Author's note: Hiya! Quite boring for the past 3 chapters, huh? Don't worry... the reason why it's mature and the twists will play on from this chapter onwards XD

Thank you for sticking with my writing though! ^^

with Love,

Chelly the hellion/chellygelly/grumpypiggy :3

"Please call my team if you have any concerns and reminders. I sent the email for the reminder to my teammate. Yes. Kindly address your concerns to her in my stead. Yes. Thank you, you too. Good bye." Cara ended the call with a sigh and she placed her elbows on her desk and she placed her face on her palms as she tried to rub off the stress. Her impromptu decision to take a leave from work for a month was quite a good deal, given that she can feel the burn out sink in her system. Besides, she was planning on doing freelance writing work instead of doing client servicing wherein she gets too tired and too negligent of herself to a point where she got hospitalized for her fatigue. She shook her head as she leaned in her chair and she looked up in the ceiling of her office.

She needed to rest, she knew this. She needed to focus more on being Zen's secretary and being the RFA's party organizer. She was a lot more happier in working for those two than her full time job. She hated getting drained too much even if she gets paid for her hard work, it was not enough.

In truth, as much as she wanted to drown herself with work, she knew she needed to take a break. Her idea of a break from it however is her taking a leave for her full time work. She had some gigs from writing and she is fine with that. At least there's income. She just needed to stray away from an environment that is so toxic. She needed to get away.

This was a good decision. She smiled.

An alarm from her phone sounded off and interrupted her musings and reminded her that she should leave in 10 minutes if she wanted to catch up to Zen's rehearsal.

"Shoot. I have to go." She hurriedly fixed her things, making sure she left nothing behind and she said goodbye to her colleagues and she ran out of the building.

She skidded to a halt by the taxi bay as she waited for a cab to stop and let her in. After two minutes, she successfully hailed a cab and she told him the address of Zen's rehearsal place and she waited. As she stared at the blurry images of the busy streets outside as the cab rushed to where she wanted to be, she felt quite nervous on how she should react. Suddenly, she became insecure of her looks as she patted her hair and checked her clothes if she looked fine.

You're not somebody special, Cara. Stop thinking about this. She scolded herself. Why was she getting worked up on the idea that she was going to meet the people who work with Zen? She's not gonna be introduced there as his girlfriend anyway, so she doesn't see the need to fix herself.

She sighed. She knew she was being ridiculous. She was not even sure if she was really feeling things for Zen. She was not even sure if Zen saw her in that light. Her gaze moved to the scenery outside and she somehow felt comforted. Autumn was her favorite time of the year. She loved the shades of orange and yellow that are blotched on trees, and the cold was just perfect for her. Everything was so peaceful in autumn. She leaned her head on the cab's seat as she closed her eyes to rest for a little while because she anticipated work when she arrives at Zen's rehearsal.

She thought about Zen. She could feel her stomach warm up as she thought of the different things that happened between the two of them. There was a time when they were together and Saeyoung, Saeran and Yoosung joined them to simply hangout. She remembered how Zen was teased and played with by the trio and she just stood there laughing at how adorable they all looked. Zen was somehow like a big brother to the trio especially for Saeran. Saeran needed to be nurtured and to be shown lots of love given the suffering he went through. She was quite reluctant to get close to him before since she somehow got traumatized with the entire encounter they had with Rika and Mint Eye. However, seeing him so broken and lost, her heart went out to the boy. She too, felt that kind of lonesomeness that she couldn't get away from. So she wanted to somehow assuage how he felt by befriending him and being there for him and his brother. It is a good thing that Yoosung was quite close to Saeran; that way she didn't have to guard the young man too much. She smiled at the times they went to visit Saeyoung and Saeran at their place and they had cooking sessions before they just simply watched movies. Zen was always teased but everything was so fun.

She was thankful for the RFA, however, she was thankful to Zen the most because he was the light that showed her that she could escape the darkness she has lived in for a year. Somehow, now that she was so close to the RFA and to Zen, she smiled more and she laughed more. She wasn't as numb as she was before.

She was glad. However, as she remembered Zen's forehead kiss, she started to frown. She wasn't supposed to feel giddy about it. Moreover, she didn't have to put any meaning to it either.

"We're here, miss." the driver interrupted her thoughts as the cab stopped at Zen's rehearsal venue. She took out her payment and gave it to the driver and she thanked him for his service before he got out.

"You look very pretty, miss. I hope your boyfriend will be glad to see you today. have a good night!" the driver yelled as he opened the window on the front passenger's seat. Cara was so surprised that she just looked at the retreating form of the cab as it drove away from where she stood.

She felt herself blush and she shook her head before any ridiculous thought came into her head. She was not his girlfriend. She was only a.. friend. Somebody he was close to. Nothing more, nothing less.

But why did the thought of becoming his girlfriend appealed to her this much?

"Gaaaaaah. Stop thinking, Cara. NO. It's such a big no." She muttered as she entered the vicinity and she was greeted with intense heat.

She walked along the hallway as she heard the faint echoes of voices, music, laughter, and singing resonated in her ears. She could feel her lips form a simple smile as she takes in the melodies the crew were singing. She felt homey and happy every time she hears music.

