This is the third and final part. Sorry I couldn’t get this up when I said I would. I went back to the specialist Friday and they gave me a cortisone shot in my right wrist to help the carpal tunnel instead of wanting to do surgery. My hand was numb about all day after and I had trouble moving my fingers without it hurting, it still hurt some Saturday. Hopefully this will help and if it does, they will do the same to my left wrist in two months. Anyway, I hope that you like it, please leave a comment, a request if you have one, and subscribe, vote if you like. Much Love!

Since the attack from Hyunmi and a few of Taekwoon’s fan girls, Taekwoon had been much more protective of Hyojoo once she got back to school. As long as they were at school, he made sure he had eyes on her at all times; never giving her a chance to be alone. He would meet her at the bus stop, and walk her to and from every class. He even used his position in the school to make sure that someone that he could trust was watching out for her when he couldn’t.

Outside of school, he was a little more relaxed, but still incredibly protective of her. He wanted to make sure that she was not hurt even more or ever again. Hyojoo did not mind him being so protective of her, but she found it bitter sweet in a way. It only made her feelings for him grow and made it harder for her to hide those feelings as they also grew closer in their relationship. The down side was that she figured he only did this because he felt guilty because of who had attacked her and their reasons and only looked at her as a sister he needed to protect. It hurt thinking that he did not see her as a woman, but a sister.

In her mind she could not fathom how it could be possible for him to see her as anything more than just a sister or a really good friend. After the confrontation with Hyunmi and his fan girls, Hyojoo realized that Taekwoon could do better than her; he could have any girl that he wanted. There were girls that were more on his level; that fit better to be with him and reflected his image in the school better. There were plenty of times she had considered telling Taekwoon that they should stop seeing one another, just to spare her the heartache. But she just could not bear to lose him as a friend. Taekwoon had come to mean so much to her in that short amount of time that it almost scared her. She figured that it would be better to adapt and learn to deal with her feeling than to lose him completely.

Hyojoo let out a sigh as her depressing thoughts got the better of her. This sigh caught Taekwoon’s attention who had been sitting next to her eating. He looked at her, cocking his head to the side as he watched her picking at her food which was not like her. He knew that something was wrong; had been the past couple of days. He was worried because she would not tell him what it was and he could feel her pulling away from him. He did not want her to pull away from him. He wanted her to stay right by his side, so he could protect her, while he tried to find a way to confess and make her his forever.

Taekwoon poked her side to get her attention. Hyojoo looked up at him with sad and tired eyes, saying nothing.

“Eat.”

She shook her head no and laid her chop sticks down, pushing her food to Taekwoon, silently telling him to eat it. Taekwoon rolled her eyes at her, not happy that she was refusing to eat like he told her too; he did not want her to get sick. He took some of her food and held it up to , trying to get her to eat. Hyojoo tightened her lips and shook her head no, giving him puppy dog eyes to show that she did not want to eat. He did not let up and kept trying to get her to take the food until she finally caved and ate the food presented to her.

He smiled a little at her, happy she was eating and got more food for her.

“Fine I will eat, but I can feed myself.”

It was his turn to shake his head no as he held the utensils out of her reach. He continued to feed her, feeling a sense of happiness for being able to take care of her. He did not even care she looked upset and kept tell him that she could do it herself, he was going to enjoy this as long as he could. Finally Hyojoo just rolled her eyes and gave up fighting him, she allowed him to do as he wished, finding his actions adorable.

Those who saw the interaction between the two were pretty certain that they were dating. They just looked too much like a couple to not be dating. The rumors of them dates brought about a mixed response from the school’s population. There were those, mostly Taekwoon’s fan girls, that were not happy about the fact that he might be taken. Some found them cute together and though they matched and were supportive of the couple. While the rest of the student body were just either indifferent or plain out did not care. However, no matter what side they were on with their opinions of the new “couple” no one dared to say or do anything. After what happened to Hyunmi and the group of girls that followed her, no one wanted a repeat of seeing the wrath of Jung Taekwoon.

