*Warning: The following material may contain strong language, unusual humor, violence, and sexual contents that readers may find offensive. Please use your own discretion.*

“Thanks for the dinner,” Heju thanked Gunwoo.

“Don’t mention it. It’s not like I bought you anything fancy,” Gunwoo replied with a shrug.

After eating beef galbi¹ for dinner, Gunwoo drove Heju to her apartment. They were parked outside her building. He always ate with his manager, stylist, or alone, so it has been a long time since he had a quiet dinner alone with Heju.

“I’ll tell Sungchan to take better care of your meals….” When Heju offered, Gunwoo shook his head and replied, “I chose not to eat on purpose tonight.”

Heju narrowed her eyes in annoyance. They had been working together for the past eight years now. She had watched him grow from the sensitive teenage years. Gunwoo’s personal schedule and counseling have always been her duty. During the last eight years, Heju had been promoted multiple times to reach the chief position. Now, she had many celebrities she managed, but all of them were being taken care of by her assistants.

All except Gunwoo, who had specifically requested Heju continue to take care of him personally. It was part of his contract he insisted on.

“What are you doing this weekend? I am free since it won’t be awhile until the filming for my new TV drama begins,” Gunwoo asked.

“What do you think I’ll be doing? I’ll be resting. I’ve been working overtime all week, so I’m tired. Anyway, drive safely. I’ll see you at the office later,” Heju replied quickly and got ready to leave his car. But before she could even open the door, Gunwoo grabbed her arm. Hejus turned towards him and looked into his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” she asked in confusion.

“…”

“Something wrong? Did something happen?”

When Gunwoo remained quiet, Heju began to feel nervous.

“I guess something is definitely wrong,” he answered vaguely.

Every part of Gunwoo’s schedule had to go through Heju’s approval, but it was his manager Sungchan who followed Gunwoo around everyday. When Gunwoo gazed at her seriously, Heju realized that something must’ve gone very wrong.

After all, every time he was in trouble, Gunwoo would look at her this way. Frustrated, Heju insisted,

“What’s the matter? Just spit it out. You’re making me nervous.”

“Can you fix it for me?” Gunwoo asked vaguely again.

“Haa…” Heju sighed with a frown. So this must’ve been why Gunwoo offered to buy her dinner. He must’ve caused some big trouble, and this was his way of coming to ask for help.

Heju knew she had no choice but to help him. After all, this was part of her job. She said to him,

“If it’s something I can fix, I will. Just tell me.”

“You swear?!”

“Gosh, just tell me! What the heck did you do?!”

When Gunwoo kept refusing to get to the point, Heju finally lost it. When she yelled at him in frustration, he grinned and finally answered her,

“Go out with me.”

“…What?”

“I’m asking you to date me.”

“What the hell are you talking about?!” Heju asked in confusion.

She really couldn’t understand what Gunwoo was talking about. She did hear his words very clearly, but they didn’t make sense to her. Was he talking about her? To date HER? When she pondered quietly, Gunwoo added,

“You just said you’ll do anything you can.”

“Date who? You want to date someone? Is that what you’re asking?”

“I said I want to date YOU. Why are you pretending not to understand me? You know exactly what I’m talking about. Don’t lie,” Gunwoo insisted quietly.

“…”

Heju gaped in shock and Gunwoo held her arm a little tighter. When she noticed his hand on her arm, she frowned and asked,

“Just tell me the truth. Will you get to the point already? What did you do that you’re making this silly excuse…”

“Why is it silly? Why do you think I’m making an excuse? I’m a man and you’re a woman, so I’m telling you I want to date you. It’s simple,” Gunwoo explained.

“You really want me to date you? You and me? Seriously?”

Still unable to believe what he was saying, Heju asked again as she pointed at him and herself with her finger. She had never expected something like this, so it was still very hard for Heju to understand this situation.

Gunwoo replied with a nod, “Yup. You and me. We should date.”

He sounded very firm. After a short silence, Heju burst into laughter suddenly. Gunwoo’s face turned ugly when she asked,

“Are you bored or something?”

“Dammit! Why won’t you believe me? I’m confessing my feelings for you right now.”

“Just shut up, little boy. How dare you tease me like this? Stop talking nonsense and just go home already. Gosh, that was hilarious. You made my day, Gunwoo,” Heju said to him as she shook her head.

But when she tried to pull arm away, Gunwoo squeezed her wrist even tighter. He refused to budge, and he looked much more serious now. When Heju saw his face, she couldn’t breathe.

He looked so… intense.

1. Korean grilled ribs.