Chapter 2 - Maybe I'm in Love With You

Wooyoung sighed as he leaned agaist the street lamp. Then he plucked on his earphones and turned on his MP3 player at full blast. He was waiting for the bus which will take him to his workplace just a few stops away. The bus arrived a few minutes later causing Wooyoung to smile finally. As he was about to go aboard the bus, he felt himself pushed slightly to the side. Irritation suddenly rise up within him as he turned to look at the person who had pushed him, accidentally or purposely. His eyes came across a small looking person who had her head down in a bow and continuously chanting her apology. Wooyoung raised an eyebrow and decided to shrug it off.

"It's okay." Wooyoung replied faintly as he gave a slight nod before hurrying up the bus.

***

Jieun groaned inwardly. Her clumsiness was such a bother. She was lucky that the stranger whom she had knocked against earlier did not make such a big fuss over the incident. She boarded the bus quickly and just sat herself down on the first empty seat she saw.

A few bus stops later, Jieun got herself ready to alight. Jieun stood up just before the bus gave an emergency break causing Jieun to lost her balance and ultimately felt herself falling. Jieun quickly gathered her thoughts and looked up to see a pair of curious eyes looking back at her. Then she realised where she had fallen on - she was practically being embraced by the same stranger she had accidentally knocked into earlier.

"Argh! Mianhe, mianhe!" Jieun cried, standing up straight before giving a few ninety degrees bows. Then she turned around and quickly ran down the bus. She continued running and never looked back.

***

Wooyoung tilted his head in confusion before alighting from the bus. He looked at the direction where the girl had ran off to and smirked. The moment she had fallen on top of him just a few minutes ago, he swore his heart started racing. Those pair of eyes were just too cute to not to be noticed by him. He did not know her but she had managed to make him nervous. He had never seen her before. In fact, today was the first he saw her.

'Ah! Pabo! She's just a random stranger.' Wooyoung chastised himself before letting out a soft chuckle.

Wooyoung continued walking towards Yonsei University which he was working in as a Science Laboratory Assistant. He walked through the gates to be greeted by a few female students who would shamelessly flirt with him every morning. They would always seem to know when he will arrive to work every single day. But as always, Wooyoung would never pay attention to any of the daring comments thrown to him by those females. He would just give a curt nod and a wink as a service to them. Those simple actions from him would always invite huge reactions from the students.

'Aigoo! It's hard being a handsome stud!' Wooyoung thought as he strode into the science faculty building with a grin on his face.

******

Hara half-walked and half-ran towards her office building with one hand holding onto a steaming hot coffee. She was already five minutes late. She ran through an elevator door which was about to close and had barely made it. She was safely standing in the elevator amidst the crowd she was facing at the moment. She let out an awkward grin before apologizing to the people who were already inside the the elevator.

As soon as the elevator reached the eighth floor, Hara quickly stepped out and ran towards her table. She needed to be there before her team leader noticed her absence.

"Finally you're here! It's the third time you're late you know that?!" Lee Joon, her co-worker exclaimed in a hushed whisper.

"Okay, okay! I know. Just calm down will you?" Hara raised her eyebrows as she settled down in her seat.

"How can you relax in a time like this? You're crazy!" Lee Joon continued nagging causing Hara to roll her eyes.

"Was she here?" Hara asked as she peeked around.

"Of course she was here! And she is waiting for you right now in her office." Lee Joon shook his head. "I've told you so many times Hara, to be punctual, but no, you don't seem to listen to your friend here!"

"Ahrasso! Stop nagging Joonie! You're giving me a headache!"

"Bo? I'm giving you a headache? It's you who's giving me a headache you know that!" Lee Joon said in an annoyed tone. "I have to face with that witch's questions every morning and all I did was help to cover you up and this is what I get? You're heartless!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry Joonie-ah." Hara said quickly. "I am really thankful for all that you've done for me. Really!"

"Sinchia?"

"Sinchia, sinchia!" Hara grinned.

"Ahrasso. I'm not mad at you anymore." Lee Joon grinned back.

"Anyway, do you think she'll really transfer me to another department?" Hara asked in a worried tone. "I thought she was just joking around."

"I'm really not sure Hara-ah. But from the looks of it, I think it's going to be true."

"Aigoo! Pabo!" Hara knocked her own head. Her team leader had threatened her to have her transferred to another department if she was late for the third time. And indeed it was her third time that day.

Hara stood up with a hunched back as she dragged her feet towards her team leader's office. She braced herself before entering. She could feel her heart beat faster as she knew she was about to find out the fate of her future.

***

"Onew! I have a happy news for you!" Mr Park exclaimed as he neared the latter's table.