Once lunch was over, Taekwoon walked Hyojoo back to class, stopping at her locker to help her put the containers that held their food up.

They stood outside her classroom before parting ways, Taekwoon only had to walk three doors down to get to his class so he did not have to rush to get back.

“So I will see you after this class, alright?”

Hyojoo had a look of realization come over her face, “Oh, that’s right I didn’t tell you did I?”

He cocked his head to the side confused, “What?”

“I will be leaving before this class is over. I have a follow up doctor’s appointment today.”

She could see his face change, and knew that he was not happy that she had not told him before hand about her having an appointment. But she knew that had she told him, it would have been a repeat of the first follow up she had three weeks ago. He had made sure he went with her, only leaving her alone long enough for her to change her clothes and use the bathroom. He glared at the male doctor any time he had touched Hyojoo and she flinched in pain from the examination. At one point, she was pretty sure that Taekwoon was ready to rip the doctor’s head off, making him feel uncomfortable. It was honestly uncomfortable for everyone there, including Hyojoo and her parents. There was no way she wanted to go through that again.

“Before you say anything  Leo, listen to me. My mom AND dad will be there with me again. And this time they are going to be running a few more tests than last time so it will take longer. I know that you have procatice and after school testing, neither of them you can miss. I will be fine, I promise; you need to be here, alright?”

Taekwoon let out a defeated sigh, knowing that she made a good argument that he could not refute. He gave her a hard stare, letting her know that he meant business.

“Fine; but, you have to promise to text me when you get home. Then face time me to let me know what the doctor said. Deal?”

She smiled at him, a smile that made his heart skip a beat, “Deal.”

This time it was Taekwoon’s time to act before thinking. He placed his hands on her upper arms and bent his head down and lightly pressed his lips to her forehead. The light kiss lasted mere seconds, but for Taekwoon and Hyojoo, it felt as if time had stood still.

Hyojoo was frozen with her eyes wide open, not breathing. Her face was flushed with heat and heart pounding in her chest. She did not know what to do and was afraid to move; and her brain was slow on registering what was happening. It seemed Taekwoon’s brain worked quicker than hers as he quickly pulled back, his face beet red with a deer caught in headlights look. She was pretty sure that her face mirrored his own.

“I-I….umm…I-…bye….”

Taekwoon could not say anything, and was barely able to get out the word “bye” before he just took off to his class room as fast as he could. Hyojoo just stood there blinking at the place that he once stood. Now she knew how he felt when she had kissed his cheek. A small smile played on her lips, her skin burned at the memory where Taekwoon’s lips had touched.

She kept her head down, avoiding all eye contact with her classmates as she made her way to her seat. During the rest of the time in class, her focus was anywhere but on the subject, mainly on Taekwoon. When she was dismissed from class, the person sitting next to her had to poke her a few times to get her attention and let her know she was dismissed. She tried to push the kiss from her mind so that she could focus on her doctor appointment and pay attention to what the doctor was saying and doing.

“Well, Miss Han, it seems like you are healing just fine. You x-rays, MRI, everything seems to look perfect, look as they should at this point in the healing process. I would still recommend you take things easy, nothing to strenuous, lots of rest and you should be healthy in no time. Is there anything else?”

Hyojoo smiled at the doctor, “No I do not think so. Thank you Doctor.”

“Just take care of yourself. I want to see you back in another 3 weeks for one last check up. Just sign out with the lady at the front desk and she will get you set up.”

“Thank you.”

“Have a nice day.”

The doctor left the room and Hyojoo’s parents stood, her mom spoke, “We will let you get ready. You can check out yourself and get that set up, so just meet us at the car when you are done.”

“Okay Mama.”

They left and Hyojoo quickly, or as quickly as she could, changed out of the gown they had her in, and put on her regular clothes. She finished all that she needed to and headed out to the car. On the way home, Hyojoo looked at her phone and noticed she had a number of missed calls and texts from both Jaehwan and Taekwoon.

