Loving an Heiress

Alignment

The smell of burning pork belly pervaded the backyard of Seorak Garden Villas, a pension in Sokcho. The sound of people chatting faintly heard from the red-green building on the side of the yard. A group of people were inside the glass-walled building, surrounding one of the griller; only one man stayed outside, sitting on a swing, burning a cigarette while gazing at the dark mountain. He looked at the people inside the building and wondered, why in the world he was there.

Four men sat on a table, chatting happily expecting the barbecue dinner they were about to have. Min Hyo Rin sat just two chairs from them looking very uncomfortable and out of place, she looked at the group of men and thought that it was not the kind of group that would want to be around her. She then looked at the three persons who were grilling the meat, a sibling and an ex-lover. She thought the group had so many histories that they would not want anyone outside of the circle. In the end she just sat there, starting to feel regretful that she ever came to that pension.

Shin Hye put a slice of lamb intestines to the hot grill; the sizzling sound, the dripping fat and the alluring smell of a burned meat instantly emptied her stomach. She just had a bowl of ramen a few hours ago but she was already drooling from the thought of the tasty smelling food that she was grilling. The Jung siblings were bickering, as always, about which part of the lamb they wanted to grill next. In the end the older half of the sibling was kicked out and ended up losing his job as one of the griller. He pouted when he lost his chance in cooking with Shin Hye and just walked to the dining area.

Yong Hwa looked at the dining table; Park Hyung Sik, Yoo Seung Ho, Kang Min Hyuk were laughing about something; the group looked so fun and he wanted to join them. But then he saw Jung Il Woo looking rather enigmatic beside Min Hyuk. Yong Hwa was not sure whether he liked or disliked being there, he had not interacted with the ex-bestfriend for so many months, it seemed that his instinct towards that man was getting rustic. Back in the day, Yong Hwa could read him like the back of his hand.

After pondering awhile, he decided to sit beside the fashion editor who was looking very awkward and fidgety at the end of the table, he thought she might need a company even though he did not really know what to talk about with her. Interacting outside of the office nor work matter was never the case for them, so being in pension for an MT for three days could be a bit of a challenge. Yong Hwa felt a pair of eyes suddenly shot at him, the owner of the eyes tensed up when he took a seat beside the girl. The said girl looked at him, frowning, like he was disturbing her daydream.

"So you took a taxi all the way to Sokcho?" Yong Hwa tried to start a conversation. She nodded. "Wow! That must have cost you a fortune... you should have called us, or them!"

"I didn't know you were coming." She said shortly

"A bus would be a better choice..." he added

"I don't like to ride with strangers." she replied quick

Yong Hwa pursed his lips realizing the unwelcomed situation he was in; but it was better than with the other group where his ex-bestfriend belonged to. So he withstood the icy reception of the girl and continued, "Did you ever go to an MT?"

"No." she answered, she took a tissue from a box and start wiping the table clean.

"Isn't it odd that our company never conducted an MT before?" he asked

"Not really." her expression was remain unchanged.

"Well I think it's odd, MT is a very good way to get to know each other and building team spirit. Maybe that's why our company is so weak in teamwork. The creative team should have an MT someday!" he chirped.

"If you say so..." she replied barely.

"So do you like lamb or pork?" He was one persistent guy.

Hyo Rin shrugged, "Vegetables."

He pursed his lips again, "Ah! Yeah! My mistake... Do you put it on a stick or just grilled it? How do you usually prepare it?" Hyo Rin mentally rolled her eyes, starting to get annoyed by the small talk.

"In silence!" She finally said with a stern look towards him.

He was stunned for a moment and finally relented, diverted his attention to a bowl of rice in front of him, grabbed the chopstick and used it to pick up the rice, grain by grain; He put it in his mouth afterwards. He hoped the meat would be ready before he finished the whole bowl.

Shin Hye put the last piece of meat to the griller and looked around; Soo Jung was getting ready to put the vegetables kebabs to the griller, the boys were shamelessly chatting by themselves while Yong Hwa and Hyo Rin sitting side-by-side but looked like a complete stranger. She repressed her smile watching Yong Hwa's shoulder sank so low. Shin Hye noticed that one person was missing, she looked around and saw her Oppa outside of the building. She sighed dejectedly.

"Soo Jung-a! You got this, right? I'm going to get Shi Hoo Oppa." she said to the younger girl.

"Relax, Eonni! I got this!" she said with the sweetest smile ever. "Oppa!!! Come here and help!" she shouted almost immediately, Shin Hye felt so bad towards Yong Hwa.

"Now what!? You kicked me out just now, and called me back every time you need me?!" Yong Hwa sulked.

"Sikkeleoun! Help me to bring this to the table, let's eat!" Soo Jung cried.

Yong Hwa's face lit up at 'lets eat' and jumped to take plates of grilled meat and put them on the center of the table, the boys welcomed him with a loud cheer. Min Hyuk stood up and walked to Soo Jung to help.

Shin Hye made her way to the swing, the night had gotten even chillier making her hugged herself to stay warm. The smoke around Shi Hoo made him looked like a magician, a very gloomy magician. She braced herself and sat beside him, earned a fiery glare but she tried to look nonchalant. They sat in silence for awhile.

"Thank you for coming, Oppa!" Shin Hye said weakly.

"I can't get into my house and can't call anybody if I didn't come." he barked.

Shin Hye smiled, "Yes, you can... it's just a reason. You want to be here, you disagree with me but you won't let me fail. Not now when the milk had been spilled." Shin Hye said.

Shi Hoo huffed a smoke, "I hope you have a good plan, Shin Hye-ya! Keep your head straight and not think about anything else but the event and the company."

"Yes, Sir!!" she gave him an army salutation, "I'll become a monk, like you!! Sir!!" she smiled teasingly.

"That's it! I'm coming home!" he stood up to seal his threat.

Shin Hye jumped in surprise and instantly clung on his arms, "Biyane! Biyane, Oppa! I won't call you monk again! Let's eat okay! You're always grumpy when you're hungry!"

Shi Hoo looked at his cousin murderously, he was about to say something when someone distracted them. "Ahem!" Shin Hye looked at the source of the sound and instantly jumped to let go Shi Hoo's arm. "Dinner is ready!" Yong Hwa said with a firm stare.

"O! Thank you! Let's go Oppa! The smell is great, isn't it?" she faked a cheerful tone and ran back to the building, wondering herself why did she acted like she was caught cheating.

Shin Hye ran to Min Hyuk side and sat beside him while Soo Jung was carrying the last plate of vegetables and sat in front of her. The boys were already starting to picked up the meat and vegetables though luckily still had the politeness to wait for everyone. Few minutes later Shi Hoo walked in and sat beside Shin Hye, followed by Yong Hwa who looked annoyed and sat on his original chair, which was unfortunately in front of Shi Hoo.

Shin Hye looked to her right and saw Yong Hwa, Shi Hoo and Hyo Rin at the end of the table; she thought it was not the wisest seating arrangement in Femme history. But she decided to not do anything about it, hoping the awkward position could actually made them talk. She stood up and instantly gained attention from the others.

"Ahem! Thank you everybody for coming today, though it did give me a bit of a heart attack, but I am very grateful to all of you for accepting my request to join the team. This MT will be for two nights and three days and will be led by my brother Hyung Sik!" she gestured towards her sibling.

The table weakly clapped as Hyung Sik stood to continue the speech. "Yes! My sister has trusted to me lead this MT or I'd like to call it an alignment program. Before I do that I want to confirm something. So, Sis! You appointed me as the leader of this MT does that mean everybody has to do every activity that I've worked so hard to designed?"

"Yeah!" Shin Hye said matter-of-factly.

"And everybody has to do everything that I instructed?" Hyung Sik add another of his silly condition.

Shin Hye frowned, a bad feeling suddenly came across her mind. "Sure! Whatever make you happy!"

"So my word is your command! All of you, right!?" he needed to make sure. "So, I'm... God?"

Shin Hye rolled her eyes, "Aish! Do you have to be so dramatic? Arasso! Whatever you want to call yourself!! Can we eat first!!" she shouted.

Hyung Sik grinned happily while stealing a glance to Yong Hwa; the older man eyed him suspiciously. "Cha! My first rule of the day!! Drop all of the honourifics!"

"Mwo!!?" the whole table exclaimed in unison.

Hyung Sik jumped in surprise, "See!? I already succeed in making you unified!" his mischievous smile replaced the shock expression.

"Ya! Hyung Sik-a! Don't cross the line!" Shi Hoo shouted in anger.

"Hut! Hut! Hut!" Hyung Sik wagged his index finger as if talking to a kid, "Remember! I'm God!" Shi Hoo relented. "So, for three days and two nights starting from now, there will be no longer Director Park or Manager Jung. From now on, you are Il Woo!" he pointed to the man in front of him, "Min Hyuk, Shin Hye and... Shi Hoo!" he said without flinching. "And you are, Seung Ho, Soo Jung, Yong Hwa and Hyo Rin." he clearly enjoyed his self-proclaimed new title.

"Arasso! Arasso! Can we eat now?!" Shi Hoo said eventually. Since he was the oldest of the group, his agreement pretty much said it all.

"Bon a petite!" Hyung Sik said with a grin.

"Finally!!" Yong Hwa yelled.

At last they could start eating and the room went into a silence as they were all focused on each plates. The exhaustion and hunger took their ability to talk and just stuffed their mouth with the tasty grilled intestines and pork belly. After awhile, when the food decreased into half and stomach started to fill up, the sound of people talking was back.

"So how long have you worked in Femme, Il Woo-ya!" Hyung Sik said nonchalantly, Il Woo choked on his water.

"Three years." He said after overcoming the cough.

"How do you like being a manager?" Hyung Sik asked again.

"I'm still learning, hopefully I can do well..." Il Woo was starting to feel uncomfortable since the focus was on him.

"Do you think you'll do a better job than your previous boss?" The younger man continuously asked, Shin Hye looked at him and wondered if he was trying to do something. Il Woo looked at the man, taken aback by his bluntness.

"Of course he will... he made it clear to all of us repeatedly!" a man suddenly jumped in, which earned a murderous stare from Min Hyuk and Seung Ho.

Il Woo looked at the man at the end of the table, "Of really?! I'm sure you feel the same way too about your preceding!" he retaliated, his stare was as cold as the weather outside.

Shin Hye could hear soft gasped from across her, she looked at Yong Hwa whose face was now as red as the pepper. She too felt the tension from the man beside her. "Ahem, don't you think the pension is nice?" She tried to diverted people's attention.

"O! The view is great, the air is fresh the pension is quite nice." Min Hyuk backed her up.

Shi Hoo scoffed, "Femme could do better. Why didn't you find some five star hotel in the area?!" he grumbled, "I'm sure editor Min thinks the same way I do, isn't that right Hyo Rin-a!?" he looked at the girl sweetly

Editor Min jerked, did not know how to respond.

"Wae gurae, Shi Hoo-ya!?" Yong Hwa snapped, "Shin Hye worked hard to find this place, if you have an opinion just stick with it. Don't drag anyone with you." he said looking straight at the older man. "Ya! Il Woo-ya, say something!" he shouted and again which earned murderous stare from most of the people in the table.

Shi Hoo was that close from standing up and jumped across the table to hit his nemesis, that would be the best opportunity for him to release his repressed hatred towards the man. Shin Hye immediately held his arms to prevent an incident happening in the very first night of their MT. "Hyung Sik-a! What are we doing after this?" she exclaimed.

Hyung Sik looked at her vacantly, he seemed enjoying the drama on the table too much that he failed to hear the question. "O? Our first activity will be back in the Villa. Let's finish the dinner and head back."

Hyo Rin put her fork down and wiped her lips, she stared blankly at the wall in front of her. "Didn't your mother ever told you to finish your food?! Soo Jung-a look! Our mother would have scolded her if she saw her plate." Yong Hwa was being utterly obnoxious that night. "Why don't you at least finish the vegetables that you liked so much. We grilled it ourselves, you know. At least you can do is appreciate it."

"Can you please stop talking!!!?" Hyo Rin finally exploded, making the tension on the table higher than ever.

Yong Hwa pursed his lips by the sudden outburst, the others looked at their plates respectively and finished their dinner in a hurry, Shin Hye was sure some of them would get indigestion by the end of the night. She glanced at her brother who seemed to have a faint smile as if he got what he wanted. She continued to observe her brother and jerked when he raised his eyebrows several times at her. He planned all of that!

"Chaaa... I think we can head back to our Villa and start the first activity. Ka Ja!" He led them out of the restaurant, across the field and into their accommodation.

Shin Hye ran to catch up to him, "You did all that on purpose, didn't you? Is Yong Hwa your accomplice?" she asked suspiciously.

He smiled mischievously, "Oh, I don't know. What do you mean I plan all that?" he looked at her. "You know what they say, God works in his mysterious way!" he added with a naughty wink and ran to lose her. He did not want her to pester him all night.

Shin Hye halted in disbelief, she looked at the rest of the participants who were hurriedly walking to the Villa so they could get into the warmth fast. Yong Hwa walked pass her, completely ignoring her, almost like intentional. Shin Hye observed the man and swore that she could see a faint smirk even from his back.

---o0o---

The Femme MT's participants' jaws dropped at the sight of dozens of liquor bottles in front of them. They were sitting in the middle of the common room watching the MT's leader preparing his props for the next activity. Hyung Sik was taking the bottle out of the boxes one by one, glancing naughtily at his audience once in awhile. He loved the shocking expression from each and every one of his colleague, some gulping hard knowing that they were going to be so wasted by the night ends.

"Chaa!! Our next activity is Ice Breaking session, and what is a better way of breaking the ice than a good 'ol drinking game!" he said looking at his friends.

