Oh you have fallen for me
So open the door
Don’t act so tough and just come in

27. That was the amount of times your coworker, Kim Hansol, had randomly shown up in your little cubicle so far today. It wasn’t as if you minded seeing the attractive man but this wasn’t the first time this had happened. It was as if he looked for any excuse to pop by you. It was obvious to everyone, you included, that he had a huge crush on you. Handsome he was, subtle he was not.

“______,” Hansol stuck his head around the corner. Make that 28. “Can I borrow your stapler?” he asked.

You never took your eyes off your computer screen. “And you couldn’t ask Byungjoo, who’s desk is right next to yours, to borrow his?”

Hansol smiled his adorable, childlike smile and shrugged his shoulders. “Nope. I wanted to ask you.”

You rolled your eyes and sighed. “Fine,” you relented and pushed the stapler towards him.

“Thanks,” Hansol beamed, scooped up the stapler, and disappeared around the corner.

When you were sure he wasn’t about to come back you let yourself smile. Kim Hansol. He was without a doubt the cutest human being you knew, which was funny because he was older than you, and he was always smiling. Specifically, he was smiling at you. Always. Without fail. He loved to smile at you because he had the hope that, someday, you would let yourself go enough to smile back at him. You wouldn’t though. Not yet.

“Not ever,” you told yourself and focused back on your work. You wouldn’t let yourself open up to Hansol. You had already learned your lesson and you weren’t going to make the same mistake again.

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 “So…” Byungjoo rolled the few feet from his desk over to Hansol’s, “how’d it go?”

Hansol groaned and ran his hands through his already messy hair. “She’s impossible,” he admitted. “I can’t get her to open up.”

Byungjoo frowned. “Have you actually told her?”

“Oh, sure that’ll go over well,” Hansol scoffed, “‘_____, would you mind opening up to me?’” He shook his head. “That just sounds creepy.”

“No, I mean tell her that you like her.”

“It’s kinda obvious.”

Byungjoo sighed in exasperation. “Dude, just ask her out on a date already. You’ve literally been staring at her since you started working here two years ago.”

Hansol looked wistfully toward your cubicle where he could just make out the outline of your hair. “She’s just so amazing,” he said, half out loud and half to himself. Then he turned back to Byungjoo. “What if she says no?”

Byungjoo rolled his eyes. “Don’t let her.”

Hansol took a deep breath and nodded his head in determination. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

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As your computer shut off you lifted your arms above your head to relieve the tension in your spine with a satisfying pop. You had been sitting at your desk for hours and you were excited to go home, sit on your couch with a bowl of ramen, and watch reruns of Running Man. Not a glamorous evening but you couldn’t really do much better. You didn’t exactly have many friends, and those you did have were out with their boyfriends.

Once you were sure your computer was fully off you stood up, slipped your purse over your coat, and walked out of the office. You said goodnight to your boss and then walked out into the cool, early-evening air. Before you could take a step towards your apartment, however, a hand grabbed your wrist and started pulling down the street in the opposite direction.

“Yah!” you yelled at the person pulling you, “what are you doing?”

Hansol looked at you and grinned. “You are going on a date with me,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“Like heck I am,” you scoffed and tried to twist your arm free.

Hansol stopped walking so suddenly that you smacked into his back. Then he turned and locked eyes with you. “Don’t you want to do more than just sit at home by yourself all the time?” he asked, the usual teasing lilt missing from his voice.

You looked down at you shoes. He was right about that. Fine, but it’s not a date,” you relented.

“Maybe not, but I’m going to get you to fall for me before the night’s over,” Hansol broke out into that adorable grin and you had to check yourself before you smiled back. It was just too cute, however, and you found the corners of your lips tugging upward before you could stop them.

“YES!” Hansol dropped your wrist and began jumping up and down in celebration, throwing his fists in the air and everything. “I got her to smile!” he exclaimed.

Your eyebrows furrowed. All of that just because he made you smile?

Hansol calmed down and just stood there in front of you, smiling. “You don’t understand,” he explained, “I’ve been trying to get you to smile for two years.”

You gasped slightly at that. He had? Really?

Hansol’s smile calmed down a bit until it was just a little one that melted your heart. Then he slipped his hand into yours and started pulling you down the street again. You let him this time.

“Where are we going?” you asked, curiosity getting the better of you despite your best attempts to appear uninterested.

“Don’t know yet,” Hansol answered honestly. “I was thinking about just walking down the street, window shopping, eating from food carts…” He looked at you worriedly, “unless you don’t want to do any of that.”

