After Dark (Prompts)

Personal Taste - 6

(Reposted)

A/N: Thank you for all the concern! No worries. I'm doing much better and believe me when I say it took days to finish the chapter because I wasn't pushing myself to and focused on getting over the side effects. Thank you, thank you! =) Also, as you can tell, this story is a bit of a slow burn because of their pasts. Thank you for all of you staying patiently with this!

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"Are you ready for that?"

Joo In-ah stared at her handsome companion, who had become a constant date in the past weeks. A date she wouldn't have even allowed herself to have if she thought about everything she had put people through.

Ji Hae-Soo and her therapist have told her she changed and that it wouldn't be bad to see someone again, and now here was Hoon - A person who she found intensely attractive and made her tingle all over even if they've never even touched before. She was attracted and drawn in and that scared her. She never had boundaries with these things before and she was afraid that if she gave in a little, that small crack would be enough to break the dam she had built.

In-ah stared at Hoon's lips and bit hers. "Stop flirting with me, Mister."

"Why?" he asked, smiling at her.

"Didn't you just say that you didn't date someone at work?!" she reminded him.

Hoon nodded. "That is true. Oh well, best not to kiss then. I'd worry you won't be able to do your job once you get to kiss me."

Joo In-ah gave him a look of disbelief. "What?!"

"Told you, I'm a good kisser. Great one, actually. Once we kiss, all my charms will be transferred onto you and you will no longer be able to get mad at me for not knowing how to correctly back up my databases for your project," he declared, making In-ah laugh.

"Your confidence continues to astound me, Mr. Lee."

He chuckled. "Is it off-putting?"

In-ah shook her head. "No. I actually want to know how you do it," she mused.

"How do you mean?"

She played with the table napkin in front of her as she pondered whether to ask her question. "You... you said before that no one is on your side so you're your own personal cheerleader. I was wondering... why do you think no one is on your side?"

Hoon stayed quiet.

"If it's too personal you don't have to answer it," In-ah said. "I don't mean to pry. I'm simply asking because... I beat myself up a lot for my mistakes in the past and I want to move on. I'm trying to be a better person but I still punish myself for all my mistakes but now... would like to know how to be my own cheerleader, too."

Hoon's jaw dropped at the unexpected confession, while In-ah blushed at her outburst. However, that moment seemed like a breakthrough and In-ah exhaled a sigh of relief before giving him a smile. "I'm sorry if that was too much to dump on you."

"No, no apologies needed," he assured. "Thank you for trusting me."

In-ah smiled, which she lost when he said his next words.

"To be honest, I'm not sure you should kiss me."

"What?!"

Hoon rubbed his nape. "While I don't talk about my past too much, I don't hide it either. Ask around and I'm sure some people would be able to tell you."

"I don't like to get my information through the grapevine," she said, making Hoon smile in respect.

"Thank you," he said. "Well, no one is on my side because of my shady past." Taking a deep breath, he shared, "I used to be an escort."