C h a p t e r   XX

 

[After School - When I Fall]

(*Co-author's note:  [6/07/2014] Annyeong! I was not able to post this before... Oh, I am sorry for the very slow update. This should have been posted last April, but both I and the main author is really really busy with certain things. This is an update for KIM SUNGGYU's birthday. Aigoo! I know it is TOO LATE for it... but BETTER LATE THAN NEVER, right?  By the way, don't forget to support the main author's another ff, okay? http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/702060/aftertime-angst-romance-sunggyu-taeyeon-infinitexsnsd-taegyu-gyutae  & also the poll, okay? http://www.asianfanfics.com/poll/vote/78878)

By the way, a new FANFIC will be written soon.............. Look forward to it, eo? And also, don't forget to UPVOTE and SUBSCRIBE to this story. Comments are highly appreciated. haha!

OOOPS.. BEWARE !!! THIS IS A CHAPTER DEDICATED TO GYUTAE......SO, WOOTAE FANS, do NOT GIVE UP, okay?????? It's just the BEGINNING! 

BTW! I WILL JUST EDIT THE TYPO ERRORS NEXT TIME, okay?

~ Kamsahamnida! ~

     

Time runs apace. The month of March passed by like a soaring bird above the heavenly skies, and now the month of April will soon bid its farewell, waiting to let four days pass before its goodbye. Passionately giving the hundred percent of his attention, Kim Sunggyu has been working for almost 24/7 for over a month now, not letting a single mistake to slip out the big chances of closing the business deals that the Nam Corporation has with its affliated companies, particularly its deal with the Han Group of Companies' new subsidiary, H-T Industries which will soon be the main discussion of the board meeting of the conglomorate owned by the famous and powerful Nam family.

Though having slight urge of taking a single cup for the early morning, the man decided not to be distracted with anything trivial because work is pretty much important than drinking the coffee that his secretary, Kwangsoo placed on top of his desk three and a half minutes ago. Soon, he heard how awful his stomach grumbled as if it wanted to burst out madly. "I guess I am hungry though I want to deny it."

"Oh wait~" The coffee itself was not the thing which attracted his attention, but rather the small not attached on it. Putting down the metal pen and the file from his hold, his eyes darted to the note as he detached it from the coffee cup, noticing that there are few sentences written in a very clean penmanship which stated,

"Good morning, Director Kim! I bought this coffee from a cafè I happened to pass by. The woman who made this drink said to me that: 'A morning without a coffee is like waking up without opening your eyes. Drink this coffee while it is hot. I hope this will ease your mood today. Have a nice day! — Kwangsoo."

He chuckled as he took a sip on the coffee as he stood up from his seat. "Secretary Lee is very thoughtful. A morning without coffee is like waking up without opening your eyes." The man slowly went towards the glass window, and lifted up the venetian blinds to see the view of the beautiful Seoul from above. "He is absolutely correct because this coffee proves it."

Sunggyu smiled as his eyes were focused on the sight of the busy city which composes almost half of the population of the South Korean nation. From the enormous buildings to the small houses encompassing the busy and noisy city, he knew for sure that living in the city is very tiresome, but that is how life works. It is either you take it or leave it.

Life has been very tiresome, and he knew it for sure. In reality, Kim Sunggyu's life does not differ much from a commoner's life. The only thing which probably makes them different is that his life is admired by millions of people. His wealth, his influence and even his family background are envied by men and women, yet there are things which his life lacks. His life has only been revolving in the company. Yes, his life has been the company owned by their family. He works hardly with his sweat and blood to fulfill the expectations of many people—the reason why Nam Woohyun, his younger brother hates him since Sunggyu is more likely to become the successor of their father in the future who only minds business more than anything else.

With his tender age, he knew that he should have taken an easier path since people only live once. Compromising his own interests and likes, he was like an angel whose wings were broken—to prevent him from going beyond the path he needed to take. He needed to show many people his stoic facade in order to succeed in everything, but there was a time that made him think: What will happen to me if I decided to live normally like the others do? What will happen if I did not choose to be a director of this company? 

In spite of having these thoughts inside his mind, he knew he cannot back out from going further. Handling the Nam Corporation in the future as the heir of the Nam household has been the thing that most of the people expect to happen. His father and even the rest of the company, from the highest down to the lowest rank employee expect from him a lot, so running away like a coward just to have the life that he always wanted— a simple life will not be a good choice.

"Today is the twenty-sixth day of April." A deep voice was heard, making Sunggyu face the person who suddenly came inside his office.  The man added, "Son, I guess it will be nice if you take a break from work." 

"Sahjang-nim, Good morning." The young man said as he bowed his head down politely. "When did you arrive here at Seoul? How was the conference at Macau?"

"Son, brush off the honorofics. The conference at Macau went well. Anyway, I did not come here to your office as the president, but as your father, Sunggyu-ah." The old man said as he smiled. "You should take a break from work since two days from now will be your birthday."

Sunggyu insisted, "But, Sahjang-nim—" 

"Sunggyu-ah, you do not have to pressure yourself that much. You have done a great performance for the past few years, and it will not hurt if you celebrate your birthday even once, right?"

"Sahjang-nim, I do not think that is necessary. Besides, there is a pending deal with the H-T Industries that I have to settle. I should not let any abberance to occur, and I know that you—"

The old man cut Sunggyu's words off as he placed his left hand on his son's shoulder. "No more buts, Kim Sunggyu."

"Since you insist so, I do not have a choice, Sahjang-nim." 

"Your mother will definitely be happy once she knows that." The old man said. "Advance Happy Birthday, Sunggyu-ah. Please send my regards to your mother."

"Yes, I will. Thank you, Sahjang-nim."

 

~[=]~

"Dowajo! Dowajo! Jebal, jebal. Please someone help me!" A woman screamed out as she ran towards the grassy field. Running as fast as she could, she certainly knew that she must escape from the remoted place she was into. "Please someone help me! Please!"

Her clothes were ragged and dirty, soaked in crimson red stain coming from the corners of her chapped lips. The woman's beautiful face was filled with fresh wounds with the thick red fluid pouring out like a ruby river.

She winced in pain as she shouted, "Please!" Gasping for air, her steps were abruptly stopped by a pair of arms which drag her feet, letting her body pathetically collapse on the emerald grassy field.

Soon, the woman felt how her face obtained a long abrasion from being hardly scratched on the cemented area of the field as the man's arms continuously dragged her mercilessly, preventing her eluding the hell she never expected to be into. "I got you, Baby!"

"Ahjussi, please let go of me!" The moment she felt the warm arms of the man who carried her in his broad arms, she yelled at the man. "Let me go!"

"Shut up!" He sternly commanded, letting his fist grip on her hair harshly. "Shut the up!"

