Oh my god…

This is the last thing I expected to happen. When Jackson rushed into my office saying that Jin had looked like he was ready to commit murder, I had known instantly where he was headed. I had almost knocked Jackson down in my hurry to run after Jin to stop him from doing something stupid.

I had expected to find the two of them shouting at each other, but I hadn’t expected Jin to have Wonsik pinned to the wall by his throat. Wonsik isn’t a small guy, but he hadn’t stood a chance against Jin’s strength.

Then there’s Jin’s confession. Suddenly, all of those thoughts I had had about the distant hope that Jin had feelings for me that extended past friendship had turned out to be all too real.

I don’t know how long I stood there, mouth agape as I just stared at Jin. I could tell that even though he was pretending otherwise, he was actually really nervous about his confession. Despite his attempt at a casual expression, I could see the vulnerability in his eyes as he looked at me. I finally snapped my mouth shut and glanced over at Wonsik who was staring at me almost as intensely as Jin was. I took a deep breath before turning back to face Jin, a small smile appearing on my face. “Yes.” I said, making Jin’s face light up and Wonsik's face cloud over with rage. “Nari, you can’t…”

“Don’t tell me what I can or cannot do Kim Wonsik.” I spat icily before turning back to Jin. “Tonight. I’ll meet you by the entrance to the building as soon as I finish.” I said, enjoying the smile that Jin failed to hide at my words. I looked between the two of them once more before heading out of the room.

I cannot believe that just happened. I fanned myself as I headed into our small break room, Jackson appearing a moment later. “Nuna, what the hell just happened?” he asked as he helped me fan my face. “Jackson…” I said, a goofy smile appearing on my face. “I have a date.” I said incredulously. Jackson looked at me blankly for a minute before the penny dropped. “Wait, you have a date? With Mr Kim?!” he almost yelled. I slapped his arm and shushed him, not wanting the entire office to overhear. “Shut up.” I hissed as I glanced out the door to make sure no one could hear us. “Yeah, we’re going on a date tonight after work.”

Jackson was practically bouncing on the spot by this point. “Did I or did I not say that he liked you? I knew it! I knew it! He’s been so into you since the day you started here! Oh, a forbidden office romance! This is so perfect!” he gushed. I giggled a little at his enthusiasm and shushed him again. “You can’t tell anyone. I don’t want this spreading around the office or people are going to start thinking that I only got this project because of this.” Jackson nodded, “Of course! You can trust me. I won't tell a soul.” He said before miming zipping up his lips. His phone starting ringing from his pocket. “, it’s a client.” He said before turning back to me. “I want every single detail later.” He said. I laughed and promised to tell him everything before he answered his call. I smiled to myself as I made myself a cup of coffee before heading back into my office.

Jin was sitting at his desk and he smiled at me as I sat down. I gave him a shy smile before burying myself behind a mountain of paperwork, hoping that he couldn’t tell how flustered, or happy I was.

The rest of the day crawled by. Thankfully Jin got called away for a meeting in the afternoon so I had some time on my own to try and wrap my head around what had happened this morning. No matter how many times I thought about it, I still couldn’t believe that I was going on a date with Jin in less than an hour. The thought made me want to giggle like a schoolgirl with a crush.

Just before I was due to finish I went into the bathroom and attempted to tidy up my appearance. I kept the basics at work just in case I needed to touch up my make-up before meeting a client or something like that. When I had made up my little emergency make-up bag, I had never considered the possibility of having to touch up my make-up before going on my first date with Jin.

I cursed myself for my outfit choice this morning. Why hadn’t I put on something prettier? I made a mental note to start looking out an outfit the night before, so that even if I was dead tired in the morning, I would still have a decent looking outfit for the next day.

Once I finally sorted out my face and hair, I sprayed some perfume before glancing at my reflection one last time before heading back into my office and grabbing my bag and jacket. Jin had already text me earlier to say that he would be waiting outside the building after his meeting when I finished. I hadn’t seen Wonsik since this morning and part of me hoped that he would go back to Star and finish managing the project from there instead of bothering me here.

