Min Ho froze in place and immediately he let his arms fall limp to his side. He bit his lip and tried to send a message to Shin Hye begging her to find an excuse for them. Yet, she should be surprised, he didn't want her to get in trouble with her family for letting a man into her apartment. "I bumped into Ha Neul a few days ago." He lied. "I asked him about Shin Hye and we set the whole thing up. I'm sorry if I intruded. I didn't mean to make anyone discomfortable."

Shin Hye let out a nervous laugh. "It's really good to see you again. Since you're already here, stay for lunch."

"No, it's okay. It's supposed to be family time." Min Ho rubbed his nape. It hurt that she completely denied the fact that they had seen each other again.

"Are you kidding?! You're practically part of the family." Shin Won punched him on the arm jokingly. "Stay! We brought take out. We can catch up on everything. Then you could maybe grill some meat for me."

Min Ho laughed. Even though they were the same age, Shin Won treated him like a slave.

"Oppa, that really isn't necessary. Min Ho must be really busy. Maybe we can catch up some other time." Shin Hye gritted her teeth.  She changed her mind. She had the gut feeling that her brother would say something about Soo Hyun. Min Ho got really jealous when she mentioned his name, it will be a total give away that they have seen each other. 

"I want to stay." Min Ho complained. He looked at Shin Won for back up.

"I'm your older brother." He pulled Min Ho with him to the dining room. He set the table and sat down. 

Shin Hye frowned before taking a seat besides Min Ho. His knee leaned in to touch hers and she felt this tingling from the top of her head to her toes. She let her hair fall down to cover her face and ate quietly.

Shin Won ignored Shin Hye. She had been in a pensive state since she came home, he thought that she was in no mood to have a discussion. He faced Min Ho. "What do you work as?"

"I'm a business man. I barely get to see anybody, it has me constantly traveling city to city."

"What industry? Why didn't you major in anything related to sports? You really enjoyed being an athlete. You also have the looks to be an idol or may be an actor." He rubbed his chin.

"I'm in the fashion industry. And I don't like to draw attention so I decided that I didn't want to be either of those things. I mean, sports would be something like a hobby, but once you aren't as young or as fast as you used to be, you get replaced." He picked at his food.

"Shin Hye is in the fashion industry. You guys never saw each other? Not even in a passing glance?" He asked suspiciously.

Min Ho grabbed his cup of water and gulfed it all down trying to come up with an excuse. He looked at Shin Hye from the corner of his eyes. She just sat there quietly eating. "Like I told you, I travel often, so I don't really have time to pay attention to others surrounding me. Also, there is so many different types of brand that it is impossible to see a person more than once. I don't remember ever seeing her or ever approaching her." SInce his knee was touching hers, he felt when her body tensed.

"How are your parents? Where do they live now? Why did you disappear all of the sudden?"

"My parents are well, they opened up their own restaurant in the countryside. I didn't disappear I just moved."

"But you guys were best friends, how did you lose contact so easily?" He questioned.

"Well, we each had a lot on our plates. Shin Hye was focusing on her volunteer work and I was stressing over college applications. We didn't have time to keep in touch."

"Min Ho, do you have a girlfriend?"

Shin Hye's chopsticks fell to the floor. "Oppa, you shouldn't be asking personal questions. Why don't you go? Mom keeps on calling you."

He realized that what she said was true so he excused himself for a moment.

When he was out of sight Shin Hye picked them up and then leaned in to whisper. "Are you insane? Why did you come to my apartment? Now he's going to tell my mother and she's going to be suspicious."

"You wouldn't answer my calls, no matter what I texted you, you would just read it and ignore it. I was sick and tired of it so I quickly patched things up over there and I came here. Do you think I meant for any of this to happen? But maybe it's a sign of fate. You obviously don't want our relationship to be known by our families, maybe I wasn't that important after all." He faced the ground. 

Shin Hye wanted to turn him towards her and cup his jaw. Even if he didn't look at her in the eyes, she knew he was hurt. "Oppa, look at me."

That arose him from his thoughts. 

"I am not scared of telling everyone but I'm not the one who is going to get hurt, it's you. You don't realize that I had made a life even without you here. My mother has expectations on who I should date, and I'm not ready to break it to her, the fact that it's not him but it's you." She grabbed his hand and made sure that her brother wasn't coming.

