Aera was left alone with Jake for the rest of the day, and she would be for the next month unless she could find a way to get back earlier too. 

It wasn't that she didn't like Jake. In fact, she did. He was sweet and easy to be around. But without Sunghoon, she suddenly felt more alone than ever. She missed her family, both her real one and the boys she'd gotten to know over the school year. 

Still, Jake was really sweet, and they worked well together. All day, they organized files, summarized reports, checked the news articles to see what they were saying about the company. 

"Hey, you want to hang out?" Jake asked as they were leaving the office. 

That sounded like a great idea. That way she'd be able to take her mind off of her loneliness. And more importantly, she could take her mind off of Heeseung and his shiny new fiancée. 

"I'd love to," she told him gratefully. 

He gave her that beautiful bright smile of his, chasing away most of her worries. He linked his arm with hers and led the way into the streets, into the sunshine. 

"First, ice cream!" he said excitedly, going to an ice cream shop first. "You have the try their cotton candy ice cream," he told her. "It's the best." 

She nodded, and he ordered two, one for each of them. Aera reached into her wallet to pay but he pushed the money away. 

"My treat," he insisted, winking at her. 

"Next time I'll buy," she said, grabbing their ice creams as he paid, and then leading them out of the store and to the seating area. 

For a minute they just ate in silence. Jake was right, the ice cream was good. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to keep her mind off of Heeseung. She tried, she really did, but as she looked around the area she kept thinking about how nice it would have been to come here with him. 

"Your Heeseung's girlfriend, aren't you?" Jake asked, surprising her. 

She laughed awkwardly. "What makes you say that?" 

"Your eyes whenever his name is mentioned. And I saw your contact for him... there's a red heart there. I mean, I could pass that off as close friends but even right now, looking around, you seem sad. And when I said his name, your eyes seemed even sadder. But more of a mixture of emotions." 

Aera gave him a small smile. "You're good at reading people," she told him. "Yes, Heeseung's my boyfriend." 

He didn't mention Heeseung's engagement, but she sensed he was thinking about it. So was she. 

She hated to admit it, because she should have trusted Heeseung more. She should trust the both of them more. 

But what if he ended up falling for his new fiancée? What then?