Jiyong immediately stood up as soon as he realized what happened.  He walked out of the room in a flash, without even bothering to help Dara stand up. 

On the other hand, it took Dara a long minute before she moved a part of her body.  She still looks dumbfounded about what happened; things happened so fast yet that moment where their lips touched felt so long.  She had to blink her eyes a number of times to make sure that she isn’t having a nightmare.  Finally, after a while, she stood up, wiped the dirt off her dress.  She wants to leave the restaurant immediately, but all of a sudden she feels nervous that she might bump into him when she goes out.  She thought hard on how to go about her fast escape.  Right, she decided she would just walk as fast as she can, straight to her car and drive off. 

Dara took a deep breath, then walked as fast as she can until she saw the main opening, didn’t even bother to move her head sideways, and hoped that none of the workers would call her while she passed by.  She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her car.  Ahhh, she was able to go out unscathed.  She felt so happy with this, she unconsciously pulled her arm with her fists closed like the reaction of someone who won something, and whispered “YES!” to herself.  She exhaled loudly again, relieved that she can now leave the place.  She was about to open her car door, when she realized something.  Uh oh!

How can she be so unlucky again today?  She was in such a hurry that she forgot she didn’t have the car keys.  Dara gave it to one of the workers earlier to get the snacks.  She feels like crying; she definitely does not want to go back inside.  She almost had a heart attack just trying to escape unnoticed earlier, and she barely survived.  Eottoke?! Eottoke?!  She can’t think of anything and she starts stomping her feet out of frustration.

“You left your keys.”

Dara almost jumped out of shock when she heard Jiyong’s voice.  Dara couldn’t look at him, she’s feeling more embarrassed now because of her foolishness.  Her back is still facing Jiyong, but she can see him through the car window’s reflection.

“Uhm, yes..haha…how stupid of me.”  Okay now she sounds stupid, faking her laugh and confidence.  She saw Jiyong move forward to her; her heart is beating so fast.  She was shouting a thousand curses inside her head, mostly directed towards herself, for her stupidity.  Why can’t she even face him?

“You know I just realized your back is so y.”

“Yah!” 

Dara turned around when she heard that, but had to back off a bit when she realized how close the distance was between the two of them.  Jiyong is now laughing so hard at her reaction.  He stepped backward and continued laughing, his hand on his stomach now.  As much as Dara was annoyed at him for embarrassing her more, she couldn’t help but smile a bit watching him laugh.  It was the first time that Dara saw him like this; he was a kid and he looks good.  Dara had to shake the last thought off her head.

“Yah!  Stop laughing and just give me the keys; I’m gonna be late!”  Dara held out her hand in front of Jiyong, signaling him to drop the keys on her palm.  She’s showing him her most annoyed expression now.

Jiyong stopped laughing, and he too realized that he was being foolish.  How could he let his guard down like that, showing her that side of him?  He regret his actions instantly.  He straightened up and his arrogant expression was back.  He gave Dara the keys right away.

Jiyong cleared his throat before speaking.  “Forget about what happened earlier.  I didn’t intend that to happen; and besides you shouldn’t have been there in the first place.”

Jiyong was standing in front of Dara but he was not looking at her while he spoke.  He just looked straight, his eyes past Dara.  Dara, meanwhile, had her head bowed down, not wanting to look at him either.

“I already forgot about it, no need to bring it up again.  I’m just relieved no one saw that; I don’t want my boyfriend to feel bad.”

“And don’t ever say what happened earlier to anyone either.”

Dara’s blood boiled up when she heard this.  She looked at Jiyong immediately with her brows meeting, obviously angry.

“And what makes you think I want to tell anyone about that?  It was a nightmare; so disgusting!”

Jiyong is stifling his laugh once again, as there is really something about Dara’s angry expression that he enjoys watching.

“It’s not like I enjoyed it too you know.  But your actions will give you in; just now you were so nervous when you heard my voice.  You’re making it so obvious that something happened.  So either you avoid me from now on or you get your act together, act normal.  I just got my job and I don’t want to lose it with something as petty as that; and then I wouldn’t be able to pay you.”