He didn't hold her hand back. "Is this guy, is he Soo Hyun?" He didn't need to be a genius to figure out that her parents had someone like Soo Hyun on their mind. Was he someone close enough? Could he reach her parent's expectations? Her mom wasn't the problem but her dad wasn't too fond of him. However, who would be when he stayed too close to her.

"You can't compare yourself to him. You would never harm me the way he did today." She let go of his hand. "Besides, I bet Eun Hye is a great girl and if your mother had met her, she would've forgotten all about me."

"I really really hate myself for breaking myself. I believed that my feelings were a danger so I oppressed them, now that they're back. I'm scared, scared that I will hurt you. Frightened that I would scare you off." He ran a hand through his hair.

Shin Hye didn't care if her brother saw them. She grabbed Min Ho by the collar and crushed her lips to his. She wanted to say sorry for putting him through such a mental struggle. She ran a tongue over his bottom lip and he gasped at her eager innitiative, she pulled him closer to the point that she almost sat on his lap.

Min Ho groaned as he pulled her away.  He hated his body for not betraying his mind. He ran a thumb over her now swollen lips. "Later, when he's not here. I don't want you to get in trouble." Even if he wanted to be mad, he had to admit that she did a good job of losing him. 

Shin Hye jumped out of Min Ho's lap when she heard her brother coming. She let out a laugh and motioned Min Ho to do the same.

"I just don't understand some people." Her brother ranted. "Shin Hye is there a possibility that you could bake a cake for omma's party."

"I'm really busy, if I don't work I will get fired."

Min Ho's lips turned upwards. He wanted to laugh, she knew that he would never fire her. "If you don't mind I could help."

"You must be busy."

"But it's all for a good thing. It's your mother's party." Min Ho pleaded, it could be a chance to spend time with Shin Hye openly without it being suspicious. 

"Okay but in return you have to answer a question."

"Deal." Min Ho extended his hand.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No, but why do you want to know so badly?" Min Ho's brows drew together.

"Nothing." He smiled at Shin Hye. "I got to go, make yourself at home." He laughed.

"Yah! This is my house. Tell mom to come by anytime she's free. I'm sorry for not having much brother-sister time."

"It's okay, I understand. You guys have catching up to do." Shin Hye's forehead creased when she saw his little smirk. "You guys missed each other so much."

Shin Hye waited until the door clicked before throwing herself on  Min  Ho once again. "Do you want to go to the room?"

He laughed. "Don't tempt me, one day it might come true." His head leaned on hers. "I missed you. I am sorry for not coming back with you. I did what you told me, I didn't smile in any of her pictures."

Shin Hye pouted. "But you still looked so handsome. I didn't like the agony of not knowing what you did at the exact moment."

"I ended things with her, I mean I set everything straight. She can't interfere anymore. On a more serious topic, why did Soo Hyun treat you like that? I wanted to chop his hands off for gripping you tightly. I hate the way he looks at you." His arms s around her waist.

She closed her eyes, scared that he will see how sad she felt over breaking Soo Hyun's heart. "Oppa, you should try to put yourself in his position. He is heartbroken and desperate. I mean, it must've of pinched your heart a little when you told Eun Hye that it was over." She opened her eyes when she felt his body tense. She cradled his jaw once more. 

Min Ho sighed and looked away. "Now I have to worry about another guy's feelings. He knew that I wasn't giving up. He lost."

Shin Hye stood up immediately. "I'm some kind of prize? Was it a bet to see who wins?!"

He reached out for her but she took a step backwards. 

"I want to be alone. I think you should go. I'll call you when I'm ready to talk."

He ran a hand through his hand. "As you wish." He leaned in to kiss her but she turned her head away. He gave her a kiss on her cheek. "Call me when you're ready. If you ignore me, I'll follow you around in the office."

********

Shin Hye reported to work. Her heart ached. Even if it wasn't true, the mere fact that words like that could come out of his mouth stung her heart. She needed a break from everything but if she does, it will leave everyone wondering why she was acting strange. 

