Chapter 11

Park Ha Ni’s POV

I was extremely relieved when the clock struck five that afternoon. Sitting cooped up in that office, as spacious and luxurious as it was, was something I needed to get used to. I picked up my purse and mumbled a quick good night to Tae Hyung, who was still at his desk. I honestly had no idea what he was up to. One minute he seemed like a kind and responsible guy, then all of a sudden he was acting like a cold jerk and giving me all the work.

Stepping outside the office, a blush suddenly heated up my face as I recalled a moment from earlier that day…

I was sitting at my desk, slightly distracted by the yellow rose on my desk. Twirling it between my fingers, I wondered who could have given it to me. What was it…? Ah, friendship. I was always interested in flowers as a little girl, and yellow roses meant friendship. I lifted the rose to my face, inhaling its intoxicating scent.

“The color suits you,” a deep voice informed me. Startled, I looked up. It was Tae Hyung. That was weird, to say the least.

“Uhhh… thank you?” I replied hesitantly, standing up. It was more than a bit awkward craning my neck up to look at him. “Did you need something?”

“Yeah,” he responded. “You need to look at these reports and sign them. I did my part, now you have to do yours,” he teased, smiling slightly. Was he… flirting with me? I shook my head a bit. Well, that’s a ridiculous thought.

“Um, sure,” I said, reaching out for the folders.

“What happened?” he asked, looked at my injured hand. He reached for it, but I kind of jerked it away. It wasn’t as if I purposely did it! It was just a reflex or something! Anyways, for a split second, I thought I saw a glimpse of hurt in his eyes but his face hardened so quickly that I thought I imagined it.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it,” I muttered, looking away. Ugh, I’m an idiot, I thought.

Tae Hyung dropped the folders on my desk with a loud thump and walked back to his desk. I winced at the sound.

I cringed again from the horrible embarrassment of it all. I almost wanted to throw away the yellow rose in my hands because of it, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that to such a beautiful flower. I squared my shoulders and tried to forget the memory of the look in Tae Hyung’s eyes. When I reached the elevator, I saw that Jin was waiting at the elevator as well.

“Oh, hello, Ha Ni,” he said, smiling as he made a slight bow.

Hmm… He dropped the honorifics so quickly? Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. We will be working closely from now on, so I guess it makes sense, I thought.

“Hello, Jin,” I responded.

“How was your first day?” Jin asked as the elevator doors slid open.

“It was… a new experience,” I said cautiously as we stepped into the elevator.

“That bad?” he said, laughing.

I was about to respond to Jin, when I heard someone calling to hold the elevator. My hand reached out partway when I saw that it was Tae Hyung, and I hesitated. I made a split second decision, and pulled my hand back. I don’t think I could handle another elevator ride with him, even with the protection of Jin. As the doors slid shut, I could see Tae Hyung slow his running and the last thing I saw was him stop. He was probably confused and maybe a little hurt.

            My eyes slid to Jin beside me.

            “Oops,” I said, with an over the top innocent look on my face. “My bad.”  Jin burst into laughter.

“I would do that too if I had to stay cooped up with him all day,” he said in a stage whisper. I laughed at his silliness.

“That’s a pretty rose,” Jin commented. “Who gave it to you?”

“Oh, I don’t know. It was on my desk in the morning.”

“Well, that was sweet of whoever did that,” he said.

“Yeah, it was,” I agreed.

The elevator doors smoothly opened onto the ground floor, and we stepped out.

“So, what are you doing after this?” Jin casually asked.

“Me? Um… probably grab some food and just go home.” I responded.

“Well, since you don’t really have plans, do you want to grab a bite to eat with me?”

“Yeah, that would be nice,” I said, trying to suppress my excitement. Deep down inside, I was hoping he might suggest something like that. I haven’t gone out with a friend in a long time. I only had one close friend in America, but that was it.

“Okay, how about we take my car?” Jin suggested.

“Oh wait, hold on,” I exclaimed. “I need to call my chauffeur and tell him that I wont need him tonight.” Once I finished with the call, I rejoined Jin and he drove us to a Turkish restaurant near the Han River. 

Later, we walked out of the restaurant, laughing and talking. We were being really loud, but I didn’t even care. I was having a wonderful time; it was definitely the most fun night I’ve had in a while. Jin drove me home, and I was so exhausted that I crashed on the couch without even taking my shoes off.

Tae Hyung’s POV

Honestly, I had no idea why she did that. I think that I was really quite loud enough when I called for her to hold the elevator. When I saw that she wasn’t going to hold it, I stopped running and just stared in disbelief. Was she really that rude?

I didn’t know, and I didn’t want to think about it.

I was starving, even though I was just sitting in an office all day. I didn’t really want to drive, so I just walked to a street vendor and bought some food. After sitting on a bench and relaxing as I ate my food, I was just about ready to get up and go home when I heard an oddly familiar laugh nearby. I stood and craned my neck, trying to see who it was. I didn’t see anyone I knew, so I just shrugged it off and started walking. I didn’t even walk fifteen feet when I heard that laugh again, this time to my right. Turning, I looked around and saw her. Park Ha Ni. With a guy. Laughing and clearly having a lot of fun.

I don’t know why, but I kinda just trailed after them. I mean, it wasn’t like I was stalking her or anything. I was just… curious. I was curious to see who the guy was. I don’t know why I was shocked that she was with a guy; its not that she is ugly or anything. She just never talked about having a boyfriend at all. Anyways, I walked behind them until they got to a car. I assumed it was his, because he opened the passenger door for her and helped her get in. As I was quickly walking closer to see the guy’s face before he got in the car, I stopped abruptly when I saw him. Was that… Jin? 

A/N:

Hey people! I'm back after disappearing for a few days. I've been a bit busy, but i will try to update more often.

So, here's the long update like I promised, and if you guys liked reading this as much as I liked writing it, please click that little upvote button. And maybe leave a comment while you're at it because it encourages me to write better... ;)