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♪♪♪ Ha Yun stole a glimpse of Yoon Do, who was now holding an ice pack to the back of his head, and nibbled on her bottom lip. They were sitting on a bench just outside of the hospital, the woman on one end and the doctor on the other. Although she was not directly at fault for his injuries, at least not this time around, Ha Yun still felt guilty about what had happened. It was like she had this sense of responsibility over him and, honestly, it was a little hard to explain. “Are you really okay?” she asked again just to double-check. She had to take precautions here.

When they first fell down, Yoon Do had been unresponsive, sporting a zoned out expression. Ha Yun was afraid he was suffering from a concussion but after a minute or so, he was up on his feet, his face beet-red. He was adamant about being fine, assuring her she had nothing to worry about yet Ha Yun couldn’t bear to leave him alone. It’s not like she had to go anywhere which meant she was in no rush. And because she had nothing else to do, she decided to stick around. She could use a distraction.

“Mhm,” hummed Yoon Do as he shifted in his seat. He had a minor headache but was certain it wasn’t anything serious. He was a little embarrassed though. How clumsy could he be? Who tripped going up the stairs anyways? Usually it’s coming down that’s the issue, but of course Yoon Do had to go and make an exceptional fool out of himself in front of her. How was he supposed to explain the situation? He couldn’t tell her it was because he thought she was a figment of his imagination and was, therefore, stunned when he discovered that she was in fact very real. After learning a little about her through Kyu Won, Yoon Do concluded that she would most likely find the ordeal more creepy than flattering. So it was best if he kept this to himself.

“It looked pretty painful though,” Ha Yun muttered as she began to pick at her nails. It was a bad habit of hers, one she could never get rid of. Fortunately, she only did it when she didn’t know what else to do, which would describe the situation she’s in right now. She would offer to get him some medicine but that costed money. It would also be pretty ironic for her to do so considering Yoon Do worked at a hospital and could probably get whatever he needed for free. The perks of being someone successful in life.

Next, the incident replayed in her head. The memory made Ha Yun instantly frown as she turned toward him. “But why did you fall all of a sudden?” She blinked, her head tilted at an angle. She would have assumed it was because he was in a hurry but that couldn’t be the case since he had stopped and their eyes locked before the fall even occurred. Was she perhaps the cause? Did he think she was there to bother him again or something along those lines? No way. That couldn’t be it. Why was she overthinking it?

Yoon Do’s entire body stiffened and he was quickly devoured by panic. His fight or flight response was activated yet he had a difficult time figuring which road he wanted to take. Why did she have to ask him that? Couldn’t she just forget about the whole thing? It was beyond mortifying for him. It’ll take a while for him to recover from this embarrassment as well. Actually, Yoon Do was immensely impressed that he still had the confidence to stay with the woman despite making a complete imbecile out of himself. What should he say to her? He obviously wasn’t going to tell her the truth as aforementioned. It simply wasn’t an option.

“I was exhausted,” he explained after he cleared his throat. Technically speaking, it wasn’t a lie. It just wasn’t the entire truth, but what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her, right? Yoon Do secretly stole a glimpse of her in order to see her reaction. Once she nodded, he realized he was in the clear and mentally patted himself on the back. He was normally a straight-to-the-chase sort of person. Someone who was not fazed by speaking their mind. Yet, for some reason, he deviated from his typical behavior and it was all because of this woman.

“You must have been,” Ha Yun replied gently. He was a doctor at one of the country’s best medical facilities. It would only make sense he’d be tired with so many people depending on him every single day. “You should rest when you can,” she advised. “There are a lot of people who need you.” As soon as the last word left her lips, she climbed up to her feet and inhaled a deep breath. Her chest puffed out and then caved in before she shifted toward Yoo Do. Ha Yun bowed and refused to meet eyes with him. She didn’t know why but she felt so ashamed being next to him. “I’ll get going then. Please take care of yourself.” She swiveled around on the heels of her feet and began to leave.

Yoon Do jumped off of the bench like it was on fire and called out to her, “Just a moment, Kim Hae Yoon!”

She halted at the sound of his voice and hesitantly peered over her shoulder. Was he talking to her? He must have been. There was nobody else around. But that wasn’t her name. It was close but it was still wrong and she didn’t like it.  “Ha Yun,” she corrected with a sigh. “My name is Kim Ha Yun.” Why was she telling him this? Why was she doing something so pointless? The answer was easy. It was because in the cavernous depth of her heart, she was aware that this was not going to be the last time she’d run into Jung Yoon Do. And, as ridiculous as this sounded, she didn’t want him to make the same mistake the next time their paths crossed.

Once he recognized what he had done, his complexion paled. It felt like a piano had dropped from the sky and fallen right on top of Yoon Do. Too bad it was only a figure of speech. He would have honestly preferred it if that had actually happened because then he wouldn’t have to deal with the embarrassment all over again. He was so going to choke the living daylights out of Kyu Won for providing him with false information! “Kim Ha Yun,” Yoon Do repeated softly as he watched the woman walk away, the distance between them increasing with each step she took.

* * *

Iseul was leaving the school with her old leather briefcase swinging by her side when a few students stopped her at the front gate. “Teacher, do you have a boyfriend?” one of the girls questioned, her lips molded into a wide grin. Frazzled by the question and completely caught off guard, the woman couldn’t help but balk at the trio in utter disbelief. What were they trying to do? Set her up on a blind date? Iseul then recognized the girl. Her name was Lee Yeo Rim, a senior at the school. She wasn’t a straight A student, but that didn’t mean she was a bad kid. She could be a little too energetic and blunt at times but that was part of her charm.

However, Iseul didn’t even get the chance to respond and speak for herself. Yeo Rim continued talking. She must have forgotten her manners back at home.  “Being the shy person you are, you must be single,” she concluded as she clapped her hands enthusiastically. “Then this is perfect. My brother just came back from America and I think you two would suit each other well. You should meet up with him, teacher. I think you’ll like him a lot. He’s really handsome and sweet.” Why was she trying to play Cupid? Did Iseul look pathe