Seohyun waited at the lobby of her apartment for Yunho to pick her up to the airport. Despite insisting that she would make her way there herself, she could not ignore her CEO’s orders. He reasoned that he did not want to be delayed if she was late, and she silently scoffed at his words. She was never someone tardy, and he should have known better. Or maybe not.

Yunho was taking longer than expected and her mind went wondering to her surroundings. She saw a lady pushing a trolley filled with groceries, probably a week’s supply for her family. She saw an old couple holding hands, dressed in casual comfortable wear, probably going to the park for a morning walk. She saw a young couple, stopping at the pavement quarreling. She could not help but to think about herself, would she ever be able to move on from Yunho and find someone whom she would wake up early to buy groceries and prepare meals for them? To take a stroll in the park and holdings hands even when their hair turned grey? She hoped so.

Seohyun’s train of thoughts was interrupted when she heard someone honking at her. She did not know that Yunho had already arrived few minutes ago and was observing her. She then pulled her luggage to the car boot and to load it in. It was heavy, but Yunho did not seemed to care. He remained seated in the driver’s seat while waiting for her to get on.

“Good morning.” Seohyun greeted him. No response. She was kind of used to his hostility ever since that day he told her to stop the honorifics. His answers to her questions were simply “Yes” or “No” and he could not be bothered to answer her anything more than that. It was just sad that their relationship has ended up like that, although she knew it was her fault in the first place.

The whole journey was quiet, in fact, up till the plane and to the hotel they were staying in China. He had his earphones plugged in while using his iPad to respond to some emails. On the other hand, Seohyun read the book she brought along. It was purely a business trip.

They checked in their respective penthouse before agreeing to meet an hour later for their business meeting. Seohyun threw her belongings on a table before lying on the luxurious bed. She decided that she would go for some sightseeing when they have some free time instead of thinking about the relationship between her and Yunho. It was too tiring and mentally draining.

After resting, she got up and put on her business wear, applying a thin layer of makeup, took the documents she needed and went to the lift lobby to wait for Yunho. To her surprise, he was already there waiting for her, looking out of the window back facing her. She took a while to admire Yunho’s frame. He was tall and proportionately muscular, the kind of body she always wanted her boyfriend to have. He was like a perfect fit for her.

“Let’s go, Yunho.” Seohyun called as he turned around to face her. His expression was still unreadable, God knows how much she wanted to know what he has been thinking all these while. The lift got a little crowded and Seohyun’s body was stuck to Yunho’s. She felt a little awkward, when she tried to move away Yunho held her close, as a man was standing closely in front of her. Her body was starting to feel weak from Yunho’s hold, it felt warm and right. It was stupid, but she felt like crying that instance. She never knew how much she missed him until she was in his arms again. Taking a deep and long breath, she managed her emotions then walked out of the lift when it reaches the hotel lobby level without looking back at Yunho.

Throughout the whole schedule of touring around the major supermarket, Seohyun remained quiet and only initiated or reply Yunho whenever it is work related. She was afraid that anything more than that she would have given in to her inner struggle and asked Yunho to take her back. She needed to manage her emotions well if she wants to continue this job. It was going to look good on her resume and the salary offered to her was really good as well. She thought it wasn’t worth it to sacrifice her future just because she couldn’t control her emotions for her ex-boyfriend, or was it ex-lover, since she was just a third party.

She tried to strike conversation with the China staffs regarding the whole organization operations to eateries in China just to avoid any possible talk with Yunho, and it was so obvious to him. The way she looked away when their eyes accidentally met. He knew she was avoiding him after he pulled her towards him in the lift. He knew she still had some feelings for him. He decided that he will talk to her tomorrow, he was feeling a little giddy, probably the plane that hit turbulence a number of times, and all he wanted was for this business tour to end so he could get back to the hotel and rest.

Yunho’s wish came true when the staff announced that the storage area was the final stop and seeing Seohyun thanking them, he went forward and gave his thanks before bidding them farewell. He would leave the contract drafting tomorrow. “The driver will be here in five minutes.” Seohyun informed as she ended the call. Yunho merely nodded his head then closed his eyes while standing at the pick-up point.

Upon reaching the hotel, they went to their respective rooms and agreed to meet at 9am in the morning for discussions over breakfast. Seohyun sigh a huge heave of relief when she finally closed her room door. It was a torture trying to not look at Yunho, especially when he looked really tired, since she kind of guessed that he was up working the whole night before the flight to China. It was probably why he was a little later when he picked her up from her home. His eye bags were visually huge but he still managed to look professional in front of the China clients. This was something Seohyun admired about him, his passion when he does things.

