Jihoon stretched his arms, looking forward to making himself a cup of coffee before going for his run. His skin ran smoothly against the soft sheets, begging him to sleep for five more minutes. Stretching some more and gathering enough energy to get up from his bed, his right ankle hit something that made him abruptly open his eyes.

By then, memories of the previous night came flooding in, sending him pictures of Jieun, booze and Hanee. Most especially making out with Hanee at the bar. 

How did he manage to go home? He was pretty smashed…

“Mmmm…oppa, it’s too early, stay…” 

Hanee’s sleepy voice soon confirmed exactly what happened. He took a peek under the sheets and it gave him more than enough information to decipher exactly what happened. 

The feel of Hanee’s silky skin against his legs and her warm breath on his shoulder also confirms that he’s not dreaming - that this is real. Initially, he felt dejected. He knew this is not something he wanted to happen, but then, a part of him also asked: why should he be worried about it? It’s not like sleeping with Hanee meant he’s going to have anything serious with her. But perhaps, he has to talk to her about it. No expectations, no strings attached. 

When he was finally able to get out of bed without waking Hanee up, he quickly got dressed and made some coffee. 

He went out and took a seat at the den with a mug of freshly brewed coffee in hand. The wonderful smell wafted towards him, waking him up as he observed the morning. There was a bite in the air, but the sky was clear. Relaxing, he leaned on the chair’s backrest and closed his eyes. 

A week left until he flies back to Korea. The filming was a whirlwind, but he’s glad it’s over. The cold city, the frequent change in environment and the fast paced schedule for months on end was making him homesick. There are so many things he’s looking forward to when he comes home: picking up the dogs and visiting his niece, dropping by Youngja’s home in Seoul (which he wasn’t able to do as much because seeing her reminds him of Cheongyang, ergo, Jieun), catching up with friends..and of course, eating korean food. It all seemed so real in his mind that he can almost smell the –

“That smells nice, can I have some?” 

His daydream about eating tangsuyuk with Si Eon was abruptly cut short when Hanee took a seat at the chair beside him. 

“Sure.”

They sat silently, with Hanee resting her head on his shoulder, her leg leisurely grazing his. 

“Do you have any plans today?” She asked.

“Just checking some emails, then going to run and hit the gym too.”

“Can I tag along?”

Hanee asked sweetly, making eyes at him. He’d seen that look - the one she used on him when they were younger and he would just about go along with whatever she wanted. Those days, he was fond of her - a bond created by many shared hardships and experiences as kids - and there was something resembling love at times, mixed with his raging teenage hormones. 

But years have passed, and Hanee never grew out of being the spoiled princess that she was. He usually lets it slide, but since he found out about Hanee’s weird scheming ways, he opted to avoid dealing with her if he can. 

With a deep sigh, he answered, “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

The space between Hanee’s brows started wrinkling, when he still didn’t budge after she tried asking him again.

“So that’s it? You sleep with me and act cold the day after?” 

There was no sadness in her voice, just a hint of wounded pride and mockery.

“You said ‘back to how we were’, Hanee. We were never anything back in the day. What did you expect?” 

She rolled her eyes at him and drew away, leaning back on her seat and folding her arms across her chest.

“That you’d be less like a jerk..atleast make it feel like it wasn’t just , oppa.”

He took a sip from his cup, answering, “It was. We were drunk…we wanted to have fun..like before. Last night, you even reminded me how things never turn out right when feelings get involved, right?”

Hanee’s nostrils flared and she suddenly stood up from her seat and stormed off. 

It’s not like she’d learned her lesson since then. Hanee would still call him up every now and then, even meet up with him for drinks or a meal, but Jihoon made it clear that relationships are off-limits. He never understood why Hanee started badgering him, in fact, she was the proponent of the “no-strings-attached” rule when they used to fool around with each other. 

From then on, he found bluntness to be his friend. Whenever he would meet someone attractive and fun to be with and things start progressing, it’s his first rule to make sure the cards are on the table: relationships are off limits. 

***

Months later back in Korea…

Jihoon panted as he reached the end of his run. Beads of sweat ran down the sides of his face as he sprinted his way back home where the dogs were patiently waiting. In no time, his attention shifted towards the sound of the ringing phone.

“Hmm?” He asked his manager who seemed agitated. Apparently he’s been trying to reach him for a while now. “I was running, sorry.”

The sound of garbled, unintelligible words drifted from the other line. He didn’t even try to decipher them. He’s been getting on Changmo’s nerves lately and honestly, it’s mostly his fault.

“I just need your confirmation about the reality show, Jihoon.”

There was a lull. He didn’t want to join as one of the jurors for the survival reality show and Changmo knows that, but his manager never fails to mention how they owe on