"Oh my god! So sorry!" I frowned and pulled out the earpiece bud from my ear as I tried to register what just happened. A girl, scrambling frantically while muttering things under her breath. I noticed the sheets of document sprawled all over the floor and I sighed, putting my phone along with my earpiece into my school bag. 

"It is okay." I replied a little too slow and gathered some of the papers on the floor before picking them up all at once. Her hair was covering her face as she picked up the rest of the paper, she had a small frame and I wouldn't have thought that she was an office girl if she wasn't wearing the office wear - you know, those tight but long enough skirt with the white blouse kind. I waited for her to stand up and regain her breath before passing the papers in my hand to her. Her head was still bent low as she tried to sort the papers neatly. 

"Thank you so much." She said almost like a whisper and gave me a very shy but genuine smile as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. My breath hitched at that moment. 

"N-nope. Is everything with you already?" I asked, keeping my cool as I pointed at the papers in her arms. She nodded rapidly and gave me another shy small smile before she walked away, but not before she paused for a few seconds without saying anything. I blinked a few times, trying to keep my contact lens from drying up because I had been staring. Her small frame got even smaller as she walked further away. 

To my own surprise, my legs began to tread forward and before I realised it, she was there right in front of me again. She turned around as she heard someone running behind her and it was how we ended up meeting face to face again. "Hey..." I choked on my own word. She tilted her head slightly to the right as she looked at me with her round but tired eyes. 

"Yes?" her voice was still soft and timid. 

"I... uhm... I..." I gave my not-so-itchy ear a few scratch, shifting my weight from my right foot to my left and then to my right again. It was all because I was nervous as hell and I didn't know where did I even get the courage to run up to her. 

She just stood there patiently as she prompted me to go on with her small nod. "W-what's your n-name?" I blurted out. She giggled softly when I slapped my mouth a little bit too hard, trying to stop the words that had already slipped out of my mouth from slipping into her ears. I could feel my cheeks burning and I bit my tongue, cursing and scolding myself mentally for even doing such a thing. She would probably think that I am a weirdo and I must be creeping her out. "Nevermind-"

"Irene."

"What?" My eyes must have been huge because she was giggling again and damn, she looked like an angel when she giggled with her hand covering . 

"I am Irene." She repeated, I heard it the first time. I just couldn't believe that I got her name. "What's your name?" The corners of her lips tugged upwards, fingers playing with the edges of the papers as she watched me trying to find my sanity back. I supposed. 

"Seulgi." I whispered for god knows why. "My name is Seulgi." I cleared my throat and repeated myself again, more confidently as I flashed her my smile.

She nodded, with a playful smile this time. "That's all?" 

"Eh..." Of course it wasn't all, what's the point of knowing just her name? I the charm that I had switched off for almost 5 years ever since my last girlfriend. Chin raised slightly higher, smile grew a little more confident and eyes opened bigger (I have small eyes alright) "Can I get to know you?" My heart was going to explode at that moment because I didn't expect myself to be that daring actually. 

She arched an eyebrow and the small smile never went away. "Are you hitting on me?" she joked but no one laughed. 

I shrugged and grinned like an idiot, "maybe?" 

"How old are you?" 

"17."

Her eyes went even rounder and then she knocked her knuckles on my forehead. "You should be studying hard."

"Are you rejecting me now?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "I am just saying. Do you know how old am I?" Her smile was kind of teasing now. 

I shrugged again, trying to keep my cool. "You look young. 22?"

She shook her head again with her eyes closed and she smiled to the ground. "25."

"What???" I was shocked and overwhelmed. "You don't look like you're 25..." I puffed up my cheeks as I looked at the papers in her arms. 

"So do you still want to get to know me now?" she teased, as if she was challenging me. 

I stared at her for a few seconds, her eyes were so beautiful and hypnotizing. I would have been lost in her eyes if she didn't cough to get back my attention. "Of course." I replied very confidently, giving her a few firm nods and a victory smile. 

"Silly girl." She chuckled again and continued, "but our is 8 years wide. Very wide." She explained to me slowly and I blinked as I saw a wave of doubt in her eyes. 

"I don't mind."

"My friends are mostly around my age. Are you sure you will want someone this old to be your friend?" She asked patiently and slowly, as if she was giving me time to reconsider. I quickly gave her a strong firm nod and she sighed with a smile, not that she was annoyed, more like she was relieved. "Alright." 

I grinned. "So can I have your number?" 

She raised both eyebrows now and nodded as she fished out her phone from her handbag with her free hand. I was so happy that I thought I could fly when she handed me her phone. "Use it to call your phone."

