Joon stirred in his bed, groaning weakly as he opened his eyes. His head feels blank, and yet, something doesn't feel right.
He rubbed his temple as he sits up. Why can't I remember anything about last night?
As he gets off bed, only then, did he notice he had only his shorts on. He swept his brown eyes across the chaos beneath him. A trail of his: shoes, socks, pants, shirt, and even necktie was scattered all the way to the living room.
Did I sleep with someone?
He slides his pants on as he aimlessly strolled into the living room and abruptly paused when his eyes took stock of Yuna's face.
She is seated on the couch in a cream silk blouse with a knee-length brown skirt. Her hair is tied into a loose ponytail.
Joon was instantly thrown back into scenes from last night - the way he slowly unbuttoned Yuna's shirt. The thrill that overflowed within him when his hands massaged her soft skin. How his body kept asking for more when they shared that juicy devouring kiss.
He gave a gasp as he dredged backwards in shock.
"You…" He made an attempt to talk but the words got stuck in his throat - he gulped.
Yuna lifted her head, staring compellingly into Joon's eyes, "Don't worry, I won't report you."
He looked blankly at her, was he supposed to be relieved?
Yuna exuded confidence even though she is trembling under her dress, "We are both adults and besides, what happened between us was outside the office premises and it was not working hours. When I received the call that you were drunk in a hotel, I knew it would be risky but I came anyway. You kissed me first but you were drunk." Her gaze slowly shifted to the couch Joon was seated on last night, "In other words, you might even say I took advantage of you. I am a single woman and lately, I have been feeling lonely. So when you kissed me and showed interest in my body, I decided to let it happen. You had my consent and I had yours, but if you feel like that isn't the case, you can sue me!"
She sharply gets to her feet and locked eyes with Joon, "While you take your time to decide whether to bury this matter or escalate it, I shall report to work. Have a good day, Mr Gong." She gave him a short nod and majestically struts out of the room.
His eyes followed her retreating figure and only snapped back to his senses at the sound of the door being closed.
He slouched into the couch, occasionally shaking his head, No, it can't be. This cannot happen! How could I sleep with Yuna? How could I!?
*****
Jiho was up at his usual time. 5:00am in the morning. He stretches, went for a run, returned at 5:30am, took a hot shower, did his regular skin care routine. When he was done, he made his breakfast - toast with scrambled egg, fresh tomatoes, baked beans and a cup of hot espresso. He quietly eats his breakfast and washed the plate when he was done.
It is now 7:30am in the morning. He glanced at his expensive wrist watch, glanced at your locked door with worried eyes. He gave you a grace of ten more minutes, the time ran out and he was running late. He had no choice but to leave.
The sound of his car driving out of the driveway wakes you up.
You weakly sit up, you ache all over and your body feels quiet heated up.
You barely struggled to get out of bed and headed to the kitchen.
You walked to the refrigerator, picked up chilled water and downed the entire bottle.
Why do I feel dizzy?
You grabbed the wall as you were about to fall. Your head spins.
Legs shuffling clumsily, you get your phone and was about dial Jiho's number but froze up. You stared at it for a moment and in the meantime, decided to call Inha instead.
"Hello?" His deep hoarse morning voice echoed on the other side of the line, "Why are you calling me? It's 8:00 in the morning, I need to sleep."
"Inha." You forced his name out of your mouth, "Inha …help me!"
Your fever instantly enveloped you and you flopped onto the cold floor.
"Sister! Ari?" Inha worriedly kept calling out to you and when there was no response, he rushed to your house and found you sprawled on the floor.
He wasted no time and took you to the hospital. The doctors immediately treated you and put you on IV drip in a private room.
****
Straightening his delicious navy blue suit, Jiho struts into the company building and took the elevator to his floor. He gets to his office, opens the door and when he enters the room, he finds himself besieged by the presence of a familiar woman. She is in a white knee-length dress, hair tied in a polished bun.
He wasn't thinking straight and for moment, thought it was Ari.
He approached and tapped her shoulder. As the woman slowly turns around, his smile instantly transitions into a disappointment frown.
"You are no longer pretending to be sad to see me!" Hana teased.
Jiho cussed in his head, "What brings you here?"
He questioned, turned and walked to his desk. Ari faces and followed him with a smile. She settle down across him. His eyes monitored her closely as he slowly sits down on his chair.
"I came to apologize for last night, I was drunk and I wasn't thinking straight." Her head dropped over her shoulders as she began to stare at the white tiles on the floor, "It was wrong of me. I forgot you were married now and I …" she paused regretfully, "Forgive me for my actions."
Jiho reclines into his seat with a sigh of relief, "I am glad you realized that you were wrong and also, I am not the one you should apologize to. You should apologize to my wife instead."
The words 'my wife' felt like a slap to her cheek. She clenched her fist as she looks up at Jiho with a practiced smile, "You are right. But, I don't see Ari anywhere. Did you guys perhaps had a fight last night?"
Jiho lowered his head. Her lips twitched into a little wicked grin.
She quickly plaster a long face as Jiho looks at her. "She will be here soon."
"Okay. I will apologize to her when she comes." She gets up, gave him a nod and sailed out of the room.
****
Joon rocked a white suit but he wasn't wearing his usual confidence. He didn't proceed in strides but in reluctant timid steps. He reached his office and as he feared, Yuna is nailed to her desk. As soon as she noticed his silhouette, she gets to her feet and bowed, "Welcome, Mr Gong."
"Ah, than …thank you." He avoided her gaze and paced into his office.
She sighed, picked up a file and followed him in. He settled on his chair behind the desk and sat erectly like a child learning from his master.
There was an awkward silence till Yuna said, "This was delivered by the financial department, they need you to go through the file, if there are any necessary changes needed, you have to let them know as soon as possible and if there are none, you have to sign it and I will deliver it back to them."
Her professionalism truly excited an applause. Joon admired her for it but still, he slept with his secretary. He had done so many bad things but he's always kept his boundaries when it comes to personal and professional relations. Never, has he let them get mixed up but now, ever since he's met Yuna, nothing's ever the same again.
He needs to man up too. His eyes followed her as she approached his desk and placed the file on it.
"I am sorry." He said in a subdued voice, "I will take responsibility for you. I figured we didn't use any protection and it might bring uncomfortable implications." His breath tremors, "If by chance you face any unwanted discomfort, just remember that I will take responsibility. And also, I know it is wrong of me to ask but please, forget about last night if possible. It will never happen again. I won't let it happen again, I promise."
Shooting him a blank glance, Yuna gave him a nod and turned to leave.
Her unfazed reaction ticked him off, "How are you so indifferent?" He questioned, forcing her to wheel around and face him.
"How are you unfazed by what happened between us? Are you even human?" He asked again.
All day, Yuna kept her feelings bottled up to avoid unnecessary drama but Joon obviously keeps pushing her and now she's reached the edge. The only thing to do is to push back.
She drew a deep breath, lifting her gaze to meet his, "I am not a kid, I know how to handle both personal and professional affairs. If you want me to delete all feelings attached to our last night stand, it is okay. But…" she swallowed- clearly feeling violated,
"Don't ask me to do something that is not possible. I cannot forget what happened. I cannot forget last night." She shook her head as she paused a moment,
"No, I won't forget it!"