Every Rule Has an Exception

Every Rule Has An Exception - 2

Jackson sighed and cupped his hands at his nape in an exasperated manner. "Please cut me some slack, would you? How was I supposed to know if she was joking or not?" he then swiftly leaned against the table, closer to the other men. "Let's say I would've gone in to kiss her and she didn't want to be kissed. How would I have redeemed myself? If ever?"

"So, you do like her," Jinyoung taunted, taking the first sip of his matcha.

"Whenever did I say I don't?!"

A heartfelt fit of laughter broke out in the coffee shop. Jackson would have liked it more if it wasn't him in the center of attention.

"It's true, I guess." Mark shrugged his shoulders, "Now you know what I was going through when you two were lecturing me about Sam."

"It was a slightly different situation, hyung," Jinyoung commented and earned a playful glare from the other. "Jackson really has the whole highway to take off."

"I wish I could pilot myself into her heart."

Another fit of laughter.

"It's just, you know, I'm never around, and I truly hate these situations. We have a good thing for a while, and then I'm flying out tomorrow."

"You can't keep using this excuse forever, Jackson," Mark cut his speech off. "We're all mature adults here with careers to take care of. Same for me and Sam, same for you and Jo."

"Mark, you two are literally a couple."

"And what stops you to not be a couple with Jo?!"

"Ah, hyung, but you know, they're doing professional partnerships now. Is this what you call it nowadays?"

Jinyoung had a knack for adding gasoline to the fire. He was not apologetic for that.

Jackson breathed defeatedly. "Does it bring you joy to make fun of me?"

"You have absolutely no excuse. None. Zero. We knew from the very moment she walked backstage that you'd do anything to impress her. Good thing Bambam didn't go in before you did."

"Oh, true," Jinyoung completed Mark, "I think Jaebum hyung saw the wink situation on stage, and he lost his cool altogether."

Jackson's coffee started getting cold. The more he spoke, the colder his mouth felt, too. In hindsight, there was nothing he could lose and everything he could gain.

"Okay, fine, you win. I'll try to talk to her about, you know... something."

Mark laughed. "Something, what? The professional partnership?"

Jo checked the time once again. Her last meeting of the evening had finished 20 minutes early which gave her still too little time to decide what to wear for the outing. She couldn't have called it a meeting because she did not view Jackson as an empty business partner. She also couldn't call it a date since Jackson's intention was not to take her out on a date. So, outing seemed the be the most suitable word. And for the outing, Jo couldn't dress up in a suit again. She also couldn't be too careless about her appearance because she was meeting Jackson out in public. Then it hit her: what if he dressed more smartly than she expected?

Among all her clothing suitcases laying around in the house, she found a baggy-fit pair of jeans, a white CK tank top, and a black leather jacket to bring the outfit together. Her ebony loose hair was held together by a pair of Prada sunglasses on the top of her head, with a black Prada mini bag to finish the look. If her feet weren't swollen, she would have chosen heels, but she was happy to resort to a white pair of loafers of her own.