Chapter 16: Not So Arrogant After All
As the sun begins to set, it was almost quarter to seven. Sora was still in her office, finishing the last few bits of her work while almost everyone else have gone home.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
“Sora, aren’t you going home?” asked Melissa, who was about to get off work.
“Yeah, I’m almost done with these and then I’ll be off,” Sora said while looking at Melissa.
“So will Victor be sending you home then?” Melissa asked just to make sure.
“Well, Victor oppa has been busy lately, so I don’t want to bother him. I’ll just take the taxi home,” Sora explained. Just at that moment, a notification from her mobile sounded off. It was a message from Park Jungsu: Remember to be ready in fifteen minutes.
For a moment, Sora had forgotten that Park Jungsu had called her earlier today and she would have totally forgotten about the meeting if he hadn’t sent her a reminding message. She let out a tiresome sigh after reading the message. She felt so exhausted that she wasn’t too fond on going, but somehow she was curious as to what he wants when most of the event arrangements and preparations have been settled.
“Is everything okay, Sora?” Melissa asked after seeing how Sora reacted.
With her eyes closed, Sora answered, “Mr. Arrogant is sending someone over to pick me up.” She was already exhausted from a whole day’s of work. However, Melissa reacted differently – she was actually quite excited to hear that Sora will be meeting up with Park Jungsu.
“Oh my god! You mean President Park is interested in you too?” Melissa asked excitedly.
Sora looked at Melissa, not amused by her comment at all, in fact she was rather shocked by what Melissa had just suggested.
“What are you talking about? There is absolutely no way! Take it back!” Sora said frustratingly, unwilling to accept the idea brought forth by Melissa. She thought to herself, “There’s no way he would be interested in me when he’s always making harsh demands – making things difficult for me and always telling me to meet up with him.”
“I’m serious Sora! Consider this. Don’t you think it’s a bit too much that he’s always asking you to meet up with him? I mean, almost all the preparations have been finalized for the charity event, so why would he still want to meet up with you? Not to mention that he’s asking you to meet during this time of the day,” Melissa explained excitedly, speculating the reasons as to why Park Jungsu wanted to meet up with her after office hours. “Did you notice anything about him? Like did he look at you differently? Staring at you like he wants to kiss you?” Melissa asked, trying to gather more information.
When Melissa said the word “kiss”, the scene when he kissed her on the lips in his car, flashed back into her head – making her cheeks blushed.
“Stop speculating Melissa! There’s no way Mr. Arrogant would be interested in me! Besides, I’m too busy for that right now,” said Sora, who was spinning left and right on her chair.
“I think you should make time for it,” Melissa suggested, while looking at her watch. “And you should head down now too. Ppalli ppalli!” She went over to Sora and said, “Come on you lazy bum,” dragging Sora off her chair.
Melissa lead Sora to the lift, “Hurry and get in!” she urged.
Sora went inside the lift. “Aren’t you coming in as well?” Sora asked, while holding the lift door open. She saw Melissa was searching through her handbag.
“Yes, I am. Give me a second. I need to find something,” said Melissa. She just remembered she had forgotten something at her desk. “Oh no, I need to fetch my USB key on my desk. You go ahead first, Sora. And enjoy your date with President Park!” she said with a wink.
Sora was too tired to counter back, where she just rolled her eyes and shook her head. She waved goodbye to Melissa who then went back to retrieve her USB.
When Sora’s lift descended, another lift came up and made a DING! sound as the lift doors opened. A man walked out and headed down the hallway to which he found Melissa at her desk.
Melissa looked up and was surprised to see a man standing next to her desk. “Omo! Victor-ssi, why are you here?” she asked.
Victor nodded at Melissa to greet her, “Good evening, Melissa.” He looked around and found the lights in Sora’s office were turned off. “Where’s Sora?” he asked.
Melissa followed his eyes to Sora’s office and replied, “Oh? You mean Sora, she’s going on a date!” Melissa said excitedly as her imaginations take over her mind.
“Date?” Victor questioned as he wrinkled his eyebrows. “With who?” he continued to ask.
Melissa awed and said happily, “With JSE’s President Park…”
After what Melissa said, Victor looked rather distressed as he sighed and uttered, “Is that so…?”
Melissa saw the look on Victor’s face and asked, “Are you okay, Victor-ssi?” Aren’t you happy that Sora’s going on dates again?”
Victor sighed and muttered, “It would be better if this had happened earlier.”
Though he may have sounded quiet, but Melissa could still hear what he had said. “What do you mean by that?” Melissa asked.
“It’s better if you don’t know, Melissa,” he answered her with a forced smile. “But do you know when they’ve started?” he asked, trying to find out more about the phase Sora and Park Jungsu are in.
“Well, maybe I exaggerated a bit. They haven’t really started to date yet, but my hunch tells me that President Park is interested in Sora. Trust me. My womanly instincts are almost always true,” explained Melissa.
“So…you mean they aren’t a couple yet?” he asked.
“Nope, at least not yet, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be different after her meeting with him tonight. I have a feeling that something might happen to tonight. Sora may always say that President Park is arrogant and all. However, she never once said she hates him when he’s always making all these difficult requests. Even when she’s busy, she’ll always find time to go and meet up with him when he calls her up last minute,” explained Melissa confidently. As she prepares herself to head home, she suggested, “Well, let’s see what happens when Sora comes back tomorrow.”
“Well, have a great evening Melissa and take care on your way home,” said Victor.
***
Sora reached the lobby and could see a Mercedes SL 500 waiting outside the entrance from afar. As she continued to make her way out, she suddenly sensed an unknown presence behind her. She slowed down her pace and slightly turned her head around, but she didn’t see anyone behind her. For a moment, she thought she may have been too tired that she’s started to hallucinate. She turned her head back around and continued to walk out.
“Is everything alright, Miss Kang?” one of the security guards at the front desk asked.
“Oh, I’m okay, but maybe a bit too tired from today. For a moment, I thought someone was following me,” she said while laughing at herself for her silly thought.
The security guard looked behind her and said, “I’ll have a look right now. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Miss Kang,” as he made his way behind her.
“Thanks, goodbye then,” she said.
When she finally reached the main entrance, the driver greeted her and said, “Good evening Miss Kang. My name is Ross and President Park asked me to come and pick you up. Please…” as he opened the back door to the car. “And watch your head, miss.”
Sora smiled to be polite and settled herself inside the car and they headed off.
“So where does President Park intend to bring me to?” Sora asked the driver.
“Please forgive me, Miss Kang. The president has instructed me not to tell you, but you’ll know once we arrive at that place,” the driver answered.
“He’s not planning to kidnap me, is he?” she asked jokingly.
The driver smiled and said, “Don’t worry Miss Kang. Our president is not that kind of man.”
Suddenly, Ross reached his hand to his ear and pressed on the Bluetooth handset that was in his ear.
“Good evening sir. Yes, Miss Kang is with me right now and we are on our way. Yes, goodbye,” he said.
Sora looked at Ross from behind and knew who had called. However, she was too tired to say anything and just enjoyed the ride in the car.
After a half an hour drive, they have finally reached their destination. They arrived at a beautiful Italian restaurant, which was one of Korea’s top-rated restaurants. Ross got out and opened the door for Sora. She got out and took a moment to admire the nicely decorated exterior of the restaurant before heading in. When entered the restaurant, she was greeted by the manager there and could hear the wonderful orchestra playing in the background. She was then escorted to her designated room, which was located on the rooftop of the building.
The manager opened the door to the VIP room and there she was stunned by how beautiful everything looked. The setting was so lovely that Sora didn’t know how to react, leaving her speechless. She could see little scented candles were lit up and laid along the large glass windows – creating a calm relaxing environment.