Min Ho stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her walking mindlessly down the hallway. He hated himself for being such a jerk. He warned her that he will follow her around. He needed a topic to approach her. "Her mother's party." He exclaimed, giddy. He whistled as he approached her but Shin Hye walked by, like she hadn't seen him. Min Ho pinched himself. "I'm alive." 

He had to wait until the meeting to see her, he pouted. She had to act like he was some invisible being. He clenched his fist when he heard her laughing. When he turned around he saw her smacking Lee Min Ki. He scrunched his nose and shot daggers with his eyes. If she wanted to play that card, he will do just that. 

He entered the conference room and sat on the chair. He impatiently tapped the desk. He slammed his fist on the desk. "Yah! At what time does this start?" His words were like magic, designers were filling up the room. He relaxed when he saw Shin Hye enter the door. 

She took a seat on the opposite side of the table. She wanted to be as far from him as she could get. She didn't dare meet his eyes, she knew he was staring right at her.

"Let's begin." A man stood at the podium as he talked about the stocks. Min Ho nodded his head mindlessly. When he was asked a question, he faced everyone alarmed. 

"Sorry, can you repeat that?"

"As you know, the next show is within the range of two to three months. We were in the process of selecting models, but everything was stopped when our prices dropped."

Min Ho's expression seemed to dim. "Drop? Why would they drop? We had just presented a new line about two weeks ago."

"People didn't think that the colors in this season were captivating."

He laughed. "You deny clothes because of their color. I understand that most of the clothes were white, but I was trying to represent something." He paused. He stood up and paced around the room. "You see what Soo Hyang is wearing, is kind of attractive. The color red produces very seductive vibes. However not everyone looks good in red. Tthe color white is a color that represents the youth in everyone. It is innocent and it's peaceful when looking at it. For women who aren't comfortable with their weight, the dresses we made were loose. Now, do you see a problem? I think the problem is the marketing team." His voice raised slightly. "Should I fire them all?!" He glared at the marketing director, Min Ki. "Lee Min Ki, what have you been doing to promote my clothing? Recently, all I see from you is your attempt at flirting with our female employees."

Shin Hye knew Min Ho was worried. However, she never thought he will be so harsh. She suddenly felt anger rushing through her veins, since he had seen the scene between them in the morning, he was acting like a jealous freak. She felt jealous at the moment too, he had called Soo Hyang attractive, why her? She cleared . A dozen heads turning her way. "In my perspective, I think the problem is the budget. As I've seen this company grow. It has never put time into ads, it's all just billboards. But maybe we should try comercials."

Soo Hyang bit her lip at Shin Hye's sudden rashness, she had just stepped into a dangerous zone. 

"Ms. Park, is the money that I give you not enough?" He gritted his teeth. "With technology becoming such a popular thing, do you think people turn on the T.V.? Except for the ahjumas no one is interested to see what dramas are on." He stopped next to her. He leaned in slamming his hands against the desk. "That way won't give us so much profit."

Shin Hye felt nervous. He had never sounded so dangerous before, it sent shivers down her spine. "Maybe if we offer discounts, it will attract people to the store. I mean, only holidays. Also, we can do ads on popular social medias. Medias like sns, weibo, facebook, instagram, and youtube."

"Should I make you the marketing director instead?" His voice softened. 

She shook her head. "I just think that the point of this meeting is to share our ideas."

He nodded. "Fine, let's do it then. Let's see if we increase our sales. Remember slogans have to attract teens. Teens love spending money, might as well spend it on our clothes."

"Shouldn't we just hire an advertising company? I heard they help with promotion." Min Ki spoke.

Min Ho laughed. "That's why I hired you. Then what's the point of having useless fools like you." He sat down. "Let's talk about the next point. What is our concept for the next show?"

Soo Hyang sat up in her seat and passed out copies of her work. "My concept is y."

"What a surprise?" Min Ho said not at all interested. 

Soo Hyang rolled her eyes. "Seriously, I think this what we need."

Min Ho raised his brows and smirk, "You're saying we need to teach young girls how to dress like ."

Everybody was taken back with his language. There were some murmurs around the room. 

"If you have something to say, say it loudly for everyone to hear it." He abruptly called someone in the room. "So Ra, you've been awfully quiet. On the other hand, I have noticed your expressions. Do you have something to say?"

