Hara sighed as she looked over at Onew who was engrossed in reading some materials he found on his table. Ever since they got back from lunch earlier, Onew had acted indifferently towards her. She on the other hand was feeling a bit flushed as she kept remembering their kiss from before. She had thought of just teasing him about his ‘straight’ personality but never did she expect that her plan to backfire. Hara shook her head and tried her best to keep Onew and the kiss out of her mind.
Hara continued to do up her sports column and managed to occupy her mind with work. She busied herself with learning more about the different types of sports that she was supposed to be aware off. She did not want Onew to see her only as a pretty face but a genius in sports as well. Hara smiled. She would work hard to make Onew notice and appreciate her credibility.
Hours passed, but there was still no conversation between the two. Hara stretched her arms and released the tension from her neck by closing her eyes and leaning back against her chair. Then she opened her eyes and almost choked herself in fright when she saw an upside-down Onew looking down at her with a grin.
“Yah! What are you doing scaring me like that?” Hara quickly sat up and twirled her chair around to look at Onew. He was still having that grin plastered across his handsome face. Hara scowled.
“Just seeing if you need my help on anything.” Onew shrugged.
“I’m able to cope for now so thank you.” Hara replied looking away. She found it hard to look at Onew suddenly. She realized she was feeling a bit afraid to know more about the guy in front of her.
“It’s already eleven o’clock. Do you plan to stay here till tomorrow morning?” Onew asked as he folded his arms.
Hara gasped and quickly took a glance at her watch. “Ommo! I didn’t realize that it is so late already!”
“Well, you were kind of busy ignoring me most of the time.” Onew shrugged, smirking.
“A-Ani, I was just b-busy.” Hara said, looking down.
“So how? Do you want to leave now?” Onew asked.
“Ah, ne.” Hara nodded as she shut down the computer behind her. Then she rearranged the stacks of files and papers neatly on her table before turning back to look at Onew, who was leaning against his table. Hara saw that he was done with clearing his table.
“So shall we go?” Onew raised an eyebrow.
“Um, I need to go to the washroom first.” Hara told him and quickly moved out of the office and headed towards the washroom.
The moment Hara entered the washroom, she quickly inhaled a deep breath. She was not sure why she was suddenly feeling very nervous to be facing Onew. Of course she still remembered the innocent kiss they had shared earlier, but she was sure that it meant nothing much right? Hara shook her head and looked at herself in front of the mirror. She decided to let her hair down and took off her spectacles before putting on her contact lenses. Then she re-applied her makeup to make herself look a bit more awake and fresh after a hard day of work.
Feeling satisfied with her look, she finally exited the toilet to see Onew standing against the wall with one of his hands buried in his jeans pocket. He had taken off his blazer and had it hung loosely on his finger on the other hand, over his shoulder. Hara thought she had never seen a man so charismatic like how Onew looked like at that moment. Hara bit her lips. What is this I’m feeling right now?
“Hey! You ready?” Onew asked causing Hara to gulp continuously.
“Um yeah!” Hara nodded before walking straight towards the lift. She felt Onew walking in step beside her.
They entered the lift and Hara found herself standing in front of Onew. The atmosphere was getting weird and too quiet for Hara’s liking. Hara shifted her weight on her feet nervously.
“Your hair,” Onew suddenly murmured causing Hara to stiffen, “it smells of honeydew.”
“H-H-Honeydew?” Hara stammered.
“I love it.” Onew continued in his soft, husky tone. Hara shivered when she felt warm air blowing near her left ear. “Honeydew’s my favourite.”
Hara gasped. She could feel Onew’s lips being so close to her ear. She closed her eyes as she waited for something to happen. Something like another kiss perhaps?
***
Onew felt himself leaning closer towards the girl in front of him. The way her hair cascade down her back really intrigued him. As he got closer, he caught that familiar scent of honeydew which he was so fond of. Without able to hold himself back, Onew found himself inhaling those black tresses.
“Your hair, it smells of honeydew.” Onew let out a murmur which he thought was too soft to be heard.
“H-H-Honewdew?” Onew heard her stammer and he just grinned, glad that she heard him clearly.
“I love it.” He continued to tease. “Honeydew’s my favourite.”
Then suddenly the lift door opened, leading them to the basement carpark. Onew noticed Hara continued to stand without moving an inch. She must be shocked! Onew thought with a grin.
“Let’s go!” Onew said walking around her and at the same time, attaching his hand onto hers and pulled her with him. “I’ll ride with you tonight.”
