Chapter 14 - Maybe I'm in Love With You...

The supposedly short drive to Yonsei University was suddenly turning into a long one. The awkward silence in the car was getting on Wooyoung's nerves. But the main thing was, he did not know how to start a conversation with the girl beside him. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. He noticed her staring out of the window. He frowned. He really did not what to do.

"Isn't it weird to know how you and my brother are friends? Even weirder, the two of you are living under the same roof!" Jieun voiced out suddenly causing Wooyoung to gave out a nervous cough.

"Eh? Are you okay?" Jieun was suddenly patting Wooyoung's back. She did not want Wooyoung to lose concentration in his driving.

"Ani, ani. I'm fine. Don't worry." Wooyoung smiled nervously.

"Weren't you surprised to know that I am actually Onew oppa's sister?" Jieun was getting warmed up with Wooyoung's company.

Wooyoung smiled, glancing at Jieun again. "You have no idea how surprised I was."

"Sinchia?" Jieun grinned. Wooyoung just nodded his head with a smile before turning quiet again.

Wooyoung cleared his throat. "Um, Jieun-ah, about yesterday, I want to thank you again.”

“Ani oppa, it’s nothing really. I was there at the right time.” Jieun shrug with a shy smile. “And you were really helpless at that time, so I had no choice but to help.”

Wooyoung laughed. He had no idea that his hyung’s sister had a good sense of humor. Then his laughter died down and he cleared his throat. “Um Jieun-ah, another thing…”

“Ne oppa?” Jieun blinked.

“Um, about the kiss…” Wooyoung gulped.

"Aigoo! Don't worry oppa, I understand. Everybody makes a mistake." Jieun said quickly, turning away from Wooyoung. She did not want him to see the disappointment in her face.

Wooyoung sighed. "No, you don't understand."

"What do you mean oppa?" Jieun turned her head to face Wooyoung in surprise.

"Uh, I can’t explain it to you now. But can you meet me later for lunch?" Wooyoung asked as he felt cold sweats appearing on his forehead.

Jieun titled her head as she tried to digest what Wooyoung was saying. “Lunch?”

“N-Ne. H-How about it?”

“Lunch is good.” Jieun shrugged with an uncertain smile.

When Wooyoung finally had Onew’s car parked, he immediately took in a deep breath before turning to look at Jieun.

“Ahrasso. Let’s meet at the corridor behind the library at one thirty pm today.” Wooyoung told her.

“The corridor?”

“Ne. We’ve met there before. Don’t you remember?” Wooyoung grinned.

“Ah! That time when you pretended to be a delivery guy! Of course I remember!” Jieun giggled while Wooyoung smiled.

“Yes, that place. I’ll see you there then, ahrasso?”

“Ne oppa!” Jieun said with a bright smile.

Soon the two of them headed off towards their own respective work stations. Wooyoung towards the science lab whereas Jieun towards the library. Each one of them could feel the familiar nervous feeling which was seeping through their hearts as they wait for lunch time to come.

******

Yonghwa and Seohyun finally exited the clinic after they had collected the medications. The doctor said that Yonghwa had been infected with the flu virus and that it was nothing serious. He had advised Yonghwa to have plenty of rest and not to strain himself with too much work.

They had taken a taxi back to Yonghwa’s house and the moment they reached the house, Seohyun had practically forced Yonghwa to eat his breakfast and medicines before getting him to rest in bed. Yonghwa was a little bit reluctant to stay in his room especially knowing that Seohyun will be around. But after a few minutes of debating with the said girl, finally he relented and forced himself to get some sleep.

Seohyun grinned as she entered the kitchen with the thought of preparing some healthy lunch for Yonghwa. She decided to cook some chicken porridge for him since he was feeling unwell and some vegetable soup. The dishes were quite simple to cook and Seohyun was done in no time at all.

After cooking, she decided to take a rest by watching television down in the living room. But after a few minutes of watching some documentary, she felt a little bored. So she thought of checking up on Yonghwa who was currently resting in his bedroom.

