Zen is discouraged after reading Suhee's email and so brings his concerns to his friend Haejung.

He talks some sense into the actor and convinces him to take Suhee out on a date.

WARNING: There is a little bit of strong language in this chapter.

"I just don't know what to do anymore, Haejung…" Zen uttered in surrender. He was currently sitting at the counter of his old friend's lamb kebab place, hoping to let off some steam about his present situation.

The "restaurant" was pretty small, with only counters to eat at that surrounded a cooking space on two sides. It was also somewhat empty at the time, signifying that business was slow at the moment which was good for Zen to openly vent without worrying about other opinions or driving off customers.

Haejung only sighed before busying himself with getting a drink prepared for the actor.

He was about five feet and seven inches tall, and looked to be in his thirties. He had dark brown hair that was slicked back and thick eyebrows that were drawn perpetually to the middle of his forehead. His eye color was unknown as he was usually seen with a pair of sunglasses on, but most assumed he had brown colored eyes. Despite the imposing disposition and look, he was actually a big softie when it counts. He was wearing a white long sleeved shirt which had the sleeves rolled up and a tan pair of pants under a mustard brown colored apron. To top it all off, he wore dark brown shoes and a kebab skewer was currently hanging out of his mouth.

Haejung placed a well needed cold glass of beer in front of his moping friend and finally said, "The last time you were this down in the dumps was when you and your last girlfriend broke up…" – he trailed off, coming to a sudden realization – "Wait don't tell me that you and that Suhee girl already…"

"No…but it seems to be headed in that direction." Zen answered with a sigh before taking a swig of his beer. "She initially wanted some time to recover from her previous heartbreak and I've kept my distance, patiently waiting but recently I've seen that she's tried to make contact with her ex. I don't want to draw any conclusions too quickly, but I have a bad feeling that Suhee might…what to go back to him…"

"You've said before that she's livin' with you right?" his friend asked and he nodded in reply. "Have you been treatin' her bad or something?"

"No! I've been nothing but the best to her!" the actor was overly defensive at first, but then calmed down a little. "I've done nothing wrong to her. She's the princess in my small kingdom. I wouldn't treat her any different."

"Maybe she doesn't like that."

"It's true that sometimes she seems a little put off by my actions, but recently she's shown more enjoyment in my company and I enjoy hers. I want her to stay…"

"Then be blunt with her. Get to the bottom of it by asking her straight out."

"I can't do that!"

Haejung sighed with slight aggravation with crossed arms. "Have you even asked the poor lady out on a date?"

Zen blushed at the sudden question. "No, I…I couldn't. I promised that I'd give her space and should I ask her on a date, I'd be breaking that promise."

"If you don't want to lose her, then I suggest you prove to her that you want to keep her by asking her out on a date." The actor opened his mouth to object, but his friend stopped him by continuing. "Just take my advice and jump at the chance. What's the worst that could happen?"

"She'll say no and break my heart?"

"Zen you really need to get ahold of yourself. Where's the you that was confident in getting what he wanted and wouldn't stop until he did?"

"I don't know it's different with Suhee." He sighed with defeat. "A lot of stuff happened a couple of months ago for the both of us."

"So? That was two months ago. The both of you were given enough time to recover and your popularity as an actor is on the mend. If anything, now is the time to take the next step if you still want her to stay with you."

Zen hated it, but Haejung was right. If he wanted Suhee to stay with him and return his feelings, he needed to take that chance, even if it could mean her rejection…

.

Remarkably Zen wasn't turned down when asking Suhee out, as she accepted shyly but with no hesitance. He was over the moon at first but as it came closer to the day, he found himself getting anxious.

You see, Haejung actually invited the two of them to his lamb kebab place for their first date. The restaurant wasn't exactly ideal for dates (much less first dates), but Suhee was eager to see the owner again, as the two became quite close buddies at her first RFA party. Regardless, it was a safe haven away from fans and haters, so in the end the two of them went there.

"…Isn't this usually a busy time for you?" Zen asked upon entering the empty eatery.

"Yeah, but you're special guests so I decided to reserve the whole place for you!" Haejung replied with a victorious smirk.

Suhee blushed and smiled shyly while saying, "You didn't have to do that for us…"

"You're both important to me," the owner stated with a warmer smile this time. "So, please take a seat. What can I get to drink for ya?" – he turned to Zen – "Beer?"

"No beer for me tonight. I have to drive." The actor answered. "Speaking of, I should go find a better spot to park." – he gently touched Suhee's shoulder to get her attention – "I'll be right back."

She nodded and took a seat while he left, giving Haejung the opportunity to hear her side of things which he took immediately. "So what would you like to drink?"

"Just the water is fine." The chestnut haired female answered simply and then it went awkwardly quiet.

After serving her a glass of water he went out on a limb and asked, "Is this your first date then?"

"With Zen, yes. I was actually with someone else before Zen but that's a long story." She sighed and smiled bitter sweetly. "To be honest it all seems hard to believe…that such a plain jane person like me would end up living with and being the love interest of a handsome actor like Zen…"

"Sure he's a handsome actor, but he's a normal person just like any of us. And I believe that Hyun showed you the true side of himself – the side he tends to keep hidden from his fans. Not only that, but he took your feelings into account like a true gentleman. Knowing that he must truly trust and care for you deeply." – at that moment, the actor entered the restaurant so Haejung adopted his imposing aura while facing him when continuing – "You just make sure to do what you need to or you'll regret it later."

