She opened the door and was greeted by the scent of peanut butter and banana milk. Lily smiled, thanking the heavens that her roommate and best friend, Clare, was an up-and-coming chef. Her stomach grumbled in gratitude as well, reminding her that the last time she ate was... When was it again?

"Mmm! That smells yummy. What kind of new dessert are you-"

Lily's question was cut off when the kitchen came into view. All over the counter, across the fridge's door, on the floor, and dripping from the ceiling was a thick, beige colored liquid. hanging open, Lily's eyes followed a big droplet depart the ceiling and plop down
onto the fluffy, black hair of a man in a black tank top wearing Clare's bright orange-and-black apron imprinted with a hostile jack o' lantern wielding a bloody knife saying, "How would you like it if I carved YOU?"

He looked up, puzzled, then touched his hair where the drop landed and tasted it. "Hmm. At least it tastes good..." he muttered to himself. When he turned to look for something, he finally noticed Lily standing by the doorway gaping at the mess. He put on his brightest, most innocent smile and said, "Hi baby welcome home!"

Lily didn't know whether to laugh or get angry. She and Clare just did their spring cleaning a couple of days ago and now the kitchen looked like a sick unicorn puked all over it. Several glasses and bowls littered the countertop and occupied the sink. Banana peels and opened cartons of milk sat on a chair. The man continued to swivel around, searching. Lily picked her way through the mess and stood in front of him, hands firmly planted on her hips and a stern "You're not getting out of this easily." look on her face.

At last, the man found what he was looking for. He lifted a sodden towel from inside the blender, looking slightly grossed out. But when he met Lily's gaze, his eyes turned apologetic and a sheepish smile crossed his lips. "I... forgot to put on the lid..." he explained feebly. "I'm sorry."

Lily continued staring at him.

"I promise to clean up everything. Sparkling clean, I swear!" he went on, eyes growing into big, pleading ones. "Don't be mad at me baby, please..."

Lily wanted to stay firm, but she always failed to do so once he gives her those puppy dog eyes. For a couple more seconds, she managed to keep on giving him the cold shoulder as he closed the gap between them and planted a soft kiss on her cheek. He then lifted her chin up to make her look into his pleading eyes, an adorable pout on his lips.

She gave in at that moment. Chuckling, Lily gave him a playful slap on the cheek. "Well you better get started! Clare will devour you if she sees this." she said. "What were you making anyway?"

He took both her hands and placed them on his cheeks. With a slight grin, he brought his lips to hers and let her taste what he tasted a moment ago.

Even after almost two years of dating him, his kisses still took her breath away. It took her a minute to recognize the peanut buttery taste on her tongue.

"I was making a smoothie. Like it?" he asked after breaking away. "I saw it on TV awhile ago. That famous chef on that cooking show of his, what's his name? Anyway, he was making peanut butter and banana smoothies and it looked simple enough so..."

Lily arched an eyebrow.

"... I decided to make it for you." he finished.

"This," Lily said, motioning towards the mess. "This is the result of 'simple'?"

He gave her a sheepish grin while scratching his head. "Ooops?"

"You!" Lily cried, pinching his cheeks. "Lee Donghae, I swear, I'm thankful everyday that I'm not electronic or else you would've broken me already."

Donghae wrapped her in a tight hug. "If you were a robot, I'd hire Tony Stark to fix you because nothing can stop me from touching you."

Lily hugged him back and stayed like that for a while, not minding the smoothie on his apron smudging on her brand new pantsuit. It's been a fortnight, maybe longer, since they last saw each other. As a PR officer in an international company, Lily had to travel a lot with her superiors to do client calls all around the country and even abroad to maintain good relations with them as well as join the marketing team sometimes when wooing potential clients. Donghae, on the other hand, is a professional dance choreographer, which makes his schedule unpredictable. There are times when he's totally free to the point of boredom; other times, he's so busy coming up with and teaching dances to 5 groups at a time that he only gets to sleep an hour or two a day.