Seohyun tiptoed slowly into Yonghwa’s room, trying not to make any noise. She noticed Yonghwa was still sleeping and did not want to disturb him. So she looked around the room and noticed the balcony which he used to mention to her. She smiled and stepped out into the balcony. ‘So this is where he first noticed me…’ Seohyun grinned as she allowed herself to imagine being in Yonghwa’s shoes for a moment.

***

Yonghwa frowned as he turned in his bed. He felt slightly better. His headache seemed to fade away. Opening his eyes, he saw a silhouette of a girl walking past his bed towards the balcony. Suddenly, Yonghwa was in full alert. He quickly sat up in his bed, careful not to make any noise, and looked at the balcony.

The sight which greeted him made Yonghwa smiled suddenly. It was Seo Joohyun, his dream girl. He continued watching her; the way she smiled and the way the wind blowing through her hair, it was just like what he describe her, a goddess. He then decided to pretend sleeping and quickly lied down again. He closed his eyes but still allowed himself to take a peek at her between his lashes. He held back his smile and just continued watching her.

***

Seohyun turned around to see Yonghwa still sleeping. She smiled before entering his room once again. She looked around the room again and finally saw a guitar at the corner of the room. Seohyun gasped in awe as she walked towards the guitar. She allowed her fingers to run themselves delicately onto the guitar strings. She had always been interested to learn playing the guitar, but she had not gotten the chance yet. She sighed. ‘Maybe next time…’ Seohyun sighed.

Seohyun sat on the edge of Yonghwa’s bed. She turned to see Yonghwa still sleeping. Seohyun smiled before looking at her watch. She realized that Yonghwa had been asleep for four hours. Seohyun gave a sly grin before climbing on the bed. She crawled over to Yonghwa’s sleeping figure and kneeled beside him.

Seohyun tilted her head. She had never seen Yonghwa’s features up close, so indeed this was her first time. Seohyun blushed when her eyes travelled to Yonghwa’s puckered lips. She wondered how those lips were able to make her so addicted to kissing. She allowed her finger to lightly brush against his lips. She giggled. His lips felt warm to her touch.

***

Yonghwa managed to stop himself from groaning when he felt Seohyun brushing a finger against his lips. He noticed her giggling and he gave out a sigh. Seohyun froze for a moment but she let out a sigh of relief when she saw that Yonghwa was still sleeping.

‘Aigoo! This girl is going to be the death of me!’ Yonghwa thought with a gulp.

Still peeking at her, Yonghwa now saw that Seohyun was gently poking his nose. This time she giggled a bit louder and Yonghwa could not help himself and smiled.

“You enjoy watching me sleep do you?” Yonghwa said, still with his eyes closed. He watched Seohyun jumped a little before she lightly slapped his chest causing him to open his eyes wide finally.

“Oppa! You’re teasing me!” Seohyun whined with a slight pout.

Yonghwa sat up in his bed and grinned. “You’re the one who’s teasing me. I was just trying to enjoy my rest.”

“Aigoo! I’m sorry oppa.” Seohyun said with a sigh. “I was just bored and I have nothing to do.”

“That’s why I said you should go to work today and not to worry about me.”

“Andwae! If I work, then who’s going to look after you?” Seohyun exclaimed. “Even your housemates are working!”

“Hm, then I’ll take care of myself!” Yonghwa told her with a mischievous grin.

“No, that will never happen!” Seohyun said firmly. “Besides, I cooked lunch for you as well.”

“Sinchia? Aigoo! It must be hard for you.”

“Ani, I enjoy doing all these.” Seohyun said blushing. “Especially if it’s for you.”

Yonghwa grinned upon hearing Seohyun’s words. “Komawo Joohyun-ah. Sinchia komawo.”

“It’s something simple oppa, I can handle it.” Seohyun smiled. “How are you feeling oppa?” Seohyun held out a hand towards Yonghwa’s forehead before placing another hand on her own forehead. “Hm, it seems like your fever is gone.”

