Requested by: jaeminchul
Characters: Kim Heechul and Ahn Minhee
Writer: minukkie

Stacks of papers were scattered on the desk in front of her. Scribbles of notes could be seen on her notebook. Anyone who sees her at the moment would think that she was overworking herself. It wasn’t even their thesis period yet but she was studying as if her life depended on it. Her glasses were starting to fall off. It was only when the friend that was supposed to accompany her at the library tonight knocked her own forehead on the study table. Minhee giggled.

“Are you sure you want to be here?” Minhee asked at her friend who was hastily covering up any signs of sleepiness and straightened her back. Though, it was clear that she couldn’t last one more minute in this boring place.

“It’s dangerous to leave Ahn Minhee all alone with these hungry dogs this late at night,” her best friend Taeyeon spoke pertaining to all the males roaming around the area. “I’m staying.”

“Even if all these might take all night?” Min Hee pointed at all her workload that she planned on finishing that night.

“Of course! Yah, No matter how brave and independent you can be, you’re still a girl, Minhee.”

Minhee just laughed and shook her head side-ways. She was about to continue on scribbling more notes onto her notebook when the sight of a certain someone entered her line of vision. Taeyeon followed her eyes and smiled when she realised who Minhee was looking at.

“Why don’t you just tell him that you like him,” Taeyeon said while rubbing the remaining sleep from her eyes. “Eliminate all the uncertainties.”

“Are you kidding me? I have no time for these things. I have more important things in life to worry about.”

“Yeah, right. You sure will regret it when he’s no longer in the market.”

“I’m not his type, Taeyeon-ah,” she reasoned. “You’ve seen it yourself, the type of girl who hangs out with him and his friends.”

“And you look disappointed,” Taeyeon teased, earning herself a kick from under the table.

“Shut up.”

~~~

The silent hall suddenly echoed with laughter and cheers. Taeyeon and Minhee turned towards that direction where several girls suddenly appeared, circling a group of guys who had just arrived, one of them being the one who had captured Minhee’s lonely heart. She stared.

“Girls, should I request that all of you get out of my way?” Heechul asked with a thin smile, full of authority but enough to melt any girl’s heart.

Squeals erupted before the girls agreed to create a pathway for him to escape the suffocating atmosphere. He eyed them as he left, his companions followed closely behind, smirking. Heechul soon noticed the two silent girls who seemed content enough just by looking at him from a distance. The corner of his lips curled as he discreetly approached them.

“Has staring became your new profession, Minhee-sshi? Though, I personally think you looked much better staying behind those nerdy books that you love so much, Ms Four Eyes,” he chuckled mockingly and eyed Taeyeon before leaving them with a smirk on his lips.

Taeyeon grunted as she watched them leave. “I still don’t get it why you like him so much, Minhee. He’s very rude sometimes.”

Minhee smiled faintly. “It’s okay. I’m used to it.”

“You really are one weird girl, you know that? Lucky that it’s why I love you so much.”

Minhee laughed at the statement and bumped her shoulder at the grinning Taeyeon. “Come on, Mrs Park will be mad at us if we’re late again,” she said and pulled Taeyeon alongside her, totally forgetting about the encounter she had with Heechul just a few minutes ago.

~~~

“You’re late, girl,” a voice came from behind the counter when she arrived at the café, panting hard from running.

“Sorry, Jaejoong. I forgot I had an important group meeting and my phone ran out of battery. I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” she said while hastily putting on an apron and dashed behind the counter to collect a pen and her order forms.

“There’s no need--”

“I have nothing better to do tonight, so please let me work the extra hours,” Minhee requested firmly before Jaejoong could finish what he was saying. She wasn’t going to accept a ‘no’ for an answer. She wants to earn her money, not just to accept them blindly each month.

“Fine, fine. Oh, how I wish all the other workers are as hard-working as you are, sweetie. You really deserve a promotion right about now.”