“Okay okay!  Just go back inside; I’m leaving now.”

Dara went inside the car without looking back at him, and drove off as fast as she could.  As she was driving more kilometers farther away now, she felt her lips with her fingers and allowed herself to recall what happened even for just one minute.  Then after that, she forced the thoughts away from her head, even opening the window, as if the wind would take those memories away.

_________________________________

Three weeks have passed and Dara focused on her work.  She was back to her busy schedule, researching new trends, interviewing people, writing her articles.  She didn’t go out much during those weeks.  She just went out for a movie and dinner once, with Han Byul, because she will kill her if she didn’t keep her promise. 

TOP had been busy with the restaurant too and in a week, it will finally open to the public.  Dara and TOP only talked on the phone whenever they can, during their short breaks.  He kept on inviting her to see the finished restaurant; but she always said no.  She reasoned out that she wanted to be surprised too and just see it on the opening day.

_________________________________

It’s 8:00pm and Dara just arrived at her place.  She felt so tired; she talked to a lot of people today and she was feeling mentally exhausted.  She was shocked when she opened the door to her unit and she smelled something cooking.  She knows the smell so much and she can only think of one person who cooks the best chicken porridge.  She made her way in and there she saw her boyfriend in the kitchen.  Dara ran to him and hugged his back.

How can he be always there at the most perfect moment?  Like he was reading her mind, and he knew that she was tired and that she could use a hearty meal once she gets home.  He really knows her well.  Dara had these thoughts as she had her arms around TOP.  All the tiredness is gone.

“There you are.  You came in just in time; the porridge is almost done.”  TOP held Dara’s hands with his free hand and looked back a bit.  He kissed her on top of her head.

“How did you know?”

“How did I know what?  That you’re tired and hungry?”

Dara didn’t say anything, just nodded her head.  She is three years older than TOP, but whenever she’s with him she becomes childish sometimes, showing her cute charms, which he also adores.  TOP is a mature gentleman, and he never feels that Dara is older than him.  He always felt like she was someone who should always be taken care of.

“Because my heart was hungry and tired too; it misses you…so bad.”  TOP laughed a little at his cheesy answer.  “I haven’t seen you for weeks and you wouldn’t visit me at the restaurant.  I’m running out of energy already.”

Dara is still not saying anything.  She was still hugging TOP from the back, while he was busy cooking.  And after he spoke, Dara would just answer him by tightening her embrace and planting kisses on TOP’s back.

“Hey, if you’ll keep on doing that I might not be able finish cooking this porridge.”

TOP turned the stove off and turned towards Dara – Dara still not taking her hands off him.  He cupped Dara’s small face in his hands and gave her a quick peck on the lips…and another one…and another one.  He smiled at her and led her to the dining table.

“I can kiss you all night babe, but you really need to eat something.”

TOP then started to set the food on the table and then he just watched Dara while she ate.  He’s laughing a little at her, satisfied that she seemed to love the food.  Dara then realized that he hasn’t taken his eyes off her, and Dara offered to feed him.

“You should eat too.  It’s not fair that I’m the only one eating, while you were the one who made this.”

“No babe, you should eat everything.  I made it just enough for you.  And besides, didn’t I tell you that it was my heart that was hungry?  You already fed it, it’s happily full now.”  TOP winked at her as he said this.

“Okay, but stop staring; you’re making me conscious.”  Dara pouted her lips, and TOP just couldn’t help but laugh at how cute she looked.

“Oh, I actually want to invite you somewhere.  The restaurant is opening next weekend right?  So for this coming weekend, I planned a trip for the whole staff so that everyone will get to know each other well and the working environment will feel more comfortable.  You will come with us, right?”

Dara almost choked.  She was afraid he’d invite her again to the restaurant, and she had been prolonging her visit there, but this is worse.  A weekend getaway, with all the workers – including “him.”

“Honey, do I really have to go?  I mean, I’m not of the staff and they wouldn’t have no problem with me so I don’t think I need to be there too.”  Dara stopped eating and she was just playing with the food now, moving the spoon around.  She’s avoiding looking at TOP’s eyes too.

