Chapter 9 - Maybe I'm In Love With You...

“What do you think?” Tony asked the moment he noticed the coast was clear. Onew and Yonghwa were already off to work whereas Wooyoung had retreated upstairs to take a shower. That just left the two of them, Tony and Joori, cuddled up on the living room sofa.

“What do you think I should think about?” Joori asked in reply, a small smile playing on her lips.

“Well yeah, my dongsaengs misunderstood things between us. Are you going to just let it go like that?” Tony raised an eyebrow.

“Um, I should, I guess.” Joori shrugged.

“So you mean you’re not going to correct them? Tell them it’s not what they thought it was?”

“Oppa, we already told them that earlier. But they just don’t believe it. So what can we do?” Joori sighed as she reasoned out with Tony.

“Aigoo. You’re right.” Tony nodded.

“Let them think whatever they want to think. We both know the truth. It’s okay.” Joori smiled as she gave Tony a swift kiss on the lips before telling him that she needed to get home soon to get ready for work. They promised to meet up in an hour so they were able to get to work together.

******

Jieun groaned as she yet again had to witness the commotion outside the science lab. It seemed that the famous science laboratory assistant oppa had finally appeared again. Her best friend, Soonkyu had practically dragged her out of the lab to get a closer look at him. Jieun unwillingly followed her best friend.

The scene before them was unexplainable. The crowd in front of them were going crazy. Jieun felt her hand being pulled hard by Soonkyu who was trying her best to get them to the front of the crowd.

“Soonkyu-ah!” Jieun called out. “Is it really necessary for me to see the science lab oppa?”

“Aish! Of course it is!” Soonkyu shouted above the noise. “This is now or never!”

“But I have better things to do.” Jieun groaned.

“Sinchia! Just for a minute or two!” Soonkyu grinned.

Finally, after much pushing and shoveling, Jieun and Soonkyu reached the front. But the scene which met their eyes was kind of shocking in a way which made Soonkyu started sobbing. Jieun looked at the scene in front of her before looking back at her friend, then back to the scene again. It showed the back view of a guy being pulled up by his collar into a kiss by a girl who was also a student there at Yonsei University. Jieun gaped.

“So the science lab oppa is a pervert?” Jieun asked Soonkyu in a hushed whisper causing Soonkyu to glare at her. Jieun shrugged. “I was just asking.”

Before anyone had the chance to say anything, another scene broke out. The girl whom had pulled the science lab oppa into a kiss was pushed away roughly by the said guy. She had a shocked expression on her face and so did everyone else.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” The science lab oppa asked. Jieun just continued watching his back. She still had no chance in looking at his face. “Don’t you have any self-respect for yourself?”

Jieun craned her neck to peek at his face when suddenly he made a turn causing Jieun to gasp out loud. She could not believe she was standing right in front of Wooyoung, her neighbour and her mysterious friend!

***

Wooyoung gulped. He truly did not expect to see her there. He groaned inwardly when he realized that she must have seen him being kissed earlier by some random girl. He thought fast of what he should be doing. And so, he decided to ignore her. He decided to pretend that he did not see her at all. He decided to walk away from her.

And that was exactly what he did.

***

Jieun turned to see him walking away. She bit her lips before shrugging. Perhaps he did not notice her presence she thought.

“She kissed him forcefully.” Soonkyu continued saying like as if it was some sort of a mantra. Jieun grinned before shaking her head. She was not sure what to say to her friend.

“So who’s that girl anyway?” Jieun asked Soonkyu the moment the crowd dispersed.

“She’s Kim Minsoo, our senior. She’s just a bitch!” Soonkyu pouted.

“How can you call someone a bitch so easily. That’s not so nice to hear you know.” Jieun said.

“Well, she is. She forced herself on our oppa!” Soonkyu shrugged before heading on back into the science lab, leaving Jieun behind, clueless as ever.

That afternoon, Jieun was the last one to stay in the science lab to finish some practical assignments. When she was done with her tasks, she packed her things, switched off the lights and headed out. To exit the science faculty, she had to pass a few other science labs. So as she was walking in a bit of a rush, suddenly she heard voices coming from one of the labs. Jieun decided to take a peek, thinking that some students might be like her, staying late doing assignments.

