Chaewon didn't dislike him, that was for sure. In fact, she probably even liked him to some extent. Because, if she did not, she wouldn't be lying still in her bed, troubling like this.

She wasn't in high school anymore, or her early twenty, where she would fall head over heals over a cool senior, feeling all excited and giddy every time the image of him appeared in front of her. To be honest, she was almost in the age of getting married and it had been a while since she experienced a flattering feeling of being in love. Particularly, there was no one who caught her eyes these days, though there were men trying to approach her.

She didn't go out much, didn't have much friend either from the entertainment circle. On her break, she would only stay at home, meet her family or rather went traveling on her own. To some, she appeared cold, to the others, she was just a really private person. She had made her self hard to be reached to. So, it was something that happened for the first time. She felt she needed some advice, just she didn't know to whom she should talk to. The consequence of being a public figure was she had to be cautious about everything she did and said. One wrong move, and it would be an issue of the whole country.

.

"Unnie, if, what if, an old friend you haven't seen for a long time suddenly come to you and confess. What would you do?"

She was getting hair treatment in the place she frequented, with a stylist she was close to. She had spent one day worrying alone and now she was left with so little time to decide something that could affect the course of her and his life.

"Why? Did someone confess to you? Who is he?" The woman, Yoon Se Ah, asked back.

Chaewon pondered whether she should tell the whole story or not.

"Just what if. What if something like that happened?"

It was not the time yet, she decided.

Yoon Se Ah moved and started to give a massage on Chaewon's head. He pulled to one side, thinking.

"I think it depends on many factor. For me, if at that time I don't have a boyfriend or someone I like, I will accept him. Of course, he should be my type in the first place and have a steady job. Otherwise, who would pay for the dating cost."

Chaewon laughed, "that is so typical of you, so realistic," she said.

Se Ah laughed along with her, "Of course, do you think people could live eating love?" she added, giving more pressure on her massage.

"What about you? If it happened to you, what would you do?"

Chaewon shifted into more comfortable position in her seat, recalling the thoughts that had occupied her mind since the day Joongki came.

"I used to think that I would only date someone if I've known them for at least one or two years. But then, I realized that having that mindset only means narrowing my option. I don't have many friends, nor do I keep contact with the people I've worked with. Well, I'm not sure. If it happened to me, if it happens to me, I don't think I know the right thing to do."

"The thing you said earlier is right," Se Ah said after a while. "Sometimes, the things we are looking for is waiting for us outside our comfort zone. In my opinion, it's not a bad thing to try a relationship with someone we don't really know or someone we've just met. You can get to know more about each other along the process. It's not like you would get married to him the day after tomorrow."

Chaewon absorbed all the words into her mind. She knew it was true, everything Se Ah told her, but it was not enough to chase her doubts away.

Should she give him a chance? Should she not?

.

Her ultimate worry about giving Joongki the chance was that they wouldn't have much time for each other. It was hard for Chaewon to admit, but she was lonely these days. It hadn't been long since she moved out of her parents' house, she was still adapting to living alone, to wake up in the morning to an empty place and to get back home without no one greeting her. If she wanted to start dating, she wanted someone who could spend time with her, and be with her when she needed him. It was not like he had to be with her all the time, of course, she had her own life too. Just with Joongki's schedule, it would be a lot harder. She wasn't sure whether she could survive starting a relationship being away from each other.

And now, with one day left from the promised time, she hadn't get any contact from him.

What's with this guy? Isn't this the time he should try to convince me?

If she needed more advice, especially on him, she thought she needed to go to this one person. With the determination, she got her phone and searched for a name she hadn't saw in a while. A connecting sound was heard and the phone was answered after the fourth ring.

"Hello, Kwangsoo Oppa? It's Chaewon. Are you busy?"

.

The day had finally came. Joongki felt a strange calmness engulfing him. It was as if he was going to a battlefield, anxious but prepared for all probabilities. Surviving or being shot dead. Accepted or rejected.

It was nearing the lunch time but there was no news from her. His initial thought was to wait for her to be ready and contacted him on her own, but it seemed it wouldn't work out that way. So, he decided to call her.

It took a while until his phone was answered. It was his second try, and her calm voice greeted him with an apology.

"Sorry, I was in the bathroom."

There was a pause as Joongki prepared his self.

"Hello to you," he said.

"Hello to you too," she answered.

Joongki smiled. In his ears, she sounded really shy at the moment. It didn't help any further that his mind was making the image of her blushing cheeks.

Realizing that he was wasting the time acting like a fool, he cleared his throat.

"So, have you decided?" He asked.

"Yes."

"And?"

The small sigh she let out, he could heard it clearly on the phone.

Here it comes, brace yourself.

"Joongki-ssi, what you feel for me, is it a good feeling of liking someone or...?"

"It's more than that. You'd probably think it's too early for me to say this, but I love you," he cut her right away, "it's for sure."

It silenced Chaewon again. She needed time to sort her courage out, because things she would say the next, she knew would hurt him, if he was being truthful.

"And you sure know that the feeling isn't mutual, right? I don't hate you but I don't love you either. If you're backing away right now and take back everything you said to me, I won't blame you."

It hurt him, matter of factly. It hurt him, not just a bit, but a lot. It hurt his feeling and it hurt his pride. However, as ridiculous as it sounded, he still wish to be with her. He loved her that much to the point of throwing his ego to the wind.

"It doesn't matter to me. Just give me the chance. Spend time with me, let me show you how I feel. If after that, you still don't feel anything for me," Joongki paused painfully, holding his breath, "I won't force you to stay."

Chaewon knew he was being sincere, in every words he said. Yet, it still scare her. She should be happy when there was this guy who appeared to love her that much, but she was hesitating.

What if it doesn't work out? What if I fall too deep for him but then he has a change of heart? 

Yoon Se Ah's words rang in her head, and her conversation with Kwangsoo played again in her mind.

"I'm not saying this because he is my friend, but he certainly is not the type to play around with girls. The strange thing about Joongki is, even though people say he is handsome and everything, it never worked out well when I set him on dates."

Well, at least she was sure he wasn't playing around with her. So, she made up her mind.

"The chance, let's try it out, together."

It took only a second for Joongki to jump in his place. The warmth feeling of joy spread through his being. He felt he could burst out into a bunch of confetti at the moment. His smile was too wide, if felt like it could torn his cheeks apart, but he really couldn't help.

"Where are you right now?"

"Home," she said.

"Wait for me, I'll be there in a second."

He ended the call and hurried to his room. He took the car key and wore his cap. Soon he was running out of his place, towards the elevator. The lift ride towards the basement where he parked his car felt like ages when it actually only took a few seconds. 

He was dying to see her. The childish wish to have a super power so he could fly over to her place made him chuckle. He was so dead, he was so in love with her. 

That day, when Chaewon opened her door, his taller figure bumped her, with his two pair of arms embracing her tightly, leaving them with no space between their bodies. 

"Thank you," he whispered.

"Thank you," he whispered again, into the crook of her neck, as he hugged her even tighter. 

In his back, he could feel her hands slowly embracing him back.

.

Author's note:

First, I'm updating this through my phone, I'm sure there are typos here and there. Thank you so much for the kind reaction to this story. I didn't expect it at all when I first wrote this. I started writing this after rewatching Nice Guy and their BTS videos. I'm not saying that they are real, but I'm saying they had good chemistry and look good together.

There were rumours going around about Joongki this week. I hope we can stay positive and take it with a pinch of salt. Whether Joongki and Chaewon are together or not, let's keep supporting them. 

Anyway, do you guys have any Chaeki fanfic recommendation? From AFF, wattpad, livejournal, or anything?