She entered the room and was surprised that the host wasn’t present in the room. She walked towards the glass windows, enjoying the beautiful scenery that was outside as she placed one of her hand on the glass. The landscape was so captivating along with the beautiful scented candles that it made her felt like all her troubles and worries were all gone.
She was so mesmerized by the view that she didn’t even noticed that someone walked up and stood behind her.
“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” the voice from behind said.
Sora was startled by the voice and quickly turned around. Standing before was no other than Park Jungsu who was wearing a black suit over a white collar shirt underneath with its collar opened – showcasing his collarbone and a bit of his chest. He stumbled back a bit when she turned around.
“Are you some kind of ghost or something? There’s something called knocking you know?” she said.
“Wae? I didn’t want to disturb you when I saw you enjoying the beautiful scenery outside. So I tried to be as quiet as I can,” Park Jungsu explained.
At that moment, Sora felt a bit bad for blowing up at him. She looked around and asked, “Mianhe, I’m just a bit tired. So, why did you bring me here for?”
Park Jungsu’s eyes began to wonder around the room, while trying to gather his words together, “Umm…well, I thought you would be hungry by this time and probably would want to have dinner.”
She looked at him, thinking what kind of reason was that. “Well, this doesn’t seem like a normal dinner someone would have with their business affiliates. You know, with all the dim lights and scented candles,” she said to him as she glanced back and forth between him and the environment.
“You’re right, this is not a normal dinner…,” he said in a soft voice as he slowly walked towards her. This entire time, he had his hands behind him.
Step by step he got closer to her and said, “These are for you,” as he took out a bouquet of roses he had held behind him. It wasn’t a normal bouquet of roses that one would receive from someone. There were a total of eleven roses, where ten of them were white while the last one in the middle was in red.
Sora was lost in words as she didn’t know what to say by Park Jungsu’s sudden change in gesture. She took the bouquet and looked at it.
She remembered someone said that eleven roses assure the recipient they are truly and deeply loved. White coloured roses indicate Purity, Innocence, Silence, Secrecy, Reverence, Humility, Youthfulness, "I am worthy of you" and Heavenly. While a single red rose indicates “I Love You”.
She was taking a bit of time trying to process what was going on until she remembered what Melissa said earlier about Park Jungsu being interested in her. She tried to brush off the idea earlier before she came, but it seems like now the possibility of what Melissa had said might be becoming true. She wanted to know for sure and asked Park Jungsu, “Why are you suddenly giving me roses?”
Park Jungsu looked at her with a gentle smile as he got closer and said, “Why else would people give out roses? One, to say thank you and to show their appreciation or two, to show their admiration and love. So which one do you think it is, Sora-ssi?” as he gazed into her eyes.
Park Jungsu was so close that he had her cornered. His deep manly voice sounded so luring and sexy that Sora began to blush helplessly. The scent of his cologne got her slowly burning inside. Her heart raced as she swallowed. She couldn’t steer away from his strong gaze as if she was casted under his spell.
“Well? Which one do you think it is?” he urged her to answer.
Sora looked away, avoiding his gaze and said, “I believe you’re giving me these to say thank you for my hard work in helping you with the stage planning at the charity event.” She tried to move away so that she can escape from being cornered, but Park Jungsu quickly extended his hand onto the window, blocking her way with his arm as he leaned forward. He looked at her again, only this time was ten times stronger than before and he said, “Is that really what you think? Even when I’m leaning this close to you and talking to you like this?”
The close proximity between them sucked all the air inside Sora, leaving her breathless. If someone else had done the same thing to her like what Park Jungsu was doing, she would have quickly push the person away and give him a good beating before she walks away. However, she didn’t know what happened as she felt helpless whenever he’s gets close to her.
It was the first time that she didn’t know what to do when cornered into this position. Suddenly, to her relief, someone knocked on the door.
Park Jungsu turned his eyes to one corner, then back and said, “We’ll continue this afterwards.” He backed away and said, “Come in!”
It was one of the waiters at the restaurant. He entered into the room asking whether they were ready to order yet. They both sat down at the table and acted like nothing happened in front of the waiter.
“This restaurant is known best for its pastas. You should try it,” Park Jungsu recommended to Sora, who was still trying to calm down.
He looked at Sora, who didn’t say anything. He turned to the waiter and said, “We’ll have two of your restaurant’s signature pastas and a bottle of champagne as well.”
The waiter took the order and exited the room – leaving them both alone again. Sora’s eyes wondered all around the room, trying to avoid eye contact with Park Jungsu.
Park Jungsu looked at her and asked with a smile, “So how long are you going to keep quiet like this?”
“I’m keeping quiet because I don’t have anything to talk to you about,” she finally answered after a few seconds of silence.
“Wae?” Park Jungsu asked, somewhat shocked by her reply.
“Look President Park, maybe there’s a misunderstanding. There’s no way you would give me roses because you like me. I mean, you don’t like me ‘like me’, do you?” Sora asked.
Park Jungsu chuckled and said, “I don’t think there’s any misunderstanding. Besides, can I not like you ‘like you’?” He looked at her with a soft smile.
Sora grabbed the glass of water in front of her and took a big gulp of water down. She placed the glass back onto the table and said, “You know this is too much for a joke, right?”
“And what makes you think I’m joking? Do I not sound serious?” he asked her.
“Look! I’m pretty sure there are far better girls out there than me. Plus, I’m sure with your qualities as the president at one of Korea’s top entertainment agency that you can capture the hearts of other women,” Sora explained.
“I know that. In fact, there are many women out there who have their eyes on me, but I’m not interested in any of them since I already have my eyes on the person sitting in front of me,” he replied with confidence.
His reply got Sora dumbfound and she instantly asked, “Waeyo? Why me? First Minho-ssi sent me a bouquet of roses and now you…”
“What!? You mean that guy sent you roses as well?” Park Jungsu exclaimed which totally disrupted the mood in the entire room.
“Yah! Would you calm down? We’re at a restaurant for crying out loud!” Sora said quietly.
Park Jungsu looked around even though they’re in a VIP, where they were the only ones in the room. He exhaled and whispered, “Why did he send you roses?”
“How would I know? Melissa said he sent them wanting to make my day brighter,” she whispered back.
“Make your day brighter? Who does he think he is?” he asked in a whisper.
“I don’t know! I should be asking you the same question!” she whispered back at the other end of the table. “But why are we whispering?” she asked with her hand in front of her mouth.
It was then the both of them realized that there wasn’t any need for them to whisper when they occupied the entire room by themselves.
“I don’t know! You were the one who started whispering first!” he said quietly, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Sora saw the look on his face and couldn’t help but to laugh. Park Jungsu saw Sora laughing and asked with a chuckle, “Wae? Why are you laughing?”
“Mianhe, but the look on your face just now was priceless. Oh dear, who would have thought that the President and CEO of JSE would be like that,” Sora said in between her laughs.
Park Jungsu found her laugh so cute that he then began to laugh himself as well. Soon, both their laughter were filling up the room.
Both of them finally calmed down when their food arrived. Sora tasted her pasta and was amazed by how delicious it was. As she’s chewing on her pasta, she nodded and told Park Jungsu that it was delicious.
Park Jungsu smiled and was happy to see Sora enjoying her meal. “Would you like to taste a bit of mine? It’s very tasty as well,” he asked as he place some on his fork and offered it to Sora.
Sora felt a bit embarrassed when Park Jungsu offered her a taste of his pasta, not to mention offering it on his fork. He looked at her, signalling her to give it a try.
She hesitated at first, but in the end she decided to take the bite from his fork. He was indeed right – his pasta was delicious as well. Then, Park Jungsu looked at her as if he was waiting for her to do something.