You shook your head. “No, no, that sounds great,” you assured him, surprising yourself by meaning it.

Hansol smiled again. “Great,” he said and began swinging your hand back and forth. You two walked in silence for a little while after that. It was calming, soothing even, just walking down the street together, fingers intertwined, a lazy breeze playing with your hair. It somehow felt right. You let yourself go in it, just for tonight. Tomorrow was going to be back to normal.

“_____,” Hansol’s voice pulled you out of your thoughts, “let’s get fish cakes from that cart!” He pointed to a slightly crowded cart off to the side that was serving the delicious snack.

You nodded eagerly, having a particular fondness for fish cakes, and Hansol immediately pulled to towards the cart. It seemed to get more crowded the closer you got but Hansol tightened his grip on your hand and navigated you through until you reached the front. There Hansol ordered and paid before handing you a skewer. Before you could even think about it you grabbed his hand again and pulled him out of the crowd.

“Better?” Hansol asked once you were out in the open again.

You nodded and took a bite of your fish cake, savoring the taste. That’s when you realized what you had done; you had grabbed his hand. You started to pull away but Hansol held on tighter.

“Don’t want you to get lost,” he rationalized in a soft voice.

“Whatever,” you said and focused on your food.

Hansol laughed lowly. “You’re so cute,” he said and began walking down the street again. You turned your head the other direction so he couldn’t see you blush. He thought you were cute.

You walked for what seemed like hours, talking about nothing of importance, really getting to know each other, and fell for each other faster than you thought possible. As you did that nagging feeling kept appearing in your brain but you pushed it away. You wanted to have this moment, just this one night, to let yourself go, to open up.

You lost track of the time and, after what seemed like mere minutes, the sun started to set.

“I have one more place I want us to go,” Hansol stated, “if that’s alright.”

You nodded. “Sure,” you agreed and followed Hansol through the streets of Seoul again until you came to a stop at the bottom of a tower; the N Seoul Tower.

“Hansol…” you began, taking a step back.

“Please, just come up here with me,” he requested in an honest, almost pleading voice, as if he was desperate for you to follow him. “There’s something I need to do and I promise I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to.”

You bit your lip and looked up at the tower again. “Alright,” you relented and slowly followed up the stairs till you reached the place you knew he was leading you too; the love locks. It was nearly dark by now and the messages scribbled on the locks couldn’t be seen but the locks themselves were prominent shadows.

Hansol slipped his hand out of yours and you found yourself missing the warmth. Hansol turned around so he was facing you and pulled something out of his pocket. It was a lock. It was simple, silver, and clean, not covered in marker or pictures like many of the others were.

“_____,” Hansol began, “I’ve liked you for as long as I’ve known you. I made it my goal to make you happy and make you smile everyday even if it’s hard. I want to be able to give you everything, but I can’t do that if you don’t let me.” He looked down at the lock in his hands. “All I’ve written on this is our names,” he said and walked to the fence and fastened the lock. “It’s kinda just a hope for me that you’ll open up someday.” Then he turned around, walked back to you, and took your hand. “I’m leaving this for you, though,” he said and placed something small and cool in your palm. You looked down. It was the key. He had clipped the lock to the fence but gave you the key, leaving you the choice.

“Please accept me, _____,” Hansol whispered.

You bit your lips, not wanting to answer him yet because you knew what you would say. “Give me a little time,” you replied.

Hansol nodded. Then he took your hand and began walking with you towards your apartment. You walked the blocks in silence but, somehow, it wasn’t awkward. Like the rest of the day it just felt right.

“Goodnight, Hansol,” you said once you got to your door.

“Goodnight, _____,” Hansol replied. Then he leaned down and placed a quick kiss on your cheek. “See you tomorrow.” Then he spun around and walked away. As soon as he rounded the corner and could no longer be seen by you he began celebrating. He leapt up and down, his fists punching the sky, his elation pouring out of every move he made. Everything was going to change, he thought. Then he regained his composure and began the walk home, a smile gracing his face. Little did he know that your reaction couldn’t have been more different.

The second your door was closed you leaned against it and slid to the ground. The spot where he kissed you burned against your cold skin. What had you done? You promised yourself after the last time that you wouldn’t open up like this but somehow Hansol got you to fully trust him, to let him in. You closed your eyes and leaned your head against the door. It was all happening again but this time you were going to nip it in the bud. No hearts would be broken this time.

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“Morning,” Hansol said sweetly and smiled down at where you sat.

“Morning,” you replied in a monotone voice, not looking at him.

Hansol blinked, taken aback, but refused to be discouraged. “Did you sleep well?” he asked.