Minhee stared at Jaejoong in delight at hearing the word promotion. “Are you serious? God… That would mean so much to me!”

Jaejoong smiled. “I’ll bring it up the next time I meet with the owner. I’m sure he will agree to it.”

That simple suggestion had managed to lighten up the spirit of Ahn Minhee and she worked so hard that day. Jaejoong was pleased and he treated her to a hot coffee on their way home. He had known her for a few years now and he knows well what this girl had been through all her life. She was simply making way for a better life ahead, but he thinks that she had worked too hard.

Ahn Minhee ran away from home at the age of fifteen. It was no longer a home to her when her parents started fighting and threatening to kill each other. As soon as she was of age, she applied the work as a waitress at the café and she had been there ever since. The money she made was fully used for school and the small unit she was living at. The pain and suffering that she had to go through those years had turned her into the girl that she is today. Jaejoong had to respect her for her strong will and how he wished that the guy she had a crush on was him.

“You sleep tight tonight, okay Princess?” Jaejoong bid and pecked her cheek lightly, like a brother would to a sister.

“Thanks, Jaejoong. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

~~~

“Ms Four Eyes, fancy seeing you around here,” Heechul called out with yet another smirk on his face. He had just appeared from within the many towering bookshelves in the library.

“Very funny,” Minhee stated bitterly and didn’t even bother to look at him in the eyes. She held tighter onto the small stack of books in her arms and made her way to an empty study table. She sat down, but her body stiffened when she felt his hot breathe tickles her neck. “Get away from me,” she instantly demanded.

He pouted mischievously. “But I thought you liked me.”

Minhee gasped, but she tried hard to keep her composure in front of him. She faced him with anger and hurt in her eyes. “Do you honestly find making fun of me is that amusing to you? Go away.”

Heechul didn’t seem to give up teasing her yet. He loved to . “What’s wrong with this?” he said referring to their distance. “No one is here to say anything about it. And besides, I’m beginning to enjoy it.” He started to get even closer.

“I really hate you now, Heechul-sshi,” she grunted and forced her attention onto her workload on the table. She tried her best to hide the pain and disappointment in her voice and totally ignored Heechul’s next moves. Heechul was stubborn and continued to fish her attention. It was only about two hours later that Heechul finally admitted defeat and left her alone. He realised then that he had went too far.

The next day started to change for him. Minhee was being too ignorant and it disturbed him. Every time they crossed paths in the hallway, instead of the usual momentary eye-contact, Minhee didn’t bother to look up at all. Even Taeyeon started to look at him with anger in her eyes. He didn’t like the change.

“Is there something wrong?” Leeteuk ask as he too looked at the direction Heechul was looking at. It was a scene of Minhee reading a book under a shady tree. She was alone. “It’s about her, isn’t it?”

Heechul gritted his teeth and hissed, “No, it’s not.”

Leeteuk sighed. “You really should stop denying the obvious, Mr Popular. You have girl problems, just admit it.”

“Shut up. I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

“You should make up your mind, you know. You don’t have much time. Soon it’ll be time for graduation, and who knows when you would see her again. Unless if you’re planning on letting her go for good, which I don’t think you would.”

Heechul bit his lip hard. “I don’t know what to do, Leeteuk. I’m trying my best, but it doesn’t seem to be enough to get her to wait for me.”

“You really love her don’t you?”

Heechul glared at him for even asking. Leeteuk put up both his arms in surrender and shut his mouth for the rest of the hour.

~~~

“What do you want?” Taeyeon asked when she saw Leeteuk leaned against the classroom door staring at her.

“We need to talk,” he said firmly, crossing his arms.

“And since when did we became friends?” she stopped what she was doing and stood to face him.

“It’s not about us. It’s about your friend and my friend, so stop being so jumpy about this. It’s not like I like you any better,” he replied, eyeing her from head to toe.

“Fine. Just stop checking me out. What’s up?”

“Heechul is in love with your best friend.”

Taeyeon stared at the guy in front of her in disbelief and disgust. “And your point is?”