She took a long hot bath to relax her body, unknowingly, her thoughts went back to those days where she and Yunho dated. It was a pure love, they hardly quarreled, it was as though they were the perfect fit for each other. It was only when her friend came crying and telling her that her fiancé might be seeing someone then she realized how wrong their relationship was. It was selfish of her, but she had to admit that it was the best part of her life, knowing Yunho and being able to be with him was something she has never regretted. They genuinely loved each other. Warm tears streamed down her face, she missed him so bad, her heart ached a little, especially when Yunho is now so close to her yet never been farther.

She climbed out of the bathtub and wrapped the robe around her body, feeling sleepy after the warmness engulfed her body. As she stepped into the room, the lights suddenly shut off. She heard noises outside, and guessed it might be due to a short circuit. But she had one problem, she could not see in the dark. She tried to reach for the hotel’s phone but she really could not figure out where it was. While she was trying to maneuver her way around the penthouse to find her phone, she accidentally tripped over one of the furniture and fell. It hurts a lot and it was wet and sticky when she clutched the area. She was bleeding.

===

Yunho woke up when he started perspiring. He thought that the air condition had malfunctioned, to only realize the commotion outside. He could hear orders given to fix the electricity that had went off. Then something hit him, Seohyun was in the room beside his, and he remembered that she had night blindness. He immediately called Seohyun on her handphone, hoping that she would answer.

She only picked up after numerous counts of rings. “Hel-..” “Are you alright?” Yunho asked when the call finally got through. “I can’t see a thing. But the light from the hand phone helped.” Seohyun replied. “I will go over, open the door for me using your phone as a torchlight.” Yunho instructed as he hung up. Forgot that he only had pants on, he went straight out, knocking on Seohyun’s room door.

After three minutes, her door finally opened and light was flashed on his face. Seohyun was confirming if it was Yunho who knocked on her door. “Are you alright?” Yunho asked. “Yes, I have just finished bathing when the lights went off.” She answered. “Come, let’s wait at the living room.” He suggested as he held his hand to guide her there. Seohyun winced in pain when Yunho walked ahead. He stopped abruptly then looked at her. “What is it?” He asked. “I…I fell when I was trying to find my phone.” She admitted, feeling a little clumsy. Yunho clicked his tongue in frustration. “Why are you always so careless? How many times have I told you to be careful and stay where you are when…” He stopped for a moment when he realized they were not longer in a relationship. “I will carry you, shine the light on the ground.” He said. “It’s okay, I can walk.” Seohyun replied, her tone was a little quiet, it was awkward and she did not want to have any more body contact with Yunho. It was testing her patience big time. However, Yunho insisted and lifted her off the ground, catching her by surprise. It was too close, the distance between them, and Seohyun’s heart began thumping loudly. 

Yunho, knowing that Seohyun could not see him, stared at her for a while before making his way to the sofa. He put her down gently as he took the phone from her grasp and shone it on her legs to look for the wound. Seeing that she was bleeding on her knee, he got up and went to the bathroom to get a warm towel and the first aid kit. “You don’t have to Yunho, it’s not that serious.” She exclaimed when she felt Yunho cleaning her wound but he gave no response. 

When he was done, he washed the towel and put the kit back, before settling on the sofa beside her. “Try to sleep, I’m sure the power supply will be back soon.” His tone was still unreadable. “Thank you Yunho…” Seohyun said. “Tell me, have you ever thought of me when you were abroad.” Yunho suddenly asked after few minutes of silence. There was no way the both of them could sleep when they could both felt the strong tension between them.

Seohyun did not know what to reply. Should she be honest? She should not. But she did not want to lie, not after all those times she wanted to express herself. “Yes…Yunho..I..” And she felt Yunho’s lips on hers. Yunho grabbed Seohyun’s face with both of his hands and kissed her urgently. It was the kind of kiss where both lovers have been separated for too long. He tugged at her lower lips to give him access to , and she obliged naturally, like before. Yunho deepened the kiss by pulling her towards him. Her head felt light, she could not breathe. Yunho had no intentions of stopping…He had once again let down the wall he has built when she left.

He only stopped when he felt tears on his face, but it wasn’t his.