Tonight was one of those rare times that both of them are free. It was unexpected, for Lily wasn't scheduled to be back from her business trip until tomorrow, but the client had an emergency so they rescheduled. Donghae was supposed be prepping a popular boyband for their comeback the whole week, but one of them got injured so it got pushed to next week. Tonight, they're free to be with each other.

"I missed you," Donghae whispered by her ear.

"I missed you, too," Lily replied, giving him a light kiss on the shoulder.

Donghae chuckled, tickled by her peck. In return, he brushed all her hair over to her left shoulder, exposing her neck. Gently, starting from the crook, he trailed butterfly kisses up to her jaw until his lips were back on top of hers.

Lily let herself get lost in his kiss once again, enjoying the peanut butter and banana smoothie taste. It didn't take long before she felt him tug her suit jacket off, his hands hot as he carressed her bare arm. Lily shivered despite the heat of his touch. She knew what was coming, making her heart beat thrice faster. Just as Donghae pulled her top free from being tucked into her pants...

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY KITCHEN?!" screamed Clare, looking murderous.

~ ~ ~

The constant beeping of the fax machine didn't even bother her anymore. The endless stream of emails she's getting had already given her a migraine, and the two people arguing in front of her were succeeding in making it worse. Lily combed her fingers through her hair in frustration for the hundredth time, not caring that her neatly tied bun has completely disintegrated into a disheveled bird's nest.

"I want to know who gave the go signal to release that information and I want that person FIRED!" growled Mr. Cho, Lily's superior and Deputy Manager of PR. "The stupid bastard-"

"Mind your tone and language, Mr. Cho!" warned Ms. Yoon, the Chief Communications Officer. She was a middle-aged lady with short, curly black hair and was never seen without her pearl earrings and necklace. She carried herself with such poise and dignity that even people who didn't know who she was automatically bow and call her "ma'am". "Instead of whipping your tongue around like a livewire, channel your energy towards damage control ideas. Nothing is solved by you shorting out your fuse."

Mr. Cho took a deep breath to calm himself. He turned towards Lily and demanded, "Ms. Lao, I hope staring at your phone for the last half hour has given you ideas on how to solve this."

Lily's head snapped up at the mention of her name. For a moment there she tuned out, going back to three nights ago with Donghae.

As expected, Clare was infuriated by the mess Hae made. He appeased her by promising to bring his bands to her restaurant's opening, which would be a huge help in terms of publicity.

Clare, having worked as a sous chef in one of the city's posh restaurants for five years, thought it time to try and make it on her own. She then quit her job and was now in the middle of formulating her menu, hence the daily experimentations in the kitchen. She managed to secure a tiny space on the second floor of a building in Hongdae for the venue. Clare even joked that Lily was now a shareholder in her restaurant since she paid for the two months advance for the rent as well as half the decorating fees.

Of course, the promise wasn't enough for Clare. She demanded her kitchen be sparkling clean by the time she wakes up the next morning. Lily and Hae spent all night scrubbing all surfaces until they shone.

At 1 AM, both of them collapsed on the couch, tired to the bones. Just when she thought that both of them were too tired to even get cleaned up, Donghae picked up where they left off earlier.

"Well?! What do you have for me?" Mr. Cho snapped.

Lily shook off the blush creeping up her cheeks at the memory of that night. She clicked her mouse a few times to reveal the notes she's typed up awhile ago.

"Sir, I believe we shouldn't go for a cover up," Lily stated. "The workers deserve the truth."

Ms. Yoon looked at her with interest when she said it. Mr. Cho, on the other hand, looked like he was about to burst.

"Are you out of your mind?!" he cried out, both hands flying to his head. "If we admit to that issue, we will lose investors! That would kill the opening of the new factory! Do you even know what you're talking about?!"

Lily pursed her lips to keep herself from throwing all the insults that came to her mind at her superior. She took a calming breath and collected her thoughts.

"Sir, if you would listen to my proposal first. It's actually sort of a good thing that the issue blew up this early. If we admit to it now, we'd be sending the message that we care more about our people than just making profit. That's one of the things our company needs to improve with regards to its image."