‘No, no. I’m being serious here. Heechul is in love with your best friend, like madly and deeply, the type where I would usually puke on.”

The look of disgust soon turned into pure anger. “Madly and deeply? Are you kidding me? Does calling her a nerd and Ms Four Eyes with that arrogant voice of his could qualify as a method of showing his affection to the one he loves so madly and deeply? Just get out of here and stay out of our lives.”

“Wait. You don’t know what Heechul is really like.”

“And you don’t know Minhee that well either.”

Leeteuk was caught off guard at the reply and simply nodded. “Alright. If this is what she wants, then so be it. I was just trying to help. Heechul’s been too much of an lately and it’s annoying me. But I guess I’m in no place to interfere.”

~~~

Jaejoong stared at the figure of Minhee from his spot at the cashier. She’s been working really hard lately. Jaejoong could sense that something was wrong and Minhee didn’t even notice it.

“Ahn Minhee, can you come here for a second,” Jaejoong called out. Luckily there wasn’t that many customers at that time, so Minhee had no other excuses to escape his lecturing.

“Yes?” she asked innocently, totally clueless as to why Jaejoong was requesting for her.

“You seem to have unsolved issues in your mind. Care to share them with me?”

Minhee laughed at his words. “What are you talking about? Everything’s fine. My studies are fine, my life is fine…”

“How about your love life?”

Jaejoong raised his eyebrows curiously, which earned a deep sigh from her. “I have no time for boyfriends, Jaejoong. How long have you known me for? And besides, what guy could possibly have an interest in a nerdy and a workaholic girl like me?

“Me,” he stated firmly. His eyes were serious as he gazed directly into hers.

Her eyes bulged at first, but it soon turned into a playful smile. “Thanks, Jaejoong. You really flattered me.”

Much to Jaejoong’s expectation, he just smiled along with her. “Other than that, I think you should know that you have a guy stalking you lately. Be careful when walking alone, okay?”

“How’d you know that?”

“I have another pair of eyes at the back of my head,” he joked and winked, earning himself a smack on the arm.

~~~

Taeyeon and Minhee were both sitting on a bench near the field, enjoying the afternoon breeze when they saw a group of guys crossing the green to get to the other building. Taeyeon realised who they were and her gaze then turned to Minhee who wasn’t even blinking.

“I thought you hate him now,” Taeyeon voiced.

“I do,” Minhee answered truthfully, “but I can’t help it that he’s too good looking.”

“You know, Leeteuk came to me the other day.”

“What does he want?”

“He wanted to let us know that Heechul is madly and deeply in love with you, the kind where he would usually puke on,” Taeyeon informed her, emphasising the word ‘madly’ and ‘deeply’ to her ears.

“Ha ha. Very funny.”

“Exactly. They should stop--”

“Hey there, Ms Four Eyes,” suddenly greeted a voice Minhee didn’t wish to hear. “Free period?”

“Since when did my classes become any of your business?” stated Minhee. She threw a piercing gaze at his direction and stood up, pulling Taeyeon with her. Just when they were leaving, Heechul grabbed her wrist and opened her palm, shoving an envelope into it.

“Read it.”

Minhee stared at the envelope for a moment before crumbling it into a ball and threw it to the ground. Hurt could be seen from Heechul’s eyes. “I don’t need any more sarcasm thrown onto my face. Why would you care anyway, Mr Popular?” She scoffed and turned again to leave, but Leeteuk blocked her way, the crumbled paper in his grip.

“Please read it. I swear there’s nothing hateful in it. He spent days trying to find the right words, the least you could do is to read through his effort.”

She was hesitant. Taeyeon was the one who grabbed the paper ball from his hands and pulled Minhee away from the scene, not forgetting to throw the two guys suspicious looks.

“Give it to me,” Minhee demanded when they were as far away from them as possible.

Taeyeon seemed taken aback. “You’re not being serious are you? I only did that to get them out of our faces.”