“You humiliated me earlier.” Jieun heard a girl’s voice saying. “So now you are going to pay for it.”

“Why must I pay for it when it was totally your own fault!” A man’s voice was heard.

Jieun finally found a small glass window which allowed her to see inside the dark science lab. To her horror, she saw Wooyoung and the girl who had kissed him earlier, Minsoo, in the lab. Minsoo was approaching Wooyoung in a seductive walk causing Wooyoung to take a few steps back. Just then, Minsoo started to unbutton her top before messing up her neatly tied hair. Then she pulled hard on her sleeves until the material was torn. Jieun gaped. She was not sure what Minsoo was trying to pull off here.

“Are you crazy? What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Wooyoung asked angrily.

“You are surely going to pay for this!” Minsoo shouted before pulling Wooyoung towards her until they both landed on a table. Jieun gasped, not sure of what she should do.

“HELP! HELP ME!” Minsoo started screaming. “HE”S RAPING ME!”

Just then, a group of students and a few professors entered the science lab from the back door. The professors quickly ran towards Wooyoung to hold him back, whereas some female students went towards Minsoo to comfort her.

“I can’t believe that you are taking advantage of the female students here Mr Jang!” Mr Lee, one of the professors shouted.

“Listen Mr Lee, it’s a set-up! I was not raping her! She planned this!” Wooyoung started saying. His voice panicked.

“Enough Mr Jang! I don’t want to hear anymore! We’ll be sending you straight to the police station!” Mr Lee continued his voice full of rage.

“No!” Jieun suddenly entered the science lab. She was looking straight at Wooyoung, before turning her attention towards Mr Lee. “He did not rape her! I saw everything that happened in this science lab sir!”
“Miss Lee? What are you saying?” Mr Lee frowned.

“Whatever Mr Jang had said is the truth.” Jieun nodded her head. Then she pointed towards Minsoo who had stopped crying totally. “She was the one who planned this. I saw her messing up her hair, unbuttoning her own clothes and she even tore her own sleeves! She wanted to get back at Mr Jang for embarrassing her this afternoon.”

“Embarassing her? What do you mean?”

“She forced herself onto Mr Jang and kissed him. But Mr Jang pushed her away in front of a large crowd, that’s why she was feeling embarrassed and she wanted revenge.” Jieun explained.

“And you were there on both incidents?”

“Yes sir, I was.” Jieun said. “Please sir, Mr Jang is innocent.”

“Is this the truth Miss Kim?” Mr Lee directed a question towards Minsoo with a low growl.

Minsoo looked up towards the professor and Jieun. She had tears in her eyes and she was shivering slightly. “I-I just wanted to teach him a lesson. I-I never intended to do this.” Minsoo finally confessed before crying hard.

“Okay, I understand now.” Mr Lee nodded his head. “Miss Kim, please follow me to the office. You have some explanation to do, together with your parents. And Mr Jang, you are free to continue with your work. But I will still need to see you later about this matter. Miss Lee, thank you for your cooperation. And I need you to be my witness on this case.”

“Are you going to report me to the police sir?” Minsoo asked timidly.

“We’ll see. If Mr Jang decided to sue you, then I’m afraid you’ll be heading to court soon.” Mr Lee shrugged. “But if he decided to drop this case, then I guess it’ll be better for you. But remember Miss Kim, he does have an eye witness here.”

Minsoo nodded her head before she was led out by the professors towards the general office. Jieun sighed. She was not able to imagine Minsoo’s future if Wooyoung really decided to sue her. Jieun shrugged before she decided to head out of the science lab as well. But at her third step, suddenly she felt her hand being pulled back, causing her to turn around to face Wooyoung. Before she realized what he was doing, Jieun found herself wrapped comfortably in Wooyoung’s embrace. She felt herself stiffened.

“Jieun-ah, thank you so much.” Wooyoung said softly. “I could not imagine my fate if you weren’t around to witness the scene earlier.”

Jieun smiled. “Ani, it was my responsibility. Anyway, you were innocent. I can’t just let the girl frame you. So you’re the famous science lab oppa that all the girls were talking about!”

“Ne, I guess I’m the one.”