Seung Ho gulped hard, already feeling the burning sensation in his throat. "You expect us to drink all that?" he grimaced.

"Bichoso!!?" his sister exclaimed, "Are you trying to kill us?" she glowered.

Hyung Sik chuckled, "Of course not! I just like to be extra prepared. Should anyone still sober enough to act normal, he or she should keep drinking. Otherwise, we can stop whenever I said so."

"So you're the only one who's not going to drink?" Yong Hwa peered at him suspiciously.

"Of course! I'm the Master of Ceremony, your bartender, the designated driver; of course I could not drink!" He said matter-of-factly, "Remembeeer... I'm the God of this MT. So quit complaining and start playing!!" He faked a serious expression. "Now, sit and form a circle surrounding the coffee table!"

They all looked at each other and begrudgingly scooted over so that they encircled the coffee table. Hyung Sik then grabbed a bag near him and took out eight red paper cups, passed it over so that each person had one. He then took a bottle of beer, opened it and poured it to the eight cups, repeating the steps several times until each cup was full. Some of the attendees were already gulping at the thought of finishing that much of liquor, probably more.

He then took a paper bag and pour the content on the table, pieces of wooden blocks fell down from it causing loud noises. Most people jumped in surprise, the others were looking at the MC in annoyance.

"The game is, drunken Jenga!" Hyung Sik said with a grin.

The wooden block turned out to be pieces of Jenga, but each pieces were hands scribbled with instructions or random phrases that were unfamiliar for the people. They all took the blocks and observed them trying to guess what the scribbled meant.

"You know how to play Jenga right? Basically you took out a piece and put it on top of the tower until the tower fell down. The twist is: as you can see there is something written on each of the blocks. Well it could mean an instruction or a game. So, for example Shi Hoo draws this Jenga block!" Hyung Sik took a block and showed it to everyone, Shin Hye repressed a smile watching Shi Hoo Oppa flinched when Hyung Sik casually addressed him, "This block has 'Embryo' written on it, which means..." he stopped to look at his cheat sheet, "The maknae should drink. Some jenga block contain a name of a game, so when that particular block was drawn, we all have to play another drinking game... so a game within a game. Got it??"They looked at each other and slowly nodded. "And also, the one who knocked out the tower, must drink what was left on everybody's cup. So don't go cheating and knocked it as soon as the game begin. Arasso!!" some people actually air-punched, disappointed by the last rule.

Hyung Sik exclaimed in satisfaction and start collecting the Jengas and build a tower out of it, making sure that the scribbled side was facing down so no one could see what was written on each block. After he finished, he sat back to his original position and rubbed his hand like a magician who was about to begin his trick.

"Great! Let the games begin... Shi Hoo-ya! Since you're the older, you may begin!" he smiled mischievously at the oldest in the group who looked like he was boiling inside. Everybody was having the same expression of blocking a smile seeing the banter.

Shi Hoo took out the middle jenga from the second row and gave it to Hyung Sik, "Crypt Keeper!" he said.

"The oldest person in the group must drink!" Hyung Sik read from his cheat sheet; Shi Hoo gritted his teeth and drank from his cup. Some actually snorted soft laugh. "Il Woo-ya, you're next!"

Il Woo smiled and got up from his seat, he was starting to warm up to the game. He took a piece and gave it to Hyung Sik, "Straight face ass spelling" he cited the scribble on his Jenga.

Hyung Sik bursted out laughing while putting the block on top of the tower. "Il Woo-ya, please write your name with your butt. The person who laugh has to drink!" the group instantly cracked up, including the subject himself.

Il Woo stood up, back against the audience. And after a several failed attempt to contain his laughter, he finally started his assignment: spelling his name (정일우) using his butt. So he wiggled, and he waddled and he wiggled some more to write his name in han gul. The villa went on an uproar, people fell down to the floor holding their stomach for laughing so hard. Only Shi Hoo and Hyo Rin were able to keep a straight face. Il Woo finished his task with a red face and a shy smile. Even he had to drink his cup.

After they calmed down, Hyung Sik called the next contestant, "Min Hyuk-a, you're up!"

Min Hyuk's face was still red from laughing so hard, he got up and took another piece of Jenga and gave it to Hyung Sik. "Staring Contest!" he said.

"Pick an opponent and have a staring contest, losers drink 3 times." Hyung Sik read the rules of the game.

Min Hyuk pondered for awhile, "Soo Jung-a!" he exclaimed firmly, which earned jeers from the boys except Yong Hwa who looked shock because of his choice.

"Deh!?" Soo Jung exclaimed in surprise.

"Aha! Let's make this girl vs boys, which ever losses, the same gender must drink 3 times!" Hyung Sik said which welcomed by a groan from the others.

Min Hyuk walked to Hyung Sik's side which had a bit of space, Soo Jung followed suit and sat in front of him. Hyung Sik moved himself to be in the middle of the two acting as the judge, he held out his palm as if preparing for a boxing match.

"Ready? Go!" he instructed.

The room was instantly divided into two, the girls walked behind Soo Jung to cheer on her while the boys minus Shi Hoo mocked Min Hyuk. His friends were in awe that the nerd finally showing some interest to a girl even if it just for a staring contest. Yong Hwa on the other hand was peering at the younger friend, suspicious that it was more than just a game for Min Hyuk. His brotherly radar suddenly went off.

"Soo Jung-a, give him your killer aegyo!" Shin Hye shouted. Min Hyuk's smile spread but his eyes were widely opened, as wide as his small eyes allowed.

"Oooo, Soo Jung-shi! I think Min Hyuk has a crush on you!!" Seung Ho retaliated by teasing the girl, she pursed her lips to contain her smile.

Both crowd cheered like a true battle of the sexes but the player was actually a master at the game, a minute passed but no one dared to give up. Their eyes were starting to water but they withstood.

Shin Hye and Hyo Rin looked worried because Soo Jung looked like she was about to give up. Suddenly Hyo Rin leaned forward and whispered something to Soo Jung. The maknae frowned for awhile but then nodded in determination. She suddenly gave her sexiest smile, even biting her lower lips like a true seductress.

The boys jeered at her attempt and persuaded Min Hyuk not to get affected by it. But their reaction was too funny for him, he eventually laughed so hard that causing his eyes to blink. The boys groan as they fell on the floor, cursing their friend form making them drink. The girls high-five each other in victory.

The boys drank their punishment and roared, they were starting to feel the excitement of the game. "Seung Ho-ya! You're next!" Hyung Sik called.

Seung Ho approached the table and looked at the tower mischievously, he took out a piece that was making the tower rocked. The next person should be in trouble. "The Real Slim Shady!" he grinned ear-to-ear expecting a fun game ahead.

"You have to stand up until the rest of the game!" Hyung Sik said indifferently while placing the block on top of the tower.

Seung Ho looked disappointed, "Aaw!? That's it?" he asked while standing up. His friend laughed at his misfortune.

"And no leaning to the wall!!" Hyung Sik scolded. They played for several rounds making each and everyone drank repeatedly. Hyung Sik happily refilled the empty cups since the tower did not crumbled yet. "Hyo Rin-a, please take your turn!" he said on Hyo Rin's umpteenth turn, still applying his rule eventhough he spoke more politely, even the naughty boy was afraid of the Fashion Editor.

Hyo Rin timidly approached the table and took a piece that were already out of place, removing it very easily from the tower. "Most Likely" she said softly while putting the piece to where Seung Ho's piece originated. A foul in the play, but Hyung Sik was too scared to scolded her.

"Each player asks a 'most likely' question, like 'who would most likely go to the moon'; on the count of three everyone points to whoever they think would be most likely to do the act that was mentioned. You have to take a drink for every person who's pointing at you. Got it!?" He smiled when everyone nodded, "I'll start, who's in this group that most likely had traveled to Europe!" without any cue, all of them pointed their finger at Shin Hye.

She glared at her brother, "You did that intentionally, didn't you!"

Hyung Sik shrugged his shoulder, "Well! you haven't had that many drinks yet! You look thirsty!" he faked a concern look. Shin Hye scoffed and drank 8 times. Hyung Sik decided to play in this game.

"Who's in this group that is most likely feared by the Femme employees?" Yong Hwa asked, which earned a murderous stare from Shin Hye. She had a pretty good idea who was the person that was going to be pointed out the most. "One... Two... Three...!" Shin Hye had to drink three times, Shi Hoo four times and Hyo Rin once. The assistant hung her head while giving that one vote.

"Who's in this group that is most likely would not know what an IP stands for." Min Hyuk asked like a true nerd; Seung Ho had to drink 8 times although he proof himself to everyone that he knew what it was.

Seung Ho, Shi Hoo and Hyo Rin asked random questions that did not force anyone to drink. They got a first warning from the MC, should they do the same reluctant act on the next game, they will be punished with five drinks.

"Who's in this group that is most likely to be the most player of all!" Shin Hye shouted, her head was starting to get dizzy. Il Woo earned four votes, Yong Hwa had to drink three times, Shi Hoo thought it was absurd when he had to drink once.

"Who is in this group that is most likely would marry someone from the office?" Soo Jung yelled, she wished she could use both of her hands to pointed her votes. Yong Hwa's fluttered when he and Shin Hye were the only ones that had to drink.

"Who is most likely have a grudge to other person in this group?" Il Woo asked with a stern face, creating a tension in the air. Yong Hwa could not guess whether Il Woo said that because he was drunk or he was being serious. Yong Hwa had to drink three times, while Shin Hye had five. She was now starting to get tipsy.

The villa went silence for awhile, they silently realized that secrets were starting to spilled and repressed feeling was starting to surfaced. "Cha! Let's continue. Shin Hye-ya! Your turn!" Hyung Sik said solemnly, he actually was glad that his mission was accomplished, people were starting to open up to each other.

Shin Hye staggered to the table and took a block in difficulties, Hyung Sik winched at the thought that the tower might stumbled; he did not want the game to be over yet. Luckily she succeed, "Never have I ever!" she shouted and threw the block to her brother.

"Everyone holds up three finger. Continue taking turns saying a 'Never have I ever... bla bla', add your own sentence. Every time you have done one of the statements, you put one finger down. First person to lose all three fingers must take a drink." he explained.

Shi Hoo took a deep breath, he did not like the game one bit. "This is stupid!" he said.

Shin Hye nudged him, "Oh come on, Oppa! This is all for fun... what's the worst could happen?", he rolled his eyes.

"Okay, I won't be playing but I'll add my sentence to okay. I'll start, now hold up your three fingers!" Everybody did as they told, "Never have I ever punched a person in this room." Yong Hwa retracted his middle finger, the room suddenly filled with tension as people guessed who he hit before, Hyung Sik seemed to be sorry that he said the statement.

"Never have I ever had sex!" Seung Ho exclaimed naughtily, more tension filled up the air as Yong Hwa, Il Woo, Shi Hoo and Hyo Rin retracted one of their fingers. Shin Hye looked at Yong Hwa and smiled weakly, she hated for being disappointed at that new knowledge about him.

"Never have I ever had a crush for more than three years to a person in this group." Yong Hwa said, looking straight at his ex-bestfriend. Il Woo jerked and looked at him, he looked hesitant but slowly retracted another finger. Shin Hye and Soo Jung looked at each other, guessing who the person was.

"This is soo stupid!!" Shi Hoo exclaimed again, the game was starting to be in a dangerous zone. He was worried that his secret would be revealed anytime soon.

"Never have I ever kissed someone in this group!" Il Woo retaliated his ex-bestfriend, not caring that another person was shocked by the statement. He heard Shi Hoo groaned which made him puzzled. He looked around and saw Yong Hwa, Shin Hye, Hyo Rin and Shi Hoo put down one of their fingers. The last two persons had him slack-jawed. And everybody else for that matter.

Yong Hwa scoffed and put down his hand, he drank his cup since he lost the game. But the real highlight was on Il Woo as he realized that his one-sided-long-time crush kissed another man that was also in the same room. The atmosphere suddenly got even gloomier.

Hyung Sik smiled knowing that the walls were slowly disappearing, the individuality pride was slowly crumbled and their assumption against each other were messed up. Which was perfect for the next activity on the next day. "Yong Hwa-ya! Your turn!" he winked at his Hyung.

The man staggered to the table, shook his head several times to get rid of the double sight. He finally reached for a block and succeed to pull one of them. "2 truths and a lie!" he stammered.

The MC smirked, "You have to give three statements, two of which are truths and one is a lie. You have to drink as much as the number of person who succesfully pointed out your lies." he bet his whole fortune on what Yong Hwa will do with the instruction.

The man looked at Shin Hye sternly, maybe it was the alcohol but he suddenly had a newly found extra courage as he said, "I'm still in love with my ex-girlfriend..." Soo Jung gasped from the confession. He turned to Il Woo, "I hated my bestfriend for betraying me..." he paused to think his next statement, "And I had six annoying sisters." he continued.

The villa went into silence once more, they were stunned at his bluntness and not to mention that it was already pass midnight. They could only hear the sound of the mountain cricket in the distance. Hyung Sik finally broke the silence by asking them which one was the lies; Yong Hwa ended up with eight drinks. He slowly sank to the table after the drink.

"Soo Jung-a! It's your turn!" Hyung Sik said softly as more people followed Yong Hwa's lead and pass out.

The girl stumbled to the table and drew a block with 'Blind Man' on it. Since Shi Hoo passed out, the next round went to Seung Ho who was still standing because of the punishment from the first round, however he now needed his hand to supported his body to the wall.

"Seung Ho ya! You have to close your eyes to get the block!" Hyung Sik scream-whispered, he knew the game was practically over.

Seung Ho staggered to the table, accidentally stepped on Min Hyuk and Il Woo on the way. He did not even reach the table when he stumbled and knocked the tower over; without even bother to look up, he just laid on the floor and passed out like everybody.