"Nah, how about you just tell me your number." I pushed her phone back to her and took out my phone from my school skirt instead. 

She gave a faint laugh and then put her phone back to her handbag before she told me a string of numbers that I quickly typed into my phone, reassuring as I read her number out to her to confirm with her. "Yeap that's right." she smiled. "so..."

"Where do you live?" I quickly asked her before she could say anything or before awkwardness could get in between us again. 

She stared at me as if I was crazy again for the third time. "Are we moving a little too fast?" She laughed at her own question and also at my impatience. 

"Well... not that I wanna go to your house... I just wanna know which block you live at, maybe I can walk you home." I said calmly, almost digging a hole to hide my embarrassed self. 

Her laughter softened down and she cleared . "I live there." She pointed. 

Funny. 

"Are you serious?" I looked at her then back to the block she was pointing at. "I live next to you." I said, pointing to the block right next to where she was pointing at. "So we are practically neighbours."

"Not exactly... but if you say so." She smiled teasingly. "So are you gonna walk me home now?"

"Sure!" I replied with great enthusiasm which made her giggle again. Not that I don't like it. Her giggle was the sweetest voice I have ever heard of. "Uhm... shall we?" I extended out my arm and signalled her to walk first. "Let me help you with some." I said as I took some  or maybe most of the papers from her. Her cheeks had this tint of pink and she tucked her hair behind her ear again. It made my heart palpitate so fast and I calmed myself down by in a deep long breath. "What do you work as?" I tried to have some talks with her as we started walking towards her block. 

"I work in the office. Boring job." She made a sad face which I chuckled. "My boss asked me to file these papers properly and prepare for tomorrow's meeting, but look at how screwed up I was just now." she sighed, kicking a small stone off the pavement. 

I stole a quick glance at her side profile and said, "I am sorry, I should have been more alert." I bit my lower lip as I thought back about the incident just now. 

"It is okay. I am kind of glad that it happened anyway." she kind of mumbled at the last few words which made me grin even wider. "Anyway, where do you study at?" 

"RV high school. Not that far from here." I said, thinking that she didn't know where my school was at. 

"That's a very good school." She looked both surprised and amused. "You must be thinking that you are smart enough huh? Not studying and hitting on girls instead." she looked at me playfully. 

"You are a girl?" I teased. Her jaw dropped and she kind of rolled her eyes at me but I could sense that she wasn't angry. "I was just kidding. But, to be honest, I don't hit on people." 

"You don't call that hitting on girls- I mean women, whatever you call it." she said, a little more careful with the use of her word now. 

"I didn't expect myself to do that actually." I shrugged, shifting the paper back into position in my arms. 

She stopped and turned to look at me. "why?" her face full of curiosity. 

"I don't know. I just had this strong feeling of wanting to get to know you." I said without looking at her and then continued walking ahead. She didn't catch up with me only after a good 15 seconds. I counted alright? 

"Why?" She asked again, sounding playful, bumping my shoulder with hers. 

"I... don't know." I sighed. I took a quick glimpse at her and found that she was already staring at me. "Okay okay. I was... I find you... very pretty, alright?" I broke the eye contact and walked even faster as I could feel blood rushing to my face. My heart pounded against my chest wildly. 

"oh..." I heard her. "What if I told you I am not single?" 

My heart sank at that moment. But I was always quick to analyse situations. "You are single." 

"why are you so sure?" she asked, looking amused. 

"If you aren't, you won't be talking to me already."

"why not?"

"You know that I am hitting on you."

"Yeah. so?"

"If you have a boyfriend, you won't even look at a girl like me. A girl, hello?" I said sarcastically. She giggled a little louder this time. "What's so funny?"

"You look annoyed. Am I still attractive now?"

"yeah." I replied a little too quickly and she laughed out loud again. I was honestly embarrassed by everything that I had said and done ever since our very first interaction. "I mean-"

"You mean?" she stoppped laughing and repeated after me. 

"You're really beautiful." I said, looking at her. Her cheeks became bright in pink that added on to the blush that she put for make-up. She gave me a weak jab in my arm and smiled at me like she had been doing. "I have never seen someone as beautiful as you."

"So you're just attracted by my looks?" she pressed her lips together slightly. 

"Initially, yes. Now, no."

"What do you mean?"

"You are interesting." I gave her a firm smile. 

"why?"

"Because you have a lot of questions." I joked. She slapped my arm and I stopped laughing, clearing my throat before I continued. "Because you are shy but you can be playful as well. I don't know. I feel... comfortable with you." 

We walked in silence for the next minute, but it was not an awkward silence like how I feared it would be. "Me too." she muttered out. "I am normally very shy around people."