A short silence followed where Ms. Yoon continued to look at Lily with interest while Mr. Cho's expression made it seem like she just asked him to dance around the office in a pink tutu.

"So, that's it? Look pretty for the people? That's what you're giving me?" he challenged, staring her down. "What then, will you tell the workers whose prospective jobs will be lost when the investors run away, huh?"

Squaring her shoulders, Lily looked back into his eyes confidently and, turning her laptop screen to face Mr. Cho, replied, "Well, sir, remember that multinational company we set out to woo in Hong Kong last week but rescheduled? They just emailed me their proposal. According to this, their president has set aside $350M for their CSR budget, and is looking for a worthy company with a good CSR program to invest it in. I believe we can turn this issue into a CSR campaign and win that investment. $350M is good enough to ensure the opening of the new factory, if I am not mistaken. It will be delayed, but it will open. Better than nothing."

Ms. Yoon smiled, impressed. "Thank you, Ms. Lao. You've given us a valuable idea. See what a level head could produce, Mr. Cho?"

Mr. Cho bristled silently. He gave Lily a bitter sneer before turning his back to her to look out the window.

Lily smiled back shyly to Ms. Yoon while giving her a small bow. "Thank you, ma'am. I wouldn't have come up with the idea if I didn't know what Mr. Cho did to fix the manpower issue of 2009."

The comment made Mr. Cho pause. Half of him was pissed at her for slapping him in the face with that brilliant idea when all he did was act like a child throwing a tantrum. The other part of him wanted to turn around and look at her proudly for being able to come up with it in such a short time. He also felt a bit embarrassed that she found a way to credit him for her idea. Once again, he thanked the heavens for giving that guy he was being forced to hire food poisoning three years ago or else he wouldn't have been able to give this once fresh graduate, who now was a valuable asset to the company (although he's never told her that), a chance.

"I'm glad that you're learning very well under Mr. Cho," Ms. Yoon said. She then turned to the man still facing the window. "Mr. Cho, please prepare a detailed report of this idea by the end of today. I'll arrange for an emergency board meeting first thing tomorrow morning so we can present it."

Mr. Cho his heels, gave Ms. Yoon a curt bow, and walked to the door. He paused with his hand on the knob, turned his head slightly, and called out, "Ms. Lao. What are you still sitting there for? Let's go!"

Lily scrambled to pick up her things, give Ms. Yoon a bow, and scurried after her superior, dreading the amount of time she had to spend with him today.

Mr. Cho was normally a pleasant enough guy. He was quiet and always looked serious, which made people think he's way older than he actually is. In truth, he's only 28, a mere 3 years older than Lily. According to Ms. Yoon's secretary, a comfortable lady the same age as her boss and who came to this company the same time Ms. Yoon did, Mr. Cho was scouted from another company by Ms. Yoon. He was scouted from another company by that one, and another company before that. He's a rising star in the PR field, graduated early with honors from Seoul National University and did wonders to the reputation of each company he's worked in. 

Mrs. Neo, Ms. Yoon's secretary, even made Lily privvy to the fact that other companies are still trying to woo Mr. Cho into joining them by offering insane amounts of money and benefits, but somehow, he remained in Mobit corporation and was now nearing his 4th year with the company, the longest he's ever stayed put anywhere.

Lily admired her superior a lot. For someone so young, he had years of experience, even wisdom, under his belt. He always manages to be one step ahead of everything, always having a back up plan for anything that could go wrong. This time, however, the issue came out of nowhere. One of the engineers of the new factory's machines, in the state of drunkenness, let slip a secret they've been keeping from Mobit Corp: the new technology used to enhance the performance of the machines may have an adverse effect on the environment as well as the workers' health in the long run. 

The news broke early that morning. Lily was dragged out of bed and away from HaeBear's (the gigantic teddy bear Hae gave her to hug when he's not there) warmth, at 4am by Mr. Cho's cold voice message, "Be in the office in an hour."