As the only sober man standing, Hyung Sik smiled victoriously. He tip toed to the boys room, closed the door and enjoyed the spacious room all to himself while the rest cramped themselves in one common room.

---o0o---

Yong Hwa squinted his eyelids, the ones that were still tightly shut. He faintly heard the sound of whistle blown vigorously. His head was slowly starting to ache, the familiar pain someone would get when he drank too much. The whistle sound got even louder, too loud in fact, it turned to be an ear-splitting sound that one wish for it to disappear. His hands instinctively raised to cover his ear, he silently cursed himself for breaking his own promise, of never drink that much again.

But then he remembered that he drank because of a drinking game, that he must participated in, because he was in a villa, where the MT of his company was held. He opened his eyes abruptly, realising that the whistle sound must meant something. He looked around and saw... people! Laid around all over the common room, still in their dinner clothes. The whistle sound felt like an explosion when he saw who sadistically blew it to wake people up.

Hyung Sik stood akimbo in front of the boys room, he looked like the national soccer team player who was upset at his team for slacking off. He was already dressed up ready for an outdoor activity in the winter, and was determined to wake the people up disregarding the fact that he put them in the hungover state that morning.

"Wake up! Wake up! Sleepy heads!" he said cheerfully which sounded like a screeching banshee on the ears of the hungovers. "Dress warmly and go outside!!" he yelled.

One by one the hobos woke up, they sat up though with eyes tightly shut. Their faces showed the ultimate annoyance, it was not an overstatement to say that they looked like they wanted to murder the MC. Shin Hye looked at her brother and had a huge urge to cause him serious pain, unfortunately she made promise not to do that for the whole month.

"What are you talking about?" Shin Hye's said in hoarse voice, "What are we doing now?" she felt the room was spinning.

"Exercise!! Let's have breakfast and do morning exercise!" Hyung Sik said energetically, he heard people groaned but he did not care. As he went outside of the villa to go to the volleyball field, he left the door ajar making the cold wind gusting through the common room. People reluctantly stood up to put their jacket on before they froze to death.

Yong Hwa and Il Woo stepped out of the Villa and immediately grimaced from the icy wind that blasted on their faces, it felt like a thousand prickly needles attacked them. Shivers ran down their spine as their body adapting to the freezing morning air. Hyung Sik gave them a cup of hot coffee and a slice of bread, their breakfast, it felt as though they were back in their military days.

The two men grabbed their breakfast and sat on the stone steps that led to the volley ball field; Min Hyuk, Seung Ho and Shi Hoo came afterwards dressed like a cotton ball. They received the same breakfast menu and joined their colleagues to sit on the steps. The girls came out last, looking much more sober than the boys. Soo Jung excitedly accepted the coffee and drank it; in a matter of minutes she was feeling better. It's a good thing that she did not drink that much last night, the luckiest of all.

Fifteen minutes after, they finished the breakfast and although still looked pretty chaotic, the light in their eyes showed that they were awake and pretty much sober. Hyung Sik walked and stood before them, earning a murderous look from each and everyone of them. Shi Hoo crumpled the paper cup that he just used to drink coffee channeling his hatred towards the MC.

"Cha!! Good morning Everyone!!" he shouted, making his audiences flinched from the loud noise. "Last night was... um... interesting wasn't it? I hope you still remember what happened last night." he smiled mischievously, "The first step to build a team is to break down individual walls, to tear down personal pride and destruct people's egocentrism; so that in the end everybody are willing to come together, blend in and become a team as a whole. Last night was what its all about, opening yourself to each other, showing your vulnerable side so that you are comfortable in putting trust to one another."

His colleague listened carefully to the explanation, partially surprised that he actually had a goal and explanation regarding the ridiculous game he held. They thought he was just fooling around and enjoy the chance of making everybody suffer. With that, they started to take him more seriously.

"Now, it's time to take that chaotic perception of each other and mold it into trust by having a team activity. Cha!! Get up and stand on the field!! Chop Chop!!" he exclaimed with a clap that was intended to motivate the other, his effort failed since everybody just lazily stood up and slowly entered the field. Hyung Sik went to the gym and came out carrying a volley ball, he held the ball up high above his head; his other hand was holding a black plastic bag. "We are playing... Princess Dodgeball!" he shouted.

"What's that?" Yong Hwa shouted. The others stood straight up, crossed their arms across the chest and peered at the MC, although they were skeptic but they could not hide the curiosity from their faces.

Hyung Sik rolled his eyes, "Haven't you ever watch 'running man'?" he asked like it was the most ridiculous thing ever. Everybody shook their heads. "Geez! Don't work too hard, will you!?" he mocked.

"Aren't you going to explain what it is!??!" Shin Hye scolded impatiently.

Hyung Sik made a face at her, "You all will form four groups of two person, one of them will be the princess and the other will be the guard. Just like regular dodgeball, princess dodgeball goal is to ousted a group by attacking the princess. The guard has unlimited live but both are allowed to attack." Hyung Sik explained, when he felt that everybody understood his explanation, he continued, "Two teams would be playing in this field, and the other will be in the other side. Should the two groups left are those on the same field, one of the group should move the other side of the field and the game resume. Any questions?" he scanned the field expecting a raised hand.

Il Woo did, "How do we determined the team?" he asked.

The MC smile, "Heokshi! As expected, Manager Jung always asked the right question! I have here eight pieces of papers with each of your name on it, I'll pick out the names to determine the team. Understood?" he saw weak nod coming from all of his friends.

"Great! Now I'll be calling the first member of each group. Once your names are called please choose a side. Team A!" he exclaimed while groping inside the plastic bag. Once he pulled his hand back, a piece of paper was in it. He opened the folded paper and read aloud, "Park Shi Hoo!!"

Shi Hoo hung his head, he really was not into playing some highschool PE game. He reluctantly walked to the nearest side, the one in front of gym. The flower boys looked at each other, silently praying that they wont be in the same team as he was.

"Team B!" Hyung Sik pulled another paper and read aloud, "Kang Min Hyuk!" the tech wizard chose the same side as Shi Hoo, "Team C! Jung Il Woo!!" he acted like a boxing promoter, "And lastly, Team D! Jung Yong Hwa..." he smiled cheekily. Both Jungs walked to the further side of the field and stood expectantly as Hyung Sik preparing himself to call out the second member of each team.

"The Princess for Team A! Min Hyo Rin!" he said with a straight face. However. at least three of the participants could not have the same innocent look as he was.

"Mwo!??" Il Woo blurted out, accidentally showing an out-of-place concern. Hyo Rin widened her eyes in shock, she shook her head at Hyung Sik trying to send telepathic message for him to annulled the team placement.

Hyung Sik just stared at her innocently, "Go on..." he wagged his hands to shoo her. She reluctantly walked and stood beside her long time crush. The man looked stiff, much more than usual. "Moving on! Princess for Team B is, Jung Soo Jung!" he said while tossing the paper to the floor like the previous ones.

"Don't you think something just not right?" Il Woo whispered to Yong Hwa forgetting the fact that they were still on not-speaking terms.

"I know, something's fishy..." Yong Hwa was in a deep of a thought to remember his grudge.

Soo Jung ran and stood behind Min Hyuk, both were looking content with their team. Yong Hwa suspiciously observed the two younger pair, picking up a strange vibe from both of them. He thought it was time to have a man-to-man talk with the nerd. He then scanned the whole field and stumbled his sight to the two persons that was still standing outside of the field. One of the two, the girl, was eyeing Hyung Sik suspiciously. She too had a bad feeling about the team arrangement.

"Next Princess is, Yoo Seung Ho and that means the fourth princess is none other the princess herself. Park Shin Hye!!" Hyung Sik smiled.

"Wait!! We never see whether there really was our name on the paper!" Shin Hye shouted immediately, she was too familiar with her brother tricky mind.

Il Woo lit up by the idea and ran to the papers, examining it one-by-one. He looked disappointed as he turned to Shin Hye, his nod indicating that he confirmed the names on each paper. The walking distant back to his original place seemed further than before.

"But how do we know that you called the names that was written on the paper!?" Shin Hye demanded again; all of the other participants brighten by her remark, they all looked at Hyung Sik expecting for an explanation.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest, raised his chin and eyebrows to show dominance, "Well I guess you just have to believe in God!" he said slowly to make an effect. Shin Hye scoffed having read all of his trick. "Now go to your team!" he pointed at Yong Hwa, like a father to his naughty kid.

Shin Hye shot daggers at him and stomped her way to her side of field, making sure to bump her brother on the way. The boy grimaced in pain from the stumble, but then smiled victoriously for the success of staging the game. He glanced at Yong Hwa who was shyly welcomed Shin Hye. When their eyes met, Hyung Sik naughtily winked at him. Yong Hwa was puzzled at first but then he repressed his smile realising the younger man intention.

"Okay! Let's play Ball!!" Hyung Sik held the ball on top of his head with both hands, "Team A possessed the first ball." He was getting ready to throw then halted, "And remember, there will be a reward for the one winner and punishment for the other three!" he added and immediately threw the ball to Shi Hoo.

Shi Hoo caught the ball and timidly threw it to Yong Hwa, Shin Hye took cover behind her guard while he caught the ball. Yong Hwa looked over his shoulder and was slightly disappointed when his princess did not really play the game. He threw it immediately to Min Hyuk who easily caught the ball and passed it to Il Woo. The passing game went on a few minutes, none of the team really wanted to kill each other.

"Oh Come On!! Do you really want to stay in this cold for two hours? If we don't have one last team standing, we're not going inside!" Hyung Sik yelled, he was the only one who did not have a lot of movement, so he was the one who suffered the most from the winter wind.

Soo Jung saw her brother who repeatedly looked over his shoulder checking on the safety of his team, the girl who stood behind him timidly took cover every time they were being targeted, without really taking cover; she did not even lay a finger on him. At that rate, it was only a matter of time before they were ousted. Soo Jung suddenly had an idea, she instinctively held on Min Hyuk's waist and whispered to his ear.

"Min Hyuk-shi! Should we make it more interesting for Yong Hwa Oppa and Shin Hye Eonni!?" She smiled mischievously.

Kang Min Hyuk froze at the sudden closeness, he did not expect for her to be that bold. But he tried to collect himself fast and nodded, her idea was not bad at all. So he held the ball with his dominant hand and threw as hard as he could, directing it to Shin Hye's face, since that was the part where she was not covered by Yong Hwa's body.

Luckily Yong Hwa was fast to parry the ball, "What the hell!!?" he exclaimed in surprise and glowered at Min Hyuk; he was stunned to see Min Hyuk and Soo Jung giggled mischievously at them. "Gwenchana?" he asked to Shin Hye.

"O!" she stammered. She was surprised when the ball was about to hit her face.

Il Woo followed Min Hyuk lead and threw the ball at team A, however it was Shi Hoo he was targeting. The ball hit his head, knocking him over. Everybody gasped and froze, afraid that the Secretary would burst into flame or something. But he just stood up and attacked Shin Hye.

She barely avoid the ball since Yong Hwa moved faster to the side than her. The ball came to Il Woo again. He now wanted to test Min Hyuk's endurance, so he hit him in the stomach, luckily the nerd was fast to catch.

Without any delay, he threw it again to Shin Hye, this time targeting her legs. She ran in panicked making the distance between her and her guard widened.

Shi Hoo ran to take the ball. Realizing that Shin Hye was the perfect target, he threw the ball at her when she was wide open and unguarded. She could only squatted and covered her head in fear. Yong Hwa gasped and hurriedly ran to her, blocking the ball using his body. It ended up on his back.

"Woaaahh!!!" Min Hyuk exclaimed in awe, Soo Jung hopped several times, clapping and giggling at the heroic move that her brother demonstrated just now.

Shin Hye opened the hands that was covering her head and saw Yong Hwa on top of her, she realized that he succeed in protecting her. Their eyes met causing an awkward moment between them. "Ahem! Gomawo!" Shin Hye nervously said while running to their original place.

Yong Hwa smiled a little as the effect of his fluttering heart. He strolled and stood in front of Shin Hye, looked over his shoulder and shouted at her, "Aren't you going to do it properly?" Shin Hye jerked at his command, "Hold my waist tightly! I'm very competitive, you know! I don't like to loose!" he put up a fake serious face.

Shin Hye thought for a moment; she was cold, she was tired and she was as competitive as him. Getting out of the field, warming herself beside the heater, winning the game and getting the prize were her goals at the moment; so she timidly raise her hands and held on both side of his waist. His smile grew wider and instinctively stole glances at Hyung Sik who was staring at them. It was Yong Hwa's turned to wink at him.

And so the game resumed, rougher than before. The D team was now determined to wiped out the other group, and become the killing machine. They were in perfect sync as Yong Hwa caught, dodge or parry the ball while Shin Hye caught the ball and either attack right away or gave it to her knight. Before long they managed to ousted Min Hyuk by attacking Soo Jung's ankle. The two cupids just lost it's place in the game.

Shi Hoo widened his eyes, worried by the fact that he just lost an ally. Now he had to face four persons all by himself. The ball rolled to his feet, he picked up and threw it to Yong Hwa right away, grabbing the chance to the possibility of physically hurt the arch nemesis. The ball landed on his chest, causing him to cough.

Il Woo saw that and without hesitation threw it back to Shi Hoo. The guy was too busy dodging, he forgot that he was actually immune and was supposed to guard the princess behind him. He basically left Hyo Rin to save himself.

Il Woo's blood boiled seeing how Shi Hoo treated the girl. The next time the ball was in his hand, he immediately struck it to Shi Hoo; and since there was only one opponent on the other side, Yong Hwa joined forces and attack team A. The difference was, Yong Hwa was targeting Hyo Rin while Il Woo wanted to hurt Shi Hoo several times.