"I can tell." I smirked at her. "So... here it is?" I said with a shrug as we reached the lift of her block. She nodded, looking at the pile of papers in my arms and then to the ground, and to my eyes. 

"Text me, okay?" she said timidly again. Funny how awhile ago, she was the one who kept teasing me. She pressed the button and I handed her the papers after she stepped into the lift. She chewed on her bottom lip as I waved at her before the lift door closed. "Bye." She mouthed to me with a different smile, not an exactly happy one, then the lift elevated and she was gone from my sight. 

I sighed in content as I started walking to the next block which was where I lived, reminiscing what happened just now. "Irene." I said her name. Her name felt foreign on my tongue but I liked how it sounded. I took out my phone from the pocket and scrolled down my contact list. Irene. My smile never went away even when I stepped into my house. "Mom I am home!" I chirped. 

My mother peeked out from the kitchen and looked at me as if I was weird. "Why are you so happy today?" she frowned. 

"Why can't I be happy?" I imitated the way she frowned and she laughed. 

"Did something happen?" she put down the spatula and came over to me. I nodded, with a huge grin on my face. "What is it?"

"Not gonna tell you yet." I stuck out my tongue and quickly ran to my room before my mother could protest. I dumped my school bag to the corner and picked out new set of clothes before going for shower. It was already 7pm and after I was done showering, my stomach was already growling non-stop at 8pm. I had my dinner quickly as I still had tonnes of homework to complete. 

As soon as I was done eating, I proceeded to do my homework. Taking out the calculus worksheet that my teacher gave us and squeezing my brain juice out to solve all the 20 questions. Level of difficulty: sky high. 

Biology and chemistry are my strongest subjects, hence I had no problem completing the homework within an hour. By the time I completed everything, it was already near 11pm. I yawned and checked my phone. 

"." I muttered as I remembered about Irene. " ." I threw my pen onto the table and jumped to my bed, heart was pumping wildly against my chest again as I tapped on her name. 

To: Irene :)

Hey... sorry for texting you this late. I was busy doing my homework >.<

I held onto my phone tightly, praying that my message would get to Irene as soon as possible and she would reply me as soon as possible too. I waited for 5 minutes, staring at the screen on my phone with no new incoming message. I sighed and locked my phone before placing it next to my pillow as I went to off the light. I guess she was sleeping already. 

My heart was in my mouth when my phone vibrated. I panicked and picked up my phone immediately, almost dropping it to the floor but thanks to my quick reflex, I managed to prolong my phone's life. 

From: Irene :)

Hey there. Thought you forgot about me already :( I was wondering why haven't you texted me..

Did you have a lot of work to do?

I smiled like an idiot. I smiled so widely. I quickly hit the reply icon to type in my reply. 

To: Irene :)

It kind of slipped my mind... sorry. I had tonnes of homework to do. Exams are coming :(

Didn't you have work to do too?

From: Irene :)

You forgot? okay...

To: Irene :)

Hey hey hey. I said it slipped my mind. I didn't forget. Please don't be sad :( 

From: Irene :)

What's the difference?

To; Irene :)

Hey I am sorry alright? I should have texted you right after I came home..

From: Irene :)

Hmm... I am the one who is supposed to say sorry. You are a student, you should prioritize your work first :)

not angry or sad. I was just... disappointed I guess? I am ok now :)

To: Irene :)

You're so understanding maybe because you are older :P

I am really sorry though. 

From: Irene :)

Apology not accepted :P

To: Irene :)

What... then how can I ask for your forgiveness? :(

From: Irene :)

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Are you free tomorrow?

To: Irene :)

Can't wait to see me already? :P

From: Irene :)

Maybe hehe

To: Irene :)

My lessons end at 5pm tomorrow though. 

From: Irene :)

My work ends at 5 too. How about we have dinner together? ^^

To: Irene :)

Candlelight dinner? :P

From: Irene :)

Don't be a flirt. See you at the noodles restaurant beside your school tomorrow then :)

To: Irene :)

Alright. See you then :) Good night. Sleep tight. 

From: Irene :)

You're so sweet. Good night :)

I giggled quietly to myself and placed the phone on my chest, as if it would bring Irene closer to me. I was so excited to meet her again so soon. I thought we wouldn't be meeting so soon. "Good night." I said to my soft toy - a bear - and gave it a few pats before snuggling it close to me, slowly drifting off to deep slumber in content as I pictured how our dinner would be like. 

