Kayla slowly rolled over, shifting uncomfortably. She opened her eyes and groaned, her body still ached and she was extremely thirsty. She was completely stuffed up and her forehead felt as if it was going to come of her shoulders. Carefully she managed to prop herself up, but it winded her, bringing on a coughing fit. There was a knock at the door a second before it opened slowly.

“Kayla? You ok?” Came Shane’s voice.

She coughed harder in response, the door opened to reveal Shane, medicine and medicine cup in one hand.

“I have cough syrup!” He announced, holding the bottle up with flourish.

Kayla gave him a weak smile in-between hacks.

He sat on the bed, read the bottle before pouring the required dosage and waiting while Kayla had a free few moments between coughs. She took the cup and quickly drunk the overly sweet, thick liquid, frowning in disgust.

“That’s gross,” she moaned.

Shane grinned, “I know, but it up Jacobs. Someone’s here to see you,” he announced suddenly, recapping the bottle of cough syrup and standing.

“Who?”

Just then someone poked their head around the door.

“Me!”

Kayla smiled weakly, “Chanile, hey.”

“Don’t you ‘hey’ me, I’m mad at you! You could’ve called me,” she said, making her way into the room, mask on her face.

“I know how you feel about sickness; I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Yeah but this is the flu, it’s a little different,” Chanile frowned.

“It’s ok, I made it through. Kyu Jong actually showed up to help me.”

Chanile’s eyes widened, “What?”

“Yeah, he just showed up out of nowhere and stayed with me the whole night,” Kayla explained, wishing desperately for something to drink, the thirst was insane.

“Wait a minute, what? He stayed with…hey, what are you doing?” Chanile exclaimed.

“I’m going to get something to drink,” Kayla announced, starting to slip out of the bed.

“No you’re not, I’ll get you something and then you’re going to tell me just what happened.”

Kayla frowned when Chanile breezed out the room. She came back a few minutes later with a steaming mug in her hand.

“Shane said Kyu Jong left this for you this morning, what exactly happened here?” Chanile demanded, handing her the mug.

She took a long careful sip, sighing in relief before she explained.

Chanile shook her head, “He’s something else. So he stayed with you all night, but Terrance couldn’t even come by or call to check on you? Seriously? Look, I’m sorry Kayla but damn,” she sighed.

Kayla nodded, “I know.”

“He seems too good to be true, he’s gotta have some deep dark secret, like…he leaves dirty dishes in the sink until they grow mold, or I dunno, he leaves the shopping cart in the middle of the aisle when he’s shopping, there has to be something,” Chanile stated.

Kayla looked at her as if she’d lost her mind.

“I mean, c’mon, this has to be a cover up for something, I can’t believe he’s just that good,” Chanile said, crossing her arms over her chest.

She shrugged, “Shane says he’s known back home for being really sweet and kind, I don’t think it’s a put on, he seems so genuine.”

“I know, I can’t believe he did all this for you. You have to find some way to make this up to him you know.”

Kayla nodded, “Yeah, I know, but I have no idea how to.”

She didn’t know how, but she’d figure it out.

Two Weeks Later

Kayla slipped her coat on and then headed back to the room.

“Did you happen to get all those copies made?” Lillian asked, pulling her boots on.

“Yup, all done and filed away.”

“Ok good, have a good weekend, I’ll see you Tuesday,” Lillian smiled as she headed out

Kayla waved; turning to check to make sure everything was all set. She followed the doctor out, said her goodbyes and headed to her car. Once in, she turned it on and blasted the heater. It was so cold and she definitely didn’t want to get a relapse on of the flu.

It’d been two weeks and she was just about fully recovered. Terrance had finally come over later in the week once he was sure she was no longer contagious and had tried to make up for not coming over at first. He brought her dinner and medicine, hung out with her, the little that he could anyway. Kayla appreciated it, but it didn’t change the fact that when she’d needed him the most, he hadn’t been there.

No, there’d been someone else. Someone who’d fed and held her as her body shook from fever, someone who’d made it just a bit easier. Kayla hadn’t seen Kyu Jong in about two weeks. Shane had said he’d been extremely busy with the work study. She missed the acting class the weekend she’d gotten sick, hadn’t been up to it. Lejna told her he’d been looking for her, hoping she may have been feeling well enough to come, but understood that she hadn’t. Lejna also told her that he’d advised her that she was sick, but hadn’t mentioned that he’d stayed with her through the worst of it. She’d been surprised when Kayla had told her what’d happened.