"Why are you doing this? Tell me! And tell me...... why did you kill him?"

"Shut up!"

"I said let go of me!"

"Where do you think you are going, ? How dare you escape from us?" A proud smirk was seen on his face, making her eyes widen in anxiety. She tried to struggle from being locked in his arms, exerting the strongest force she could ever exert. "You know that you can never escape. Never ever."

The woman begging for mercy cried her out as if her heart was being stabbed by sharp swords. Being tortured as if her bones will nearly break into pieces, she wanted to escape. She wanted to escape badly. "Please." 

Annoyed hearing her loud cry, the man hissed, "I am doing this in accordance with our boss's order. Stop crying, okay?" He placed his index finger on her lips, smiling wryly as he saw how the woman started to sob silently. "Shh~ I hate seeing someone cry pathetically in front of me."  

"Ahjussi, please stop this. Where will you take me? Please stop hurting me. My Appa and Eomma are now looking for me. Please, I am begging you." The exruciating pain strangled her as it wanted to devour her soul. It was the most painful thing that ever happened to her.

With her trembling tiny body wanting to escape from the hell she was into, she mentally prayed for someone's help. "Please someone help me. God, I am begging for your mercy. Will my life end up this way? What have I done wrong to experience such misery?" 

"What are you mumbling there, wench? It will be better if you just do as I say, for you not to end up like that foolish man! You do not want to die pathetically like him, do you?"

"Is he really dead? Tell me.... he is not dead! He is not dead! He is alive! He is not dead!" The woman practically shouted all the pain inside her heart, hitting the man's chest before his hand give her a very hard and painful slap.

"Shut up! Yes, lady. He is already dead. Probably, his corpse is being eaten by the small and big fishes under the sea where he has been thrown."

She knew that it would not be easy to elude from the harsh reality she was into that moment. The lethargic her body became, she defenselessly felt like the world has turned its back against her. With her helpless and defenseless state, she pitifully watched how the evil man carried her, an innocent woman who did not deserve the agony and torturous experience she never ever had. Harsh as it seemed, the thought of possibly experiencing a miserable death crossed inside her mind, making her more fearful as she was right at that moment. It was like being trapped in a impasse of hell that she could only escape either by dying defenselessly or if someone will save her from the death that awaits her.

Suffocated, tired and  pained. "Please stop. Set me free. I beg you." The intense suffocation she felt made her gasp hardly. Defenseless as she was, she pleaded once again to soften up the merciless man, "Please set me free, Ahjussi. Please."

"Alright. But before that, let me take you somewhere." The man subtly whispered in her ears. "I will take you to a paradise, my lady."

"DOWAJO!" They were the last words she screamed out helplessly before her eyes were shut, letting her consciousness be imprisoned into the pit of darkness.

~[=]~

 

"DOWAJO!" Taeyeon fearfully exclaimed as she instantly opened her eyes, and rose her body from the bed. A gush of anxiety crawled instantly all over chest as she could feel how her heart was trembling fiercely. The sound of her heavy breathing resonated throughout the corners of the room along with low ticking sound of the clock.

Gasping hardly for air, she mumbled, "What was that?"  She shook her head, forcefully trying to regain the composure she has. Her shaking fingers reached out for the lamp, turning on the light to calm herself up. Wondering why she had such nightmare, Taeyeon's heart sank in deep fear, asking herself who that woman was.

The woman's face was blurry that she was not able to recognize who she was. Why was she running away? Why was the man in her nightmare hurting the helpless woman? Who was the person she said that was killed by the man? Who was the 'boss' that the man was referring to? Why did that 'boss' ask to kill the person that the woman was talking about?

Taeyeon was bothered by such questions. Though the woman's face was not clear, she vividly saw in her nightmare that the woman was wounded and filled with blood as if she was beaten up mercilessly. She asked herself, "Why in the hell did I have such bad dream?" 

Another set of questions were formed inside her mind: Who was she? Was she someone related to her? Whoever she was, she did not know. If what happened in her nightmare happened in reality, it will be something she needs to find out. If not, then leaving such questions unanswered will definitely be the best thing to do.

She sighed before closing her eyes again. Knowing that it was just a sort of a bad dream which is basically inevitable, she decided to go back to sleep and leave it hanging. Making it a big deal will not make answer the questions formed inside her mind,  but rather it will only drive her insane. "I guess I am just stressed out by work. Nevermind. I should not mind such stupid bad dreams."

 

"President Nam asked me to book a ticket for you, Director Kim." Kwangsoo politely said. "Director, do you want me to cancel your lunch meeting with Mr. Go of SDG Corporation?"

Sunggyu plainly answered back, "That is not necessary. Do not cancel my meeting with Mr. Go, but please cancel the flight you have booked for me, Kwangsoo-ssi."

"Director Kim, the president has told me that your flight to Jeonju will be this evening." His secretary insisted.

"It is alright. Please just cancel it. I will just take a bus tomorrow, Kwangsoo-ssi. Anyway, please tell Ms. Soojung Kwon that she needs to submit the report that I asked her to finish."

Kwangsoo replied, "Yes, Director Kim. I will be going now." He bowed his head down as he started to leave the Executive Director's office.

"Oh wait~" Sunggyu mumbled as he stood up from his seat. He whined mentally, "I forgot to thank him for the coffee, and to ask him where he bought this one." Looking at the yellow logo of the coffee shop printed on the paper cup, where the name of the coffee shop was written in black cursive letters, the man muttered, "Hope Café?"

 

[~]

"Annyeong haseyo!" The first customer for the day who was a middle-aged at the café greeted, flashing a bright smile on his face as he walked towards the counter. "I want a delicious Espresso, Taeyeon-ssi."

"Annyeong haseyo, Mr. Cheon." Taeyeon politely greeted, bowing her head down to the ahjussi. "One Espresso. Is it for dine in or for take out?"

The ahjussi replied back to her question, "It is for take out. By the way, make it two orders. I guess my wife also wants to have a coffee for this morning."

"Do you have anything else to order, Sir?"

"Brush off the honorifics, Taeyeon-ssi. Umm~ Anyway, I also want two chocolate muffins, one strawberry mousse, and three blueberry muffins. All are for take out as well."

"I will repeat the order, Mr. Cheon. You ordered two Espressos, two chocolate muffins, one strawberry mousse, and three blueberry muffins." With her fingers quickly tapping the touch screen monitor above the counter, typing everything he ordered, the ahjussi was amazed with how fast she remembered his orders, only taking a few seconds as if she had a mental note inside her mind. "It is 8500 won all in all, Mr. Cheon."

"Ah, alright." He said, handing her 10000 won which he dug out from his pocket.

"I received 10000 won. Here is the change, Sir." Pulling out the receipt gently after receiving his payment, the female staff handed the ahjussi the receipt along with the change. "The change is 1500 won, Sir. I will just get your orders, so please have a seat for a while."

