Chapter 38 : Caution

“Do you want to come in for coffee? Eunji said Hoya's there as well.” Naeun said, touching his hand. He had parked just directly below her apartment.

“That sounds nice.” He smiled, leaning down to kiss her just a bit. 

“Let me help with your bags.” Myungsoo got out and opened the trunk, grabbing her suitcase at the back.

Naeun unlocked the door and was immediately greeted by a hug from Eunji.

“The love birds are back!” Hoya hollered, slapping Myungsoo on the back.

“He hasn't done anything weird to you, has he?” Eunji cupped her face and pushed her cheeks.

“Like you and Hoya haven't been doing weird things whilst I'm gone.” She responded sarcastically.

“That reminds me… Naeun, you might want to sanitize the kitchen.”

“Again?!” Naeun exclaimed, horrified. Eunji blushed whilst Naeun hit Hoya repeatedly.

“You should really control your hormones.” Myungsoo shook his head.

“Like you guys didn't do the dirty deed.” Hoya teased, nudging Myungsoo in the ribs.

“Can we not talk about our lives… Besides it seems like I can't do coffee anymore.”

“Don't be ridiculous. We sanitized the kitchen already.” Hoya teased Naeun, patting her head before moving next to Eunji.

Naeun went to kitchen and started brewing the coffee whilst Eunji took out some leftover chicken.

“How does cold cut chicken sandwich sound?” Eunji shouted from the kitchen.  The boys voiced their approval and Naeun reheated some coleslaw, quickly fixed up some rocket salad, and cut the baguette.

“Look at you go. What did Myungsoo do to deserve this?” Eunji whistled.

“Nothing happened. We didn't… You know.” She pushed Eunji away as the elder wiggled her eyebrows.

They served a modest meal as Hoya helped clear the coffee table.

“What were you doing before?” Myungsoo asked aloud, eyeing the woolen throw. 

“We were watching a movie and no, Naeun it was not ally charged. We watched 'About Time'.”

“I wasn't suggesting… I'm not that straight laced. Besides, who knew Lee Howon has a soft spot for chick flicks.” Naeun as she handed Myungsoo a mug of steaming coffee.

“Thanks.” He took a sip of the coffee and immediately started digging into the food, famished from the drive.

The friends chatted away about what they did over the weekend, Eunji told them about how Hoya had surprised her with a food tour of Paris, much to the amusement of Myungsoo.

“You guys really are perfect for each other. Everything down to the same taste buds.” He snorted.

“So how was Mont St Michel?” Naeun tensed and met Myungsoo's eyes. He understood the meaning behind that look and nodded.

“It was great. The food is always better, fresher in Normandy and the party was nice. Hoya, I met Mr Rosseau. He sends his well wishes, and he says his daughters particularly miss you.” Naeun visibly relaxed.

“His daughters?” Eunji sharply glared at Hoya.

“Come on, Eunji! They're not even in high school yet.” He defended himself as Eunji pouted.

“We better get going… It's getting late.” Myungsoo nudged Hoya and they both stood up.

“Thanks for the meal, girls.” Myungsoo said, pulling Hoya away from Eunji.

“See you, Naeun. Thanks.” Hoya kissed both her cheeks much to the annoyance of Myungsoo.

“Hey… I'll see you soon okay?” Myungsoo turned to Naeun. But the latter couldn't meet his eyes. They both knew that they had to talk about it. And Naeun knew she would never be able to convey her words properly.

“Okay.” She nodded. But before she could move away, he pulled her into a hug.

“I'm here, okay.”

“I know.” She hugged him back.

“Look at those two.” Eunji cooed and Hoya patted her head affectionately.

“Our great matchmaking skills.” Hoya laughed and looked proudly onto them. Myungsoo kissed her just cause he wanted to show off.

“Eeeyyy... Get out of here!” Eunji curled her fingers and shoved Myungsoo out the door.

“Thanks for the food. See you guys tomorrow.” They said their goodbyes. When Naeun closed the door, she slumped down and buried her face in her hands, feeling the guilt come back with vengeance.

“Naeun? Are you okay? What's wrong? Are you sick?”

“Unnie... I met Kai and his fiancée at Mont St Michel.”

Eunji gasped and felt nauseous just at the thought of Kim Jongin, the vice president of the Viason Corp.

“Oh, Naeun. Does he know?” Eunji asked, panicking at the thought of their meeting. “Did you take your pills?”

“ I did take my pills. He doesn't know everything. I'm going to tell him.”

“I never thought it would come to this… I didn't things would unravel so fast but they did.” Eunji sighed.

“Exactly. Eunji, I'm scared. What if she finds out? I ran away from that. I ran away from my name. But it's catching up to me and I'm scared.” Naeun whispered.

“She won't know… Unless Kai tells her. And knowing Kai, even he won't. Because he loves you enough to know the consequences of what would happen if you go back to Seoul. As much as I hate the guy for his mistake, I have to give him props for his unwavering devotion. But perhaps it is more out of guilt now…”

“Eunji.”

“I'm sorry. You know I have no brain to mouth filter.”

“As always.” Naeun snorted.

“Eunji… his fiancée saw me.”

“The model? Jung Soojung?”

“Hmmm… I'll get on the case.”

“Please don't do something like bribing officials or extortion, please.”

“Well… I can't promise anything. She is engaged to Kai. It might take some force. She's a strong character judging from her magazine interviews and she comes from a rich family herself. The classic love affair like of two rich people.”

“Like me and Myungsoo?” Naeun asked airily.

“Well… You guys definitely got the typical cliché chaebol trope down but I don't think so. Myungsoo won't be inheriting much unless he works hard or if Sunggyu and Woohyun drop dead. You on the other hand… Viason is still doing pretty well. Maybe you can milk it out.”

“Eunji.” She snapped.

“I'm sorry. Told you, I can't really control my mouth.”

“I know.”

They were silent for awhile as Naeun went to clear the dishes. Eunji came next to her and started drying them.

“Hey, I know I'm a terrible speaker and person in general.” She started.

“You're not.” Eunji looked at her, questioning what she had said.

“Not all the time.”

“But I was wondering… Before you tell him. Can I speak with Myungsoo first?”

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hi.. this is iheartmonkeys19's beta reader ^_^

I don't know if she'll ever find out that I put notes here and there in her chapters but oh well. Either way I'll get flicked on my forehead.

Anyway, authornim has been working really hard considering we have spm to face next year. She's always either studying, baking brownies or going out. School's gonna start soon and I'm not exactly sure when she has to return to her boarding school. She has a lot on her plate and I wouldn't say she's in her best emotional state so I beg for everyone's understanding. I just want to avoid anything before it happens.

Unnie is very kind. Though she doesn't seem like it, she does take words to heart. Sometimes words like "please update soon" may seem unharmful but it indirectly puts pressure on her. She pressures herself to bring out her best in her writing when she's clearly stressed af. You can say she's a workaholic in a sense. I hope everyone would take their time to read this though I'm blabbering. Thank you^^