It was only 11 am now but it already felt like she's been in the office for a week. Her superior's foul mood was making it harder for her to sympathize with him. After 3 years of working with him, Lily learned how to weather his "hulk moments". This didn't often happen - he usually tackled PR issues with ease - but sometimes there were one or two that catches him by surprise, which would trigger his inner hulk to weild its ugly head for one, long, foul day. Then, after he's let his frustrations out, he'd come up with the simplest, most brilliant way to solve the case. It was a weird yet amazing process, and Lily knew that she had to it up for another 12 hours or so before getting to the end of the rainbow.

Sighing in resignation, Lily settled her fingers against her laptop's keyboard and urged her brain to spew out something coherent.

~ ~ ~

"Ms. Lao!"

Lily jumped, almost knocking over the tumbler of tea beside her. "Yes, sir?" she asked, spinning around so fast her glasses almost fell off.

"Have you gone deaf? Do you not hear your phone making a racket for the last 10 minutes?" Mr. Cho reprimanded.

Only then did Lily notice her phone blinking and vibrating against the side of her laptop. She wouldn't really call it a "racket", but Hulk Cho is too sensitive about everything when he's like this.

"I-I'm sorry, sir. I'll turn it off," she apologized, picking up her mobile.

"Just go out and answer it. Whoever that is is being bothersome for a reason," Mr. Cho commanded, his bespectacled eyes never leaving his own laptop.

With a slight bow, Lily quietly exited their shared office. The phone in her hand vibrated with renewed gusto. She caught the name flashing on the screen and sighed. Was this attempt number... 12? 20? She's lost count. She pressed the green icon.

"Mom, hi," Lily answered, trying to keep her annoyance from seeping into her voice. "I'm sorry, I can't really be on the phone-"

"Lily, baby, don't tell me you've forgotten," Mrs. Lao cut her off. "I called you last night to remind you."

Lily quickly rewound and replayed last night. It had been a moderate day at work but she felt extra tired when she got home. She remembers talking to someone on the phone, but couldn't remember who it was or what they talked about. She assumed it was Donghae because he sometimes calls after practice, and that's usually in the wee hours of the night.

A couple more seconds of recalling and it finally came to her. The dinner.

"Of course I didn't forget, Mom," Lily lied. "It's tonight, right? Café Tousaum. 8pm. Don't fret too much. It's only-"

She fell quiet when she checked her watch. It was already a quarter past 8. Where did the day go?

"See? You've forgotten again, haven't you?" Mrs. Lao said, disappointed. "This is the 4th time we've rescheduled this, Lilian."

Lily stiffened a bit. She knew her mother was serious when she called her 'Lilian'. She pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead, trying to figure out what to do. As much as she hated to disappoint her mom once more, she couldn't leave work right when they're in the middle of this report. She just had to make it up to her big time on another day.

"Mom, I'm really sorry. I lost track of time. We're finishing up a report for a really serious case and-"

"No! You bring yourself here this instant! I will not have myself be pitied once more by the staff for being stood up by my own daughter!" Mrs. Lao hissed, sending chills down Lily's spine.

When her mother got upset, Lily knew that it was impossible to reason with her. Still, she had to try. She could avoid her mom for a few more days, but she'd have to face Hulk Cho every single day. Lesser of two evils and all.

"Mom. Mom, listen!" Lily exclaimed when her mother went on her usual guilt-inducing tirade. "I'm terribly sorry that I have to stand you up again, but I have no choice. I have a job to do. And you know very well how insufferable my boss gets sometimes. He puts the Incredible Hulk to shame with his temper."

"So what you mean to say is that pleasing your boss is more important to you than pleasing your own mother, the one who spent 36 hours in painful labor to bring you into this world," Mrs. Lao said accusingly.

Lily's palm shot to her face in sheer frustration.

"It's not like that, Mom. You have to understand. I-" Lily tried explaining, yet her mom wouldn't hear any of it.