"Hey there. Sorry I am a bit late. My teacher held me back for consultation." I apologised as soon as I found a seat opposite to Irene. She was looking like an angel again with her hair tied up in loose ponytail and she was wearing a long pale blue blouse with a black long pants. Totally slaying the looks. She shook her head and smiled, telling me it was alright. "So what do you want to have? My treat." I said after regaining my breath as I looked at the menu. 

She arched an eyebrow again, I guess it was her habit. "Do you have money?"

"Why not?" I frowned. 

"It is okay. You're not working yet." She smiled at me and looked at the menu again. "Let's try this one." She pointed to the picture which looked really good by the way. 

"But-"

"No but. It is my treat." she cut off my sentence and then called the waiter. "do you wan to have this too?" she asked me softly before the waiter approached our table, I simply nodded, in reluctance because she didn't let me treat her the meal. She chuckled at my act and spoke to the waiter to place our order. "Cheer up." she teased, throwing a napkin into my face. 

I grabbed the napkin on my lap and put it back on the table. "How's your day?" I asked, trying to open up a new conversation. 

"Boring. I told you so." she pursed her lips. "what about yours?" she looked at me with face full of interest as if school life was any less boring. 

"Hmm.. there is this girl from a class next to mine." I paused, noticed that her eyelid twitched slightly and she sat back a little while taking a sip of water. "I kind of knew that she likes-"

"she likes you?" she interrupted. My ears wiggled in amusement at the bitterness in her voice. Her face was blank but her eyes were telling me something. I smirked slightly but not obvious enough for her to notice. 

I shook my head as I replied, "I kind of knew that she likes my friend." I emphasised the word and I saw how she relax her shoulders but was also looking embarrassed. I chuckled softly before continuing, "so today she came up to me and asked me for help. She is pretty though." 

"oh.."

"But you're prettier." I said, grinning at her. She blushed again and took another sip of water. "Anyway, I told her that my best friend is gay. Like, he doesn't like girls." She giggled and I laughed along too. "Too bad. Taeyong is really handsome though." 

"But he is gay." she teased. 

I shrugged and said, "so am I."

Her eyes widened for a second and then smiled at me reassuringly. "It is okay. I don't judge." 

"What about you?" I asked, nervous to know even though I was aware that I had an upper hand already. 

"Hmm... guys confessed to me and I tried dating one guy before but I just felt nothing. I haven't like liked anyone yet." she shrugged, playing with the glass. 

I raised my eyebrow, perhaps something that I learnt from her. "You are not interested in anyone now?"

She hesitated before throwing me a quick glance and then look at the glass in her hand. "I am." It sounded so soft that I almost couldn't hear it over the random conversations in the restaurant. "You?"

"You know." I said boldly. She suppressed a smile and gave me another quick look before the waiter came and served our dinner. 

"It looks so good." she awed. "I am so hungry." she held the chopsticks quickly and started savouring the noodles while I watched her in both amusement and admiration. 

"You look good too." I had no idea why I said that. 

She chewed on her food slowly and looked at me, rolling her eyes playfully at me and said, "eat your dinner before you flirt, kid." 

I groaned and she laughed, of course hand covering as the noodles were inside. I shook my head and smiled to myself before we ate our dinner in silence. A comfortable silence. Until she broke it. 

"Isn't it weird that it feels like we have known each other for very long?"

I slurped on my noodle before looking up at her. She giggled and took the napkin to wipe the corner of my lips which made my heart flutter like crazy. "and we just met yesterday." she added. 

"do you know why?" i asked, having an idea popped up in my head. She shook her head, looking at me curiously as she waited for me to continue. "I think this is what  they call... soulmate."

Her eyes went bigger and the she leaned forward to push me on my shoulder. "Stop flirting with me."

"Why should I?" I questioned, looking at her but she wasn't looking at me. She was playing with the noodles now instead.

"Because..." she bit her lip. "Because..." she in a deep breath before she looked up. "Because I will fall for you."

My heart stopped. But as usual, my mouth didn't stop. "Good then." 

She raised her fist, pretended like she was going to hit me. "What if this feeling of yours is just an infatuation, like teenager having stupid crushes on random people." She sounded serious and mature, drawing me closer to her.

I put down my chopsticks, took a gulp of water and wiped my mouth with the napkin. "Firstly, it is not a stupid crush. Secondly, you are not exactly a random person. Thirdly, I am sure as hell that it is not an infatuation." 

She didn't speak. 

"Okay. Maybe you are a random person that I just met yesterday. But now, you were a random person. You get it? We feel as if we have known each other for very long, this means something alright? We can click and I like that. No, I love that. And I am sure it isn't just an infatuation because I haven't liked someone for 5 years already. Yeah I had a girlfriend when I was 12 but like, it was legit ok? We didn't make out though, just pecking on the lips. That's all I swear." I got more and more defensive as her gaze got more and more intensed, raising my hands up in mid-air as if I was surrendering myself. 

