The sound of the stilettos where the only thing heard through the hallways of the company. The place was slowly getting empty as the people started to go home. Chaerin had wanted to work on a few things while she had the chance, so she decided to stop by the building. Kikwang had insisted on taking her back to the building, and thinking about the incident that day, she agreed without much fight. As she neared the studio, she heard noised coming out of it. Narrowing her eyes, she opened the door slowly, entering with caution as she looked around.

The studio was full of people practicing and laughing as Chaerin walked in. She looked down as she took her glasses off, smiling as everyone stopped playing around. “Good evening!” Seungri said as he stood in front of her. Chaerin smiled and nodded.

“Hello.” She said. Seungri smiled again and moved aside. She cleared silently and walked towards an empty chair next to the computer system where Youngbae was working. She took out her notebook shyly and put it on the table, then took a pencil from Jiyong’s stack and held it on her hand, looking at the white pages.

“Long day huh?” Youngbae muttered and Chaerin nodded, her hands on the table.

“You have no idea…” She muttered as she looked at the page she had written at her home. They were scribbles of her feeling, of being broken, of being alone and empty. She saw by the corner of her eye how Youngbae rested his back on the chair as he looked at the monitor.

“I think I have one.” He said. Chaerin smiled and nodded, now looking at the monitor. She noticed he was writing lyrics on it.

“You write?” She asked and he nodded.

“I try.” He said and she smiled while reading what he had written.

“I say you’re good.” She said and he smiled, now looking at her.

“I’ve heard you’re also good.” He said and she smiled while shrugging.

“Well, I can’t really say.” She said. She noticed Youngbae watching her notebook.

“Can I be the judge of that?” He asked as he extended his hand towards her notebook. As a reflex, she moved it aside, avoiding him taking it.

“It’s personal.” She said and Youngbae nodded, retreating his hand.

“My apologies.” He said and she nodded quickly. He opened his mouth to say something else, but shut it as he turned to look at the door. Chaerin narrowed her eyes, and when she was about to look, the door slapped open and Jiyong stormed in. “Oh my.”

“What is it?” Chaerin muttered and Youngbae shrugged at her.

“He’s in a bad mood.” He said and stood up. Jiyong stopped next to him, and Chaerin saw him glaring before looking at her.

“Chaerin, care to follow me somewhere?” Jiyong said, almost biting his own teeth. Chaerin looked at Youngbae, who looked to the side as Jiyong continued to look at her. In a haste, she held her notebook and stood up, nodding at him.

“S-Sure.” She said and he nodded, then looked at Youngbae again, who looked at him with intense eyes. Jiyong nodded quickly and walked out of the studio, Chaerin following him quickly. She took another glance back and saw Youngbae looking down, still resting his back on the desk. Chaerin quickly got to Jiyong’s side, trying to match his long strides as he got up the stairs until he reached the last floor.

“Hey!” She said, now taking jumps on the stairs as she tried to reach him. He continued to walk in long strides as he reached a set of steel doors. She stopped abruptly as he started to unlock them. For a moment, she feared following him there, until he opened the doors. gapped open as he walked in. Slowly, she followed him, still looking at the place.

It was a garden in the terrace at the top of the building. The floor was made of wood, and there were benches around the place. It looked like a zen garden, a bamboo making soothing sounds as water ran through it, a little bridge on top of a pond with koi fish and lights. The night had set in, and the place looked majestic and mystic in the night. “I come here when I can’t take my mind.” He muttered, now standing next to her, gazing at the garden and at the city. She nodded with open, looking all around her.

“I wish I knew about this place before…” She said. Jiyong chuckled and walked towards a gazebo that had a set of chairs and tables inside. Chaerin followed him as he stopped in front of a mini bar next to the gazebo and took out two glasses, filling them with whisky.

“We keep it a secret.” Jiyong said as he handed her the drink. Chaerin smelled it and scrunched her face, but still sipped it. started to burn as the liquor got down. She scrunched her face again and set the cup down on the table as she sat down.

“Nice secret.” She said, still fighting with the sour taste of the whisky.

“But is worth it, isn’t it?” He said, now gazing at the garden again. Chaerin looked around and nodded, taking another sip of the drink.

