Chapter 15: I Missed You

Daniel sauntered towards his office, walking past his brother who was still agape.

"Bro..." Liam called.

"Not now."

"But bro, aren't you going to introdu–"

"I said not now. My girlfriend's waiting for me in my office." Daniel said, the corners of his mouth lifting upwards.

Liam blinked and gawked at his brother who had just entered the office. 'My brother has a girlfriend? My brother has a girlfriend!!! Hallelujah! This is big news!' Liam covered his mouth and tried to suppress himself from screaming.

He tried to catch up but before he could even reach the door, Daniel had already closed it. Liam knocked and twisted the knob but his evil brother had already locked it.

'Is he... Is he going to? Ohh...' He knocked a few times and said, "Bro, wait! Let me see her!"

"Go away or I'll make you go on a business trip for a month."

Upon hearing this, Liam stopped and huffed as he stomped his way out. "So stingy."

…

Inside the CEO's office...

Samantha sat on the sofa like nothing happened as she flipped the pages of a Forbes Magazine. The truth was, she was too nervous to look at Daniel at the moment so she pretended that what she did earlier was normal.

"Hey, darling, what do you want to drink?" Daniel asked as he walked towards her.

"I'm not thirsty."

Looks like Daniel wasn't the only one who gets jealous easily.

Daniel tried to contain the satisfied smile that was threatening to show. "So... what are you doing?"

Samantha swallowed and answered, "Just reading."

"Huh... but you don't like reading Forbes," he remarked as he sat beside her, his eyes carefully observing the way her expression changes.

"What? That's nonsense... I... I read it sometimes."

Daniel didn't want to let it go because he saw right through her act and he found it amusing. "Really... I could have sworn that you told me before – you don't like reading it because it gives you a headache. And the only magazines you read are Baking Heaven, Bon Appétit and Cosmo."

'How stupid can you be? I did tell him all about that... but he didn't have to remember!' she scolded herself, ignoring the fact that he was smart, observant, and basically just cares about her enough to remember everything that she told him.

"Don't make me confess. Even if you're right, Let me go and give me face," Samantha said shamelessly.

Daniel chuckled upon hearing her statement. He found her too adorable.

"Okay, I won't… And only because you're my girlfriend," he said with a teasing tone on the last word, making Samantha's cheeks turn red. She was so impulsive earlier that her mouth was faster than her brain.

Seeing that she was avoiding his gaze, he smirked. "Don't you miss me? Why aren't you looking at me?"

"Why would I miss you? We talk on the phone every day."

"Ah, is that right? Okay, I'll just go back to Japan then." He pushed himself off the sofa and it startled Samantha, so without thinking, she quickly grabbed his hand preventing him from standing up. "Fine! I… I… I miss you, okay?!" she blurted.

Grinning, he leaned forward and pushed her down the sofa. She gasped in surprise as Daniel pinned her down, her hands on either side of her face.

Samantha could feel the drumming of her heart in her chest as she felt his weight on her. His fragrant perfume invaded her senses, making her breath hitch.

She stared at his warm gaze — he was looking at her as if he wanted to consume her. They stared into each other's eyes for a good amount of time without saying anything. But even though they were both silent, their eyes seemed to have been communicating, boring into each other's intense gazes.

There was just something about him that was magnetic. It was as though they didn't have to try… and everything just fell into place – so calming… so comfortable… so natural.

Samantha saw Daniel shifted his gaze from her eyes to her lips and it lingered there for a bit before he looked at her again. That little gesture was like silently asking for permission, in which she slowly closed her eyes in response.

Seeing that she was allowing him to do what he wanted at that moment, he lowered his face until his lips met hers.

Daniel's kiss was gentle and slow… It was unhurried as if he was trying to taste her ever so tenderly and Samantha liked it.

Unconsciously, she clutched on his shirt and she stiffened under him. She couldn't resist and she started to respond to his kisses.

It was their first kiss – Samantha's lips were sweet and Daniel's were cool.

He loosened his hold on her hands and he felt them slid up from his arms until she hooked her arms around his neck.

Samantha tried but failed to contain her excitement when a faint moan escaped her lips and as soon as Daniel heard it, his desire kicked in.

He deepened the kiss while he tried to steady himself on top of her. He lightly ran his tongue on her lips and instinctively, she parted them. Feeling his tongue explore her mouth, she threaded her fingers through his hair at the same time that he skimmed his hand on her side.

He missed her. He hadn't seen her for more than a week and he missed her. He was already kissing her and yet he still missed her, he just couldn't get enough of her.

It was strange that they hadn't even dated for that long and had mostly been talking on the phone while he was away but their attraction to each other grew so fast.