At some point, Il Woo's attack was so hard, it made Shi Hoo staggered backwards and fell on his butt. Yong Hwa and Il Woo laughed so hard and instinctively raised their hands for a high five, realizing too late that they were not in the kind of relationship to do the gesture.

"Ahem! Good Job!" Yong Hwa said to Il Woo timidly.

"Thanks, you too!" Il Woo replied while awkwardly patted Yong Hwa's back. Their banter earned a rolled-eye from Shin Hye; Seung Ho giggled excitedly at his hyungs newly found team spirit.

After several attacks, team A was finally in chaos. The guard and the princess dispersed making Hyo Rin left unguarded. The ball rolled to Shin Hye, so with the agility that no one ever seen before, she picked up and threw it at her. The ball landed on her face.

Everybody gasped at the incident, Shin Hye instinctively ran to Hyo Rin to check up on her. Her heart dropped to the stomach when she saw blood coming out of the nose. "Oh My God! I'm sorry Editor Min!!" she exclaimed, her panic voice invited the rest to come closer. "Soo Jung-a, get a first aid kit! Ask from Justin!" she instructed.

Soo Jung nodded and ran as fast as she could to the office while Shin Hye bolstered the injured player to sat on one of the picnic table. Il Woo belatedly came to the table looking utterly worried. "Hyo Rin-a! Gwenchana?" he took out his handkerchief and gave it to her.

"It's okay... I'm okay!" she said timidly while wiping the blood from her nose.

Soo Jung came running with the first aid kit box, Il Woo abruptly snatched it from her and opened it to take the required medication. Shin Hye who felt that her duty was taken by force, could only chuckle knowingly at the HR Manager's antics.

The game was temporary stopped so they could tend the injured player. Once she was taken care of, Il Woo and Seung Ho moved to the other side to get ready for final round. The game was actually more interesting than the qualification since both team really wanted to win to dodge the punishment that awaited the losers. Because Shin Hye was as agile as any man, it was not easy to beat Team D.

In fact, Team D was on top of their game. The harmony between the guard and the princess was so in sync like a well oiled machine. Yong Hwa would parried or caught the ball and attacked while Shin Hye would picked the ball from the ground and occasionally attacked. After several attempt, they finally succeed when Seung Ho ran too fast leaving Il Woo behind. Shin Hye saw the opportunities and struck at him, hitting the ball right to the man-princess' back.

Team D won!! Both players threw their hands on the air and highfived each other in euphoria. However the celebration just created another awkward moment between them. Yong Hwa smiled gently at their touch which made Shin Hye realized that they entwined both of their hands after the highfive. She rushly pulled her hand back and diverted her attention to Hyung Sik.

"Well Done!! Well Done!! Good Game team D! Congratulations!" Hyung Sik said while clapping his hands. He walked over to the field to celebrate with the rest of the game.

They all gathered in the centre of the field, laughing and joking happily because of the game; there were no trace of hungover, annoyance, hatred nor broken-hearts between them. They finally blend in to become one solid team. Hyung Sik looked around and felt satisfied with the changing atmosphere among them.

"Now! Do you want to know what the punishment and the reward are?" Hyung Sik shouted to get attention. He succeed. "The three losers must prepare lunch!!" Yong Hwa and Shin Hye screamed in joy, they thought they were in for a treat. "And for the winner!!!" Yong Hwa and Shin Hye looked at Hyung Sik expectantly, "Must prepare dinner!!!!" Hyung Sik exclaimed in ecstasy.

Shin Hye widened her eyes in shock, her blood pressure suddenly raised and her breath became shorter. Yong Hwa grimaced seeing the change of Shin Hye's expression, he thought she looked like a ticking bomb. Before he could restrain the girl, she was already charging to the MC, choking him to her heart content.

"I'm gonna kill you!!!!!!" she screamed. The others rushed to pull back the heiress before a cold case of fratricide occurred before their very eyes.

---o0o---

The door of the girls dormitory opened, Shin Hye came out of the room with a sleepy look and a messy pony tail. She just woke up from a much needed nap after an exhausting morning exercise and lunch prepared by the losers of the game. She sat on the dining table and looked around, the common area was deserted, everybody was still in the room taking a snooze. The clock on the wall told her that it was almost four, just a few hours before dinner time.

She stared at the boys's room door contemplating the idea to wake Yong Hwa up. They needed to go to the market soon if they want to have dinner on time. After awhile she decided to go to the market alone. He was probably very tired from guarding her life, and a visit to the seafood market just the two of them would be too much for her. Too much awkwardness, too much heart thumping, too much butterflies. She was not sure she could handle them.

So she grabbed her wallet, took Hyung Sik's car keys and put on her jacket; she tip toed across the common room, opened the front door and almost got a heart attack when Yong Hwa appeared on the other side.

"Kamchagiya!!!" Shin Hye cried, clutching her poor heart.

"You're going somewhere?" Yong Hwa asked innocently.

"O! I'm going to buy the ingredient for dinner..." she said after controlling her racing heart.

Yong Hwa raised an eyebrow, "And you're leaving me behind? We're a team remember, we're supposed to do the reward together!" he fake-sulked.

Shin Hye scoffed, "Reward my ass... it's more like a punishment to me!" she said begrudgingly while closing the door.

He smiled mischievously, "It's a reward to me..." he said under his breath.

"What's that?!" she barked.

"Nothing! Give me the keys, I'll drive!" Yong Hwa said matter-of-factly. Shin Hye just looked at his face, reluctant about the idea. "What!? Do you want to go alone, to the fisherman's market, carrying all of the stuff yourself, driving in an unfamiliar town?" he raised both eyebrows, challenging her.

Shin Hye finally gave up, threw the keys at him and slouched on the passengers seat. Yong Hwa's smile grew wider and it did not leave his face for the rest of the day.

They went to the seafood market in Daepo Port, the main seafood market of the town. The half hour drive was a refreshing experience, since the road that led to the market was along the beach line. Shin Hye enjoyed the breathtaking scenery while the driver chirping like his normal self, talking about anything that came across his mind, he sure liked to talk!

Shin Hye glanced at the man and suddenly remembered his statement during the drunken Jenga; about the fact that he was still in love with his ex-girlfriend. She wondered if he was talking about her and suddenly felt a tickle in her stomach. Her mind flooded with a lot of questions that made her nervous yet excited; Was she the ex-girlfriend that he was referring to? Why did he say 'in love', he never even said the word to her when they were still a couple? Was he even sober when he said that? Did he remember saying that in front of everybody? Did he even meant what he said?

She stared blankly at him, lost in her own thoughts which made Yong Hwa eventually stopped talking and looked at her quizzically, "What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?" he asked.

Shin Hye jerked then smiled weakly, "Nothing... you talk a lot, you know that?" she mocked.

Yong Hwa giggled, "I talk more than usual if I'm in a good mood."

She chuckled, "Then I guess you're in an awfully good mood, right now." she looked through the window.

"Do you want to know why?" she heard him say.

Shin Hye was taken aback by the question, somehow she knew the answer would make her cheek blush and their ride awkward, so she turned to him pretend to be indifferent, "No, it's okay... you enjoy that good mood of yours, yourself." she joked and turned to the window to enjoy the scenery.

Yong Hwa smiled knowingly, it was as if they were in that stage where unspoken rule was applied; that even though they knew something was changing between them, they did not have to talk about heavy stuff, such as feelings. Their dynamic had change, they were no longer two people with bad history that always eager to hurt each other; they were now two friends who were able to ride the car alone in peace without being awkward. They both knew that, and had silent agreement to just leave it undiscussed.

They arrived at the seafood market safe and sound, Shin Hye excitedly climbed down the car and strolled along a street that full of seafood vendors. All the freshest commodity was there waiting to be bought. She moved around from one vendor to the other nimbly, purchasing the ingredients she needed to make jjampong and Jap Chae. Yong Hwa followed the agile girl, smiling giddily at the thought of accompanying a wife to the market.

Once all the ingredients were on hands, they rode back to the villa to prepare dinner. It was deserted by the time they arrived, their friends were already up and probably having an excursion by themselves to the town. Yong Hwa immediately made way to the kitchen, put the plastic bags on the dining table and took out the content. Shin Hye joined him a few minutes later after changing her clothes, he was already cutting the vegetables for their dishes on the counter top.

Shin Hye took out the anchovies and kelps to make the broth, gasped a little when the water splashed to her. Yong Hwa looked at her worriedly thinking that she got hurt. Noticing the stain on her clothes, he then looked around ransacking the whole kitchen until he found an apron in one of the drawer. Without hesitation he walked up to her, turned her body to face him and put the apron on her.

She held her breath while staring closely at his face that was just centimeters from hers. The man calmly tied the rope on her back, practically hugging her; but it was as if he was not affected by their closeness because as soon as he was done, he grabbed the knife and resumed his work, no words spoken. The girl silently huffed and started to breathe again. She looked at the man curiously one last time before resuming in making the broth.

And as the broth started to boil, her mind wandered. He was yet again making her confused, contradicting his words with his actions. For two days he had been hinting his feeling for her, that he was still in love with her. But now he acted as if she did not affect him at all which to her a sign that he had no feeling or whatsoever towards her anymore.

Not to mention that he still had not say anything about the past incidents between them, she wondered whether to him it was not that important to be discussed, not a significant matter that required any attention. The kind that one could just forget and move on.

She scoffed softly realizing the pathetic state that she was in, being the only party hung up by the incident; yet she did not feel anything anymore, there were no twinge feeling and her heart did not hurt anymore. She finally stopped hoping for an apology from him, believing that he was not sorry at all for what happened. It was a huge deal before, but now she just wanted to live in peace and move along. Maybe somethings were better to left unsaid.

"Shin Hye-ya!" his voice took her out from her thoughts.

"O?!" She said without looking at him.

"Biyane..." he said softly, which barely caught by her.

Shin Hye looked at him, slightly stunned by his words. "O?" she barely said.

"I'm sorry, for everything. For lying to you, for what happened at the party, for behaving like a total jerk... and for being a coward." he said while still cutting the onions, Shin Hye heard his voice quivered. When she did not respond, Yong Hwa stopped cutting and looked at her. Their eyes met and did not move for God knew how long.

After awhile a sweet smile curved on her, "It's okay... It's all in the past." she hung her head.

Yong Hwa froze at her reaction and felt a pang of disappointment which cause a piercing sensation on the left side of his chest, "Is it? Is it all in the past for you?" he asked. Shin Hye looked at him again, surprised by the aggressive tone of his. "Because it's not for me!" the aching sensation worsen.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked carefully.

"Didn't you hear what I said during the Jenga game" Yong Hwa stared at her firmly.

Shin Hye looked down, overwhelmed by his intense gaze. "Can... can we talk about something else? We still have dinner to prepare." was all she could say.

Yong Hwa looked at her in disbelief, clearly disappointed by her rejection. He looked at his chopping block and started cutting onions again. "Arasso..." he said under his breath.

Shin Hye suddenly heard sniffing sound from his direction, it shocked her and made her feel bad; but her body could not move because of her nervousness. Only her eyes scrambled trying to peek at the man on her right.

"Aaah!!!" Yong Hwa exclaimed, looking up at the ceiling. "These onions are mean!! I think I have to wash my face first." he said and left the kitchen without hearing her response.

Shin Hye sighed after she was alone, looking over her shoulder hoping that she could get a glimpse of him. She rubbed her face to ease off the tension that she knew would still be there once he was back. The deserted villa did not help at all. She cursed her friends for leaving both of them alone and hoped that they would be back soon to help salvaging the atmosphere.

---

As predicted, the said friends were having a group excursion without the whole group. Hyung Sik, Min Hyuk and Soo Jung staged an impromptu activity for them once they found out that Shin Hye and Yong Hwa left the villa without them. It was their last effort in creating an opportunity for them to talk, hopefully it would resulted in a mended relationships.

They went to see the Sokcho Lighthouse Observatory Center, which was located on top of a hill. From there they could enjoy the scenery of the town, the sea and the mountain at once. Climbing the probably hundreds of steps was very exhausting, but once people got to the top, it paid off. The younger group excitedly skipped all the way to the light house, leaving the older group behind - Min Hyo Rin, Jung Il Woo and Park Shi Hoo. The last one did not even try to climb, so he just strolled along the beach and found rocks that was perfect place for brooding alone.

Il Woo followed Hyo Rin who did not seem to realize that there was still someone behind her. She just leisurely climbed the stair, not caring of her surrounding. At some point she got tired and just sat on the steps, faced with the breathtaking view of the sea and one handsome man. She jerked realizing that she was not alone.

"I thought you're already up there!" she exclaimed.

Il Woo smiled cheekily, making his eyes looked like a thin line. "I'm too old for running around like them. Can I join you?" he asked

Hyo Rin shrugged her shoulder, giving him permission. Il Woo sat beside her and instantly captivated by the beautiful view of the sea. "Waah! This is soo cool!"

She looked at him and chuckled, Il Woo was one of not so many person in the office that could casually talk to her and would put up with her cold exterior. He seemed to be not disturbed by her bitchiness and kept befriending her, giving her company and talking to her. Not as much as Yong Hwa, which was a good thing in her book. Sometimes she did feel grateful for his friendliness, though she hate to admit it, but it made her feel less lonely.

They ended up stayed in that stairs until the rest of the excursion, talking about everything that came across their mind. It was the first real personal interaction they had in the three years that they worked together. Hyo Rin was laughing a lot, a timid laugh that became more relaxed towards the end. She talked about herself on that stairs much more than the years that they had known each other. Il Woo could not hide his adoration anymore when she giggled softly towards his joke.

"You should laugh a lot like this more often!" he blurted. "You're the prettiest when you don't hold back and have fun."

"O?!" Hyo Rin jerked at sudden praise.

