Lee Jinki was the proper gentleman, and he didn’t feel comfortable with not being able to pick Eunji up from her home.

He didn’t want her to go through any trouble, but with her insistence, he decided not to pressure her.

He whipped his off-white Beamer in front of the firm’s stone steps and pulled the keys from the car’s ignition.

His hand s inside his suit jacket and retrieved his phone.

He couldn’t wait to phone Eunji.

“Hey Jinki, are you here?”

“Sure am,” he smiled at the sound of her voice.

“Okey dokey. I’ll be right there, I just have to, um, one second.” She hurriedly clicked off the line and Jinki stared at his phone in puzzlement.

He knew today had had Eunji rattled, but surely not to this extent.

A complete stranger having to be dragged out of the firm shouldn’t have been a big a deal as it seemed to be for her.

He guessed, perhaps, that she hadn’t experienced something like that before.

But what about her combat training?

Jinki waved off his suspicions and glanced down at his crystal encrusted Rolex.

19:48 pm.

A little behind schedule.

Before he could release his impatient sigh, the door of the passenger’s side swung open and Eunji slid into the seat.

“Oh, w-what? I would’ve opened the door. I didn’t even see you,” Jinki frowned.

“Jinki, it’s okay. I know how to open the door dear.”

She laughed half-heartedly and buckled her seat belt.

Jinki’s face still looked sour, but he put his feelings to rest at the sight of Eunji’s flooring smile.

Jinki turned to put the key in the ignition, but his eyes fell on the case clutched to Eunji’s chest.

“What do you have there?” he asked, revving the engine and pulling away from the firm’s curb.

He could see from his peripheral the nervous glance Eunji casted at the case.

She tapped her fingers along the sides and smiled.

“It’s some files Kibum wanted me to organize. That’s why I had to stop by the office,” she answered, taking the case and swinging it over the middle console into the backseat. “You don’t mind if I set this here, right?”

He shook his head but remained silent.

Something about Eunji seemed off to him.

Did that man bother her that much?

“So, what’s on the menu for tonight, chef?”

Jinki smiled.

“Well, I wanted to do something untraditional. Have you ever had shrimp parmesan pasta? I found a nice recipe for it. It was hard to get all the ingredients on such short notice, but I will work hard with what I have.”

“Ah, I’m looking forward to it. I’ve had similar back with my parents in England.”

“What was that like? Life in England I mean? I’ve only been to America twice back in my career’s prime, but that’s the extent of my travels. Your life though, it sounds most intriguing.”

He glanced at her for a moment, but she was staring out of the window longingly.

It wasn’t the face of trying to form thoughts, but more so the face of trying to remember something buried deeply.

“It-it isn’t as extravagant as you think. It was a very miserable existence.”

Jinki’s eyebrows raised at her confession, but he didn’t dare ask another question. He felt the pain in Eunji’s voice and decided not to pry.

“I don’t mean to discourage you. In fact, you should travel and form your own opinions. This is me speaking from personal record.”

Jinki nodded and patted Eunji’s knee.

She grabbed his hand and held onto it for the remainder of the car ride.

He sighed coolly and didn’t say another word. They just rode, hand in hand, together in silence.

♦Part Two♦

“You’re cheating! There’s no way you got the Ice Cream Queen’s Palace on the third pull! No way in hell!” Eunji walked around Jinki’s dining room table and examined the Candy Land game board from all angles. “You’re holding cards, you have to be!”

Jinki released a hearty laugh