"Ah, good morning Mr Park!" Onew quickly stood up as he gave a bow to his team leader.

"Ne, ne, good morning to you too!" Mr Park replied, smiling wide. "Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that you'll be having a new partner to work with for the sports column. She's from the entertainment department and she's a great article writer!"

"Entertainment department? But Mr Park, will she be familiar with sports? I doubt so." Onew said a little worriedly.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she has the basic knowledge on sports." Mr Park winked. "You just concerntrate on the game whereas she will concerntrate on interviewing the players. I'm sure she'll do great on that!"

"But Mr Park,"

"No more buts Jinki-ssi." Mr Park said with a frown causing Onew to flinch. "Or would you prefer me calling you Onew?"

"I'd prefer you calling me Onew sir." Onew replied hesitantly.

"Great! So, she's coming in a few minutes. So please, prepare a table for her. And clear up the mess here." Mr Park said as he pointed to the piles of papers and files which were scattered on the tables before leaving.

Onew groaned. This was not what he was hoping for. He felt that he had done a great job with the sports coloumn alone. He did not need a partner or an assistant. Especially if it was a female who might know nothing about sports to begin with. Onew could feel the frustrations rising within him as he started to clear the table, to get rid of the mess before welcoming his brand new partner.

***

Hara sighed. This was not what she had planned to happen. But she knew she deserved it. But sports? That was so not her! She loved entertainment! She loved writing about them! But sports was so boring! She could not live with that!

Hara dragged her feet towards the elevator with a box filled with her personal stuff in her hands. She entered the elevator and punched the button towards level six. The moment she got off the elevator, she gave a gasp. Level six was indeed unfamiliar to her. She knew no one from the sports department. That worried her terribly.

"Ah! Hara-ssi! I've heard so much about you!" A man came forward towards her with his arms outstretched. He placed his hands on her shoulders and shook her a little too roughly, messing up her hair. "Welcome!"

"Ah, n-n-ne." Hara replied. "And you are?"

"I'm Park Hang Gul! I'm the sports column team leader!" Mr Park introduced himself with a bow. "And of course, you may call me just Mr Park, or Hang Gul, or just Gul-ssi, or better still, oppa?"

Hara widened her eyes in shock. "Ah? I think I'll just stick to Mr Park."

"Okay! No problem! For Hara, I don't mind anything." Mr Park let out a wide grin.

"Um, so where is my table Mr Park?"

"I've assigned you to be partners with our best sports writer here, Onew-ssi!"

"Ah sinchia? I've seen his names in the papers but never had the chance to read his articles." Hara admitted, feeling a bit ashamed of herself.

"Ah no worries. It's the same for Onew-ssi too. He's seen your names before but never read any of your articles." Mr Park informed her. "Isn't that a shame? Such a stupid guy!"

Mr Park led Hara towards her new table. Hara groaned inwardly as she took a view around the messy office. There were a lot of men here which made Hara a bit uncomfortable. But then she cheered up the moment she saw an empty table which looked decent enough for her. But before they reached her table, Hara suddenly realized their path was blocked by someone. Hara looked up to see a face of a man, who to her was quite good looking. His stare on her was sharp which made Hara's heart beat too fast.

"Ah! Hara, this is your partner, Onew." Mr Park said. "And Onew, this is the famous Hara I was telling you about!"

"Ne." Onew replied as he took in the appearance of the woman in front of him - short, tight skirt, low-neck pink blouse covered with a black but tight cardigan, high stilettos. Onew finally made a decision - she was not his type.

"Onew-ssi, please tell Hara where her table is. And if you could be sweet enough, please introduce her to the rest of the staff." Mr Park said. "I have to attend a meeting soon. I'll see you later."

Hara and Onew watched as Mr Park walked away in a hurry. Onew took another look at Hara and gave a tiny smirk.

"That's your table and this is mine." Onew pointed to the empty table to Hara. "You do your work and I'll do mine and the most important thing is, we don't get into each other's way. Ahrasso?"

Hara looked at the man in front of her in disbelief as he walked away from her and sat comfortably in his seat. He just left her standing there like a fool. Hara could feel her anger rising up. She stomped her foot before heading towards her table.

'Relax Hara. Cool down. He doesn't know you yet.' Hara told herself as she breathed in and out continuously. 'I'll make your next few days miserable. I'll promise you that Onew-ssi."

******

Seohyun skipped back towards the house with her spirits soaring high. She had just finished editing another new story from another awesome writer at work today. She indeed enjoyed her line of work so much.

As she reached the front gate, Seohyun went to check the letter box. She took hold of the stack of letters and walked into the house. Then she started sorting the letters by the personalised mail box which she and Hara had made just above the shoe rack.

