YB Fanfic, Ch. 15
Previously:
Chapter 1: Hello I Love You
Chapter 2: My Brave Face
Chapter 3: Temperamental
Chapter 4: Million Dollar Smile
Chapter 5: Heart Messenger
Chapter 6: Somewhere in Between
Chapter 7: Still
Chapter 8: Constant Craving
Chapter 9: Addicted to Love
Chapter 10: Under My Skin
Chapter 11: Me Vs. the World
Chapter 12: Lady Picture Show
Chapter 13: Golden Sunlight
Chapter 14: Hole-Hearted
Disclaimer: The A.N.JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of You're Beautiful.
Author's Notes: Thank you to jay_ed, lilivanilla1 and akaironoyoru (and friend!) for reviewing! :) Can you believe that we've only got a few chapters to go... until the next fic?
Chapter Fifteen - Talking to My Angel (Melissa Etheridge)
Shin-woo had vowed that just being able to tell Ha-neul how he felt was enough, but after four days of not hearing from her, he knew that he had been kidding himself. "She could have said thank you," he grumbled on the drive to her house that Sunday. "Or at least let me know that she got the e-mail!"
He shook his head as he realized that he was talking to himself. Get a grip, Kang Shin-woo. He was going to visit Ha-neul to tell her that he cared about her, not to scold her for failing to observe common courtesies.
It was a pleasant late-summer afternoon, but the sunshine and crisp breeze were lost on him as he walked up to the Sos' front gate and rang the bell. The moment of truth was fast approaching, and as much as he wanted to turn tail and run back the way he came, he wanted to know how she felt, too.
Shin-woo looked up hopefully when the gate opened, but froze when he discovered that Mr. So, not his daughter, had answered the door. Getting over his surprise, he managed a smile and a bow. "Hello, sir. May I speak to Ha-neul?"
"I'm sorry, but she's not here right now," the older man answered.
"Where is she?" he blurted out. "Is she back in the hospital?"
"No." Ha-neul's father paused and gave him a long, appraising look. "She's in the park a few blocks from here," he added after what felt like an eternity of scrutiny. "She just left, so if you go over there right now, you should be able to talk to her before she gets too busy."
"Oh." Shin-woo smiled and gave the older man another polite bow. "I'll do that. Thank you."
Mr. So nodded, and then chuckled briefly. "It took you long enough to show your face here."
He blushed. "I know."
Sure enough, Shin-woo found Ha-neul in the park, standing on the basketball court with eager children clustered around her like flowers. "I want to do some slam dunks!" one of them cried, attaching himself to her leg. "Please, noona?"
"Slam dunks are for later," another kid told him. "We always play a game first!"
"I'm sorry, but Ah-ki is right," Ha-neul told the first little boy. He pouted, but brightened when she promised, "If you're good, I'll let you be the first. Now," she announced, "we have to split into two teams so we can do our warm-ups."
"I want to be on Ha-neul noona's team!"
"Me, too!"
"No, me!"
"Can I play?" Shin-woo asked.
She looked up and their eyes met. A guarded expression crossed her face and for a while, he feared that she would refuse, but she said, "Only if you promise to play fair."
He raised a solemn hand. "I promise," he said, and grinned when she nodded to indicate that he could join.
He paused to leave his jacket on the grass outside the court before jogging over to join Ha-neul and the children. "So, what are we supposed to do?" he asked, practically talking into her ear because some of the kids had started clamoring loudly to be on his team.
"First, we stretch," she replied, keeping her voice low and her eyes on the kids gamboling around them. "They're too little for a real game, with positions and everything, so what I do is give all the kids on one team a chance to shoot the ball, then we switch sides. The game is over when the score is tied.
"It's not much of a workout," she confided, "so you probably don't have to worry about ruining your shoes." She nudged one of his expensive leather shoes with the toe of her sneaker.
He stared at the rosy curve of her cheek for a moment before snorting derisively. "Only girls worry about ruining their shoes," Shin-woo scoffed.
She looked back up at him in surprise and a laugh escaped her when he gave her a small smile. "Well, you know people generally don't play basketball in street shoes."
"That never stopped us in grade school."
"No, it didn't." Ha-neul gave him a shy smile; the first time she had smiled at him in ages. "Let's do some stretches."
Shin-woo's presence made it easier to organize the children, especially when some of them realized who he was, and they quickly formed two teams, each with one adult. Ha-neul didn't know whether to be relieved or insulted that quite a few of her regular playmates wanted to be on his team instead of hers. At least Chung-ho, the boy who wouldn't let go of her leg earlier, remained loyal.