Il Woo smirked at the cute vacant look on her, "I... was a coward. I have a crush on a girl for a long time, but because she was too focused on her work I don't have the courage to confess. So I played with my friends, kept my reputation as the office player, just because we all did... and after awhile I thought I neutralised whatever feeling I had for this girl."

Hyo Rin frowned a little, trying to figure where the story led to.

"But then my bestfriend fell in love and I felt left out. Maybe I was mad at him, I blame him as the one who made me gave up on my crush and left me to have fun with his own. I guess he was right, I was jealous of his courage for acting on his feeling. So I did a huge mistake and now left without a friend nor a crush."

She tilted her head sympathetically.

Il Woo sighed hard, "Now! I want to take his lead... he found a courage to fix his mistake and try to pursue his love again, so I'm going to do the same!" he said with a smile.

Hyo Rin's jaw dropped a little, she had a strange feeling of where the monologue was heading.

"I... like you!" he said firmly, "Wooo!! It finally came out!" he exclaimed heartily.

She sat straight up, not knowing what to answer.

"But you don't like me, do you?" he asked a rethorical question.

"I... uh..." she stuttered.

"You're like me, hung up with a person that doesn't know how you felt..." Il Woo guessed.

Hyo Rin raised her eyebrows, stunned at being pinpointed by an unexpected person.

"Do you want some advice?" he nudged her, "Confess... just like I did. Tell him how you feel and be done with it. If he liked you back then good... if not, then it would make it easier for you to move on. I think the thing that hold us back is the thought of should have, would have and could have. The guessing game. But once everything is crystal clear, it will be easier to forget."

Hyo Rin diverted her sight to the sea, giving his advice a real thought.

Il Woo smiled knowingly, he stretched his arms and shouted. "Jeotta!!!" Hyo Rin jumped and looked at him quizzically, "This is good, I think I can finally move on!!" he said to her.

"Hyung!!! There you are? We've been looking all over for you!" Min Hyuk shouted from the top of the stairs.

He, Soo Jung, Seung Ho and Hyung Sik happily climbed down the stairs and stopped at Il Woo and Hyo Rin's spot, "Let's go back... My sister would kill me if we go too long." Hyung Sik said. He patted Il Woo's shoulder and continued to step down. They all followed his lead.

Il Woo was just a few steps away when he realized that Hyo Rin was still sitting.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked.

"O? O!" She said while standing up, her mind was still bothered by Il Woo's last sentence. She wondered why she felt sad and disappointed with the fact that Il Woo was moving on. She looked at his back and suddenly lit up with a realisation, about something that she did not expected before, that maybe she did not want him to move on.

---o0o---

Shin Hye opened the door of the girls' room, the pink-purpleish room was not really her style but at that moment it was the most beautiful thing for her. Two queen-sized bed with blankets that looked fluffy and warm allured her already exhausted body. She staggered towards one of the bed and palpated the cover like she had not seen bed for a week. She slowly put her cheek on it and sighed, that's how good the bed felt.

They just finished the dinner, successfully prepared by the winner of Princess Dodgeball game. The Jjamppong and Jap Chae were a hit that the chefs were released from the obligation to clean up. Thus, she was able to get into the room before anyone else. She smiled in between her drowse, the dinner was so much fun. Everybody was in a high spirit and was able to engage in friendly manner. Such a huge difference from the last dinner, and she had her brother to thank for.

She was about to close her eyes when suddenly she felt someone jumped onto the bed and continued jumping, causing a wave sensation to the bed. Shin Hye felt like riding on a boat.

"Eonni! Eonni!" a young girl chirped.

"What is it?" Shin Hye said lazily.

"Can I sleep with you here?" Soo Jung asked, sounded like a nine year old.

"Arasso! Let's go sleep." she replied with her eyes closed.

"The jjamppong is great Eonni! Not spicy enough though... but I like it. Also..." She kept talking eventhough Shin Hye was turning her back against the girl.

Shin Hye was determined to ignore her at first, she thought the girl would just stop talking if she pretended to sleep. But she was wrong, apparently the talkative DNA in the Jung family was a very dominant one. She finally relented, opened her eyes and sat straight up. The younger girl smiled having finally succeed in waking her Eonni up. She wanted to have a girl chat before bed.

"Arasso! What do you want to talk about?" Shin Hye said begrudgingly, she saw Hyo Rin came in observing them. Shin Hye raised her eyebrows to greet the editor who returned the greet with a faint smile, she then sat on the other bed listening closely to the two girls.

"Eonni! Don't you think Kang Min Hyuk-shi is cute?" Soo Jung said with a giggled, she looked like a highschoolers now.

Shin Hye glowered at her, "Ya! You're just starting out, and you're helping me with the show. Don't even think about dating." she face-pushed Soo Jung with her index finger.

"Aish! Who said I'm going to date him... It's not like he like me or anything." She sulked.

Shin Hye sighed, "Why is there so many romance in this office?!"

"Jjogi..." a weak voice said, making both girls turned to the owner of the voice in surprised. They did not expect the fierce woman to ever engage in their girl talk. "Can I ask you a question." she asked timidly. Soo Jung and Shin Hye nodded without saying a word, it was as if they were entranced by Hyo Rin. "If someone said they like you but promised to move on, does that mean he will stop being nice to you?"

Soo Jung lit up and instantly jumped to the other bed. "Did someone say that to you recently, Editor Min?" she said curiously, completely forgetting the fact that she was her boss.

"Yah! Why are you being so nosy?" Shin Hye joined them, ruffling her hands to the girl's hair. "It depends really, some men can be very immature and acted like a stranger but the ones who are really nice, will always be nice even without a hidden agenda."

"Someone confessed to me recently, it was so out of the blue that I didn't know how to react. So he thought I rejected him and adviced me to confess my feeling to my one-sided love instead. He said it's easier to move on when everything is said and done." she explained, Shin Hye and Soo Jung listened closely without moving a single muscle. It was as if they were afraid that if they did that, Hyo Rin would stop opening up to them.

"And...?" Shin Hye asked when the girl paused longer than their tolerance limit.

"I did it, I confess to my long time one sided love!" the room was so quite, the soft gasped from both girls sounded like an explosion. "He was right... it was easy to move on after the rejection." Min Hyo Rin trailed off to the moment before the dinner when she finally told Shi Hoo that she liked him. He flat out rejected her.

"Did Shi Hoo Oppa rejected you!!!?" Shin Hye blurted out belatedly realize that she was supposed to pretend not to know. "I knew he would someday grow old alone!!!" She made a face at the imaginary Oppa.

Min Hyo Rin smiled shyly at Shin Hye, "I thought at first he did not like me because of another girl." the look in her eyes was so meaningful, making Shin Hye fidgety on her seat. "But he said it was because of his ambition, he still has something he wants. Romance and women are the last thing in his mind." she said.

"Yeep! That sounded exactly like him!" Shin Hye smirked.

"Don't be sad Editor Min! You're beautiful, smart and capable, I'm sure there are a lot of men out there that would line up to date you!" Soo Jung said like a true bestfriend.

Hyo Rin was taken aback by Soo Jung's encouragement. She never had a friend, let alone a girl best friend before; so that kind of encouragement was a new thing for her. But she felt good by it, her heart became warm from the kind words. "Ani! I thought I would be devastated, hence the cowardliness. But once it happened I felt strangely calm. I guess I always knew in the back of my mind that I was nothing more than a junior for him. Maybe I was afraid of loosing that feeling... the one-sided-crush; maybe I was just afraid of the closure." she said with a solemn smile.

Her words made Shin Hye think, she chuckled herself which drawn the attention of the other two girls. She looked up and saw the puzzled look on their face, silently asking for explanation. "I was hung up by a person because he hurt me." Soo Jung's face tensed, "I was so angry at him and thought I could never forgive him unless he asked for forgiveness. It infuriated me even more when he never did..." Soo Jung balled her fist, ready to hit it to her brother. "I thought I'd be jumping over the moon, somersault and laugh maniacally when he said sorry." the girls laughed, "But when he finally did... I didn't feel a thing." Shin Hye smiled to both girls.

"So what does that mean? Do you hate him that much that you don't even care anymore about what he said?" Soo Jung eagerly investigated.

"Ani... It doesn't matter anymore whether he asked or not. I realized that I might already forgive him for awhile now. I guess the act of forgiving is not determined by the party at fault. It was all up to us, our choice, our peace of mind." Shin Hye said with hoarse voice, she was not sure herself why her throat dried up all of the sudden.

Min Hyo Rin nodded in agreement, "Don't you think we created our own drama? Wouldn't be better and easier if we could just say what we want to say, express what we feel. No lies, no pretentiousness. Just... direct sincerity."

"Yeah! We women just love drama, aren't we?" Shin Hye said in agreement, making the three of them laughing.

But their laughter was disturbed by the loud bang from the room next door. It was soon followed by commotion, shouts and footsteps of people running out of the villa. The girls looked at each other and had the same thought, someone was fighting. They simultaneously jumped from the bed, grabbed their jackets and ran out of the room.

Shin Hye glanced at the boys room and saw a number of beer cans were opened and laid on the ground, the room was in an utter mess like it was just hit by a typhoon. It was empty now, all of the occupants had left it and went outside. She soon realized that she was alone, as her two friends had join the boys as spectators of something that Shin Hye still unaware of.

She gasped softly when the night air welcomed her, it was ice cold like it was about to snow. She saw his friends lined up outside of the volleyball field observing something, it was hard to see what it was so she decided to join them.

"Oh my God!!!!" she exclaimed when she saw two men where punching each other, fighting like two long time foes. "What are you all doing? We have to separate them?" she shouted while getting ready to approached the brawl.

Hyung Sik held her arms, "Let them! It's their way of making up!" he had a serious face on, but without the slightest worry.

"Mwo?!" Shin Hye shouted, "What happened actually?"

"We had another round of drinking game... more on the drinking not much on the gaming. They both drank the hardest, I don't know, but they were very gloomy during the entire game." Hyung Sik said. Shin Hye turned to Hyo Rin, they exchanged glances knowingly before diverting their attention back to the fight.

Yong Hwa and Il Woo hit each other's faces alternately, perhaps it was the cold or the alcohol but it was not painful at all. They did not know how it started, they just knew that each said something hurtful and pinched the already painful spot of their heart. One thing led to another, one of them started to get violent and they agreed to take the fight outside. Thank goodness that being drunk did not hinder their logic.

At first, their friends watched the fight, worried that they would end up killing each other. But after awhile, when the punches got weaker and the fighters spent their time on the ground more than standing up, they knew they did not have anything to be worried about. So one by one, they left the scene, getting to a warm place was much more interesting than watching a pair of dude trying to outdone each other.

With one last strike, Il Woo fell down on the cold grassy ground, he did not have anymore strength so he just laid there, watching the starry night. He sprawled his arms and legs, enjoying the icy sensation on his back. The punches he received was starting to take effect, his face throbbed here and there. The man who did that to him joined in the star-gazing, he was still panting from the late night exercise, his face was also felt like it was thickened, he knew it will swelled up by morning.

They laid there for awhile in silence, enjoying the pain, the cold and the beautiful starry sky. None of them had the willingness to say anything but both knew that all was well from then on. They said things they wanted to say, channelled the repressed anger from years of friendship and let go of all the grudge. The only thing left to do was to forgive.

"Yong-a!" Il Woo suddenly said. "I'm so sorry to ruin your relationship. You were right... I was jealous that you found someone." he continued even without Yong Hwa's answer.

"I'm sorry to call you a coward." Yong Hwa said eventually, "Man up, Man! You'll regret it when she slipped away." Il Woo chuckled at his pathetic love life.

"Are you done?!" They heard a cold voice called, turned around to see the person who was talking and instantly sat up. "Have you had enough??!" she scolded. Yong Hwa and Il Woo looked at each other's face that was already turned black and blue. "Get in!!!" Shin Hye yelled while pointing at the Villa, like a mother to her rascal children

Yong Hwa stood up and held out his right hand, Il Woo looked at it for awhile and reached it to stand up. They walked hurriedly to the villa, looking down all the way afraid of the fierce eyes of their boss. Once they passed her, their lips curled into a smile as they knew they got their bestfriend back.

---o0o---

It was well into noon, but the pension was still very quiet. Both doors were still closed and soft snores heard from both rooms. Suddenly the main door was opened, Shi Hoo walked in looking very dashing. It was the day when they were heading back to Seoul, so he was excited and could not wait to pack his bag and left the rusty pension, in his standard. He sighed dejectedly realizing that none of his colleague were up and ready.

He thought for a moment of a way to wake them up without really interacting with one of them, so he searched for the remote, turned the TV on and put the volume as high as the other guests would tolerate. Then he walked to the kitchen and out-of-characterly made coffee and fried eggs for everybody. His strategy worked because soon the door to the boys room opened and Hyung Sik staggered out from it rubbing his eyes, with an epic bedhead and fluffy eyes.

He gaped seeing Shi Hoo in the kitchen making breakfast, "Whoaa!! Did I just sleep-walked?" he exclaimed.

Shi Hoo looked up, Hyung Sik thought he saw a smile, "Good Morning! Wake up, let's have breakfast."

Hyung Sik gasped and knocked the door to the girls room, "Noona!! Wake up!! Shi Hoo Hyung is making breakfast for all of us!!"

That thing must had been a rarity since Shin Hye jumped out of the room almost immediately to watch the phenomenon. She gaped as wide as Hyung Sik, making them really looked like sibling. "Yah! Hyung Sik-a, you should really think in opening an MT organizer. You did it!!" She praised her brother while raising her hand for a high-five.

Hyung Sik grinned ear-to-ear and followed her lead to high-five. "This really need to be documented!" he said while running back to his room to get his phone. "Ya! Wake up! Let's have breakfast!" he exclaimed to the boys.