The middle-aged man nodded his head as he said, "Okay. Take your time, Taeyeon-ssi."

After one and a half minute, she handed the man three plastic bags. "Here are your orders, two Espressos, two chocolate muffins, one strawberry mousse, and three blueberry muffins. All orders are for take out, Sir."

He rose up from the chair near the counter as he gratefully said, "Nae, thank you. Thank you, Taeyeon-ssi."

"You are very much welcome, Mr. Cheon."

"Oh wait~" His eyes wandered around the cafè before he turned back his gaze to the female staff. "Where are the others?"

"Mr. Cheon, they went to Hongdae to buy goods for an event that will be held here tomorrow."

"Alright. Too bad that you are alone in this very nice morning. Anyway, can I ask you another thing?"

"Yes, Sir. What is it?" She answered back.

"Coffee. My wife loves drinking coffee. From Espresso to Latte, she loves different kinds of coffee. Back then, I did not like drinking coffee, but I started to like it because of her. Still, I prefer chocolate drinks and fruit juices. Taeyeon-ssi, why do you think people love coffee that much? Well, I want to ask for your opinion if it is just okay to you."

Taeyeon expressed truthfully without even blinking an eye as she said her answer, "In my opinion, I think coffee completes a person's day. Behind its bitter taste is the sweet yet refreshing feeling that any other drink cannot give to someone who drinks it. I actually think that a morning without coffee is like waking up without opening your eyes."

"Oww~ I get it now. Very well said. That is right! Well, you surely know a lot about coffee, Taeyeon-ssi."

"Working here at the café had taught me a lot." She said as she flashed him a genuine smile. "And coffee has been my best buddy."

Mr. Cheon chuckled before he said, "Thank you for your opinion. I will definitely bear that in my mind. Anyway, I have to go now. Have a nice day!"

"Annyeong, Mr. Cheon. Take care." Seeing the ahjussi leave the café, she entered the kitchen to check on the sweet cookies she was baking. "Oh, the cookies."

Secretly watching her movement for almost half an hour, after hiding himself at the corner near the manager's office, Sunggyu walked towards the counter the moment he saw Taeyeon entering the kitchen, as he mumbled, "A morning without coffee is like waking up without opening your eyes. She is absolutely right. I will also bear that in mind." 

[~]

 

"Yes, it was her who once said that." Sunggyu said, with lips curving a gentle smile on his face. "Behind the bitter taste is the sweet yet refreshing that any other drink cannot give to someone who drinks it."

Taking another sip of the hot coffee, he went back to his seat to finish the pile of works he needed to accomplish.

"Muffin and coffee is absolutely a perfect match." He sighed, rolling the metal pen he picked up from his desk with his fingers. "I should have asked Kwangsoo-ssi to buy me a muffin. Aigoo! I am feeling hungry now!"

 

"Good morning, everyone." The café manager greeted as he bowed his head down to the staff members.

In unison, they bowed their head downs as a form of respect to their manager. "Good morning, Sir Woohyun."

"Yeoreobun, I want to announce that I will be attending a seminar at Ulsan. I will be attending the seminar since Mrs. Nam, my grandmother personally asked me to attend it in behalf of her. I will be gone for two to three days, so I hope you will do well while I am not around." Nam Woohyun, the manager formally announced to the staff members.

All together, they politely said, "Yes, Sir."

"Please assist them Mr. Bong. Well, that is all i have to say. You may go back to your respective works now."

"Thank you, Sir." All of them started to walk outside his office.

Rising up from his seat abruptly, he summoned the woman who was supposed to leave his office, "Kim Taeyeon-ssi."

She gave him a confused glance, wondering why he called out her name all of a sudden. Taeyeon politely asked, "What is it, Sir?"

"I have to talk to you for a while." He said, walking towards her as held the female staff's arm to stop her from her tracks.

Taeyeon nodded her head nervously without uttering any word from . Sensing how awkward she was facing him nervously, Woohyun spoke up, "Gwaechanha? Are you ill or what?" He walked closer towards the woman who was standing nervously.

Watching him taking quick steps towards where she was standing, she took a step backward. "I am alright, Sir."

It has been over a month since he acted like a fool out of his insanity during his friends' joint birthday celebration. After the night that Woohyun and her slept on his office next to each other because he was sick, Taeyeon had been acting quite distant towards him. For the twenty eight days that have passed, her actions were very formal, and she was quite thrifty with her words that she only talked whenever it was necessary.

Distant, but pretty much different than her usual cold and cynical attitude, it made Woohyun wonder why she could not even look directly into his eyes whenever he talked to her. She avoided his gazes, and even his approaches as if she did not want to be near him. It was like she was really afraid to him because of a particular reason, contrary to the usual Kim Taeyeon who might be cold towards him, but someone would not even show a trace of fear in front of him.

Well, Woohyun would rather want her to be her usual self than to be the woman who acts like a fearful person as if she sees a scary 'monster' whenever he is around. The worst thing that annoyed him most was her treatment towards the others was pretty decent than when she was with him.

He could not help, but ask himself if he had a contagious disease or if he did something grave for her to treat him as if he was a dangerous criminal or monster. Taeyeon had even taken numerous overtime in work without even talking to him as if he was invisible. Those were also the times that the two of them were the only ones left until nighttime that she would just bow her head, and formally bid him goodbye before storming out the cafè quickly, leaving him dumbfounded.

Once, there was a time that he offered the staff members a dinner because of the successful event that was held at the cafè, but it was only her who politely refused his offer that she rather chose to go home. With her coming up with the same responses and excuses why she would reject his good deeds without a single hesitation like the times when he would offer her a simple dinner or lunch, Woohyun could not help but think that: If he was Kim Sunggyu, will she act that way? Why was she acting that way? Was it because he was not as kind as Kim Sunggyu, or perhaps, was it because he was too late to do so? For the nth times that he acted rudely towards her, was it too late to make up with her?

"What is with her? It is not like I will eat her alive." He just wanted to show her his good side. Nothing more, nothing less. 

It was not like he was complaining, but the thing was her actions has been giving him a very weird feeling that he might go crazy mentally seeking for answers why she was acting that way. But, he surely knew that he hated it a lot. He hated it to the extent that he would have a mental breakdown.

"Are you sure, Taeyeon-ssi?" Woohyun asked concernedly, cupping her face gently. Noticing that the moment he laid his hands on her face, she suddenly became out of the blue. "Is there something wrong?"

She replied hesitantly, "None, Sir."

"Truthfully, I want to ask you that." He put down his hands before clearing his throat as he continued what he was saying,  "Are you afraid of me? If you are, why?"

"Afraid? Sir, that is not true. What made you think that way?"

