“I do but I don’t…that is….I can’t…..I shouldn’t.” That’s how their story went. Has been going on for a long time. They have weathered periods of frustration, longing and wrenching heartache but their feelings for each other haven’t changed. But what happens when a disreputable, amoral but charming rake comes to town and sets his eyes on one of them? He is relentless in his pursuit and cares a fig for established social mores. He will push their buttons and force them to confront some startling feelings within. ForewordThis is based on the basic premise of the adopted uncle-niece relationship in Pinocchio, minus the revenge and sad family history angle. So, here’s the tweaked background:Choi Dal Po and Choi In Ha are not blood related but members of the same family register since Choi Dal Po was adopted by Choi In Ha’s grandfather when he was young from an orphanage. They have been smitten with each other for a long time and are acutely aware of each other’s feelings. But their relationship will not be socially acceptable and leads nowhere since their beloved family will not approve of the match. So they have not confessed their feelings to each other.They are both journalists and work for rival news agencies. Outside of their competitive professional world, they tamp down their true feelings and put up a façade of casual care and camaraderie. They are fiercely loyal and protective of each other. They are also each other’s best friends and number one priority. People find their affinity a tad bit over-the-top for an uncle and niece relationship but put it down to them being of similar age. Not that they have ever caught even a whiff of anything remotely scandalous as the pair is ultra-careful around the others. Choi Dal Po has moved out of the family home into a studio apartment so as not to betray his feelings before his adopted family elders.Choi Dal Po and Choi in Ha live in suspended animation as living without being able to openly love the one, who rules your heart, is about just taking one day at a time. Any suggestions of dating, either by family members or colleagues, is shot down with various excuses. Life is all about work and getting up in the morning to see that one face, who makes one’s day worthwhile.And then there is a suave stranger who barges into their carefully insulated world and has the wiles of a fox as he sets his cap for one of them. He is Choi Young Do, the son of a major shareholder at MSC, who has apparently been brought in as a technical consultant for a year to upgrade their IT systems. He has lived in California for most of his life and is 29 years old. He is affable but has a devilish habit of ruffling everyone’s feather by being contrary or simply a smartass. He doesn’t care about chain of command or hierarchy. He has a strangely egalitarian approach to choosing friends but there’s strange rumor about him that is doing the rounds of the office grapevine, which earns him whispers behind his back and curious looks.A/N-Please keep an open mind and enjoy. If at any point, any reader thinks that the content calls for an M classification, please let me know. I will never abandon a story midway. I will bring it to a conclusion though the updates may not happen everyweek. I do promise an update once a month, at the least. So, please subscribe if you want to come along for the ride ahead.