\\\\\

She had promised Kai dinner as well. Who to go with?

Back in the office Namjoo slumped in front of her computer and listened to her co-workers busily work among themselves; answering phone calls, calling for each other, running back and forth to the copy machines or to get a higher up’s signature. They ignored her too well, so well that she felt she didn’t exist in the room.

That was the last of her problems. There was dead Choonhee’s mysterious, yet complicated life, the men around her and their relationship to her, Hayoung the so-called friend, and the puzzle that glued them together. The layers and layers of answers were already difficult enough for Namjoo, and now there were these co-workers.

Did she really have to do this for Choonhee?

Groaning to herself she leaned forward, burying her head against the desk. She couldn’t see a way out without one of them coming after her and pulling her back into the twin’s shoes. It was despair after despair.

She jolted up when a hand landed on her shoulder. Kai asked, “Are you ok?”

Feigning a smile she said, “I’m fine, perfectly fine.”

He laughed shortly and joyfully smile, “Alright. Don’t work too hard. I’ll see you later.”

Namjoo watched him walk away from her before abruptly calling him without intending to. When he turned the words flew out of without first processing through her brain. “Um…about dinner…can we do it some other day? I think I have some things to catch up on here, and I shouldn’t delay it.”

It was all a lie! A lie! A lie!

“Is that so?” he asked. Pulling on a pretentious smile she nodded while guilt flooded her as she wondered what she was doing.

“Alright then. Lets have it next time. If you need anything, give me call.”

When Kai walked away Namjoo was urged to bury herself underneath her desk.  Dinner with Kai should be her first priority, but today Sehun had saved her and she couldn’t pretend to ignore his deed. Plus, she persuaded herself, she needed to do as Tao had suggested. She needed to get to know Sehun better, get closer to him. After all, he’d been Choonhee’s ex.

\\\\\

Sehun couldn’t believe he was using dinner as an excuse to have some alone time with Choonhee. He felt lame, but the thought that it would be only the two of them that evening thrilled him. As he sat there with his eyes running over the words on paper he didn’t think about comprehending those black letters. All he thought about was how he would have Choonhee to himself.

A sweet smile at the thought crossed his lips before his phone buzzed. It was a text from Choonhee saying she’d be waiting for him while finishing up work. He stared at the message with happiness ringing through him, but also thought it weird. Choonhee as he knew, was more of a phone kind of person rather than sending a message through text. Maybe, he thought, she was being discreet so Kai wouldn’t know.

Glancing at the time with the smile still plastered over his face he turned his attention back to the papers.

Hours later when he was sure that everyone had turned in he first got up, opened the door, and poked his head outside. The hallway was empty, Hayoung’s desk was abandoned, and no footsteps were in earshot.

It was clear. Stepping back inside to grab his things he walked out unintentionally quick-paced before catching himself in front of the elevator. Deeply exhaling he fixed his hair, adjusted his clothes, and started downstairs with his heart trembling in excitement.

Once the doors rang open he erased the smile on his face, clearing his expression and headed down the hallway. The publishing department was as empty as his floor upstairs. By the door he glanced in and spotted Choonhee at her cubicle, immersed in whatever it was she had on her computer screen. For a moment instead of letting her know he was there, he stood at the doorway staring.

Her complexion was stressed, concentrated like she was studying for some exam. He recalled her looking somewhat like that during their exam periods just before the semester came to an end. It hadn’t fascinated him much, but all of a sudden he felt drawn in. The way she sat slouched, her brows furrowed tightly, her jaws tight, and biting on her lower lip. Before the relationship ended, he had never paid so much attention to her detailed movements. Now it made his heart flutter in the wildest way and he couldn’t wait to spend the evening with her.

Clearing his throat in order to better focus, he knocked against the wall, “What are you doing?”

“Oh,” Choonhee glanced in his direction surprised and scrambled to turn off her computer, as if she didn’t want him to see what she’d been doing.

Although he felt superbly delighted with her eyes on him, he couldn’t help but wonder if she’d used work as an excuse to stay behind for him. The thought itself had him subconsciously smiling, and he felt embarrassed if she saw that he was glad to be there.

Hurrying over Choonhee glanced up at him, “You’re here?”

With a foot out into the hallway he nodded his head toward the exit, “Lets go.”

His heart was beating so hard.

\\\\\

Staying behind was just a useless tactic to avoid everyone else. Namjoo feared Sehun would see she’d been studying the basics of grammar and spelling, and she was afraid he would catch on that she wasn’t really doing work. Yet, as she followed him out to his car she became more relieved with each step. He hadn’t said anything of the like to her, which most likely meant he hadn’t wondered what she’d been doing. He, she thought, was a straightforward person – at least that was what she was starting to assume.