Hyojoo sent a text to Jaehwan first, letting him know that she had just left the doctors and that she will call him a little later once she gets back home. As for Taekwoon; seeing the text from him made her mind flash to the event in the hall. She could not bring herself to text him yet, being flustered just thinking of the kiss. Even once she got home she could not text him, because she knew once she did, he would call her and want to face time and she would have to see his face, and she just wasn’t sure she could do that yet.

So she settled for getting into her homework, talking to Jaehwan for a while, and basically doing everything she could to avoid talking to Taekwoon. At one point, she was changing her clothes after having taken a shower when her phone started ringing, the specific ring tone that she had set up for Taekwoon. She took a deep breath and answer the call, his face popping up on her phone

“H-“

“Are you alright? Why haven’t you called me? What did the doctor say? Is everything alright? Did something go wrong? Hyojoo!”

Hyojoo bit her lip, feeling guilty for not calling him. She could clearly tell that he had been worried about her, maybe even scared.

“I’m sorry. I got busy doing other things and…”

“So you had time to talk to Jaehwan? I have been worried sick about you!”

She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, “I’m sorry Taekwoon.”

Taekwoon let out a sigh, hating seeing her crying, “Don’t cry, I am sorry I shouldn’t have yelled. But is everything okay?”

She nodded, “Yes. The doctor said I am healing fine and the injuries are right where they should be while healing.”

“That’s a good thing. Did he say anything else?”

“No, not really, just wants to see me again in another three weeks, and hopefully that should be my last follow up.”

Taekwoon just nodded his head and went silent for a few minutes. Hyojoo sat there awkwardly, waiting for him to say something, because she did not have an idea of what to say. In the back of her mind, she wanted to say something about what happened in the hall, but did not know how to bring it up. Taekwoon was thinking the same thing, but he was just trying to get the courage to say what he wanted. After a few more moments of silence, Hyojoo was about to tell him good night, but he spoke first.

“Um Hyojoo, a-about earlier, i-in the hall…”

“Y-yeah?”

She could swear her heart had stopped, waiting for him to continue. She was almost scared of what he would say,

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t m-mean…”

That right there broke her heart and she had to fight back crying, “It is fine. I know you did not mean it in any way and I guess I should apologize for when I kissed your cheek, it was wrong of me to do that since we do not have that kind of relationship and you do not see me in any special way. I understand you just see me as a friend, or a sister.”

Taekwoon was shocked at her cutting him like that and what she had to say. That was not what he was going to say. He opened his mouth to correct her, but she cut him off again.

“I’m going to go to bed now. Good night Leo.”

“Hyo…”

Hyojoo ended the call before he could say anything else. She turned her phone off completely so he could not call her again and laid curled up in her bed. It really hurt to have him say that he didn’t mean to kiss her like that and basically confirming that he did not see her as a woman. It was a major blow to whatever self-confidence or self-esteem she had left. Any hope that she had gained from the kiss was just shattered into a million little pieces. It should not surprise her that he would not want someone like her for anything other than a friend, she just wasn’t seen as the relationship kind of girl.

‘Maybe I really should end the relationship with Taekwoon. It may be for the best.’

The next day, Hyojoo arrived at school earlier than she needed to in hopes of avoiding Taekwoon. She just was not ready to face him yet and hear what she would not let him say over the phone. She knew that he would be mad, but she needed time before she could face him. At lunch time, she gave the food she made to Jaehwan and told him to give it to Taekwoon and then make up some lie about where she was.

“Why don’t you just give it to him yourself? He would rather it come from you than me anyway. Plus how are you really going to hide from him when he comes to pick you up from every class?”

“Well, I’ve been doing good so far at avoiding him. Please Jaehwan just do this for me. Please?”

Jaehwan looked at her concerned, he knew that something was really bothering her, so never begged him for anything, usually it was the other way around.

“What is wrong Hyojoo? Why are you trying to hide from Leo?”

“Nothing’s wrong. And I am not really trying to hide from him…”

He gave her a droll look, “You rushed all the way here, on a different floor than Taekwoon, only to give me the food you made for him so that I could give it to him instead of you. Yeah, you are not hiding from him. Come on, you and me are going to go somewhere to eat alone and you are going to tell me what is wrong with you.”