Sora could sense his attention was on her. She slowly looked up and caught his eyes. He began to eye on her pasta and back onto her, as if he was telling her that he wants a taste of her pasta as well. She didn’t know why, but she found herself unknowing doing what he wants her to do. She placed a small portion of her pasta onto her fork and offered it to Park Jungsu.
Without hesitation, he took the bit from her fork and was chewing with a huge smile on his face. This made Sora giggled as she took a sip of champagne from her glass.
As they finish off their dinner, Sora excused herself to the ladies’ room, leaving Park Jungsu alone. In the restroom, she freshened up and began to talk to herself in the mirror.
“Kang Sora, Kang Sora… What are you going to do now? What Melissa said earlier was true. But why would he like me when he’s always making things difficult for me? Aish….Come on Kang Sora! You should know very well what to do! You don’t like him! Do I like him? Aish…cha…I don’t know!”
She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. Then she took out her phone and searched about “how to know if you’re in love”. One of the results wrote: To know who you have your heart on, close your eyes and whoever is the first person that comes to your mind then he/she is one.
“Okay, let me try this one out then,” she said to herself. She closed her eyes and clenched her two hands together like she was making a wish as she chanted, “Appa! Omma! Appa! Omma!...”
However, the person that appeared on her mind wasn’t her parents, but was the one who is waiting for her back in the VIP room whom she calls “Mr. Arrogant”.
“Aniya….! Ottoke, Kang Sora? Ottoke? This site is probably wrong and not precise. I shouldn’t trust it! Okay! Calm down…and pretend none of this happened,” she panicked and at the same time trying to console herself.
She fixes her hair and straightens her clothes before heading back. When she walked out, she suddenly felt something strange as if someone was following her again. She looked back, but found no one in sight. This was starting to freak her out a bit. Never had she felt this insecurity and she quickly made her way back to the room.
Park Jungsu saw the sudden change of expression on Sora’s face and asked, “Sora-ssi, are you alright? Are you not feeling well?”
Sora shook her head and said, “Ani, I’m okay. Maybe I’m just a bit too tired that’s all. I felt like someone was following me.”
“Oh? Following you?” he asked. Then we opened the door and looked around. But he didn’t see anything suspicious and closed the door. “Maybe you’re just tired. Well, I ordered some dessert for you, but if you want to go home now, I can drive back now.”
Sora looked at their table and saw the dessert Park Jungsu had ordered. “Well, I don’t like to waste food. Since you’ve ordered already, then why not enjoy the dessert?” she said with a smile.
He returned her smile and ushered her back to her seat. “I ordered tiramisu with chocolate ice cream on the side. Do you like ice cream?” he said as he got back to his seat.
“I do, but my favourite is chocolate mint ice cream,” she replied.
“Shall I ask them to change it for you?” he asked, looking at her with concern.
“Aniya, it’s alright. I like this too,” she said as she took in a spoon of ice cream and tiramisu.
“Are you sure?” he asked again.
Sora nodded and continued with her dessert.
***
Park Jungsu took care of the bill and they both made their way out of the restaurant. The night was getting a bit chilly with the night breeze.
“It’s getting a bit cold. The valet should be here soon, so take this in the meantime,” he told Sora as he took off his jacket and placed it over her.
“Gomawo,” she thanked him and asked, “But aren’t you cold?”
“Don’t worry about me. I can’t let you catch a cold,” he answered her as he stares into the sky, looking at the twinkling stars above with his hands in his pocket.
Sora glanced over at him from the side and saw how relaxed he looked. Tonight, she was able to see another side of him, being a caring gentleman despite what he tried to do earlier.
“Sora-ssi,” he called out her name while still looking into the sky.
“Ne?” she answered as she turned to him.
He turned around to face her. He stared at her intently and said, “What I said earlier, I was really being sincere and true to my words. I don’t even know when I started to have that kind of feeling for you, but I really…I really hope that you can give me a chance to…,”
Before Park Jungsu can finish what he wanted to say, a masked man suddenly forcefully pushed him away – knocking him onto the ground.
Sora screamed when the man attacked Park Jungsu and she tried to attack the man with her handbag as she shouts for help.
Then the man grabbed Sora by the arms and said, “Sora! I really like you from the first time I saw you. You shouldn’t let this ‘nobody’ deceive you! He’s nothing but a player!”
Park Jungsu quickly got up on his feet and exclaimed, “Yah! Who the hell are you calling ‘nobody’? And let go of her!”
He grabbed the man by the arm, trying to pull him away from Sora. When Park Jungsu managed to turn the masked man around, he threw a hard punch on the man’s face – knocking him down. He got in front of Sora and asked, “Are you alright, Sora? Are you hurt?”
“I’m alright! Are you okay? OMO! Watch out!” Sora exclaimed as she saw the masked man charging towards them.
Park Jungsu quickly turned around while pushing Sora away from danger. He tried to dodge the masked man’s attack but SLASH! Park Jungsu placed his hand on the lower left part of his ribcage. The masked man had a pocket knife in his hand and managed to slice through his white shirt – slightly cutting Park Jungsu. Blood was bleeding out from the wound and Park Jungsu found blood in his hand.
When Sora saw the injured Park Jungsu, she quickly took out her phone and dialed 112 for the police.
Meanwhile, the masked man tried to attack Park Jungsu again as he charged towards him, but only this time, Park Jungsu managed to knock the pocket knife out of the man’s hand with his side kick. He then gave the masked man another blow on the head and both were throwing punches at each other. Soon Park Jungsu managed to push the man down onto the floor. To prevent the man from getting up, Park Jungsu laid his right knee on the man’s back while locking one of the man’s hands with his own. He pulled the man’s mask off to see who he was.
Sora was shocked to find the masked man being Chang, the security guard that worked at her company.
“Chang-ssi? Why? Why were you doing this?” Sora said in shock.
“It’s because I like you very much and I overheard you saying how this guy was making things difficult for you,” Chang explained in agony.
Soon, the valet came around and the staffs from the restaurant finally came out when they saw what was happening outside through their CCTV.
The staff asked whether Park Jungsu and Sora were alright as they tied Chang up with a rope until the police arrived.
Park Jungsu and Sora stayed back until they finish giving their statements to the police about what happened.
“Thank you for your time, Mr. Park and Miss Kang. If we have any more questions we’ll contact you both. By the way, do you need to go the hospital for that?” The police officer asked as he looked at Park Jungsu’s wound.
“I’m okay. It’s just a small cut. A first aid kit will do the trick,” Park Jungsu replied, not wanting to look weak in front of Sora.
“Alright then, just make sure you help your boyfriend sanitize the wound before applying the bandage. Use iodine on the wound if you have any at home,” the officer told Sora.
Sora nodded and said, “Ne, arasso. I understand, thank you.”
Park Jungsu managed to smile in happiness after the officer referred him as Sora’s boyfriend despite the pain from his wound.
Sora looked at Park Jungsu and said, “Get in the car, I’ll drive you home.” She opened the door for him on the passenger side.
He gave her a hesitant look and said, “You’ll drive me home?”
“Yes, I’m going to drive you home. So will you hurry up and get in?” she said irritatingly.
Park Jungsu got into his car and can feel the pain from his wound when moved. “Ah…” he voiced out.
“Here, put this over your wound for now,” she said to him while handing over his handkerchief from his jacket.
He did as she instructed and they drove off.
Park Jungsu activated the GPS in his car and showed Sora where he lives. During the entire journey, they remained silent and didn’t speak to each other all the way.
When they arrived near his place, Sora was somewhat surprised by how quiet and calm his neighbourhood is. More surprisingly, she was amazed by how big his home looked. He had big entrance gates that opened automatically when his car passes a certain point. When the gates opened, it led to a long driveway before it reached his home at the other end. His house looked very modern with large glass windows.
