The good thing about her job is that it gives her an excuse to be locked up in her office for hours. She doesn’t answer to anyone but the client, so her working hours are her own to stretch. That's what she does, ignoring Logan's texts recommending dinner venues -a greek cuisine stand, a traditional chinese place, a homey noodle shop- and Anh Ra’s questions. That's how she finds herself sneaking out of the building via the garage to avoid unwanted, but beautiful eyes. As if today didn’t bring her a heartbreak she didn’t know she had, right now she’s starving. 

 

She darts to her car, but someone stands in front, arms crossed. Forced to halt, Logan's eyes fall on hers.

 

He's in his leather jacket over a charcoal suit and a bag of something is next to him. More than that, he looks pissed. 

 

How dare he get annoyed at her ?

 

She fixes the strap of her bag and marches towards him. 

 

“You’re blocking my door”. 

 

“You’re avoiding me”. 

 

“I was working”. 

 

His eyes dart away. When they come back to hers, they’re harsh. 

 

“I talked to your secretary. You were free. So let me rephrase,” he closes the small space between them, his shoes touch hers, “why are you avoiding me?”

 

“I doubt you two were talking about me”. 

 

“What is this supposed to mean?”

 

“Seriously? Do I seem that foolish to you?”

 

His eyebrows furrow. 

 

“What?” He scans her, her posture ready to fight. “Did I do something? One second i’m talking to Anh Ra about-”

 

“Yes, I heard you two”. 

 

“Oh. Huh.” He pushes his hands in his pockets. “I was going to tell you. There was never the right moment and since we’re working for the same company you’d have problems with that”, he fumbles. 

 

“You approached me just to get with my secretary, of course I have a problem with that!” she shouts. “I thought we were friends”. 

 

“What?”

 

She’s so angry she could burst. 

 

“There's no use denying it. I heard you asking her about dating in the workplace”. 

 

Silence falls, and she waits for the inevitable blow. 

 

He has the audacity to laugh. 

 

She pushes him and grabs the door handle-

 

“Let me get this straight. I have polite small talk with your secretary for three minutes and you think I like her ? Not the person whom I've spent all my free time with?”

 

His hand falls on hers, and she finally raises her eyes to his. 

 

“It's you I like, Su Ryeon Si. All I've done for the past months is getting close to you.”

 

Her palm freezes under his bigger one. So does her brain. Is it real?

 

“I wasn't going to say anything yet, I know how important your job is to you and I didn’t want to give you trouble. I asked your secretary about you and she confirmed the company doesn’t allow fraternization between employees”. 

 

“You’re considered a short-term contractor”, she sighs. “But still, same rules. ”

 

He smirks, like a lawyer hitting the weak spot of her defenses. 

 

“And how would you know this exactly?”

 

There’s this moment before taking the plunge. You look down at the sea, feel the solid ground under your feet and the soft hues of the air around you. It’s calm, and inviting. You could stay there forever. 

 

But you jump anyway. 

 

“Same reason as you”. 

 

The way he beams, full of boyish charm and something distinctly Logan -warm, playful, direct- makes her glad she jumped. Especially when he grabs her face and kisses her so thoroughly, her back slams on the car. 

 

His lips slander at hers with little finesse and the bubbling urge of someone who’s waited many moons for this moment. Such ferocity, her knees can’t hold her up and she anchors to his neck, closing every space between them. He cups her neck, deepening the kiss and she’s lost. 

 

Breathless, they break apart, only for her to bury her head on his neck. She giggles, joy oozing from her, more so when Logan drops a kiss on her head. 

 

“I brought you take-out”, he nods to the bags. “Have dinner with me?”

 

She pulls his undone tie, catching his lips again, in lieu of an answer. 

 

—

 

He thought having her as a friend was the highlight of his day, but nothing compares to holding her hand and stealing kisses and just… being with her. 

 

"Ready to go?" He asks at her door. 

 

She gave her receptionist the night off, so it’s only her in the office. She throws him a smile, wrapping up a work call. 

 

"Wait for me," she mutters. 

 

"I will". 

 

True to his word, he waits next to the elevators, shifting his weight to balls of his feet. Another man joins them, a sales associate he’s met briefly . 

 

"Hi", he greets her, hoping third parties won’t detect the longing in his voice. 

 

He calls the lift. 