“Hm, it’s all thanks to my personal nurse here!” Yonghwa pinched Seohyun’s nose lightly, causing her to giggle.

“Aigoo! You’re going to tease me again!” Seohyun said as she tried to get off the bed. But Yonghwa was faster. He quickly pulled Seohyun by her waist and soon she found herself leaning back into Yonghwa’s chest.

“I’m not teasing you Joohyun-ah. But I’m really, really thankful.” Yonghwa whispered into Seohyun’s ear causing her to shiver slightly. She could feel Yonghwa tightening his hold onto her.

“I’m thankful too oppa. Being with you these past few days, made me the happiest girl on this planet!” Seohyun turned her face towards Yonghwa and gave a soft kiss on his cheek. “And I just want to say, I am really, really, really falling in love with you.”

Yonghwa gaped, really not expecting that brave confession from the girl of his dreams. She was serious about him and he felt like the luckiest man on Earth!

“Joohyun-ah, can you repeat that again?” Yonghwa asked, his voice full of eager.

Seohyun pouted before covering her face with her hands. “Shiro! You are making fun of me.”

“Ani. Please, I just needed to listen to it again.” Yonghwa pleaded as he tried to pull her hands off.

Seohyun turned to look into his face again. He had that sincere look on him and she relented before grinning slyly. “Which part do you want to hear again?”

Yonghwa raised an eye brow. “That part! You know which part!”

“That part? There’s a lot of parts you know. I can’t seem to remember which one.”

“Seo Joohyun! You are playing this game again!”

“Jung Yonghwa! What game?” Seohyun argued back, at the same time trying to hold back her laughter.

“Yah! You’re such a tease!” Yonghwa said before tickling Seohyun at her sides, causing her to scream in between giggles, begging for him to stop. Soon, she found herself lying down on the mattress once again with Yonghwa on top. He had pinned down her wrists on top of her head and Seohyun was sure that her chance of escape was really low.

“Hm, this position reminds me of this morning.” Yonghwa whispered, his voice low and husky. Seohyun closed her eyes when she felt Yonghwa’s breath tickling her lobes. “I remembered you asking me to kiss you this morning. So, do you still want me to fulfill your wish?”

Seohyun gulped and found herself nodding to his question.

Ignoring her nods, Yonghwa just grinned. “Then say it.”

Seohyun gasped when she opened her eyes to find Yonghwa’s eyes staring back into hers. His lips were just inches away from hers. “K-Kiss me.”

“I can’t hear you.”

“Kiss me!” Seohyun breathed before pushing her lips into his, leaving Yonghwa stunned for a moment.

******

Onew and Hara were on their way to the sports school which had just been built to cater to students who had the abilities to be trained to become sportsmen or sportswomen. Once they were trained fully, they would get a chance to represent Korea in any sports competition. It was their official opening day and both Onew and Hara were sent to do a report about it.

The moment they reached the school, Onew and Hara walked up towards the large space of field which had a few hundreds of stalls being opened up. It looked like a carnival in a glance and this made Hara excited.

“Wow! This is so cool!” Hara exclaimed excitedly as she held onto Onew’s arms tightly.

“You like this?” Onew asked and Hara nodded with a wide smile. “Ahrasso, I’ll bring you to a proper carnival next time.”

“Sinchia?! How about Lotte World? Or Everland Themepark?”

“Hm, how about we go to both?” Onew grinned.

“Both? Oh baby! You’re the best!” Hara leaned up to kiss Onew on the cheek.

“Of course, anything for you baby.” Onew said as he pulled Hara closer to him.

Soon, Onew and Hara found themselves interviewing the school’s dean, Mr Kwon, and a few of the teachers and professional trainers who had been hired to care and train the students in the sports school. While Onew was busy taking charge of the interviewing, Hara decided to take a look around the ‘carnival’. She also thought of interviewing some students whom had been chosen to attend the school

Suddenly, Hara came across a stall which actually gave visitors a chance to play softball. Hara grinned in excitement. She used to play lots of softball when she was in college.