He did not give her a chance to say anything more as he guided her to a place where they could eat lunch in seclusion and talk.

“So?”

Hyojoo looked at Jaehwan and tried to play clueless, “So what?”

He rolled his eyes at his friend, “Oh come on Hyojoo, I may act stupid but you know that I’m not. Now tell me why are you hiding and avoiding Leo. Also tell me why you have been a quieter than normal. Taekwoon told me that you have not been acting like yourself, that he can feel you pulling away from him. But I did not need him to tell me that because I could see it for myself. So spill.”

Hyojoo sighed. She did not really want to discuss her problems with Jaehwan because she did not really know if he could help her with her problem.

“Hyojoo, talk to me.”

She looked at him and saw the seriousness in his eyes and figured it was worth a shot,

“I like Taekwoon.”

“I would think so with how much you two hang out.”

“No Jaehwan, I like him.”

It took him a second to get what she was talking about but then it clicked, “Oh, you like him, like him. And the problem is what exactly? Because I have to admit that was pretty much my goal when I set you two up for the blind date. And also considering how Leo treats you…”

“He treats me like a sister. He is protective over me like a big brother protecting his little sister. Or he is just protective of me out of guilt for what happened. There is nothing more to it. And after yesterday and the conversation last night, I know there is nothing more between us than friendship.”

Jaehwan looked lost, “He said that he only saw you as a friend? Really?”

She looked away, fiddling with her fingers, “Well not in so many words.”

“What were his exact words then?”

Hyojoo let out a long breath, “See yesterday, he kind of kissed me on the forehead, and last night he brought it up while we were talking and he had started to say that he didn’t mean it in anyway but I kind of cut him off before he could finish.”

Jaehwan was surprised, “Why would you cut him off and just assume that was what he was going to say? He could have been planning so say something completely different! But now you won’t know because you are running and hiding from him.”

“I know that is what he was going to say! I just know it! Besides why would he look at me any differently than just a friend when he has girls like Hyunmi, or  his fan girls that match better with him than me.”

It was Jaehwan’s turn to sigh, finally understanding what Hyojoo’s true problem was. He could see how this bothered her, how she truly believed that Taekwoon would not like her because he was around girls that she would consider prettier than her. But what she didn’t realize was that Taekwoon didn’t care about those things; he was more interest on who a girl is not how they looked, and even believed in love at first sight based off of feeling. Even if Hyojoo did know that about Taekwoon, she would still disagree and think that she did not fit his “type.”

He reached over and took her hands in his, “Listen Hyojoo, I know that your self-esteem and self-confidence isn’t the greatest and I really wish I could change that but I can’t. But with this you need to put all of those doubts, all of those negative thoughts out of your head and let your heart take control. I know that is really cheesy, but in this instant it fits. Your head is going to talk you out of following what your heart really wants and that is going to not only hurt you, but Leo as well. You need to stop running, stop doubting yourself and you need to actually talk to Leo. You might actually be surprised in what he has to say.”

Tears welled up in Hyojoo’s eyes and she looked weaker than he had ever seen her and it hurt him. “I don’t know if I am ready to face him today.”

Jaehwan nodded his head, “Alright. I will give Leo this food, but if he asks I’m not going to lie to him, I can’t really lie to him, he is really scary when he is mad. I will try and get you some time for yourself to think so you don’t have to keep running. Though, it might not be much time because he will eventually find you and corner you, forcing you to talk.”

Hyojoo gave Jaehwan a hug and remained sitting there until the bell rang even after he had left.

Jaehwan found Taekwoon sitting with their group of friends, looking upset and just plain depressed. He was not eating at all, just poking at it and resting his cheek against his hand. Their friends were trying to get him to eat the schools food, but he just was not interested. Jaehwan honestly felt bad for his friend because he knew that he was behaving in such a way because of Hyojoo, Taekwoon would get like this whenever she was not at school.

Jaehwan walked up to the table and placed the bento box in front of him, “Here eat this.”

