I imagined Kibum falling for Eunji in a short amount of time, but surely never this short.

He made it way too easy in fact, that it gave me a troubled feeling.

Like maybe my mission was more sinister than I could comprehend.

Because here I was, trying to break a man down to his weakest point so that I could have all his assets, while he offered me his heart purely and involuntarily.

I knew from the beginning I was wronging him, but now the thought was becoming too much to bear.

Especially with him sitting in front of me, laughing at all my jokes and grimacing at the bitter taste of his black coffee.

He made a big deal of keeping a smile off of his face, so I knew I had won him over when he couldn’t hide it anymore.

“And that’s when I told him, a defendant can’t plead insanity if his attorney is the same!” Kibum laughed and squeezed his own knee in an attempt to calm himself.

I laughed with him, though it was hard for me to find humor in his lawyer jokes.

“Man, people say lawyers aren’t funny. I think I could do a few stand-ups if I really wanted,” he said seriously.

“Mhmm,” I murmured, sipping my coffee to mask my disagreement.

“So, what about you, do you have any good jokes?” he inquired, picking up his coffee to whir the contents around.

“Oh, uh,” I tried to think on the spot.

“It’s okay if you don’t. Some people just aren’t as funny as others,” he challenged.

I smirked and set my coffee down.

“Well, for your information, I have a ton of jokes. Like, like…why doesn’t the coyote run?”

Kibum raised his brows in anticipation for the rest of the joke.

I couldn’t get it out before I started laughing. He smiled impatiently, waiting for me to catch my breath and spit it out. “Because in the face of death, no one runs in fear.”

I howled so loud, that the baristas and customers all turned their heads towards us. Kibum’s hand flew to my mouth, trying to muffle the sounds of my laughter.

He pressed his index finger on his lips and whispered, “Shhhhh.”

I nodded and suppressed my giggles as his hand lifted from my mouth.

“Sorry,” I said, wiping a tear that had collected in my eye.

“Jesus, you were so loud. And your joke wasn’t even funny. It was scary more than anything.”

I looked at the table ashamedly, wondering why I had decided to tell that joke. Only I understood that joke.

“I-I’m sorry. It’s an inside thing from my childhood.”

“Wow, did your parents hate you?” Kibum joshed, seeming recovered from my heinous joke.

“You could say that yes,” I stated nonchalantly, though I wasn’t exactly lying.

He could sense the sting in my voice, but he gave it a nervous chuckle and dismissed it.

“I guess I should ask more business appropriate questions now,” Kibum smirked.

I shrugged and waited for him to continue.