Baek Ha Rim

holding onto changkyun's arm, we walked the hallways side by side each other. i felt a bit conscious as i walked, thinking that there would be some eyes staring at the two of us. we were walking at a slow pace, but changkyun didn't seem fazed by it.

i felt thankful that his presence was very assuring and it made me comfortable despite my situation.

"how are my arms feeling? i worked them out this morning, so i'm glad they're being of good use to you." he smirked.

"well, they're quite hard. you seem to be bulking up." i answered.

i earned a proud smile from changkyun knowing that i noticed his body getting better.

"you should know though, more than improving your body, i hope you're also getting better at fighting." i took a blow at him.

"yah, i beat you the last time we sparred. did you forget?"

"you cheated."

"still, you were pinned down anyway. who cares if it's cheating or what, that doesn't apply in a real fight anyway. besides, at least i have techniques." he defended himself.

"really? you call kissing an opponent a technique? you mean to say, you'll end up kissing any random stranger just to beat them in a physical fight?"

"hey, don't make me seem weird." he opposed.

"you were already weird anyway."

"i'd definitely give them a kiss if the situation calls for it, maybe if it was a girl i was against. why? would that make you jealous that these lips would kiss someone else's?"

i stopped on my tracks and turned to face his smirking face with a glare. he was trying to piss me off on purpose, and he was definitely enjoying it.

"how you're being so thick-skinned right now is amusing me. if it weren't for me needing your help, i would've twisted this arm of yours i'm holding to and beat you up already." i threatened him a sarcastic smile.

"well, then it looks like i'm glad you're needing me right now then. i should probably think of more ways to take advantage of this and piss you off while you can't fight me." he flashed me a very mischievous look on his face.

"aish, how childish." i shook my head and looked away from him in an attempt to ignore his presence.

Chae Hyungwon

"it's been a long time since we've shared a meal together, hyungwon-ah?" kihyun started to strike a conversation with me.

i kept my gaze ahead, refusing to see him walking right beside me.

"i had the chef suit the buffet menu to your taste. after all, you're not the biggest fan of all those greens. i had a vegetable dish separated rather than having them incorporated in the dishes."

"you don't have to set your best foot forward when it comes to me. it's not like i couldn't just pick the vegetables out. what am i, a kid?" i spoke calmly despite knowing that i was rudely brushing off his efforts.

"you're still very cold-hearted, chae. i guess, i'm placing too much effort for a cousin?" he maintained his composure.

"if you knew me, then you should also know that i don't have a heavy breakfast in the morning. i could enjoy a cup of coffee in 5 minutes, and that would be sufficient."

"oh.. well, you're quite different from me then." kihyun nodded, intrigued to learn about how i spend my usual mornings.

"mr. yoo!" all of a sudden, kihyun and i halted upon hearing him being greeted by a business partner along the way.

"aigoo, mr. park!" upon seeing who it was, kihyun immediately went ahead to greet the old man and to hold a small conversation with him.

i decided to stand from a distance and wait, giving a bow as a respectful gesture nonetheless.

i looked towards the dining area and at that moment, i suddenly noticed baek ha rim outside. i blinked upon seeing the sight of her and focused my eyes to see clearly. with that, i was quick to notice how she took her hand off the arm of the man she was with.

apparently, that man was no other than her friend. he was the person she was with.

i stared at the two, wondering why ha rim's friend was escorting her all the way to the dining area. my eyes followed him heading to a different direction after he bid his goodbyes to her. going back to ha rim on the other hand, i now found her heading inside the room, starting to line up to get some breakfast.

"who was that?" i suddenly heard kihyun speak.

my train of thoughts were interrupted as i turned to look at him already beside me.

"what do you mean?" i chose to feign ignorance.

"the man who accompanied miss baek just a while ago." he added.

i hesitated for a moment, thinking if i was supposed to answer him correctly.

if i did, however, i knew it would raise suspicion as to why i knew that much about her and about those who were acquainted to her.

"how am i supposed to know?" i shrugged kihyun off and started walking towards the dining area.

having been inside the room, i immediately reached for a plate first things first in an attempt to fall in line right behind ha rim who was already picking food out. unexpectedly, however, kihyun quickly blocked me from doing so.

he held me back by placing a hand on my shoulder and situating himself right beside me.

"aren't you supposed to head to the coffee section first?" he suddenly threw me a question.

it actually didn't seem like a question.

rather, i felt that he was obliging me to say yes, or was reminding me about what i had spoken to him about breakfast.

"i'm trying out some food in your buffet because you've-"

"move aside for a while, it's miss baek we have here." kihyun refused to hear me out and went ahead to occupy the space right in front of me, behind ha rim.