“Ride with me? Then your car?” Hara asked, confused.
“I told my housemate to fetch my car home. So, I could spend more time with you.” Onew smiled, squeezing Hara’s hand gently. Hara blushed at his statement.
“Then you drive.” Hara finally found the courage to speak as she held out her car keys towards Onew.
“Ahrasso. I’m the guy anyway. I should lead right?”
Hara laughed nervously. “I guess.”
“That’s what ‘straight’ guys do. They lead.” Onew winked at Hara before entering the car.
“Aish! Sinchia!” Hara grinned as she entered her car as well.
“Hm, shall we have a late dinner first?” Onew asked her as he adjusted the rear view mirror.
“Sounds great!” Hara smiled.
“I think it is.” Onew whispered, suddenly grasping Hara’s face and crashed his lips against hers. Onew was addicted, addicted to that perfectly small lips which belonged only to this girl named Hara. It seemed as if he could not get enough of her lips especially since Hara was also responding to the kiss. Onew was overjoyed as he continued to pry her lips opened with his tongue and she obliged. He could feel her hands on his chest, slightly pulling onto the material of his shirt. Onew moaned inwardly before forcing himself to pull away slowly.
The sight of Hara’s flushed face and swollen lips made Onew beamed with pride. Finally he had made his mark on the girl. He grinned.
“Be mine.” Onew whispered, breathing in the scent of honeydew which was uniquely Hara.
Hara looked up shyly, staring into the pair of eyes which had attracted her since the first day she stepped into the sports department. “I’ll be glad too.” She whispered in reply and soon she found herself in his embrace, enjoying his warmth, his love. Just him and her; until the sound of Hara’s phone ringing made them jumped apart.
******
Yonghwa and Seohyun continued their walk along Han River with linked hands. They enjoyed each other's company and they really believed that they had made a wonderful relationship. Seohyun sighed as she felt Yonghwa squeezing her hand lightly.
"Why?" Yonghwa asked, smiling.
"Aniyo." Seohyun shook her head shyly.
"Shall we get home then?" Yonghwa suggested.
"Ne, let's go." Seohyun nodded and soon she found herself walking in step beside Yonghwa, heading towards the car. Seohyun shivered slightly as she thought of the kiss which they had shared earlier. Even though it was short, Seohyun was satisfied!
"Are you cold?" Yonghwa asked, looking slightly worried. Then he quickly let go of Seohyun's hands before taking off his coat and placing it over Seohyun's shoulders.
"Oppa, there's no need to." Seohyun started to protest but Yonghwa was quick enough to silent her with a peck on her lips. Seohyun blushed.
"Don't worry okay. I'm fine. You're more important right now." Yonghwa whispered causing Seohyun to blush an even deeper red. Yonghwa chuckled before putting an arm around Seohyun's waist and made their way towards the car.
***
“Would you like to come in for a while?” Seohyun asked the moment Yonghwa had parked his car outside her rented house.
“Won’t Joori noona mind?” Yonghwa asked a bit uncertainly.
“Aniyo. We’ll just have a drink, she won’t mind.” Seohyun smiled, pulling onto Yonghwa’s hand gently.
“Ahrasso.” Yonghwa agreed and followed Seohyun into the house.
The house was dark. No one was home yet Seohyun noticed. She turned on the lights and gestured Yonghwa to make himself comfortable in the living room while she headed upstairs to her room to keep her things.
“It looks more or less the same like hyung’s house.” Yonghwa said out loud so Seohyun will be able to hear.
“Ah, sinchia?” Seohyun smiled as she headed down the stairs. “But we do not have a balcony though. If not I would already be stalking a few guys myself from there.”
“Eyy! You’re such a teaser aren’t you?” Yonghwa grinned before plopping himself onto the sofa. Seohyun laughed as she entered the kitchen to make some drinks for the both of them.
“It’s my first time being in a girls’ house.” Yonghwa started saying when Seohyun came out from the kitchen, carrying a tray filled with hot tea and a few containers of crackers and biscuits.
“Well, it’s the first time I invited a guy over to the house I’m living in.” Seohyun shrugged.
“Um, shall we do something?” Yonghwa asked as he pulled Seohyun down on the seat beside him. She snuggled closer to him, feeling a bit shy as Yonghwa placed his arm around her shoulder.
“Do you want to watch a movie?”
