Do Yeon was certain she saw his face contort in pain for a slight second before returning to its expressionless state. The thud was loud enough for her to be certain the impact was capable of leaving a big bruise on his back. Her gaze met his and she staggered back a step upon seeing a ring of blue around his pupils. As soon as they appeared, they were gone. opened only to have no words leave it. Instead, he was the one that spoke, asking her if she was okay. Furrowing her brows, she told him that the one that should be asking that very question was her. He broke into a small chuckle, as though mocking her for thinking that way. Releasing his grasp on her, he turned around to pick up the ball. Just as he did that, the guy who had been the one to kick the ball jogged up towards where Wonho was standing. Before Wonho even had the chance to acknowledge the other, the guy brushed right past him and made his way towards Do Yeon instead.

"Sunbae, I'm so sorry!" The guy exclaimed. Wonho could hear the fear in his tone, wondering why she was the first to be approached instead of the one that was actually hit. Meanwhile, the other fellow stared at Do Yeon's mortified face, unsure of what thoughts lurked her mind. He was extremely relieved that the ball didn't hit her but the fact that it nearly did still pried at him to seek her forgiveness. He feared her and what she was capable of. Then again, who wouldn't?

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to him!" Do Yeon replied as she pointed at Wonho, at a loss for words. With panic-stricken eyes, the fellow turned to Wonho - whose raised brow lowered upon making eye contact with the guy -, muttering what was supposedly an apology. The redness of his ear was enough to indicate how embarrassed he was. Not wanting to taunt him further - despite it being just a little tempting -, Wonho broke into a smile before returning the ball and patting the guy, telling him that all was good. Do Yeon frowned, cocking her head as she watched the look in Wonho's eyes. The man's stare was prolonged despite the other already making his way back onto the field. As though he could feel her staring, Wonho's head snapped in her direction, catching her off guard. His eye smile greeted her yet all she could do was stare in return with only one thing etched into her mind.

The blue ring around his eyes.

Do Yeon kept throwing glances his way, some lasting longer than the rest. The two had long arrived at her house and were done dividing the work so while Do Yeon did her part on the couch, Wonho was doing his on the carpet with his back against the couch. He was typing away, seemingly focused on getting his portion done within the amount of time he had for the day. Meanwhile, Do Yeon's focus kept going adrift despite her still getting her work done - though not as productive as she would usually be. She couldn't stop looking over at Wonho as the scene from earlier on replayed in her mind. Questions flooded her brain yet all were left unanswered.

"You know, with you staring at me like that, it really makes me wonder what you're thinking about." Do Yeon woke up from her trail of thoughts upon hearing that, her eyes unintentionally going wide as though she had been caught red-handed. Wonho still had his gaze fixed on his laptop screen, typing away at it as though he hadn't just pierced the air of silence that was long adapted to the room. Do Yeon grew flustered without even having him look her way. Regaining her composure, she thought of what to say, not wanting to let him have the satisfaction of winning.

"Nothing much, really. Just admiring that pretty face of yours," Do Yeon mused. The rapid sound of typing came to a halt as Wonho averted his attention for the first time ever since he'd started working on the project. The shock on his face made Do Yeon have the urge to laugh yet she kept it to herself, enjoying the slightly flustered Wonho before her. No words were needed for the smile plastered on her face was enough to say, "That's right, you heard me."

"Anyway, I'm sorry about what happened earlier on at school. I've also yet to thank you so yes, thank you for taking the hit for me. Are you sure you're okay though? The impact sounded loud." Hearing that, the surprised look on Wonho's face was replaced with a knowing look. Her attempt at shaking him up so that she could casually bring up the incident without revealing that it had been bothering her was almost successful - almost.

"I'm fine, really. It only sounded loud. No damage was done," Wonho replied, adding on that it would've been worse if the ball had actually hit her face. He didn't want that to happen to the one face he enjoyed looking at. Hearing him say that, it was then Do Yeon's turn to fall into a nonplussed state. She turned pink, letting out a cough as the awkward silence from before threatened to return between the two. Too busy mentally chiding herself for letting him get to her, Do Yeon missed the brief chuckle from Wonho who clearly enjoyed the scene before him. Seeing that she wasn't about to say anything, he made use of the opportunity to ask her the questions that lurked his mind.

"You know, when Jooheon told me about you and your involvement in the mafia, I was quite skeptical about it. Then I saw the fear in the guy's eyes earlier on when he came rushing to apologize to you and I can't help but wonder if the whole thing about you is true. Care to clear my doubts?" It took Do Yeon some time to process his words, partly due to her still flustered state. Finally understanding what he was on about, Do Yeon responded with a brief nod, uncertain of what she was even supposed to say. That aside, she made a mental note to have a word with Jooheon about opening his mouth to people he barely knew. Fortunately for her, Wonho didn't pry further. Then again, even if he did, she wouldn't be so keen about going in depth with her explanations. "I kind of expected there to be tighter security at your house though."

"I sent them away before we arrived," Do Yeon replied, hoping he didn't ask why because even she didn't know the answer to that.

"Huh. You don't find me a threat to you in any way?" Wonho asked, his tone accompanied with a smirk.

"If you wanted to hurt me, you would've done it the moment you realized the lack of security," Do Yeon pointed out, leaning towards him, almost taunting him. Wonho didn't reply despite the smirk still latching onto his face. His eyes darted from hers to her lips before moving to her eyes again.

"You're a smart girl." He paused, drawing his lips up to the side of her ear and in a soft whisper, he said, "I like smart girls."

A/N: I'm sorry for not updating for so longggg but I hope this chapter made up for it! Thank you for subscribing as well as commenting, I really appreciate the support <3 Oh and a little late but Happy New Year! Stay blessed <3 xx