Fifteen
Shin Hye

 

One… Two… Three… Four…Five…

Six… Seven… Eight…

Nine…

Ten…

Ugh, this doesn’t work. I’ve count to ten five times already and it doesn’t work. My heart is still beating like crazy. My hands are shaking and my mind is absolute chaos. I don’t understand what’s wrong with him. Does he just wake up with this desire to mess with me? Is it that funny for him to shake me like this? He says I’m the one causing him trouble but it’s not like that. I haven’t done anything! He’s the one playing games, making me believe things then giving me the cold shoulder just to come back again and turn my world upside down.

Why?!

One… two… three… four… five… six… seven…

“Park Shin Hye,” someone calls my name and I shut my eyes even tighter. I recognise his voice immediately and I don’t want to see him right now. I hug my legs tighter, my face hidden between my knees. “Please, Park Shin Hye.”

“Go away,” I mumble, still hiding.

“Mianhe,” he says instead and I hold my breath. “I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to you. From the very beginning until now. Kissing you like that was a mistake because I didn’t consider your feelings. Minahe,” he repeats and I take in a shaky breath. “I should’ve been more considerate and think of you before acting so selfishly.”

I look up to meet his eyes, he’s kneeling to be at my height and smiles hesitantly. “You’re a jerk,” I mutter and he chuckles.

“Deh, I’ve acted like one,” he agrees with an amused smile on his lips and I kind of feel a tug in my chest. “I’m utterly sorry, Park Shin Hye. I really am.”

“Good,” I state next and he sighs.

“Please, give me a last chance. Let me show you I mean it this time. I won’t play more games and I’ll have you in consideration. You’ll be my first priority. I know I can’t just expect you to believe me because I’ve done nothing to prove myself, but I hope I can do that now.”

“How do you plan on doing that?” I question and he ruffles his hair, a sheepish smile on his lips and a slight blush on his cheeks.

“I’m not sure yet. I guess by showing consistency?” he tries and I tilt my head to the right in an unconvinced demeanour. “I figured I had to apologise first.”

“Yes, you had.”

“I’m really sorry. In my defence, I’d wanted to do that for so long but stopped myself that I couldn’t hold anymore. It was a desperate measure to show you my feelings, but it wasn’t the right one.”

My heart races at his words but I tell myself I shouldn’t believe him that easily. Now he says he has feelings for me but can’t be sure tomorrow he won’t say he was just confused or something else. I can’t let his smiles and sweet words sway me.

“Would you forgive me for the way I’ve acted?” I look away. I’m pretty sure he means his words, but I don’t know if I should forgive him, for my own sake. “Please.” I sigh deeply because I’m just not the type to hold grudges, so I nod. “Thank you. And will you give me another chance?”

“I don’t know, Jung Yong Hwa,” I reply. “I’m very tired of these games and I don’t trust you. I’m pretty sure you know how I feel, probably better than I do myself,” I laugh humourlessly. “And I’m scared you’re just having fun at my expense.”

“I’m not, I promise that’s not what I’m doing and I’ll try to change your mind. I want you to believe me and trust me this time. I know what you feel, and I know how I feel and I’m aware you need to trust me if I ever expect us to work out. So let me prove myself to you. That’s all I’m asking.”

I take a deep breath, resting my forehead on my knees again. My legs start to feel numb and I should stand up, but not right now. I need to decide whether I give him another chance. I feel it’s a risk I’m taking and that scares me because I have strong feelings for him. I’ve tried to fight them, to ignore them because I thought he didn’t feel the same way, because he disappointed me. But not even after all what he’s done I can say I’ve got over him. He still makes my heart race and turns my world upside down with just a kiss or a few words. And if it’s true, if he really feels like I do and wants to pursue something with me, then I don’t even know what to think. I feel butterflies I my belly at the mere idea and that also scares me.

I look up and meet his brown eyes that are boring into my very soul, expecting a favourable reply.

“Fine. But that doesn’t mean I’ll end up believing you. You can do as you please but I can’t guarantee you it’ll work out for us. I don’t trust you, I’m too scared to believe you.”

“And I’ll change that, that’s my goal now,” he replies giving me a warm smile that makes my guts twist. “Let’s go? I’ll help you to open the bar,” he proposes, standing up then offering me his hand.

I hesitate, questioning if accepting his hand is a good idea, but then I tell myself it’s rude to reject his kindness so I take it and regret it immediately because the contact sends chills down my spine. And he pulls me a bit too strongly and as my legs are numb I can’t regain my balance immediately, so I end up stumbling towards and bumping into him. His arms wrap around me immediately, stopping me from falling or something and my heart leaps when I realise I’m caught in his embrace. I look up and my breath gets caught in my throat when I realise how close we are and how his eyes travel to my lips. I remember the kiss and I feel a wave of heat spreading through my body.

“Minahe,” I mumble stepping back, the pulse behind my ears too loud and distracting. “Let’s go,” I add and walk past him, back inside the bar and I try not to fan myself although I’m dying, too. I don’t want him to see that, it’d be too humiliating.

Once inside I see Min Ha cleaning the bar and tidying up a bit. “Shin Hye-yah,” he greets me with a wide smile. “Where were— are you all right? You look flustered. Are you running a fever?” he questions out loud when he takes notice of my blushed cheeks. He approaches and his hand touches my forehead, I just feel mortified because Jung Yong Hwa is seeing this. “You’re not. Did something happen?” he questions next and I just look down, too embarrassed to say something. “Jung Yong Hwa?” he says out loud, noticing the vocalist and voicing his surprise. He furrows his eyebrows, putting the pieces together and I see him tensing when an idea gets in his head.

“Let’s start cleaning. We have to open in less than an hour. Chop, chop!” I chirp, trying to deviate my friend’s mind from the impression that something happened between Yong Hwa and I. I don’t want to talk about that yet, and I know he dislikes the vocalist so he won’t take it nicely if I tell him Yong Hwa kissed me.

“Shin Hye-yah—” he tries to say but I cut him off.

“Let’s go! Time to work.” And I don’t wait for a reply, I just walk past him to grab a cloth and resume cleaning tables before we have to open. I’ll focus on work for now.

Hello everyone! I hope you liked the new chapter :D I'll try to update again very soon. Let me know your thoughts in your comments!

Fighting!
Bel, xx