Taekwoon’s eyes widened recognizing that box as the one Hyojoo always used to pack his food, “How did…? Where did you…?”

“Hyojoo gave it to me to give to you.”

“She’s here?! Where is she? Is she alright? Why haven’t I seen her? Is she upset at me, did I do something wrong?”

Jaehwan chuckled at his friend, he might be a quiet guy but he could ask a lot of question.

“I would say she is fine, but that would not be the exact truth…”

Taekwoon was up in a flash and ready to take off and find Hyojoo but Jaehwan caught him,

“Wait, just sit back down. Listen, Hyojoo is having some troubles right now and a little of that is because of you.”

Taekwoon looked at Jaehwan with a look similar to a kicked puppy. He did not like knowing that he has hurt or upset Hyojoo in anyway, “What?”

“I can’t say much, but just give her a little time to think. But not too much time because then she will over think everything. The most I can say is that you both need to stop dancing around one major topic that affects both of you or you both will be hurt in the end. Give her till the end of the school day and then catch her before she can get to the bus. Got it?”

Taekwoon slowly nodded but remained silent. He thought about what Jaehwan had said and was confused about the topic he and Hyojoo danced around. There was one thing he knew for sure, he was not going to give her the chance to run away and hide from him again. Now that he knew for sure that she was at school, he was going to catch her make sure she faces him.

School could not end quick enough for Taekwoon but ended too soon for Hyojoo. Now that Taekwoon knew that she was at school he would be able to get to her and make it harder for her to hide. She knew it was her own fault for giving the food to Jaehwan to give to him, and honestly she did not really know why she did since she did not want him to know that she was at school. She just could not help herself. Maybe a part of her wanted him to know that she was there and by giving him the food was her subconsciously admitting it and telling him to come find her.

As soon as the dismissal bell rang, Hyojoo was out the classroom before everyone else and tried to get to the bus stop as quickly as she could. However, Taekwoon was one step ahead of her. He was already waiting for her at the bus stop and remained hidden slightly and once that bus came, he followed her and sat down next to her.

“We need to talk.”

Hyojoo jumped and let out a small scream, gaining some glances from those around them. “Where did you come from?”

“I followed you. We need to talk and you are not going to ignore me.”

Hyojoo remained silent and just looked down at her hands in her lap. She was shaking, nervous about what Taekwoon had to say and confused of what she was going to say. Fear and anxiety took control of her body and had her feeling like she was going to be sick. What would the outcome of this be? Good or bad?

The two arrived at the bus stop a short walk from Hyojoo’s house and made that walk in silence. An awkward silence much like when they first met. She was not ready for their relationship to end the same as it had begun. They arrived at her place to find it empty, which was normal since both her parents worked kind of late. This gave Taekwoon and Hyojoo plenty of time to talk without anyone interrupting them.

She fixed them something to eat and the sat at the table in silence. Until Taekwoon decided to speak first, “Are you mad at me?”

Her head jerked up, “What? No! Why do you think that?”

“Because you have not been yourself since Hyunmi attacked you. I can feel you pulling away from me and I don’t like it. Are you mad because they attacked you because of me?”

“No, I’m not mad.”

“Then what? Did I say or do something? Please tell me Hyojoo.”

She put her head down once more and said nothing. She was afraid of what he would say or how he would react once she told him why she had been a little more aloof than normal.

“Hyojoo…”

She looked up at him and saw the worry and fear in his eyes. She realized that she was not the only one suffering from the distance that she tried to put between them and thought that maybe Jaehwan was right when he said that she would be surprised in what Taekwoon had to say.

Hyojoo took a deep breath before speaking, “I like you, a lot, and that scares me, terrifies me.”

His eyes softened as he looked at her, moving from his seat and around the table to sit beside her. He took one of her hands in his, giving her a small, sweet smile. His other hand cupped her cheek, “I like you too Hyojoo, a lot, and it scares me to.”

She swore her heart stop, having him this close to her, feeling him touch her in such a way and even confessing that he liked her too; it was almost too much for her heart to take. For reasons she did not really understand, tears welled up in her eyes, “Why does it scare you?”