She may not admit it, but Cara is very adept to guitars and pianos. She also sings and dances, however she only does this whenever she is required to do so. Growing up with the family who were literature and music lovers, she embraced her interest in music, arts, and dance ever since she was young. Her mother was a prima ballerina and his father was a scholar and a musician at the same time. Her sister and brothers were born artists when her sister followed her mother's footsteps and his brother was famous for a band overseas. She, however, wanted to be different. She is great at painting, dancing, singing, playing instruments, however she chose the corporate world and nurtured her talents as a hobby. She needed money to build herself up because she knew she cannot rely on anybody but herself.

The piano tune turned into a melancholic tune as she stood in front of the door where Zen and his crew were practicing behind the doors. She recognized the tune and she somehow hummed along with the music as she held onto the door knob to open the door.

Her hand froze while she grasped the door knob. She was enjoying the music when suddenly her mind pulled out a memory and the image she remembered was so clear and painful that she thought she was reliving the incident over again.

She could remember his soft smile as he sat beside her in the piano seat as she silently sang him a song and he stayed with her as he listened to the tune. He pressed a random key as she played the tune, ruining the wonderful composition but she didn't mind; she even found it hilarious. Her hands stopped playing but it never left the piano as she glanced up at him and she smiled. "You have zero sense in music." She teased. She giggled as he rolled his eyes and smiled. He looked at her so lovingly that she was enraptured by his smoldering stare that she didn't notice how he was leaning in as he held her chin in place. Her eyes automatically closed as his head tilted to the side and she felt his lips on hers.

As her mind mingled with the memory, she forgot she was holding on the door and that she was too engrossed in remembering that Zen has opened the door from the other side and she went flying onto his arms as she jumped in surprise.

"Ah!" she gasped and she could feel nothing but warmth from Zen's embrace.

He was sweaty, but he still smelled great and his breathing was labored, probably from moving around on stage. She realized that she made a very grave mistake when she opened her eyes as she noticed that Zen's face was close to hers.

Actually, it was too close. However, as his eyes bore on hers, she couldn't look away. Her mouth slightly opened as she gulped. She glanced at his lips and then back at his eyes and she noticed them slowly widen as he flashed her a deliciously wonderful smile.

"My, my, babe. If you wanted a kiss so bad, you should've said so." he teased.

"WHAT?!" She said and she pushed Zen away from her.

"Hyun, you and your crazy fliritng!" She blushed as she swatted his shoulder as he laughed at her and his arm swung over to her shoulders to bring her to where his crew were, ogling at what happened between the two of them. She blushed as he pronounced her entire name to his crew and he pulled her closer to her as he kissed her temples. He slowly let her go and pushed her a little to come nearer the entire cast as his director came towards her. She yelped in surprise as Zen grabbed her coat from her shoulders and pulled off her jacket. She stared at him, her mouth open to scream another retort, but his fingers touched her lips and she stopped. He shook his head and nodded to his crew.

"Scold me later, Cara. Say hello to my cast and workmates." He smiled. She slowly nodded as she turned her head away from him as he gently pulled out her scarf from her neck and she could still feel the warmth of his fingers on her lips.

Jesus christ.

She somehow hoped, as she stared at the people who were looking at her with welcoming glances, that instead of Zen's fingers...

She wished it was his lips instead.

She looked so lost, so innocent, and so... small.

Beneath all her oversized coat and her oversized scarf, Zen glanced at her back as she bowed to all of his crew and his colleagues. He was actually surprised when he opened the door and she came stumbling into his arms. She was so light, so soft, and so gentle that even when she teasingly swatted his shoulders as he teased her, she still couldn't cause him bodily harm.

Her long curls landed at the middle of her back and it swayed with every movement that she did. She was wearing a simple long sleeved blouse, a skirt, and black stockings with knee high boots. She had a voluptuous body, as Jumin usually told her when they were talking about body shapes and fat, but voluptuous was an understatement. For Zen, she was sexy. Plump at all the right places, huggable, and soft.

What the hell was he thinking about?!

He panicked as he thought that she would be here, wearing something as innocent but provoking all at the same time, watching him finish his rehearsals and they would go home together.

He shouldn't be thinking like this, but he couldn't help it. He held her coat and scarf as she glanced back to him and she reached her hands to her clothes. He smiled and insisted that he take care of it as he held her arm and led her to a chair.

As she sat, he positioned himself and perked his butt up at the back of the chair that faced hers. "Let's have dinner after this?" he asked. He held his breath as she nodded and smiled. "Your treat."

Eh?

"Fine." He smiled as he pinched his cheeks and went back on stage.

As he went back on stage, his colleague met him haflway and whispered, "I get it why you can't keep your eyes off of her."

"What are you talking about?" Zen feigned ignorance.

"Don't lie, Zen." The female lead teased him as she heard the conversation between him and his colleague. "You looked so possessive and the way you lovingly looked at her's enough for us to guess your feelings towards her." she winked.

"You got me." He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"I hope she feels the same though." His colleague noted and he noticed that the the female lead looked at Cara then back at him. Her gaze had something in there, as if she caught Cara doing something.

He closed his eyes and mocked a stressed sigh.

"I hope so, too." he said. Then he glanced at Cara seating at the audience seat, looking down at her phone, probably talking to the RFA members informing where she was. He suddenly had this huge pull of longing and somehting elsse as he stared at her take a photo of the stage and smile at something on her phone as she chuckled and shook her head. He wanted her so much. However, as he continued to watch her without her noticing, he realized he wanted her everything. Her past, present, future, body, mind, and soul.

He wanted her that badly

"I hope to the gods that she does." he whispered.