She finally pulled over to the entrance of his house and helped him out of the car. She placed his right arm around her shoulders and helped him to the entrance. When they reached the doorstep, Sora looked away.
“Why are you looking away?” he asked.
“Well, you have to enter your passcode to get in. That’s why I’m looking away,” Sora replied.
Park Jungsu laughed and cried in pain from his cut. He looked at her and said, “It’s alright. You don’t have to turn away. It’s not like you can bypass my front gates anyway.”
She bumps her hips on his, making him cry in pain as she said, “I’m not going to come here again anyways! Hurry up and opened the door!”
“Arasso…arasso…” Park Jungsu complied and entered his passcode.
The stepped into his place and the lights were automatically switched on once he entered the passcode. Sora shuts the door behind them and when she turned around, she couldn’t believe the amount of whiteness in his house.
“Are you some kind of white addict? You must like the colour white a lot,” she said as she looked around.
“Well, I like things with a clean colour. By the way, you were just kidding when you said you’re not going to come here again, right?” he asked with worriedly.
“Why would I come here without any reason? Enough of this, let’s head over to the couch and get your wound cleaned up,” Sora told him as they walked towards his couch. “Where’s your first-aid kit?” she asked.
“It’s in next to the fridge in the kitchen,” he told her and point to the direction of the kitchen.
Sora retrieve the kit and came back to tend his wound. She almost dropped the first-aid kit on the floor when she saw Park Jungsu topless. From behind, she could see the contours of his back muscles and a bit of his biceps on his arms. She turned and looked away while remaining stagnant.
Park Jungsu was wondering what was taking so long, so he turned around and saw Sora motionless. “Are you just going to stand there until I slowly bleed to death?” he asked jokingly.
Sora quickly walked over towards him. The closer she got, the more she got to see. She saw his nicely built body when sent a rush of hotness into her body, making her turn beet red. She can see the firmness of his chest and his protruding pack of abdominals.
“You should put your shirt back on,” she said while opening the first-aid kit and looking away.
Park Jungsu looked confused and said, “How could you tend my cut if I put my shirt back on?”
“I mean you could have just lifted your shirt up without taking it off completely,” she said as she took out the cotton balls from the box.
“But I’m throwing this shirt out anyways,” he argued. He then looked at Sora and noticed the redness of her face. “Are feeling alright, Sora-ssi? You look rather red than usual…” he asked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s just that I’m feeling a bit hot. That’s all,” she told him as she continued to avoid his eye contact.
She soaked a cotton ball with alcohol and said, “Hold still! This might sting a bit.” She lightly went over his cut with the cotton ball which got Park Jungsu stiffening his muscles from the pain.
When Sora saw the flexing of his muscles, she said aloud, “Will you stop moving! I can’t clean your wound if you keep moving!”
“How can I not move when it stings like hell!” he talked back.
“Just lay back and hold still! I’m going to drop some iodine onto your cut. Thank goodness the cut isn’t that deep or else you might need stitches…” she said as she finally managed to stay focused on his wound instead of somewhere else.
Park Jungsu saw how tentative Sora was as she tends his wound, which made him like and desire her even more.
“You should be more careful next time and good thing Chang only had a pocket knife or else you might be in the hospital right now,” she said.
“It seems like there is a lot of men who are interested in you,” Park Jungsu said in a jealous tone of voice.
“Well, I can’t help it now, can I? If I told you, President Park not to like me, would you?” she explained.
“What’s with all the formality?” he said, not happy with how Sora always addresses him as “President Park”.
“Wae? You’re older than me so I should be more formal in front of you,” she argued.
“Then why do you address that Choi Minho as Minho-ssi? I mean for that Victor guy, I can understand since you’ve known him for a long time, although I don’t like you calling him ‘oppa’. But, even for Donghae, you call him Donghae-ssi as well! So why are you acting less formal with them and not with me?” he asked in discontent. Sora was surprised that he’s upset by little things like these.
Sora dropped a few drops of iodine over his cut and began to place the bandage over his wound.
Sora looked at him and saw the look on his face. “Are you jealous, President Park?” she asked.
She clearly knew he was jealous and she addressed him as President Park on purpose to see how he would react. As expected, he remained upset.
“Stop calling me ‘President Park’!” he demanded.
Sora tried her best not to laugh by his cute jealous reaction. Somehow, after what happened back at the restaurant made her realize that Mr. Arrogant wasn’t so arrogant after all. In fact, he was a rather caring person with a cute, adorable side to him.
“Thank you for protecting and saving me tonight, Jungsu oppa.” She thanked him and kissed him on his left cheek which left Park Jungsu astounded.
The words ‘Jungsu oppa’ resonated in his ears. He sat there emotionless for a few good seconds as he tries to process what had just happened.
Sora on the other hand saw no reaction coming from Park Jungsu and asked, “Are you okay?” as she felt a bit embarrassed for what she just did.
Park Jungsu swallowed as he slowly turned his head towards Sora. He looked at her and asked, “Can you say the last part again?”
“The last part?” she repeated his words.
“The ‘oppa’ part…” he clarified.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” she argued, feeling shy when he asked her to say his name again. She tried to move away by standing up, but Park Jungsu quickly grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her back down.
“I’m not letting you go until you say the last part again,” he told her as he looked at her desperately.
Sora saw the look on his face and felt more embarrassed than ever before as she muttered, “Jungsu oppa.”
“A bit louder. I can’t hear you,” he said with a smile.
“Jungsu oppa!” Sora repeated loud and clear this time for Park Jungsu to hear.
He was overjoyed and couldn’t hold in his happiness as he giggles silently. Sora saw how he reacted and found him very cute.
When Park Jungsu got himself back together, he looked at Sora’s hand and wanted to hold it. He slowly motioned his hand towards hers and gently placed his hand over hers as he stared at her.
She looked at her hand as soon as she felt his touch and then looked up to him – catching his stare.
“So…does this mean that you’re giving me a chance to be your boyfriend?” Park Jungsu asked Sora for a confirmation.
Sora looked down and nodded in reply. As soon as Park Jungsu got his answer, he quickly embraced Sora with joy almost forgetting that he was injured. He cried in agony for a few seconds.
“Omo! Are you alright, Jungsu-ssi?” she asked.
Park Jungsu pulled back and asked, “Why are you calling me ‘Jungsu-ssi’?”
“Well, I’m not used to calling you that yet,” she explained.
“Wae? But you said it just now, not too long ago!” he complained.
“That’s because you asked me too! And just to let you know that I’m not going to address you by that name when we’re working,” Sora told him.
“Then what are you going to address me as then?” Park Jungsu asked.
Sora hesitated a bit and said, “I’ll address you as how I addressed you before. That is Pres—”
Before Sora could utter the name, Park Jungsu had already land his lips onto hers as he began to gently kiss her. Sora’s eyes widened at first, but gave in at the end as she responded to his kiss.
She could feel the heat of his body when he tugged her in closer while wrapping his arm around her waist. He slowed down his kiss while pulling himself away slightly and said, “If you call me that again, then I’ll have to kiss you like how I did just now.”
He looked at her and gave her a smirk before leaning in for another kiss. However, Sora stopped him by placing her finger over his lips and teased him, “Well then…I guess I’ll have to reconsider your proposal then.” She stood up and grabbed her belongings.
“Where are you going?” he asked as he stood up as well.
“Home! Where else would I go?” she answered.
“I’ll drive you home!” said Park Jungsu as he carefully chased her.
“It’s alright! I can manage to get back myself by taxi. Just sleep early and keep your wound dry. And put a shirt back on before you catch a cold…Jungsu oppa,” Sora said to Park Jungsu as she made her way out of his house, leaving him all by himself in his own home.