“Excuse me.” Hara called out to a slightly younger boy than her who was standing behind the stand.

“Yes noona?” He replied with a smile.

“Um, is there any chance that I am able to play for a while?” Hara said as she pointed towards the softball game which was currently going behind the stand.

“Yes sure.” The boy replied as he took a glance at Hara’s attire that day. “But noona, your attire doesn’t seem quite appropriare.”

“Oh really? So I can’t play?” Hara pouted.

“Um, give me a moment.” The boy ran over towards a group of girls who were busy doing some warm-up exercises. He talked with them for a while before heading back towards Hara. A girl from the group followed him along with a wide smile.

“Hi! I am Hani!” The girl held out a hand and Hara accepted it with a smile. “I heard from Jungmin that you wanted to try out in the softball game.”

“Ne, I want to. I used to play during college you see.” Hara shrugged.

“No problem unnie. But you need to change first.” Hani told her. “I could borrow you my attire. It seems like we are of the same size.”

“Sinchia? Komawo Hani-ah!” Hara smiled wide before following Hani to the changing room. And within minutes, Hara found herself standing in the field with a bat in her hand. Hara smiled as she tried out a few moves which she remembered doing while she was in college and true enough the students were awed with her skills. Soon, the friendly game started and the students started cheering for their newly found unnie.

***

Once the interview with the teachers and trainers were over, Onew started searching for Hara. He was a little surprised to see Hara gone. He thought that maybe Hara would be around him somewhere but he was mistaken after all.

“Excuse me.” Onew stopped a boy who was holding some bats in his hand. “Do you by any chance see a woman wearing a blue denim skirt with a black shirt walking around in a pair of black heels?”

“Black heels?” The boy frowned before smiling wide. “Ah! Hara noona?”

“Ne?” Onew gaped before composing himself. “Ah, ne! Her name’s Hara! How do you know her?”

“Oh, she came by to out stall just now.” The boy replied. “Anyway, I am Jungmin. And you are?”

“I’m Onew, her boyfriend.” Onew replied, feeling a bit shy to admit he was Hara’s boyfriend.

“Hyung! You’re lucky to have a girlfriend who’s so pretty and cute and at the same time good in sports!” Jungmin said, his tone full of envy.

“Good in sports?” Onew tilted his head, confused. “Um, if you don’t mind, can you please tell me where is she at the moment?”

“Of course hyung! Come follow me!” Jungmin led Onew towards a softball field. He placed the bats he was carrying a moment ago at a corner and pulled Onew towards the seats. Onew followed him quietly, still feeling confused.

“Jungmin-ah!” Onew whispered.

“Ne, hyung?”

“What are we doing here in the stands?”

“You said you wanted to watch Hara noona. So here we are!”

“But, where is she?”

“Oh! She’s…. there!” Jungmin pointed out to the batter who was grasping onto a bat, getting ready to hit the ball.

“Jungmin-ah, I really have no time to watch any game right now.” Onew told him with a sigh.

“I’m serious hyung! That is Hara noona!” Jungmin said. “Just watch! It’s ending soon anyway.”

Onew sighed again and just continued to watch the game. It was not like he did not want to watch the game. He wanted to. He just enjoyed watching any kinds of sports, softball included. But he was feeling worried for Hara at that moment that he thought he was not able to concentrate on the game. He watched as the ball was thrown towards the batter. He held his breath as the batter swung the bat, hitting the ball in the process. The hit was a perfect move and allowed the batter to go for a home-run. Unconsciously, Onew stood up and started cheering for the batter until she finally reached the last base which concluded the end of the match.

“You see hyung, Hara noona is daebak!” Jungmin stood beside him as he clapped his hands.

“What do you mean?”

“I told you already hyung, the batter is Hara noona!”

“You’re kidding.” Onew raised an eyebrow.

“Aigoo! Watch this hyung.” Jungmin turned towards the cheering girls on the field and shouted, “HARA NOONA!”

