"You went there to confess?"

Kris nodded.

As much as she wanted to know at once what happened, she needed to ask something first. "Before we get to that, what made you decide to go to her house and personally give her the flowers? Was there any incident that made you decide it's time to confess to her?"

Kris wondered how she knew that.

The columnist sensed his awe. She replied by saying, "Usually, there are some things that happen which will make us feel pressured into taking action."

He took in her reply, realizing she made sense. Before answering, he stretched his legs, feeling it gone numb for a while after not moving for almost an hour.

"The pressure to tell her what I felt had became unbearable. I started to feel it when sometime in April--- Luhan followed her in Instagram."

He knew Luhan made an account first---it was back in February; Kris made an account in April. When he followed Luhan's account, that's when its legitimacy was proven.

Why did Luhan follow her? Was he also interested in her? These questions remained unanswered. He wanted to ask Luhan for an explanation even though he knew very well he had no right to ask him.

What if Luhan liked her too? That bothered him so much.

One thing is for sure though, Kris realized that he need to make his move or somebody else will.

"So you feel somewhat threatened by what Luhan did?" The columnist clarified with him her assumption.

He nodded.

"Have you ever asked him why?"

"I didn't. I was thinking I have no right to ask him about it. Besides, I dreaded him admitting that he likes her too. I wouldn't know what to do if he did. So I decided to just let it be... And besides, I was having a hard time on making a decision about the matter on my contract termination..."

The columnist very well knew what he meant. It was originally in April that he planned to file the lawsuit, but had it moved to May.

"On the 13th, I sent her a message asking if I could drop by her house to give her something. She was curious about it--- she kept asking me what was it. I told her to just wait and see. I know I sounded weird but I could really care less about that. I needed to tell her because I may never get the chance again. And I was relieved that she said we can meet."

The columnist was quiet all this time, listening to him with a sympathetic expression.

[flashback]

It was a quarter to nine in the evening when Kris got out of his car, taking a few deep breaths while approaching the metal gate. He rang the bell and moved back a few steps.

A few seconds later, the sound of the gate opening startled him. He focused on the gate in time to see her petite form.

"Annyeonghaseyo Dara noona," he bowed and said the moment she was near enough. The lighting was more than dim and not too bright. She wore her usual style--- men's shirt, skinny jeans and sneakers. She had no make-up on and her hair was slightly disheveled and untied. In fact she looked like she just woke up. Nonetheless, she's very beautiful. She must have come from practice; he recalled her mention in their text exchanges yesterday about a half-day off from practice.

"Annyeonghaseyo Kris-ssi. Is there something wrong?" Dara asked, concern was evident in her soft voice. Her gaze did not leave his face even for a second. There was more than a foot distance between them. 

His grip on the bouquet that was hidden behind his back tightened while he gazed back at her anxiously.

They were once again standing in the same spot where they said their goodbyes on the 14th of February--- their eyes were almost at the same level, thanks to the stairs.

He took a deep breath in order to calm his nerves. What he was really nervous about was not the act of confession, but the act of not being able to do it. 

What if he stuttered or worst he couldn't speak? What if he just stared at her until she felt uncomfortable and thought of him as creepy? That was his main concern; rejection was a minor one.

Other than that, he couldn't keep from his mind what's about to happen tomorrow. Everything will change the moment he went ahead with his plan to file the lawsuit.

"I..." he began, but couldn't continue. His throat constricted at the thought of leaving her, of being away from her. He realized with dread that he didn't know how to begin. He should have thought and written what he wanted to say. He mentally kicked himself for not being prepared.

The last time he was in such a situation---where he had to confess his feelings---he couldn't remember.

Even though it will break his heart if she told him to forget about his feelings for her, he had to move forward. He went there, determined to confess; there's no way he will back out now.

He was getting ahead of himself, he knew. He hadn't even uttered a coherent sentence to her about his feelings ever since they came face to face. 

Thankfully, she was being patient, silently urging him to continue.

It seemed she noticed his uneasiness. It would have been easier to just give her the bouquet in silence. She'll understand it at once wouldn't she, after reading the last piece of the message? 

She'll definitely figure it out.

But that would be cowardice.

And he wondered why she asked if there's anything wrong. Possibly, she must have heard of the rumors going around about his contract termination.

Could be, maybe she's finding it weird why he was there standing frozen and mute when he should be worried about the rumors. But as he had said, it was not his main concern at the moment.

Confess you pabo, he silently urged himself. He cleared his throat and straightened, as if he was not standing straight and stiff enough.

And it's as if her patience ran out, she spoke again. "What's that you're hiding?" She tried to take a peek at what's behind