“Goodnight…” he said to himself out loud as it echoed inside his house.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
“Sora, aren’t you going home?” asked Melissa, who was about to get off work.
“Yeah, I’m almost done with these and then I’ll be off,” Sora said while looking at Melissa.
“So will Victor be sending you home then?” Melissa asked just to make sure.
“Well, Victor oppa has been busy lately, so I don’t want to bother him. I’ll just take the taxi home,” Sora explained. Just at that moment, a notification from her mobile sounded off. It was a message from Park Jungsu: Remember to be ready in fifteen minutes.
For a moment, Sora had forgotten that Park Jungsu had called her earlier today and she would have totally forgotten about the meeting if he hadn’t sent her a reminding message. She let out a tiresome sigh after reading the message. She felt so exhausted that she wasn’t too fond on going, but somehow she was curious as to what he wants when most of the event arrangements and preparations have been settled.
“Is everything okay, Sora?” Melissa asked after seeing how Sora reacted.
With her eyes closed, Sora answered, “Mr. Arrogant is sending someone over to pick me up.” She was already exhausted from a whole day’s of work. However, Melissa reacted differently – she was actually quite excited to hear that Sora will be meeting up with Park Jungsu.
“Oh my god! You mean President Park is interested in you too?” Melissa asked excitedly.
Sora looked at Melissa, not amused by her comment at all, in fact she was rather shocked by what Melissa had just suggested.
“What are you talking about? There is absolutely no way! Take it back!” Sora said frustratingly, unwilling to accept the idea brought forth by Melissa. She thought to herself, “There’s no way he would be interested in me when he’s always making harsh demands – making things difficult for me and always telling me to meet up with him.”
“I’m serious Sora! Consider this. Don’t you think it’s a bit too much that he’s always asking you to meet up with him? I mean, almost all the preparations have been finalized for the charity event, so why would he still want to meet up with you? Not to mention that he’s asking you to meet during this time of the day,” Melissa explained excitedly, speculating the reasons as to why Park Jungsu wanted to meet up with her after office hours. “Did you notice anything about him? Like did he look at you differently? Staring at you like he wants to kiss you?” Melissa asked, trying to gather more information.
When Melissa said the word “kiss”, the scene when he kissed her on the lips in his car, flashed back into her head – making her cheeks blushed.
“Stop speculating Melissa! There’s no way Mr. Arrogant would be interested in me! Besides, I’m too busy for that right now,” said Sora, who was spinning left and right on her chair.
“I think you should make time for it,” Melissa suggested, while looking at her watch. “And you should head down now too. Ppalli ppalli!” She went over to Sora and said, “Come on you lazy bum,” dragging Sora off her chair.
Melissa lead Sora to the lift, “Hurry and get in!” she urged.
Sora went inside the lift. “Aren’t you coming in as well?” Sora asked, while holding the lift door open. She saw Melissa was searching through her handbag.
“Yes, I am. Give me a second. I need to find something,” said Melissa. She just remembered she had forgotten something at her desk. “Oh no, I need to fetch my USB key on my desk. You go ahead first, Sora. And enjoy your date with President Park!” she said with a wink.
Sora was too tired to counter back, where she just rolled her eyes and shook her head. She waved goodbye to Melissa who then went back to retrieve her USB.
When Sora’s lift descended, another lift came up and made a DING! sound as the lift doors opened. A man walked out and headed down the hallway to which he found Melissa at her desk.
Melissa looked up and was surprised to see a man standing next to her desk. “Omo! Victor-ssi, why are you here?” she asked.
Victor nodded at Melissa to greet her, “Good evening, Melissa.” He looked around and found the lights in Sora’s office were turned off. “Where’s Sora?” he asked.
Melissa followed his eyes to Sora’s office and replied, “Oh? You mean Sora, she’s going on a date!” Melissa said excitedly as her imaginations take over her mind.
“Date?” Victor questioned as he wrinkled his eyebrows. “With who?” he continued to ask.
Melissa awed and said happily, “With JSE’s President Park…”
After what Melissa said, Victor looked rather distressed as he sighed and uttered, “Is that so…?”
Melissa saw the look on Victor’s face and asked, “Are you okay, Victor-ssi?” Aren’t you happy that Sora’s going on dates again?”
Victor sighed and muttered, “It would be better if this had happened earlier.”
Though he may have sounded quiet, but Melissa could still hear what he had said. “What do you mean by that?” Melissa asked.
“It’s better if you don’t know, Melissa,” he answered her with a forced smile. “But do you know when they’ve started?” he asked, trying to find out more about the phase Sora and Park Jungsu are in.
“Well, maybe I exaggerated a bit. They haven’t really started to date yet, but my hunch tells me that President Park is interested in Sora. Trust me. My womanly instincts are almost always true,” explained Melissa.
“So…you mean they aren’t a couple yet?” he asked.
“Nope, at least not yet, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be different after her meeting with him tonight. I have a feeling that something might happen to tonight. Sora may always say that President Park is arrogant and all. However, she never once said she hates him when he’s always making all these difficult requests. Even when she’s busy, she’ll always find time to go and meet up with him when he calls her up last minute,” explained Melissa confidently. As she prepares herself to head home, she suggested, “Well, let’s see what happens when Sora comes back tomorrow.”
“Well, have a great evening Melissa and take care on your way home,” said Victor.
***
Sora reached the lobby and could see a Mercedes SL 500 waiting outside the entrance from afar. As she continued to make her way out, she suddenly sensed an unknown presence behind her. She slowed down her pace and slightly turned her head around, but she didn’t see anyone behind her. For a moment, she thought she may have been too tired that she’s started to hallucinate. She turned her head back around and continued to walk out.
“Is everything alright, Miss Kang?” one of the security guards at the front desk asked.
“Oh, I’m okay, but maybe a bit too tired from today. For a moment, I thought someone was following me,” she said while laughing at herself for her silly thought.
The security guard looked behind her and said, “I’ll have a look right now. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Miss Kang,” as he made his way behind her.
“Thanks, goodbye then,” she said.
When she finally reached the main entrance, the driver greeted her and said, “Good evening Miss Kang. My name is Ross and President Park asked me to come and pick you up. Please…” as he opened the back door to the car. “And watch your head, miss.”
Sora smiled to be polite and settled herself inside the car and they headed off.
“So where does President Park intend to bring me to?” Sora asked the driver.
“Please forgive me, Miss Kang. The president has instructed me not to tell you, but you’ll know once we arrive at that place,” the driver answered.
“He’s not planning to kidnap me, is he?” she asked jokingly.
The driver smiled and said, “Don’t worry Miss Kang. Our president is not that kind of man.”
Suddenly, Ross reached his hand to his ear and pressed on the Bluetooth handset that was in his ear.
“Good evening sir. Yes, Miss Kang is with me right now and we are on our way. Yes, goodbye,” he said.
Sora looked at Ross from behind and knew who had called. However, she was too tired to say anything and just enjoyed the ride in the car.
After a half an hour drive, they have finally reached their destination. They arrived at a beautiful Italian restaurant, which was one of Korea’s top-rated restaurants. Ross got out and opened the door for Sora. She got out and took a moment to admire the nicely decorated exterior of the restaurant before heading in. When entered the restaurant, she was greeted by the manager there and could hear the wonderful orchestra playing in the background. She was then escorted to her designated room, which was located on the rooftop of the building.
The manager opened the door to the VIP room and there she was stunned by how beautiful everything looked. The setting was so lovely that Sora didn’t know how to react, leaving her speechless. She could see little scented candles were lit up and laid along the large glass windows – creating a calm relaxing environment.