Baek Ha Rim

i carefully took a scoop of warm mushroom soup in my bowl which i was excited to try. moving ahead, i contemplated about the other dishes i could choose to try from the options available.

"hmm, what else could there be?" i wondered silently.

i knew that i needed to make the most of my breakfast to gather strength and energy, and i made a wise choice of placing a good amount of vegetables on my plate.

"hello, miss baek. it's nice to see you this morning." i suddenly heard a familiar voice speak at such close proximity to me.

i immediately turned to look at my side and unexpectedly found yoo kihyun so close to me, smiling while holding his plate of food.

"oh, uhm.. good morning, ceo yoo." i was initially caught off guard but i managed to greet him gracefully nonetheless.

my eyes immediately shifted to look behind him and they met ceo chae's eyes. it came to my mind that he had already been watching me right behind his cousin. my heart jumped a little bit, but i had to push the feeling aside as fast as i could.

"good morning, ceo chae." i slightly bowed to him as well.

"you should get some more food in your plate. i think most of the employees have already eaten anyway which is also why ceo chae and i waited until this time." yoo kihyun quickly got my attention back to him.

"thank you, but i guess this is just enough, sir. the plate would get quite heavy if i added some more food." i eventually came to the conclusion.

"is that so?" he raised an eyebrow and suddenly went ahead to gesture to a waiter who was around serving us in the area.

as quickly as that waiter could, he immediately came to the scene to bring service to the hotel's owner. i stood flustered, already wanting to leave and sit down any time soon if only it was not for yoo kihyun.

"what can i help with, sir?" the waiter asked.

"please prepare an extra plate for my lady here and assist her in bringing it. she apparently hasn't picked out food from the dessert section yet, so she'll need some help."

"uhm, sir, it's alright. i could just come back for dessert later."

"you wouldn't want the extra hassle miss baek, we're here anyway. let's have the waiter help you bring your food." he smiled.

i kept quiet and walked towards other breakfast options they had. there were different kinds of sweet bread and crispy waffles we could glaze with syrups. the waiter took initiative to choose out food for me upon having me decide on which one i wanted to eat.

"my lady..? does he really think it would be enough to charm me? too much for being a sweet talker, he's the hassle for me here.." i released a deep sigh and muttered beneath my breath.

"what else would you like, miss?" the waiter asked, interrupting my thoughts.

"uhm, i'll have chocolate syrup drizzled on the waffle please. thank you." i spoke, gently.

after having settled on my breakfast, i quickly walked ahead to sit with some of rowoon's friends. they gladly accepted me which i was internally grateful for. i already wanted to avoid both ceo yoo and chae at that moment.

being around their presence was overwhelming to me in a way. it was best for me to be at a distance from them every now and then.

"rowoon and the others ate their breakfast early to hang out by the pool, by the way. you might want to come along after." one told me.

"ah, i see. looks like they're enjoying this place as much as they can. thanks for letting me know." i gave a small smile and started eating.

my eyes went around the place as i ate, and it landed on ceo yoo making his way to his table. upon placing his food down, he took a glance at me and flashed a small smile. he sat down on his seat, wisely positioned in a way in which he could get a very good sight of me.

he was a calculated man, indeed.

ceo chae suddenly came along from behind, walking to their table. just like that, attention was grabbed by him swiftly. soon, a part of me started anticipating and hoping he'd sit on a chair where we could see each other, too.

unlike ceo yoo, however, he didn't bother giving me even just one look. i fixed my eyes on him, somehow expectant. if he would sit in a position with his back facing me, it would get me a bit down.

ceo chae suddenly pulled the chair right beside ceo yoo. placing his food down the table, he made his way to sit down comfortably. my face immediately lit up in surprise upon seeing him choose a good seat. a small part of me started rejoicing that i would be able to get a good glimpse of ceo chae from that position.

quickly, i looked away and took a spoonful of food to avoid having to give away my feelings.

but amidst that small part of me rejoicing, a big part of me caught onto what i was feeling. it tried to control it down, and was aware that it was dangerous for me to already feel that way.

i knew i had to stop perceiving ceo chae in a different kind of way. it was stupid of me to feel a spark every time our eyes met.

it just had to be a figment of my imagination; i couldn't hope for anything, i couldn't be expectant of chae hyungwon.

having this internal turmoil, i slowly stiffened the look on my face and immediately detached from my wishful thoughts and emotions.

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hello, it's been a long while! because the school year is finally over, here is an update! i am back and enjoying summer break! because of this, i'll get to post updates more often than i did back when the semester was still ongoing!

thank you for the patient wait and for 5k reads! stay tuned guys and please do leave me a vote or comment! ily all!