“Fine,” you said in the same tone and took a sip of your coffee.

Hansol leaned down to get a better look at you. “Are you going to actually talk to me?”

“Nope.”

Hansol’s jaw dropped. What were you doing? “Are you going to pretend like yesterday never even happened?” he asked, slightly afraid of the answer.

“I was planning on it,” you deadpanned.

Mind whirling, Hansol stood back up. What. The Heck. “Are you serious? After all that happened yesterday and you’re going to act like it didn’t happen?”

You scoffed. “You’re making it seem like we hooked up or something.”

Hansol shook his head, hurt written all over his face. “What are you doing _____?” he asked in a whisper. The heartbreak in his voice was almost enough to make you drop your act but you kept it up. This was the only way to protect him.

Meanwhile Hansol’s mind was in a jumble. He knew what you were doing. You were pretending, that much was obvious, but why? Did you think he was easy like that? Did you even care what he felt? Each second he thought about it the more uncharacteristically mad he got until he couldn’t take it anymore. Without a word, Hansol grabbed your wrist, pulled you to your feet, and began dragging you out of the office.

“What the heck, Hansol?” you exclaimed, trying to twist your arm free.

“You’re not going back in there and pretending like yesterday didn’t happen until you tell me what’s going on,” Hansol responded and pulled you into an empty hallway. “Are you really that callous? Because I don’t think you are. Despite what you think, I know you. I know that you’re pretending but I don’t get why.”

You rolled your eyes and crossed your arms. “Maybe I’m sick of you and your love-sick puppy eyes,” you shot back.

“No, that’s not it,” Hansol’s voice rose. “You’re afraid of something.” Your mask cracked ever so slightly but it was enough to Hansol to see. “See? I knew it.” Hansol took a step closer to you. “What are you afraid of _____? Are you afraid of what people will think of you? Are you afraid that I’ll hurt you?”

“Not everything’s about me, Hansol!” you exclaimed.

“Then what is it?”

You lost it. “Have you ever considered the fact that, maybe, the reason why I’m so cold to you isn’t because I’m scared you’ll hurt me but because I’m scared I’ll hurt you?” you yelled, staring into Hansol’s confused eyes.

“Why would that scare you?” he asked. “You can’t hurt me.”

You laughed a bit without humor. “Don’t be so sure.” You ran a hand through your hair and took a deep breath. “My best friend was in love with me. I didn’t fully return his feelings but I dated him because I was afraid of how he would act if I refused him. Things were fine until I realized that any feelings I had toward him disappeared and then I broke his heart,” you finished in a whisper. “I can’t let that happen again.”

“______-ah,” Hansol leaned down so you two were eye to eye but you lowered you head to break the gaze. “______-ah, look at me,” he whispered and tilted your chin up with two fingers. “You won’t hurt me. I know you won’t. You have this cold, heartless face you put on every morning but I know that’s not you, not the real you. You hide yourself to protect yourself and everyone around you because you’re afraid you’ll hurt someone but you won’t.”

You turned your head to the side. “How do you you know?” you accused.

Hansol sighed, cupped your cheeks with his hands and turned you back to face him. Then, without a second of hesitation, he pulled you in and placed a soft but meaningful kiss on your lips. At first you were so surprised that you didn’t respond. Then your eyelids fluttered shut and you kissed Hansol back. The kiss was soft, slow, and filled you with a warmth you had never experienced before and you realized why. You loved him. You were in love with Kim Hansol.

Finally, Hansol pulled back for air but kept his face mere inches from yours and left his hands cupping your cheeks. “I refuse to believe that you could could ever hurt anyone,” he whispered, his warm breath caressing you lips, “so please, please open up, even if it’s just a little bit. You don’t have to act so tough.”

You bit your lips. It took your whole willpower to not just accept him right there without a second guess but you knew you need to know something first. “Answer me this first,” you requested. “Do you really like me?”

Hansol smiled and leaned forward so your foreheads were touching. “Kind of a lot,” he admitted, “I’m so crazy for you it’s like I’ve run out of breath.”

Then you smiled. It wasn’t one of those small, restrained smiles you normally used, but a full out, beaming smile that made Hansol fall all the more in love with you. “Good, because I kind of like you a lot too.”

Hansol smiled that adorable smile that you had grown accustomed to and closed the distance between you again. It was a scary thing, opening yourself up, but Hansol had been right; you had fallen for him. All you needed to do was open the door to your heart… so you did.

A/N

This is for nanaseirenishihara! Hope you all like it! And sorry for the delay. Keep loving my stories!! Love you all!!! *muah*