“But I want you to be there with me.  It’s our chance for a vacation too, spend some quality time together.  We’ve been so busy these days that we can’t even see each other that often.  And you already know some of my staff, right?  I told Jiyong to bring Chaerin along too.  I thought you would be happy to see her again.”

Jiyong will be there – exactly why she doesn’t want to go.  Just hearing his name from TOP suddenly makes her all uneasy. 

“Can we just go alone – the two of us?”

“As much as I want that my love, I also would like to get to know my employees well.  I think it would give them more encouragement if they feel like that I’m approachable too.  It would be a good start for the company.”  

Dara had a pleading look on her face, hoping that TOP would just excuse her this one time.  But TOP pulled his seat closer to her and held her hand.  He put her hand close to his face and looked at Dara.  Now he had that pleading look too.

“Do this for me please, will you babe?  It would mean so much to me if you would be there.”  TOP then kissed her palm.

When TOP is staring at her like that, how can she say no?

“Okay, I will.  You know I can’t say no to you when you’re like that.  But promise me, we’ll spend some quality time there too, alright?”

“Of course babe, that’s an easy one.”  TOP hugged her close and whispered “I love you.” 

Dara’s thoughts are getting ahead of her though.  Just the thought of seeing “him” again is making her anxious, nervous.

_______________________________

TOP and Dara arrived at the destination and waited for the others to arrive.  They took the car while the rest of the employees took the bus which the company hired for them.  When Dara got off the car, she loved the smell of the air around.  It was a nature-surrounded area, a ninety-minute hour from Seoul City proper.  The environment is very different from the city; there were a lot of trees around.  They arrived at a large rest house, which was owned by a close friend of TOP’s parents.  It was really peaceful; you can hear the sound of nature.  It was indeed a good place for team-building.

A few minutes later, the bus arrived and the employees got off one-by-one.  Dara was trying hard not to look at each person getting off and she just looked around where she can while TOP waited for them.

“Eonnie!”

Dara looked back and saw Chaerin running to her, with a big smile on her face.  She hugged Dara tight as soon as she got to her.

“Chaerin-ah, it’s so nice to see you again.  It’s been a long time since we last saw each other; I’m happy you’re here.  At least there’s someone else I know aside from my boyfriend. “

“I’m so happy to see you again too, Eonnie.  I was jumping from excitement when Jiyong-oppa told me that I could go with him.”

“I’ve always wanted to see you again, and catch up with you.  I feel like there’s a lot that we should talk about.”

“Yes, I would love that too.  For sure, we’ll have lots of fun.”  Chaerin was still all smiles, definitely happy to see Dara again.

But Dara’s smile faded at once when he saw him on his way to them.  As Jiyong got closer, Dara immediately looked down, not wanting to look at him in the face.

“Chaerin, I’m gonna bring all our stuff inside okay?  I’ll go find our room.”

“Oppa, I want to stay in one room with Dara-eonnie.  I haven’t seen her for a long time.”  Jiyong looked at Dara’s reaction, and immediately looked away when their eyes met.

“She’s here with her boyfriend; you shouldn’t meddle with their quality time together.”

Chaerin looked disappointed; Jiyong was right.  Meanwhile, TOP walked to them and heard everything.

“No it’s okay; Chaerin can stay with Dara in one room.  Chaerin looked so excited to see her, so I’ll just give it to her.”  “You don’t have a problem with sharing the room with me, do you Jiyong?” 

“No of course not, Boss.  Everything’s fine with me.”  Jiyong and Dara are still avoiding each other’s looks.

“Good, that’s settled then.  Let’s all bring all the stuff inside then, so we can settle and start with our activities.”  TOP led everyone inside.

______________________________

It was the first time that Dara was meeting everyone and she felt dizzy after several introductions.  All the employees were boys and so they could be a bit rowdy.  TOP was trying his best to blend in with his workers so once in a while he would join in on the jokes too. 