Shin Hye smiled and walked to the kitchen to help. She was amazed with his result given that he was always sheltered and probably never held a pan before. "I didn't know you could cook."

Shi Hoo scoffed, "There are a lot of things that you don't know about me." he said while putting a sunny side up onto a plate.

Shin Hye chuckled and grabbed the toast from the cabinet and put them one-by-one into the toaster, she heard people groaned and mumbled from the bedroom, the voices became louder as they were coming out of the room. "Good Morning!!! Help yourself to a breakfast!! Courtesy of Park Shi Hoo!!" she shouted which earned a murderous stare from the Oppa. "What?! Hyung Sik's first rule is still applied, the MT is still on going!" she let out her tongue mischievously at him.

Hyo Rin came out of the room, looking fabulous as ever. Shin Hye wondered how was it possible for a woman to wake up looking perfect like she was. The fashion editor approached the kitchen counter to take a plate and grabbed the already served coffees, egg and toast; all the while trying hard not to look Shi Hoo in the eye. The man looked at her briefly then immediately diverted his attention back to the pan, the awkward banter picked up by Shin Hye... and Il Woo who came out of nowhere and stood behind his crush.

Both Shin Hye and Il Woo realized that they witnessed an odd atmosphere between the two colleague and jerked; she smirked at his black-and-blue face. "Do you need ice for your face, Il Woo-shi?" she asked.

Il Woo smiled shyly while touching his jaw, he grimaced in pain. "A raw striploin would be better, but ice is okay. Thank you Shin Hye-shi!" he said while helping himself with the breakfast.

Shin Hye went to the fridge, took out the ice and put several blocks into a cloth. She wrapped the cloth and gave it to Il Woo. The man accepted it with a gratitude smile, grabbed his plate and went on to sit in the common room. Yong Hwa, who just came out of the room, made his way to the kitchen.

"Don't I get one?" he asked with a sleepy face, his jaw looked as bad as Il Woo's. "Why are you playing favourites against your employee?" he asked when he did not get any response.

"Serves you right? Why did you ask for a sparring session with Il Woo-shi?" Shin Hye glowered at the bruised man.

"Why? I was drunk! At least we still remember to do it outside!" He countered.

Shin Hye rolled her eyes and made the same package for him, he smiled victoriously and accepted it. "Come on everybody! Let's have breakfast and discuss about the event. Afterwards we can get ready to head back to Seoul!" she shouted.

They all gathered in the common room and enjoyed the breakfast while chatting happily, Shin Hye looked at her team and smiled. Hyo Rin sat beside Soo Jung, even though they did not talk to each other but the late night discussion between the girls made the gap between them smaller, they looked comfortable sitting side by side.

The femme flower boys were once again gathered, the younger members teased their hyungs for finally made peace after so many months of cold war. Shin Hye heard one of them plan their next game night.

Hyung Sik was beside her, minding his own business with the phone. Shin Hye felt so grateful towards him. Eventhough she was annoyed with all of his trick at first but after seeing the people were blending in, she knew that his unorthodox method worked. She wrapped her arms around his and put her head on his shoulder.

"Wae Gurae?" he asked, confused with her display of affection.

Shin Hye shook her head, "Nothing! Just feel like it... Thanks Hyung Sik-a!"

"Are you sure you want to show this side of you in front of those people? They are still your staff, you know!" he whispered.

Shin Hye giggled and let go of him. "Arasso!! Let's talk a bit about the event, shall we? Or do you still need more to eat?" the rest of them put their utensils down and paid attention to her. "So Shi Hoo-shi! Since you handled the show so far, could you please update us on the progress!" Shin Hye turned to her Oppa.

"Well everything is pretty much settled, I've been working with the Event Organizer and contacted the designer. The only problem now is, as you know, we don't have anyone to model the clothes." he explained.

"So, venue, decoration, food and beverage, sound system... everything is arranged by the Event Organizers? Our usual EO, right? Has it been paid?" Yong Hwa asked.

Shi Hoo looked annoyed by the person who asked the question, "No, we only gave them a 10% down payment, we're supposed to pay another instalment within this week for them to start working."

Shin Hye nodded, "Arasso! What about the concept?"

"Nothing new, I stick with the usual concept as it was proven to be successful. So haute couture spring collection by the biggest name in fashion industry."

"Don't you think that Belle would do the same like that?" Hyung Sik suddenly spoke; the other looked at him and realized that he might be right.

Shin Hye pursed her lips, "Yeah... we could be in trouble if they did. I'm sure they have bigger budget than us."

They spent another hour discussing about the current progress and brainstormed about what to do with the models. Though it was clear that they were still very confused about the event, at least the team work was starting to form as they discussed in high spirit and motivated in making the event successful; even Shi Hoo starting to warmed up at the idea and gave his blessing to the show, finally.

When Shin Hye saw that everybody started to get fidgety on their respective seat, she knew that they were starting to feel overwhelmed with the discussion. At the beginning they all sat straight up and focus, but now most of them laid on the floor, or slouched at the nearest wall, Shin Hye even caught some of them closing their eyes, unclear whether they were sleeping or thinking. So she decided to call it a day, since they still had a long drive back home.

"Okay! I think we can stop the discussion here, I'm sure most of our minds are already on the way back to Seoul." she joked, the people smirked at her remark. "Thank you everybody for coming! Thank you Hyung Sik for arranging an interesting three days event. Your right and power as temporary God is by this minute revoked." they all laughed with her. She looked at each of them proudly, "Cha! I hope this in-sync harmony can be maintained until the event is over. Let's meet first thing on Monday to really formulate our step."

"Me too?" Hyung Sik asked.

"Ah! Yeah... I forgot! Yes, Hyung Sik... you too, I need you in the committee. Also, since we have two things to be worried, the event and the issue of January edition; Shi Hoo Oppa, can you please lead the January edition? While the others are off duty and solely focused on the show." Shin Hye asked to the oldest man in the room.

"Mwo? You mean I won't be participating in the show?" he looked perplexed.

"Yes! The reason is because you are already familiar with publishing the edition alone, so I believe you'll managed all on your own. But Kwang Soo-shi will be helping you since he's in charge of the recycle paper project. All of the material has been prepared, you only need to supervise the issue date, but I'm taking Creative Director Jung, Editor Min and her assistant with me." she explained.

"What if I said no?!" Shi Hoo asked, his expression turned dark.

"Why?" Shin Hye asked, the others eyed Shi Hoo curiously and suspiciously.

"Is there any particular reason why you insists in joining the Fashion Show team? Against Director Park's instruction?" Yong Hwa asked with a firm stare, the stare was full of indirect accusation.

Shi Hoo looked around and finally realized that he was cornered, "Arasso! I'll handle the publish date." he said weakly and hung his head. When everybody sighed in relief and stood up to pack, Yong Hwa observed the secretary carefully for a moment before following the others.

"Great! Thank you Oppa! So let's get ready and pack! See you on Monday everybody!" Shin Hye said cheerfully.

An hour later bags were packed, rooms were emptied, dishes were washed; they were ready to leave the pension and drive back to Seoul, to routine and reality. The boys started to take the bags and put it inside their respective vehicle, Hyung Sik took Shin Hye's bag as she would drive back with him. She took time to scan the pension for the last time making sure that nothing was left behind.

She jumped in surprise when she came out of the room and saw Yong Hwa stood in the middle of common room. "I thought you'd be gone already!" she said while closing the boys room's door.

Yong Hwa pulled the zipper of his windbreaker and tidied it up, looking awfully nervous. "I... um was... waiting for you!" he stuttered.

Shin Hye raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Mwo?" her heart suddenly thumped harder than usual.

"Do.. do you want to ride with me back to Seoul?" he looked at the tip of his shoes, but peeked to see her reaction.

"Deh!?" Shin Hye cried, really did not expect the invitation from him.

"Don't get me wrong, I saw you ask your driver not to wait for you... so I was thinking... erm, hoping that I could take you home, you know, after the MT." his starting to sweat even though it was dead cold with the door wide opened. "I sent Soo Jung home with Min Hyuk and the rest already."

Shin Hye widened her eyes, "You want me to ride with you? Alone?!" she could not imagine how awkward the two hours car ride would be.

Yong Hwa smiled nervously, his hand ruffled his own hair in the effort to ease his tension. "Yeah! I was hoping we could... um, talk... about us." he closed his eyes to calmed his racing heart.

"O?!" Shin Hye froze seeing his fidgety state and hearing his halting answer; she suddenly struck by series of ideas about what he wanted to talk about. None of them made her comfortable. So she just stood there, looking at him vacantly, did not know what to answer since rejecting would hurt him but accepting would unnerved her.

"Noona! Are you ready? Let's go!" Hyung Sik suddenly bursted inside the villa.

Shin Hye jerked, grateful to be saved by the brother. "O!! I'm going!" she said to him, "I'm sorry... I'm riding with Hyung Sik." she said apologetically to Yong Hwa while walking pass him.

Yong Hwa looked utterly disappointed, somehow it caused a pang in her heart. "Gu Rae? Arasso... Drive safely!" he said weakly.

Hyung Sik looked at both persons alternately, picking up an odd atmosphere between them. "What happened?" he mouthed to Yong Hwa. The older man made a face at him, faking an aggressive move to hit him. "What?" Hyung Sik audibly asked.

"Never mind! Just go! What a way to ruin a moment!" Yong Hwa grumbled.

Shin Hye opened the back door and sat, she saw Yong Hwa got into the silver sedan alone and sped outside of the pension area. She huffed in relieve for having to dodge an extreme awkward situation. But as the car made its way back to the city and she thought about his invitation more, regret slowly crept into her heart. Maybe she should have just rode with him.

​---

Shin Hye opened her eyes and immediately saw the ceiling of her room, the fatigue from the three days MT suddenly washed over her. She groaned and stretched her arms in the effort to overcome it. Five minutes later she sat up, with bedheads, huge eyebags and pale face; the three days activity really took a toll on her. Even though there were not too many physically challenging activity during the MT, but she still felt utterly exhausted from the drive. She guessed that she was getting very old. It's either that or she was just exhausted from all the stress.

But aside from the fatigue, Shin Hye was happy with the MT. She could feel all the bad blood among the people in her team was slowly wearing down, they got to know each other better and was able to cleared up any misconception. Old mistakes were forgiven, broken friendship were mended and new ones were found. The only thing left to do was the real work.

There were eight people in her team and she already had a pretty good idea of what each person's role was. The only thing left was food and beverage, and there was only one person in her mind that she wanted to handle it. Call her nepotism, but she wanted all of her trusted person in that event. The ones she knew their true colours and the ones she knew would go the distance for the sake of the show success.

Shin Hye went to the first floor of the Park Mansion, it was strangely deserted since it was Sunday and her family was supposed to have an off day. But then she remembered, her grandfather was the chairman of a group and her brother was a rich bum; so the older man must had been somewhere taking care of his business while the young one was off somewhere having fun on the weekend. She wondered how the hell he could get that much of an energy.

She went to the dining room and saw the breakfast feast as usual. That morning she was strangely very hungry, so unlike usual days when she only took a slice of bread and a cup of coffee, today she devour almost all of the dishes that was prepared by the overly enthusiastic cook of their house. To finish a series of breakfast menu that covered half of an eight-persons-table was almost impossible.

The dishes was a kind of chaos actually, there was no particular theme for it. Some were korean breakfast menu: seaweed soup, kimbab, kimchi; some were American breakfast: cereal, omellete, potato wedges; some were french breakfast: french toast, baguette. It was as if made especially for each person who lived in that mansion, who had different tastes and different breakfast habit. It was international, too much if one could say.

"Scandalous!" Shin Hye smirked, the word just popped into her mind, her writer brain was at work.

So she grabbed the french toast, put it on her plate; her next choice fell to a few pieces of kimbab and potato wedges, a very unusual combination; but today she was feeling adventurous... and extremely hungry. She poured tea into her cup, again very out of character, and put some milk in it. So in the end she was an English women eating in Paris, Seoul and New York at the same time.

And as she started to stuffed the unusual breakfast, she looked at the table and her plate alternately. An idea came across her mind and the more she thought about it the more it grew on her.

Her eyes scrambled indicating that the bolts and nuts in her brains were turning, at some point her lips curved into a smile. She picked up her phone and dialed a familiar number. She waited for a few minutes before the other person picked up.

"O! Where are you?" She listened closely to the person's reply. She frowned a little when she heard it, "Arasso! Can I swing by? I need to talk to you about something." she asked eventually.

She hung up the phone, finished her breakfast and rushed back to her room. Though she was hesitant but she forced herself to get ready, she really needed to meet that best friend of hers.

The fact that Ye Jin was at work, troubled her a bit. If she went there she might run into the son of the owner which she had mixed feelings about. Seeing him was never a thing that she detested, she loved the fluttery feeling and the heart thumping she felt when he was around, it made her feel like teenager again. But she did not want to give him empty hope by coming to his restaurant on an off day.

She realized that he had the intention to move forward, to mend their broken relationship and to restore what they once had. He showed that to her during the MT, loud and clear and she was no longer the stupid, scared and oblivious little girl who was always indifferent about men's feeling about her.

"What if he thought I made up reasons to come to that restaurant?" she thought while putting the blush on. "What if he thought I actually wanted to meet him instead?"

She gazed at her reflection and smiled, the light make up successfully covered the tiredness from her face. She stood up from her vanity, opened the wardrobe and spent the whole five minutes just to figure out what to wear. She smiled sarcastically at herself for being pathetic.

"Shin Hye pabo! You said you're going there not to meet him but you tried so hard to look pretty. Such a hypocrite!!" she scolded herself.

