He was holding her hand. It was so small compared to his own, soft and warm; their fingers were carefully intertwined between each other.

Her gaze was warm, too. And so was her smile. She was so unexpectedly sweet, resembling the coffee she adored so much in many ways. 

She may seem bitter at first, remarkably powerful and potentially dangerous if consumed wrongly (and she was, if you messed with those she loved). But in the end, she was sweet like the teaspoon sugar added to coffee. 

He loved her just the way she was.

Too bad he couldn't love her in peace. Dammit. 

------------

Echo Girl stared at them with a wide, satisfied grin, completely unashamed (if not proud) of just having revealed she had been stalking them for quite a while.

"I had warned you, this wouldn't be the last you would see of me." A catty smile played on her lips, in no way reminding him of his darling Elizabeth.

"Still." He stared at her blankly, showcasing his disappointment. "Couldn't you at least have waited until Jaehee and I got married?" he inquired just as calmly, causing Jaehee to jump back in shock—blushing to the tip of her ears.

When would he stop randomly proposing to her?!

Kyungju scoffed. "As if that's going to happen while I'm alive." She rolled her eyes with an innocuous laugh. "That'd be a major humiliation for you and me both. Consider me doing this as saving your pretty arse."

She stealthily moved towards them, as Jumin put an arm in front of Jaehee protectively—even though he knew perfectly she could defend herself just fine—he wouldn't take risks.

Jaehee sighed, clearly troubled by whatever crazy confrontation was happening just now. Since when did Echo Girl even care about them dating? As far as she remembered, she was only upset when she wasn't hired for the position as assistant.

(Which was quite strange by itself… Why would a popular pop star on the rise want to be a typical office worker so badly?)

She glanced at Jumin, reassuring him that she was fine, as his concerned gaze bored into her. He put away his arm and she stepped next to him with the elegance and eloquence that was common of her professional nature.

"Miss Choi, excuse me," she started, trying to keep her calm composure as much as possible, "But what the hell is going on here? Have you been following us all this time? You do know such a thing would be classified as stalking, correct? And you do know that the penalty for a stalker is a restraining order or even spending many years in jail?"

Jumin seemed surprised at first (Echo Girl on the other hand, was astonished), however, he smiled proudly at how reliable and knowledgeable she was. That's his assistant, and his girlfriend.

"I suggest you stop whatever you're doing, before you end up making a fool out of yourself and ruining your own career. As I am quite sure it is not something you would wish for." She finished speaking by sending an unusual from the overly polite woman, chillingly cold glare her way.

Echo Girl shivered. But she wasn't intimidated!

…At least she wouldn't let them realize she was. Seriously, that woman was unexpectedly scary when she wanted to be.

"Listen, I'm not here to bargain or anything like that." She waved her hand at an attempt of being dismissive. "I'm here to say something to you."

Jaehee and Jumin both raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You came all the way here just to say something?" they accidentally asked in unison, sounding just disbelieving.

"Uh-huh." Kyungju puffed out her chest, smiling mischievously.

In a near instant, she was close to Jumin by less than a centimeter, putting her hand on his shoulder and gripping the expensive fabric of the suit in a way that made him feel threatened. She whispered something inside his ear.

"Come to your company building today. I'll show up. You'll open the doors for me."

In return he gave her glare, as if questioning why he would ever do that.

"...Or you can just stay home and watch the incriminating tapes I have of your father from the comfort of your sofa. I'll just release them."

Jumin sighed, drained.

She stood closer to him again, lowering her voice and making him flinch uncomfortably. "And don't tell that assistant wench, or I'll make sure she won't live this down along you. I was planning on having a little mercy on her, you know? Don't make me change my mind."

Now the raven-haired man was holding himself from lashing out at her—losing his cool, something he wouldn't allow—yet a part of him really wanted to do it. One thing was threatening him, another entirely was threatening Jaehee.

"I'm not the kind of person who gives up easily or who's easy to get rid of." Her dark smile plagued him as she quickly ran off into the tall bushes, clearly running back to get a ride from her limousine.