She entered the room and was surprised that the host wasn’t present in the room. She walked towards the glass windows, enjoying the beautiful scenery that was outside as she placed one of her hand on the glass. The landscape was so captivating along with the beautiful scented candles that it made her felt like all her troubles and worries were all gone.
She was so mesmerized by the view that she didn’t even noticed that someone walked up and stood behind her.
“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” the voice from behind said.
Sora was startled by the voice and quickly turned around. Standing before was no other than Park Jungsu who was wearing a black suit over a white collar shirt underneath with its collar opened – showcasing his collarbone and a bit of his chest. He stumbled back a bit when she turned around.
“Are you some kind of ghost or something? There’s something called knocking you know?” she said.
“Wae? I didn’t want to disturb you when I saw you enjoying the beautiful scenery outside. So I tried to be as quiet as I can,” Park Jungsu explained.
At that moment, Sora felt a bit bad for blowing up at him. She looked around and asked, “Mianhe, I’m just a bit tired. So, why did you bring me here for?”
Park Jungsu’s eyes began to wonder around the room, while trying to gather his words together, “Umm…well, I thought you would be hungry by this time and probably would want to have dinner.”
She looked at him, thinking what kind of reason was that. “Well, this doesn’t seem like a normal dinner someone would have with their business affiliates. You know, with all the dim lights and scented candles,” she said to him as she glanced back and forth between him and the environment.
“You’re right, this is not a normal dinner…,” he said in a soft voice as he slowly walked towards her. This entire time, he had his hands behind him.
Step by step he got closer to her and said, “These are for you,” as he took out a bouquet of roses he had held behind him. It wasn’t a normal bouquet of roses that one would receive from someone. There were a total of eleven roses, where ten of them were white while the last one in the middle was in red.
Sora was lost in words as she didn’t know what to say by Park Jungsu’s sudden change in gesture. She took the bouquet and looked at it.
She remembered someone said that eleven roses assure the recipient they are truly and deeply loved. White coloured roses indicate Purity, Innocence, Silence, Secrecy, Reverence, Humility, Youthfulness, "I am worthy of you" and Heavenly. While a single red rose indicates “I Love You”.
She was taking a bit of time trying to process what was going on until she remembered what Melissa said earlier about Park Jungsu being interested in her. She tried to brush off the idea earlier before she came, but it seems like now the possibility of what Melissa had said might be becoming true. She wanted to know for sure and asked Park Jungsu, “Why are you suddenly giving me roses?”
Park Jungsu looked at her with a gentle smile as he got closer and said, “Why else would people give out roses? One, to say thank you and to show their appreciation or two, to show their admiration and love. So which one do you think it is, Sora-ssi?” as he gazed into her eyes.
Park Jungsu was so close that he had her cornered. His deep manly voice sounded so luring and sexy that Sora began to blush helplessly. The scent of his cologne got her slowly burning inside. Her heart raced as she swallowed. She couldn’t steer away from his strong gaze as if she was casted under his spell.
“Well? Which one do you think it is?” he urged her to answer.
Sora looked away, avoiding his gaze and said, “I believe you’re giving me these to say thank you for my hard work in helping you with the stage planning at the charity event.” She tried to move away so that she can escape from being cornered, but Park Jungsu quickly extended his hand onto the window, blocking her way with his arm as he leaned forward. He looked at her again, only this time was ten times stronger than before and he said, “Is that really what you think? Even when I’m leaning this close to you and talking to you like this?”
The close proximity between them sucked all the air inside Sora, leaving her breathless. If someone else had done the same thing to her like what Park Jungsu was doing, she would have quickly push the person away and give him a good beating before she walks away. However, she didn’t know what happened as she felt helpless whenever he’s gets close to her.
It was the first time that she didn’t know what to do when cornered into this position. Suddenly, to her relief, someone knocked on the door.
Park Jungsu turned his eyes to one corner, then back and said, “We’ll continue this afterwards.” He backed away and said, “Come in!”
It was one of the waiters at the restaurant. He entered into the room asking whether they were ready to order yet. They both sat down at the table and acted like nothing happened in front of the waiter.
“This restaurant is known best for its pastas. You should try it,” Park Jungsu recommended to Sora, who was still trying to calm down.
He looked at Sora, who didn’t say anything. He turned to the waiter and said, “We’ll have two of your restaurant’s signature pastas and a bottle of champagne as well.”
The waiter took the order and exited the room – leaving them both alone again. Sora’s eyes wondered all around the room, trying to avoid eye contact with Park Jungsu.
Park Jungsu looked at her and asked with a smile, “So how long are you going to keep quiet like this?”
“I’m keeping quiet because I don’t have anything to talk to you about,” she finally answered after a few seconds of silence.
“Wae?” Park Jungsu asked, somewhat shocked by her reply.
“Look President Park, maybe there’s a misunderstanding. There’s no way you would give me roses because you like me. I mean, you don’t like me ‘like me’, do you?” Sora asked.
Park Jungsu chuckled and said, “I don’t think there’s any misunderstanding. Besides, can I not like you ‘like you’?” He looked at her with a soft smile.
Sora grabbed the glass of water in front of her and took a big gulp of water down. She placed the glass back onto the table and said, “You know this is too much for a joke, right?”
“And what makes you think I’m joking? Do I not sound serious?” he asked her.
“Look! I’m pretty sure there are far better girls out there than me. Plus, I’m sure with your qualities as the president at one of Korea’s top entertainment agency that you can capture the hearts of other women,” Sora explained.
“I know that. In fact, there are many women out there who have their eyes on me, but I’m not interested in any of them since I already have my eyes on the person sitting in front of me,” he replied with confidence.
His reply got Sora dumbfound and she instantly asked, “Waeyo? Why me? First Minho-ssi sent me a bouquet of roses and now you…”
“What!? You mean that guy sent you roses as well?” Park Jungsu exclaimed which totally disrupted the mood in the entire room.
“Yah! Would you calm down? We’re at a restaurant for crying out loud!” Sora said quietly.
Park Jungsu looked around even though they’re in a VIP, where they were the only ones in the room. He exhaled and whispered, “Why did he send you roses?”
“How would I know? Melissa said he sent them wanting to make my day brighter,” she whispered back.
“Make your day brighter? Who does he think he is?” he asked in a whisper.
“I don’t know! I should be asking you the same question!” she whispered back at the other end of the table. “But why are we whispering?” she asked with her hand in front of her mouth.
It was then the both of them realized that there wasn’t any need for them to whisper when they occupied the entire room by themselves.
“I don’t know! You were the one who started whispering first!” he said quietly, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Sora saw the look on his face and couldn’t help but to laugh. Park Jungsu saw Sora laughing and asked with a chuckle, “Wae? Why are you laughing?”
“Mianhe, but the look on your face just now was priceless. Oh dear, who would have thought that the President and CEO of JSE would be like that,” Sora said in between her laughs.
Park Jungsu found her laugh so cute that he then began to laugh himself as well. Soon, both their laughter were filling up the room.
Both of them finally calmed down when their food arrived. Sora tasted her pasta and was amazed by how delicious it was. As she’s chewing on her pasta, she nodded and told Park Jungsu that it was delicious.
Park Jungsu smiled and was happy to see Sora enjoying her meal. “Would you like to taste a bit of mine? It’s very tasty as well,” he asked as he place some on his fork and offered it to Sora.
Sora felt a bit embarrassed when Park Jungsu offered her a taste of his pasta, not to mention offering it on his fork. He looked at her, signalling her to give it a try.
She hesitated at first, but in the end she decided to take the bite from his fork. He was indeed right – his pasta was delicious as well. Then, Park Jungsu looked at her as if he was waiting for her to do something.