Onew turned towards the cheering crowd too and to his surprise, he saw Hara waving back at him. She was wearing a uniform similar to the rest of the players and she had just taken off the helmet. Onew held his breath when he saw Hara flipping her long hair back while waving excitedly to him. He was awed. He had never noticed Hara looking so beautiful as she was at that moment.

“Hyung, let’s go down!” Jungmin pulled onto Onew’s arm and led him down to the field.

“Onew-ah!” Hara called out, running towards Onew’s opened arms. Onew embraced Hara tightly as he twirled her around. Hara giggled.

“You played softball?” Onew asked in disbelief when he finally put Hara down.

“Well, I did play softball during my college years.” Hara shrugged.

“Baby, you were awesome!” Onew pulled Hara by her waist and planted a soft kiss on her lips.

“OOOoooooohhhhh!” Hara pulled back from the kiss to see the students which she had made friends with cheering out loud. She blushed and let herself free from Onew’s clutch.

“Yah! Stop teasing!” Hara shouted with a grin.

“Unnie! Is that your boyfriend?”

“Unnie! Introduce him to us!”

“Aigoo! You two look so cute together!”

“Ahrasso, ahrasso! One at a time!” Hara said. Then she turned to pull the smiling Onew by her side. “This is my boyfriend. His name is Onew and I love him very much!”

“Ah sinchia?! Ommo!” The girls started squealing excitedly.

“Hi kids!” Onew held out a hand and waved at the younger girls in front of him. “I’m your Hara unnie’s boyfriend and guess what, I love her very much too!”

Louder squeals were heard from the girls and Hara just blushed in response. Then the girls started chanting softly, till it got louder.

“KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!”

“Hyung, don’t be shy! Just keep the girls happy! Kiss noona!” Jungmin exclaimed.

“Ah sinchia!” Onew grinned before pulling Hara into his embrace once again and kissed her senseless.

And it did silent the crowd of squealing girls.

******

It was lunch time. Tony had promised Joori to take her out to lunch. Finally they entered a restaurant which was famous for it’s barbequed beef. They settled down in their seats before ordering their desired lunch set meals.

“I wonder if Yonghwa had eaten his lunch already.” Tony sighed as he placed his chin in his hands.

“Don’t worry oppa, Seohyun will take good care of him.” Joori told him calmly.

“Hm, I can’t help but be worried for him.”

“I understand oppa. But Seohyun is a health freak. She’ll make sure Yonghwa eats well and remain healthy after this.”

Tony smiled as he gazed into Joori’s face. “Joori-yah, you wait here for a while. I need to go get something.”

“Huh? Get what oppa?” Joori asked, tilting her head.

“Just wait for me, ahrasso?” Tony stood up with a grin. Joori just nodded her head and watched as Tony ran out of the restaurant.

***

Tony rushed out of the restaurant and ran along the streets towards a flower shop he had seen earlier. He entered the shop and looked around for a moment. He knew what to get the moment his eyes landed on the roses.

“Excuse me, I need to get some roses for my girlfriend.” Tony called out to the florist who was standing behind the counter.

“Ne.” The florist gave a bright smile. “How many roses do you need?”

“Um, I am not sure. What do you suggest?”

“Hm, how long have you been with her?”

“Actually we’ve known each other a long time ago. But there were some misunderstandings and I broke her heart.” Tony said, feeling a bit embarrassed. “But now, I found her again, she willingly accepted me back into her life. But I know, she’s a bit cautious of me this time. She is afraid that I may leave her again. So, I want to give something as a symbol to let her know of my sincerity.”

“Ah! I understand.” The florist nodded. “Hm, I suggest you get twenty red roses for her. It gives a meaning, ‘Believe me, I am sincere towards you.’”

“Ah! It sounds good!” Tony smiled.

“Ne, I will have them wrapped in a bouquet nicely for you.” The florist said.

“Gamsahamnida.” Tony grinned before calling the florist back again. “Excuse me, how many roses do I need to get for the symbol, ‘I will love you for as long as I live’?”

