Chapter 12 

Bom sighed lightly as she listened to her teacher review on how to solve rational inequalities. Today was Friday, which meant that as soon as school was over, she would be going to take her driver's test.  She thought that she would be nervous but she was too busy thinking about what happened yesterday afternoon. 

She sort of expected that he would inform the rest of the group about what happened that day but surprisingly they only asked how she slept and if she was still nervous about the test. When they finally asked how the last driving lesson went, Dongwook saved her and told them that it went good and that she would pass with no problem. She stared at him with a bit of shock and he smiled back at her, telling her with his eyes to go along with it while saying "Right Bom?"

She slowly nodded her head and smiled lightly thinking about their nightly embrace afterwards, which instantly warmed her whole being. "Right. It went really good." 

She assumed that if she would have told them what happened, most of them would have been worried while Nana and Se-ho would have been angry and made up a secret plan to find CL, which might not be a bad idea if Nana realizes her feelings for the senior in the process. But deep inside she knew that Dongwook knew that she didn't want to tell the others what happened because that would reveal her past and she wasn't ready to share that right now. She was still getting over it after all and Dongwook was the only person that she felt like she could confide in right now.

As she was beginning to write down some notes on her paper, someone knocked on the classroom door and the teacher walked over and opened it. 

"What may I do for you?" She heard the teacher ask. After a while the teacher turned towards the class. "Park Bom?"

Bom looked up quickly and made eye contact with the teacher. "Yes ma'am?"

"Someone wants to have a word with you outside." She answered and Bom slowly stood up and walked outside of the classroom, while closing the door behind her. She turned around and saw Dongwook smiling at her.

"Dongwook-oppa, is everything alright?" The junior asked softly.

He just shook his head. "No. I just wanted ask if you mind letting me take you to take your driver's test?"

"No. Not at all." She responded quickly before asking, "Why? Did my aunt call?"

He nodded. "Yeah. She knew that you would be in safe hands with me.  She said that she'll be waiting for you with sweet corn." He explained and started laughing.

'Yay! Sweet corn!' Bom thought in my head as her smile widened. "Okay." Just as she was about to walk back inside my class, Bom felt him gently grab her arm and pull her towards him into yet another hug.

Usually she would have yelled his name out and blushed furiously but this time she hugged him back and sighed. 

"Are you okay?" He asked as he brushed his fingers through her hair in a continuous pattern. 

"I'm fine, Oppa." She replied as she covered her face in his hoodie. She took in everything from his smell to the warm temperature of his body and smiled to herself. "Thanks for asking." 

"No problem. If you want to come and talk I'm here Bommie. Just know that." He said and he daringly kissed her forehead for the second time. 

Bom pulled back slowly and looked up at him sadly. "You should go...I dont want you to get in trouble, Oppa."

He looked down at her with a little bit of disappointment but nodded his head. "Okay. I'll be waiting at your last class okay?" 

Bom nodded her head and walked back inside, leaving a sad boy behind her. As much as she liked him, she didn't want to get caught up in what she heard Soo-hyun called the "superhero syndrome."

It was when someone nice comes along and helps you through a rough patch but didn't develop feelings for you in the process. You assume that their being nice because they like you when all along they were just being nice. 

And as much as she didn't want to admit it, Dongwook was the perfect example. He cared a lot about others and always helped them not just because it was the right thing but because it was in his nature. 

'Just because I like him doesn't mean that he likes me. He's offering to be there for me because he knows it's the right thing to do for a friend. A friend is all I'll ever be...' She thought as she slowly sat back down in her seat and resumed back to writing her notes.

The ride to the driver's license place was just as quiet as it was yesterday afternoon. Bom honestly didn't know why Dongwook had gotten so quiet all of a sudden. Usually, he was the one to start the conversation between them and make her feel comfortable and confident enough to say things without having to be careful but on the journey to the license place, he didn't say a word and if he didn't say anything then she surely wasn't going to. 