Sora could sense his attention was on her. She slowly looked up and caught his eyes. He began to eye on her pasta and back onto her, as if he was telling her that he wants a taste of her pasta as well. She didn’t know why, but she found herself unknowing doing what he wants her to do. She placed a small portion of her pasta onto her fork and offered it to Park Jungsu.
Without hesitation, he took the bit from her fork and was chewing with a huge smile on his face. This made Sora giggled as she took a sip of champagne from her glass.
As they finish off their dinner, Sora excused herself to the ladies’ room, leaving Park Jungsu alone. In the restroom, she freshened up and began to talk to herself in the mirror.
“Kang Sora, Kang Sora… What are you going to do now? What Melissa said earlier was true. But why would he like me when he’s always making things difficult for me? Aish….Come on Kang Sora! You should know very well what to do! You don’t like him! Do I like him? Aish…cha…I don’t know!”
She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. Then she took out her phone and searched about “how to know if you’re in love”. One of the results wrote: To know who you have your heart on, close your eyes and whoever is the first person that comes to your mind then he/she is one.
“Okay, let me try this one out then,” she said to herself. She closed her eyes and clenched her two hands together like she was making a wish as she chanted, “Appa! Omma! Appa! Omma!...”
However, the person that appeared on her mind wasn’t her parents, but was the one who is waiting for her back in the VIP room whom she calls “Mr. Arrogant”.
“Aniya….! Ottoke, Kang Sora? Ottoke? This site is probably wrong and not precise. I shouldn’t trust it! Okay! Calm down…and pretend none of this happened,” she panicked and at the same time trying to console herself.
She fixes her hair and straightens her clothes before heading back. When she walked out, she suddenly felt something strange as if someone was following her again. She looked back, but found no one in sight. This was starting to freak her out a bit. Never had she felt this insecurity and she quickly made her way back to the room.
Park Jungsu saw the sudden change of expression on Sora’s face and asked, “Sora-ssi, are you alright? Are you not feeling well?”
Sora shook her head and said, “Ani, I’m okay. Maybe I’m just a bit too tired that’s all. I felt like someone was following me.”
“Oh? Following you?” he asked. Then we opened the door and looked around. But he didn’t see anything suspicious and closed the door. “Maybe you’re just tired. Well, I ordered some dessert for you, but if you want to go home now, I can drive back now.”
Sora looked at their table and saw the dessert Park Jungsu had ordered. “Well, I don’t like to waste food. Since you’ve ordered already, then why not enjoy the dessert?” she said with a smile.
He returned her smile and ushered her back to her seat. “I ordered tiramisu with chocolate ice cream on the side. Do you like ice cream?” he said as he got back to his seat.
“I do, but my favourite is chocolate mint ice cream,” she replied.
“Shall I ask them to change it for you?” he asked, looking at her with concern.
“Aniya, it’s alright. I like this too,” she said as she took in a spoon of ice cream and tiramisu.
“Are you sure?” he asked again.
Sora nodded and continued with her dessert.
***
Park Jungsu took care of the bill and they both made their way out of the restaurant. The night was getting a bit chilly with the night breeze.
“It’s getting a bit cold. The valet should be here soon, so take this in the meantime,” he told Sora as he took off his jacket and placed it over her.
“Gomawo,” she thanked him and asked, “But aren’t you cold?”
“Don’t worry about me. I can’t let you catch a cold,” he answered her as he stares into the sky, looking at the twinkling stars above with his hands in his pocket.
Sora glanced over at him from the side and saw how relaxed he looked. Tonight, she was able to see another side of him, being a caring gentleman despite what he tried to do earlier.
“Sora-ssi,” he called out her name while still looking into the sky.
“Ne?” she answered as she turned to him.
He turned around to face her. He stared at her intently and said, “What I said earlier, I was really being sincere and true to my words. I don’t even know when I started to have that kind of feeling for you, but I really…I really hope that you can give me a chance to…,”
Before Park Jungsu can finish what he wanted to say, a masked man suddenly forcefully pushed him away – knocking him onto the ground.
Sora screamed when the man attacked Park Jungsu and she tried to attack the man with her handbag as she shouts for help.
Then the man grabbed Sora by the arms and said, “Sora! I really like you from the first time I saw you. You shouldn’t let this ‘nobody’ deceive you! He’s nothing but a player!”
Park Jungsu quickly got up on his feet and exclaimed, “Yah! Who the hell are you calling ‘nobody’? And let go of her!”
He grabbed the man by the arm, trying to pull him away from Sora. When Park Jungsu managed to turn the masked man around, he threw a hard punch on the man’s face – knocking him down. He got in front of Sora and asked, “Are you alright, Sora? Are you hurt?”
“I’m alright! Are you okay? OMO! Watch out!” Sora exclaimed as she saw the masked man charging towards them.
Park Jungsu quickly turned around while pushing Sora away from danger. He tried to dodge the masked man’s attack but SLASH! Park Jungsu placed his hand on the lower left part of his ribcage. The masked man had a pocket knife in his hand and managed to slice through his white shirt – slightly cutting Park Jungsu. Blood was bleeding out from the wound and Park Jungsu found blood in his hand.
When Sora saw the injured Park Jungsu, she quickly took out her phone and dialed 112 for the police.
Meanwhile, the masked man tried to attack Park Jungsu again as he charged towards him, but only this time, Park Jungsu managed to knock the pocket knife out of the man’s hand with his side kick. He then gave the masked man another blow on the head and both were throwing punches at each other. Soon Park Jungsu managed to push the man down onto the floor. To prevent the man from getting up, Park Jungsu laid his right knee on the man’s back while locking one of the man’s hands with his own. He pulled the man’s mask off to see who he was.
Sora was shocked to find the masked man being Chang, the security guard that worked at her company.
“Chang-ssi? Why? Why were you doing this?” Sora said in shock.
“It’s because I like you very much and I overheard you saying how this guy was making things difficult for you,” Chang explained in agony.
Soon, the valet came around and the staffs from the restaurant finally came out when they saw what was happening outside through their CCTV.
The staff asked whether Park Jungsu and Sora were alright as they tied Chang up with a rope until the police arrived.
Park Jungsu and Sora stayed back until they finish giving their statements to the police about what happened.
“Thank you for your time, Mr. Park and Miss Kang. If we have any more questions we’ll contact you both. By the way, do you need to go the hospital for that?” The police officer asked as he looked at Park Jungsu’s wound.
“I’m okay. It’s just a small cut. A first aid kit will do the trick,” Park Jungsu replied, not wanting to look weak in front of Sora.
“Alright then, just make sure you help your boyfriend sanitize the wound before applying the bandage. Use iodine on the wound if you have any at home,” the officer told Sora.
Sora nodded and said, “Ne, arasso. I understand, thank you.”
Park Jungsu managed to smile in happiness after the officer referred him as Sora’s boyfriend despite the pain from his wound.
Sora looked at Park Jungsu and said, “Get in the car, I’ll drive you home.” She opened the door for him on the passenger side.
He gave her a hesitant look and said, “You’ll drive me home?”
“Yes, I’m going to drive you home. So will you hurry up and get in?” she said irritatingly.
Park Jungsu got into his car and can feel the pain from his wound when moved. “Ah…” he voiced out.
“Here, put this over your wound for now,” she said to him while handing over his handkerchief from his jacket.
He did as she instructed and they drove off.
Park Jungsu activated the GPS in his car and showed Sora where he lives. During the entire journey, they remained silent and didn’t speak to each other all the way.
When they arrived near his place, Sora was somewhat surprised by how quiet and calm his neighbourhood is. More surprisingly, she was amazed by how big his home looked. He had big entrance gates that opened automatically when his car passes a certain point. When the gates opened, it led to a long driveway before it reached his home at the other end. His house looked very modern with large glass windows.