Jumin absent-mindedly pressed a hand against his shoulder, frowning.

Jaehee quickly walked closer to him, making sure he was fine. But if anything, he just looked amused.

She was puzzled; she had expected confusion from him, even anger.

Not... The way he calmly smiled at her and told her not to worry about whatever nonsensical insanity had just occured.

"I'll take care of it," he said, brushing the side of her cheek lightly with his hand. The same kind smile on his face.

---------------

"Jumin... There's something you're not telling me."

"What? Why would you think so?"

"Because Echo Girl wouldn't have gone all this way to do this just because you didn't hire her."

Jumin sighed deeply. "She's not exactly the most logical person in the planet..."

"Jumin," she said, noticing how he wouldn't answer her question. Instead, he hugged her from behind, carefully setting his head over hers, wrapping his arms around her tightly. "Jumin."

"Hmm?" he mumbled blissfully between her hair, not really listening.

Now it was her time to sigh, irritated. She forced herself to separate from his (heavenly) embrace, putting her hands on her hips and staring at him firmly. "Jumin Han."

Jumin blinked. "...You sound like my father."

Jaehee resisted the sudden urge to laugh at his shocked face, keeping her serious stance. "You need to tell me what's going on. Why did she even touch you like that?" It wasn't that she didn't trust him—because at this point, he was honestly the person she trusted the most in the world—but she was sincerely lost in the situation.

Jumin considered the fact that he had been warned by Echo Girl about saying anything to Jaehee. Should he listen to her? Or should he risk and tell Jaehee?

What good would that do anyway? He reasoned.

He had been avoiding talking about the forced marriage arrangement. About how he was supposed to be courting and getting married to Echo Girl as of now according to his father.

He wished the whole arrangement could just vanish in the air, and he didn't want to have to tell Jaehee about it. How would she even react?

Fortunately for him, he was saved by Yoosung and Seven appearing from another side of the trees.

"Guys! Did she find you?!" Yoosung asked in a panic, sounding genuinely worried.

"How could she? I gave her a fake direction, remember?" Luciel stated smugly, offended Yoosung actually thought his plan would fail. "Longcat isn't snitching on us."

"Longcat?" Jaehee sweat-dropped. What even—?

"Inside joke." Seven shrugged casually. "No worries. We gotta find Zen and MC, though. Who knows where they are."

"Yeah... I think it's about time the hangout ended..." Yoosung sighed in disappointment, shoulders slumping.

"I think hanging out through the chat is more than enough for now." Jaehee said, relieved the event was finally ending. "We can go to the beach next time."

"But won't Echo Girl just show up in a bikini or something?" Luciel mused, making everyone around him stare at him in exasperation. "Maybe Jumin could hide in the ocean! Hey, Jumin, you know how to swim?" Now he was determined to teach Elly's mom how to scuba dive, maybe then he'd be distracted enough to let him pet her!

Jumin rolled his eyes, seeing his true intentions. "Perhaps Echo Girl isn't the only one I should be hiding from."

Jaehee and Yoosung laughed, while Seven pouted and grumbled something about Jumin and his dull jokes. Zen and MC walked towards them—MC was waving enthusiastically and Zen smiled wide.

"There you are. We've been looking for you idiots." He playfully slapped Yoosung and Seven in the back. "It's easy to get lost in this place. It's so wide."

Mi-Cha noticed how Jaehee and Jumin looked slightly nervous. "Oh, did something happen?" she asked curiously.

Jumin fidgeted with the cuff of his sleeve uncomfortably, and cleared his throat. While Jaehee pretended to be looking at something far off the distance. "Is that a bird?" she murmured in feigned awe.

MC and Zen glanced at each other.

They nodded in agreement.

"Let's go somewhere for a while," Mi-Cha was suddenly pushing Jaehee away from the rest of the RFA, even as the assistant protested in vain. "No, no, I insist."

