Cha Eun Sang didn't see Choi Young Do over the course of the next few days.

She hadn't seen him since that night at Carnivore Haven. She hated that she noticed his absence.

So what if he was absent for three days? It didn't have to matter. She hated that she kept count.

She sighed in exasperation as she cleaned the table.

Earlier, she was tempted to ask Myung Soo if he knew where Choi Young Do was. But she got a hold of herself and realized how ludicrous the idea was.

She looked at the door when it chimed, signaling an entrance.

"I'm sorry, but, we're clos—," she almost choked when she saw Choi Young Do walk in the coffee shop.

"I know," he looked at her and he shrugged. He dragged the chair from under the table she was cleaning and sat across from where she was standing.

She looked down at him and frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"Taking you home," he said casually.

He heart skipped a beat and she felt like punishing it. Why was it acting abnormal in Choi Young Do's presence?

"You're crazy," she said in mock irritation, hoping that Choi Young Do didn't notice the tremors in her voice.

"And we'll have dinner. You didn't buy me lunch for three days," he added before she could even say something.

"You were absent," she pointed out.

"Because of reasons," he responded.

"That I don't care about," she retorted.

She went back to the counter and clocked out.

"Chan Young," she shouted from the counter, "I'll go ahead."

"Okay," she heard Chan Young shout from his office.

"Enjoy your date with Choi Young Do," he added.

She almost lost balance when she heard what he said.

"I'm not on a date with him!" she protested.

She heard Chan Young chuckle. "Whatever you say, Cha Eun Sang."

"Whatever, Yoon Chan Young," she shouted back.

She went out the coffee shop and Choi Young Do trailed behind her.

She was surprised by how cold it was outside. She tried not to grit her teeth when the cold wind blew.

Had she known that it would be this cold tonight, she would have brought her jacket with her and al—

Her train of thought got interrupted when she felt Choi Young Do put a jacket around her shoulders.

She looked at him. "You're welcome," he said before she could even thank him.

She smiled a little. "Thanks."

She was walking towards the bus stop when she felt Choi Young Do grabbed her by the arm. He pulled her to the opposite direction.

She tried to jerk her arm away, but, he held on to it tightly. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"I'm taking you home," he said without looking at her.

He half-dragged her as they walked towards the parking lot.

"Choi Young Do, news flash: you can't just order people around!"

He frowned at her, "why not?"

She rolled her eyes. "Uh, because people aren't puppies?"

He ignored her sarcastic remark. "Come on, I'm taking you home."

"I'm fine, Choi Young Do. I can go home by myself."

"It's already late. It's dangerous for you to be taking the bus home. And alone at that."

She laughed. "I always go home late. I always go home by myself."

He ran his other hand through his hair and let out a sigh. She could tell that he was getting frustrated.

"Why are you so stubborn? Just let me take you home!"

"Why are you shouting? What are you so angry about?"

"I'm just worried that something bad will happen to you if you go home alone at this hour!"

Her eyes grew wide. She looked at him and he let go of her arm. It was so sudden, so hard, that she almost went out of balance. Judging by the look on his face, he was clearly surprised as she was.

Their eye contact lingered as neither one of them said anything. "I hate awkward moments," she thought.

Choi Young Do finally broke their gaze by looking down at his watch. Without saying a word, he started walking towards the parking lot.

She didn't know why she started walking towards that direction, too.

They were walking in silence and it made her uncomfortable.

She thought it was not just the silence that made her uncomfortable. It must also because the wake of his words had left her spinning.

She tried to break the silence. "I thought we're having dinner?"

"We are."

He walked towards a black car, she didn't know what kind but she was sure it was expensive. It looked expensive, at least.

He opened the passenger seat of the said expensive-looking black car. "Get in," he said.

She did. Choi Young Do waited until she was buckled up before he shut the door. As he was walking around to his side, she noticed the car smelled like…cheese and egg. Not old, stale cheese. Not old, stale egg. It smelled fresh. Her stomach growled.

