Kim Woo Bin and I left Singapore first thing in the morning, riding first class. When we arrived in Incheon, Eric was already there, waiting for me in the lounge. There was a look of astonishment when he spotted Woo Bin oppa walking beside me.

"I didn't know you have company," Eric said, his voice skeptical. Then he greeted Woo Bin oppa with a handshake and the latter flashed a friendly smile. Still he hasn't forgotten his manners.

"We accidentally bumped into each other in Singapore." I shrugged.

"Singapore? I thought you were in Paris. And where's Kris? Didn't you two go toge--"

"Eric, I'll tell you my travel adventures later. Let's go, I'm tired," I said, interrupting him. I turned to Kim Woo Bin and offered him a ride. "Do you want to tag along?"

"Thanks for the thought but my manager will be here shortly to fetch me."

"Okay, arasseo," I shrugged and bade him goodbye.

On the car ride to the apartment, Eric grilled me with questions, worse than my own mother's interrogation. I filled him on my tragic vacation and he listened intently. When I finished telling him about what happened in Guangzhou, his face hardened and he asked if Kris contacted me yet. I said yes though it's a half lie because I know he meant if the two of us already talked. I moved on to my Singapore story and by the end of it, he looked disturbed.

"Sam, you do know that one of these days the names Samantha Kim and Kim Woo Bin will probably hit the headlines, right?" he said, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles gone white.

"Yes, we do know that," I replied. "Don't worry. It's not like we are on the 'fake relationship' era again."

"Samantha, people nowadays are big on happy endings so, no matter how many times we tell them that what you and Woo Bin have is just a platonic love, they will find loopholes to push you back together again and before you know it, you are back in that 'fake relationship' era you're saying."

"That won't happen," I assured him. "Besides, if they want their happy endings, let them fantasize about it. Anyway, people believe what they want to believe." I shrugged, letting Eric know that I couldn't care less.

"You know what's the bigger problem here? Even if we manage to convince people that you and Kim Woo Bin are just good friends, they will talk about the fact that you were alone with him in Singapore, not to mention that you stayed on the same hotel. That will surely dent your reputation. They will talk and people, netizens to be specific, are ruthless in giving out their opinions and those opinions will ruin your image," he explained, then added in a lower voice. "Might as well say that you are back together."

"Who gives a damn about my reputation?" I murmured.

He turned sharply to me and said my name in a very harsh manner. He stepped on the brake abruptly and I was thrown off my seat. Thanks to my seatbelt for stopping my face from being smashed to the dashboard.

"How can you say that? This is you we're talking about! Have you ever thought about what your parents might think if this comes to their attention?!" he berated at me.

Eric's right. I hadn't brought into consideration what my parents say on the matter but I wasn't about to add another problem to my already messed up mind. I made a mental note to deal with it later.

I took a deep breath and since I couldn't take Eric's lecturing, I faced him and said, "I have a lot going on right now, Eric. My relationship is on the brink of shattering and I keep thinking on ways how to resolve it but there is nothing I can come up with. The last thing I can think about right now is what people might think about me." I paused when I felt my voice cracking. "Can you stop being my manager for a second and just be my bestfriend?" Then I broke down. All those tears I was holding back in front of Shin and Woo Bin oppa flowed freely on my cheeks.

Knowing he had done me wrong, Eric drew a sharp breath and said, "I'm sorry. It's just...I got carried away." He removed our seatbelts and whispered, "Come here." He hugged me tightly, letting me spill tears and snot on his designer t-shirt.

I cried to my heart's content and let every worry in my brain crumble down on me. With Eric, I didn't feel the need to pretend to be strong because I know he'll never judge me for showing him my weakness. Because he's Eric.

After an hour, I decided I've cried enough so I told Eric to bring me home so that I can sleep. He adhered to my request and drove to Sangji in silence.

When I arrived in my unit, I took a shower to wash off my puffed up face fresh from crying. My hair was still wet but I didn't bother to blow dry it and I just went directly to bed. I fell asleep seconds after I laid down. I was out for ten hours and I would have probably slept for another hour if not for the doorbell ringing fervently. I got up lazily, fee