The following week Kyu Jong missed because there was a work meeting that had come up that ended up being mandatory. Kayla had felt well enough to go to that one and again they’d somehow managed to miss each other. All through that time though, Kayla would hear him walking around upstairs and then he’d leave. Or she’d just leave out or work and she’d get a message from Shane saying they just got home, that’d happened a lot. She was happy to get the text messages Kyu Jong would send her every few days to see how she was feeling. As much as she liked the messages, she wanted to see him, physically see him. The last time they’d seen each other she’d bee half delirious with the flu. She missed his eyes, his smile, his presence.

Her phone rang and she looked at the screen to see Terrance’s name, she tapped on the screen.

“Hey you.”

“Hey baby, how are you? Feeling ok?” He asked.

“Yeah, I’m ok.”

“Good, so I just wanted you to know that the dinner reservations for Valentines are all set. So it’s Sunday at 7:30. I’ll come by to pick you up around seven; I’ll call when I’m on my way, then after it’s a movie. Are you sure that’s all you want to do? I can use the private jet and we can go somewhere, the Bahamas and all that. You asked for Monday off right? We can stay the night watch a movie there and come back Monday evening before your class,” Terrance suggested.

Kayla smiled a bit, “Nah, dinner and a movie is plenty. I don’t need anything fancy, I just want to be with you Terrance,” she said softly.

"Aww I wanna be with you sweetie, I just want to make it worth while.”

“It will be.”

“Ok, if you’re sure. I’ll see you Sunday ok?”

“Alright, see you then.”

“Love you Kayla.”

“Love you too Terrance.”

Kayla hung up and looked out the window in front of her. She found herself looking forward to Sunday; it would do them good to spend some quality time together.

Pulling out of the parking lot, she headed home.

Friday Afternoon

Kyu Jong made his way upstairs and into his home. He took his shoes and coat off, slipping into his waiting slippers before hanging the coat up and then flopping down on the couch. He was absolutely exhausted, he’d been going non stop for the last two weeks. He was surprised and excited to find out he’d been given the whole weekend off. Kyu Jong planned to do a whole lot of nothing, which was the best thing to do in his opinion. He sort of wished he had someone to spend time with, especially on Sunday.

He’d heard Valentine’s Day here was a pretty big deal. While he wasn’t ready for a relationship, it still would be nice to have someone to share the day with. His thoughts drifted to Kayla as they had multiple times over the last few weeks. He wondered how she was doing; he hadn’t seen her since he’d left that day two weeks ago. Shane had kept him up to date, telling him she was almost fully recovered except for a few sniffles and a lingering headache. Kyu Jong had been glad to hear it, she’d been so bad off, and he’d been seriously worried for a while, even when he left. He’d wanted to stop by several times to check on her, but he’d also heard that Terrance had finally come over and Kyu Jong didn’t want to interfere, so he’d tried to stay out of her way, but it didn’t stop him from checking on her from afar. He’d watch her as she got into her car or when she was making her way into the townhouse, he never let himself be seen though. All that said he did miss her, a lot actually. Now that she was working on fixing things with Terrance, he didn’t know what that meant for their still budding friendship. He wanted to see her though, he couldn’t deny that. Hopefully he’d see her on Monday for class, he’d missed the last one due to a last minute mandatory meeting and that week before she’d still been sick.

Kyu Jong sat up when his phone rang, answering it. He talked for a moment before hanging up, looked like he had plans for tonight after all. Standing, he headed down the hall to his room to get ready.

Sunday Afternoon

Kayla made her way inside, pulling her boots off as much a she could and quickly hung up her coat and barreled down the hall. Her date with Terrance was in a few hours and she had to get ready. She’d gone out shopping for a new dress for the occasion and hoped he’d like it.

After showering, she dressed and spent close to an hour on her hair, getting it just right before putting her jewelry on. Spritzing some perfume on and then headed out her room. Overall it’d taken her three hours to get ready, but it was worth it, she thought she looked kinda nice, hopefully Terrance would think so as well. She really hoped this would improve their shaky relationship; she’d seemed excited about it which made her happy. She hadn’t heard from him all day, part of her was sort of nervous, but she tried to force it away, she desperately wanted to believe that this was going to happen.

Walking over to the kitchen, she grabbed his gift from off the table, she’d spent most of Saturday afternoon looking for something, when she’d found the silver cufflinks, she knew they’d be perfect. For fun, she gotten him a pair of infamous red silk boxers, knowing he’d get a laugh out of it. Looking at the clock, she saw he was set to arrive in thirty minutes.

