“Here are the documents, Jiwoo.”

Jiwoo scarcely heard him. Her concentration was fixed on the book she’d been assigned to edit. Still, the words registered and she distractedly lifted a hand up to receive the documents. When nothing landed on her palm, she finally looked up from her work and looked behind her.

“You’re still the same,” Tae-hyung said. He was standing behind her with a wide grin. 

“What?” she asked in confusion.

“When you read, it’s like no one can penetrate the bubble around you.”

Jiwoo stared at him.

He still remembered?

Unbidden, a surge of emotion took her by surprise. Happiness swelled in her chest and her heart began to pound.

Then Tae-hyung suddenly leaned down and whispered in her ear, “In love with me yet?”

And… happy feeling was gone.

She leaned as far as she could from him in her chair and scowled. He may be good-looking, he may be a good superior, but he was also silly and immature.

“No sir,” she answered just as quietly but firmly.

It was unbelievable, how persistent Tae-hyung was. All week long, he hounded after her, getting her to play the cat and mouse game. She was apparently the mouse. And he was the cat, the cat that was incessantly toying with her before he aimed for the kill.

There was no doubt he was a good superior. He knew what he was doing and she’d already learned a lot from him. They were only two years apart but he’d already achieved so much with his career, being promoted as head editor for less than a year and making their department the best in the company. Even Woo-jin grudgingly admitted to her that he was one of the companies’ most excellent employees and also the most eccentric, considering he liked to do things his way.

If only he didn’t spoke to her so often, she would have been perfectly happy with her new job.

“Do you like it?”

Jiwoo was in the middle of a very interesting chapter when she heard someone talking. Thinking the question wasn’t for her, since no one really talked to her here in the library anyway, she flipped the page and continued reading.

A sharp rap on the table startled her and she looked up. Standing next to her chair was Tae-hyung.

“Do you like the book?” he asked.

“Book… this book?” she stuttered.

He was talking to her. He was actually talking to her!

Tae-hyung gave her a nod.

“Y-yes. I do,” she answered. “It’s one of my favorites. I actually have the complete set at home but I saw they had some copies here as well and I… I thought I should read them again.”

She was babbling, she realized and she shut . Half of what she said was true. It was one of her favorites and she did have the complete set at home. But half was a lie, for she only read it again once she found out he’d read it last week.

“You should read this book then,” Tae-hyung told her, lifting the book in his hand. “It’s the same genre and it’s a good read.”

“I… I will. Thank you.”

Tae-hyung stared down at her some more. Then he nodded and went back to his table.

Jiwoo blew out a quick breath. Holding a squeal in, she giddily and silently jumped up and down on her chair.

He spoke to her, she thought happily. We finally spoke to each other.

Tae-hyung leaned back and shrugged.

“Worth a shot,” he muttered and her scowl deepened.

“The documents, sir?” Jiwoo prompted, wriggling her fingers at him.

Tae-hyung stared at her palm. Then, instead of giving her the documents, he reached for her hand and wrapped his fingers around hers.

“I’ll make you say that you love me one more time,” he declared. “So you better be prepared for it.”

Tae-hyung couldn’t have said it at the worst place and at the worst possible timing.

Did he forget where they were?

They were in the conference room and were about to have a meeting, for heaven’s sake, and everyone who was in the room with them heard his announcement.

Again.

Bright-faced, Jiwoo snatched her hand and the documents from his hand before turning to face the table.  

She was seriously starting to hate his guts.