“Ah, that you need quite a few more.” The florist said with an even brighter smile. “You really love her don’t you?”

Tony blushed. “With all my heart.”

***

Joori started to feel bored after a few minutes of waiting. She had no idea where Tony went and she was getting a bit angry with him for leaving her in the restaurant all alone. The food they ordered finally arrived and Joori started to eat without waiting for Tony.

“Aish! He left me to eat lunch alone!” Joori grumbled as she scooped the rice into her mouth.

A few minutes later, Joori heard a commotion coming from the restaurant’s entrance. Joori frowned as she tried to see what the commotion was all about but her view was blocked by a few passer-bys. Joori shrugged as she continued to eat her lunch.

“Kim Joori, saranghae.”

Joori frowned. Did she hear it right? It was her name that was mentioned. Joori looked up and turned around. She gasped when she saw three cute young girls around the age of three to five years old walking towards her and handed her bouquets of roses. Joori was stunned. She really had no idea why she was receiving bouquets of roses in a barbequed beef restaurant.

Finally she saw Tony coming in with a huge smile. He was also holding onto a small bouquet of roses and this made Joori tear up. She really had not expected for this to happen. It was really a huge surprise for her.

“Joori-yah, if you noticed, the bouquets you received earlier symbolize my love for you.” Tony started saying as he kneeled down in front of her. He slowly took hold of the bouquets of roses she held in her hands and placed them on the chair next to him. Then he held one bouquet out towards her. “This bouquet has twenty roses, symbolizing, ‘Believe me, I am sincere towards you’.”

Tony handed Joori the bouquet which she gladly accepted. Then he held out another bouquet. “This bouquet has thirty-six roses, symbolizing, ‘I will always remember our romantic moments, now, then and forever.’.”

Again Tony handed her the roses. Then he held out another bouquet. “This bouquet has forty roses, symbolizing, ‘My love for you is genuine’. Please don’t ever doubt my love for you.”

Joori accepted the roses and hugged all three bouquets tightly. Then Tony handed her the last bouquet. The first three bouquets were quite huge but this last one was a little too small. “I don’t want it, it’s too small.” Joori grinned.

“Yah! Even though it’s small, it’s the most important one.” Tony told her.

“Ah sinchia?”

“There’s three roses here.”

“And what does that mean?” Joori asked with amusement in her eyes.

“It gives out a great meaning actually.” Tony said with a blush. “I love you.”

Tony pushed the small bouquet into her embrace as well. “Oppa…” Joori cooed as she eyed the roses she had just received.

“All these roses here, there are ninety-nine of them, symbolizing; ‘I will love you forever for as long as I live.’.”

“Oppa! I love you too.” Joori said with a wide smile.

“I know.” Tony nodded.

******

Lunch time finally arrived and Jieun soon found herself seated down on a wooden bench facing Wooyoung. He had this troubled look on his face and kept fidgeting with his fingers. Jieun tried to read his eyes but his confused expression was not helping at all.

“Oppa, why are you suddenly quiet?” Jieun asked as she continued eyeing Wooyoung.

“Ah ne? Do you want some sandwiches?” Wooyoung asked as he placed a bag of sandwiches on the table in front of them.

“Thanks.” Jieun mumbled before going through the plastic bag to see what sandwiches were there.

“Let’s eat first shall we?” Wooyoung suggested and Jieun agreed.

The two of them started eating the sandwiches Wooyoung had bought. Jieun was eating while at the same time reading her science notes which was sprawled out on the table. Wooyoung on the other hand suddenly lost his appetite. He kept on stealing glances at Jieun who seemed oblivious about it.

“Jieun-ah, I actually have something to tell you.” Wooyoung said.

Jieun looked up from her notes and smiled. “Ne oppa. What is it?”

Wooyoung gulped as he gathered all the courage he had within him. “Jieun-ah, I think I am falling in love with you.”

Jieun dropped her sandwich on the table while staring at Wooyoung in disbelief.