They two disappeared, and now Yoosung and Seven realized in shock how Zen was dragging Jumin away from the scene as well.

"Huh—"

"Don't ask."

-----------------

"Okay, what is it with you and Jumin?" MC now asked her friend firmly, crossing her arms.

"W-wait, what? What do you mean—"

"I mean, I know you two are in love and all that," she admitted, sounding more than a little smug, "But you're still not dating, are you? Why are you guys so awkward?!"

Jaehee flinched a bit, as if struck right in the heart. "We're not awkward... are we?" she asked, oblivious and almost timidly.

"You're very old-fashioned at least," Mi-Cha laughed good-heartedly. "I think it's cute."

Jaehee blushed. "Oh... thanks?"

"But you do seem to have a few issues going on..."

"What kind of issues?"

"I don't know... The whole thing with Echo Girl seems like an issue to me."

Now the woman of wavy brown hair blinked in surprise. "You know of Echo Girl?!"

Even MC knew of this problem before her—somehow.

"Eh... What can I say? Luciel told me." she replied, guilty as charged. She immediately proceeded to defend herself. "But I only asked him 'cause I was worried!"

Jaehee sighed and smiled slightly. "I understand, it's just... I'm a bit frustrated." She looked away. "Jumin never told me about her. Kyungju, I mean." Even now he hadn't told her anything.

"Oh... So you have communication problems."

Jaehee shrugged. Until now, she hadn't thought too much about it, but Jumin did tend to do and plan things without telling her. Planning business travels and leaving Elizabeth the 3rd with her, taking her on impromptu meetings, utilizing the element of surprise in all kind of situations.

But all those things were back then; when she was only his assistant. He didn't really have a reason to tell her those things back then. But now... She was more than that, wasn't she?

Or did he still unconsciously see her as just his assistant?

----------------

Later that evening, the limit to her (quite admirable) length of patience and her beliefs in Jumin were both put to test.

Echo Girl arrived, walking inside the building with a completely confident stride and conceited look in her bright, light blue eyes. She put her hands on her hips, staring her down as she sat in her office cubicle.

"I demand to see him! Take me to his office, you damn secretary!" It was like a pure, unfiltered flashback to that day. Did Sarah put on a brown wig, blue eye contacts and somehow acquired a higher-pitched voice?

No, even Sarah had proven to be better than this. It would be an insult to compare the two. "...Excuse me?" Jaehee stared at her with squinted eyes, befuddled.

"I want to see Jumin! Don't you hear?!" Echo Girl gladly returned the glare. "If you don't take me to him, I won't be be afraid to take down this pitiful little company of yours!" she threatened for good measure.

A bead of sweat ran down Jaehee's cheek, and she nervously looked away; completely unsure of what to do in this situation. As if sensing her utter discomfort, Jumin pressed the intercom button, allowing both her and their "guest" to listen to his disturbingly calm voice.

"Let her enter, Assistant Kang."

"Pardon—?!" Jaehee couldn't help but shout in disbelief. "Mr. Han, are you okay?! Were you by chance drugged by miss Choi...?" she seriously questioned, worriedly holding the phone closer to her ear.

"I'm not drugged, Assistant Kang," he answered, emotionless, "I just wish for you to bring miss Choi to my office."

Kyungju squealed with joy, sounding strangely like a dying seagull. "Yay! I knew Jumin did love me after all!" She mockingly grinned at Jaehee, looking extremely proud over her victory. By her being completely disinformed as she planned, she'd completely believe Jumin is being unfaithful, right? That he actually loved her instead of the measly assistant.

Said assistant merely stared at her blankly; still completely disbelieving and puzzled over what the hell was happening. "Jumin..." she softly managed to whisper to the phone, so silently that only the man in the other line could hear her. "Do you truly want me to do this? Will you finally tell me what's going on...?"

She trusted Jumin, and believed in him fully. After all these years, she wouldn't doubt his word, and she knew this wasn't like him; which only made her deeply worried for him.