She led everyone through some warm-ups, and then it was time to play. She tried to tell herself that there was nothing out of the ordinary about this day and kept her attentions on helping the kids shoot, defend and rebound, but all throughout the "game," she was excruciatingly aware of Shin-woo just over her shoulder, shadowing her every move, breathing down her neck.
Ha-neul couldn't help being a little disappointed when he didn't try to put his arms around her again, but knew that was for the best. With some of the kids and their nannies aware of his identity, he couldn't let them think that they were more than just friends (which is totally all that they were, she reminded herself). Besides, if he tried that again, he might get another elbow in the solar plexus and that would be setting a very bad example for the children.
They'll learn the dirty tricks soon enough, she thought with a smile once the game was over and everyone, as usual, was a winner.
"Thinking about something funny?" Shin-woo asked her.
"Just thinking that it's time for slam dunks," Ha-neul replied, still smiling. "You'll probably get more of a workout this time, but don't worry, your shoes will still be safe."
"Slam dunks" essentially meant lifting each child high enough to reach the rim of the basket, allowing them to slam the ball through the hoop. Once again, having a second adult around made it easier to get through all the kids. They were even able to take second turns this time.
"So, this is what you're doing these days?" Shin-woo asked Ha-neul after she had declared basketball over for the day. They were sitting on one corner of the basketball court, out of earshot of the children and their nannies. Of course, he hadn't brought a towel or water bottle, but the kids and their nannies were only too happy to ply him with drinks and extra towels.
She nodded as she pulled off her wristbands and stuffed them into her bag. "I started a few days after I got out of the hospital, and now we play a few afternoons a week. It's not a glamorous modeling job," she added, unfastening her knee brace and putting that in the bag, too, "but it's a lot of fun."
"You looked like you were having fun," he said. "In fact, you're looking well."
She blushed and fluffed her bangs self-consciously. "Thanks."
"Are you going back to work anytime soon?"
"Yes. I have one more week off, then it's back to work. It's not going to be anything like the way things were right before I collapsed, though. My dad and I agreed that we're going to be more selective about my assignments from now on."
"That's good." He paused before adding, "You really scared us when you fainted on the set."
"I'm sorry. I tried to let you guys know as soon as possible that I was fine." She glanced down for a moment, then looked back up at him with a smile. "Another reason why I want to lighten my modeling schedule is because I want to keep doing things like this," she said, gesturing towards the basketball court.
"Really?"
Ha-neul nodded fervently. "You saw the looks on the kids' faces - they were so happy whenever they did something right. That's how I felt when I played basketball, too, and I like to think that I'm giving them a chance to feel that way. Maybe they'll even get serious about the sport."
"You might have a future Olympic gold medalist somewhere around here right now," he said, looking around at the handful of children who were still there.
"Exactly! I've actually spoken with my teammate who works with the children's foundation," she went on. "They have activities to promote exercising and eating right, and I think I'd like to get involved somehow."
He couldn't help smiling at her enthusiasm. "It sounds perfect for you."
"Thank you." They regarded each other silently for a while before Ha-neul dropped her gaze and pulled a blue hoodie from her bag. "It's... it's started getting chilly in the late afternoon. You might want to put your jacket back on."
"Thanks." As Shin-woo put on his own jacket, he decided that this was the best, if not the only, time to strike. "Did you get my e-mail? What did you think?" he asked when she nodded.
"It was very short."
"I was talking about the song."
She shot him a small smile. "I thought it was amazing," she replied, the praise sounding gratifyingly sincere. "That was one of the new songs you wrote for A.N.JELL, right?"
"Yes, but-"
Suddenly, Ha-neul gasped. "Oh, I almost forgot!" she exclaimed. "My teammate told me that her foundation wants to launch a campaign encouraging kids to play sports, and they'll need a theme song for it. Maybe you can write one for them. I'll forward you Kyung-soon unni's number so you can ask her for more information if you're interested."
"Ha-neul-"
"You should seriously consider it. Being involved in something like that will be great for A.N.JELL's image."
"It definitely will," he told her firmly, "but that's not what I want to talk about right now."
Ha-neul had a feeling that he had come to have a serious talk with her. Playing basketball with the kids had held that off for a while, but now he was clearly through playing games. "Then... I suppose you want to talk about why you sent me that song," she guessed, forcing herself to look into his eyes.
"You know why."
She had to remind herself to breathe. "I think I have an idea, but I need to hear it from you."
Suddenly, it started to rain, big fat droplets that soon elevated into a downpour. Ha-neul grabbed her bag and they both jumped to their feet. Together, they ran past the kids and nannies hurrying home and sought refuge under a large shade tree. "Let's hope this doesn't go on for too long," Shin-woo remarked, shaking the raindrops from his hair.
She danced aside to avoid the spray. "I don't think it matters; I'm practically soaked."
