He’s on the fifth floor, and she on the fifteenth.

That’s how their story begins.

She encounters him for the first time during her first week at work. Looking very much unsure of herself and probably very out of place amidst rows of cubicles, desks, computers and office workers, she says little to anyone and sticks close to her table. It’s a whole new world and though she appears calm and comfortable, she’s a bundle of nerves deep inside.

He’s the exact opposite.

He enters the fifteenth floor just as her workload for the days lessens and all she sees is the charming smile on a very handsome face. He comes over to her department to talk to her officemate seated across from her table whose name goes by Kim Heechul. He’s the one to speak first and his voice, as she discovers, is wonderfully cool, confident and masculine.

She tries to pretend to be busy and not eavesdropping at all. She thinks she’s failed miserably.

If he’s noticed, he gives nothing away and he merely leaves right away after his conversation is finished, telling Heechul that it’s best that he returns to the fifth floor before someone named Zhou Mi looks for him. All that’s left for her to do is to watch his retreating figure and inwardly berate herself for not even catching his name.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It takes a grand total of eight working days before she sees him again.

There’s a small send-off party for one of her more senior colleagues who just resigned and she’ll never get the chance to work with. Many are gathered in their floor including those she has never seen before. They’re all loud yet the unmistakable sadness still lingers in the air and she remains a wallflower at the sides. She meets many of those unknown people and finally puts names to those faces thanks to those in the department but she makes a half-hearted effort to mingle. It is only thanks to Tiffany, whose table is to the right of her own, that she finds out that the unknown faces are from another department, satisfying an inch of her curiosity.

“What floor are they from?” she asks.

“Fifth,” Tiffany informs her promptly.

He enters just when it’s about time to eat and she can’t quite believe her luck.

There he is in all his six-foot-something glory with his artificially blonde, tousled hair, sharp facial structure, and lean frame clothed by a crispy, slightly translucent white polo with three-quarter sleeves and raven slacks. He looks like he;s just gotten out of bed but still y and–

She very nearly slaps herself for her thought process.

He laughs, banters and fools around with the other guys and bestows a kiss on the cheek and a warm hug goodbye on their departing colleague. He doesn’t stay long, claiming he still has loads of work to do and wants to go home as soon as possible, but he’s still all charming smiles as leaves the fifteenth floor and goes back to the fifth.

She still doesn’t manage to get his name.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It’s one of those random days weeks later that she sees him again.

She’s running late, and so is he.

A small traffic jam in the main lobby causes them to be in the same lift that arrived too slowly for anyone’s liking. She presses the button for the fifteenth and he reaches out for the fifth from where he stands behind her. Hands accidentally brush and she fights to stay nonchalant through it all. She merely stares ahead, at her reflection on the elevator door, and for one risky moment, she lets her gaze wonder.

Chocolate brown eyes meet a reflection of an ID. His ID.

His name is Kris Wu.

Her face breaks out into a smile when he gets off on the fifth floor.

~*~*~*~*~*~

A particularly rainy morning finds her in the neighboring Starbucks.

It’s cold and gloomy and oh so dull and she waits in line – a rather long line – for her turn to place her order. The scent of freshly brewed coffee and reheated treats perfumes the air, mixed with the telltale smell of rain whenever the door opens and closes. Conversation is plenty but in murmurs and she easily tunes them out; her gaze falling on the selection at the counter. She wants something sweet and warm, if only to counter the cold day ahead.”

“Uh… Hi.”

She feels a shiver run down her spine and it’s not because she feels cold.

She knows that voice.

She risks a glance behind her and finds him there, towering over her easily with a rather shy smile on his face. Still charming, but rather very shy. He’s wearing a shirt a lot similar to the one he wore to the send-off party, except that it was in a mysterious shade of midnight blue, tucked underneath white pants and a black leather belt. His hair looks neater and sleeker today, and it makes his very sharp features stand out even more.

“Hello,” she manages to reply. She deserves a prize for not stuttering.

“You’re from the fifteenth floor, right?” He asks carefully. “The same department as Tiffany noona, Heechul hyung, Yesung hyung and Boa?”

A nod. “Yeah.”

“I’ve seen you a few times but I never got a chance to introduce myself.” The blonde holds out a hand. “I’m Kris.”

She automatically reaches out to shake hands with him and for a moment, she notices how his large hand dwarfs hers. “I’m Sooyoung.”

He looks like he wants to say something more but her turn has finally arrived and she steps towards the counter, greets the women behind it and places her order. The other counter is vacant soon after and Kris is beckoned over for his turn; the blonde moving until they are standing side by side. He merely orders coffee to go – black, if she may add – and finishes before she does as she waits for her muffin and tea. Sooyoung expects him to say goodbye and go but he unknowingly surprises her by standing off to the side, only moving when she has her treats on hand.

“Ready?” He asks politely.

She nods. “You didn’t have to wait for me. But thanks.”

Kris flashes her a small grin and they step out of Starbucks and into the cold, rainy morning. He murmurs about being thankful for the covered walkway that leads to their building and she silently agrees. Nothing more is said, even as they enter their building, head to the lobby and step into the elevator moments later.

He presses the button for the fifth, and then for the fifteenth.

The lift is pleasantly uncrowded and she merely stares ahead again, just like she did the first time they ever shared a lift, and he notices him do the same. Inside, her stomach flips and flops and her heart drums a steady, strong beat. They’re no longer strangers now. Hallelujah.

They hear the elevator ding. It’s the fifth floor.

“It’s nice meeting you, Sooyoung.”

He’s out of the elevator before she can even open .

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Sooyoung, I need a favor…”

She looks up to meet the apologetic smile on Yesung’s face. “Sure, what is it?”

“Can you go down the fifth floor stock room for me?” The apologetic smile widens. “There’s a box of last quarter’s company magazine there that Boa

right now needs but Heechul hyung said that there’s an emergency meeting in five minutes I have to attend.”

“Where’s the stock room?”

“It’s in the west wing. There’s a sign on the door. It shouldn’t be hard to miss. Is it okay if you get it instead?”

“No problem.”

“Thanks, Soo. You’re a lifesaver.”

Sooyoung merely holds out a hand, waits until the keys are placed atop of it and she’s out of her chair.

It is only when she’s absently looking for what button on the panel to press that she remembers who is in the fifth floor.

Kris.

Her heart is drumming away and her stomach is flipping and flopping again.

It seems like she’s waited an hour – in truth, it’s all just a few moments – for the elevator to descend to the fif