Daniel tried all his might to slow down as he controlled himself from going further. And with small kisses in between, he whispered, "I missed you."

They stayed in each other's arms for a few more minutes before he got up and grabbed a gift bag from his desk.

He returned to Samantha's side and handed it to her. "Here, I got this for you."

Samantha recalled Andrew's lingerie gifts and she suddenly felt a little weird. 'That's not lingerie, right?' she thought to herself. She seemed to have been traumatized by that unsightly piece from back then.

Shaking the nightmare off her mind, she beamed as she received the bag. "Aww… you shouldn't have... What's this?"

"They're something... I'm pretty sure you'd enjoy." He smiled.

Opening the bag, she saw different goodies inside — mochi, dorayaki, daifuku, castella and a few more little bits of every popular dessert in Japan. Samantha giggled as she exclaimed oohs and ahhs, evidently excited for the treats that she just received.

"Oh! You even got the Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory cookies! You remembered!" It was one of her favorite snacks from Japan and she just mentioned it in passing while they chatted on the phone during his stay there. She was really touched, not because he got her food, but because he remembered the little details from their conversation.

Daniel's heart warmed as he witnessed how she was so happy even with just simple things like the gifts that he got for her. "I'm glad you're happy."

"Did you behave while I was gone?" he asked as he glanced at her hand, checking if there were bruises from that one night in his brother's club. Probably because it had been more than a week since the incident, he didn't see any marks.

"I always behave!" She said as she munched on the cookies like a squirrel.

He scoffed, "Call me honey and I'll believe you."

Samantha was in such a good mood because of the delicious cookies that she didn't mind at all. "HONEY~" she proudly said.

Daniel choked and coughed. 'She's really unique.'

Suddenly remembering something, she casually asked, "Earlier... that woman, who is she?"

"She's the Project Management Director, Leah Tan," he answered indifferently.

"I see."

"Are you jealous?"

"Do I have a reason to be?"

"No, she's irrelevant."

"She seems to want to get close to you… Literally."

"You're jealous," he stated.

It was pretty obvious and Daniel was liking the attention.

Feeling a little bold, she probed, "I have the right to be, don't I?"

"Yes, you do."

"Was I too much earlier? I didn't mean to cause trouble."

"Nope. You were perfect. I loved how possessive you are of me. Keep at it.

"Plus you look sexy when you're seducing me. So, keep it coming, honey."

Samantha was sent into a coughing fit. Sometimes, she surprises herself with the things that she says and does.

In an attempt to hide her embarrassment, she stood up and walked towards the tall window that was overlooking the city. Daniel followed her and they watched the crowd below them.

"You have such an amazing view from here. You can even see the beach over there."

"Do you like the waters?"

"Yeah, I like how the waves give me serenity."

Daniel stood behind her and snaked his hands around her waist. Being so close to him, Samantha felt his firm chest against her back, making her feel a sense of security and belongingness. Contrary to what she thought she would feel, she didn't feel awkward at all — it felt natural.

Moving his lips just above her ear, he whispered, "I'll bring you there next time."

...

Samantha's mother called her and when Mrs. Kim heard that Daniel returned from his overseas trip, she invited the two of them over for dinner.

When they arrived at the Kim Family's estate, Samantha became nervous — 'Meeting the parents? Aren't we too early for that?'

Daniel had met her mother but she was actually worried about her dad.

"We can cancel, you know. You don't have to do this," she began.

"Samantha, it's rude to decline your parents' invitation. Take it easy... it'll be fine."

"How can you be so calm about this? Aren't you nervous at all?"

'Are you a robot or something?' she thought and looked at him strangely.

"Why should I be nervous? I have nothing to hide," he said as-a-matter-of-factly.

She didn't know why but she felt a little uneasy. It was as if something was going to happen that night. Entering the foyer, Samantha breathed in deeply.

Mother Kim greeted them as they entered and Samantha noticed that there was something weird about the way her mom looked at them. When they reached the living room, Samantha suddenly tensed up beside Daniel. Her eyes landed on a particular person across the room.

Sitting on the sofa was her brother Seo Joon and next to him was none other than Nathan Yun, her ex-boyfriend.

Why was he there? At this hour? At this minute? Are the gods punishing her for being naughty? It was so awkward.

When Seo Joon noticed his sister, he brightened up. "Hey Dopey, you're here!" His gaze shifted to the man beside her and he was bewildered.

Turning to his mother, he asked out loud, "Uh... Mother, why is the President of Cho Corporation in our house?"

Nathan turned his head towards them and smiled. "It's nice to see you again, Samantha."

Was Nathan Yun psychic perhaps? He seemed to appear whenever Daniel Cho was there. Samantha didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She glanced at Daniel beside her and in an instant, she felt the temperature in the room got colder.