“It’s just a few paragraphs of words. What more harm could it do?”

Taeyeon pursed her lips and shoved the paper ball into Minhee’s waiting hands. Minhee un-crumbled the paper and ripped open the envelope. A huge calligraphic scribble of ‘I’m Sorry’ was the first to come to her view.

“Cheesy,” Taeyeon commented silently. She continued to read the letter together from over Minhee’s shoulders. By the end of the essay, Taeyeon nodded to herself in approval. “Not bad…”

“Yes, but this is totally pointless,” Minhee commented and put the letter away in her jacket pocket.

“What do you mean ‘it’s totally pointless’?”

“Well, fine. It’s not totally pointless, because I think I can forgive him now.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“Will you wait for him like what he asks you to?”

Minhee thought about it for a second. “I might consider it if he asks me face-to-face.”

“And risk him saying all the wrong words yet again?”

“He needs to work hard then,” Minhee smirked and starting to walk forward, leaving Taeyeon chuckling at her friend’s behavior.

~~~

“It’s our graduation day, and you’re still ignoring me.”

Minhee turned around and immediately met the eyes of Kim Heechul. He smiled faintly at her and waited for her words. She took off her graduation hat and went closer to him, looking up slightly into his expecting eyes. “Maybe it’s because I was more hurt than you thought I was.”

“I’m leaving tonight.”

“I know.”

Both of them continued their staring game for a while. A lot of things went through both of their minds, and everything was related to their hanging relationship. “You still haven’t given me an answer,” he finally stated softly.

“And I’ve forgotten the question.”

He nervously his bottom lips and tried to reach for her hands. She let him.

“It will take me four years,” he began. “It would be great if I could make you come along with me, but I know you would never agree being the ambitious person that you are. But I… I love you so much, and… I want to have you in my life….” he paused. “God, this feels so stupid.”

Minhee laughed watching him struggle to find the words and courage. But she waited patiently. She knew good will come by the end of this conversation. She only needed to give him the chance.

“The point here is, will you wait for me until I come back?” he almost stuttered. “Please?”

‘What if I won’t?” she tested him.

“Then… Well, I guess, I’m in no place to change your mind.” His face fell and he looked away.

“And what if I want something more? Waiting is such a time-consuming activity. I’m too busy for such things,” she reasoned, making him look at her in surprise.

“Are you saying that you would rather come along with me?”

“Well…” Minhee pursed her lips to hide her grin and excitement. “It almost sounded like you’re proposing to me there.”

“So you're saying ‘yes’?” Heechul spoke, suppressing a grin.

“In your dreams, Mr Popular,” she shot playfully and pulled her hand away from his grip. The suppressed grin immediately disappeared from his lips. Though, he didn’t let her walk too far away from him and quickly grabbed her wrist.

“I hate it when you walk away from me like that. It feels like you’re never coming back.”

Minhee almost slipped when Heechul pulled her a little too hard towards his direction. He caught her before she could lose her balance and held her tight. All the air left her lungs at the close contact, but she wasn’t going to let go.

“You know what,” she whispered into his chest, “simply because I’ve already liked you so much, I think I'm willing to wait for you. Four years isn't very long.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Say you’re my girlfriend now,” Heechul pulled away slightly and smiled wide at her.

“You’re being bossy again,” Minhee complained. “And are you sure you want this nerd as your girlfriend?”

“I told you, I want you in my life,” he stared into her eyes lovingly and approached closer to give a soft peck on her lips. “I want this nerd to be so much more than just my girlfriend, but I’ll settle with just that for now.”

“I didn’t know that you could be so sweet,” she smiled and willingly returned to be in his hold.

From a distance, Jaejoong, Taeyeon and Leeteuk were grinning at their reconciliation. It was about time, and all they would be waiting for now is a wedding ceremony.

=======

Sorry for the delay. Hope this oneshot is good. I had some difficulties because too many ideas popped up all at once haha. But I had fun! Please do request again :)