“Fancy you lying to me.” Jieun shook her head as she chuckled slightly.

“I thought you were one of the fan girls.” Wooyoung explained. “And I was actually surprised that you weren’t one of them.”

“Eyy! I have no time to be a fan of any guys right now.” Jieun laughed.

“Ah sinchia? Okay, I believe you.” Wooyoung grinned.

“Um, are you alright?” Jieun suddenly changed the topic when she realized that she was still in Wooyoung’s embrace. She bit her lips whereas Wooyoung just nodded at her question.

“Komawo Jieun-ah, sinchia komawo.” Wooyoung whispered softly causing Jieun to close her eyes. She could feel Wooyoung’s warm breath on her forehead. Then before she knew it, she felt his lips pressed down on the crown of her head. Jieun gasped and pulled herself back.

“Um, I-I need to go off now.” Jieun said quickly. “I-I’ll see you around.”

Before Wooyoung was able to stop her for the second time, she started running. She needed to get away from him for a while.

***

Wooyoung groaned. What was he thinking to kiss her on the head? And now she just pulled herself away from him. How could he fix this?

******

The moment Onew and Hara reached the parking lot to their office, they quickly walked towards Onew’s car which was still stranded in the office parking lot. He decided to inspect the tyres of his car properly. But to his surprise, the four wheels of his car looked perfectly fine as if it had never been punctured the day before.

“Whoa! What is this?” Onew exclaimed as he touched the four tyres. “They’re good as new!”

“I guess your mechanic came by to change them?” Hara implied.

“Couldn’t be. I called them up yesterday but he said he could only come this afternoon.” Onew told her.

“Ah, sinchia?” Hara feigned surprised. Of course she would know who had taken all the time to change the four tyres for him.

“Ah, who cares! Come on. We’re going to be late!” Onew grinned as he pulled Hara’s hand and led her towards the lift.

Work had never been so fun for Onew, especially with Hara around. Once in a while whenever he suddenly felt bored, he would turn his chair around to look at Hara and observed her without her knowing. He would lean back against his chair with his arms folded and just watch. He was fascinated with the way Hara held her pen in between her fingers and ferociously scribbling down notes in her journal. He was awed with the way Hara frowned while she was reading an article from the computer screen. He was deeply mesmerized to see Hara pouting on and off while she was busy rearranging the article which she was doing. In short, everything that Hara did just made his heart beat faster unknowingly.

“Hey! What are you doing staring at me like that?” Hara asked as she gave a chuckle.

Onew sat up quickly, fully aware that he was caught. “A-Ani. I-I was just admiring.”
Argh! Wrong word Onew!

“Admiring? Admiring who? Me?” Hara grinned as a blush slowly crept up her cheeks.

“No, no, I mean the article.” Onew said quickly. Pabo!

“Oh? Okay. But I’m not done yet with this article.” Hara tilted her head and frowned.

“Ah, nevermind with that!” Onew said as he looked at his watch. “Aigoo! It’s already lunch time. Shall we go and eat first?”

Hara checked her watch and nodded. “Ahrasso.”

“Come, I’ll bring you to my favourite restaurant just across the street! They serve the best bulgogi you could ever taste!” Onew exclaimed as he held onto Hara’s hand and dragged her out of the office. Unknown to him, all of their colleagues were looking at the two of them with shocked expressions. However, Hara did notice it but she just continued to look down and avoided all eye contacts.

As they entered the lift, Hara was suddenly greeted by Lee Joon who actually jumped towards her to give her a hug. Hara was dumbfounded. Lee Joon’s hug was surprising enough for her but because of that hug, Onew had suddenly released his grip on her hand and that made her felt a bit guilty and worried.

“Hara! What the hell happen to you?!” Lee Joon exclaimed in shock.

“Um, what?” Hara asked, confused.

“This!” Lee Joon pointed out to her clothes.

“Well, this is much more comfortable.” Hara shrugged. She stole a glance at Onew who was now standing a bit further away from her and Lee Joon. Hara sighed. She did not want Onew to think differently about Lee Joon and his hug. So she pulled Onew by his sleeves towards her. “Joonie, this is my partner, Onew. Onew, this is Lee Joon, my ex-partner in my old department.”