"...Yes. Jaehee," he sounded just as gentle as her, "Please, trust me with this."

Jaehee bit her lower lip slightly, glancing away.

"I'm doing this for you... so that you no longer have to suffer because of me... As soon as this is over. I promise, I'll tell you everything. From now on, I'll never hide anything from you." he admitted to her, she could recognize various distinct, contrasting emotions laced in his voice. He was truly being sincere about this. Vulnerably, his voice quietened down again, patiently waiting for her response.

There was an excruciating silence for a while, before Jaehee finally answered him, "...Okay." She nodded slightly even though she knew he couldn't see her. "But what made you change your mind?"

He remained silent for a bit, before speaking again. "Zen."

Jaehee blinked twice. "Huh?!"

"I'll explain to you later." he amended, sounding amused.

She was almost certain Jumin had smiled after she said this; and she was right. "Please wait for me, Assistant Kang."

---------------

"Hmph," he heard the pop star huff while leaning on the door frame, pretending to check her nail polish without another care in the world. "I knew you always had a thing for me... you aren't that different from other men, are you?" she finally spoke, stretching her perfectly manicured nails to admire them even further.

Her eyes eventually turned towards Jumin's, who crashed with hers in something that wasn't a glare, but it wasn't exactly a friendly expression either.

"..."

"Are you not going to say anything? Or did your cat get your tounge?" she yelled at him, a frown forming on her features.

Jumin momentarily closed his eyes, not looking at her. With an all elegant composure, he turned his swivel chair around, and planted his eyes on his computer screen. "...Kyungju."

Said girl raised an eyebrow with interest, arms crossed as she still stood by the door.

"I've... I've changed my decision."

She smirked, and eyes glinted maliciously. "I knew you would reconsider, Juminny..." she giggled, her eyes darkened as she approached him; putting her hands on top of his desk. He had to hold back a cringe when she suddenly got even closer, her face centimeters apart from his. "I truly am too irresistible for you to avoid forever," she stated, completely confident in her words.

Jumin remained unfazed, but he didn't want to seem suspicious, so he looked down on his paperwork to distract himself. "I suppose you were right then. I truly couldn't avoid you forever."

She happily giggled again, practically skipping towards him by circling the desk and standing next to him. She pulled out a USB from her designer purse, instantly leaning down and inserting it inside Jumin's computer.

"What is this...?" he asked, bemused and wary while she joyfully smiled at him. Her "innocence" radiated from her face, and it honestly scared him what she was capable of.

"You'll see!" she told him with a childish pout, and Jumin's eyes redirected to the screen in horror.

It was a video of his father... in very compromising situations with multiple women.

He wanted to mentally slap himself; this was the blackmail Kyungju and her father had against them... No wonder Mr. Chairman seemed so fearful. With a grunt, he concealed his extreme anger with a blank mask. He slid a hand into his pocket.

"Hehe," Kyungju laughed shortly, "I'm glad you changed your mind, Juminny! Because otherwise me and Daddy would have leaked this to the public, and your company would have immediately fallen into a scandal!" Now she didn't bother to hold back her manic laughter as she stared down at him with something akin to pity.

"Poor little Jumin, with such a disgusting womanizer for a father..." Kyungju taunted him without mercy, somehow smiling wider and wider. "...And now he's getting remarried again. Not only disgusting, but an idiot, too... What a pig..."

She sat on his lap without a care, while he struggled to not throw her off him with the immense revulsion that he was forced to push down.

"It's so easy to get blackmail on him... but I can't keep critiquizing my father-in-law, I guess." She sighed deeply with a shrug, now laying down over Jumin's legs.

He kept staring at her, stress marked all over his face; every second it became harder to hide his repugnance towards her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she chuckled, covering her mouth with one hand after lifting her head slightly. "Aren't you happy...? You're going to have me, after all... Finally, I'll be yours..."

She grabbed his tie, pulling him down. "...And you know what's the funniest part?"

