Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

….

"So how was your night everyone?" Ji Hoo asked as the last couple entered the room.

Ga Eul and Yi Jung took their seats in the conference room and awkwardly kept distance from each other. Both of them kept thinking on what happened to them last night, especially Ga Eul. Something tells her she should read between the lines of whatever Yi Jung's last words to her before they went to sleep last evening.

"Well, it was tiring but I had fun anyway." Jae Kyung let out a bright smile while looking at Woo Bin meaningfully. It caused everyone's eyebrows to rise, including Jun Pyo. It's odd for them that Jae Kyung and Woo Bin are hanging out together and aren't they together with Ga Eul and Jun Pyo?

Ji Hoo tried to cut the awkward silence that was starting to occur among the gang. He faked a cough which caused everyone's attention to be on him.

"I'm glad you two had fun." Ji Hoo complimented. "Anyway, have you read today's agenda?" Ji Hoo's lips curved up into a smile.

"I read it! Cooking contest! That would be fun!" Jae Kyung was the one who speak up again. It seems like she and Woo Bin are the only one who are in a good mood that morning.

Jun Pyo groaned and looked away from the table. He imagined that time when he was cooking with Ga Eul. He did have a little bit of fun but he wasn't going to admit that.

"Yeah. I think that would be great too. I want to know how my cooking skills are." Woo Bin's expression was excited as Jae Kyung's was.

"Great, there's a problem though." Ji Hoo said in a serious tone but still with a mischievous smile on his face. Jae Kyung and Woo Bin's smiles turned into a frown upon hearing that. What's Ji Hoo up to now?

"We're going to cook in the field with limited cooking utensils and you have to create your own fire with woods and matches." Ji Hoo added. Before anyone could even protest, he continued quickly. "Wait, let me finish first. Every couple here, which means, Jan Di and I, Jun Pyo and Jae Kyung, Eun Jae and Yi Jung, Woo Bin and Ga Eul, will have to cook in two hours, an hour for adjusting and testing and an hour for the real cooking. We need to make two dishes, a main course and a dessert. We all have to stick with the main ingredient, yes, we have a secret ingredient like the ones in Iron Chef." He chuckled at that which caused everyone to laugh with him too. "Our secret ingredient today is, 'Shrimp'. Also, like in Iron Chef, we have three judges. They would come here as soon as the two hours is finished. I had Butler Lee to prepare everything for us outside."

"Wait, you really mean I'm going with Jun Pyo?" Jae Kyung asked with a frown on her face. She doesn't want to face Jun Pyo just yet.

"Yah, what's wrong with that?" Jun Pyo asked softly, knowing perfectly well what the answer is.

Jae Kyung scowled and crossed her arms in front of her. Really, is he really dumb or what? "Don't act innocent Gu Jun Pyo! You per—"

"Okay guys, let's allow Ga Eul and Jan Di to prepare our breakfast this morning. I assume you know the time of our contest, it's written at our activities paper. Good luck in planning." Ji Hoo said with a smile before Jae Kyung and Jun Pyo can start their argument. No one in the room seemed to have moved from their spot except Ji Hoo. He exited the room with a fixed composure as if nothing was wrong in the world.

Next to have recovered from shock was Ga Eul who grabbed Jan Di's hand. "Let's go, Jan Di-yah."

Jan Di, happy to know that she has some alone time with her best friend, gladly took her hand and stood up from her seat. They went out of the conference room hand in hand while laughing with each other. Like old times...

After a minute, Yi Jung stood up from his seat and held his hand out for Eun Jae to take. Nothing really bad had happened to them those past few days. They were still friends who know each other's feelings. They could get along well that day. Yi Jung would surely tell Eun Jae about the night turned out between Ga Eul and him and another certain thing that's bothering him...

As soon as Yi Jung and Eun Jae walked out of the room, tension filled the conference room. Jae Kyung still has her arms crossed in front of her while Jun Pyo was looking everywhere but Jae Kyung and Woo Bin.

Woo Bin, who was sensitive about the growing intensity around the room, stood up and whistled while walking out of the room. Though he was still against about what happened to Jun Pyo and Jae Kyung, he still wants them to get along and stay friends. He knows it would be hard knowing how hard-headed the two of them are but he's still their friend so he wants them to settle things on their own.

Realization dawned on Jun Pyo as he looked around the room. There was no one there but him and Jae Kyung. How would he start talking to her after their last conversation?

As if Jae Kyung read his mind, she cleared her throat and spoke up, eyeing warily at Jun Pyo's direction. "Jun," She called out. Jun Pyo winced at the nickname she has given him. "Today, let's just forget about what happened for a while. I don't want to be a killjoy to everyone. I don't want to be the reason that they won't have fun today, is that alright?"

Jun Pyo slowly nodded his head, still refusing to look at Jae Kyung. "Deal, monkey."

"Great." Jae Kyung clasped her hands once and gave him a soft smile. "What do you know about cooking and shrimps?"

:) J J J :P

"Ga Eul-ah." Jan Di softly called out to Ga Eul. She was watching Ga Eul since they had started cooking and she noticed that she was unusually quiet.

"Hmm?" Ga Eul hummed, telling her that she heard her. She didn't look from what she was doing and just let out a slight smile.

"Well, you're quiet. What's wrong?" Jan Di could tell that something was bothering her best friend since diapers. She's proud to say that she can read her like a book so she wasn't about to let her go until she tells her whatever it is.

Ga Eul seemed to have felt what Jan Di intended to do so she sighed. She wasn't going to get away about this. She thought that it was time for Jan Di to know about the truth between her relationship with Woo Bin. After all, Jan Di doesn't deserve to be deceived by her best friend.

"Jan Di-yah. Woo Bin and I broke up." She whispered which caused Jan Di to gasp in shock.

Millions of questions entered her mind but all she could say was, "are you okay, Ga Eul?"

"I am." Ga Eul let out a smile. "I mean, I'm okay about the breakup... I'm just not okay about having Woo Bin as my partner in the contest, and Jan Di-yah... There's something you need to know." Ga Eul said seriously. She stopped what she was doing and completely faced Jan Di who was looking at her with already listening ears.

Ga Eul started from the very beginning, from the time she cried during Yi Jung's engagement party until what happened just recently. She told her everything about the deal she had with Woo Bin and about Woo Bin asking her to make things real. She masked a strong front in front of Jan Di but her long time best friend knows she was going to break down.

Jan Di slowly took her hand and pulled her into a hug. She soothed Ga Eul's back and in no time, Ga Eul began to cry on her shoulders.

However, oblivious to them, a pair of eyes was watching the whole scene from afar. Yi Jung's heart broke when he saw how Ga Eul's tears left her eyes. He was just passing by the kitchen but when he saw how Jan Di slowly caressed Ga Eul's back, he knows Ga Eul was crying though he didn't know why. He just stared at them while asking himself questions he tried so hard to push away. What if Woo Bin was wrong? What if Ga Eul really loves him and was really sad because of their breakup? What if she was affected on how he gets along with Jae Kyung?

Yi Jung let out a blank expression on his face. He didn't know what to think anymore. What was he going to do now?