 

"Hello Mr Lee". 

 

They stand on opposite sides and the lift dings. Mr Jung doesn’t join them inside. 

 

"The meeting today was very enlightening, I will instruct my team to focus on Mr Pham's plans to-"

 

The doors close and he fuses his lips to hers. 

 

___

 

"Same table for you two?" The old lady asks. 

 

"Yes. Thank you ahjumma". 

 

He leads her to their table and pulls the chair for her. 

 

She's used to men, usually business associates, doing this for her but Logan's hand lingers on her back while he guides her. 

 

It's familiar, but different. She buzzes with excitement. 

 

"Red wine and -"

 

"I know, two bowls of spicy ramyeon, extra sauce, no onions". 

 

"And no scallions please", she adds for his benefit. 

 

"You remember". 

 

"You're fancy, how can I forget". 

 

"Scallions are -"

 

"-disgusting wet celery". 

 

His expression softens. 

 

"Now that I'm not pretending to be just your colleague, can I tell you how radiant you are?" 

 

"If you must". 

 

"I'm so lucky you spent your evenings with me, I was looking for a friend and I found the most captivating woman I've ever known." 

 

She smiles, as another server brings their drinks. 

 

"How was your day? Did you lock in the park deal?" he inquires. 

 

"Working on it. They're bringing the kids to the open day, we're setting the models and taking the space". 

 

"Urban development?" 

 

"A place where kids interact with art and are inspired. Also parents can leave them be."

 

"You should submit your paintings too". 

 

"No, they're professionals ". 

 

"So what? You have the talent to match them. I've seen your sketches. It should be your work out there too. You're an artist people would queue around the block  to see". 

 

"I left art school a long time ago, I paint as a hobby now ". 

 

"But you're brilliant at it.”

 

She’s unfamiliar with genuine praise. 

 

"Eat your food"

 

He mixes her noodles. 

 

"Is this how it's going to be from now on?" 

 

"If you mean how I'm going to be your biggest fan, darling, then yes. If you're talking about the food, we could go somewhere else too".

 

"You know what I'm talking about". 

 

"Yes. But I love seeing you like this".

 

"I wasn't always ". He takes her hand, tracing circles on her palm. "I had a hard time re-entering the company post-divorce. People were looking at me like an outsider, like someone who had no business being there again. I struggled to climb my way to art director. Evaluating others' work is safe, submitting my own designs isn't ".

 

"Do it anonymously". 

 

"What if I don't get picked?"

 

"You will. Mr Pham has excellent taste. And your designs aren't just utilitarian, you breathe life into what you create. You're doing it with the people in mind, how the space will affect them and what's going to bring brightness in their lives". 

 

"Next quarter, there's a competition for the Seoul National Park. I may submit."

 

"I'll be making the maquettes". 

 

"Your successor will". It’s the first time she mentions him leaving. It stings. 

 

"If you think I'm letting someone else make your dream come true, you're mistaken". 

 

But panic festers, he won’t be there in the spring. 

 

__

 

A warm cup of coffee waits for him on his desk Monday morning. He unfolds the napkin and finds a sketch of him. He beams when he sees he’s not in his usual tie, but a dotted bow tie. Is this a hint?

 

And under it a lipstick kiss. 

 

__

 

"I have a confession", he whispers as they're getting the equipment ready outside the course. She's in a white skirt and matching pink top and delectable long white socks that give him a thousand ideas. "I don't know how to play golf".

 

"How can a businessman not know the game of CEOs? All deals are made on the field". 

 

Exactly why his dad insisted on lessons and why Logan secretly skipped them. 

 

"I know how to compliment people on their swing and act interested when they score however many points. I can't really play". 

 

She raises an eyebrow. "Do you want me to teach you?"

 

"Very much so", he takes her by the waist and descends on her lips. She tastes of fruit juice and something hot. As if they're not close to the field, the kiss grows passionate, with her hands roaming his chest - crisp polo shirt- and sinking into him. She drops the puck he's been holding and cups his neck. They haven't started playing, yet he starts to sweat following the path of her fingers. 

 

"I'm learning already". 

 

His hands go to her hips and upward and she moans, holding him close until they're traveled through creamy skin to the lace edge of her underwear and-

 

Footsteps spring them apart from each other. Mr Pham appears, in full gear. Despite his calm demeanor, he means business. 