"Your actions do. Tell me. Tell me why you are being like that." Woohyun sternly asked her, shooting her a serious gaze which made her slightly flinch from where she was standing. "Please."

"Well, what should I tell him?"  Extremely loss of what to say, she sighed. "Nevermind."

"Taeyeon-ssi, please."

Taeyeon said apologetically as she bowed her head, "That~ I am sorry, Sir."

"I will not understand not unless you give me a good explanation. I do not want any of my employees to be intimidated by me, so I hope you will explain it to me, for me to correct any fault I made towards you." Woohyun uttered an excuse in the most formal way as possible.

She strongly denied, "You did not do something wrong, Sir. It was actually~"

"What?" Woohyun questioned, crossing his arms fiercely. "What do you want to say?"

"I am not afraid of you, Sir. Do not mind it. I apologize if you thought that I am." Taeyeon reasoned out to brush off his insistence.

"Is that so? Then if you are not afraid, perhaps, what you have shown for almost a month was awkwardness?" He asked another question. "I thought we are friends. You should not be awkward towards me."

"Friends?" She feigned a cough before answering back seriously to his statement, "Oil and water can never mix with each other."

"Huh?" Confused, his eyes widened, letting his brain process every word that she said. He could feel how his fists balled up hardly. "What did you just say?"

Not saying any word to answer his question, she just bowed her head down without showing that she was affected with his disappointed yet confused reaction.

Woohyun muttered, regaining back his composure, "Nevermind. Anyway, I want to tell you something about your day-off. Your day-off will be on Monday, right? You may have two to four more consecutive day-offs since you have not use four of your offs for this month."

"Yes, Sir. Thank you very much." She said, bowing her head once again. 

The manager said coldly, fixing the hair covering a part of his face, "You may go now, Taeyeon-ssi. Please go back to your respective work now." 

Bowing her head for the umpteenth time, she said formally, "Yes, Sir Woohyun."

When she lifted up her head, her eyes unconsciously shifted to her manager who was fixing his hair. Not to him exactly, but to his wrist. The thing that caught her attention was the thing tied on his left wrist. "That bracelet~ It looks the same with the one he gave me before."

 

(*A/N: *credits to the owner of the picture*  Well, this is the same as what he gave at the last chapter. The only difference is the color. The other one is a purple bracelet.  Anyway ~ It's sooo pretty, right?

It was the same bracelet as the purple bracelet she was wearing on her right wrist. Feeling overwhelmed yet surprised at the same time, her eyes did not leave the sight of the red bracelet on his wrist. 

"Hey! Why are you not leaving yet? Kim Taeyeon-ssi, you may go now. I do not have anything else to say." He commanded, putting down his hands as he shot her a confounded look. "Is there something wrong?"

Noticing how she was carefully staring at the bracelet on his wrist, he shyly mumbled, "Ah~ This one~"

Taeyeon was snapped out of her thoughts the moment she heard him spoke up. She apologized, "Oh~ Sorry, Sir. I will go now." Embarrased because of her not-so-sane action, she bowed her head for the last time, turning her back immediately as she slowly took few steps out of the manager's office.

"Wait~ Hold on." She stopped from taking another step when she heard him spoke up. Without turning back, Taeyeon stood still, waiting for him to say what he wanted to say. "Do you still have it?" Woohyun hesitantly asked, touching the back of his head shyly. 

"Oh~ The bracelet he gave me." She faced him. Knowing what her boss was referring to, she slowly laid out her right arm as she gave him an assuring nod. She shyly confessed, "Yes, I still have it. I always wear it actually, Sir."

Happy and relieved after seeing the purple bracelet tied on her hand. He swore that his heart shouted victoriously the moment he heard the word 'always' from . "I am glad that she has it." The man broke into a wide smile as he said, "Thank you. Thank you for keeping it with you."

"That is nothing, Sir. I should be the one thanking you for this. Oh by the way, my parents and brother requested me to send their greetings to you."

Carefully listening to what she was about to say, he did not move from where his feet were firmly standing, letting his eyes focus on the woman in front of him. His lips formed a thin line, showing his willingness to listen to everything she has to say.

Clearing carefully, she spoke up afterwards, "They said that if you have a spare time, you may visit them at home since it has been a while since the last time you first visited. Eomma told me that she wanted to let you taste the Kimchi that she made as a way of gratitude to your kindness before." Touching the back of her head shyly, Taeyeon added, "Sir, but if you do not want to, it is okay. I know you are very busy in work."

"Did she just talk to me after those damn twenty eight days?" He did not answer her back, but he replied by giving her an assuring smile and nod. "Oh ! I must be dreaming right now!"

Taeyeon bowed her head done for the nth time as she said, "Please take care of yourself while you are on your way to Ulsan, Sir. I hope you will do well. Take care." Giving him a half smile before leaving, Woohyun just stared at her quietly. Seeing Taeyeon without having her cold and cynical facade was more than enough to make his heart flutter in joy.

"Woah~ Hold on. Did she just care for me?" His narrow eyes watched her back slowly vanishing from his sight. Impossible as he ever thought, his mind was slowly trying to digest everything. Yes, everything that Kim Taeyeon had just said. "So, it means that she does not hate me at all. She has at least a one percent care for me, and she noticed my existence for the very first time after those ing twenty eight days! Woah! Daebak! Thank heavens!"

Ruling out the dejection as well as the exasperation he felt for the past twenty eight days which were damn agonizing for him, her words surely made him feel better.

"Oh the bracelet~" Giving a quick glance on the bracelet on his wrist, he mumbled, "I am glad that she keeps it with her always." Letting his lips form a wider smile, he went back to his seat, enjoying the sweet sensation that was making his heart dance along with the rhythm of his heartbeat.

It was enough for him to know that she has it. The first gift he had ever given to a woman. He knew to himself that she was the only woman who caught his attention. She was the only one who he had given a birthday surprise. She was the only woman who he had celebrated his birthday with. She was the only woman who can put a genial and sweet smile on his face. Lastly, Kim Taeyeon was only the one who can drive his heart and mind recklessly. The woman who he had his firsts. Surely, his firsts. The things he never felt, done and even thought of, he had everything of these because of her. These only meant one thing - Nam Woohyun, the second sole heir of the Nam Corporation is intensely attracted to Kim Taeyeon. Yes, intensely attracted to the extent that his attraction towards her is driving him crazy.

He whispered, "That means she values my gift to her, and she cares for me."

How foolish of him that he thought that she did not care even a single peanut to him... How foolish of him to think that all she had for him was hatred and disgust. Nonetheless, he knew that he must not be carried away completely by his feelings. Who knows if he will end up being broken again once he sees something that will make him dig his own grave, right? Foolish thoughts, foolish feelings - Indeed, the feeling of attraction he never felt for his entire life is making him a hopeless romantic man. Oh, hopeless and helpless romantic man - to be exact. Oops, was it only attraction or was it more than that?

