Chapter 14

"Welcome back, Mr. Kim." The employees greeted Jaejoong, as he stepped off the elevator.

"Good to have you back, Jaejoong." His right-hand man, Changmin, patted his back.

"So, was everything okay while I was gone?" Jaejoong unlocked his office door & beckoned Changmin inside, "Of course. You can trust me to keep everything under control." Changmin assured.

"Where's Sulli today? I didn't see her when I walked in." Jaejoong inquired, about his secretary.

"She's on her maternity leave & your new secretary is supposed to arrive." Changmin looked at his burberry check stamped bracelet watch.

"Right on time!" He exclaimed, & then he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." Jaejoong looked up & saw a young woman in a green short swing dress walk in elegantly. He blinked a few times & rubbed his eyes, "June? Is that you?"

"Oppa!" Ahjoong walked towards her cousin quickly. They embraced lightly & exchanged greetings. Jaejoong suddenly remembered Changmin's presence.

"Let me introduce you two. Shim Changmin, my buddy & the GM of this department. Kim Ahjoong, my cousin & new secretary."

They shook hands & nodded politely. June turned back to Jaejoong, "How have you been? I never got a chance to talk to you at the wedding; you were so busy with the other guests."

"I will let you guys catch up. See you later." Changmin slipped through the door.

"I heard from auntie Eunbyul that you just graduated from Harvard. How did you like it over there?" The cousins took the whole morning to catch up & chat.

Five floors above Jaejoong's, Yuri was greeted by her friends & employees.

"Yuri! We missed you!" The girls squealed, & all ran to hug her.

"How was your honeymoon, Ms. Kwon, or should we say Mrs. Kim?" Her secretary, Krystal asked.

"No, you can still call me Ms. Kwon. I don't really feel like a married woman." Yuri said.

"Okay everyone, let's get back to work now." She pushed the girls out of her office & began to look at the folders piled on her desk.

She was so engrossed in her work that she didn't even realize it was lunch time until her stomach started to growl. Just then, she heard a light knock on her door.

"Come in." She said, without looking up, "How's your first day back?" Jaejoong's handsome face suddenly appeared in front of Yuri's pile of work.

Yuri put down her paper & walked over to Jaejoong, "I missed you already." She said, & hugged him tightly. He kissed the top of her head & her hair, "I missed you too, baby. Come on, let's go for lunch. Aren't you hungry?"

He grabbed her black barbado ziptop hobo purse & pulled her out of the door, "Yes. I'm starving." Yuri's stomach growled again, & she quickened her steps.

"Bye Mr. Kim. Mrs. Kim." The office girls giggled as Yuri & Jaejoong walked into the elevator, hand in hand, "You know what's really funny?" Jaejoong asked, "My secretary is on a maternity leave & her replacement is my cousin, June, the one I told you about. Thank god things will be different." Jaejoong squeezed Yuri's hand adoringly.

"What do you mean by different?" Yuri was curious about his remark. A smile spread across Jaejoong's face, "At least now they won't force me to play tea party with them."

June was a hard worker & quicker learner. It didn't take long for her to adjust to the new office surroundings & adapt to Jaejoong's working habits.

She maintained her professionalism by addressing him as Mr. Kim in the office but knew when to lighten the mood & chat with her cousin when they got off work.

She was very committed & competent & didn't mind staying after hours with Jaejoong in the office to finish long projects. Jaejoong would usually order pizza or fast food to be delivered to the office & they would spend the entire evening working away.

One night, they were forced to stay particularly late. Just as June walked to the washroom, Yuri got off the elevator & stepped into Jaejoong's office.

"So, that's what smells so good." Yuri said, while eyeing the pizza.

"Are you hungry? Do you want some?" Jaejoong looked up from his desk & watched his wife walk towards him.

"I'm hungry but I don't want pizza." She said slyly.

"Then what do you want, sweetie?" Jaejoong pulled her to sit on his lap & lifted her chin upward.

"I want you." Yuri locked her glossy pale pink lips with Jaejoong's hungrily & her hand reached out to loosen his burgundy parquet stripe tie. After a delicious battle between their lips, they finally remembered where they were & broke apart, hoping that their show wasn’t noticed by June.

Too late, June had stood by the doorway & witnessed the scene as she walked back from the bathroom.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything." She said, grinning at the embarrassed couple. She gathered her things quickly & left the couple alone to their own business.

"See you tomorrow, Oppa, Yuri." She called.

As she walked away, June breathed deeply to relieve herself from the awful feeling she felt in the pit of her stomach, the same awful feeling she felt years ago when she saw Jaejoong holding hands with the neighbor's daughter.

*Flashback*

Little June followed her cousin into the garden & hid behind a bush to spy on him. She had been having a crush on him since he rescued her from the school bully.

"Thank you for saving me, Jaejoong Oppa." She had said shyly, "Will you be my protector forever & ever & ever?" She had asked him later on.

"Of course." Jaejoong had answered his little cousin. After patting her head lovingly, he had brought her to her mother & had run off to find his friends.

"I want to marry you when I grow up! Promise me you will treat me more special than you treat other girls!" June had called out, but Jaejoong had been too far away to hear.

She giggled to herself & peeked between the branches to look at Jaejoong. Her expression changed from happiness to shock to anger when she saw Jaejoong grab the hand of another girl.

They walked towards the flower bed & Jaejoong bent down to pick a flower for the girl while still holding her hand. June blinked away the tears that were stinging her big, brown, almond-shaped eyes & walked back to the house.

After several deep breaths, the aching feeling inside disappeared & June rubbed her eyes before stepping into the house.

*End of Flashback*

"He got even more handsome." June murmured to herself.

"Arranged marriage? How much can they possibly love each other?"