"No. I'm done understanding, Lilian. I understood when you decided to go into PR instead of business like your father and I wanted you to. I also understood when you left us in our perfectly nice house to 'experience independence' with your friend. All I'm asking now is for my daughter, whom I haven't seen for two months, to understand that spending an hour with her mother isn't that difficult a task."
A tensioned pause ensued. Lily took a deep breath. Her mother chose the worst possible time to be a drama queen. "I miss you too, Mom. But my boss won't allow me to leave for sure."

"You haven't even tried asking," Mrs. Lao replied, hurt audible in her voice. "I expect you to be here in half an hour, or else I'm going there and snatching you away from that horrible boss of yours."

A click and then the busy tone followed. Lily stared at her phone disbelievingly for a moment. She was used to her mother's dramatic moods, but never did she threaten to invade her work life like she did now. It made her worry and of course, guilty. Maybe there was something wrong back home?

Knowing what she had to do, Lily slowly reentered the office. After softly clearing , she went, "Excuse me, Mr. Cho. But uh... That was uh..."

"Your mother. I know. Go. Just be back by 11." He replied without looking up.

Lily's eyes widened. "H-how did you...?" she asked.

This time, Mr. Cho stopped typing and looked at her, his eyes slightly amused. "That door isn't exactly soundproof now, is it? Besides, I know how moms are. I have one, too. So go. I can handle this by myself for a couple of hours." The corner of his lips twitched upward as he said it, making Lily wonder if that was an attempt at a smile. But instead of pondering such a mystery, she quickly took the opportunity to go before he changes his mind.

"Thank you, sir. I'll be back as soon as I can," Lily said, shoving her phone into her camel colored satchel and slinging it across her body.

"Oh, and Ms. Lao," Mr. Cho called when she opened the door, "I have a craving for Café Tousaum's Green Tea Latte. Who knows what I'd become if I didn't have one tonight. I might just... Hulk up."

It took a second for Lily to process his request. Blood rushed to her face at the realization that he heard her compare him to the Incredible Hulk. Embarrassed, Lily couldn't meet his eyes when she bowed in understanding before going out the door.

Because Clare borrowed her car for the day to go fish-shopping in Incheon, and because she was too tired to walk all the way to the nearest subway exit, Lily hailed a cab.

Closing her eyes as the driver expertly avoided congested roads, Lily drifted off to a deep nap she didn't know her body craved. The sudden drizzle only served to make her even more comfortable in the warm taxi. If the driver hadn't stepped on the break a little too hard at the last stoplight before the café, she would've slept all the way.

Café Tousaum was known for having the top tiers of society as patrons. It was also a favorite place for business lunches. Even though Lily has dined at this place several times for business and personal matters, she wasn't really that fond of the place. The food, ambiance, as well as the service were great, but with a chef for a best friend, she knew what goes into making each dish, and the prices of Café Tousaum were just too outrageous when she knows that Clare can make her the same thing for half the price.

"We're here, ma'am. Café Tousaum, Gangnam," announced the cab driver as he pointed the vehicle's nose to follow a flawless black town car into the restaurant's unloading area.

Lily took out her well-worn T-Money card and tapped it on the scanner. The receipt machine beeped and printed the transaction. With a thumb's up, the cab driver signaled her that all went well, and so Lily, her attention half occupied by putting her card back in her wallet, opened the car door and hit someone.

"Oh!" cried the person in surprise and pain.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry!" Lily exclaimed and hurriedly got off the cab, causing her to not see the puddle of rain water outside. She stepped right into it, drenching her shoes and splashing the crisp, white pants of the person she just injured.

All Lily could do was look horrified at what she's done. Those pants looked expensive. The shoes peeking at the hem had the monogram of a famous luxury brand. Slowly, she looked up to see the owner of the (now spotted with murky puddle water) pants.

Damn, those are a pair of really long legs, Lily thought. She felt like she's been tracing them upwards forever and getting nowhere, until she reached the end of a gray jacket, which covered a salmon colored shirt tied with - she didn't know people actually wore those here - a black ascot.