She hadn't achieved that level of confidence yet...

The air remained awkward and silent the whole ride and it wasn't until they got into the parking lot and she was about to get out of the car that he reached out and grabbed her arm. "Bom?"

She quickly turned her head as she looked over him, her brown eyes connecting with his own. He gazed at her for a second, letting his eyes lose themselves in the pool of chocolate that made up her eyes for just a moment. Finally, he smiled softly. "Good luck."

"Thank you." Bom said softly as she gave him a gentle smile before slowing pulling her arm away from his and getting out of the car.

Dongwook watched as she closed the door and slowly walked away from the vehicle, looking back only once before she made her way inside the building. He knew it would be a while before she came out so he made himself comfortable, leaning the seat back until it touched the back seat and looking up at the car's ceiling as he let his thoughts consume him.

The reason he was quiet during the car ride was because he was disappointed. After what happened yesterday evening, he thought that Bom would finally feel comfortable enough to confide in him and tell him her deepest fears and insecurities. He wanted Bom to know in her heart that he was gonna be there to listen and to help her. And most importantly, he wanted her to know that he was gonna protect her. As long as he was around, he wouldn't dare let anyone harm her and he was pretty sure that the gang felt the exact same way. 

'I just didn't understand why she hadn't figured that out yet...'

As soon as that thought entered his mind, he cursed silently to himself. He felt foolish for even thinking that. He knew that he shouldn't have expected Bom to open up so easily, even after seeing her at one of her low points which was probably hard for her. And the fact that she didn't want anyone to know what happened, which showed in her beautiful doe eyes when Nana asked how the driving lesson went as she looked at him, let him know that she just didn't want anyone to worry about her either. 

This is probably the tactic that she was so used to using, always remaining quiet so she wouldn't make a mistake that would lead to people finding out what was actually bothering her. And if she did slip up, she would just wave it off or maybe even lie, pretending she was happy whether she really was or not just so she wouldn't worry anybody but truth is he didn't want it to be like that. Dongwook wanted her to be truly happy with not only him but with the gang also. He didn't want her to have to worry about anything as long as she was friends with them because they had definitely had her back no matter what. He didn't want her to ever have to be careful; he wanted her to be comfortable and he wanted her to trust them, him especially. And until she is able to do so, he will be by her side every step of the way because he care deeply for her.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked at the time on his watch. It read 4:45 pm which mean that Bom had been gone for at least an hour and a few minutes. 'I must have dozed off for a second.' He thought as he pulled his seat back up in standard position and looked out the window to see a familiar figure exiting the building. 

It didn't take him any time to get out of the car and meet her halfway, a hopeful expression his face as he looked down at her when they were at least a few inches away from each other's reach. "How did go?" He asked curiously.

"I passed!" She said a soft yet excited voice, showering the most beautiful and joyful smile that he had seen on her gorgeous face yet. Not only was it beautiful but it was contagious because he felt his smile grow and before he knew it, he wrapped his arms around her and scooped her small body up as he loudly screamed "Woohoo!" 

He felt and heard her gasp loudly but before she could protest, he started spinning around in circles, causing her to bend her head into his shoulder so that he wouldn't hear her laugh but that ended up being a failed attempt when he started yelling out random comments all of a sudden. "Park Bom had officially got her license everyone! She finally legal!" 

Bom closed her eyes as she lifted her head up and laughed out loud as he kept spinning her round and round. Even when he finally stopped when he got to the car, almost stumbling against it due to the dizziness but making sure that she didn't hit anything as long as she was in his arms, Bom kept laughing and he found himself staring at her in awe of her beauty and that's when he finally saw moment of what Bom's true happiness looked like.

And that's when he discovered in his heart that he wanted to make her laugh and smile like that all the time. He wanted her to be like that all the time and even though he knew it wasn't possible because she was human just like everybody else, it was more than worth a try to him. This also is when he discovered something else.

Not only did he deeply care for Bom, he really, really, truly, truly liked her...