"Finish your food first, kid." She chuckled and tucked her hair behind her ear. An action that always made my breath halt. We continued to eat in silence again and then she called for the bill which she paid for it. Then she suggested that we should walk home so that we could have time to talk more. By the way, it was quite a long distance from my school to my house. But it didn't matter because I was with her. 

"Do you like me?" she suddenly asked after we fell into silence awhile after we stepped out of the restaurant. She was looking everywhere but me and playing with her fingers. 

"How much more obvious do I have to be?" I asked her back. 

"I don't know... you didn't say it." she uttered.

I adjusted my bag straps on my shoulders and then held onto her shoulder to stop her from walking. She looked surprised to have both my hands pressing firmly on her shoulders. There was nobody around as it was quite a quiet place. "Irene." she batted her eyelashes as I looked at her, just noticing how compatible our heights were. She was shorter than me, just nice. "This may sound not serious because I am just 17, but, I am really really really  sure that I like you. I know we just met yesterday like we were really just strangers, but you can't deny that there is this connection between us."

She nodded. So I continued with my impromptu speech. "I know you're worried about trusting me because I am really young and haven't even graduated from high school. But I really hope that you can trust me to give you the care and..." I fumbled a bit and frowned to myself, not sure if it was right to say that. "and love."

Her eyes flickered at the word and she looked down, probably still unsure about herself. 

"Ok. So what if I am 17? Are you thinking that I will be a burden for you? Like, you will be looking after a kid instead of having a girlfriend to care for you?" I asked boldly.

She shook her head and sighed. "That's not what I am think-"

"Then good. Also to add on, I am the oldest child in my family. So I am independent. You don't have to worry about me getting childish and throwing tantrums because that will never happen." I assured. 

She stared at me before bursting into a fit of laughter. I pouted and frowned at her, not pleased at the fact that she laughed during my serious speech. "You are so silly." she said after she calmed herself down a little, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. 

"What?"

"I was kind of testing you." she stuck out her tongue.

"What?"

"You are asking too many question, Seulgi." she knocked my forehead and smiled. That's the first time I heard her calling my name, I had never liked my name more. "But I was also quite scared that you won't be there to catch me if I fall for you." she trailed off. 

"I will." I said confidently, staring into her eyes despite the faint lighting of the street lamp. 

She giggled softly and nodded with the sweetest smile I had ever seen. "So are you gonna kiss me or not?"

"Can I?" I asked, face lit up, enough to brighten up the dim surrounding. 

She smiled widely and nodded firmly, our eyes never left each other. "You may."

I my lips due to the nervousness within me and I noticed she did the same too. Slowly but steadily, I leaned forward, bending down slightly to catch her lips with mine. Damn, her lips were so soft. We didn't move for awhile, just pressing our lips against each other's. I was more than thrilled when she wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me closer to her body as well as deepening the kiss. I took it as a sign to shift my hands downward, around her petite waist. I tugged her closer to me, body pressing against each other to share the warmth amidst the chilly night. Our lips started moving and I felt so giddy when she my lower lip, trying to grant an entry. I let her in without hesitation and I could feel my heart bursting when she let out a soft moan. Her fingers started massaging the back of my neck as I kneaded her waist, tickling her slightly as she quivered before pushing me away with her palm placed on my chest. Her eyes were so shy and I had to lift her head to meet my gaze. I leaned down to give a quick peck again and she couldn't hide her smile from the dim light. 

"Be my girlfriend?" I asked, still nervous even though we kissed. 

"And soulmate." she replied. I literally jumped and punched my fist in the air as I cheered when she agreed to be my girlfriend. "Shhh people are looking at us." she attempted to pull me to her side to stop me from cheering. 

"They look at us because of how good we look together." I teased, cupping her face in my hands. "I will love you with all my heart, Irene." Then closing up the gap between the still burning lips again. 

"I will love you too. Even though you may be a kid sometimes." She joked. "Seulgi-ah." 

I looked at her, nodding at her to egg her on. 

"Thank you." she smiled, burying her face at the crook of my neck as she snuggled close to me. 

"For?" I asked, looking down even though I knew I wouldn't be able to see her face .

"For coming into my life yesterday and deciding to stay forever." I could sense the hint of shyness in her sentence. I chuckled and hugged her even closer to me, sighing in satisfaction as her scent embraced me with her warm body. I gave her a soft peck on the temple and she leaned in to kiss the side of my neck too. 

"I am sure this is gonna be forever." I whispered. "Soulmate."