------Jooli------

“So I heard from Mark that his friend was trying to get laid with you.” Jina popped up from behind me. I was in the worker’s lounge sipping a cup of hot chocolate. It was the afternoon after Mark’s ‘little’ gathering. I just got off of work and was in the worker’s lounge reading the newest edition of Seventeen, the popular gossip magazine. I still had yesterday’s images trapped in my brain. I was still wondering why Jaejoong was being so nice to me. I was still wondering why Mina was not with him. I was still wondering where Yunho had been for the last few days.

“Eww, can we not talk about that? That guy was erted and gross! I bet he hasn’t gotten laid since forever.” I laughed as I remembered Chad’s fail attempt at trying to get me. Guys like him were not my cup of tea.

“Hey, that just proves that you were hot. I’m pretty sure if it weren’t for that ert appearing and hogging you all night, you could have gotten someone. What a waste.” Jina sighed and took a seat next to me.

“Too bad the only person I actually wanted to see wasn’t there.” I sighed. I was talking about Yunho. Even though I didn’t see him, I thought about him. I didn’t want to call him because I didn’t want to seem like a stalker.

“I heard Yunho got back this morning. I didn’t see him, but I heard from some of the workers that he successfully signed a business deal with Samsung Anycall.” Jina told me.

“That’s great. He must be tired. I hope he’s not at his office working.” I mumbled.

“If you miss him, why don’t you just go look for him or just call him? I don’t think he’s that busy. If you want to have love, you have to try! I remember I didn’t take any interest in David when I first met him. If he didn’t make the first move, I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t be together right now. You never know unless you try.” Jina encouraged me.

“I don’t think that will happen. Even if I do I’m pretty sure he’ll reject. He’s like the perfect guy, and I’m not a perfect girl. And even if he does agree, I’m pretty sure his family will not agree. His parents expect him to marry some rich girl who can help with the company. I’m just one of his many workers. I’m nothing special.” I said with a shrug. I never thought to confess to Yunho because it would be more like a dream if I did. I was always the type of girl who would never tell a guy I like him.

“Well, it’s up to you. I have to go now. I’ll talk to you later.” Jina glanced at her wrist watch before jogging out of the lounge and back to the restaurant. I said bye to her as she left the room.

After I finished my drink, I stood up, threw out the bottle and walked out of the lounge to go back up to my room. As I walked towards the elevators, I suddenly heard a familiar laughter. I turned my head to the left and saw Yunho standing in the middle of the reception area, beside the big water fountain. He was on his phone and I could see him smiling and laughing a lot. He looked really happy. I wondered who he was talking with. I’ve never seen him so happy and alive before. Just when I was about to walk over and greet him, he shut the phone and walked away without noticing my presence. Somehow, I felt disappointed that he didn’t see me. After I watched him walk away, I slowly walked to the elevator.

When the elevator came down, I walked in and pressed the number of my floor. Just when the door was about to be fully closed, a voice suddenly told me to wait. I reacted quickly and pressed the open button to the elevator. In came a man who was breathing heavily.

“Thanks.” He said without looking at me. I stared at him and saw that it was Jaejoong. He looked up and looked as shocked as I was. There was an awkward silence between as we just stared at each other. It was just like yesterday night when he was driving me back to the hotel.

“Yunho’s back.” He broke the silence.

“I know. I saw him just now talking on the phone. He seems really happy.” I mumbled back without looking at him.

“Yeah, he got another business deal.” He replied.

“Where’s Mina?” I decided to break the question.

“She not here.” He replied. I could sense the force in his voice and I could see that his body was tensing. He had his fists balled up tightly and he was looking at the ground. I decided to not ask any more questions. Something big probably happened between them.

“Oh…” I replied. We spent the next couple of seconds in silence before the door opened and I got out.

“See ya.” I said and left the elevator.

It felt awkward to be in a place alone with Jaejoong. I felt like I would be eaten up by him if I was with him too long. When I thought about it, Jaejoong didn’t actually seem as bad as when I first met him. It seemed like he was a lot worse when Mina was with him, but when I asked about Mina, he stiffened up.