A lock of her hair had stuck to her cheek during the run and he reached up to smooth it off her face. "We were talking about why I sent you that song," he reminded her softly.
She stood very still as his fingertips traveled over her skin, waiting, wide-eyed, for what was going to happen next. "And," she managed to say, "you sent it because...?"
"I love you."
For a moment, she feared that she had heard wrong, but his achingly tender smile said otherwise. "I... I was hoping that was why."
He arched an eyebrow. "Meaning?"
"Meaning...." She smiled back shyly. "I love you, too."
Later on, they would disagree on who had initiated their first kiss, because the kiss at Jeremy's birthday party definitely counted. However, they would always be sure about who was responsible for the second one, because this time Shin-woo cradled her face in his hands and leaned over to close the distance that he had kept between them for far too long.
Ha-neul threw her arms around him and kissed him back joyfully. This was more than just her earliest dreams of first love coming true. She had harbored a little crush on Kang Shin-woo back in elementary school, but she was even more in love with the man that he had become.
A sudden crash of thunder brought them back to earth. They looked at each other and laughed, heedless of the rain that dripped steadily down through the branches overhead. "Are you sure about what you just did?" Shin-woo couldn't help asking.
She smoothed his hair off his forehead. "I was absolutely sure about it the first time," she told him, leaning over to kiss him again, lightly, "and I'm even more sure now."
"The first time?" he repeated. Shin-woo looked at her blankly for a moment, then arched an eyebrow as a realization hit him. "You knew what you were doing that night, didn't you?"
Ha-neul grinned, but didn't answer. Instead, she said, "Come, let's go to my house so we can dry off and have some hot tea. Appa must be wondering what happened to us."
"Ha-neul...!" he said, but she had already picked up her bag and started for home. He heard her giggle, felt a broad grin break out over his face.
It was a cold, wet, and thoroughly miserable walk back to the Sos' house, but neither of them noticed.
Chapter 1: Hello I Love You
Chapter 2: My Brave Face
Chapter 3: Temperamental
Chapter 4: Million Dollar Smile
Chapter 5: Heart Messenger
Chapter 6: Somewhere in Between
Chapter 7: Still
Chapter 8: Constant Craving
Chapter 9: Addicted to Love
Chapter 10: Under My Skin
Chapter 11: Me Vs. the World
Chapter 12: Lady Picture Show
Chapter 13: Golden Sunlight
Chapter 14: Hole-Hearted
Disclaimer: The A.N.JELL-verse belongs to the Hong sisters, creators of You're Beautiful.
Author's Notes: Thank you to jay_ed, lilivanilla1 and akaironoyoru (and friend!) for reviewing! :) Can you believe that we've only got a few chapters to go... until the next fic?
Chapter Fifteen - Talking to My Angel (Melissa Etheridge)
Shin-woo had vowed that just being able to tell Ha-neul how he felt was enough, but after four days of not hearing from her, he knew that he had been kidding himself. "She could have said thank you," he grumbled on the drive to her house that Sunday. "Or at least let me know that she got the e-mail!"
He shook his head as he realized that he was talking to himself. Get a grip, Kang Shin-woo. He was going to visit Ha-neul to tell her that he cared about her, not to scold her for failing to observe common courtesies.
It was a pleasant late-summer afternoon, but the sunshine and crisp breeze were lost on him as he walked up to the Sos' front gate and rang the bell. The moment of truth was fast approaching, and as much as he wanted to turn tail and run back the way he came, he wanted to know how she felt, too.
Shin-woo looked up hopefully when the gate opened, but froze when he discovered that Mr. So, not his daughter, had answered the door. Getting over his surprise, he managed a smile and a bow. "Hello, sir. May I speak to Ha-neul?"
"I'm sorry, but she's not here right now," the older man answered.
"Where is she?" he blurted out. "Is she back in the hospital?"
"No." Ha-neul's father paused and gave him a long, appraising look. "She's in the park a few blocks from here," he added after what felt like an eternity of scrutiny. "She just left, so if you go over there right now, you should be able to talk to her before she gets too busy."
"Oh." Shin-woo smiled and gave the older man another polite bow. "I'll do that. Thank you."
Mr. So nodded, and then chuckled briefly. "It took you long enough to show your face here."
He blushed. "I know."
Sure enough, Shin-woo found Ha-neul in the park, standing on the basketball court with eager children clustered around her like flowers. "I want to do some slam dunks!" one of them cried, attaching himself to her leg. "Please, noona?"
"Slam dunks are for later," another kid told him. "We always play a game first!"
"I'm sorry, but Ah-ki is right," Ha-neul told the first little boy. He pouted, but brightened when she promised, "If you're good, I'll let you be the first. Now," she announced, "we have to split into two teams so we can do our warm-ups."