When Choi Young Do got in, he reached into the back seat and grabbed a sack. "We don't have time to eat, so I bought a cheese and egg sandwich." He handed her a sandwich and a bottle of water.

He unwrapped his sandwich and took a bite. "It's getting late so I'm gonna drive you home while we eat," he said with a mouthful of bread. He navigated the steering wheel with his free hand as he simultaneously ate and drove.

They both finished their sandwiches and she put the trash back in the bag and placed it in the backseat. They were driving in silence and she was uncomfortable.

She tried not to mind and tried to enjoy watching the buildings go by instead.

But she couldn't.

She tried to think of something to say to break the silence, so she asked him about his family.

"What are your parents like?"

"Rich," he replied without any second thoughts.

She rolled her eyes. "I know. Everybody knows."

She looked at him. "I mean, what are they like as parents?"

"My dad, well…" He paused. "He's hard-working. He's a good provider."

She rolled her eyes again. "Obviously. Otherwise you wouldn't be this rich."

He looked at her shortly then looked straight to the road. "What do you mean, this rich?"

She shrugged. "You know, very rich. Filthy rich."

He didn't respond, it was as if he did not hear anything.

"What about your mom? What is she like?"

"Gone."

She frowned. "What do you mean, gone?"

"Gone. Not here."

She looked at him, urging him to tell her more and he shrugged. "She left," he said

The way he said it, it was exactly the same way when he sang that song at Carnivore Haven. There was something about the way he said it, about his voice, that reminded her of the way people talk about someone who had died. The way people talk about some people in the past tense.

"Do you know where she is?"

He didn't respond, but, she saw him clench and unclench his jaw.

In a surge of sympathy, she felt like she wanted to hold his hand the way her mother does whenever she's feeling sad. She wanted to hold his hand because she knew how comforting it was. She wanted to hold his hand. She wanted to comfort him, but, decided against it.

She shook her head. "It must be the lack of sleep I've gotten over the past few days," she thought.

"You look tired. You can sleep on our way to your house."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

He smirked, "what?"

She narrowed her eyes then frowned at him.

He laughed mockingly. "Come on, you're not even that pretty," he said when he finally understood what she was hinting at.

She made a face at him, then faced the passenger seat window. She couldn't remember the last time she fell asleep in a moving vehicle. Choi Young Do was right, she was tired. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

She looked out the window and watched the buildings go by. The city was well-lighted and the city lights looked like a bed of electric flowers.

She smiled at the thought. She took out her notebook and wrote it down. "It was a good turn of phrase," she thought.

She did not notice when he pulled over to their apartment's driveway. They were renting a humble apartment just an hour outside of the city. They were renting an apartment at a sub-urban community. She liked it here because it was not as expensive compared to the apartments in the city.

Choi Young Do turned the car engine off and she looked at him. He was still silent.

She cleared and paused. "Thank you for bringing me home, Choi Young Do."

She was about to open the door when he grabbed her hand. She looked at him to ask what the matter was.

He didn't say anything for a long time. He just looked at her and it made her uncomfortable.

"My jacket," he said after prolonged silence and awkward eye contact.

"Oh, I almost forgot," she paused as she handed him his jacket, "here."

He held her hand that held his jacket and before she could even react, he pulled her towards him. Both arms on her side, eyes open wide. She was surprised. She didn't know what to make of what was going on.

"Thank you, Cha Eun Sang," he whispered. He sounded so gentle.

She almost laughed at the incredulity of it all. Gentle was the last adjective to describe Choi Young Do.

Also, what was he thanking her for?

She stiffened when she realized whose arms were around her. Her heart beat violently against her chest. If she were honest, she would acknowledge that her abnormal heart beat was because of Choi Young Do's arms wrapped around her. Because Choi Young Do was too close for comfort.

But she was not in the mood to be honest about it. So, she just stayed there. As still as a statue.

She felt it when he pulled her closer. She let him pull her closer, just a little bit.

He pulled her closer and held her there.

Anything but further.