After going back into my room, I ended up spending the entire time on the computer. I went on facebook, emailed people, and watched dramas. I also ended up ordering food to be taken up to my room to eat. I didn’t really feel like walking all the way to the restaurants to just grab food. I didn’t have anything to do afterwards, so I might as well just stay in my room.

Just as I finished my chicken teriyaki on rice dinner, my phone started to ring. I picked up and checked the caller ID. To my surprise, it was Yunho who had called. I wondered why he suddenly decided to call me, but it didn’t matter because I was more than happy to talk to him.

“Hey Yunho.” I said into the phone. I tried to hide the happy feeling that was stirring in my heart.

[Hey Jooli, am I bothering you?]

“Nah, I’m just surfing the internet. I heard you got back today from a business trip. How was it?”

[It was great and I actually got a day to relax with my family in Korea. How have you been? It seems like I haven’t seen you for a long time. Do you want to come out and go get something to drink? We can walk to the bubble tea shop and chat for a while.]

“Oh really? Sure! I’ll meet you at the bubble tea shop in half an hour?

[Sure, sounds good. I’ll see you then.]

“Bye.” I said and shut my phone. I quickly got off of my chair and went to my closet to look for some clothes to wear. I had changed into a pair of grey sweats and an oversized Nike t-shirt when I got back to my room. I took off my t-shirt and sweats and put on a pair of black shorts and a tank top. Then I slipped on my flip flops, grabbed some cash, took my phone, grabbed my keys, and headed out of the hotel. It didn’t take me long get down to the bubble tea shop because I was actually quite excited to see Yunho after two long days of not seeing him.

After I entered the shop, I saw that the place was crowded with people. I quickly walked to the counter to order a Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie with pearls for myself and a Matcha Ice Cream smoothie with pearls for Yunho. After it was done, I grabbed the drinks and looked for a free table. I was lucky enough to spot one by the front window that could see the beach and the ocean. I sat down and waited for Yunho to arrive. Within a couple minutes, the door bell chimed and I looked up to see a smiling Yunho wave towards me. I waved back and he walked over to where I was sitting.

“Here, got you a Matcha Ice Cream smoothie with pearls.” I slid the drink to him.

“Thanks, just what I needed.” He smiled and took a big sip from the abnormally large straw. He smiled as the liquid went down his throat.

“So, how have you been?” I asked him. I knew it was a stupid question to ask, but I couldn’t think of any other question to ask him. I didn’t want to ask him who he was talking to on the phone earlier because I was afraid I might sound too weird.

“Great! I feel a lot more relaxed after going back to see my family. What about you? I haven’t seen you for two days. How have you been?” He asked me with a genuine smile.

“It’s been… alright. It’s the same routine every day. Wake up, work, go back to room, sleep. You seem different. You look a lot happier after you came back from Korea. Did something magical happen to you?” I with a little laugh. Maybe he met someone special in Korea. Maybe his parents set him up on a blind date with an heiress. That thought made me shiver.

“I guess just seeing my parents made me happier. I haven’t seen them for a couple months, so I get a bit worried when I leave them too long. Actually, this time when I went back, we had a family discussion about me getting married. I kept telling them that getting married at 25 is kind of too early. Too bad Jaejoong’s only 22, or else I would be telling him to go get married first. I think they’re just joking around. They know that I too busy working to have time for a girlfriend, and it’s not like I’m never going to get married.” He laughed as he told his story.

“Yeah! You should hurry and get married. You’re getting old!” I . I smiled at him but my heart was bitter when I said those words. I knew he didn’t like me in a way that was more than a friend, but I couldn’t help but feel sad if he gets married to another girl. I knew that I could never be with him, because a dream is a dream.

“Not you too Jooli.” He laughed and shook his head in disappointment. I laughed and shrugged at him and then I took a couple gulps of my bubble tea, hoping to calm down the bitterness inside.

“Hey, I’ll be happy for you. Also, make sure you marry one that you actually like, not one of those bratty princesses that want nothing but your money.” I advised him.

“Well, that’s not for me to choose. I just hope my parents are nice enough to give me a couple more years.” He frowned.

“It’s not like they’re going to be coming here and bringing a girl to you. They’re like hours away. You don’t have to worry.” I laughed and the two of us continued to drink our bubble tea and chat until the shop closed.