There was a silent crack as someone opened the empty bedroom stealthily. It tiptoed until it reached his private drawers. Then, as quietly as it could, it pulled the keys out of its pockets and placed it on the keyhole. The drawer opened, and this person smiled triumphantly.

***

Nine hours ago....

"Watch out, you're coffee will spill.." Chance hold Amber's hand and stopped her in time from burning herself. She was absent-mindedly pouring hot coffee on mugs.
"What? Oh, thanks Chance." she smiled at him happily.
"What are you being so happy about?" he asked.
"Do you remember that project Taec and I have been working for a month?"
"Yeah..." he answered slowly.
"The board accepted it man!" she lightly punched his arm and cackled.

Chance laughed at her expression.

"Then this calls for a celebration." he said.
"Eh? No need."

But he ignored her, and pulled Amber out of the coffee shop again. The employees stared at them.
"Are they going out?" someone asked. Fei chuckled.
"Mind your business! Get back to work! Chop chop!" Hong Ki, their manager, ordered them all.

"Where are we going Chance?" Amber asked. "You didn't even let me change my clothes first". She pouted slightly.
"Then you'll change when we get there." he answered.
"Where???"
"Mall." They reached Chance's car and opened it for Amber. But suddenly, he hesitated. "You want a ride on my bike?" he asked, grinning. He knew Amber wouldn't refuse.
"What ride? I'll drive." she said, puffing her chest out.
"Right, be back in five." he ran towards the shop's garage and five minutes later, they were riding on the motorcycle, Chance seated at Amber's back.

He was grinning stupidly behind Amber. He just can't stop himself from smiling because he was feeling happy right now. It doesn't matter to him if a guy was seated on the backride instead of a girl, what mattered was him and her, all alone.

After a few minutes of ride, they stopped in front of the city's biggest mall and entered.

"Ugh! Chance you should've let me change my clothes first." she was feeling self-conscious right now because of her outfit. Her work uniform was not bad at all, but it wasn't usual too for someone who goes in the mall.

Their first stop was in girl's clothing shop.

"Right, choose your clothes." he said to her, pointing at the numerous dresses, jeans and skirts around them.
"In your face Chance. Let's go somewhere decent." she scowled.
"But this is decent." he answered earnestly.

Amber snorted and turned her back from him. Then she spotted Bench store, and received a surprise.

"Oh look Chance! It's you, Taec, Wooyoung, Junho, Minjun and Nichkhun!" she pointed at the large poster at Bench's display window.
"You don't have to be that surprise." he said, patting her head.
"I told you not to pat my head!" she moved her head away from him. "It's just that it was the first time I saw your posters. The only one I saw before was Nichkhun's."
"You want to go in?" he offered.
"Yeah sure."

They crossed the corridor and entered Bench store. Buyers inside stared at Chance as if he was an artist. Well, technically, his face was just right in front of the store so it wasn't really a surprise.

"Can I take a picture with you?" someone with a flirty voice approached them. Chance nodded kindly. The girl didn't hesitate to squeeze herself beside Chance, pushing Amber out of the way. Amber didn't mind though. She was looking amusedly at them.

Soon, there were more people taking pictures of Chansung and after that commotion, Chance approached her.

"Sorry about that." he apologized.
"It's cool." she said, smiling.
"Hey, guys." someone called them and Chance and Amber turned around. 

Junho was walking towards them, holding hands with his girlfriend. Junho nodded at them and introduced her.

"This is Suzy, my girlfriend, which I'm sure Chance already knows." Suzy bowed at Chance.
"We meet again." she said. Chance smiled at her.
"And this is AJ." Junho pointed at Amber. They bowed at each other.

"Oh look! There's another one!" someone in the crowd who was taking pictures with Chansung shouted. They made a move towards Junho, probably to take a picture of him too, but stopped at the sight of Suzy's death glare.
"Never mind..." someone muttered.

Chance and Amber snickered.

"So, what are you two doing here?" Junho asked.
"We were choosing her clothes." Chance answered.

Junho looked at Amber's outfit and nodded. "Hey, do you know that Jess is back?" he suddenly asked.

Chance nodded. Then he turned to Suzy.

"Suzy, you can help Amber choose her clothes right?" he asked. Suzy nodded kindly.
"Sure. Come here Amber, let's find a dress for you.."
"Dress? I'm not really into dress Suzy..." 

Suzy grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the men.

"So, you're saying?" Chance asked again when the girls were out of earshot.
"I heard Jess was back. But I'm not sure, and I can't ask Taec directly, we know how sensitive he is.."
"She was back."
"Really?" Junho asked in disbelief. Chance nodded darkly.
"It's really weird. After leaving Taec and not uttering a single word for two years, she was suddenly back out of the blue?" Chance asked more to himself than to Junho. The latter nodded.
"I know.."

Suzy came back, and she looked happy.