A smile crept onto my face as I stepped out of the building. Jin was standing against his car, patiently waiting for me. He smiled at me as I approached him. “Hey.” He said as I walked up to him, hoping that my cheeks weren’t as red as they felt. “Hey.” I said back shyly. He grinned at me and opened the passenger door for me. I slipped into the car and buckled my seatbelt. He got into the driver’s side and sped off.

He took me to a nice, but not too fancy, restaurant. I was thankful for his choice. Fancy restaurants always made me feel uncomfortable. Once we had ordered, I sipped on my water, my nerves increasing tenfold. Jin looked at me with an expression that I couldn’t fathom. “What?” I asked with a slight chuckle. “Why are you staring at me like that?” I asked as I touched my face, wondering if there was something wrong with my make-up or if there was something on my face.

A warm smile appeared on his face. “I’m just confused and surprised.” He admitted. My head cocked to the side slightly. “About what?” I asked as I settled back in my chair. “About you agreeing to this date.” He said boldly. “Especially under the circumstances. I have to admit that that was not how I had intended on confessing to you. I had hoped for something a little more romantic.” He said, without any hint of embarrassment. “I've been wondering if you only agreed to get Wonsik off your back?” he asked, his expression both hopeful and nervous.

The thought of him thinking that I would agree to something like that just to get rid of Wonsik saddened me. I shook my head. “That isn’t why I agreed.” I said softly, wishing I could speak as easily as him without feeling embarrassed. “I think it was around the time you saved me when I had that accident with the boxes in the storage room. I think it was around that time when I started to like you.” I admitted as I played with the stem of my wine glass. “I mean, I've known since I started here that you're handsome, but I never started to have those kind of feelings for you until that day and… I’m rambling.” I trailed off with a shy laugh.

Jin gave me a warm smile, reaching out and covering my hand with his. “I think my feelings started on the first day I saw you.” He admitted. My head snapped up, my jaw dropping in disbelief. “I saw you the day you came in for your interview. You were giving yourself a pep talk in the corridor, it was really cute.” He said making me blush at the memory. “I didn’t know anyone was there.” I said with an embarrassed laugh.

“You were so cute as you paced back and forth, telling yourself that you could do it. It was so endearing. Then you got the job and you were just filled with this fierce determination to do well. It was inspiring how you threw yourself into everything you did. You had so much passion, it was contagious. But underneath that there was something… vulnerable about you.” He said as his thumb began gently rubbing against the back of my hand. “It made me want to protect you from anything bad.” He admitted. “My feelings for you just continued to grow from there.”

I smiled brightly up at him. Surprised by his confession that he had liked me for so long. “So although things might not have played out exactly how I had planned, I still want you to know that I like you, Nari.” I squeezed his fingers, my chest tightening at his words. “I like you too.” He grinned back at me, looking like someone who had just won the lottery.

Our conversation flowed easily from there. Neither of us brought up Wonsik and the conversation remained light and happy. We ended up staying in the restaurant for much longer than planned. By the time we decided to leave, we were the only people left there. Jin opted to call us a taxi, as our extended dinner had led to us drinking a little more wine than originally intended. We sat in the back of the taxi, our fingers intertwined as I rested my head on his shoulder as the taxi whizzed through the quiet streets.

Jin insisted that we go to my apartment first and when the taxi stopped he insisted on getting out first and running around to my side to open the door for me. “Thank you for tonight. I had a wonderful time.” I said as I adjusted the strap of my bag. Jin smiled down at me, his hands lifting to rest on my shoulders. My heartbeat kicked into overdrive as he slowly leaned in towards me. I my suddenly dry lips as my eyes slipped closed in anticipation. I heard him chuckle before I felt his warm lips connect with my forehead.

“Goodnight, princess.” He said as he pulled back. I blinked up at him, a smile appearing on my face from both the nickname and from the kiss. “Goodnight. Get home safe.” I said as he got back into the taxi. He gave me a wave as the taxi pulled away, leaving me standing in front of my building. My fingers gently brushed the spot where Jin had kissed me. I giggled to myself like as love-struck teenager before heading into my apartment building, my tiredness from this morning completely forgotten.