Tachycardia
Thirty Symptoms of WithdrawalIt had been months since Haruki and Donghae started dating, and still, Haruki was hyperaware of his presence. A casual hug or a gentle squeeze of her hand sent tingles running through her body that made her lose her balance for just a minute. A simple "Hi" made her face flush like a traffic light. She could sense the moment he walked into a room from the way her heart began pounding as if it would leap out of her chest, choking her until she could barely murmur a coherent sentence.
"It's not funny," Haruki protested when Jessica burst into giggles as she recounted this. "I can't focus on work when he's around or anything! I act like a total idiot!"
Jessica was unable to offer any more than a squeal of delight over how cute the whole thing was. "He challenged you and supported you like no one else ever did. It's not a surprise you like him so much."
Maybe it wasn't a surprise, but it was definitely an irritating distraction.
Even Chief Park had noticed, because why else would he suddenly make up the rule that Donghae and Haruki were not allowed to be partners? She even got the feeling that he was hinting for one of them to transfer to a different department, although he seemed reluctant to make an executive decision about who should leave and who should stay.
Haruki was pretty sure the other detectives were mocking her blush behind her back, but it wasn't until Shindong commented on it one day when Donghae came into the morgue while Haruki was watching a dissection that Haruki knew she had a real problem. So the next time she was having lunch with the other girls and they began teasing her about Donghae again, she blurted out, "How do I make it stop?"
"Sorry, we're not going to stop teasing you about it," grinned Taeyeon. "It's too much fun watching you blush."
"Not the teasing, the blushing," Haruki replied. "How do I stop it?"
The girls exchanged puzzled glances before Yoona spoke in a gentle voice, like she was explaining basic math to a child. "You can't stop blushing, Haruki. It's your body's natural response to strong emotions."
Haruki thought about that as poured her afternoon coffee and stirred sugar into it. Strong emotions? It had been months! She should have moved past this stage by now. As she turned around, she nearly collided with Donghae, who smiled at her. "Hey," he said.
Instantly, Haruki felt her heart pounding until it threatened to leap out . She ducked her head and moved around him, mumbling something under her breath. Donghae touched her arm gently and pulled her back, frowning. "Haruki, is something wrong?"
His hand felt like it was searing into her skin and she quickly jerked away. Her mind felt blank and she took a moment to respond. "N-no, I'm fine. Bye."
"Hey." He grabbed her arm again and pulled her back, this time looking serious. "What's going on?"
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I don't know what's wrong with me."
He narrowed his eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"
Under his intense, concerned stare, she felt her face glowing brighter and turned away. "See! That's it! Stop looking at me like that!"
"Wha-"
"Every time you..." Haruki broke off as she tried to pinpoint what exactly it was. When he talked to her? When he smiled at her? When he walked into a room? "Every time you do anything, my heart starts beating like crazy and my face feels like it's on fire! Shouldn't...shouldn't this stop by now?"
But Donghae was grinning broadly at her. Glancing out the door to make sure none of their colleagues were around, he dropped a quick kiss on her forehead. "I had no idea you liked me so much," he whispered, stammering slightly, before darting out of the room. She caught a glimpse of his red cheeks as he ran past her.
Haruki leaned against the counter for support, unable to stop the goofy smile that was spreading across her face. If she was going to act like an idiot, at least she wasn't the only one.
A/N: My attempts at fluff make me facepalm so hard. >.>
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