Chapter 4 - Maybe I'm in Love With You...
Title: Maybe I'm in Love With You...
Pairing: Yonghwa/Seohyun, Onew/Hara, Wooyoung/Jieun (IU), Tony/Joori
Genre: romance, comedy, friendship
Rating: g
Summary: An accidental meet-up.
The sounds of the footsteps stopped. The only thing that Jieun was able to hear was her racing heartbeat.
"There's no point in waiting. The last bus left less than five minutes ago." A voice spoke causing Jieun to look up hurriedly. All she saw was a silhouette of a man walking towards the bus stop. As he got closer, Jieun was able to see his face more clearly.
"You!" Jieun exclaimed as she stood up. She recognised the man immediately. He was the same person she had encountered this morning.
"Are you talking to me?" Wooyoung asked as he looked around. "Hm, I'm the only one here, so you must be talking to me."
"W-why are you here? If you want money, I don't have a single cent with me." Jieun said. She could feel herself trembling with fear but she tried not to show it.
"Relax. I don't want your money." Wooyoung said raising both his hands up. "I'm just another passenger who missed his last bus too."
"I don't believe you." Jieun said glaring at the man who was towering over her.
"It's up to you to believe or not." Wooyoung shrugged. "By the way, judging from where you took the bus at the same bus stop as me this morning, I believe we do live along the same street."
"So? What has that got to do with me and y-you?"
"Well, since the last bus is gone, I thought of walking home, since it's not that far from here." Wooyoung said. "So just thought if you would like to walk home together."
"Ani. I don't walk with strangers. In fact, I shouldn't even be talking to strangers!" Jieun said, sticking her nose up high. "I'll wait for a cab then."
"Well okay. But just to let you know, it's quite hard to get a cab around here, especially at this time of night." Wooyoung informed her. "And usually around this time, there'll be a few groups of gangsters who enjoy lurking out here."
"You're lying!" Jieun accused.
Wooyoung shrugged. "I'm not forcing you to believe me. It's really up to you if you want to stay and get a cab here. I'll be off then. Take care!"
Jieun watched as the stranger walked away from her. Thinking about it again, he might be right about certain things and she had this sudden thought that he looked trustworthy enough. So Jieun took a look at the empty road again before running in a hurry in order to catch up with that stranger.
"Hey! Wait up!" Jieun shouted. "Wait!"
Wooyoung turned around to see the little miss running towards him. "What's wrong with you?"
"I-I'm just, nothing." Jieun shrugged. She stopped just a couple of metres away from the stranger who raised an eyebrow. "Okay fine, can I walk home with you?"
"Well, since you ask so nicely, sure, you may walk home with me." Wooyoung nodded his head.
The two strangers continued walking towards their destination together. The walk home was rather quiet as neither spoke a word. About twenty minutes later, Jieun smiled as she felt a tinge of comfort the moment she saw the familiar shop which was situated a few blocks away from the house which she rented.
'I guess this stranger can be trusted after all.' Jieun thought with a smile.
"So, you're a student I believe." Wooyoung asked, keeping his eyes straight on the road ahead.
"Ne. I'm a student at Yonsei University." Jieun replied. "What about you?"
"Um, well, I work part-time at a fast-food restaurant near Yonsei University." Wooyoung lied.
"Ah, I see." Jieun nodded her head in understanding. "Um, about this morning, I am really really sorry. I'm just a bit clumsy."
Wooyoung smiled. "Ani, it's okay. Just a small matter."
Suddenly Jieun realised that they had stopped in front of a house. It looked almost similar to the house that she was renting in.
"This is the house I'm staying in." Wooyoung said.
"Oh. I see. My house is further down." Jieun said pointing towards the dark road.
"I see. Come, let me walk you home first." Wooyoung said as he continued walking.
"A-ani, it's okay Mister." Jieun said quickly pulling Wooyoung by his sleeve. Wooyoung turned to find himself staring awkwardly at a pair of confused eyes. Jieun gasped, realizing her actions, before letting go of the young man's sleeve.
"It's just a few houses away right?" Wooyoung smiled nervously. "Don't worry, let me see you off."
Wooyoung gestured Jieun to walk on first, to lead the way, with him following a step behind. Jieun smiled as she obeyed whatever the young man said. They continued their walk until finally they reached their destination. Jieun turned towards Wooyoung and smiled again.
"So this is the house you're staying in?" Wooyoung asked as he looked up at the house in front of him.