 

"Good morning". His eyes dart from one another. 

 

"Let's close this deal". 

 

Oh, he wants to.

 

____

 

The beep of a notification rouses Su Ryeon from her sleep. Without opening her eyes, she reaches to the nightstand and grabs her phone, wincing when the light of the screen hits her eyes. 

 

Reminder: 11 am brunch

 

Logan groans as he wakes and tightens his hold on her waist, his hand anchored on her lower belly. His mouth finds her neck and dots it with warm, sleepy kisses. Despite the current sluggishness of his body, she knows if she makes a move to get up, he’ll pin her to the bed. 

 

“Work?” he asks. 

 

She shakes her head. “Do you want to meet my best friend and her daughter?”

 

He pauses his ministrations. “Really?” 

 

“We have to be ready in half an hour”. 

 

With a parting kiss, he jumps out of bed and runs to the shower. He’s been hinting he wants to be part of her life -she jokingly said that they already work, eat and sleep together, to which he answered “more”- but she kept delaying it. They’re still dating in secret due to the office laws, so she didn’t want to risk crossing paths with coworkers outside.

 

But today she felt brave. And she needs her best friend to 

 

Peeling off Logan's shirt -it clings on her still sensitive s, the echoes of last night’s touches awakening her skin- she joins him for a shower. 

 

—

 

“So?” she looks at Yoon Hee expectantly. 

 

Her soon-to-be-ex best friend only smirks and brings the glass of mimosa to her lips. 

 

“Do you like him?” Su Ryeon asks the obvious. When they finished eating their eggs, Logan ordered another round of mimosas for them and took Rona for a walk in the garden of the restaurant. He said it was to pet the dogs, but Su Ryeon has no doubt he wanted to give them one-on-one time. 

 

“I am so mad at you!” Yoon Hee cries. “After your divorce all I do is set you up with eligible men and you dare to find the best one without my help!” She can’t help but smile and Su Ryeon joins her. 

 

“Oh,” she exhales. “For a second there I thought you wouldn’t approve”. 

 

“Despite not being me who chose this for you, as your best and wisest friend -don’t laugh-, I couldn’t be happier for you”. 

 

“He got you when he cut Rona’s food right?”
 

“Yes!” she exclaims. “She’s my daughter and I love her more than anything, but even I don’t have the patience for her eating stunts”. Rona had embraced fully her identity as a foodie, making her an impossibly picky eater. Logan -who was a picky eater in her age- just cut her food in small pieces and encouraged her to make different egg/sauce/veggie combinations in every bite. Impossibly, it worked. 

 

“He’s good with people, he manages a whole department and I’ve never heard any complaints. That was my fear, though. If he’s raised to be nice to everyone, including me”. 

 

“I take it he’s squashed this fear because that man can’t be more in love with you”. 

 

“You’re not afraid I wouldn’t like him. You were afraid you like him so much”. Wisest friend indeed, Yoon Hee has hit the nail on the head with this one.

 

“It’s just… is it supposed to be so easy? I fought to keep my marriage, I struggled with dates, I acted perfectly and still nothing. But with him, one day we’re eating Italian, next thing I know he’s making me breakfast in bed. I’m a forty-year-old divorcé and career woman and being with him comes more naturally than breathing”. 

 

Yoon Hee takes her hand. “People think the difficult things are worth it. But they confuse adversity with passion. You found someone who shares the hard times with you, not add more. And he looks delighted to do it. Ecstatic even”. 

 

She ponders. 

 

“He helped me submit my art to the Seoul National Park competition.”

 

“See? That’s what a supportive partner does. I’ve also encouraged you to get your painting out, but I guess he has better ways to persuade you”. Su Ryeon snickers and clinks her glass to her in answer. 

 

She lets her eyes wonder to the garden, long grass circling a small pond with waterlilies -the first time she saw it, she knew she’d found her new favorite brunch restaurant. Unable not to, she finds Logan, holding the seeds that Rona feeds the fish with. As if he’s thinking about her too, he turns his head and finds her eyes. He’s too far away but she knows this look. It’s the same one he gives her when they wake up side by side, or inextricably linked to each other, when he stares at her before she opens her eyes. She can feel its softness and warmth as real as the blanket over her. It’s a caress. 

 

She turns to Yoon Hee, sighing. “What am I going to do when he goes back?”