Sandara's eyes flutter open to the sight of Seung hyun's slightly open mouth. His breath tickling her skin while he gives off intermittent soft snores. It wasn't at all weird to the girl, the haze of sleep not completely lifting, but being in Seung hyun's arms was as natural as mornings. It wasn't a regular occurrence, but it wasn't a once in a blue moon occurrence either. No alarm bells went off, even if his hand was straying on her thigh, even if her shirt hitched up, revealing her the outline of her rather unseductive white bunny-printed . It felt natural, even with that brief struggle to get out of bed because he had some of her hair pinned under him. Even that childish retaliation of sticking her pinky up one of his nostrils.

She was grinning when he finally rolled to his side and set her hair free. Finally succeeding in freedom she slowly let herself out of her drawn out sofa-bed. She looks back at the man curled under her throws, barely fitting in the small makeshift and temporary sleeping device his black socks peaking out of the sheets, his coat jacket on the floor. But no matter the look of discomfort he stayed out of her room, that was something consistent with Seung hyun. For all the times that he had slept over, he never once set foot in her room. Dara first thought that was kind of ridiculous because when she had lived with her family, he would just barge in her room without even the slightest hint of conscience. Like it was his room to go to, his space to occupy. But when she had moved out and lived alone, Seung hyun had deemed her room off limits which she found slightly weird but then again, there was nothing in her room but clothes and her bed. Maybe there was sense to Seung hyun after all. She juts her lower lip in this strange contemplation as she heads for the kitchen. Her footsteps muffled by her carpet to a dull thud. In the background, Seung hyun's snores that made her want to just crawl back under her sheets and join him in lala land.

But her head and body functions in habit. She thinks even when she does not want to, she makes coffee within the first moments of her consciousness in the morning. So she took out a filter from the cupboard and filled it with grounds and set her coffee maker to brew. The familiar gurgling of her old machine and the scent of caffeine fills the room, in a wondorous serenity of mornings that made Dara sigh, tiptoeing to reach for two mugs, cradling them in her arms like her mind cradles the idea of Seung hyun the secret gentleman being exclusively for her. Her eyes stray to the roses he stuck on a vase haphazardly and set it on her kitchen counter. She smiles, this Seung hyun... the strangely sweet boy was exclusively for her. Because they were best friends, because they did not deal with the nonsense like or romantic affilition. She sets her mugs on the table, that was when she sees her coffee maker's digital clock that marked the time five minutes before seven which meant she only had thirty five minutes to get ready for work. Serenity shatters with the loud thuds of her footsteps as she launches herself to the bathroom.

---
Seung hyun wakes up to the squeal of loud protest from Sandara's shower as she viciously turns the knob closed. He groans in his own protestt to consciousness. But then his annoyance is doused with the strange delicious scent of coffee and the floral of her shampoo. Dara steps out of the bathroom with only a haphazardly wrapped towel on held up with both hands, hair dripping wet, skin beaded with droplets of water. He gives her a brief scan, his eyes taking a mental note of her skinny shoulders and how her shoulder blades that looked too prominent on her back. He purses his mouth in disapproval. Sandara had been growing even skinnier lately.

Then he watches her rush to her room, not even bothering to close the door behind her. He could hear muffle scrambling and then the loud labour of her hair dryer. In about ten minutes, she emerges from the room still half undone, her hair relatively damp, her skirt askew and her top still ed. He could see her lace powder blue bra peaking out just on middle of her chest.

"Aigo." He says just as she reaches the kitchen counter and makes herself a cup of coffee. She pours skim milk on top of the concoction before she takes a generous sip, "are you trying to seduce me? Rain check please, it's too early." He covers his eyes playfully.

She raises a brow at him and he points at her chest. And she casually buttons herself up without even giving a hint of annoyance.

Then he just watches her head back to her room with her mug in tow and in the next moment she was perfect. From her pristine locks settling neatly on her shoulders to her gleaming black stilletoed toes. He in passingly thought, she could be the poster girl of elegant office attires... the ones you see on display in department stores, and Seung hyun thinks, with his mouth jutted to the side in contemplation, that if you're into some weird office girl then Sandara would be just the girl for you.

"Go home." She tells him while she gathers things from her work table.

"No. I like it here. Your house is so nice and pretentiously clean. And it smells nice here too." He cuddles one of her throw pillows.

She rolls her eyes, "Just remember tonight, okay? Don't be late. You promised."

And she stuffs her things in her small leather bag and tries to make for the door.

"Where are you going?" Seung hyun asks while he pushes himself up and hurls the pillow in her way, "Eat breakfast!"

She narrows her eyes at him and picks up the pillow and throws it back, "I have no time."

"How can you have no time? It's early! And besides you're the boss how can you be late? Any thinner than you are right now, and I'm afraid you'd disappear on me."

She grimaces. "Don't be ridiculous, Seung hyun."

"If you don't eat, I can't promise I won't be late."

She gives a small jolt of surprise and worry creaped uneasily in her chest. It was just Seung hyun was notorious for taking his time, "You can't do that!" She exclaims, a little flustered, a little nervous. She needed him there. He knew she needed him.

"You mean be late... You should ask Dae about how I can be late... all the time." He raises his brow at her, "So just eat."

She slams her bag on the work table and stomps her way back to the kitchen. She grabs a bowl and pours herself cereal and then tops it with the same skim milk in her coffee. She takes a spoon and stuffs . And rebelliously spoke with full, "are you happy now?"

"No, finish it. You know why you're so unhappy? Because you hate cereals but you like to think you're a health nut when what you actually want for breakfast is greasy bacon and eggs. Sometimes, you think more about how you look. You're even busy trying to impress yourself."

She stays quiet and just works on finishing her cereals even after three mouthfuls, her taste buds ascent to Seung hyun's claim. It's just... this high fibre corn flakes tasted like cardboard! She finishes her bowl half because she wanted to prove him wrong, half because after fighting her gag reflex, she realizes she was actually hungry. So when she sets her bowl down in the sink and washes it, there was still a bit of anger in her, from being told over and over that everything about her was pretense, and how this boy knew way too much for her to feel at happy about appearing healthy and all of those little nonsense that made her feel good about herself. But then Seung hyun comes up to her and pats her head. His eyes that had always been regarded as scary looked comforting and kind...

"There's a good Tokki." And he gives her a light kiss on the cheek. She tries to glare at him but found no heart to, he was just wearing this boyish smile that looked like he was really pleased that she ate. So she swatted his chest to just mollify her annoyance and then gives him a small kiss just at the corner of his lip then rushes for the door.

She looks behind him before she leaves and tells him, "Don't be late tonight okay?"

And he gives her a nod. "I promise." He says.

---

Her work went without a hitch. There short meetings with her clientele who mostly agreed with what she had in mind about concept and visuals and the choice of modes of communication. Sandara was a PR consultant dipping her toes in broad fields, she mostly dealt with celebrities but lately smaller companies had sought out her expertise. Sandara had that eye for how to please an audience, and in turn drive the consumer count up. It was something she had a talent on even at a young age. It wasn't just appearances, it was in the message one carries through actions, and having enough of the audience attention to receive said message. So this was what she was thinking of, when lunch hour came. In a few hours, she had thought to herself, she would tell her family and friends of what Seung hyun and her have decided. That was their message. And her eye for the audience tells her this won't be received well. She feels her hand go cold, and grow dry, and she sighs loudly enough for Bom who had just entered office to hear.

"If you're so distressed about it, you shouldn't do it."

Sandara looks up to the girl and gave off another sigh. She thinks the having a