"She really looks beautiful at the dress I chose for her." she said happily to Junho. "Amber, come out now!"

Amber walked hesitantly at them. The person in front of them was not the usual AJ/Amber they see everyday. Her white complexion became more radiant on her sleeveless red top. Her hips were more defined with her skinny jeans. The only thing that doesn't fit was her red sneakers.

"The sneakers don't fit her outfit but she won't let me to remove them." Suzy comlained.

Chance looked dazed at Amber's appearance, but he managed to control himself. He smiled at her.

"That looks good on you. You should start wearing those instead" he complimented.

Amber scowled at him. "I'm uncomfortable in this outfit. Can I just wear my uniform again?" she asked Suzy, but she shook her head.
"Nope. Stick with that ok AJ?" she smiled.
"Well, we'd better get going then. We still had a lot to do." Junho nodded at them and held Suzy's hand. They both walked out of the store.
"Wait for me, I'll just pay for your clothes." Chance said.
"No -"
"Hep hep!" Chance shook his head and pulled some cash out of his pocket. After that, they too walked out of the store.
"So, where to go next?" Amber asked.
"Movies. You like?" Amber nodded and the two of them proceeded to the movie theater.

They were waiting for their popcorn when Amber saw a very familiar face.

"Oi! TORREY!" she shouted.

Torrey jumped and looked around. "Am- Ambie!" she squealed in fright.

Amber walked towards her. "What are you doing here? What - ARE YOU DOING WITH HIM????" she raised her voice dangerously at the sight of Nichkhun. He looked surprised as well and blushed.

"A- AJ.." he said weakly.
"You -!" she turned furiously at Torrey. "Since when have you two been going out?!" 
"We're not going out!" Torrey said defensively. "He's... Khunnie's just on the process..."
"On the process of what?" Amber put her hands on her hips and glared at them. She looked like an over-protective Mom now.
"From courting...." Torrey answered tonelessly.
"Courting! You players now how to court?" she spat at Nichkhun.
"Come on now AJ! I'm not a player anymore - "
"And how many times did you say that to your past girls???"
"I -"

"Khun?" a soft voice said. 

Everyone turned around and saw Jessica holding hands with Taec. Amber felt the familiar pain instantly.

"Je- Jess?!"Nichkhun asked in disbelief. He walked towards her and hugged her. "Since when did you came back?"
"Just two weeks ago.. I'm sorry I didn't notify you.." she said shyly.

Amber furrowed her eyebrows. This girl was being soft and nice to everyone but her. Such a fake.

"Chance!" Jessica said, spotting Chance. He gave her a reserved smile and hugged her briefly.
"Doing fine Jess?" he asked. She nodded.  She smiled at Torrey who stupidly smiled back, and her eyes landed last on Amber. Her eyes turned cold at once and she looked at her from head to toe.
"I guess someone changed her fashion taste." she said, masking the iciness of her tone.

And that was where everyone noticed Amber's outfit.

"OH EM GEEEE AMBIEEE!! I can't believe.... Did you just.... Oh you make me cry!" Torrey hugged her best friend tightly. "I'm glad you finally came to your senses now! That really suits you!" she beamed at her.
"Shut up Torrey..." Amber said exasperated. Then she looked at Taec, who was looking at her with an odd expression on his face.
"What?" she asked him.

Taec blinked a few times and coughed loudly.

"You look horrible." he said in a tone of disgust.
"You don't have to say the obvious." she answered coolly.

Chance walked beside her and wrapped an arm around Amber's waist. Amber bulged her eyes in surprise and so did Taec.
"I think she looks beautiful." he said to Taec. Then he looked at everyone else. "So, see you guys later, Amber and I still have movie catch." he waved at them.
"Taec and I are going to watch a movie too. Let's just go together." Jessica offered.

Amber looked like she was going to protest, but she bit her lip instead. Chance had already nodded and the four of them went to the counter.

"You going?" Amber asked Torrey and Nichkhun. They both shook their heads.
"Other plans bro," Nichkhun said. She glared at him.
"Don't you 'bro' me Nichkhun, we're not done yet." she turned her back from them and followed Chance and the others.

Inside the movie theater, they were seated in this kind of arrangement:

Jessica - Taec - Amber - Chance

They were all seated uncomfortably. All of them aware of the tension between each of them.

*What's with this atmosphere?!!* Amber asked herself.

The movie that they were watching was entitled , "A Werewolf Boy" starring Song Joong Ki. Amber and Chance laughed at the first half of the movie, seeing Song Joong Ki being ignorant with eveything around him. As the movie progresses, the two of them became more comfortable in their seats, and they began joking with each other.

"You look like that one Chance!" Amber whispered, laughing.
"No way, it looks like you!" Chance whispered back, laughing as well.