She eventually opted for a skinny jeans, a black turtleneck shirt and a white parka. She did not want to look 'trying too hard', in case she ran into him.

"This is for work! I'm going there to meet Ye Jin Eonni! It doesn't have anything to do with him!" she pep-talked herself in front of the mirror. "Shin Hye-ya? Why are you panicking? It's not like he's going to be there at all. Yes it's his restaurant! But he just got back from an MT, he might be tired and sleep the whole day, he might be hanging out with the boys already. You might not see him at all!" she scolded herself again though she wondered silently why she felt prematurely disappointed by her own thoughts.

With a loud huff and a firm nod to motivate herself in front of the mirror, she was able to make up her mind. She grabbed her purse from her study and head out of the mansion stealthily to avoid being caught by the staff of her home. She felt like taking a bus today hoping that her best friend was up for a round of chicken and beer after work.

Almost two hours later she got off from the bus and strolled on the pavement that would led her to 'Sunflower'. Once she saw the building she instantly put up her radar, increased her awareness for the son of the owner. She tip toed all the way to the restaurant as if he would hear her if she walked normally.

Shin Hye's head popped out from the edge of the door like a ninja. She looked left and right to make sure that the coast was clear, completely missing out that her best friend was behind her, looking at her odd behavior like she was some kind of a lunatic.

Ye Jin peered at the restaurant trying to find out what Shin Hye was investigating. She slowly walked to her side, with two large plastic bags on each hands.

"What are you looking at?" She whispered to Shin Hye, sincerely curious of Shin Hye's line of sight.

"Kamchagiya!!" Shin Hye clutched her poor heart. "Ah! Eonni! You scared me!!"

"What? I'm just asking... I didn't even shout. What are you looking at?" she countered.

Shin Hye widened her eyes for being caught stalking, "You!!" she tried to save her face. "I'm looking for you!?"

"Do you want to ambush me or something? Why do you hide like that?" Shin Hye was not sure whether Ye Jin was being sincere or teasing.

"Aniya!" Shin Hye said, relief that the man was nowhere to be found. "Did you go somewhere?" she said while grabbing Ye Jin's bags in the hope to distract her from the ridiculous thing that just happened.

"I went to the market to get additional ingredient." She said leading their way to the restaurant.

Sunflower was still deserted as it was still a few hours before lunch, Shin Hye could not see Kim Mi Kyung and the other girl who usually helped running the store, she figured they were still in the kitchen for lunch preparation. Ye Jin gestured her to sit on one of the table, took the bag from her and disappear into the kitchen. She came back awhile after with two cups of green tea and a plate of dumpling. She put the tray on the table and sat in front of Shin Hye.

Shin Hye looked at the dumplings in front of her, although she unconsciously gulped but she felt her stomach was still full from the scandalous breakfast she had in the morning. "I already have my breakfast." she told her; the bestfriend pouted at her, reached for a pair of chopsticks and just slided it into Shin Hye's left hand.

"This is a new recipe I was developing, try it!" she demanded.

Shin Hye took a deep breath, reached for a dumpling and put it in her mouth. She instantly gasped, "Eonni! This is so good..." and her full stomach was history.

Ye Jin brightened up, "Really?! Mi Kyung ahjumma is letting me to put that dish on the menu today. It's my very first Korean dish invention." she explained proudly.

"Cheongmall!!" Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!" She said while grabbing another mandoo, dipped it into its sauce and shoved it in her mouth; in just a matter of time, the second and the third pieces were in her stomach.

"So!? Why do you want to see me?" Ye Ji asked with a huge grin, she loved it when people eat her food so heartily like Shin Hye at that moment.

"Ah yeah!" Shin Hye took out a tissue, dabbed it to her lips, swallowed her food and drank some of the tea; Ye Jin followed suit, "Are you ready for that catering business??" she choked on her tea and looked at Shin Hye curiously, "What? I asked you if you are ready to open that catering business you're dreaming of?" Shin Hye repeated the question.

"Why?" Ye Jin asked.

"I'm doing a show on the end of this month, and I need you to handle the food and beverage." Ye Jin choked again.

"Mwo??!!" She exclaimed hard. "Bichoso! Why would you give a project like that to a no one like me?" Ye Jin said.

"Because you're a no one that's waiting to be discovered. So I'm discovering you! Come on!! Say, you'll do it... okay?" Shin Hye persuaded.

"Aaw! That's so nice! But no, I can't!! I don't have enough money to start yet!" Ye Jin countered.

"Are you forgetting the fact that your bestfriend is a rich heiress?" Shin Hye smiled mischievously.

Ye Jin rolled her eyes, "Ya! Are you flaunting your family's money to me? Aigoo... you've changed so much, Park Shin Hye-shi!!" Ye Jin pouted.

Shin Hye sulked, "Oh Come on!! You know that's not what I meant... This is me, asking for your help. I need to cut down the budget for the event but I still need an awesome food and beverage for it. So, what would be a better way than to use your chef friend who dream to have her own catering business?" she said matter-of-factly. "Look... this is just a small project, you won't even gain a lot of profit in the end, but you don't need to spend even a single penny, everything is on my company's account. Aaand, you get to show the world how great your food is... who knows people would start discovering you and you might really start your business." Shin Hye said.

Ye Jin fell silent, the idea was slowly tempting her. She was about to answer when Kim Mi Kyung showed up from the kitchen looking utterly worried. "Ye Jin-a!!" she called, belatedly realized that Shin Hye was there. "Ah! Agashi! You came?" she exclaimed.

Shin Hye was stunned for a moment, completely forgetting that she was in a restaurant of her ex-boyfriend's mother. "Ah! Annyeonghaseyo Eomoni!!" She awkwardly jumped and bowed to her. "Please... Please... call me Shin Hye." she stuttered. Kim Mi Kyung smiled weakly while returning the bow.

Ye Jin looked at her oddly, she repressed a smile when finally connected the dots. "Deh! Ahjumma... wae gurae? You look troubled." Ye Jin asked her boss.

"Can... Can you come with me to the kitchen?" Kim Mi Kyung gestured Ye Jin to follow her.

Ye Jin glanced briefly at Shin Hye and followed her boss after the younger girl nodded. They both spent quite some time there leaving Shin Hye in the empty dining area. Now that she was alone, Shin Hye's radar went off again, she observed the door that was leading to the kitchen knowing that it was also the door to their home. She imagined Yong Hwa would be coming out of there, carrying the ingredients and helping his mom to prepare the dining area. She smiled realizing how expectant she was to see him.

"Why are you ogling at the kitchen?" Ye Jin snapped her back to reality, "He's not here..." she said putting a large bucket of dumpling filling on the table and sat back to her original chair.

"Mwo?" Shin Hye looked at her vacantly.

"He moved out! I guess you didn't know, huh!?" Ye Jin crossed her arms across the chest. "Aren't you looking for Jung Yong Hwa-shi? He doesn't live here anymore, stop staring at the door, your eyes were about to popped out!"

"He did! When?" Shin Hye exclaimed, not even bothered to hide her curiosity.

"A few weeks... is that why you came here? Did you make up all those catering service thingy so you could come here and see him?" Ye Jin asked suspiciously.

"What!!!??" Shin Hye shrieked, two octaves higher than usual, "No!!! So, what do you say?" she tried to bring the focus back to Ye Jin.

"I'll do it!!" Shin Hye was about to clapped but stopped by her, "On one condition!"

Shin Hye raised her eyebrows, "What?"

Ye Jin raised one of her arm that turned out to be carrying an apron. "Kwang Ja is sick today, we need a replacement. We could not afford to pay you. So a lunch and a dinner is all you're going to get. Ottoke?" she demanded.

Shin Hye scoffed, wondering why she's the one being pushed around now, but she grabbed the apron anyway earning a victorious smile from the best friend. "You're so lucky I'm not a some kind of snob heiress." she quipped.

"Gomawo, Director Park! For the first task, fill up this dumpling! We need to make 300 mandoos for lunch..." Ye Jin ordered.

Shin Hye's eyes widened realizing how many mandoos she had to make, "You've got to be kidding me, right?"

Ye Jin stood up and smiled, "Nope! Now chop chop! There is no such thing as a free lunch!" she said while going back to the kitchen. Shin Hye made a face at her and begrudgingly took a piece of mandoo wrap and started filling it out.

---

Yong Hwa stepped out of his rented silver Hyundai sonata, closed the door and locked it using the small black remote. Having a car sometime could be fun, he spent only an hour to get home from his apartment and still had enough time to snooze before the lunch hour rush started. He still badly needed a rest after the long drive the day before.

He sauntered his way to her mother's restaurant clearly having a great mood. He did not know why but he felt the urge to whistle since morning. The restaurant was already opened but there were no guest yet, he saw someone was tidying the dining area, wiping the table and putting the tissue and utensils boxes on each table. He peered at the person, thinking that she was a new employee since she was too skinny to be Kwang Ja and too short to be Ye Jin.

And as he got nearer to the restaurant, his jaw slowly dropped when he realized who the new employee was. He froze in front of the restaurant for awhile, not believing his eyes; that were now seeing his ex sat on a chair making dumplings that he did not even know was sold by his mother's restaurant.

His right hand raised, approached his right cheek and pinched it hard; Yong Hwa inaudibly gasped from the pain but he did not mind it at all. Because it was confirmed, he was not dreaming, she was really there! Shin Hye was actually there, sitting in his restaurant, diligently working on a mandoo. His great mood turned, if possible, even better.

"Ye Jin Eonni! I need another container for the Mandoo!" Shin Hye shouted, nobody responded. She looked at the kitchen and saw Ye Jin's silhouette. "Ye Jin, Eonni!!" she called again, diverting her attention back to the mandoo in her hand. She felt someone approached her and a plastic container floated near her head. Her hand reached for the container "Gomawo!" she said, but the hand missed it.

She held the hand further to reach it, but the container just seemed to get further more. She looked up in annoyance, could not believe that Ye Jin had time to fool around with her. She instantly gaped, her heart skipped a beat, when he saw who held the container, smiling mischievously at her. She felt her cheek redder and warmed up from his gaze.

"Ahem!" she cleared her throat while aggressively snatched the container from his hand, put it beside her and arranged the mandoo neatly inside it; all the while trying hard not to show the fluttering of her heart.

"O! Shin Hye-ya! Biyan! What did you... say?" Ye Jin came out of the kitchen and shocked to see Yong Hwa was there, she thought he would not come. That's why she offered the job to Shin Hye. "Jung Yong Hwa-shi, you came? I thought you said to your mother you won't be home today."

"O, Ye Jin Eonni!" Yong Hwa answered, Shin Hye looked at him quizzically at his odd way of addressing her best friend, "I suddenly have an urge for Omma's Doenjjjang Jjigae! I'm glad I came home." he smiled mischievously at Shin Hye.

Even Ye Jin could feel the tension, "O! Kwang Ja is ill today, so I asked Shin Hye to help out." she told him as if asking permission.

Yong Hwa raised one of his eyebrows, "Not complaining here!" he said matter-of-factly. "What are you doing? Are we selling dumpling, now?" he asked.

"It's a new menu that I'm trying out." Ye Jin was the one who answered. Yong Hwa pursed his lips seeing Shin Hye as quiet as a mouse, he remembered So Ra's description of teenage and in love Shin Hye. "Do you need help with those mandoo, Shin Hye-ya?" Ye Jin looked at her in concern.

"Aniya! I'm okay..." she said weakly without diverting her attention from the ground beef on her hand.

Yong Hwa suddenly sat in front of her, "I'll help her!"

"Mwo!?" both girls exclaimed in surprise. "It's okay, I'm fine. I don't need a help!" Shin Hye said in panic.

"Yes! I can do it with her!" Ye Jin tried to help her friend dodging the awkward situation. But just when she stopped talking, as if on a cue, Kim Mi Kyung called her. "Deh! Ahjumma!" She shouted in panic, "Shin Hye-ya! Biyane!" she ran back to the kitchen.

Yong Hwa's smile grew even wider. He took the mandoo wrap, put it on his hand, scoop a bit of the filling and put it on the wrap. He observed Shin Hye when she made the mandoo and tried it himself, intentionally messing it up. "Help me!!" he said eventually, sounded like a nine years old.

Shin Hye shot daggers at him, "It's easy... anyone can do it!" she barked.

"Well! Apparently not! Because I can't!" he countered.

"Here, look at this!" Shin Hye showed him how to do it, which was not what in his mind. He wanted her to show it on his hands, hoping an accidental hand holding. So he tried again, not forgetting his strategy to mess things up.

"Ah! Meolla!! I can't do it!" he complaint.

"Then don't! Nobody asked you to do it!" Shin Hye yelled in annoyance, his presence and the effect on her were the annoying part.

Yong Hwa froze, that was not the reaction he was counting on. He thought for a moment then stood up. Shin Hye stole a glance at him, feeling a mixture of relieve and disappointment for thinking that he was giving up and leaving her. But he did not, instead he walked to her side and sat on a chair next to her, causing a major heart thumping on her.

He held out the hand that was still holding the mandoo dough, "Show me..." he said, the tone was much gentler now.

Shin Hye looked at him dejectedly, took a deep breath and folded the mandoo on his hand, just as he wanted. His smile grew as his heart raced, the mandoo lesson did not really enter his mind because he was busy ogling at her flawless face instead. When she was finished and looked at him to see if he understood, he instinctively looked at his dumpling and nodded as if he got it.

She knew he lied, so she took another piece of mandoo wrap, put it on his hand, scoop the filling and put it on the wrap. She then grabbed his other hand and put it on the mandoo, gesturing him to do it himself. He obliged and did the way she showed him, she occasionally helped pinching the edge of the mandoo. When he finished, they looked at each other and bursted out laughing. She rolled her eyes and pulled the stack of wraps and the bucket of filling to the middle, so he could reach them easily.

