Everything was a blur to Seunghyun. The last thing he remembered was getting on that scooter behind Dara who was driving. Dara, on the other hand, could not get the smirk off her face while driving. Seunghyun was so uncomfortable behind her that he was tugging the hem her shirt the whole duration of the ride. There was one instance when Dara had to abruptly stop because of a car that cut in on them and Seunghyun was forced wrap his hands around her waist out of shock.

When they reached their destination, everything was too fast-paced. They entered a building and went straight to a locker room. Dara ushered him to a locker, opened it and got the things inside and handed it to him. Seunghyun was puzzled to receive an apron and a hair net. It was weird that they had to enter a shabby looking building in the first place, but receiving an apron and a hair net takes the cake on weirdness level.

“I’m sorry but we’ll be in charge of the food today. I asked for a special treatment considering you’ll be here but none of them wanted to exchange places,” Dara explained, excitement evident in her voice.

Although he heard Dara’s explanation, it confused him all the more. Being in charge of the food? And who was “them”?

“Let’s remove this and pull this up,” Dara mumble while she prepared Seunghyun for the task they were about to undertake.

She removed his jacket, pulled up his sleeves, and put the apron on him. Seunghyun backed away when she tried putting the hair net on him but she still managed to put it on despite the mini battle that happened, with him blocking her access to his head while she kept on reaching for them.

He followed her to a door that leads to a kitchen that was very busy, and then to another door that leads to a cafeteria. He immediately understood what she meant about being in charge of food. They will be serving food at the counter for the people who were already lining up to receive their share.

“What is this? Where are we?” Seunghyun asked, bewildered by the sight he was just introduced to.

“Oh, sorry I didn’t explain to you earlier. We are at a homeless shelter. I do volunteer work here from time to time. This is one of the things me and the girls fund for charity work.”

Seunghyun just stared blankly at her, more confused than ever.

“Well, you know, daughters of businessmen who gathered for a cause. This shelter is one of those we work so hard for to fund. The government of course funds this place but it’s not enough for all the people who come here.”

Dara was cut off when somebody tapped her to say that they should start serving the food. They were not able to talk much when the serving started. She was focused on giving out food. However, it didn’t escape her observation that Seunghyun was not complaining at all. When the line for the food moved, he didn’t ask much, it was like he was not himself for not actually protesting.

It was Seunghyun’s first time to do charity work because, he didn’t know, the idea just didn’t come to him. He was always too busy making their company more successful than it already was to even think about something like it. Surprisingly, it wasn’t too bad, except for some little accidents here and there like spilling the food or his struggle with interacting to the people asking food from him.

He kept on glancing at Dara the whole time. She was smiling and it seemed like she knew almost all of the people in line. They about Seunghyun and she unashamedly admitted that he was who she was referring to. Almost everybody knew about her story.

“Come on, it’s our time to eat,” Dara informed Seunghyun when all have been served with food.

Seunghyun just nodded and accepted the tray that Dara handed to him. They got their food and he followed her to an empty table.

“How was your first charity work so far?” Dara started when they got settled.

“Not so bad,” Seunghyun shortly replied.

“You looked so cute with that apron and hair net on by the way,” Dara giggled.

Seunghyun did not react. He was torn between feeling insulted and complimented.

“You don’t have to worry, you’re secret is safe with me,” Dara assured him while sneakily taking a picture while he looked up at her.

He was displeased! He attempted to steal her phone away to delete the photo but she was too quick to hide it. He was seriously trying hard to get her to delete the photo but she just giggled and completely ignored his hardened expression.

“This is your problem, Seunghyun-ssi. You’re too tight. Loosen up a little. You’ll find that the world is simpler than how you make it out to be.”

“And this is your problem, Dara-ssi. You’re too confident. The world is not simple. It’s full of people ready to break your heart. You shouldn’t trust people that easily,” Seunghyun retaliated.

“I know that. I just choose to trust people because it’s easier than being always on your toes not trusting them. Isn’t it tiring to always distrust?”

It struck him. He did not trust anyone and he had always felt tired always being on guard. But, he let the feeling slide. He would not drop something he had been practicing for a long time just because someone like Dara hit the bull’s eye.

“Can you not really ride a car?” Seunghyun inquired, changing the subject.

“Uhm. No.” Dara replied hastily.

“Well, this is interesting. The always-game-for-anything Dara has one thing she can’t do. I’m curious to know what made you scared of cars.”

“My mom died in a car crash when I was five. I was in the car with her,” Dara explained with her head low and her eyes on her food.

“Enough about this sad story, tell me, how did it go with Mr. Laurent by the way?” Dara continued, trying to smile but it came out half-heartedly.

Seunghyun felt uneasy seeing Dara uneasy. He could feel his iced heart was melting drop by drop.