not scared...

The two women walked hand in hand inside her house. They both had a lot of catching up to do.

...

"What have I missed?" Tale kicked off her shoes as she settled into the sofa.

"Like anything interesting ever happens around here,"

"It's been a fun two weeks."

"Speak only for yourself." Precious snorted.

"I sure do"

"How did the exams go?"

"The usual, I can't say anything fun happened."

"I resume work soon. I'm giving them my resignation letter a week after I resume," she felt she needed the time to build up more courage.

"That is a good idea. Have you thought on what you will do after quitting?"

"Honestly, no. At this point I just want to be done with it, that's it. I'm sure something will come to me."

"I'm sure it would." Precious added sincerely.

"Thank you."

"What are friends for?"

Precious phone rang cutting their conversation short.

"I'd go freshen up and maybe unpack, or not." Tale took the moment to leave to go fulfill that.

Precious answered the phone and quietly walked outside to take the call.

"Hello," It was Woo Jin again.

"Hello," he sounded cold "I wanted to be sure you are okay."

"Yes I am, alive and well"

"Good, now that Tale is back home I would like to come over to install a security system,"

"I think that would be great but I cant afford one, at least a really good one,"

"Its on me, besides Su Yan will have my head if anything were to happen to Tale"

"Oh" was all she could manage

"I know you want to keep her out of it all but you would be doing her a solid if you told her all that is going on"

"I will."

"And I don't want any harm to come to you too" Woo Jin completed.

Precious smiled "You are welcome to come around tomorrow and get to work,"

"Thank you and have a good evening"

"You too"

"Since when do you have to answer calls outside. Who are you talking to? Tale poked

"A man who sighted a mermaid and wants my help in getting her,"

"Lucky him."

"We need to talk"

"Oh dear, are you breaking up with me?"

"Please! Our love is forever," Precious replied in same tone.

Tale laughed as she sat down "So what's up"

"It's about my work"

Tale dried the last bit of water that got into her ears. Precious joined her on the couch, telling her everything that had happened up to that point.

"Wow, you and Woo Jin huh?"

"That's what you took from all I said!"

"Yes!"

"Focus,"

"Oh I am focused, and not scared,"

"Those are just words. Woo Jin will be here tomorrow to install a security system, we can't be too safe"

"He's more than welcomed to come do what he has got to do," Tale winked.

"Theres nothing going on between the two of us." Precious defended changing the topic immediately. "Thank you for not freaking out about all these,"

"Why would I freak out?"

"I don't know. I was pretty freaked out when it all started," Precious rubbed her head. She didn't want to imagine the worst.

"Aw, and you beat yourself up too?"

"Go figure,"

"It's okay, I'm here now," Tale mocked her best friend.

"Shut up."

Tale laughed before standing up to go to bed. "Let's go sleep, we aint dying tonight,"

The two women went to bed but not to sleep, they stayed up well into the night talking about how living with Su Yan was more lovely than she had imagined and how she actually loved it.

"So you stayed with your boyfriend for two weeks, a man who looks like he could have any woman he wants, and he could, you stayed with him and you didn't even get to second base?"

"It's all a matter of time, I like our pace." Tale covered a yawn as sleep crept in finally. "What's the rush if we would still get there someday right?"

"Wrong. I know where I want to be with Woo Jin and that isn't slowing me down."

"Yes and that's why you are in my bed and not his," Tale responded not having time to defend herself as Precious pushed her down to the floor.

Tale fought back as she jumped on the bed for a pillow fight.

….

Woo Jin kept to his word, he installed the security system installed the next day. He explained in his simple terms to the girls how it worked and they got it.

He was finally back in his house and he just liked the feel of a familiar bed.

Su Yan had to go back to the site for inspection as well as catch up on recent events. The two weeks break he had was enough for his soul but at the end of the day he was a Zhang and duty calls. He just have to find a way to balance the both because he cared so much about Tale and he also cared so much about his job.

He wouldn't like to give up one for the other because of his lack of time management skills.

He pushed the thought to the back seat of his mind as he got to work for the day.