Min Ho was jogging early in the morning. He took a detour to the wilder area resulting in a little less pace and irregularity in his steps as there was barely any even ground under his feet. He was debating in his mind whether or not taking the detour had been a mistake. Suddenly, a hand pulls him down and drags him behind a bush. His “WHAT THE…,” stayed hanging incomplete in the air, as a sharp “Hush!”, came from his attacker in the form of Meela. Min Ho was about to open his mouth but Meela shushed him up again before pointing her finger at the bottom of a tree right across them. It took a bit of time to adjust Min Ho’s eyes to see what he was supposed to see. It was bird flying in and out carrying some food in its beak. Min Ho looked at Meela whose eyes were shining with joy and emotion as she kept her eyes fixed at the bird. She was so engrossed in the view that she even forgot to release Min ho’s hand. Noticing her holding his hand, Min ho smiled. They kept their position without making any noise for a few more minutes, until the bird completed its last trip.

“Isn’t she beautiful?”, asked Meela in a still dazed voice.

“She definitely is!”, said Min ho keeping his eyes fixed on Meela.

Without noticing any of these, Meela kept talking jovially, “Dazzler, as in the bird you just saw, just hatched her kids a few days back.”

“That’s a happy news.”, said Min ho casually.

“Isn’t it?”, Meela almost jumped reminding Min ho of those happy kids who would be extremely happy and proud about whatever they do, “Anyway, since then I’ve been trying to leave her some food everyday so that she wouldn’t have to far to search for food leaving her kids alone and unprotected.”

“What kind of bird is it?”, asked Min ho.

“Do I look like an ornithologist to you?”

Min ho hid a smile before shaking his head in negative.

“There you go.”, said Meela “I don’t know her kind. And don’t really care about that either. All I know is she is a new mother, and needs all the help and support she could get. Plain and simple.”

“It surely is a lucky bird.”, commented Min ho.

“Please don’t use ‘it’ for her.”, said a mildly annoyed Meela, “She is a person too!”

“I was under the impression that ‘it’,” Min ho corrected himself with a pause staring at Meela’s face, “I mean to say she is a bird.”

“She is a person!”, Meela said stubbornly.

“She is a person.”, Min ho nodded in agreement, keeping his face straight with all his might.

“Well, she is a person…a bird….person.” Meela said with jutted jaw looking sideways at Min ho, daring him to say otherwise.

It took Min ho all his strength not to break into a thunderous laughter, “Agreed. She is a very nice and special… bird person.”

Meela looked at him suspiciously for a few seconds and asked, “What do you want?”

“Sorry?”, Min ho startled with the sudden change of subject.

“You were a walking-talking, yuckie cheese-dripping cringe alert yesterday.”, said Meela simply, “And today, you’re suddenly Mr. Nice Guy? What’s the catch? What do you want from me?”

At this point, Min ho could not hold on any longer and broke into a maddening laughter, “You’re so adorably funny, Meela. This is just awesome!”

Meela regarded him for a second or two and said, “I am a joke to you, aren’t I?” Min ho suddenly stopped laughing, he was not sure what kind of reaction he expected from Meela but certainly not that.