Chaerin was so tired that she asked permission from Dara if she could take a short nap.  Turned out she had a huge exam the previous day and was not able to take a rest.  So since Chaerin was resting and Dara couldn’t join the boys’ conversation, she decided to take a stroll outside and just enjoy the scenery and fresh air.  It was her first time to visit the place too and since she has lived in the city her whole life, she’s enjoying the new environment.

Dara kept walking to where her feet would take her, not really minding her destination.  The she finally noticed that it was getting darker, the sun is about to set.  She decided to go back to the rest house; but she has a huge problem now.  She couldn’t remember her way back.  She was so busy enjoying the surroundings, looking up at the trees, that she couldn’t remember where she turned right or left.  She looked at her phone and there was no signal.  She is starting to get nervous now.

Not knowing what to do, she just decided to turn around and walk straight until she finds someone from whom she can ask directions.  As she walked, she was looking up again at the surrounding trees, trying to figure out if she can remember passing by those trees, or any signs that would look familiar to her.  She wasn’t looking ahead in front of her, and she screamed when she bumped into something, or someone? 

“Hey, you don’t have to scream like that!  You scared the hell out of me!”  Jiyong was also startled to see Dara there.

“What?  Why?  Why are you here?”  She’d been trying all day to not cross paths with him; but then somehow she still bumped into him.

“I was trying to find my way back; I was walking around and then I somehow couldn’t find the way back to the rest house.”  “Why are you here?  Come to think of it, it’s good that you’re here.  You know the way back, don’t you?”

“I was lost too.  I was looking around, trying to see if I passed by this place earlier; that’s why I didn’t see you coming.  I’m not sure I know the way back either.”

“Now we have a problem.  Did you bring your cell phone?  Call your boyfriend.”

“I did but I couldn’t find a signal.  I was hoping I’d see a local around here.”

“Dang; of all people I’d bump into!  How unfortunate!”

“Yah!  Don’t you think I feel the same way too?  Something bad always happens when I’m with you.”

“Let’s just argue later okay?  For now, we need to find our way back.”  Jiyong started walking leaving Dara behind.  As much as Dara didn’t like to go with him, she had no choice but to scramble and follow him.  At least there’s two of them lost now.

“Yah!  Slow down; do you even know where you’re going?”  Dara was doubling her steps now as Jiyong was walking so fast and he wasn’t even looking if Dara was able to follow him.  “So ungentlemanly,” Dara thought.

Then a light flashed in the sky and seconds later they heard the loud thunder.  Then rain started pouring, and it kept getting heavier and heavier.  Dara was getting more confused now, she couldn’t see what’s ahead of her clearly; and she’s not even sure if she was still following Jiyong.  He was walking so fast.  So Dara stopped walking, and got scared when she couldn’t see Jiyong in front anymore.  She looked around and was starting to get really worried.  Then she felt someone grab her hand, and saw that it was Jiyong.

“What are you thinking?  Hurry up!”  There were running now until they saw a small abandoned hut not far ahead.  Jiyong was still grabbing Dara by the hand, pulling her along so she could catch up.

Finally, they reached the small hut and they were able to take shade.  But the space was really small, it was not even meant for living inside.  It seemed like a small resting place for the workers who tend to the plants and trees.  The space was just enough for two or three people to lie down or rest.  The two of them settled inside, sat down as far away from each other as the space would allow. 

The rain showed no signs of slowing down any time soon and the thunder was loud.  Dara and Jiyong looked at each other at the same time, and noticed how both of them were shivering so badly.

____________________________

A/N:  Kyaaaaa!  Eottoke Eottoke!!!

What happens next???????  kekkekeek!

I hope you enjoy this chapter guys..it's a bit longer since I took a long

break too. =D  And have you notice something?  I have a fanarts! YAAAAY!

*Party Poppers* Woohoo!  Thank yo so much to my oh so talented and

helpful friend @Lalab_Shi for providing all the fanarts.  She's amazing right?

And thank you so much dear readers (esp to those who are writing down their

comments) kekekek!  Enjoy! =)