Telling her he hated her and never holding back how frustrated he was with her; that he would forever stand in the way of her happiness – whatever that meant. But absurdly, he didn’t give off the vibe that warned her he was in a bad mood. It was almost as strange as when he found her at the store that one day and dragged her to his car, bought her lunch, and clothes.

Would he later flip and become mean? Was it a routine for something for him?

Namjoo jerked back to reality when he unlocked his car with his beeper, the taillights glowing orange. When she opened the door she had to first see if he’d put the childlock on just in case.

“I reset it, get in.” Sehun said from behind the wheel.

Shooting him a curious glance Namjoo got into the car, pulled the seatbelt over herself, and felt the car move toward the road.

Not too long after they stopped at a restaurant with a light fancy feel. The lights overhead glowed from a gigantic chandelier in the center of the room with dimmed light bulbs all around. Those around her were with partners dressed up from head to toe, every one of them looking rich and elegant. Namjoo uncomfortably shifted in her seat at their table while watching the waiter pour them water.

Stepping back the suave middle aged man asked, “What can I get for you two today?”

Namjoo glanced at the menu, making a move for it but stopped upon Sehun’s voice. “We’ll take the course meal with the lobster.”

Placing her hands onto her lap she awkwardly nodded when the waiter nodded and glanced at her with a warm smile. It would take some time for her to get used to others being polite to her.

“Since I skipped lunch to catch up with work and take care of the trouble you caused, we’re going to eat all I want. You’ll finish everything, won’t you?” Sehun asked.

“Huh?” Namjoo asked surprised. She’d never had a lobster before. The delicacy of seafood made her stomach rumble and she hoped he hadn’t heard it. “Of course!”

Be daring, she chanted to herself, or just be yourself.

“Seems like you fancy restaurants,” Namjoo commented looking around. She hesitated before aiming for it, “Do you not like your mother’s food?”

“Mom?” he nearly scoffed, but at least it didn’t seem like she was touching unwanted territory. “Why are you talking about that woman?”

Namjoo’s fingers curled up on her lap, unsure about what to even say next. She didn’t want to press a button and get him angry. She nearly blushed at thinking about him kissing her again.

“My father should be home.”

“Father?” she repeated then shut herself in case she didn’t sound like Choonhee anymore. She had to be careful with her words in case she asked something Choonhee already knew. No messing up, she reminded herself.

“It’s a headache looking at him.” Sehun said and Namjoo nearly frowned, wondering why that was.

Kai seemed to have an ideal relationship with his parents, so she assumed Sehun’s was the same. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe there was much more to everything. The thought of it had her head spinning. How many layers would she have to peel in order to get to the bottom of everything?

\\\\\

Meeting with the lawyer from their defendant team at the private hotel floor had taken longer than Hayoung expected. Her brain was burned out and she felt exhaustion sinking into every part of her body. All she could think about was returning home and crawling into bed. She had no more energy to stress about any more personal matter.

Well, that was the case until she passed by the restaurant downstairs on her way to the front doors. Backtracking, she glanced into the studio restaurant. Its imitation walls of waxed wood made the place look bright and gold from where she stood. Beyond the bar counter occupied by men in business suits out for a break, she spotted Kai sitting alone at a booth table by the wall with a half finished plate of food and a cup of beer.

Seeing that he was alone she her heels and walked toward him with her leather binder tucked in her arms. Inviting herself into the seat opposite him she greeted, “The seat looks empty, so I’ll sit down.”

He glanced at her, refusing to show his surprise but he didn’t hide his irritation. “What are you doing here?”

“I had business to take care of.” Then she glanced at his plate, “Dining alone? Where’s Choonhee?”

“Still at work.”

“Is she?”

“What do you want, Hayoung?”

“Nothing,” Hayoung shrugged, leaning back against the cushioned seat. “I saw you on my way out and wanted to come see why you’re alone. That’s all, don’t be too irritated. I’ll leave you alone now.”

As soon as she got up Kai spoke, stopping her, “I feel like she keeps drifting away from me, but I need her to marry me. You said you’d help, so do something.”

\\\\\

Namjoo’s enlightenment came when the first of their course meal arrived. Suddenly breaking free of Choonhee’s skin she found herself devouring the food, exclaiming repetitiously about how delicious it was.