Meanwhile, Taec wasn't really watching the movie. He was glaring at it. His seatmates were so noisy he can barely hear what the actors were saying. He snapped his head towards Amber and Taec and he saw the two of them laughing their asses off. He clenched his fists in annoyance. 

"Taec, you're gripping my hand too hard." Jessica whispered.

That was when Taec realized that he was indeed clenching his fists so tight and that he forgot that he was holding Jessica's hands too. 
"Sorry." he grunted. Then he looked at Amber and Chance again. He sighed in frustration. "I'll go to the rest room." he said. He crouched down low so as not to disturb the people behind them and went inside the rest room. The movie was finished, and he did not came back.

Amber, Chance and Jessica walked out of the dark movie theater with swollen eyes. Well, not in Chance's case, but at least his nose was red.

"Why are you crying?" Taec demanded.
"We're not crying." Amber denied. "We... sneezed." 

Taec snorted at how lame Amber's excuse was.
"I'm hungry." he hold Jessica's hand again and led the way towards Chowking.
"Why are here Taec? I want Kenny Rogers." Jessica said disapprovingly. Taec just shrugged.

However, Amber smiled. She remembered the first time she first saw Taec, and it was disastrous. But now, it seems that it was not the case anymore.

"Cut that smug look will you lesbie?" Taec snapped at her.

Amber straightened her face and frowned at him.

*He will never be able to erase that snappy attitude of his!*

After 30 minutes of waiting, Chance and Taec brought their orders in. Amber was feeling really hungry despite of eating popcorns, so the moment they laid their food, she instantly wolfed down her orange-chicken and beef soup.
"Oh I miss this!" she said happily. Chance chuckled.
"You're like a baby when you eat Amber." he said softly. He picked a tissue and lightly wiped her cheeks which was wet in soup. 

Amber blushed at the cheesy action and moved away.
"I'm not!"

Taec looked from Amber to Chance and furrowed his eyebrows even more. Jessica was looking at him in curiosity.

"Here Taec, try this.." she spooned rice and chicken and held it in front of Taec's mouth. "Say 'aahh'" she said.
"Aahhhh" Taec opened his mouth but his eyes were not leaving Amber and Chance.  Jessica clicked her tounge.

*She's ruining everything!* she glared at Amber, who was busy laughing with Chance again.

After lunch Taec and Jessica separated ways from them. And so, Chance and Amber were left alone again.

"What's next Chance?" Amber asked.
"Mmm.. What do you want?"
"Dunno. Anything." she said.
"Anything? Then can I entertain you with -"
"NO!" Amber cut him off remembering his 'entertainment' at the park last time. It was certainly entertaining but she won't let Chance humiliate himself in front of a larger crowd now. "Let's go to the arcade instead."

And so they spent the rest of the afternoon in the arcade, competing with each other and doing bets. At 5 o'clock Chance dropped Amber off outside Solar Homes.

"You sure you don't want to go in first?" Amber asked. He shook his head.
"I need to do something else. By Amber! I had so much fun." he winked at her and started his engine.
"You're wink won't work! Haha. Bye!" she waver at him until his caar turned around the corner.

"Ms. Amber Mallari, am I right?" someone said behind her back.

Amber turned around and saw an old man in an expensive business suit, croned by two bulky body guards.

"Yes. May I help you?" Amber asked.

One of the body guards opened a luxury car in front of her.

"I want to talk to you. Can you please come with me?" he asked her.

Amber looked hesitantly at the man. After a moment of deep thinking, she entered the car.

They stopped in front of a high-class restaurant and settled themselves inside a VIP room. Amber shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

"Uhh.. so. Who are you?" she asked the old man.
"I am Song Shi Hoo. CEO of Song Designs." he aswered,
"Song Designs...? Isn't that Lee Firms's biggest competitor?"
"Yes."
"Then what do you want from me?" she asked, suspicion arousing in her.

Song Shi Hoo leaned back on his chair.

"I have an offer to make." he said casually,
"Oh yeah?" Amber raised her eyebrow.
"Yes. Would you be interested to work for my company?"

Amber bulged her eyes.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" 

He laughed amusedly.
"I'm not."
"Then why? And how did you even know my name? And why are you offering this to me? What do you want????"

Shi Hoo suddenly turned serious.

"We know that you completed a big project for Lee Firms." he said darkly.

Amber gaped at him. "And how did you even know about that?!"
"We have spies Ms. Mallari. A lot of them. So here's my offer: I will pay you 5M pesos + a stable job in my company. In return, give me your designs."

She laughed loudly.

"You think it's going to be that easy don't you old man? You think I'm stupid?!" she glared at him. Yet, the man remained calm.

"And we will take care of your brother's medical bills. He's suffering from lung disease isn't he? We'll take care of him."

Amber stood open-mouthed at him. His kuya's medical bills...

"What do you think?" the old man asked, grinning wickedly at her.