She finally pulled over to the entrance of his house and helped him out of the car. She placed his right arm around her shoulders and helped him to the entrance. When they reached the doorstep, Sora looked away.
“Why are you looking away?” he asked.
“Well, you have to enter your passcode to get in. That’s why I’m looking away,” Sora replied.
Park Jungsu laughed and cried in pain from his cut. He looked at her and said, “It’s alright. You don’t have to turn away. It’s not like you can bypass my front gates anyway.”
She bumps her hips on his, making him cry in pain as she said, “I’m not going to come here again anyways! Hurry up and opened the door!”
“Arasso…arasso…” Park Jungsu complied and entered his passcode.
The stepped into his place and the lights were automatically switched on once he entered the passcode. Sora shuts the door behind them and when she turned around, she couldn’t believe the amount of whiteness in his house.
“Are you some kind of white addict? You must like the colour white a lot,” she said as she looked around.
“Well, I like things with a clean colour. By the way, you were just kidding when you said you’re not going to come here again, right?” he asked with worriedly.
“Why would I come here without any reason? Enough of this, let’s head over to the couch and get your wound cleaned up,” Sora told him as they walked towards his couch. “Where’s your first-aid kit?” she asked.
“It’s in next to the fridge in the kitchen,” he told her and point to the direction of the kitchen.
Sora retrieve the kit and came back to tend his wound. She almost dropped the first-aid kit on the floor when she saw Park Jungsu topless. From behind, she could see the contours of his back muscles and a bit of his biceps on his arms. She turned and looked away while remaining stagnant.
Park Jungsu was wondering what was taking so long, so he turned around and saw Sora motionless. “Are you just going to stand there until I slowly bleed to death?” he asked jokingly.
Sora quickly walked over towards him. The closer she got, the more she got to see. She saw his nicely built body when sent a rush of hotness into her body, making her turn beet red. She can see the firmness of his chest and his protruding pack of abdominals.
“You should put your shirt back on,” she said while opening the first-aid kit and looking away.
Park Jungsu looked confused and said, “How could you tend my cut if I put my shirt back on?”
“I mean you could have just lifted your shirt up without taking it off completely,” she said as she took out the cotton balls from the box.
“But I’m throwing this shirt out anyways,” he argued. He then looked at Sora and noticed the redness of her face. “Are feeling alright, Sora-ssi? You look rather red than usual…” he asked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s just that I’m feeling a bit hot. That’s all,” she told him as she continued to avoid his eye contact.
She soaked a cotton ball with alcohol and said, “Hold still! This might sting a bit.” She lightly went over his cut with the cotton ball which got Park Jungsu stiffening his muscles from the pain.
When Sora saw the flexing of his muscles, she said aloud, “Will you stop moving! I can’t clean your wound if you keep moving!”
“How can I not move when it stings like hell!” he talked back.
“Just lay back and hold still! I’m going to drop some iodine onto your cut. Thank goodness the cut isn’t that deep or else you might need stitches…” she said as she finally managed to stay focused on his wound instead of somewhere else.
Park Jungsu saw how tentative Sora was as she tends his wound, which made him like and desire her even more.
“You should be more careful next time and good thing Chang only had a pocket knife or else you might be in the hospital right now,” she said.
“It seems like there is a lot of men who are interested in you,” Park Jungsu said in a jealous tone of voice.
“Well, I can’t help it now, can I? If I told you, President Park not to like me, would you?” she explained.
“What’s with all the formality?” he said, not happy with how Sora always addresses him as “President Park”.
“Wae? You’re older than me so I should be more formal in front of you,” she argued.
“Then why do you address that Choi Minho as Minho-ssi? I mean for that Victor guy, I can understand since you’ve known him for a long time, although I don’t like you calling him ‘oppa’. But, even for Donghae, you call him Donghae-ssi as well! So why are you acting less formal with them and not with me?” he asked in discontent. Sora was surprised that he’s upset by little things like these.
Sora dropped a few drops of iodine over his cut and began to place the bandage over his wound.
Sora looked at him and saw the look on his face. “Are you jealous, President Park?” she asked.
She clearly knew he was jealous and she addressed him as President Park on purpose to see how he would react. As expected, he remained upset.
“Stop calling me ‘President Park’!” he demanded.
Sora tried her best not to laugh by his cute jealous reaction. Somehow, after what happened back at the restaurant made her realize that Mr. Arrogant wasn’t so arrogant after all. In fact, he was a rather caring person with a cute, adorable side to him.
“Thank you for protecting and saving me tonight, Jungsu oppa.” She thanked him and kissed him on his left cheek which left Park Jungsu astounded.
The words ‘Jungsu oppa’ resonated in his ears. He sat there emotionless for a few good seconds as he tries to process what had just happened.
Sora on the other hand saw no reaction coming from Park Jungsu and asked, “Are you okay?” as she felt a bit embarrassed for what she just did.
Park Jungsu swallowed as he slowly turned his head towards Sora. He looked at her and asked, “Can you say the last part again?”
“The last part?” she repeated his words.
“The ‘oppa’ part…” he clarified.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” she argued, feeling shy when he asked her to say his name again. She tried to move away by standing up, but Park Jungsu quickly grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her back down.
“I’m not letting you go until you say the last part again,” he told her as he looked at her desperately.
Sora saw the look on his face and felt more embarrassed than ever before as she muttered, “Jungsu oppa.”
“A bit louder. I can’t hear you,” he said with a smile.
“Jungsu oppa!” Sora repeated loud and clear this time for Park Jungsu to hear.
He was overjoyed and couldn’t hold in his happiness as he giggles silently. Sora saw how he reacted and found him very cute.
When Park Jungsu got himself back together, he looked at Sora’s hand and wanted to hold it. He slowly motioned his hand towards hers and gently placed his hand over hers as he stared at her.
She looked at her hand as soon as she felt his touch and then looked up to him – catching his stare.
“So…does this mean that you’re giving me a chance to be your boyfriend?” Park Jungsu asked Sora for a confirmation.
Sora looked down and nodded in reply. As soon as Park Jungsu got his answer, he quickly embraced Sora with joy almost forgetting that he was injured. He cried in agony for a few seconds.
“Omo! Are you alright, Jungsu-ssi?” she asked.
Park Jungsu pulled back and asked, “Why are you calling me ‘Jungsu-ssi’?”
“Well, I’m not used to calling you that yet,” she explained.
“Wae? But you said it just now, not too long ago!” he complained.
“That’s because you asked me too! And just to let you know that I’m not going to address you by that name when we’re working,” Sora told him.
“Then what are you going to address me as then?” Park Jungsu asked.
Sora hesitated a bit and said, “I’ll address you as how I addressed you before. That is Pres—”
Before Sora could utter the name, Park Jungsu had already land his lips onto hers as he began to gently kiss her. Sora’s eyes widened at first, but gave in at the end as she responded to his kiss.
She could feel the heat of his body when he tugged her in closer while wrapping his arm around her waist. He slowed down his kiss while pulling himself away slightly and said, “If you call me that again, then I’ll have to kiss you like how I did just now.”
He looked at her and gave her a smirk before leaning in for another kiss. However, Sora stopped him by placing her finger over his lips and teased him, “Well then…I guess I’ll have to reconsider your proposal then.” She stood up and grabbed her belongings.
“Where are you going?” he asked as he stood up as well.
“Home! Where else would I go?” she answered.
“I’ll drive you home!” said Park Jungsu as he carefully chased her.
“It’s alright! I can manage to get back myself by taxi. Just sleep early and keep your wound dry. And put a shirt back on before you catch a cold…Jungsu oppa,” Sora said to Park Jungsu as she made her way out of his house, leaving him all by himself in his own home.
“Goodnight…” he said to himself out loud as it echoed inside his house.