Turning, she headed into the living room, setting his gifts down. She slipped into her shoes, thankful that the snow had melted enough that walking in heels wouldn’t be a problem, that it wasn’t overly cold. After bundling up, she slung her purse over her shoulder, picked up the gifts and headed out, locking the door after.

Looking at her phone, she saw she had about fifteen minutes now before he was supposed to arrive. Terrance was known for being on time, usually early, the fact that he wasn’t there yet was a bit unsettling. Kayla walked out to the parking lot, but saw no sign of a car coming, where was he? She walked back by the door and waited. Just then a car pulled up and she took a few steps forward and frowned when she saw it was a taxi. Sighing, she started back towards the door when her phone rang. She pulled her phone out of her purse and looked at the screen to see it was Terrance. She smiled, answering the call.

“Hey you!”

There was silence for a few seconds, “Kayla…”

“Terrance, what’s going on? Are you almost here? I didn’t see you in the parking lot,” she said.

“No, I’m not in…look Kayla, there’s something I gotta tell you,” Terrance said quietly.

Kayla closed her eyes, “Terrance…”

“I’m sorry.”

“Terrance,” she said again.

“I’m not going to be able to make it Kayla,” Came his soft voice.

She stilled, slowly opening her eyes, she stared ahead blankly.

“I’m so sorry honey. I…” He stopped, sighing.

“Ok, fine,” she said numbly.

“Kayla.”

“It’s ok, don’t worry about it Terrance.”

“You can still go to din-”

“No, cancel the reservations ok? Don’t bother,” Kayla said coolly.

Here it goes again.

“Kayla…”

“Don’t worry about it Terrance, really. I’ll talk to you later ok?”

He sighed, “I’ll make it up to you ok? It’s just work is…”

“I said it’s fine Terrance, drop it.”

“I’ll call later,” he said softly.

“Fine,” she said shortly and hung up without another word.

She knew it, deep down inside, she’d known it wasn’t going to happen. Kayla fisted her hand up, walking over to one of the garbage cans; she opened it and threw his gifts inside before angrily slamming the lid down with more force than necessary.

“Kayla?”

She turned at the voice, squinting at the lights from the taxi that was now idling. A figure emerged and slowly came into view.

“Kayla, hello.”

Her eyes widened, it was Kyu Jong!

“What are you doing out here in this cold? You’re just getting over the flu, are you ok?” He asked, looking at the garbage can then at her.

It felt as if it’d been forever since she’d seen him and not just two weeks, she drunk him in and fought the very real urge to fling herself into his arms, seeking comfort from the pain that was becoming all too familiar lately.

“Kayla ssi? Are you going out? You look all dressed up, for Valentine’s Day maybe?” He asked softly.

She let out a breath and shook her head, “No, apparently I’m not.”

He frowned, “Oh.”

“You look like you’re going somewhere, don’t let me keep you,” she said, finally taking in his dress slacks and grey trench coat.

Kyu Jong looked at her, “I was just heading up to get something I forgot then I was heading back out.”

Kayla nodded, “Oh, well have a good night,” she said, turning.

She was stopped when she felt a hand on her arm and she turned to see Kyu Jong watching her.

“Wait Kayla,” he said quietly.

She tilted her head to the side.

“Would you like to come with me?” He asked softly.

She shook her head, “I don’t think so.”

“I am alone with no one to spend Valentine’s with, you are all dressed up, you shouldn’t spend Valentine’s alone. Please, come with me, let’s spend it together,” he pleaded.

She shook her head again, “I really don’t think so.”

“Kayla, jagi, come out with me. Do not be alone right now, come,” he whispered, tugging her closer to him.

Kayla continued to watch him, realizing she did want to go with him and that he was right, she really didn’t want to be alone right now, she let him pull her closer.

“Go wait in the taxi out of the cold, I’ll be right back,” he smiled before turning and hurrying upstairs.

She watched him leave and looked back at the door, after a moment she turned and headed to the taxi. She climbed in, giving the driver a smile, though she felt nothing like smiling honestly. Kayla didn’t know if she was more angry or hurt, it wasn’t as if she’d expected too much. He could’ve called earlier than ten minutes before he was supposed to show up. She wouldn’t have wasted her time buying that stupid dress or spending three hours getting ready.

Kayla wiped angrily at her eyes, why was she even crying?  This was stupid; she had to get it together before Kyu Jong got back in. She closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths, the tears receding just in time as Kyu Jong made his way in.

“Mianhae Kayla,” he said softly as he shut the door and nodded at the driver and the cab started to slowly back out of the parking spot.

She looked out the window, trying to gather her emotions, she couldn’t look at Kyu Jong or he’d see right through her. Luckily the whole trip he was quiet, but just having him there was comforting, relaxed her somehow. A short time later they arrived at their destination, where it was, she hadn’t really been paying attention. Kyu Jong paid the driver and got out and Kayla went to get out, but the next thing she knew, the door opened and a hand was offered. She looked up to see Kyu Jong, he smiled gently and she slipped her hand in his and stepped out and he shut the door behind her.

“Where are we?” She asked, looking around.

“Winter market. There’s all kinds of vendors, I decided to come here and look around, pick up some gifts for my friends and family,” Kyu Jong explained.

Kayla nodded, “I see.”

“I hope you’ll like it,” he said softly.

She smiled a bit, “I’m sure I will, been a long time since I went to an outdoor market.”

“Then you are long overdue,” he chuckled.

Kayla nodded again and they turned, heading towards the entrance. Once they made their way inside, they started looking around at the various booths. Kayla stopped by one selling handmade soaps, Kyu Jong looked with her, buying a few and then heading off to another booth. Kayla found a couple she liked and also purchased some for her Mom and some for gifts as well.

She turned to look for Kyu Jong and found him taking a bag from one of the vendors and he tuned to see her and smiled, walking back over to her. They walked further down, stopping her and there, buying a few things. Kyu Jong then excused himself to use the bathroom at the main building and Kayla continued to look around, staying close by the area.

She made her way over to another booth that had handcrafted blown glass figurines for sale. She looked them over for a moment before turning to leave, when one in particular caught her eye. Reaching out, she picked up, staring hard at it, it was perfect really. Kayla flagged the vendor down and quickly purchased it, asking to have it gift wrapped. After she put it in the bag with her other stuff, she turned to once again see Kyu Jong  making his way back over to her.

They resumed walking and Kyu Jong pointed to a little café set up.

“Would you like to sit for a bit?” He asked gently.

Kayla nodded and they made their way over. She got a cup of tea and a warm cinnamon roll compliments of Kyu Jong, while he got a blueberry muffin and a cup of coffee. They sat and ate in a companionable silence. Kayla looked over at Kyu Jong as he ate his muffin, he turned his head and saw her looking at him and smiled.

“How is your roll?”

“It’s very delicious, how’s your muffin?”

“The same, would you like to try some?” He offered.

She chuckled and nodded; he picked up a piece and held it up to her lips. Kayla’s eyes widened but she leaned in and allowed him to put the piece in , she chewed slowly.

“Ooooh, that is good, it melts in your mouth,” she sighed.

Kyu Jong nodded, taking another bite. Kayla tore off a large strip of her roll and held it out to him.

“Here,” she offered.

He grinned, leaning in to take the strip into his mouth, his eyes lighting up, “Delicious!”

She nodded, “It is, here, have more,” she pushed the roll close to him.

He pushed his muffin close to her; they smiled at each other and continued eating. After they finished, they resumed walking. She felt her phone go off and she pulled it out her purse and saw Terrance’s name and she ignored the call, sending it to voicemail. He called twice more and she ignored those calls too, sending them straight to voicemail.

Her anger burned anew and she tried to take a calming breath but it didn’t help. Coming out was a bad idea, she was far too angry still to do this now. Kayla turned to tell Kyu Jong she was going to head back, when he turned to her.

“Let’s go take a walk in the park,” he said suddenly.

“Huh?”

“Come,” he took her wrist, leading her carefully away from the crowds of people over to the nearby park.

It was fairly empty except for a few people here and there. He led her down a deserted path.

“It’s nice to just get away from the crowds of people and be in the quiet,” Kyu Jong said.

They kept walking and her anger continued to grow, she couldn’t understand why it was bothering her so much than it had in the past. Kayla clenched her fists, nothing he could say would make it ok, nothing. Just then she felt a hand on hers, she was so startled she relaxed her hand and she felt the other hand slip into hers.

“Your hand is like ice Kayla, here,” Kyu Jong tugged her closer.

He toke her hand and slipped it into his coat pocket with his and it was immediately surrounded by heat. She looked up at him and he smiled.

“How are you Kayla? Feeling better since being sick?”

She blinked, thrown by the sudden question, “Ohh, uhh yeah, for the most part. I still have a lingering headache and sniffles and all that lousy stuff, but it’s not so bad now,” she responded, trying to focus on what he was saying and not the warmth of her hand in his pocket.

“I’m glad to hear it. Hopefully the headache and sniffles will end soon, I was very worried, you were very sick,” he frowned.

“Yes, I don’t get sick often, but when I do it’s usually pretty bad. Thank you for taking care of me K, you don’t know how much I appreciate it. I don‘t know how it would’ve made it through the night alone, it was insane,” she sighed.

Kyu Jong smiled, “No need to thank me, we already discussed this.”

“Yeah but…”

“Shh…No more talk of it. Let’s get a warm drink, the coffee I had awhile ago has worn off, I need something else warm,” he said, leading her towards a lone cart.

He ordered them both large cocoas with extra whipped cream. Kayla thanked him and they continued walking, the cocoa was warm, but not as warm as his pocket and she missed the heat. She sipped at her cocoa, looking over at Kyu Jong who was thoroughly enjoying the whipped cream, so much so he had some on his nose. Kayla tried to stifle a laugh, but failed. He looked at her and she giggled more.

“What?”

“Were you a messy baby K?” Kayla asked, grinning.

He blinked, “What?”

She moved in front of him, reaching out wipe at his nose, “Saving some for later huh?”

Kyu Jong grinned, wiping at his nose, his cheeks turning a light shade of red.

“You are too cute K, honestly, I’ve never seen anyone who enjoys food like you do, so much you wear it,” she smiled.

He chuckled, “Ne, I do love food, though I try not to wear if it I can. Thank you for helping me out.”

“No problem,” she winked.

They continued to walk quietly, she could feel her anger starting to ebb and she found she was able to focus on the present situation. She was actually enjoying herself; she’d really enjoyed the warmth of his hand on hers, the heat from his body.

They eventually made their way out of the park, Kyu Jong flagged down a taxi and they got in. A short time later they pulled into the parking lot, Kyu Jong paid the driver and they headed up.

“Well thanks for letting me join you this evening K, I had fun,” Kayla smiled, realizing she actually meant it.

Kyu Jong smiled, “Why don’t you come up? I’m not ready for the evening to end.”

To be honest, neither was she.

“Ok, let me just put my bags away and I’ll be right up.”

Kyu Jong nodded and they parted ways. Kayla headed inside, flipping the lights on. She made her way into her bedroom, unloading her bags. She reached into one, grabbing the colorfully wrapped package before making her way back out the room. Her phone went off, she grabbed her purse and pulled it out to see it was one again, Terrance. Frustration won out and she answered it.

“What Terrance?”

“Kayla, I was just checking to see how you were. I wanted to explain…”

“You think I’m gonna fall to pieces or something? I told you not to worry about it, I have to go.”

“Go?”

“Yes, go, I’m meeting with a friend.”

“A friend?”

“Yes Terrance, I do have friends.”

“Is this friend your upstairs neighbor?”

“As a matter of fact it is.”

There was silence.

“I hardly think you have anything to say about me hanging out with a friend Terrance. It should be you, but it’s not and that’s not my fault. Now if that’s it, I‘m gonna go.”

“Kayla-” Terrance sighed.

“I’ll talk to you later,” she said and hung up.