"Ne. I'm staying here with a few other housemates." Jieun explained with a shy smile.
"I see." Wooyoung nodded. "Um, you better get in now. It's getting late."
"Ne." Jieun entered the gate carefully. She turned to bid goodbye to her saviour.
"I'll be off then. Bye!" Wooyoung said swiftly as he walked away slowly. Jieun bit her lips. She was not sure if she wanted their sudden meeting to end like this.
"Hey wait!" Jieun called out causing Wooyoung to stop abruptly and looked at her. "I never get to know your name."
Wooyoung smiled, a little relieved. "It's Wooyoung. Jang Wooyoung."
"Oh! I'm Lee Jieun. Thank you so much for accompanying me home." Jieun said blushing.
"I'm just being a responsible citizen." Wooyoung grinned. "Take care now."
Jieun watched as Wooyoung walked away. She wondered if she would be meeting him again tomorrow morning, at the same time, same place.
******
"Unnie, hurry up please, we're going to be late!" Hara called out as she started the car. She was waiting for Joori who was still busy looking for her handphone which she finally found sandwiched between the cushions on the sofa.
"Ahrasso! I'm coming!" Joori replied before running out. "Seohyun, Jieun, we're going off first!"
"Ne unnie. See you in the evening!" Jieun stood by the door and gave a cheery wave at her landlord.
"Ne unnie, take care!" Seohyun exclaimed grinning. "And Hara-ya, GOOD LUCK!"
"Yah! I have enough luck with me." Hara responded with a glare before entering the car. Soon, she and Joori were off to work with Hara driving. It was a routine every morning for Hara to drive Joori to work first before heading to hers, since their office were located along the same district.
"Are you looking forward to work today?" Joori asked, wiggling her eyebrows. After hearing Hara's complains the night before about her transfer to another department and having a new partner, Joori took this chance to tease her.
"Of course. I've promised myself to give my partner a hard time today, tomorrow, the day after and forever!" Hara grinned wickedly. "I just hate him!"
"Yah, you know what they say, don't hate that person too much or you'll end up loving him endlessly."
"Aish! Unnie! Don't blurt out nonsense will you!" Hara looked at Joori in horror. The older girl was laughing endlessly.
"Yah! Look out!" Joori suddenly shouted and Hara stepped on the brake in a hurry, putting the car to a sudden stop.
Hara looked ahead to see that she almost hit a car which was coming out from the sideroad. Hara felt a sudden anger arising within her and threw a glare at the driver of the other car. But what she saw was totally unexpected. It was him. The person whom she despised the most at the moment was staring back at her. Hara felt numbed suddenly. They had just talked about him, just a moment ago. Now he was right in front of her!
Joori on the other hand had also followed Hara's line of vision towards the other car. But what caught her eyes was the man who was sitting on the passenger seat and was gawking at her in surprised. He was the same man she tried to avoid the evening before.
"H-Hara, go! Just go! GO!" Joori shouted in a panic. The only thing she knew was she needed to get away from him again, as soon as possible.
"N-ne!" Hara replied, stepping on the gas pedal clumsily before zooming off. She needed to get that handsome face out of her mind too. 'No! That wretched face!' Hara corrected herself.
"Did you see him? He was just there!" Joori said worriedly.
"I know. It was scary." Hara nodded her head in agreement.
"I really had no idea he lived so close to us."
"I had no idea too."
"Ottoke? How am I going to hide myself?" Joori groaned.
"Aigoo! This is bad." Hara pouted, trying to conrcentrate on the road ahead.
"I know."
Hara frowned. "Wait. How did you know that was Onew?" Hara asked as she tilted her head to one side.
"Huh? Onew? I thought we're talking about Tony." Joori raised an eyebrow.
"Tony? Who's Tony?"
Joori groaned. "Tony was my ex-boyfriend back in the States. The one I talked about last night."
"He was in the car?"
"Yeah! Didn't you see him?"
"Bo? Onew is Tony?" Hara gasped. "You mean the driver?"
"Not the driver! The one in the passenger seat beside the driver!"
"Ah! You mean there's a passenger? I didn't notice." Hara shrugged.
"That's why I told you to go fast. I felt uncomfortable with him looking at me like that."
"At least you do not have to meet him later!" Hara pouted.
"Yah! I have a feeling we'll be meeting often after this." Joori whined. "Aigoo!"
"But still I am going to be meeting him face to face later!" Hara exclaimed. "Aish! I hate this! Why is fate so cruel sometimes?"