On top of it all was a head with a thin face wearing a slightly annoyed expression. He had short, reddish-brown hair, a big pointy nose, eyes that go up in the end, and skin and lips any lady would kill for. He looked so very like a person who'd frequent Café Tousaum because it's affoedable for him. Although she's never seen him here before...

"Are you alright, miss?" he asked, the annoyance in his eyes changing into concern as he looked at her and her feet, which are still in the puddle. "Here, you better step out of that puddle..."

Lily shook off her dazedness and took the hand he offered. Gingerly, she stepped onto the landing, her shoes dripping wet and her feet starting to feel cold.

"I'm fine, thank you," Lily asnwered. "I'm really sorry about your pants though... And for hitting you with the door. I'm sorry. I-I'll pay for the dry cleaning. Or a new one!"

"No, no, that's alright," the man said with a small smile. "They're just clothes. And no harm done with the door. I'm perfectly fine so no worries."

Lily nodded tentatively.  "Okay... If you're sure..."

"I'm sure." He confirmed.

"Alright then," Lily said. "I'm kind of in a hurry, so if later on you feel any pain or have other concerns, you can reach me at this number." She took out a business card and handed it to him before giving him a bow and entering the restaurant.

She spotted her mother sitting at the corner table beside the window looking melancholic. She took a deep breath before approaching. The worries she had earlier played around her head. What if her parents had a serious fight, that's why her mother was acting this way? As she wound around the tables, she silently prayed that it wasn't anything serious.

"Mom," Lily greeted.

"Baby, you're here!" Mrs. Lao exclaimed happily, pulling her daughter in for a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Lily had to admit that it felt nice to get a hug from her mom, especially after a day like today. It gave a different sort of comfort. Donghae's embraces made her feel safe and loved, but her mom's made her feel like a kid again, and from that moment on until when she had to go back to the office, the stress she felt at work seemed a little too far away to worry about.

"I'm so glad you made it, darling," Mrs. Lao gushed from across the table. "Your boss is scared of meeting me, huh, so he let you go?"

Lily laughed at that. The image of her bubbly, talkative mother prattling on while Mr. Cho quietly typed on his laptop came to her mind. She wondered who'd give up first in that scenario - her mom 'cause she'd feel like she's talking to a wall, or Mr. Cho, whose ears would be assaulted by endless stories of the 'good ol' days'. Lily would bet her left kidney that her mother would drive Mr. Cho crazy first before she gets tired of talking.

"He's a pretty nice guy, Mom, once you get to know him," Lily replied, chuckling. She held her hand up to call for a waiter. She better order that Green Tea Latte now before she forgets.

"Well, your stories make him sound like he's a foul-tempered robot who has no life," Mrs. Lao said, sipping her margarita. She only drank margaritas in the presence of her daughter.

Lily thanked the waiter who took down her order and turned back to the elegant lady in front of her. "So, Mom, what's up? Everything all right back home? How's dad? You two alright?"

"Of course we are, dear." Mrs. Lao said, patting her hand. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"Well, you were really insistent tonight so I thought..." Lily trailed off. She was fiddling with the stem of her water goblet when she noticed that a setting was placed for a third person on the table. "Hold on, is Dad joining us? I thought he was in Taiwan?"

"Ah, yes. Did I not mention that we have a guest this evening?" Mrs. Lao said nonchalantly, but Lily caught that slight twitch in her eye that gave away her mother's hidden agenda.

She knew it. She knew this was one of those dinners, that's why she's been postponing it. How many times does she have to tell her that she's not interested in-

"Oh, here he is!" Mrs. Lao exclaimed cheerfully. Lily, on the other hand, could do nothing but stare.

____________

Hi!!! It's me again. New story. :D 

I hope you enjoyed this really really REALLY long first chapter. LOL! The story idea has been bugging me for a week now so I just... had to write it. I hope to hear from you all what you think.

Thank you so much! Look forward to the next chapter.^^