“Um, sure.” Yonghwa nodded. Seohyun immediately jumped up from the seat and went over towards the DVD rack and selected a random Korean movie to watch. She settled on the movie, ‘Castaway On the Moon’ which was heavily recommended by Hara to watch. The movie started playing and Seohyun was soon seated by Yonghwa’s side once again.
******
Tony and Joori walked up road in silence, hands intertwined. They had just got back from a late dinner in downtown Seoul before finally heading back home. Both of them looked content as they held each other’s hands tighter. It was definitely a wonderful sight especially since they used to have a rough ending to their relationship previously.
“I miss this.” Tony said suddenly, attracting Joori’s attention.
“Miss what?”
“This, us holding hands and walking through the busy streets in LA.” Tony said grinning.
“Hm…” Joori replied with an uncertain smile.
“I’m sorry.” Tony whispered.
“Sorry?”
“I’m sorry for what happened between us previously.” Tony said as he looked down. “I was stupid.”
Joori chuckled before smiling. “Aish oppa! Let it go already. I’ve put them behind me.”
“I still can’t believe I’m lucky enough to meet you here, in Seoul.” Tony pulled Joori’s hand towards his lips and planted a kiss there. Joori blushed. “I won’t ever let you go. Never.”
“I just have one wish, that I hope that you will fulfill.” Joori said as she pulled onto Tony’s hand until both of them stopped in the middle of the empty road.
“What is it love?”
Joori sighed when she felt the tears threatening to come out. “Please don’t ever leave me again. I don’t know if I would be strong enough to go through the hurt for the second time.”
“Joori, please, I will promise you anything! And I’ll sure to keep my promise on never to leave you ever again!” Tony said before pulling Joori into his embrace. “I love you. I love you since forever!”
“Oppa, I believe you.” Joori smiled into his embrace.
***
“What’s Yonghwa’s car doing here?” Tony asked as he eyed the car which was parked in front of his girlfriend’s house.
“That’s Yonghwa’s car?” Joori asked as she opened the gate to enter her house.
“Ne. I’m sure of it.”
“Hm, maybe he’s inside with Seohyun?” Joori grinned. “The lights are on. I’m sure someone’s home already.”
“Shall we surprise them?” Tony wiggled his eyebrows causing Joori to chuckle.
“Sounds like a plan!”
***
Seohyun was getting a little too comfortable. She was leaning against Yonghwa’s chest and was trying her best to concentrate on watching the movie. However, she found it a bit hard to do so as she could feel his warm breath on the top of her head. Seohyun looked up to see if Yonghwa was having the same feeling as her but to her disappointment, he was too engrossed with the movie to notice anything.
Seohyun pouted before giving a long sigh. Then suddenly, she felt Yonghwa stiffened. Seohyun grinned, thinking that maybe Yonghwa finally noticed the sweet tension she had within her.
“What’s that sound?” Yonghwa asked as he pushed Seohyun to sit up properly on the sofa. Seohyun gritted her teeth but quickly calmed herself down and turned to Yonghwa whose face was in full alert mode.
“Sound? I don’t hear anything.” Seohyun said, shrugging.
“Listen!” Yonghwa said again. Then he grabbed the remote control and lowered down the television’s volume.
“Oppa, seriously, there’s nothing!’ Seohyun insisted but Yonghwa was quick to shush her up.
“I think there’s someone outside.” Yonghwa said as he pointed towards the door. Seohyun suddenly felt alarmed when she heard the sounds of quick footsteps just outside the door.
“Oppa!” Seohyun whispered in panic, pulling Yonghwa close to her.
“Don’t worry Joohyun-ah, I’m here okay.” Yonghwa said as he held Seohyun’s hands tightly.
“Should we grab something to protect ourselves with?” Seohyun asked in a hushed whisper.
“Um, what do you have inside the house?”
“W-We do have baseball bats in the kitchen.” Seohyun informed him.
“Baseball bats? What the hell are the baseball bats for?” Yonghwa asked in shock.
“Well, my housemate Hara was quite active in softball during her college years.” Seohyun shrugged.
“Ah sinchia? Onew tells me different things about her!”
“Onew’s my friend and housemate.” Yonghwa said, still in a whisper. “And I think he and Hara are dating!”
“Dating? How come Hara never tells me about it?” Seohyun frowned, flaring her nose slightly in anger.
“That doesn’t matter now.” Yonghwa said again. “Where are the bats again?”
