Kim SeokJin is a powerful CEO in one of the largest companies in the country. His lover is his chief business rival, Kim SongDae. Park JiMin only complicates matters between Jin and Dae with that damn smile of his.
All seven friends work togethe...
She laid back into the pillows and wondered how she got to this place. Her mind drifted through the years and memories of SeokJin until she was a plump 16-year-old standing eating cookies at the breakfast bar of her parent's home.
She clearly recalled standing with a cookie in her hand as her brother burst through the back door, laughing and slinging a huge laundry bag onto the floor.
In the way of big brothers universal, he grabbed her waist and swung her in a huge circle, ignoring her shouts to be put down.
Once he saw he had her thoroughly flustered and angry, he sat her down, directly at the feet of the most beautiful man she had ever seen.
The flush drained from her face then worked its way back up her body as she looked into the laughing face of Namjoon's university roommate. Kim SeokJin.
She hated her brother in that moment. He laughed at her again and mussed her hair as he grabbed the package of cookies from the counter and rambled up the stairs to his room, the greek god following behind him. The man turned once and gave her an encouraging smile and slight nod before disappearing. Her heart had never been fully her own since.
She remembered running to her room and sobbing. She felt so stupid. He had seen her stuffing her face with cookies. She looked down at herself and cried harder. She had thrown on an old pair of shorts and a thread bare shirt. Her hair had been tossed into a lazy bun and she was wearing her glasses. Joon had not even thought enough of her to introduce her. He was surely too ashamed to do so.
She successfully stayed in her room the rest of the weekend hiding from the young man, hoping she would never see him again. That hope was in vain. He became her brother's best friend. Once or twice a semester they would show up with full laundry bags and empty stomachs.
Of course, Joon eventually introduced them, but Dae became an expert in hiding away when Jin was around.
Jin told her years later that even at 16 she had taken his breath. He confessed those shorts and tight shirt made him feel both arousal and shame at lusting after his best friend's baby sister. He got really angry at her when she said she had been fat and spent the rest of the evening showing her all the ways her body moved him.
He also told her that he had heard her crying in her room and that he never wanted to hear her cry again. What Jin had yet to tell her was that he knew every time she watched him and he had dozens of memories of her stolen in moments she had no idea he was watching her.
As the two men graduated, they moved to take their respective places in the family companies. There were fewer opportunities for Jin and Dae to see each other as the men now socialized around work or their own homes. Jin found that he missed Dae's quiet presence and shy smile. He would casually asked Namjoon about her, getting updates about college and graduate school. He often wondered about her.
Three years ago, everything changed. Namjoon fell in love and got married. Naturally Jin was his best man and with a glittering smile that did not quite reach her eyes, Namjoon's bride asked Dae to stand with her.
Standing next to Namjoon at the wedding, Jin was stunned as Dae swayed down the aisle toward him. He had not seen her since she went abroad for graduate school. The woman moving toward him was full of confidence. She was gorgeous and knew it. Jin's eyes roamed from her slippered feet, up to the curves of her hips and full breasts. The rounded girl he remembered had grown into a woman with curves in all the right places.
The hair that was perpetually tossed in a careless bun was caught in a sophisticated twist. When Jin's eyes caught her's he felt the tug of dozens of memories. She was still Dae. She was still the girl he dreamed about.
Their reunion was sweet, they talked for hours. They began to see each other, hiding it from both families for the time being.
Jin was always the perfect gentleman, caring, considerate and respectful. He drove Dae mad with wanting him.
Finally, on her birthday he came with her to celebrate and she whispered in his ear that the only thing she wanted for her birthday was him. They became lovers that night. Two months later the fairytale ended.
Joon's wife died. They still did not talk about that night. Whatever the truth of what happened, she was gone and Namjoon crumbled with grief.
He left. He left everyone and everything behind.
After a month, Dae's father and grandfather announced that she would be transitioning into the office of CEO. That announcement immediately put her in direct competition with Jin.
Her grandfather had made it painfully clear that if she attempted to have a relationship while she was head of the company, he would remove her from her position.
After he had received some reports about Jin and rumors of a relationship, he expressly forbade her to date him. Her grandfather was still a powerful man and his word was law.
Jin's father must have received the same reports. He explained to Jin that his priority was the company and when his father - and the board of directors - decided it was time for him to marry, a suitable young woman would be selected.
In the meantime, he would be discreet, like his father and grandfather before him, and not the slightest hint of scandal was acceptable.
Dating the CEO of his biggest rival was out of the question. Any hint of a relationship with Kim SangDae would be dealt with ruthlessly.
Given those prohibitions, their first negotiation was centered on how they could separate their personal lives and professional responsibilities.
They set and broke rules. They found a way to make it work. All this time they made it work. Why did it seem to be unraveling now?
Dae was brought back to the present with the chirp of her alarm.
She dropped her head and focused on her tasks for today. She checked her phone again for messages from Jin. There were none. She told herself not to be disappointed.
She chose her clothes and slipped into the shower, mentally ordering the tasks of her day.
As she finished dressing, she grabbed her phone and felt her heart skip at the notification of a message from Jin. She quickly opened it.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Dae sank to the couch and fought tears. He had retreated behind his desk
She hated when he hid behind his title.
Jin was responding to message alerts well before his alarm, not that he had slept at all that night.
Checking through the messages he saw that that final reports for the project had been messengered over.
He began to read, but soon his thoughts drifted to Dae. Was she awake yet? Was his text last night too blunt? Lost in concern over how things went last night, the report dropped forgotten onto the floor. The noise of the binder striking the wooden floors drug his attention back to his task.
He shook his head. He could not allow his personal life to cloud his judgment. This was too important. He knew the only way he could find complete focus was to avoid her completely. Until this was settled, he had to think of her only as Kim SangDae. He sighed and sent her a text. It was cold and calculated to create distance between them. This was strictly business but when it was done Jin intended to apply the same focus on his feelings.
He would have his questions answered, even if it broke him.