“Because you just being friends with me has put you in danger and I am scared that something worse will happen if we become more. Also, I am not that good with expressing myself and I am afraid that you will expect more from me than what I can give. Why are you terrified?”

Hyojoo coughed out a mix between a laugh and cry, “Because I’m not that confident in myself, I’m really shy and awkward in new situations and around people I don’t know. I’m not that pretty like the girls that you are used to being around. You should be with a girl like Hyunmi not me…”

“You mean Hyunmi who attacked you and put you in the hospital? The same one who turned me down when I confessed 3 years ago but still thought I should follow her around like a love sick puppy? That Hyunmi? Hyojoo, why would you think that I should be with someone like her?”

She tried to turn her head but he did not let her turn away from him, “She fits better with you, matched you. She can fit your image of being the captain of the soccer team and your ranking in the school and…”

“Hyojoo stop. I don’t care about any of those things. I like you for you; not because of what the students at school think or anything else. Just you. When you kissed my cheek, I was going to confess to you the next day, but then the attack from Hyunmi happened and I was just so worried about you that I didn’t get the chance and it wasn’t the right time. I became so protective of you because I could not bear to see you hurt again, mainly if I was the cause. I just had to protect you because I just wanted to see you happy. Then you started to pull away from that I thought maybe you were upset because I was the cause of attack. I just care about you so much, it hurt and scared me that I would lose you before I could even properly love you.”

Hyojoo was feeling very guilty, finally understanding just how much she had hurt him by pushing him away and not talking to him, being caught up in her insecurities. She placed a hand on his face, his cheek with her thumb, “I’m sorry. I was letting my insecurities control me and I misread your actions as you just protecting me because of guilt and nothing more. That you only saw me as a friend or a sister; not as a woman. It hurt and I guess I was just trying to save myself from being hurt emotionally from you rejecting me. But I also did not want to lose you in my life so I was just torn. I’m sorry.”

Taekwoon did not hesitate to kiss her forehead, “Don’t apologize. I guess we both are just not good at expressing ourselves and it caused a miscommunication and mixed signals. It is something we can work on together, right?”

Hyojoo smiled at him, “Yeah, together…?”

He chuckled at her, “I mean, Han Hyojoo, will you be my girlfriend?”

Even though he had confessed that he liked, she still was not expecting that, “W-What?”

Taekwoon pulled back enough so that he could look her straight in the eye, “I like you Hyojoo, a lot and I want you by my side as more than just a friend, I want to be able to say that you are mine and I’m yours. I know that you are not very confident in yourself and have low self-esteem but I want to be the one to build you up, prove to you that you are beautiful, and special and that you do not have to be like those other girls to be my match.”

His words were sweet and the soft caresses on her face touched a deep part of her. As she looked into his eyes, she saw sincerity, compassion, and love; but there was also a speck of worry that she would reject him. Hyojoo gave him a sweet smile She leaned up and caught him by surprise by kissing him on the corner of his lip, and then pulled back to laughed a little at his deer in head lights look,

“I would love to be your girlfriend and to be able to stand proudly by your side and call you mine.”

Taekwoon broke out in the biggest grin that she had ever seen him have, well at least without an animal or child around. His smile was infectious and she could not help but to return the big smile. He pulled her out of the chair, standing up so that he could wrap his arms around her in a tight hug, holding her close to him. She returned the hug, holding him as tightly as she could.

They just stood there in each other’s embrace. Neither wanted to move, they were right where they wanted to be and intended to enjoy the moment as long as they could. Taekwoon pressed his lips to the top of Hyojoo’s head as she closed her eyes, listening to the sound of his heart beating in rhythm to her own, matching perfectly. In that moment all her insecurities, her negative thoughts, or the attack from Hyunmi and the girls, none of it mattered. She was happy, Taekwoon was happy, and that is all that mattered. Their love was going to blossom into something beautiful.

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I really hope that you enjoyed reading. All three parts totaled 12,203 words, and that is why I decided to split them up into three parts. Please leave a comment, subscribe, and vote if you like! Much Love!