“Onew.” Onew raised his hand towards Lee Joon for a handshake. His face was serious and that made Hara even more worried.

“Ommo! You’re the famous Onew in the sports department!” Lee Joon squealed. “Aigoo! You are just like what I imagine! CUTE!” Lee Joon jumped forward and hugged Onew just like he had done towards Hara earlier.

Onew gasped. He did not expect the hug at all. He looked towards Hara with a confused yet scared expression. Hara just grinned and tried her best to hold her laughter in.

“Joonie-ah, you’re scaring my partner you know that?” Hara said as she shook her head.

Lee Joon finally let go of Onew and backed away from him. “I’m sorry. I just can’t control myself. Especially with guys as good-looking as you!” Lee Joon said causing Hara to laugh out loud this time.

“I-I’m speechless.” Onew voiced out as he unconsciously held onto Hara’s hand. This caught Lee Joon’s attention and he grinned.

“Are you two dating?” Lee Joon asked slyly.

“Ah wae? What made you say that?” Hara frowned.

“Just look at you two!” Lee Joon clasped his hand together and sighed. “You two make a very cute couple!”

Then both Hara and Onew realized their linked hands and they quickly let go. Suddenly the lift felt a bit warm for the two of them. When they reached the ground level, Lee Joon bid them goodbye and headed off for lunch on his own. Onew had invited Lee Joon to join him and Hara for lunch out of courtesy but Lee Joon had politely declined.

“I don’t want to disturb you lovebirds!” Lee Joon had said earlier causing Hara and Onew to blush unknowingly.

The minute Lee Joon left, Onew inhaled a deep breath and turned to look at Hara. “Your friend, what is he actually?”

“Why? Are you scared of him?” Hara asked with a smirk.

“When I saw him hugging you at first, I thought that maybe he was your boyfriend.” Onew said as he ran a hand through his messy hair.

“Oh really? Were you jealous or something?” Hara inquired.

“Well, yeah! No, I mean no! Of course I wasn’t.” Onew cringed. He could not believe he had stumbled on his words.

“Oh okay.” Hara shrugged. They continued their walk towards the streets in silence. “But he does like men though.” Hara whispered with a grin. “Especially men like you, who are single and available!”

Onew turned towards Hara in horror. “But I don’t like men! I’m straight!”

“Oh really?” Hara raised an eyebrow. She decided to tease Onew further. “But there’s this rumor which is going around the office about you well, not being straight, you know.”

“But I am straight! I’m a straight guy and always will be. I like girls, women, ladies, females, whatever it is!” Onew exclaimed, trying his best to make Hara believed in him.

“Oh yeah? Then prove it!” Hara stared hard at Onew with a poker face. She was trying her best not to laugh. She just enjoyed teasing the man in front of her.

“Okay, I will!” Onew said firmly and before Hara was able to digest what he was saying, suddenly she felt Onew’s lips pressed firmly against hers. Hara gasped, her eyes widened before slowly closing them as his kiss deepened. The softness of his lips, the way he moved his lips against hers, it made Hara sighed sensuously. Then before she knew it, Onew had released her from the kiss and his embrace, causing Hara to stumble for a moment or two.

“Does that prove you enough?” Onew asked with a smirk before heading towards the restaurant, leaving a shocked Hara behind. Aish! He’s such a teaser!

******

Seohyun waited patiently at the entrance of her office building. Yonghwa had promised to fetch her and then they were going for dinner before heading home. Seohyun smiled the moment she saw his car arriving. She entered the car and greeted him enthusiastically. Yonghwa grinned before continued his drive towards the restaurant where he had already made a reservation.
The moment Yonghwa and Seohyun arrived at the restaurant, they were led by a waiter to their designated table. Both of them settled down in their seats before they made their orders.

“How was your day today?” Yonghwa asked Seohyun who was smiling shyly.

“Well, I have good news to share with you.” Seohyun told him.

“Ah sinchia? What is it?”

“Well, my boss gave me the opportunity to write a story!” Seohyun grinned.

“Wow! You’re writing a book?”

“Ani. Our company is going to produce a book with compilation of short stories.” Seohyun explained. “So my boss thought I should try submitting a short story and if my story’s good, then it could be part of the book itself.”