Seeing his reclutant silence wasn't going to stop, she rolled her eyes and laughed once again. "...That there is nothing you can do about it." She brought his face closer to hers, nearly whispering her next sentence as her grin vanished completely. "I won."

Then, suddenly, he broke into a smile. Just like that, he was smiling at her, seeming smug almost.

Kyungju couldn't have been more shocked and confused if Jumin grew wings and turned into a purple, dancing frog all of the sudden.

But when he also stood up, sending her tumbling to the floor, she was proven wrong. Staring up at him, completely perplexed, she saw him dust off his clothes, as if getting rid of dirt or something.

"I apologize, but that spot you were occupying is already reserved for someone else," he said simply, not looking at her, even though he still seemed very content.

"Wha— what the f— Why are you smiling?!" she fumbled over her words, barely able to speak.

She saw him pulling out his phone from one of his pockets, looking at the screen with what only could be described as perfect satisfaction, while pressing some buttons as well.

"Hey! Stop ignoring me, you bastard!" she screeched, getting up from the ground furiously. Before she could pull his arm as she wanted, he immediately turned his face towards her, his smooth smile still intact.

"What the hell did you do?!" she questioned defensively, now her heart was slamming against her ribcage with utter fear and suspicion.

"Nothing," he responded calmly, adjusting the cuffs on his sleeve. Then he looked up at her, smirking. "Would you care to accompany me over a glass of wine?"

Kyungju had the urge to pinch herself; just to be sure she wasn't dreaming. But she was too dumbfounded to even move her lips and answer him. All she could do was slowly nod her head repeatedly, looking actually innocent for once.

-----------------

"Miss Kyungju!" The door to Jumin's office was basically slammed open, and two of his security guards, alongside some man they were cautiously watching over, burst into the room. "Miss Kyungju!" he exclaimed again, sounding anguished.

Kyungju coyly pulled away from her cup of wine, glancing at her manager with clear puzzlement. Jumin merely kept drinking from his while sitting across from her, unmoved. "Is there something wrong, Manager-nim...?" she asked.

Her manager looked at her with complete panic, his face contorting into an aggravated glare. "You don't know...?" he muttered lowly, his voice almost bordering a growl.

Question marks could appear over Echo Girl's head. "Know what?"

"...Look at this," he signaled her, turning on his phone and showing the screen to her with his volume fully turned up.

"Hehe, I'm glad you changed your mind, Juminny! Because otherwise me and Daddy would have leaked this to the public, and your company would have immediately fallen into a scandal!" She heard her own voice gloating, and both her heart and brain stopped functioning at the same time.

"Poor little Jumin, with such a disgusting womanizer for a father... And now he's getting remarried again. Not only disgusting, but an idiot, too... What a pig..." Jumin looked up from his wine glass, silently separating his lips from the drink.

"It's so easy to get blackmail on him... but I can't keep critiquizing my father-in-law, I guess." Echo Girl's face blanched to the point she looked like a ghost; frightening her manager.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Aren't you happy...? You're going to have me, after all... Finally, I'll be yours... And you know what's the funniest part?" Jumin couldn't hide his true emotions any longer, and a triumphant smirk extended over his features.

"...That there is nothing you can do about it. I won."

"..." There was an ear-deafening silence perpetrated by Kyungju, who immobilized, stared at the nothing with the eyes of the dead.

Finally, her mouth moved ever so slightly. "H-how... how?" was all she could utter.

"I merely recorded your words," Jumin explained, simple and straightforward. "Now not only I, but all of Korea will bear witness of who you truly are, Kyungju Choi."

He stood up, about to order the security guards to get Echo Girl and her manager out of his sight. "...You spent quite a lot of time thinking of ways of tarnishing my reputation..."

Echo Girl kept staring at him speechlessly, flabbergasted, as the guards took a hold of her arms.

"...But don't forget that you have a reputation that can be tarnished, as well," he reminded her, pleasingly seeing her getting dragged away from his office alongside her anxious manager. "Goodbye. Have a great evening."