"Good luck to you then." Joori smirked before frowning. "But how come Onew is in the same car as Tony? Are they friends or something?"
"Aish! I don't care about any of that. The only thing I'm thinking of now is how am I going to face that brat later?" Hara whined. "This is getting out of hand!"
***
Onew froze. He was unable to believe that he had just met her earlier than expected. And of all places to meet her was in front of the house he was staying in.
"I can't believe it's her!" Onew gasped, his hands holding the steering wheel tightly, unable to start driving.
"Me too." Tony nodded. "It is such a coincident."
"Aish! Don't tell me she lives around here!" Onew groaned.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Tony smiled.
"What do you mean it's a good thing? Hyung, this is crazy!"
"I'm going to find out where she lives." Tony said causing Onew to stare at him in horror.
"And why would you do that?"
"I want to woo her back."
"Are you crazy? That kind of girl doesn't suit you hyung!" Onew said shaking his head.
"I have a strong feeling that she's the right girl for me!"
"Goo Hara is your kind of girl? Hyung! Are you for real?"
"Yah!" Tony threw an annoyed look at Onew. "I'm talking about Joori, my ex-girlfriend! And who's Hara by the way?"
Onew was getting confused. "Hara's my new partner. She was the one who was driving the car earlier."
"And Joori, who was sitting at the passenger seat, was my ex-girlfriend whom I met yesterday at the ahjumma's shop."
"Oh! I see. But how come Hara is in the same car with your Joori? They're friends?" Onew scratched his head.
"I have a strong feeling they are housemates, just like us." Tony voiced out his thoughts. "And they're our neighbours."
"Aish! This is not good!" Onew exclaimed. "How am I going to face her later?"
"Just act as normal. You're good at pretending right?" Tony grinned.
"Yeah right. I am so not looking forward to work now." Onew groaned helplessly before starting his car again and soon they were off to work.
******
"Unnie, shall we walk to the bus stop together?" Jieun asked as she watched Seohyun closing the gate behind her.
"Sure. I could use some company." Seohyun grinned, falling into step beside the younger girl. "You came home quite late last night."
"Ne unnie. I was too busy studying that I had forgotten about the time." Jieun said.
"Aigoo. Don't strain yourself too hard. It could affect your health."
"I know unnie. I will try my best to keep myself healthy." Jieun smiled.
"What time did you reach home last night?"
"Um, almost one in the morning."
"Aigoo! How did you get home? There's no bus at that time!" Seohyun asked, worrisome dripping from her voice.
"Well, I walked home." Jieun grinned guiltily.
"Aish sinchia! A young girl walking home alone is dangerous you know!" Seohyun scolded. "You could at least phone me. It would be no problem for me to fetch you, you know. Hara's car is always available."
"Don't worry unnie. Someone walked me home last night." Jieun blushed as she suddenly thought of a certain Jang Wooyoung.
"Someone? Your boyfriend?"
"Ani. I don't have a boyfriend." Jieun shook her head. "Just someone whom I met at the bus stop. He lives a few houses down from ours."
"Do you know him?"
"Um no. We just met yesterday." Jieun answered.
"Aigoo! Jieun-ah, you shouldn't trust strangers! What if he was a bad person?" Seohyun asked, feeling a bit angry at Jieun's carelessness.
"Don't worry unnie. I'm safe aren't I? I promise I won't do it again." Jieun smiled.
"Ahrasso. Make sure you heed my advice!" Seohyun warned her.
"There unnie!" Jieun suddenly pointed to a house which suddenly looked familiar to her. "That's his house! The person who sent me home last night."
Seohyun looked at the house. Indeed, the design of the house looked almost similar to Joori's house. "Ah! So did you get to know his name?"
"He told me it's Jang Wooyoung. He looked kind enough." Jieun blushed.
"Aigoo! It looked as if you're smitten by his kindness." Seohyun grinned.
Just then the gate to the house was suddenly opened causing Seohyun and Jieun to froze for a moment. Seohyun gasped the moment she saw him stepping out of the gate followed closely by a tall young man. She never even think that she would meet him like this.
"Anniyohaesayo." Yonghwa greeted the moment he saw Seohyun and a younger girl. It was indeed a surprise for him this morning.
"N-ne, anniyohaesayo." Seohyun and Jieun replied shyly.
Wooyoung looked at both Jieun and Seohyun who was standing in front of him. "Ah, you two live together?" He asked rather awkwardly.
