A/N: A friend of mine who read this story called me a tease... but I can't help it! There are so many nuances to the various characters that I want to explore in this story, so it's sometimes hard to advance the main plot with all this :D It will all link up and make sense in the end, don't worry. (And I really promise that the next chapter will be about their date!) And just a heads-up... the next update will probably only come sometime next week cos one of my best friends is getting married this weekend :)

ChapterSixteen

“I’d love to have dinner with you, Siwon-sshi.”

He snapped his head up at the words, unable to believe what he had just heard. Did she… did Soo-Kyung just agree to have dinner with me?

Siwon stared at the woman in question, a puzzled look on his face. Just moments earlier, Soo-Kyung had just been telling him that flowers were all she could accept from him, yet now she was agreeing to his dinner invitation. Was his mind playing tricks on him? Or was he simply just hard of hearing?

Slowly, his lips began to curl. Soo-Kyung was still staring at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something. He very much wanted to, but he found himself struck by the expression on her face.

Soo-Kyung looked stunned by her own words, but there was an inner satisfaction in her eyes that gave him hope, that perhaps deep down, she had wanted to have dinner with him all along.

A flash of movement distracted him, and he saw Soo-Kyung being pulled out of the office by Seung-heon. His first instinct was to go after them; Soo-Kyung didn’t look like she was going willingly, and he would bet that Seung-heon’s grip on her arm would leave bruises.

Anger boiled in his gut at that thought, but before he could move, a hand landed on his arm. He looked down and saw Soo-Kyung’s coworker, Ye Rin, shaking her head at him.

“Let them be,” she urged.

“Why should I? What if he hurts her?” he demanded, still put out by Seung-heon’s actions.

Ye Rin shook her head again. “Seung-heon won’t hurt a fly, much less Soo-Kyung.”

Siwon growled. “Doesn’t matter.” He turned to go, but was again stopped by Ye Rin’s increased pressure on his arm.

“Let them be,” she repeated. “There are things they need to talk about.”

“Like what?” Truth be told, Siwon couldn’t care less what Seung-heon wanted to talk to Soo-Kyung about. He had a sneaky feeling that whatever Seung-heon wanted to talk about, it had to do with him. And he found that he didn’t quite like the idea of being the subject of Seung-heon and Soo-Kyung’s conversation.

“Like things,” replied Ye Rin mysteriously.

She continued eyeing Siwon, afraid he was still going to rush out the door. “Look Mr. Choi. Why don’t you have a seat while you wait for Soo-Kyung?”

He couldn’t reject her offer without being rude, so Siwon had no choice but to comply. He sat down, lips pursed grimly in a thin line.

“I don’t mean to pry,” Ye Rin began hesitantly. “But what exactly is going on between you and Soo-Kyung?”

Siwon glanced at her, wondering how much she knew about what happened between Soo-Kyung and him. He decided to keep to the party line. “Like what Soo-Kyung said, there’s nothing going on between us.”

Ye Rin smiled then, and he noticed that she had a pretty heart shaped face. “You’re just like her,” she mumbled.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

Ye Rin coughed. “I mean, Soo-Kyung said the same thing.”

“It’s the truth,” Siwon replied honestly.

“But you want there to be something more, don’t you?” Ye Rin pressed.

Siwon shifted his gaze to the window behind her. “I don’t know,” he told her sincerely.

“You asked her out for dinner not knowing if you want there to be something more between you?” Ye Rin questioned.

“I…” Siwon trailed off, then narrowed his eyes. Why was this woman questioning him?

“I don’t have to tell you anything,” he told her brusquely. “That’s my personal life and really none of your business.”

Ye Rin hid her smile at his words. She’d heard Soo-Kyung utter the same line many times before. Siwon and Soo-Kyung were much more alike than they knew, and her gut feeling told her that they would make a good couple.

Making up her mind, she said smoothly, “You’re right. Your personal life is none of my business. But since it concerns Soo-Kyung, it becomes my business.”

Startled by her firm tone, Siwon’s gaze flickered back to her.

“I know it sometimes seems that I gossip too much and I can’t keep my mouth shut,” Ye Rin continued. “And I’ll admit that I love juicy news. It helps to balance the negativity that sometimes comes with this job.”

“But I consider Soo-Kyung a dear colleague of mine. We may not have an extremely close friendship, but I respect and admire her. And while I know there are things she doesn’t share with the rest of us, I also think I know her better than most other people.”

“I know she’s easily affected by her patients, even if she tries hard not to show it. She seems like nothing bothers her, but I know she sometimes hides in the corner bathroom just to cry.”

Siwon had said nothing during her little speech, and Ye Rin hoped he understood what she was trying to tell him. “What I’m saying is – Soo-Kyung might look like a tough cookie on the outside, but she’s a marshmallow on the inside. She hurts easily, and she cries easily, although she will never admit that to anyone.”

“So before something really happens between you and Soo-Kyung, you need to make sure that you’re serious about her. Soo-Kyung isn’t the type of girl you play around with. She’s not the type that you date a few times then discard when you get tired of her.”

“You think I’m just out to play with her feelings?” Siwon questioned.

“I think only you really know the answer to that,” Ye Rin replied.

“I’m not,” Siwon told her. “And if anyone says otherwise, he’s lying.”

Ye Rin knew he was referring to Seung-heon, but she ignored it. “I hope you remember that, Siwon-sshi. I would hate to Soo-Kyung get hurt because of you.”

“She won’t,” Siwon vowed.

“I hope so."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

Ye Rin had turned back to her work after their little conversation, and Siwon found himself staring into space, contemplating her words.

What exactly did he want to happen between Soo-Kyung and himself? A friendship? A relationship?