“It is…” She said. “Why show me now?” Jiyong looked at her and smiled, then shrugged.

“I feel like I can trust you.” He said. She remembered the other night again, and her back felt a volt running up until it reached her head and exploded through her body in a wave of goosebumps.

“I take that as a compliment.” She said and lifted her glass, then drank the remaining in one shot. Her eyes felt watery as the liquor got down, but at the same time, it made her feel good.

“You should.” He told her and sat next to her on the table. His long legs looked weird as he sat comfortable, with them open and his elbow on the armchair, holding the glass with only two fingers. “Sometimes, Chaerin, I just want to forget about everything and simply start anew, set off somewhere no one knows me and simply forget about all of this.”

“Well, this is a pretty impressive place, you shouldn’t forget about it.” She said and he chuckled, taking another sip.

“If only you knew, this isn’t as pretty as it looks.” He said and lifted the glass, still holding it between two fingers.

“Everything has an ugly side Jiyong, it’s stupid to think everything must look pretty.”

“I would bet you don’t have an ugly side, you’re too beautiful to have one.” He bluntly told her. Chaerin opened to say something, but his words sank in, and she suddenly felt in front of him. Looking down and moving an imaginary strand behind her ear, she felt her face turning hot.

“I am not as beautiful as I seem. It would be stupid to think I don’t have an ugly side.” She said. Jiyong chuckled and finally looked at her.

“Are you hungry?” He asked out of nowhere. Chaerin looked at him with wide eyes and gulped.

“What?”

“Hungry? Would you like to eat?” He said. “I did told you I would take you to diner.”

“Yes, but, now? Where could we eat? It must be hard to find a place.” She said and he chuckled.

“Chaerin, I’m THE Kwon Jiyong, there’s nothing hard for me to find.” He said and straightened on his chair. “So, what do you say, would you come with me?”

“Sure.” She quickly nodded and he smiled, setting the glass down and standing up.

“Then let’s go.”

The restaurant was packed, as Chaerin had predicted, but Jiyong managed to find them a nice spot in a private area. As Jiyong said, they always leave a few tables empty, in case any celebrity might drop by. She gazed at the place with amazement, it was beautiful and elegant. Every table had a hanging candelabra made of crystal, the walls were painted in beige and the tablecloths were white, with all the decorations in shades of blue and green.

Like a gentlemen would do, Jiyong escorted Chaerin towards their table, extending his hand towards her. With a soft chuckle, she held onto his arm as he led her towards the table. The small area had the same decoration as the entire restaurant, with the difference that this one had a few plants around the table, almost hiding it. Jiyong pulled a chair and gestured Chaerin to sit in. She did, blushing madly as Jiyong handed her a napkin. “So, what do you think of this place?” He asked her as he sat down in front of her.

Gasping, she looked around with a smile as she put a strand of lose hair behind her ear, a habit she had whenever she felt embarrassed. “I think this is amazing.”

“I am glad.” Jiyong said and took the menu, handing her one. “The food I highly recommend it, it’s hard to eat just a small portion.”

“I hope they won’t give me a small portion, I eat like a mad woman.” She said and Jiyong chuckled. Something about his mood had totally changed on their way there. He seemed brighter, energetic, like his usual self, whenever he wasn’t at the studio or holding his phone.

“I usually ask for loads of meat, so, I don’t see why change that now.”

“Meat! That’s awesome!” She said clapping her hands, earning a sincere smile from Jiyong. She noticed he stiffened in his chair as he cleared his throat and called for the waiter. She came not long after, and he ordered their food quickly.

“So tell me, how do you find your new job?” He asked as he set the menu aside. Chaerin, who was drinking a bit of water, coughed slightly and smiled, spilling a bit of water on her lap. She quickly held the napkin and cleaned it as much as she could.

“Ask me that when I get my first paycheck.” She said and Jiyong smiled, searching something in his jacket. She looked at him with curious eyes as he took out a piece of paper and a handed it to her.

“Now, can you tell me?” He said as she took the paper. It was a check, payment for the lyrics. Her eyes widened at the amount of money given.

