Seohyun grew accustomed to Kris' comforting presence in her life, and he continued to show up in every aspect.

He was no longer that stranger who ran at the park. Kris was her friend, and dare she say it, her best friend. She hadn't had one of those in a long time. Kris continued to appear in every part of her daily life.

It was always "Hey Kris, want to come over for dinner?" or "Have you seen the new movie yet? Let's go see it together!" or "I'm lonely, come read books with me?" Seohyun felt her heart slowly breaking free from its icy chains, and she had Kris to thank for that.

He was a genuine friend, and he filled up a void that was left in her after Minjee had gone. 

As Seohyun was preparing for another one of their dinner hang outs, her cell phone rang. It was probably Kris calling to tell her he would be running late, like always. Kris had a lousy sense of time but Seohyun didn't mind. She didn't mind at all.

Who else would she have to wait for?

When Seohyun retrieved her cell phone from her bag, she found it was from a strange number. Who was it? "Hello?" No answer. Seohyun tried again, this time with a little more force. "Hello??"

The stranger loudly cleared his throat. "This is Mr. Park. It's nice to be hearing from you, Seohyun. "What? I don't know any Mr. Park...How does he have my number?

The stranger's voice was deep and throaty, nasally and strident. It grated against her ears and made her head hurt. She could almost feel his foul breath against her skin, and she could picture his wretched and ugly face, smirking through the phone. This was a bad man, and Seohyun could feel it. "I'm sorry, I don't know any Mr. Park. Have a nice day." With that, Seohyun hung up.

Hopefully, he wouldn't call again. Probably not right? He's just a random stranger. He's probably got the wrong Seohyun. Its okay Seohyun, calm down. It was just a coincidence. Before she could think anymore of this man, she heard a whizzing in the kitchen. "Omo! My pasta!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Kris looked at his watch worriedly. Would she be mad? Dumb Luhan, keeping me at work with his indecisiveness. It's okay. It's only been five minutes, with her concentrated personality, she probably won't even notice. Kris continued to mumble encouraging thoughts to himself as he pushed on the gas pedal.

Today was another one of their dinner "hang outs" and he was late, just like every other time. Should I have brought flowers? Would that seem too friendly? No right? We're like best friends. Darn it, I should have brought flowers. Kris reprimanded himself for his thoughtlessness.

Quickly hopping out of his car, Kris ran his fingers through his gelled hair and fixed his tie. Even if they were good friends, he wanted to look good. He practically flew up the four flights of stairs to her apartment, deciding to skip out on the elevator. Breathlessly, he rung the doorbell, mentally kicking himself for messing up his hair and tie by running so fast.

The moment Seohyun opened the door, a delightful aroma wafted from the room. "It smells great! What did you cook today Seo?"

"I made some fettuccine alfredo pasta with chicken!" He saw how excited she was, telling him about the meal she had prepared. Kris smiled gently.

This would not have even been imaginable 6 months ago. He thought about how she was when they first met, quiet, alone, and empty. Now he saw some sort of a fire in her eyes, and her cheeks glowed. Wow. She's beautiful.

They ate in the living room and watched the latest korean drama together. This one was, What was it? Love Rain?, Kris couldn't really remember. All he knew was that it was pretty interesting, and the acting wasn't half bad.

He gobbled down the last bit of pasta and set the plate on the table, waiting for Seohyun to finish. She took slow, delicate bites. This was one thing he never understood. Why be so neat and proper in your own home? But he accepted that she was just like that. Her apartment was in perfect condition, and she didn't tolerate any messiness. It took him a while to figure out that his shoes should be taken off the moment he set foot into her home, and that his coat was not meant to be carelessly draped over the edge of any random seat.

Suddenly, he heard her phone go off. Meaning to be helpful, he walked over to the counter and got it for her. Hmm, unknown caller? Who could this be? Kris brought the phone back to Seohyun, showing her the number. The look in her eyes told him something was wrong. The way her pupils widened in shock and her whole body stiffened. Her arms remained limp at her sides, not reaching for the ringing cell phone.

"Hello?" Kris decided he would answer for her, and give whoever was on the line a little piece of his confused mind.

"Hello, this is Mr. Park again. I'm calling on behalf of..your parents. They have..left a few things for you..to pick up."

"I'm sorry, Seohyun-shi is unavailable right now, I am her friend. I can take a message for you and tell Seohyun to call you back later if you like?" He saw that Seohyun was in no state to answer the call, much less it be about her parents.

"Oh, no. I'll be in frequent contact. Tell her that she'll hear from me again." The nasally voice cackled in what Kris perceived to be a laugh. Before he could reply, the other end went silent. 

Author's Note: Oooohh lalaaaaa~~ haha hope you enjoyed this chappy and it met your expectations. I hope it wasn't lackluster and I try reallly hard to increase the length of my chapters. I just don't want to force any writing since it might come out bad and boring. XD please leave comments! They really encourage me :)