Would a relationship between them even work? He recalled the hostile reception Soo-Kyung had received during his uncle’s coming home party. Although Jin Ah’s disapproving remarks was not representative of all his friends, he had no doubts that Soo-Kyung would be subjected to more of the same if she were indeed his girlfriend. The society he inhabited was petty and materialistic, but it was a fact he couldn’t change.

But, he reminded himself, he was a Choi. There was prestige and influence accorded to the family name. If he made it clear that Soo-Kyung was his woman, it was unlikely that the gossips would dare to behave untowardly.

Confident that such would be the case, he rose from his seat and nodded at Ye Rin. He’d just reached the door when Seung-heon’s angry words floated back to him. “I don’t want you going on a date with him because I like you!”

Siwon stopped in his tracks. The news itself wasn’t so much of a shock – he’d suspected from the moment they met that the doctor had feelings for Soo-Kyung. He just wondered why Seung-heon had waited so long before confessing his feelings.

“You… what?” Siwon barely heard Soo-Kyung’s whispered words.

“You weren’t meant to find out this way, Kyung.”

“You can’t possibly…” Soo-Kyung’s words trailed off, and Siwon leaned forward, trying to hear the rest of her sentence. He immediately felt guilty, knowing that he shouldn’t be eavesdropping on their conversation, but he couldn’t help himself.

“Soo-Kyung, I’ve had feelings for you the moment I met you. I didn’t mean for it to happen, but it did. I didn’t act on them in the beginning because I didn’t think it was right to get involved with a coworker, and I tried – believe me, I tried so damn hard! – to get over you. But I couldn’t. As we worked together more often, as I got to know you better, I found myself falling deeper and deeper in love with you. It’s not something that I can control, Soo-Kyung. Do you understand?”

Siwon felt a pang of sympathy for the other man. He knew exactly how Seung-heon felt, because he was sure the same applied to him. He’d recognized his attraction to Soo-Kyung the first time they met, and subsequently the attraction had grown stronger each time they met.

He wasn’t sure if he could call it love – hell, he wasn’t even sure he knew what love was – but he knew the emotion he felt was strong and possessive. And it was uncontrollable; it wasn’t something he could turn on and off at will.

Siwon barely heard Soo-Kyung’s soft reply. “I’m the last person you should be falling in love with, Seung-heon.”

His heart filled with a little sadness at her tone. Did she not believe that she was worthy of being loved by another? Was what Ye Rin had told him true – was Soo-Kyung so fragile inside that any wrong move on his part could destroy her emotionally?

Apparently, Seung-heon shared his sentiments. “No! That’s not true, Soo-Kyung, and you know it. If I had to fall in love with someone, I’d rather that person was you.”

Siwon wasn’t surprised that Seung-heon had seen beyond Soo-Kyung's outer beauty and fallen in love with her heart. Hadn’t he himself stumbled upon her, crying in a deserted stairwell over a patient who died? He knew she felt things deeply; he didn’t need Ye Rin to tell him that.

“You don’t mean that.”

“I meant every word I said, Kyung.”

“Seung-heon…” Siwon heard the pleading tone in Soo-Kyung’s voice.

“You don’t feel the same way.”

“Seung-heon, I’m sorry. You’ve always been a coworker, and a friend, that I admire and respect.”

Siwon let out the breath he didn’t know he had been holding at Soo-Kyung’s statement. A relief so great washed over him. He had feared Soo-Kyung agreed to his dinner invitation only to anger Seung-heon, and after Seung-heon confessed, he was sure that Soo-Kyung would reply in affirmative.

To hear her say otherwise, out loud, was a huge relief for him.

“And that’s all I am to you? A coworker and friend that you admire and respect?” He heard the hurt in Seung-heon’s voice, but realized that he couldn’t muster up the strength to gloat. If anything, the pity he felt for Seung-heon increased. He knew that if Soo-Kyung had said the same thing to him, he would be equally upset.

“Yes, Seung-heon. But I…”

Seung-heon didn’t even wait for Soo-Kyung to finish her sentence, and had already stalked away in anger. Peering into the hallway, Siwon watched at Soo-Kyung focused on the other man’s retreat. She didn’t attempt to call him back, perhaps realizing that the best thing was for him to cool down, and hopefully, accept the facts.

Soo-Kyung leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, and in that moment, Siwon witnessed the vulnerability in her unguarded expression. The only time he had ever seen her like this was in the emergency stairwell before she had noticed his presence.

His first instinct was to go to her and wrap her in his arms, just as he had that day. He wanted to chase her demons away and dry her tears, but he knew this was neither the time nor the place. Soo-Kyung would not want to be caught crying again.

Making up his mind, he stepped into the hallway. “Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

Soo-Kyung jumped in surprise at his words. He studied her face, the unshed tears b in her already red eyes.

“I… how did you know what I was thinking?” Siwon tried not to smile at her stammer; she was adorable when caught.

He moved towards her, the desire to touch her growing stronger every minute. “It’s written all over your face, Soo-Kyung.”

A flush settled over her cheeks, but she didn’t look away. On the contrary, she locked gazes with him and Siwon felt his heart skip a beat. He couldn’t look away even if he had wanted to… there seemed to be so many things Soo-Kyung was attempting to communicate to him without words.

He saw the hurt and sadness she felt, the resignation she felt over Seung-heon’s reaction. He saw something else too, but he wasn’t sure what it was. It looked like apprehension, but he couldn’t figure out why Soo-Kyung should feel that way.

Unable to bear the silence any longer, he reached out to her, feeling the smooth skin of her forearm under his fingertips.

“Come, let’s go get some dinner.”

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *