Hi readers, 

I can't believe I've left this for so long. 

It's weird how the world has changed so much. 

Anyway, if there is anyone still out there reading Changyoon, I would like to say thank you. 

Especially to all my subscribers, if any of you are still active. Thank you <3

I'm telling myself I have to finish these stories. So that one day I can come back and relive it. It at least happened in my world. 

All the best until next time  ~

As a reward for their hard work, Yoona and Sooyoung’s team who had worked on the ‘promotional wedding’ had been given an extra two days off.

It was a timely break. It was the perfect opportunity to give Yoona distance from everything after she vented some of her pent-up emotions on the night before.

During the two days Yoona managed to get some good rest, returning home to the comforts of her family. She also had a chance to really think through and untangle her emotions which had helped her calm down from her anger.

However, going back and facing a certain person would be a different story. Which was why part of her avoided going back. 

That was the part of Yoona that honestly wanted to pretend to be sick, or wanted to even fall sick so that she didn't have to head to work. But she is braver and stronger than to run away like that. Besides, the problems won’t solve themselves if she takes an extra day off. So she convinces herself to face it all. It’s just work anyway. So here she was - in front of the door to her office building.

She heaves a long sigh before pushing the heavy glass door. The receptionist greets her as always, which she returns in her usual friendliness.

She makes it to her office and puts down her bag on her chair. There is a tentative knock on the door.  Yoona closes her eyes, taking a moment to ready herself.

“Hi Yoona, Mr Jung asked to see you please.” Ara, Yunho’s assistant informed her.   

Yoona looks at her watch. Sooyoung did warn her to expect such a situation. But she didn’t know it would come first thing in the morning. She arrived even earlier than normal today, skipping her usual trip to the cafe meaning that staff at the office were scarce, let alone the executives being in at work so early.

“I’ll be there soon.” She replies.

And it proves Sooyoung was right. Yunho was sitting at his desk, waiting, with Boa just by his side. Yunho appears to be anxious to know whether she was angry from the stunt they pulled. It felt as if they were treading water as everyone proceeded with caution in their conversation. They started by apologising. Yoona could tell they were trying to gauge whether she wanted to continue to stay.

There was immediate relief as soon as Yoona made it clear that she had no intentions to leave as of yet, not long after she sat down. This is what she is passionate about. Yunho had not even gotten to the point of making the offer of increasing her salary and benefits as he had offered the same with Sooyoung.

Sooyoung had not taken the offer so when they did mention it, Yoona also declines as she does not find it fair to the others.

“Well, if there is anything else that you’d like us to do, we would happily arrange.” Boa said.

“I’ll be sure to let you know if I think of anything.” Yoona says.

Boa and Yunho then gave each other an uncertain look. Boa nods and smiles as if saying ‘I’ll take care of it’.

“Then I’ll see you both at the meeting later today.”

“Thanks Mr Jung” Yoona says, taking the cue to leave.  

Boa merely pats him on the arm as she leaves with Yoona.

Yoona is led into Boa’s office. Boa closes the door

“There was something we wanted to ask you but Yunho felt that you’d be uncomfortable if he was here to talk about it.”

“and that’s about…”  

“About Changmin…” Boa looks up, watching Yoona with a very careful expression.  

“Oh.”  Yoona says with a subtle.

“Will you be comfortable to continue working with him?” Yoona frowns in response, trying to figure out a way to answer Boa. “it’s just because there always seemed to be some kind of friction between you two.”

“Unnie, I think you can trust me. I said I’d stay. So, I will find a way to make it work.” Yoona reassures.

Boa finally seems completely relieved.

“well if you do need anything, just be sure to let me know.”

Yoona nods and thanks Boa for her consideration.

Boa does add “Changmin is a nice guy, he just doesn’t express himself very well.”

Yoona has a wry smile. “and sometimes he upsets people without realising”

“well believe it or not, he has improved a lot from since when we first met him. At least he talks more now.” Boa laughs.

Yoona considers that for a moment but does not want to ponder on that person for so long. So she excuses herself to head back to work. 

***

The first time they had to inevitably meet that day was for the meeting. But she had actually seen him earlier than that.

Yunho was giving him a tour of the offices once again. When he arrived at their office building, the staff in the open offices were assembled to introduce themselves. Yoona was lucky enough to be saved by a phone call from a client. Quite a few times, she glanced towards the activity outside through the glass, curious yet hoping she would not be caught (although there was once where she felt as if he caught her looking). But she would immediately busy herself with whatever was on her computer screen.

It was not until they were in the meeting room that she had to face him directly. She took the initiative to bow slightly at him as a greeting. Next to Sooyoung’s greeting with a handshake and a welcome, it was obvious that it was reserved.

“Mr Shim” Yoona acknowledges calmly. Beneath the surface, her heartbeat noticeably quickened.  

“Yoona ssi.” He replies.  

She was fortunate enough to be early enough to seat herself further down the table so that she was away from him.

She is secretly glad as the meeting flows smoothly according to the agenda. Yunho is saying proudly that there have already been lots of expressions of interest from potential clients just from the promotional event itself.

Tiffany brings up the next item on the agenda.

“We have received a special invitation to partake in the wedding expo next month.”

“I thought we weren’t going to be there due to the poor communication last year?” Yunho begins by questioning.

“They rearranged the layout of the exhibitions and changed our location without letting us know. So we were delayed by a full day’s work.” Dana points out.  

“Well… this time, they came up to me personally and made a promise to give us an exclusive space.” Tiffany says.

“Maybe they don’t have enough vendors this time because of their poor organisation?” Kyuhyun questions.

“Well, instead of looking at it that way. How about let’s say we have been doing impressively this year?” Yunho tries to steer the conversation into a positive direction.

“They did come to our promotional event last week.” Ara makes a point. “That’s how they approached me.”

“Well then, seeing their sincerity… I say, let’s do it” Yunho says.  He scans at the staff around the table before continuing. “any keen volunteers?”

“What date would it be Tiffany?” Sooyoung asks, scrolling through the calendar on her phone

“It’ll be the 17^th – 19^th of next month”

Everybody else starts looking through the calendars.

“I’ve got a wedding on the 18^th” Sooyoung says. And it didn’t seem to agree with anybody else’s schedule.

As for Yoona, she would have jumped at the opportunity. But she was worried. Worried about the direction this was heading, especially since it will be the first event that their new executive member would be part of. Yunho would probably want him to be part of it.

She feels everyone’s gaze shift to her. Her diary confirms that she is free of any schedules during that time. She takes a deep breath.

“I’m available.”

“Great. Perfect. SO Yoona will be in charge of…” Yunho’s sentence is cut short

“I’d also like to take part in this event.” Changmin interrupts. Yoona dies a little inside. She avoids looking in his direction. Instead she plays with the pen in her hand nervously.

“Well, even better. I was going to suggest it as a great learning opportunity…” Yunho catches Boa’s look mid-sentence. Boa is indicating subtly at Yoona. He realises his mistake,

“would that be alright with you Yoona?”

Caught by surprise at the question,

“Oh, yes I’m alright with it.” She manages to handle it calmly. But there are butterflies in her stomach. But it’s too late to back out now.

“Great, so Changmin you’d be able to learn a few things. Minute that please.” Yunho says to Ara.

“Alright, meeting closed”

***

As they come out of the meeting, Yoona is caught by surprise when she finds Changmin waiting for her around the corner.

“Yoona ssi” He calls. Her name just slips out of his lips ever so effortlessly. She pauses before looking him in the eyes. And almost regrets it. Almost.

“Yes?”

“When would be a good time to start discussing the plans for the expo?”

“I’ve got an appointment with a client this afternoon. So maybe tomorrow?”

Changmin considers her response for a moment.

“How about tonight? we can discuss over dinner.”

Yoona is slightly taken aback by his offer.

“I don’t think…”

“Because of the short notice, we’re already running behind.” He cuts in and reasons seeing her wavering response. 

“I really prefer tomorrow.”

“I won’t be here for 3 days, starting from tomorrow.” 

“Oh.” Is all Yoona could manage. Unable to think of any other appropriate response. She checks her watch. “I don't know when I’ll be done.”

“That’s fine. I’m happy to wait.” He reassures her. His gaze steady on hers.

“OK.” She agrees. Just before she walks off, he opens his mouth to say something. But he stops himself. 

***

People say that the best way to not let things get to you is by powering on. That’s exactly what Yoona decides to do. Once she started to work, she almost didn’t stop. She was in the middle of collating items for an invoice when the lights on her room were flicked on. She looks up in surprise. She had not realised that her room had gotten darker and darker. Closing her eyes at the brightness, she realises how dry her eyes have become from focusing on the monitor. 

Changmin is leaning on the doorway with his arms folded waiting for her to notice. She massages her eyes and face in an attempt to rid the tiredness.  Checking her watch, she realises that it is almost 8 in the evening.

“Sorry, I forgot to check the time.”

“I did say I was happy to wait.” He says in response. Yoona watches as he invites himself in and plots himself onto the couch across from her table. “Are you far from finishing?”

“I’m almost done with this draft invoice. I just have to add another few items.” She says while rubbing her eyes again.

“I thought the finance accounts department takes care of this.”

“Oh, there were quite a few messy last minute changes. So I had to follow up.”

“Fair enough.” He says after he considers what she says “Are they that urgent?”

“Well… not exactly.”  

“Great” he says as he stands up once again, “I think that invoice can wait then.”

Yoona looks at her computer screen for a moment, weighing up his words. Now that she has stopped typing, she finally feels the hints of weariness reaching her. She feels Changmin staring at her, so she avoids looking up. Instead, she starts packing up quietly.

Conscious of the fact that he is in the room, she focuses on trying to act normal. With a miscalculated move of her elbow, she knocks her bag to the ground causing the contents to fall to the ground.

She heaves a deep sigh and crouches down to pick it up. Blood rushes to her cheeks as she tries to hide her embarrassment.

The next minute, Changmin was next to her picking up the loose items. He hands the items and her phone to her.

“I’ll wait outside.” He says patiently.

“Thanks.” She says, waiting for him to disappear before being able to breathe properly again.

Upon remembering something, she searches the contents of her bag.

She sighs in relief upon finding the pen tucked safely in the pocket. Luckily, it hadn’t fallen out. She pulls it out and brushes her finger over the initials ‘CM’ engraved on it. Checking the doorway, she places the pen carefully in her drawer before proceeding to pack up.

As Yoona reaches the exit to the office building, she sees the back of Changmin’s figure as he waits outside.

She stops and can’t help but think to herself. What would it be like if things didn’t play out the way they did?

There is a subtle pain in her chest as she thinks about it.

“stop thinking about that Yoona.” She sighs while thinking to herself. “He is your colleague now. That’s all.”

He looks up just as she closes the door. There is a gentleness in his eyes as they land on hers. There is a slight tug in her chest. She quickly turns around and focuses on locking the door instead.

“is there anything you feel like eating?” he asks as she tucks her keys away.

She considers for a moment as they start walking towards the carpark.

“Whatever’s fine.”

“Well you can’t really eat whatever.” He says as he falls in step with her.

“what do you feel like eating?” she turns the question back at him.

“I’m the one asking you for a favour, so you can decide.” He says

She considers her options for a moment. She did have a few cravings earlier on in the week, but due to the recent events, she had neglected those thoughts.

As she looks up at him again, he is still watching with a patient expression.

“Udon with Katsu”

“I know just the place.”

****

A car trip from Apgujeong to Samseong takes just under 10 minutes. To Yoona and Changmin the ten minutes felt really slow.

They only manage to have short sentence conversations.

“Did the appointment go well?” he asks  

“Yes it did.”

Then there is silence.

“Is the place far?”

“No, just up at COEX. So not far at all.”

“Oh.”

The conversation stops again.

“For the expo, we need to…” Yoona starts, trying to ease the discomfort by leading the conversation towards business.

“How about we talk about that once we get there?” Changmin’s response isn’t rude. It’s almost like asking for a favour.

“Sorry?” Yoona is taken by surprise this time. From all the interaction she has had with the man sitting next to her, he was all about efficiency. So why is he…

“Just relax. Everyone needs a break from work.” He says, breaking through her thoughts.

“Oh.” After a moment, Yoona finally sits back properly, leaning into her seat.

The rest of the car trip ends up with just silence.

Fortunately, they arrive at their destination not long after.

Changmin leaves the car for the valet to take care of.

Yoona is surprised as soon as they turn into the valet parking area. But at the same time, she realises she shouldn’t be so surprised. For a person who prioritises efficiency and time saving, something as simple as finding a parking spot would be nothing than a waste of time.