That’d felt good, really good. She grabbed the package again and made her way back out.

~~~

Kyu Jong pulled a few plates out just as there was a knock at the door. He hurried over, opening the door, “Hello, come in,” he smiled at Kayla as she made her way in.

She pulled her heels off and slid her feet into the waiting slippers.

“I am preparing us dinner, please have a seat.”

Kayla’s head whipped around, her eyes wide, “You’re cooking? You didn’t have to do that K!”

He smiled, “It’s not much, just some kimchi pancakes, rice and other sides. I hope you will like it,” he said as he started mixing the ingredients.

He looked over as she pulled her coat off and he stilled, the blue dress she had on hugged her ample curves he’d never really noticed before, it fit her perfectly. His eyes traveled upward in a rare action he didn’t usually do, the plunging neckline distracted him more than it should, his heart started racing and he brought his gaze up further to watch as she hung the coat up and headed towards the couch.

Kyu Jong tore his gaze away and took a calming breath, bracing his hands on the counter, what had just happened? Seeing her in that dress had done things to him, things he wasn’t prepared for. What did it mean?

“Do you need help?”

The soft voice startled him, his hand jerked and the rubber spatula went flying in a graceful arch through the air before landing on the floor with a clatter.

“Aish!” He muttered, bending over to pick it up and taking it to the sink to wash it.

“Sorry K, didn’t mean to startle you,” Kayla giggled.

Kyu Jong gave her a weak smile, “It is ok.”

He turned to find her behind him.

“Let me help, what can I do?”

He blinked, staring at her intently and she looked at him, raising her eyebrows.

“K?”

He shook his head, “Sorry, uhh, if you want to get the silverware out and set the table, that would be great,” he suggested.

“I’m on it,” she said.

He watched as she looked around a moment before heading to one of drawers. Kyu Jong turned back to the pan, flipping the pancake once more before putting it on the plate with the others before making another. He headed to the fridge and took out several plastic containers, bringing them to the counter. He then got down several small bowls and started filling them with the various sides. He headed back to the pan, flipping the pancake then went back to the bowls, grabbing them and heading to the table. Kayla intercepted, taking a few and setting them down. Kyu Jong smiled his thanks before turning back to the pan, taking the pancake out and making one more. He turned to get the last few bowls, but was surprised to see Kayla take them over to the table before he could.

Kyu Jong got glasses down and put them on the table and then stirred the tea he’d made, it’d been sitting for about twenty minutes and was finally ready. He flipped the last pancake and then got a glass pitcher down and poured the tea into it. He then took the last pancake off and turned the stove off. Grabbing the pitcher, he headed over to the table and poured some into each of the glasses before setting it down.

A thought occurred to him and he turned and headed back into the kitchen and found a lighter and came back to the table and lit the two candles he had in the center and then dimmed the light overhead.

“Oooo, this is very nice K,” Kayla said softly.

“I thought it’d be a nice touch,” he smiled.

Kayla nodded, “It is, I really love it.”

“Please,” Kyu Jong said, heading over to hold the chair out for her.

She looked startled, “Oh, thank you,” she said softly as she sat, giving him a smile.

Kyu Jong made his way back around to his chair and sat. He reached into the box he kept on the table and pulled out a pair of chopsticks and looked over to see Kayla looking at the sticks in his hand.

“Would you like a pair to use?” He asked.

She looked up at him and nodded, “Sure, ok.”

He lifted the lid again and slid the box closer to her and she took a pair.

“The metal ones are a bit different, you shouldn’t have too much of an issue though, but they are slippery compared to the wooden kind, it will take some getting used to,” he advised.

She nodded, “Ok, got it.”

He smiled and said the Korean greeting before starting to eat. He looked up and saw Kayla looking at everything, she looked slightly intimidated.

He chuckled, “This is fish cakes, pickled radishes, rice, spicy cucumber salad and the main dish is kimchi pancakes. It’s cabbage with other vegetables in red pepper paste and spices,” he explained.

“Ohhh…”

“The pancake you eat with your fingers. I hope you‘ll like it, it is pretty spicy if you’re not used to it.”

She nodded and picked up her chopsticks and reached for the fish cakes first, managing to grab one after a moment of trying and took a bite.

“Oh wow, that’s really good, I was a little nervous,” she admitted.

“Glad you like it,” Kyu Jong chuckled.

She tried the others and was particularly fond of the pickled radishes.

“You’re doing well with the chopsticks, have you been practicing?” He asked.

She blushed and nodded, “Yeah, I have. This is a little different, but it is a bit easier somehow.”

“I can tell, good job Kayla ssi,” he smiled, winking.

She blushed harder, “Thanks, but I still have a long way to go.”

“But you’re on your way, keep using them when you can.”

She nodded, “I will.”

She looked down at the pancake and tore a piece off, putting it in , chewing slowly.

Kayla coughed a bit, trying to clear , “It is a bit spicy, but really good, I love the flavor. The texture is great, soft and kinda crunch at the same time,” she grinned, taking a drink of her tea. “Oh, it’s coffee.”

“Ani, it is tea, corn and barley tea.”

“Really? Smells just like coffee,” she said, taking another sip.

“Ne, it does, it’s like our coffee, no caffeine though and it is very good for you, please drink a lot, it will help you to feel better.”

She looked at him and smiled, “I already feel better.”

___________________________________________________________________________

a/n: Hey all!! Sorry it's been so long since last update, been working a lot. Sooo what was supposed to be a Valentine's Day for Kayla to work on her relationship with Terrance never comes to fruition. She's upset and rightfully so, Terrance just keeps screwing up and how bout that last phone call? Kyu Jong, wouldn't you love to have your hand in his pocket?? Ahhh he's so sweet and what's going on? Kayla in that dress did something, hmmm...Valentine's Day continues next chapter! I hope to have another update soon, comments and feedback always welcome!

Take care all!

MO~