“Ah, I see. That’s not bad for a start.” Yonghwa nodded with encouragement. Seohyun beamed. She really enjoy talking about her hobbies with Yonghwa. He seemed to understand most of her needs.

“What about you? How’s your day?” Seohyun asked.

“It’s the exam period now. So I’m a bit busy with invigilating and also doing some revision with my students.” Yonghwa said as he took a sip of his drink.

“Hm, I remember the time when I was a student myself.” Seohyun said. “During exams, I rarely spend time at home. Most of the time, I’ll be in the library studying.”

“If you really want to pass, then studying is the best step to take.” Yonghwa nodded in agreement.

“Talking about exams and studying, it just reminded me of Jieun.” Seohyun sighed.

“Jieun? Is it the girl who was with you the other day?”

“Yes, she’s the one.” Seohyun nodded.

“Why? What’s wrong with her?”

“She is always coming home late. I’m worried about her.”

“Is she the type to wander around places late at night?” Yonghwa asked.

“Ani! She is just busy studying and she would always forget about the time.” Seohyun informed.

“Ah! She’s the one studying at Yonsei University! Yonsei is quite near to our neighbourhood. You should not worry Joohyun-ah.” Yonghwa tried to cheer his girlfriend up. “If she comes home late again, I’ll ask Wooyoung to see her home. He also loves his science lab very much and he would always come home late at night.”

“Yes, Jieun told me that previously Wooyoung actually sent her home safely before going back himself. I fee a bit self-assured to know she would be safe.” Seohyun smiled, causing Yonghwa to smile in return.

Soon, their dinner orders arrived at the table. Both Seohyun and Yonghwa started eating their meals. They had small conversations throughout the meal and they would always find interesting things to talk about. From books all the way to music. They shared the same interest and that made them even more comfortable with each other.

After dinner, Yonghwa suggested that they take a walk along Han River to enjoy the night breeze. Seohyun totally agreed with the idea.

“Seo Joohyun-ah?” Yonghwa called out, turning sideways to look at Seohyun’s face.

Seohyun smiled, as she turned to face him as well. “Ne?”

“What do you think about me?” Yonghwa asked.

“Aigoo! Why are you asking all these?” Seohyun pouted. She suddenly felt embarrassed by the question.

“Please, I just want to know.” Yonghwa said. “We’ve only met each other a few times, but I just felt we have a strong chemistry. I don’t want you to think that our relationship is in a hurry.”

“Ani oppa. I never felt that way before.” Seohyun started. “The moment I met you under the oak tree at the park, I just felt that we have something in common. Surprisingly, I did not feel the awkwardness when we started a conversation. In fact, I felt so right.”

“And when you found out that I was your secret admirer, weren’t you freaked out?”

“Hm, surprisingly, I was not freaked out. I was actually feeling quite content. Seriously speaking, I am glad that it is you.” Seohyun chuckled shyly. “Because, the moment I read the letter you gave me, I was actually falling for the writer. And I am just glad that you were the one who gave me the letter. I am really thankful oppa.”

Yonghwa beamed. “So it’s quite fortunate that I send you that letter?”

“Indeed oppa. Luckily it is you.” Seohyun smiled.

“You want to know something?” Yonghwa asked and Seohyun just nodded. “My friend Onew actually dared me to confess to you this coming Saturday when you did your normal weekend jog.”

“Ah sinchia?” Seohyun eyed Yonghwa in shock. “Then how come I received the letter earlier?”

“Before confessing to you, I thought of giving you hints first so that you won’t be too surprised when I confessed to you on Saturday.” Yonghwa said. “But fate just wanted us to meet a bit earlier that I planned to. And so suddenly we just met at the park on Monday instead. Isn’t it a bit funny how these things work?”

“I agree with you oppa.” Seohyun grinned. “And I’m glad we met earlier because I don’t know if I could wait until Saturday to know who my secret admirer is.”

“And I’m glad to meet you earlier too.” Yonghwa whispered as he leaned closer towards Seohyun and placed his lips gently on hers. Seohyun sighed as she surrendered herself into the kiss, with the night breeze tenderly blowing against their skins.

The night was still young.