"Those lips." He momentarily paused as his fingers traced the softness of his lower lip. "I will never forget what happened during that moment."

 

[~]

"Sir, are you alright?" Taeyeon mumbled worriedly. "Sir."

Moving his body near her, the man who was sleeping deeply unconsciously held her shoulder, pulling her nearer to him. Taeyeon mentally cursed as she shut her eyes closed, "Aigoo!" 

Feeling how his cold lips was pressed against her lips, he opened his eyes as he saw how the woman shut her eyes tightly. A half smirk was formed by his lips against her slightly trembling lips. He told himself proudly, "Assa! I did it." Woohyun did it perfectly, and he never expected that he could do it well.

When he saw how her eyelids were moving, having the clue that she will open her eyes, he immediately closed his eyes, pretending that he was asleep. 

The moment Woohyun felt that she was going against his force, he buried his face deeper, letting his lips pressed tighter against her lips. It went like that for almost five minutes. When he opened his eyes once again, he saw Taeyeon with her eyes closed. Mentally boasting as if he won against her, he said to himself, "You know you can never go against me, Kim Taeyeon."

His eyes carefully studied her reaction, trailing from her eyes down to their locked lips. Her reaction was priceless. Woohyun could sense how she became weak because of the kiss. "Perhaps, she was also aroused."  He swore that he felt his heart explode instantly seeing how intimate the scene was. It felt surreal that he even thought that it was a dream, but it was not. It was real that it made his heart jump victoriously inside him.

Soon, the moment the "sleeping" man whose consciousness was "out of the reality" slowly pulled away from her, letting his head lean on the other side of the couch which made her sigh in relief. She muttered, "What was that for? What the?!"

Furtively snickering and smirking when he leaned his head on the other side of the couch, he heard how she let out a big sigh. The man babbled to himself, "I won. Assa! Nam Woohyun won!" He closed his eyes once again not to be caught awake by her. Evilishly feeling triumphant with his 'achievement', he mentally complimented himself, "I am really a good actor."

Watching him as he "peacefully slept", Taeyeon murmured, "Hayy~ It is quite relieving you are not awake. Tsk~ Why the hell did that happen? Aish!" 

"Anio. I must be crazy right now." Taeyeon scoffed as she knew that thinking about such thing would not be a great idea. "Perhaps, I am just sleepy." Soon, she closed her eyes tightly as she wanted to force herself to forget what happened earlier -- one of the most ridiculous things she never expected to happen EVER in her entire life.

After an hour, Woohyun gently opened his eyes. "That was a great one. It was my first. My first kiss." The man let his fingers run through the strands of her hair before he whispered to her ear, "You know. Kim Taeyeon, you really are a one beautiful woman." He kissed her on the cheek before he planted another kiss on her forehead. "I wish I can have you. I wish I can have you by my side. I do not know why you do not notice my existence, but I will try my best in order to have your sweet 'Yes'. Sleep well, beautiful Milady. Thank you for making this night a lovely and ecstatic one." Smiling victoriously because what happened earlier, he leaned his head over her shoulder as he let his consciousness fall into his own dreamland.

[~]

 

"Perhaps, that is the reason why she feels awkward towards me." Straightening his back on the swivel chair, he said, "Her first kiss. Maybe, I am her first kiss.. Haha~" Chuckling to himself like a hopeless romantic man, he did not care. The moment he pressed lips on her luscious lips, the man felt that the time stopped. No, his world had stopped. It felt surreal that it sank his heart in deep happiness and ecstasy. Who knows if it was her first kiss? Who knows if it was her first time being kissed by a man?

Surely, that is something that he will be victorious of. A man who dared to kiss the cynical and apathetic woman, Kim Taeyeon, it was him, the shameless him.  That is absolutely a new thing, yet something he's proud of without a single hesitation. Needless to say, that was a brave act of him. Shameless or what, he did not even have a single care. "I wonder what will her reaction be if she finds out that it was not an accident."  

Definitely, he did it  intentionally. It was too unfortunate of her that she thought that he was in deep sleep at that time because he was sick, only having the knowledge that it was a mere unintentional moment. Of course, she must not know that. He would definitely keep it by himself, otherwise, his face will be welcomed by her scary fist. Yeah, he was sick during that time, but that did not prevent him from taking a further step to get what he wanted. Oh, what he wanted? The answer is pretty obvious. 

It was actually his first kiss. It took him a one and a half million courage to do that. He never knew how it felt to kiss a woman, so Woohyun felt that he hit a jackpot when he did it perfectly. He kissed her lips perfectly. It was not a short kiss, actually. It took five minutes, and that period of time felt forever for him. His first kiss, and probably her first kiss too.

Oh well, that was not the case though. Yes, his first, but not hers. Not having a single knowledge that it was not her first kiss, Woohyun has assumed too much. Well, there was someone who did it before he did though it was definitely a sort of an accidental moment. Unbeknownst to him, it happened during the time she spent her vacation at Jeonju - during the Valentine's Day, the day that he was practically hallucinating and ranting over senseless sh*ts ALONE. Her first kiss was not him, but rather Kim Sunggyu, his damn great brother. Oh poor, Nam Woohyun.

 

With the continuous grumbling of her aching stomach, she almost lost her balance carrying a big black trash bag out of the café's back door. Feeling a bit dizzy for she only took a small slice of apple, a half slice of toasted bread, and hot brewed coffee her mother prepared for her breakfast few hours ago which were evidently not enough to fill in her empty stomach, she let out a big sigh. Mentally scolding herself for only eating a scanty amount of food during breakfast, a frown became visible on her face. Well, that's what she gets for being stubborn.

She cannot blame herself though. Work is pretty much significant for her than spending too much time finishing a slice of bread or completely munching a piece of fruit. She has been used to skip breakfast every morning because punctuality in work is what she values most. Taeyeon would usually just drink a coffee, and breakfast is done. It is just unfortunate that her usual habit has been backlashing to her that at the end of the month, her body gets limp due to the lack of energy which she basically gets from the food she eats. Oh, but at least she ate something decent other than the usual coffee she takes during this early morning; otherwise, she would have dropped lifelessly on the spot.

Lifting up the lid of the trash can with both of her hands covered with rubber gloves, she soon completely disposed the garbages. Momentarily, the woman dusted off her hands as she started to remove the rubber gloves, and gently disposed them in the metal trash can.

"Oh, someone sent me a text message." Hearing the soft ringtone of her phone, she dug out the phone from her jeans' pocket.