"I just think that you're being a bit harsh." She was surprised with his behavior, especially since it was a Min Ho she couldn't recognize.

"Harsh? Just because of a few words you think I'm harsh. The future of my company is at stake, your jobs are at stake, is that harsh?" She remained silent. "I thought so."

Shin Hye braved herself to speak once again. "Why did you imply that dressing y is dressing like a ? Maybe you are just confident with your body and you just want to define it."

"I'm just saying what most of society thinks. I also think that it's what most of the fashion industry focuses on. Teens can attract negative attention which could lead to dangerous situations. What is your concept?"

"I thought something chic but edgy. I believe that your clothes should define who you are. Girls are either daring, shy, or girly. I think that articles of clothing like scarfs and knee high socks are very popular. Also cardigans and wool knit sweaters seem to be trending, we can just tie things like that together."

Min Ho admired her and felt love surge through his heart. "That's exactly what I was looking for. You heard what she said, I want you designers to work on it. And Min Ki, work harder or I might have to replace you."

********

Shin Hye knocked on his office door lightly. She peered in and realized he was reading some papers stacked on his desk. It was her lunchtime and she wanted to fix their differences and make sure he was alright. After much thinking, she realized he was stressed because his company could be hanging from a thread. She skipped to his desk and set two bowls of food on his desk. When he didn't look up she sighed. She wrapped her arms around his neck from behind. 

"Oppa, I'm sorry. I know you would never play with love like that. I know you love me and wouldn't want to hurt me. I know you were mad during the meeting so you raised your voice at me. I know you were jealous because you saw me with Min Ki. Despite that, your lovely girlfriend came up here and brought you some food." 

Min Ho smiled inwardly. He wanted to sit her on his lap and kiss her pouty lips. "I'm busy, why don't we talk later? I know you have lunch right now, so go and have fun with Min Ki."

She bit his ear. "I was going to invite you to come over to play at my apartment. My bed is really fun to play in."

"Oh really?!" She was seducing him and he just wanted to pounce on her like a prey would. 

She looked over at his desk. "It's a shame that you're busy." She then straightened up. Before she had a chance to get the food, Min Ho pulled her to sit on his lap. 

"Why do you do this to me? Why can't you let me give you the cold shoulder? It's so easy for you, you walked past me in the hall without motioning my existence." He whispered in her ear. His chin on her shoulder. 

"Do you think it was easy for me? If it was so easy, I wouldn't have made an attempt to fix things between us." She shifted until she faced him. "I just realized how awful it is when we fight, you get so serious that it scares me."

"It isn't my intention to get rude."

"Oppa, are you scared? Your empire that took you so much time to bring up, are you scared that it might go down and burn in flames." 

He nodded hesitantly.

Shin Hye pulled him in, hugging him. "Even if it does, I'll help you back up. Together we can make a new one."

He smiled. "Are you saying that you would be by my side forever?"

"Is that all you think about? Having me close, you're such a controlling freak." She smacked his chest. "If it makes you any happier, you will always have my support. Even if in the future, we don't love each other anymore, if you call I'll run to your side."

"Is that a promise?"

"Yes." She glanced at the clock before getting up.

"Stay. Just for a while. I just don't want to be alone. I'll send a message if you want saying that you are meeting with me at my office." He returned his attention to the computer and began to type. The sounds began to diminsh as he froze.

Shin Hye tired to peer at the screen but then he swirled her around and took her to the couch. 

"What is the message about? You seem so tense."

"Just Min Ki asking dumb quesitons." He stuffed food in his mouth. 

"You would get annoyed and probably send him something completely sarcastic, you would want to get on his nerves. Right now, you seem nervous and you're eating really fast because you want to avoid the situation." Shin Hye tapped her chin. "What could it be? As long as it doesn't involve Eun Hye or Soo Hyang or even Yeon Seo, I think I'm okay."

"I'm serious it really had to do with Min Ki, but sometimes I'm astonished by him. He could produce good work, but then he has a point where he is just a whole new being, who never ever had any education. He is rude and impolite, I really do want to fire him. But that's Secretary Kim's nephew. Secretary Kim has always been there and I did this as a favor to help his sister who begged for someone to give her son a job." He said rigidly.

"He should've declined t