“In the kitchen!” Seohyun told him and together they tip-toed towards the kitchen. Seohyun opened a storage-like room and continued to search for the baseball bats she had mentioned earlier.
“Joohyun-ah!” Yonghwa called out in panic.
“Ne oppa, I’m still looking for it.” Seohyun replied, a little annoyed.
“Did you by any chance open the back door?” Yonghwa asked as he pointed towards the backdoor which was wide opened.
Seohyun jumped around to look. She gasped. “A-Ani oppa, I-I didn’t!”
Suddenly the lights in the kitchen were turned off causing Seohyun to scream and jumped straight into Yonghwa’s arms. Yonghwa was shocked himself but he kept a tight hold of Seohyun. His eyes darted all around the kitchen trying to look out for any movements. Before he knew it, the lights were turned back on.
“Yah! What are the two of you doing?”
Yonghwa and Seohyun turned to look at the person who just asked the silly question. Both of them raised their eyebrows before glaring at the said persons. Tony and Joori had amused looks on their faces.
“HYUNG!” Yonghwa shouted. “What do you think this is? A prank?”
“It was totally his idea!” Joori quickly said as she pointed to Tony.
“Yah! You agreed to it too!” Tony cried.
“Unnie! You’re so mean!” Seohyun pouted, folding her arms in anger. “I was so scared!”
“Yeah! You scared me too, big time!” Yonghwa exclaimed before pulling Seohyun into his embrace once again.
“Well, you two look comfortable.” Tony grinned.
“So?” Yonghwa smirked. “This is what lovers do.”
“Ommo! You’re officially dating?” Joori clasped both her hands towards her chest.
“Ne unnie.” Seohyun blushed but quickly composed herself. Then she frowned. “Unnie, I heard you spent the night over at Tony oppa’s room? What was that about?”
Joori coughed and cleared her throat. “Um, let’s have some drinks up front shall we?” Joori said as she pulled Tony out of the kitchen with her. She knew once Seohyun started to lecture, it was going to be difficult to stop her!
***
The two couples sat at the living room area, staring at each other. Seohyun was not feeling satisfied that her unnie was refusing to answer to her question. Yonghwa on the other hand was still angry over the little prank Tony and Joori played earlier.
“Okay, we’re sorry okay! We just wanted to tease you two a little.” Tony shrugged.
“Hyung, don’t you ever do that again, or else I am never going to let you get away with it!” Yonghwa threatened.
“Is this the way the two of you fight usually?” Joori asked with an amused expression.
“Unnie, how they fight, it’s totally out of the question.” Seohyun said. “I just wanted to know why you chose to spend your night at a man’s room?!”
“Hyunnie-ah, we didn’t do anything! I promise you!” Joori sighed. “It was late and I was afraid to walk home in the dark. So Tony oppa suggested that I just spend the night there. It was a decent sleep-over!”
“Hm, what Onew told me doesn’t sound like a decent sleep-over.” Yonghwa teased.
“Yah! You punk! You and Onew are just full of lies!” Tony exclaimed causing Yonghwa to laugh out loud.
“Well, I still believe Onew.” Yonghwa shrugged with a sly grin.
“So Yonghwa, you’re actually the letter guy huh?” Joori asked, her eyes twinkling in mischief.
“Ah, ne.” Yonghwa blushed.
“Don’t worry, I love reading your letter.” Joori smiled as she looked over at Tony. “Can’t you be like your brother? He writes well you know.”
“Huh? I don’t write well, but I do love well.” Tony grinned and Yonghwa and Seohyun laughed at the statement.
“Um, is Jieun back yet?” Joori suddenly asked as she looked around her house.
“Jieun? I don’t think she’s home.” Seohyun told the older girl.
“Aigoo! It’s already eleven thirty! This girl!” Joori frowned.
“Don’t worry unnie, she’s still at school, I’m sure.” Seohyun tried to calm Joori down.
“Noona, not to worry, we have a friend working at Yonsei University. I’ll try to call him and see if he could send Jieun home.” Yonghwa said as he took out his phone and dialed Wooyoung’s number. After a few tries, Yonghwa shook his head. It seemed that Wooyoung did not answer his phone.
“Ah! It’s okay, I’ll call Hara. She brought her car today and she could fetch Jieun on her way home!” Seohyun exclaimed and quickly dialed Hara’s number. A few seconds later, Hara answered the call. “Hara-ya!” Seohyun smiled as she spoke into the phone. Then she frowned. “Why are you panting?”