Yong Hwa smiled as wide as humanly possible, she finally gave him a chance to stay close even if it just for making mandoos. He happily did as she wanted, sleeping be damned! They worked in silence, but both enjoyed it very much.

"Shin Hye, are you okay back... here?" Ye Jin was stunned to see their harmony. She intended to let Shin Hye go since she thought that the encounter with the ex-boyfriend would make her uncomfortable, but seeing both of them working side by side peacefully warmed her heart. So she cancelled her intention and went back to the kitchen, finding unnecessary task that would prevent her from going to the dining area.

---

"Are you okay talking with me? The dinner rush hasn't over yet..." Shin Hye asked Ye jin when they both seated on one of the table in the corner of the dining area.

"Nah! It's okay... Mi Kyung Ahjumma said okay too. Soo Jung and Yong Hwa are here to help. Okay, let's continue where we left off. Are you sure you want to gamble your show with me?" Ye Jin asked one more time.

"Gamble is when you're not sure about the chances. I'm sure about you, so it's not a gamble at all." Shin Hye replied confidently.

"Aaw!! Thank you..." Ye Jin looked sincerely touched, "Okay what are your plans?" Ye Jin asked while putting a paper on top of table and clicked a pen.

"Well! Finger food before the show and a buffet afterwards. Let's have a fusion between Korean and French cuisine. East meet west kind of thing." Shin Hye said

"Do you like the dumpling? What if I make it smaller for the finger food?" The chef was already at work.

Shin Hye lit up to the idea, "Super!!"

"How many person?" Ye Jin said without looking up.

"Make it 300." Shin Hye said

"Mwo?!" that made her looked up.

And the girls went on and on brainstorming ideas, discussing rather animatedly about what to serve on a high end fashion show. Both were very excited and lost in their own world. Drawing the restaurant's owners' attention. Yong Hwa approached his sister who was already peering at the two girl.

"What do you think they are talking about?" Yong Hwa asked.

"I don't know, girl stuff... men?" Soo Jung guessed.

Yong Hwa scoffed, "Ya! Do you think Shin Hye is anything like you? She wouldn't come all the way here, disturbing someone at work to just talk about men." he preached. "Do you think they're talking about me?"

Soo Jung rolled her eyes, "Get your head back from the cloud, they wouldn't look that excited if talking about you!" she quipped, Yong Hwa made face at her. "Is she talking about the fashion show?"

"Why would she talk about it with Ye Jin Eonni!?" Yong Hwa asked

Soo Jung grimaced at his last remark, "Can you stop calling her Eonni!!? You're not that close, you know!!!" She exclaimed.

"Ye Jin Eonni! Ye Jin Eonni!! Ye Jin Eonni!!" Yong Hwa said sarcastically, deliberately to annoy the younger sister.

"Yaa!! What are you doing?! I already lost my two best employees! Stop slacking off and serve the customers!!" Kim Mi Kyung scolded her two children.

"Ah, Omma!! We're your children, you know! Why are you praising another person's daughter instead of your own?" Soo Jung complaint.

Kim Mi Kyung scoffed, "This is the restaurant my dear, in this area I love the ones who worked hard, not some lazy bum who woke up at noon and ran off to Dongdaemun every day! Get to work!!"

Yong Hwa and Soo Jung begrudgingly tended the guest as instructed by their mother. Fifteen minutes later, the girls stood up looking very content with their discussion. Ye Jin observed at her notes one last time, a hopeful smile slowly formed on her face.

"You like it that much, huh!?" Shin Hye teased.

Ye Jin smiled at her and nodded, "O! Choa! Gomawo, Shin Hye-ya!!" she said hugging the bestfriend. "But I have to discuss this with Mi Kyung Ahjuma, okay! I might have to take a leave for a few days to gather resources." she said after they let go of each other.

Shin Hye nodded, "Arasso! I trust you... I know you'll do the best." she followed her lead to the front of the restaurant. "Will you finish work soon?" she asked expectantly.

Ye Jin squinted her eyes, "I don't think so... you go ahead. I think there won't be any guest coming anymore, but I still need to tidy up."

Shin Hye looked disappointed, "Gu Rae?! Do I need to help?"

"Aniya! Soo Jung is here, we have more than enough now. Go back safely okay, before the bus stop running. I still don't understand why an heiress would want to take a bus. There's something wrong with your DNA." Ye Jin quipped.

Shin Hye bursted out laughing. She said her goodbyes to Kim Mi Kyung who was in the cashier and walked out of the restaurant. Ye Jin watched her until she was out of sight and went back to the kitchen, bumped Yong Hwa on the way in.

"You're here!" he said in surprise and immediately looked around, panic instantly invaded him when he could not find Shin Hye, "Where is she?"

"She went home!" Ye Jin said innocently

"Aish!!!" Yong Hwa exclaimed in anger, ran to the cashier to kiss his mom's cheek, "See you next week, Eomma!" he shouted while still running to his rented Hyundai Sonata.

Shin Hye strolled along the pavement feeling very light, she could already see the bus stop in the distance and could not wait to get a bus and went home. Although she did not get the chicken and beer she was craving, but at least she accomplished the mission: getting a trusted supplier for the food and beverage. She knew it was now in a good hand, so with one thing less from her mind she could focus on the more important stuff.

As she walked towards the bus stop, her stomach growled protesting the dinner that it had not received. She turned back contemplating the idea to eat dinner back in Sunflower, but it was already quite far. So she shrugged her shoulder and continued walking, intending to eat ramyeon at home instead.

She was about to reach the bus stop when a  silver sedan screeched just beside her, making her jumped in surprise. She peered at the car wondering why it almost hit her. Her eyes widened when the window rolled down and saw Yong Hwa behind the wheels, grinning ear-to-ear.

"Hop in! I'll take you home!" he was almost jumping out of the car in happiness when he saw her on the side of the road just now.

"Aniya! I'll just take take the bus!" Being alone with him is a dangerous thing at that moment.

"Oh Come on! It's me your creative director... why are you so scared riding a car with me?" he challenged.

Shin Hye shot daggers at him, "I'm not scared!" she said defensively.

"Proof it!" he knew she would always answer to a challenge.

Shin Hye heaved a sigh and looked at him in annoyance, the mischievous grin was really annoying. But then she walked towards the car, opened the door and timidly sat on the passenger seat, all the while cursing herself for being weak. When he saw her just froze there, he instinctively leaned over to get her seatbelt on. Shin Hye closed her eyes nervously due to the proximity, which did not go unnoticed by him. He pursed his lips giddily.

"Jul Bal!!" he exclaimed and stepped on the gas. "So what did you talk about with Ye Jin noona?" he eventually asked. Shin Hye told him everything and before they knew it, they already discussing everything about the the fashion show, freely and openly without a slight of awkwardness.

"I'm excited for tomorrow! I hope the team would stay solid like during the MT." Shin Hye said hopeful.

Yong Hwa glanced at her, his heart flutter from her openness. Finally she took out all the wall and they could converse normally like two best friends, just like how they started the first time. He hoped that it was a sign that there was still a chance for them, to move towards each other and be together again.

"Shin Hye-ya! Do you think there would be another chance for us?" he blurted out, belatedly realize that he said it out loud.

"O!?" Shin Hye froze at the question.

"I'm so sorry!!" he panicked, he might just ruin the night. "You... don't have to answer..."

"Let's just be friends..." she cut him off. The answer was like a dagger stabbed to his heart, "Just like this... this is good!" Shin Hye said with a nod, she was also trying to convince herself. "We never really got to know each other when we first started, everything happened so fast like a whirlwind. I think that's why it hurt so bad when the incident happened because everything that we thought about each other was actually not true. We found out that our relationship was based on lies and we were left with a huge mess just like an aftermath of a typhoon." Shin Hye said while looking at the traffic ahead. "I don't want us to be hurt again, it's not really a pleasant experience, you know! So let's just be friends and supports each other." she hung her head.

The car halted on an intersection when the lights turned red, Shin Hye could feel a pair of eyes were on her so she braced herself to look up and turned to her left. He was staring intently at her, clearly disappointed with her answered. Yong Hwa could feel his eyes watered although there was no onion this time. He eventually pursed his lips and smiled weakly.

"Arasso! If that's what you want... friends?" he held out his hand.

Shin Hye stared at the hand for awhile and reached for a hand shake, she held her breath when they touched. His hand was warm and cozy and it gave her comfort, it made her re-think her answer. She thought it would be nice to have someone she can run away to, who could protect her from the world and be an ear for her lament. But before she could say anything, Yong Hwa pulled his hand to drive the car since the light had turn green and the other car was already honking vigorously.

She sighed audibly and smiled weakly, thinking that she might just lost her chance and let him slipped away. The ride became very silent afterwards, until her stomach grumbled again, much louder than before. She was stunned to hear the loud, inhuman sound coming from her and slowly glanced at the driver on her side.

Yong Hwa snorted out a laugh, he was determined to let her be at ease with her feeling so he decided to act normally, hoping that she would not be burdened with his feeling. Friends were way better than foes. "Come on! Let's feed that stomach of yours! Or else it will eat itself." he joked.

"Aniya! It's okay..." Shin Hye said.

"Oh come on! Can't a pair of friends have dinner together? Platonically? I know a great chicken and beer place, totally not a date! What do you say?" he said.

Shin Hye raised her eyebrows, he had her at chicken and beer. She smiled and nodded in agreement that served as a cue for Yong Hwa to turned the car and headed to the restaurant. Shin Hye looked at the view from the window, "This is nice... friendship is nice." mind-chanted it repeatedly all the way home.

---o0o---

The sun had not even rise yet, the sky was still dark but Shin Hye was already stepping out of the black sedan to the lobby of Star Media Building. The security bowed to her and looked at her curiously, they had not seen her for almost four days and now suddenly she came into the office in the break of dawn. Eventhough it was winter and the sun rose always late, but coming in at seven in the morning was not something a Director usually do. But then again, she was not a regular Director.

Shin Hye stepped into the elevator completely lost in her thought, she was formulating the fashion show that was going to be held in less than 25 days. Now that the MT was over, she and the team needed to get to work, fast! She only had seven other people to depend on, but to her they were the best in the company; so she had faith that they could pull it off. She only hoped that they would not bailed on her when they found out what her plan was.

Shin Hye pressed 16th, way to the top, to the meeting room floor. She decided to do the first meeting away from Femme people and done in discreet. Because of the fear of being copied by Belle, the whole preparation of the fashion show would be conducted in complete confidential. Nobody in the company would know every detail of the show except for the eight people in the core team. She would not let Femme's idea to be stolen by the arch nemesis again.

The hallway in the 16th floor was already bright, indicating that she was not the first one to be there. Hope arisen inside her, that at least one of them was as motivated as she was to do the fashion show, which meant that there was a possibility that it actually would succeed. Warmth instantly invaded her heart when she opened the meeting room door. All seven people that were needed in the meeting were already there inside the small meeting room, talking happily with each other and clearly in high spirit.

Hyo Rin was sitting beside her assistant Soo Jung, they both were listening to Hyung Sik as he animatedly explained about something. Seung Ho was beside him occasionally adding something to his already interesting story, both of them really like an unidentical twin. Yong Hwa, Il Woo and Min Hyuk were on the other side of the room, though they looked like in a more serious conversation, it was clear that they were all friends again. Hyung Sik was right, the fight in the pension really did the trick. Both Yong Hwa and Il Woo were black and blue from the fight, but they looked like two best friends without any residue of many months of cold war.

Shin Hye lips curved into a smile, she was happy to be surrounded by good people and her hope soared as she believed she had the best people and formed a solid team. She looked at her brother, feeling grateful for leading a great MT. Though he was annoying at most time but he had proven himself to be a good mediator and leader. Now she was in peace, she knew that Hyung Sik would be a great Director should she ever left Femme to pursue her dream.

"Ahem! Are you late on our first important meeting, Director Park?" Yong Hwa called out, waking her up from her thoughts.

Shin Hye smiled heartily, "You're all, here!?" she sounded amused.

"Um! Didn't you say we should meet first thing in the morning? At seven?" Hyung Sik reminded, "I didn't know that you are a tardy kind of person, Director!!" he joked.

"Three minutes past seven!! Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!" Hyo Rin suddenly butt in while tapping her watch. All seven people looked at her amazed, like she was some kind of a doll who suddenly spoke. Creepy but amusing.

Hyo Rin suddenly realised that she was doing something out of her nature, so she stared blankly at her friends. Shin Hye bursted out laughing and made her way to one of the seat. "Arasso! Biyane! Thank you all for coming! Let's start the meeting!"

They all dispersed, chose a seat and took out their notes. They stared at the Director expectantly, waiting for her instruction and their task for the event organizing. Shin Hye took a deep breath bracing herself before announcing her plan, she knew one or more people would not love her plan at all.

"Okay, last saturday we already discussed the progress of the fashion show preparation by Secretary Park; and I'm sure we are on the same boat about why we are carrying the show as is, in oppose of delaying it a few days or week. It's because we want to knocked Belle out, we want to beat them in their own game. They messed with our December edition and now they are trying to mess with our annual event, let's show them who they are messing with!" Shin Hye said, welcomed by firm nods by each and everyone in the room. "That's why I decided to change the whole concept for the show, and start from fresh!" she added, balling her fist to get ready for the team's reaction.

"Mwo!!!???" she heard Il Woo, Min Hyuk and Seung Ho exclaimed.

Soo Jung's jaw dropped followed with her forehead sank to the table.

Hyo Rin threw her pencil to the table and roared.

Hyung Sik repressed a smile and shook his head, although he was not surprise but he felt bad for the team.

Yong Hwa snorted a laugh, at this rate he was not surprise anymore of her out of the box decision.

---o0o---