Dong Sun was observing Jessica as she packed her suitcase. They were in Jessica’s apartment. Finally Jessica let out a sigh of relief then she looked up thoughtfully and drew tick marks in the air with her index finger. She turned still ticking in the air when her eyes fell on Dong Sun. She flushed when she saw his deep brown eyes observing her intently. She quickly looked down as blood rushed to her cheeks turning them crimson. Dong Sun quietly got up from the couch and went upto her.He stood behind her,her back facing him

“Have you packed all you need?” he whispered softly

“Mmm”

“Towels?”

“Mmm”

“Toothbrush? Toothpaste?”

“Yes”

“Formal wear for the court hearing?”

“Yes” Jessica was starting to get irritated

“Sufficient number of undergarments?”

Jessica turned around in fury “Yah! I’m not a baby! I’m a responsible—“

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Somin  was checking her bag to see if she got everything as she walked out of the studio when she noticed Hyunjoong going out too. They both stopped in their tracks when they saw each other but neither spoke a word. Somin tried to read his face to get an idea of what he felt about the whole situation since they haven’t spoken since her confession. But Hyunjoong looked impassive,his expression giving away nothing—he was simply staring at her,his face totally devoid of emotion. Somin’s heart ached,pained like it never had before. She took a step towards him but that kinda broke the spell as Hyunjoong went ahead and got into his car.

Somin looked on as Hyunjoong drove away in his car not even taking a single backward glance at her.

“He hates me…..he loathes me” Somin cursed herself as a teardrop rolled down her cheek. She sighed heavily in an attempt to hold back the remaining tears from oozing out and finally started to walk towards the street.

“Hey! Where are you going?”

Somin stopped as she heard jihoo’s call from behind. She turned around to find Jihoo jogging upto her.

“Where are you going?” he asked when he reached her

“Home” somin answered in a low tone.

“That I know” Jihoo said rolling his eyes “But why are you going alone? I’ll drop you,come” he tugged at her hand. Somin looked over his shoulder to find a lonely Haera standing at the studio entrance looking at them.

“Kinchana. I’ll manage. You take Haera home”

“I will. I will take you both home safely.” Jihoo beamed at her and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles in an assuring gesture.

Somin still looked hesitant. She was abit apprehensive as she thought being in the same car with Haera after Hyunjoong broke up with her, wasn’t a very good idea.

“It’s gonna be fine” Jihoo said. He had this amazing power of knowing exactly what her mind thinks—everytime he amazes her with this superpower of his.

Somin smiled and nodded

“But…your bike cant accommodate all three of us? ” Somin cried

“We’re not going on the bike” he said in a matter-of-fact tone

“Then..?” Somin blinked at him in confusion. Jihoo merely grinned

“Wait here” Jihoo said as they reached the entrance of the studio. Jihoo left them and disappeared into the array of cars parked into the parking lot.Somin tensed up as she found herself standing beside Haera. There was an awkaward silence between the two ladies as neither spoke even a single syllable. Soon a black Audi A3 with tinted black windows arrived infront of them. Somin’s jaw dropped as the window of the driver’s door slided down revealing Jihoo’s brilliant smile to her.

“Get in” he winked and shot his million dollar smile

Somin was dazzled! She got in cautiously,careful not to damage the sedan in anyways by her clumsiness.Once in,Somin kept on looking at the various aspects of the car’s interior taking the shape of ‘wow’ or ‘oh’ every other moment. Jihoo smiled in amusement as he observed her admiring his car.

“Bought this today only” Jihoo said

“Today? When?” Somin asked,her eyes filled with awe

“During lunch.” He answered nonchalantly

“Ah! That’s why you were absent and even came abit late after lunch” Somin said thoughtfully,remembering

“Hmm. It’s like a farewell gift I got myself”

Somin’s face fell as soon as he mentioned this.

“Thought I’d get one when I get to Australia but when the trip got postponed I decided to buy it from here only since I was getting a good offer”

 Somin wasn’t really listening. She had forgotten Jihoo was going away—he was only here for a few days.Jihoo had become such a good friend of hers in such a short span of time. After her first day with him she wished he’d leave as soon as possible but now it was a totally different scenario. She didn’t realize when, but now he has become an integral part of her support system. He was someone she could completely be herself with. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. He was driving with a soft smile glued to his face,the streetlights illuminated his face giving his face a somewhat divine appeal.

“He truly is divine. My guardian angel sent from heaven” Somin thought and smiled to herself.

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“Yes.Love Game. The game of attraction….. I played it with you to draw you towards me…. away from Haera”

The memory of her changing room confession to Hyunjoong flashed across her eyes followed by Hyunjoong’s impassive look when they met on their way out of the studio. Somin closed her eyes tightly to make the flashbacks stop but the images kept on whirling in her head.Finally giving up she opened her eyes and looked out of the window.

“He really hates me.” She said to herself and tilted her head back pressing it against her seat. She glanced at Jihoo again

“Will Jihoo hate me too if he got to know about the Love Game I tried to play?” Somin asked herself “He probably would…he has every right to afterall I tried to steal his sister’s boyfriend away.”

Somin was so lost in her thoughts that she forgot that she was still staring at Jihoo.

“Do I have something on my face?” Jihoo suddenly inquired narrowing his eyes

“A-Ani” Somin replied nervously

“Then why do you keep on looking at me?” Jihoo winked teasing her

Somin smiled nervously and looked away

“Gosh really! Why the hell did I try to play that stupid game! For that idiotic game the person I love hates me and my true friend will loathe me too!” Somin hit her head lightly

“Regretting letting him go aren’t you?”

Haera’s query pulled Somin out of her train of thought startling her.

“Mo?” Somin asked turning around

Haera gave out a mocking laugh. “Now that you find out that my brother is rich you regret letting him go don’t you?”

Somin narrowed her eyes in confusion and blinked at Haera

“Don’t try to act innocent you gold digger! That’s why you stole Hyunjoong away from me! For his money! And now when you discover Jihoo is rich too, you’re having second thoughts! You filthy--”

“HAERA!” Jihoo yelled and the car came to a screeching halt.He exhaled heavily and turned around.

“Get down and go inside” he sternly ordered Haera

Somin looked out to find that they were infront of Haera and Jihoo’s apartment building. Haera sat frozen looking at her brother,her eyes burning with anger and disbelief

“GO!” Jihoo said alittle loudly and with authority

“Blind! You are all blind!” Haera mumbled and got down. Jihoo looked at her retreating back and finally let out a sigh of relief when she was finally inside the building. Somin felt engulfed in the awkward,tension-charged atmosphere—she really didn’t want to be there.

“ I’m sorry” Jihoo finally said opening his eyes. “She-she” Jihoo choked on his words,he was really worried about his sister “she hasn’t really been able to accept it all” he managed to say. He closed his eyes again and shook his head “but she has to…and she will! I promise you I’ll make her realize her mistake…don’t worry…I promise….I swear—“

“She isn’t the only one wrong Jihoo” Somin suddenly said

Jihoo looked at her in confusion

“She isn’t totally wrong….I did try to steal Hyunjoong away from her”

Jihoo’s eyes grew big