“Ugh…this is so good, I think I might cry,” Namjoo muttered to herself, sticking more of the shrimp into with one hand while holding buttered bread in the other. As the food slid down she moaned delightfully and immediately forced it down when her eyes landed on Sehun, who was staring flatly at her.

He looked neither amused nor taken aback.  

“I guess I’m really hungry,” Namjoo lied while laughing awkwardly, and then quieted and shifted in her seat while maintaining her composure and trying to look normal.

Damn, she thought, he’d been watching her again. What was his problem?

“Did you skip lunch?” he wondered.

Answering louder than expected she said leaning forward in her seat, shaking her head, “No, no! I did. I had lunch with Hayoung.”

Eyeing her, he turned back to his food and sighing Namjoo stuffed herself with the food. She wanted to pig in so bad, have the essence of the food drip down and over her clothes, and gobble everything up but she couldn’t. Choonhee, the well mannered girl she was, probably never ate like her so ferociously like an animal. She didn’t want to embarrass Sehun either, for it could get him angry.

To her surprise, Sehun shared the last of his food with her before they left the restaurant. And he made no remark about how she’d eaten like a dog starved for days. It left her wondering what exactly was going through his mind again.

Once they got to the car she expected him to drive her home. Instead he said, “Lets go watch a movie.”

Eyes hardening with surprise she turned to glance at him, bewildered and flabbergasted. But didn’t dinner always come after a movie?

She clung onto the seatbelt as he drove off, confused about what he wanted to do with her tonight.

\\\\\

Yes, he knew he was going out of bounds but he couldn’t bear to end the night just yet. This endearing pleasure of being around her felt like an enchantment, strange and wild in all ways. Sehun didn’t understand it, but it just seemed to work that way.

He kind of liked how Choonhee quietly followed him around when they got to the theater. Her lost image was cute and he wanted to look at her every time her eyes grew big, as if in awe about their surroundings.

His heart raced harder when she grabbed his arm and pointed back toward the popcorn stand. “Where are our seats again? I’m going to get some popcorn first, I’ll come find you after.”

He looked her over, feeling as if he was seeing a new Choonhee. It was interesting and made him more curious about her. Had he not known her well enough before?

“You want popcorn?” he asked.

The Choonhee he knew didn’t bother with fatty foods and she had a small appetite, but here she was, asking for popcorn after a course meal. He would have told her to go ahead if she wanted but when he looked at her with those big round eyes, butterflies resurrected in his stomach and his heart thumped harder. Sehun never felt like such a fool before. Telling someone no had never been so difficult before.

Turning toward the stand he asked, “What do you want?”

Following on his heels, she insisted, “No. I’ll buy it. You can go sit first.”

Abruptly looking at her he growled from the bottom of his throat, “I said I’ll get it. What do you want?”

Finally in their seats in the movie room Sehun relaxed into his chair. The room darkened and movie ads finally started playing. He had never brought Choonhee to see a movie before, but he was they were finally here together. The two of them always spent time outside, eating, taking long strolls, and she’d taught him a quarter of a melody. That was all he could remember of their times together.

As the movie played he realized he was blankly staring at the screen. There, beside him, was Choonhee gleefully laughing and eating her popcorn. She was all the light he could see.

Sehun was more disappointed than he expected when the movie ended and they all filed out. As they started toward the doors he hated how he seemed more mesmerized at sitting beside her than she did him. He frustrated himself with the fact that throughout the movie she was all he’d paid attention to.

It was utterly unbelievable!  

“That movie was so good! It was so funny!” she exclaimed walking beside him, wiping her buttery hands against her pants – none of which he took note of while sulking.

Stopping outside the front doors he listened to Choonhee stretch and yawn from beside him. The sky was now a mix of yellow, pink, and purple. In soon time the sun would set, night would drift in, and the moon would steal the sky until the sun returned. He wasn’t ready for the day to come to an end yet.

“I’m tired,” she mumbled then turned to look at him. “Aren’t you?”

Sehun had to fight with himself not to look at her, for fear he would sink into the depths of her brown eyes. He could feel his heart palpitating now that her eyes were on him again and he became self-conscious of himself.

Was his hair still alright? Were his clothes now dirty and wrinkled? Did he smell like the course meal they had? God, he should have left his bottle of cologne in his car for times like these. Could Choonhee see him losing himself and think something was wrong with him?

“Are you ok?” she asked.

It felt as if he was shaking from being so nervous. Could Choonhee see him doing so? Or was it his imagination?

He was so embarrassed.

“Sehun?” she slightly touched his arm.

Abruptly turning with an unintended gasp he asked, “Do you want some ice cream?”

And he didn’t think he’d ever been so ridiculous before.