"N-ne." Jieun replied as she tried to avoid looking into Wooyoung's eyes.
"You know each other?" Yonghwa asked, pointing his finger towards Wooyoung and Jieun.
"We met yesterday, at the bus stop." Wooyoung explained.
"So he's the Jang Wooyoung you were telling me about?" Seohyun asked, wiggling her eye brows at Jieun.
"Unnie!" Jieun whined.
"Hyung, isn't she the Seo Joohyun that..." Wooyoung started to speak but Yonghwa was fast enough to cover his mouth and stopped him from talking.
"You know my name?" Seohyun asked in shock.
Yonghwa laughed nervously. "You told me yesterday, don't you remember?"
Wooyoung freed himself from Yonghwa's grasp before throwing him an annoyed look. "I'll be off then." Wooyoung waved his hands towards Yonghwa before jogging off.
"He's my housemate." Yonghwa informed Seohyun who was still standing in front of him, still feeling awkward.
"Um, I'll go off first." Jieun suddenly said. Her eyes were fixed onto the road Wooyoung had just ran off to. "I'll see you this evening unnie!" With that, Jieun walked away hurriedly, leaving Seohyun alone with her newly found neighbour.
Yonghwa shuffled his feet nervously as he once again stood alone facing Seo Joohyun. He was not sure what to say suddenly as she smiled at him.
"So, you live here?" Seohyun asked.
"Ne." Yonghwa shoved his hands into his pockets. "Um, are you going off to work?"
"Ne. You?"
"Me too." Yonghwa smiled. "Um, would like to take a ride with me? I don't mind dropping you off first."
"Uh, I don't want to trouble you." Seohyun replied shyly.
"It's no trouble at all!" Yonghwa said hurriedly. "Please, you'll reach your office in no time at all."
"Ah, ne." Seohyun nodded as she followed Yonghwa towards his car.
Yonghwa could feel his heart bursting with joy. He glanced at Seohyun who was blushing. How he loved watching that sight of hers. It made him feel good inside. Just then, he heard the tinkling of the bell again. He looked down to see the Seohyun's ankle. There it was, the anklet which he had given to her the day before as her secret admirer. Yonghwa beamed.
"Nice anklet you got there." Yonghwa said the moment the two of them were comfortably seated in the car.
"This? It's a gift from someone." Seohyun replied smiling.
"Ah, your boyfriend?"
"Ani. I don't have a boyfriend." Seohyun said quickly. "It's from a friend."
Yonghwa nodded knowingly. Of course he knew who the anklet was from but he was not going to tell Seohyun just yet. He was going to wait for the right moment to tell her the truth.
"I want to ask you this again." Seohyun said suddenly.
"What is it?" Yonghwa asked as he started to drive.
"What's your name? I'm sure you didn't tell me yesterday!" Seohyun whined causing Yonghwa to laugh.
"I didn't tell you? Hm, I thought I had." Yonghwa feigned ingorance. "My name's Jung Yonghwa."
"Jung Yonghwa. Hm, and I guess you knew mine already." Seohyun raised an eyebrow.
"Ah ne." Yonghwa bit his bottom lip. Has he been caught?
"I guess I may have accidentally blurt it out unknowingly yesterday."
"Ah, of course!" Yonghwa heaved a sigh of relief. Suddenly he was not sure how he was supposed to explain the truth to Seohyun. The atmosphere in the suddenly got quiet with neither speaking a word.
"Um, just now, Jieun, is my housemate." Seohyun suddenly spoke. "She's studying in Yonsei University."
"Ah sinchia? Wooyoung's the science laboratory assistant in Yonsei University." Yonghwa said. "He's my housemate too."
"I see. I guess I have to thank Wooyoung later for sending Jieun home safely last night."
"Ah really? He didn't tell me."
"Jieun missed the last bus home. So she walked home together with Wooyoung." Seohyun smiled. "I'm relieved that Jieun met a good person. I was worried for her initially."
"Yeah! Wooyoung's a good guy." Yonghwa agreed.
Seohyun guided Yonghwa the road to her office. Once they safely arrived in front of Seohyun's office building, Yonghwa made a promise with Seohyun to meet in the afternoon at the same spot in the park. Seohyun agreed causing Yonghwa to grin wide. Yonghwa watched as Seohyun entered her office building. Yonghwa breathed in deeply. Suddenly, he could not wait for the afternoon to come.