"Annyeong haseyo! Taeyeon-ah, I once mentioned to you when Sunggyu's birthday, right? I hope you can visit here at Jeonju since his birthday is two days from now. I will be very glad if you can convince my son to also drop by here. I know that he is busy at work, just like you are, but I hope we can celebrate his birthday altogether here at Jeonju. That son of mine is kind of stubborn, so I hope that you will convince him to celebrate his birthday here, eo? Thank you."

The text message was from Kim Sunggyu's mother. Back then, the two of them exchanged numbers that she even informed her about her son's birthday. Actually, Mrs. Kim usually frequently sends her text messages every morning and night, checking whether she eats or not, if she does well in work, if Woohyun treats her well, and even if she is doing fine at home. Just like a thoughtful mother and friend, Mrs. Kim never forgets to ask Taeyeon her whereabouts just to assure herself that the young lady is doing completely fine at Seoul. Of course, she also does not forget to ask her about her son who works non-stop at the Nam Corporation. Taeyeon and her son are good friends, so it is inevitable for her to ask her about her son's condition since both Sunggyu and her are at Seoul, not to mention that they usually meet every Tuesday and Friday morning because the young man checks on the café's condition twice a week.

Allowing her fingers type her reply to the old woman's message, she sighed. Taeyeon mumbled to herself, "It is quite relieving that two days from now will be my off. I can visit Jeonju as per his mother's request, but... How will I convince a workaholic man like him to leave his work for a while to celebrate his own birthday which is around the corner?"

With both eyes closed, she kept her phone inside her jeans' pocket. "The problem is 'how'?"

"What do you mean by 'how'?" Jerking her body upon hearing someone's voice and the foreign touch she felt on her shoulders, she immediately opened her eyes.

"Omona!" Taeyeon half-shouted, obviously shocked with the person's existence behind her that made her immediately tilt her body to see who the persona was. "Oh, it is you." Her left hand was leaning on her chest, letting herself sigh in relief after being completely startled with the man's sudden appearance out of nowhere.

With his signature deep and husky voice, he asked in amusement, "Shocked, huh?"

Seeing how his lips twitched in amusement after startling her badly with his appearance, Taeyeon plainly said, putting her usual poker face, "Apparently yes, Mr. Kim Sunggyu."

Laughing as if heard something funny, Sunggyu joked, "Woah~ Hold on. Do not be so hot-headed, Ms. Kim Taeyeon. It is not like I committed a crime or something."

"Whatever." She sarcastically said as she folded her arms. "Yes, you did not."

Raising an eyebrow as he carefully studied her reaction, he managed to pull off another joke, "Here you go, sarcasm. That is not good for your health, Ms. Kim Taeyeon. I do not want a very beautiful lady like you to look old early. How many times do I have to say that? The last time I checked, I saw you, Ms. Kim Taeyeon having that grumpy face that your mind was out of nowhere because you were not able to eat a proper breakfast. Don't tell me you did not eat something decent few hours ago again?"

"Aish~" Protesting badly as if what he said was wrong, she retorted back, "That is not true. Of course, I ate something decent for my breakfast."

"Jeongmal? Are you sure? Then, what did you eat?" He interrogated sarcastically, suppressing any laughter from his lips. "Tell me, my friend."

Speechless, she knotted her fingers shyly. "Uh~ A small slice of apple, a half slice of toasted bread, and~"

"What? What else?"

"A hot brewed coffee." It came out as a whisper as she heaved a sigh, knowing that what she ate was practically not enough to fill up her grumbling stomach.

"Nothing else? Do you even consider that as breakfast that you practically only took small bites of food, then you drank a cup of coffee, and that's it?" Sunggyu giving her a questioning look, he twisted his lips. "No wonder you look pale right now. Do you even think of what will happen to you if you continue having that kind of habit?"

"Uh~oh~ but~" She defended, not wanting to lose in their conversation. "But atleast, I did not skip meal, right?"

"So stubborn." He hissed before laughing in disbelief. "Yes, you did not. But you did not even ate enough. I bet that your stomach is grumbling in pain right now. Do you want to get sick?"

Taeyeon shook her head obediently as she mumbled, "Of course, I do not want to get sick."

"If you don't, I also don't." Sunggyu stopped laughing, giving her a serious gaze which startled her all of a sudden.

He seriously muttered, "Please take care of yourself. I do not want something bad to happen to you, eo?"

Staring back at him, she saw how serious the man was. Their eyes were intensely locked with each other, and it remained like that for a couple of minutes.

It has been almost a month since they started being quite casual with each other. Knowing how thoughtful and caring he was, she started to open up to him, unlike before when she would usually treat him coldy and avoid him whenever his around. Friendship. That is right. They have become officially friends for a month now.

Not questioning herself why she allowed herself to be friends with him, she realized to herself that being friends with Kim Sunggyu is not like doing a taboo or a crime as long as it does not foolishly crosses boundaries. Of course, her admiration for him is high that she will never so something which will ruin his trust - not even falling for him since having a 'deeper' relationship with someone like him is kind of absurd. Taeyeon surely knew to herself that someone like her will never deserve someone as high as Kim Sunggyu, so she has been doing her utmost best to keep her feelings for him to be only out of friendship and nothing else than that. Falling in love with him will always be the thing she would least think of.

"Alright." Taeyeon plainly answered back, leaving his serious stare as she felt the awkwardness lingering the whole atmosphere. "I apologize for that, Sunggyu-seonsaengnim."

Changing his face from a serious to a slight irritated one, he whined childishly, "Oh, that 'seonsaengnim' again! I thought that you forgot about that already. It has been several days since you last called me that!"

Victoriously amused after pissing him off, she started to let out the laughter she has been containing for a couple of minutes now. "Assa! Sunggyu-seonsaengnim looks pissed off, huh?"

"No, I am not." He insisted firmly.

"Yes, you are."

"No, I am not."

"Yes, you are, Sunggyu-seonsaengnim."

"No, I am not. Seriously, I am not pissed off by you, Taengjumma."

She hissed, tapping his shoulder lightly, "Did you just call me an ahjumma, Sunggyu-seonsaengnim?"

"Did I?" Sunggyu innocently retorted back. He gave her a clueless shrug, pretending not to remember what he said.

"You did. I heard it clearly, Kim Sunggyu-seonsaengnim."

"Jinjja?"

"You did."

"Did I really say that?"

"You did."

His mouth formed an 'O' before he playfully , "Oh right, I did." He bend his back as leaned his face near her face. "I remember it now."

"Such a forgetful mister." Taeyeon inwardly scoffed, blinking her eyes rapidly the moment she realized how close their faces are.

"Did I ever mention how beautiful you are whenever you scoff like that?" He asked seriously, scooting his face closer as he locked his eyes with hers. "Tell me, did I?"

"Huh?" Trying not to sound nervous, she innocently asked. "What are you~ talking about?"

"You look really beautiful when you do that. It turns me on badly." The man said in his very deep voice, making her widen her eyes after hearing the last words of his statement. He clearly emphasized those words right in front of her face. "It turns me on badly that I feel like my heart is exploding right at this moment."

"Shoot, this is no good." Nervously biting her lower lip, she prevented any sound to come out from . "No, no, no."

His eyes were unreadable. There was a seriousness in his eyes that she could not understand. It was too serious, more serious than it was few minutes ago, making her gasp hardly since she found herself hardly out for air as if Sunggyu's eyes were suffocating her defenselessly.

Soon, she shifted her gaze at the sight with her feet backing away to break the closeness of their gaps. Taeyeon tried to put her poker face in front of him, so that he will not notice how her heart and mind skipped for a minute the moment their gaps were only an inch away from each other.

"Is that so?" Taeyeon pretended a cough, showing him that she was not affected with his words, not even with the closeness of their faces a minute ago.

He straightened his back, noticing the slight tensed atmosphere between them. Sunggyu sensed how she felt awkward with what he did and said though she managed to pull off her poker face once again right in front of his eyes. To wave off the awkwardness, he humorously remarked, "Here comes the sarcasm again. Taeyeon-ssi, you should learn how to smile more often, so that you will not end up being a Taengjumma at such an early age."

Giving him a half smile, she answered back, "I do not mind it though since I have been Taengjumma since then."

"Then if that is the case, I would not mind being the Sunggyu-seonsaengnim always."

"If that is what you said, Kim Sunggyu-seonsaengnim." Both of them laughed at their statements, realizing how silly of them to say such things.

"Nae, I think it does not sound bad at all." A wide smile lit up his lovely face. "Especially if it is you who calls me that."

"I did not know that you have such greasiness in you. Ugh~"

"If it is for you, I do not mind it."

"Whatever you say."

"Psh~ Taengjumma."

"Anyway, your mother sent me a text message."

Sunggyu asked curiously, "What did she say?"

"She asked me to convince you to celebrate your birthday at Jeonju, but I just told her that I cannot promise to convince you, but I will try doing so." Taeyeon said, placing one of her hands inside the left pocket of her jeans. 

"Only that?"

She nodded her head hesitantly as she mumbled, "Eung."

The man tapped his chin with his finger as he said plainly, "I will..."

"You will what?" Confused with his vague answer, she shot him a questioning look.

"I will visit Jeonju, and celebrate my birthday there."

"Jinjja?" Her face brightened as she was able to convince the man easily. "Hey!"

"Yeah, but.."

She asked curiously, "but what?"

"But if.."

"If?"

"If.." Sunggyu mumbled as he looked deeply in her eyes. He reiterated hesitantly, "If.."

Anticipating for what he was about to say, she uttered, "If?.."

He cleared his throat before speaking up again, "If you will come with me."

Upon completing his statement, Taeyeon was quite flustered with what he said. "What?" She asked, wondering whether she misheard it or not.

"I said that I will visit Jeonju, and celebrate my birthday there if you will come with me."

Hesitant of what to say, she fell silent, lowering her gaze down the floor. "That~"

Sunggyu asked, trying to suppress his disappointment in his voice, "You don't want to?"

 

Silence... A countless moment of silence lingered in the atmosphere between them.

 

"Taeyeon-ssi, can't you?"

With Taeyeon keeping shut, he took her silence as a refusal, making his heart sank in deep disappointment. Smiling bitterly as he felt how a pang made his heart clench awfully, he said, "It is okay if you can't. I understand."

"Sunggyu-ssi, I am sorry, but I guess~"

"No, no. I understand it is okay." Assuring her that he did not feel bad with her answer, he forced to smile widely as he patted her head. "I understand if you can't come with me."

 

Silence, silence... A countless moment of silence filled the atmosphere once again.

 

"I guess~" Lifting her head up, a playful smile was drawn on her face, she finally broke her silence, "I guess I cannot say 'no'."

Perturbed by what she had said, he stuttered, "What?" His mind was processing every word she said. His mouth dropped instantly as if he heard something surprising.

"I guess I cannot say 'no' since your mother requested me to do so as what she said in her text message."

"Huh?" His eyes protested for an answer, shooting her a confounded look. "What did you say?"

"Your mother requested me even before you did. I guess I cannot refuse her request. Oh, no, no, no. Well actually, I do not have any plan in turning it down in the first place." She explained playfully which made Sunggyu sigh in relief. "Haha~ You were fooled by my act."

"Heavens! I thought that you do not want it, but it seems that you have already told my mother that you will come before I requested you to do so! Aish! You scared me! Such a prankster!" He was practically grumbling after falling in her act. She chuckled hardly as she saw his priceless reaction. 

"Why are you so mad at me? It is not like I did a crime or something." She snorted over his childish rant.

"Yes, you did."

"Mwo?"

"You did a crime. It is unforgivable. Really unforgivable."

She placed her hands on both sides of her waist, cocking an eyebrow as if he said something ridiculous. "Then, what is it? Tell me, Mr. Kim Sunggyu."

"What you have done was clearly a fraudulent act. You have intentionally committed deception. You practically deceived me, Ms. Kim Taeyeon." Sunggyu childishly muttered. "I should call my lawyer now for me to settle the case I will file against you." 

"Just that? That is quite absurd." A playful smirk was formed on her face. She blurted in disbelief, "Too shallow. You've got to be kidding me! That is not even a crime!"

He subtly protested, "That is! The fact that deceived me by your act is committing something against me. That is tantamount to betrayal of my heart's trust. Don't you know how grave that crime is? I guess I have to ask someone to issue a warrant of arrest stating that you, Ms. Kim Taeyeon has committed a crime against my innocent heart."

"Aigoo!" Feeling awkward with the man's greasiness, she had the urge to roll her eyes in annoyance. Shaking her head repetitively as she cussed under her breath, she frowned. "You are so greasy, Mr. Kim Sunggyu. Do you even know that?"

Sunggyu laughed as he crossed his arms. He complained, "Can't I even do a revenge because you fooled me? That is unfair!"

"Whatever, Mr. Kim Sunggyu." 

"Anyway, thank you for agreeing to come with me. That really means a lot to me." He said genuinely, letting his lips curve a genuine smile.

Taeyeon revealed truthfully, "Of course, I will come. I promised her that I will. The only thing I was not able to promise her was to convince you. Convince you to come with me."

"Aigoo! Of course, I will. It is not only because Eomma asked me to do so, but also because you will come with me. How can a man refuse to come with a very beautiful lady who wants to celebrate his own birthday with him? I am not an exception. If I refuse that, it will be so ridiculous and foolish of me." Sunggyu commented, laughing to himself heartily.

"Huh? Whatever you say." The woman stuttered as she tried not to blush after hearing his statement. "Stop that greasiness. Ugh~ I am feeling sick because of that."

He defended as he tried to contain the laughter to himself, "I am just saying the truth."

"Truth?"

"Admit it. You like the way I tease you with my greasy jokes!"

"Why would I like it? That is quite annoying."

"Liar. Pretty bad liar, Kim Taeyeon."

"Me? Liar? I am not."

"See? Why does your face tell me that you are lying?"

"No."

"You lose."

"Alright, alright."

"Serves you right."

"You always win though. I know I can never win against you." She hissed.

The man joked, "Oh well, I can let you win even once if you want me to do so."

"No, thank you." Taeyeon sarcastically replied back. "That is unnecessary."

"Here you go, Ms. Sarcasm. I guess it is me who can never win against that sarcasm of yours." He commented with a bit of irony in his words.

She gave him a teasing smile as she contradicted him, "Anio, we are just the same. You are also ironic with your words, Mr. Sarcasm."

"Anio, I am not!" Sunggyu complained childishly. "That is not true."

"Aish~ Let us just end teasing and mocking each other. Our conversation will just go round and round like this until we get tired." Taeyeon muttered, having her gaze down to her knotted fingers.

With his eyes seeing how she pouted as if she lost in a game, he laughed hardly, badly stupefying the woman who scoffed inwardly after seeing his not-so-sane outburst. Taeyeon shot him a fierce stare which made him shut his mouth like an obedient child.

He raised his hands, suppressing any laughter to come out from his mouth. "I get it."

Seeing how he fell silent, she chuckled silently. She jokingly said in a quite deep tone of voice, "Headline: Mr. Kim Sunggyu, the executive director of Nam Corporation unveiled the 'Another Him' - the childish and cute personality...An unexpected revelation that shocked the entire South Korean nation." Taeyeon gently messed the man's hazelnut-colored hair. "How does that sound?"

"It is not childish, it is just playful." He corrected, poking her forehead gently with his left index finger. "Cute? Isn't that an understatement? Does Kim Sunggyu only look cute in your eyes? Ya! You said I am only cute. Tell me. Taeyeon-ssi, am I not more than that?"

"Eh? I am referring to your 'secondary' personality, not with the way you look." She blurted. "But with the way you look, do I need to state the obvious?"

"Obvious? What do you mean by that?" He asked innocently, feigning that he did not comprehend what she said. "What?"

She shyly said, obviously stammering with her words as if something caught her tongue, "Obvious? Umm~ What I meant was that you are really good-looking." Taeyeon looked away from his eyes which were obviously studying her reaction. "Do I still have to mention that? That is way too obvious."

"Really? Good-looking? Omona! I am really moved by those words." Sunggyu joked as he held his chest. "I am glad to hear that straightly from a beautiful and kind woman like you. By the way, my personality has different dimensions. I can be serious, playful, cold, and there are also times that I can be romantic."

"Ro--what?" She asked in disbelief with dropping instantly.

Sunggyu sweetly answered back, "Romantic. I only show this side of me to a special person I am very fond of, someone who does not fail to make me smile and laugh in spite of her apathetic and indifferent personality." He let his hand gently run through the silkiness of her black hair, caressing it repetitively before he tucked few strands of hair behind her ear. "Do you want to know who that person is?"

"Of course, that is not me. Perhaps, he is referring to another person. Stop having such stupid delusions! Get a grip of yourself, Kim Taeyeon." Gulping awkwardly after hearing such words, she shook her head in disapproval. "No."

"Waeyo? Why not? Don't you know how near she is to me right now? Oh, but I just do not want to state what is obvious." He put down his hands, clasping each other behind him. "Anyway, President Nam gave me a break for my birthday. He allowed me to stay at Jeonju for two to five days, so I will be temporarily off in work for the next few days."

Surely, he felt good that his father gave him a break. Being a busy and workaholic man in business suit who stays inside a luxurious office surrounded by rectangular boxes containing various paper works from the monthly reports, business proposals to the piles of business contracts he needs to carefully study and sign - these are absolutely boring as hell. He might have employees under his power, but Kim Sunggyu is not a bossy and despotic man who only knows how to throw commands to his workers, and sit prettily like a lazy head and a good-for-nothing man.This man definitely knows that having a power is not absolute, for it requires great responsibility and hardwork in order to prove others that the purpose of bearing a high position is not about luxury where you will lay down comfortably on the bed of roses and filthy lucre, but working together with your subordinates with the hundred percent of perseverance and determination you have to give in everything, no matter how easy or difficult it is.

"That is great then."

"How about you? Were you allowed to have a vacation? I know that you have off during Mondays, but how about the following days?"

She explained as she touched the back of her head, "It is alright. Sir Woohyun allowed me to have two to four days of break since I have not used my offs for the entire month. Therefore, I will not have any conflict with my work."

"Then, everything is settled." He smiled brightly to her, securing both of her hands with his hands, swinging hem slowly back and forth. "I think I will enjoy the next few days. Well, I think I cannot wait any longer."

"Being impatient, huh?" She joked.

"Yes, certainly. I will be a liar if I say that I am not." He admitted honestly. Releasing her hands from his hold, Sunggyu muttered, "Since I am being impatient now, what are you waiting for?"

"Huh?" The woman asked with an apparent confusion in her voice.

"You said that you will be coming with me, right?" He raised an eyebrow, bringing his hands onto his waist.

Still clueless of what he was talking about, she asked, "Yes, I did. What is the problem with that?"

"Prepare yourself now because both of us will go to Jeonju by seven in the evening, arasseo?"

"But, I can just go there by myself. You do not need to bother yourself." Taeyeon shyly expressed.

He grumbled, "Eh? I thought you agreed to come with me, but why do you seem to hesitate now?"

"But~" She insisted firmly. "Yes, I agreed to go there at Jeonju, but I decided to go there by myself. I am afraid of what others might say." Taeyeon let out an unheard sigh before she continued, "...If they see us together."

"That's it?" Sungyu questioned in disbelief. "What is wrong with them seeing us together? It is not like we are criminals who did something against the society."

"Sunggyu-ssi, I get what you are saying, but knowing that you are known by a lot of people.." She halted for a few seconds, and soon went on with what she was explaining, "Isn't that quite weird? What if they come up with such malicious comments against us? You know that in our society, scrutiny is inevitable, especially with high-profile people like you."

"Nan sangwan eobseo! I said that I will just come if you will come with me." Clearly emphasizing every word he said, he made it sure that Taeyeon heard them one by one. "We are just friends, right? What is the big deal with that? If anyone will make a fuss against us, I will be the one to settle it, okay?"

"If you insist so." Taeyeon said in defeat.

"Do you get it now?"

"I get it no