He then smirked at Zen, who flinched before joining his clueless date.

Their dinner continued without any problems, and once it was over and paid for, Suhee turned to Zen and asked, "So, where to next?"

He glanced at Haejung who was looking at him just as expectedly as his date, and chuckling he answered with his own question, "Well, what do you think about getting dessert?"

His friend flashed him a quick thumbs up while Suhee gave him her answer. "Sure, I could go for that."

"Great." Zen uttered with a smile before the two of them said their goodbyes and left.

Later near a taiyaki stand that wasn't the one that was usually parked in front of Zen's apartment building, Suhee asked with curiosity, "Zen, if we're getting taiyaki for dessert then why don't we just go back to your place?"

The actor blushed a little. "I…wanted to take you somewhere else tonight though, so I thought we could get them to go and eat them there…"

"Oh, okay." She blushed when seeing his gentle smile.

The two then got their taiyaki and before getting on the motorcycle to leave, Zen asked Suhee to put on a blindfold he brought with him. She was confused at first, but then decided to go along with it as she put it on and allowed him to take her wherever he'd planned on taking her. Once they came to a stop he led her up a hill and when he removed it she almost instantly recognized the view.

"Zen, is this…?" Suhee gasped with awe.

"I told you I'd take you to my secret place and I've kept my word." He replied with a fond expression on his face while they started eating their dessert. "What do you think of the view?"

"It's much better seeing it in person." She smiled, but it quickly fell into a bittersweet frown. "But the last time you were here, you were going through so much…I know Jumin was there to bring you back but I wish I would've been able to go too…"

"Hey, even if you didn't your words and your presence in the chatroom helped me plenty through my troubles." He smiled and sighed. "But…I'm glad that you weren't there to see how shameful I was back then…"

"You were just going through some things that were threatening your livelihood. There's nothing shameful about that."

Zen smiled at her with relief and longing then quickly turned his gaze to the view before she could notice. The two of them then continued to eat their taiyaki in awkward silence. When he finished his and looked to see if she was done too, he spotted something on her face.

"Hey babe you have a few crumbs on your cheek…" he said, trailing off when she tried to brush them away but failed in doing so. "Here, let me get it."

The actor then took her face in his hands and gently wiped the crumbs away with his thumb. Unconsciously he let it brush over her lips too, and when he realized what he was doing he blushed and started uttering an apology. "S-."

"Kiss me," Suhee interrupted suddenly, taking him by surprise.

"Wh…?"

She blushed but rephrased her request. "Kiss me Zen."

Upon hearing those words his cheeks instantly became a deep red and he hesitated for a moment, his heartbeat quickening as he gazed into her eyes so full of the desire to kiss. This is what he wanted though so he steeled himself and leaned in, closing the gap between them with the kiss she had asked for.

He poured all of the passion and longing that he had pent up over the past couple of months into it, hoping his feelings would get across to her. As he did this he remembered the first kiss they shared. Suhee was so tense that night and she accepted his feelings without fully reciprocating them. But now in this moment he could clearly sense her feelings as she gingerly wrapped her arms around his neck. He smiled inwardly and held her tighter, making their kiss deeper before they pulled apart for breath.

"God, I hope that wasn't our last kiss…" Zen couldn't help but whisper with a wistful sigh.

"Why do you say that?" the chestnut haired female immediately asked in response with confusion.

He then realized what he had said and stepped away from her before leaning on the railing. Gazing at her bitter sweetly he replied, "A while ago I saw an email you sent to Aiden. After reading it I couldn't help but think…that you were going to leave me and go back to him…"

Upon hearing his explanation, Suhee's eyes widened with surprise and she was silent for a moment. Then she muttered his name and narrowed her eyes at him, clearly upset. "Okay first of all, it's kind of rude to read someone's email without permission…" she started looking angry with him at first, but then her gaze softened when she continued. "And second, why would you think that?"

"It just seemed to me that we weren't growing any closer so I thought…"

"If that was true, then I wouldn't have said yes to our date."

Zen chuckled nervously in response. "I'm…feeling pretty stupid right now…" – he paused for a moment, becoming curious – "So if you don't mind me asking…what did you need to talk to Aiden about that was so important?"

"He posted online that he was going to study overseas soon so I wanted to wish him luck." Suhee answered truthfully, giving him a steady gaze. She blushed and continued, "I also…wanted to tell him I was finally letting him go…because I found someone new…to share my life with."

When she finished she smiled softly at a flabbergasted Zen. It sank in quickly though, as he beamed at her and uttered, "God I'm so happy I could kiss you again…May I?"

She obliged and he closed the gap much quicker this time. As he pulled away, Suhee finally uttered an "I love you," making his night even better than it was before.

He wanted to hear it once more so he said, "Could you say it again? Louder this time please."

"I love you Zen." She barely managed to say before her lips were once again claimed by his.

The kiss this time was short and sweet, but when he pulled away he couldn't help but utter, "Mmm…F*ck Aiden." – he then noticed the dissatisfied look she was shooting at him – "What? Too early?"

The chestnut haired female sighed and shook her head with a smile and then said, "You do know he actually wished the best for the both of us..."

"Okay then I take it back. He must be a pretty nice guy." Zen pulled her in close for a hug. "But can you blame me for being a little pretentious? You're all mine now, after all."

And that's the last of the flashbacks! We'll be back on track with the present chapters starting with the next one.