Changmin catches Yoona’s thoughtful expression and before he could even ask what is wrong, she answers.

“It’s just that I’ve never witnessed anyone using a valet first hand.”

“It’s less hassle.”

Yoona nods in agreement. Just as I thought.

***

As soon as the waitress (a middle-aged lady) walks off after taking their order, Yoona starts off the conversation

“So, for the expo we need to decide on a theme for our trade display. Tiffany mentioned some exclusive space, so we might need to think of an additional promotional activity.”

“Hang on, slow down.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why can’t you at least enjoy the food first and then worry about business?”

“I thought the whole point of this dinner was to get a start on the planning since we have so little time.” Changmin nods slowly in agreement but lets Yoona finish “Besides, aren’t you all about efficiency and not wasting time?”

 Changmin makes a short breath of a laugh.

“I know I was all about efficiency and not wasting time. But as a friend told me I also need to start practising how to slow down and have some time to ourselves.”

“Was that friend Kyuhyun?” Yoona blurts out. Then it hits her. She was probably prying “Sorry. You don’t need to answer that.”

Changmin finally smiles in amusement

“No, it wasn’t in fact, it was Minho.”

“Well. Minho, you can trust.” Yoona jokes

“You know all our friends say the same thing.” He then realises that they had been side-tracked. “

“Anyway, the point is, I never realised that my ways put so much stress on people. Just like how you were just now.” He says as a matter of fact.  

“I wasn’t stressed”

“How you immediately felt pressured to dive right in.”

“I thought you’d want to get it out of the way.”

“That is exactly what I’m saying.”

Yoona thinks for a moment. He had just proven his point. In response to her silence, Changmin continues.

“And I’d like to apologise for my actions including the whole cover-up thing.” He stares directly into Yoona’s eyes while speaking. Yoona cannot deny the sincerity in his speech. “I’m sorry.”

Just before Yoona could respond, their food arrives and the waitress places down their bowls of udon down. They both lean back to allow the waitress to sort out the rest of the dishes.

The waitress finishes, she glances at Changmin to Yoona and then back.

“young couple had a fight?” she asks looking at them again.

Yoona looks up with widened eyes at the waitress. She is left speechless but manages a small shake of her head.

“Oh, it’s not like that” he says trying to clarify.

“we’re not-“ but Yoona is cut off by the ahjumma.

“Then you should give the fellow a chance” she says giving Yoona a very encouraging smile. “You can tell he really means it.”

Yoona nods, pursing her lips, trying not to laugh.

Changmin is similarly trying to not to laugh. He covers his amused smile with the back of his hand.

“thank you very much” Changmin manages a feigned serious look.

“that’s the way” she says as she leaves.

“that’s the first time something like that has happened.” Yoona covers her face in embarrassment.

 “no it’s not actually.” He says quite calmly, recovering from his chuckles. Yoona looks up slowly.

“oh this isn’t your first time?”

“No. I thought you’d know” Changmin says, looking at her, waiting for her to remember.

“Oh?” Yoona tucks her hair behind her ears and takes a sip of her water, avoiding to respond. But inside she clearly knew he was referring to the time the girl at the caterer thought that they were a couple.

Seeing her discomfort, he apologises

“sorry. As I was saying.”

“You’re sorry. You said already that.” she says slightly amused (but more grateful that he had moved onto another subject).  She adds “before we got interrupted”

They both chuckle.

“I was about to say…” she pauses and thinks her words through before continuing “look, it’s alright. You had your position. It’s just that…”

“I took the worst way of going about it? I know. I realised. Too late, but now I do realise. That’s why I’m apologizing.”

“oh.” Yoona heaves a sigh again, taking a sip from her practically empty glass.  “I wanted to also say that I shouldn’t have let out all my emotions at you the other night. I don’t know why…”

She doesn’t admit it to him but she it had dawned on her that she was actually angry at herself for letting herself get emotionally involved with a client - him.

“No,” he cuts in “I was being a total jerk. And you have a right to let it out. It was unfair on you" then realises and adds "and the team. So no apologies needed”

“well, thanks for understanding.” She says, feeling the warmth in her cheeks.

“So, no hard feelings?” he asks in a gentlemanly manner.

Yoona looks up at him and a smile spreads on her face.

“No hard feelings.”