CHAPTER 5

He looked happy.

This she thought while watching Kris as he talked about Jia.

He had arrived unannounced at her apartment. She could have made an excuse that she's on her way out to meet a client. But she lost her ability to act fast when he suddenly hugged her and told her he missed her. How can she turn away from him when she had been missing him as well?

Left without a choice, she invited him in while mentally preparing herself for the heartache that comes with a few minutes with him. Hearing about how he's spent most of his time with Jia was plain torture. To be honest, she could not process what he was talking about. She had simply nodded a few times but did not utter a single word in the several minutes he was there, physically close but out of her reach.

One thing was certain. She need to escape before it becomes obvious to him that she was not listening. Her eyes sting due to the tears she had been trying to hold in.

By some sort of miracle, her phone, which was resting on the center table, rang shrilly, drowning his words. She snatched it quickly. 

"Wae?" Her voice almost cracked due to the lump in .

She was saved by Tao. 

Judging from the furrowing of his eyebrows, Kris must be wondering why. He must have seen Tao's photo on her phone no matter how quick she tried to hide it from his sight.

That pabo took a selfie using her phone and made it as his picture in her contacts list. That she discovered the next day when she got home after being trapped with him in the supermarket. 

How could she forget the story behind that silly photo? He had called her to ask what she thought of it. How childish. Yet for some weird reason, she had decided not to delete it since he looked funny and cute. If he even dared make it her phone's wallpaper, maybe she'd never mind.

For whatever reason Tao was calling her did not really matter. She was more than thankful for the temporary save.

The crease on Kris' forehead deepened when Dara decided to take the call at her studio as though he was not allowed to listen in on the conversation. She didn't feel comfortable talking to Tao when he was looking on. Besides, she must have predicted that her voice will rise an octave higher later when she learned of his reasons for calling her.

How could it not when Tao told her something very hilarious and unbelievable?

She decided a few days ago that she will never help him again. After that boring party and after all that flirting. But since he begged her to come with him to an all-expenses paid vacation trip to Jeju, who was she to say no? She will take whatever Tao offers. After all, he had greatly helped in taking her mind off of someone...

And who said her acceptance was all because of that alone? He must give her something valuable in return other than the free trip. She has the right job for him. It's like hitting two birds with one stone. This was her thought a day before the trip.

She had no idea all was about to sway because of one unexpected phone call.

The moment Tao answered, she went straight to the point, her voice high.

"Ya! You bastard, what's this mess you got me into?" 

She was referring to a call she received out of the blue that morning. She was