"One, two, three, four, five letters for Joori unnie. One, two, three letters for Hara. One letter for Jieun and one, two letters for me!" Seohyun said as she placed the letters into the personalised mail boxes.

She took a look closer at one of the letters posted to her. It does not look like one of her bills which she usually received. Instead, it comes in a pretty pink envelope decorated with cute Keroro stickers. Seohyun brought her letters in with her and headed up towards her room.

"Hm, that's weird. I've never received letters this kind before." Seohyun frowned as she slowly tear open the envelope. She pulled out a nice scented paper from the envelope and started reading.



Seo Joohyun,

I have a story to tell.
One day I was standing at my balcony early in the morning, to greet the morning air and the sun as it rises to inform us of the new day.
I was busy admiring God's work of art when suddenly I saw a girl and her friends jogging past the house I'm staying in.
I strained my head to get a better look at her. I was stunned.
I was not able to describe my feelings then. I was mesmerized. She looks beautiful just like a Goddess who descended on Earth to create happiness.
With her long hair tied in a messy ponytail as it swished left and right during her jog.
Then I heard her laughter which reminds me of bells jinggling. It made me smile unconciously and I was addicted.
And as magicly as she appeared, she was gone.
I told myself to be patient and I came back to the balcony the next morning to catch a glimpse of her.
But I was disappointed. She didn't come.
I did not give up hope, and so I waited again for the next few days.
After a few days of disappointment, finally my friend told me to give it up.
A week after the first time I saw her, I woke up and laid in bed. I never went near the balcony again. I couldn't bear to feel another tinge of disappointment.
But then, I heard the laughter again, like the melodious sounds of bells jinggling.
I ran towards the balcony and true enough I saw her! She was there again! My heart soared with joy upon seeing her. It lifted my hopes up once again.
From that day onwards, I finally knew she only went for her jog on the same day every week.
And so, I look forward to meeting her every Saturday. Even if it's from afar, I feel very happy just to see the smile on her face.

And I'm sure by now you know who I am referring to. That girl is you, Seo Joohyun.

Attached with this letter is an anklet made from silver. There is a bell on the anklet which reminds me of your sweet laughter.
Please do wear it so I would know whenever you passed by my house.

Your admirer from afar,
Yong.




Seohyun gasped. She was not sure if she was supposed to be happy or surprised or even scared by this. From the writing, it looked as if he was definitely sincere about his interest towards her. She could not help but found it kind of sweet.

Seohyun had lots of admirers before but she had never really paid any attention to them that much. But this admirer was somewhat different. He wrote letters for goodness sake! And adding to that, she just so love reading anything which was written sincerely. Then she remembered of the anklet which was mentioned earlier in the letter. Seohyun made a dive for the envelope which she had casually placed aside on her table. She rummaged through it and soon enough she found the thing which she was searching for.

The silver anklet was beautiful. And as promised by her admirer, there is a bell on the anklet which made a beautiful sound. Seohyun was pleased and carefully put the anklet on. Seohyun stood up and danced around her room. And true enough, the bell made a synchronized sweet sound according to her graceful movements.

"I need to find out who this person is!" Seohyun said to herself as she got her jogging attire out of her wardrobe.

It was a Monday evening and she was definitely going jogging!

***

Yonghwa entered his room with a loud moan. His job as a music lecturer down at Hanyang University was as tiring as a soccer player. He had just prepared the theory versions of the examination questions earlier in the morning and indeed, he had a hard time preparing them. But nonetheless, he was done with it.

Yonghwa placed his guitar down on the guitar stand before heading out towards the balcony to enjoy the evening air. He looked at the road just in front of him. He closed his eyes as he imagined her jogging past his house. He smiled. He could never forget how wonderful she looked.

Yonghwa grinned as he remembered the letter which he had posted into her letter box early this morning. 'She must have read it by now.' Yonghwa thought with glee. Yonghwa sighed before entering his room again to get himself ready for an evening jog.

The evening was quite cooling and Yonghwa enjoyed the coolness as it hit the bare skin of his arms. He started with a slow jog towards the park which was situated just a few blocks away from his house. He decided to stop for a moment just by a small lake. He allowed himself to sit on the grass patch, leaning against a big oak tree, and watching the fantastic scenery before him. He was so immersed in watching a group of children feeding the ducks by the lake that he almost failed to hear the jiggling of bells just behind him.

However Yonghwa was sharp enough to hear the familair sounds of the bells. He quickly turned his head to the left but he saw no one. The sounds of the bells had stopped and for a moment, Yonghwa thought he was just hallucinating. 'I guess my mind is just too obsessed with Seo Joohyun.' He chuckled to himself.