“Six hundred dollars? For those lyrics? Are you guys insane?!” She said, still eyeing the check. Jiyong nodded as he laughed at her outburst.

“What did you think eh? I told you it was a good job.”

“But how much did you pay me for each lyric? This is too much.” She said, clearly not believing her eyes. Jiyong smiled and put his elbows on the table, bending towards her.

“So, would you like to give it back?” He said and she widened her eyes, quickly shaking her head no as she put the check in her wallet.

“No, I did racked my brain for those songs.” She said and he laughed. “This is an amazing job.”

“I told you so.” He said and rested his back on the chair. Chaerin rolled her eyes and smiled, shaking her head no as she still counted in her mind how much money she had in her wallet.

Just about 5 minutes after, the food arrived at their table, and Chaerin’s eyes lit up as she saw the quantity of food served. Jiyong was smiling at her as she took out her chopsticks and started tasting the food. Moans escaped as the meat danced with her saliva through , until she swallowed it. “Oh my God.” She muttered with a hand over .

“It’s just meat.” Jiyong shrugged as he grabbed a piece himself.

“I am not sure if it’s the meat or the hunger, but this is incredibly tasty.” She said. Jiyong nodded lifting his chopsticks.

“Eat well then!” He said, and both of them just ate in silence. Chaerin would moan every now and then, the food feeling incredibly good down . It was so good, she pushed all her insecurities at the back of her minds, every image she had pictured of Jiyong the night before completely forgotten as the food took place in her stomach, feeling her completely. At least with that, she could feel whole again, even if it was food. But maybe it was the company that made her full. The constant smiles, the little laughter and the sweet glances. All of it made her full in different ways, different forms of filling and empty, dark hole inside.

Chewing the last piece of meat, Chaerin looked at Jiyong with a frown as he cleaned his mouth. “What’s wrong?” He asked and she just pouted when she finally swallowed the glorious piece of meat.

“It’s over.” She muttered and Jiyong nodded smiling.

“I can always take you back here.” He said and threw the napkin on the table, then grabbed his cup of water while standing up. “Now, let’s have some fun.”

“Fun? What’s your definition of fun, Mr.?” She said as she cleaned . Jiyong chuckled a bit and lifted the now empty cup in the air.

“Dancing and drinking the night away!” He said as if he was making a toast. Chaerin burst out laughing and looked around, checking if anyone was looking at them.

“We can’t do that! We have to work!” She said and he raised an eyebrow at her, extending his hand.

“We can ditch work, I’m practically your boss, I say we take the night off and dance a bit.” He said. Chaerin chuckled and looked at him.

“Clearly the wine has taken a bit of an effect on you.” She said and Jiyong wriggled his eyebrows.

“I can hold my alcohol pretty well, but if you’re comfortable thinking that, then be my guest.”

“Of course not! You’re driving!” She said as she stood up. Jiyong wriggled his eyebrows again and gave her a crooked smile.

“So you’re saying yes?” He said and she rolled her eyes smiling.

“Yes, let’s go.” She said and took her bag. Jiyong took out his wallet and left some money on the table and walked out. Chaerin looked at the stack of money, without counting, she could tell it was a lot of money. “Hey, that’s too much.”

“Tip.” He simply said as they walked out.

“So much?”

“You know those waitress actually live of those tips, right?” Jiyong said and Chaerin pouted. She knew about that, she had been a waitress, but she also knew some places took the tips for their own, not giving them anything. She continued to look at Jiyong as they walked out, that side of him charming her in different ways one could imagine. She would have thought he was the type of guy who would complain about leaving money around the place, but he came out to be completely the opposite, which, she thought, was the best thing she had seen of him yet.

But she had seen his eyes that night, she had not missed the misery in them, the hollow deep color inside of his irises. She had seen it before, but that night, it was more prominent, so deep no smile could surface it, and she wondered, that night, what had happened to him to make him feel so empty, so broken?

Gily's Notes: I think I am DONE with updating.... You guys won't even tell me if you like this or not :(

I will go and sulk in my bed until you guys tell me how I'm doing! TALK TO ME PEOPLE! I feel negleted!!! 

Happy Reading, not so happy writer! :'(

Gily ♥