"Do you mind if I share the tree with you?" Seohyun asked as she looked at the man who was comfortably leaning against the oak tree.

Yonghwa looked up and he was once again mesmerised. Seo Joohyun was standing before him. His eyes travelled all the way down to her ankle. And there it was, the anklet fitting her ankle nicely. He beamed.

"Well, may I?" Seohyun asked again.

"Ah, n-ne. Please do." Yonghwa replied as he scooted over to give her some room to sit.

"This spot is nice right? You could see all the nice things from here." Seohyun said.

"Ne. This is my favourite spot in this park." Yonghwa said shyly. He looked up to see Seohyun smiling as she watched the scenery before her.

"Ah jeongmal? This is my favourite spot too!" Seohyun exclaimed.

"So, we have the same interest in this park." Yonghwa grinned.

"I think so too! Sometimes I would come here to get inspirations to write."

"You're a writer?"

"No, I'm a book editor actually. But I love to write as well." Seohyun said excitedly. She just love sharing her line of work with others, even if it was with strangers.

"Jeongmal? I do write as well. But I write music notes."

"Ah! You're a composer?!"

"Ani, ani. Nothing like that." Yonghwa chuckled, enjoying the look on her face. "I'm a music teacher."

"Jeongmal? Which kinds of instruments do you teach then?"

"Well, string instruments mostly."

"Guitar?" Seohyun asked with a wide smile. "I love the sounds of guitar!"

'Well I love the sounds of bells.' Yonghwa grinned to himself. "Ah ne, guitar is one of the instruments I do play."

"Wow! That's great!" Seohyun smiled.

The two strangers talked for a while longer before Yonghwa stood up to take his leave. "I'll be off first, hope to meet you again." Yonghwa said before jogging off.

"Hey wait!" Seohyun shouted at his retreating back. "I don't even know your name!"

Yonghwa turned and jogged on the spot. A smile spreading across his face. "I've told you already!" Yonghwa shouted a reply. "Bye!" Yonghwa jogged off, never wanting to look back.

Seohyun felt a jab of disappointment piercing through her heart. She tried to remember clearly when he had actually told his name to her during their conversation. But there was none. Seohyun led out a sigh as she too left the park the moment she felt raindrops hitting the top of her head.

From a distant, from behind the tree, Yonghwa peeked out to see his dream girl jogging off. He smiled. He had never felt this happy before. As the rain continued to pour, Yonghwa managed to whisper to no one in particular, "My name is Yong. I told you before."

******

Tony entered the small shop with his umbrella in tow. It was raining very heavily. If it was not for his brother pleading him to buy a packet of ramen, he would not even dream of stopping down by the shop. He started to browse through the shop, the ramen section to be exact.

The shop was rather small that it was a bit impossible to move around leisurely. Tony grabed a packet of ramen before he slowly made his way down the narrow aisle towards the cashier. But along his way he found himself standing face to face with another person who was also having difficulty trying to move out from the ramen section. Tony looked down to see a pair of familiar eyes looking back at him.

"YOU!" Tony and the other person shouted at the same time.

Joori was taken aback. She was not sure how to react at that time. Yes, she was surprised to see him standing in front of her but it was just impossible to meet him here of all places!

"J-J-Joori!" Tony stammered as he tried to pronounce her name. It had been years since he last say out that name.

"Tony." Joori nodded her head.

"How, I mean why, no I mean what are you doing here?" Tony asked a little too unsure.

"Buying some ramen." Joori replied. She knew her heart was racing but she just could not allow him to know.

"No, I mean,"

"I need to go." Joori quickly cut him and turned to head out towards the cashier to pay for her ramen.

"Wait!" Tony found himself chasing after her. He stopped beside the cashier as he observed her face. It was still the same. The innocent eyes, that sweet ruby lips he remembered kissing so much a long time ago. The only different thing about her was she looked more matured and more shapely in the important areas, unlike the scrawny and nerdy girl he knew before. "Joori, how are you?"

"Well, I'm healthy enough to start living properly after you left me a few years ago." Joori replied in a calm tone. "Is that what you wanted to know Tony?"

"A-ani. I-I was just asking out of concern for a friend."

"And to answer your question Tony, I am doing very well right now. Thank you so much for asking." Joori said before heading out of the shop. The rain was still pouring down heavily causing her to groan out loud.

"Joori! How are you heading home? It's raining rather heavily here." Tony said with a nervous smile. "Come, let me send you home. I have my car with me."

Joori smirked. She knew Tony well enough to know what he is up to. "No, it's okay. I'll be off now. Bye!"

Before Tony could say anything else, Joori quickly ran off through the rain. Tony felt numbed. He had never felt this frustrated before. All because of that one girl whose heart he had shattered a few years ago.