"I want to be on Ha-neul noona's team!"
"Me, too!"
"No, me!"
"Can I play?" Shin-woo asked.
She looked up and their eyes met. A guarded expression crossed her face and for a while, he feared that she would refuse, but she said, "Only if you promise to play fair."
He raised a solemn hand. "I promise," he said, and grinned when she nodded to indicate that he could join.
He paused to leave his jacket on the grass outside the court before jogging over to join Ha-neul and the children. "So, what are we supposed to do?" he asked, practically talking into her ear because some of the kids had started clamoring loudly to be on his team.
"First, we stretch," she replied, keeping her voice low and her eyes on the kids gamboling around them. "They're too little for a real game, with positions and everything, so what I do is give all the kids on one team a chance to shoot the ball, then we switch sides. The game is over when the score is tied.
"It's not much of a workout," she confided, "so you probably don't have to worry about ruining your shoes." She nudged one of his expensive leather shoes with the toe of her sneaker.
He stared at the rosy curve of her cheek for a moment before snorting derisively. "Only girls worry about ruining their shoes," Shin-woo scoffed.
She looked back up at him in surprise and a laugh escaped her when he gave her a small smile. "Well, you know people generally don't play basketball in street shoes."
"That never stopped us in grade school."
"No, it didn't." Ha-neul gave him a shy smile; the first time she had smiled at him in ages. "Let's do some stretches."
Shin-woo's presence made it easier to organize the children, especially when some of them realized who he was, and they quickly formed two teams, each with one adult. Ha-neul didn't know whether to be relieved or insulted that quite a few of her regular playmates wanted to be on his team instead of hers. At least Chung-ho, the boy who wouldn't let go of her leg earlier, remained loyal.
She led everyone through some warm-ups, and then it was time to play. She tried to tell herself that there was nothing out of the ordinary about this day and kept her attentions on helping the kids shoot, defend and rebound, but all throughout the "game," she was excruciatingly aware of Shin-woo just over her shoulder, shadowing her every move, breathing down her neck.
Ha-neul couldn't help being a little disappointed when he didn't try to put his arms around her again, but knew that was for the best. With some of the kids and their nannies aware of his identity, he couldn't let them think that they were more than just friends (which is totally all that they were, she reminded herself). Besides, if he tried that again, he might get another elbow in the solar plexus and that would be setting a very bad example for the children.
They'll learn the dirty tricks soon enough, she thought with a smile once the game was over and everyone, as usual, was a winner.
"Thinking about something funny?" Shin-woo asked her.
"Just thinking that it's time for slam dunks," Ha-neul replied, still smiling. "You'll probably get more of a workout this time, but don't worry, your shoes will still be safe."
"Slam dunks" essentially meant lifting each child high enough to reach the rim of the basket, allowing them to slam the ball through the hoop. Once again, having a second adult around made it easier to get through all the kids. They were even able to take second turns this time.
"So, this is what you're doing these days?" Shin-woo asked Ha-neul after she had declared basketball over for the day. They were sitting on one corner of the basketball court, out of earshot of the children and their nannies. Of course, he hadn't brought a towel or water bottle, but the kids and their nannies were only too happy to ply him with drinks and extra towels.
She nodded as she pulled off her wristbands and stuffed them into her bag. "I started a few days after I got out of the hospital, and now we play a few afternoons a week. It's not a glamorous modeling job," she added, unfastening her knee brace and putting that in the bag, too, "but it's a lot of fun."
"You looked like you were having fun," he said. "In fact, you're looking well."
She blushed and fluffed her bangs self-consciously. "Thanks."
"Are you going back to work anytime soon?"
"Yes. I have one more week off, then it's back to work. It's not going to be anything like the way things were right before I collapsed, though. My dad and I agreed that we're going to be more selective about my assignments from now on."
"That's good." He paused before adding, "You really scared us when you fainted on the set."
"I'm sorry. I tried to let you guys know as soon as possible that I was fine." She glanced down for a moment, then looked back up at him with a smile. "Another reason why I want to lighten my modeling schedule is because I want to keep doing things like this," she said, gesturing towards the basketball court.
"Really?"
Ha-neul nodded fervently. "You saw the looks on the kids' faces - they were so happy whenever they did something right. That's how I felt when I played basketball, too, and I like to think that I'm giving them a chance to feel that way. Maybe they'll even get serious about the sport."
"You might have a future Olympic gold medalist somewhere around here right now," he said, looking around at the handful of children who were still there.
"Exactly! I've actually spoken with my teammate who works with the children's foundation," she went on. "They have activities to promote exercising and eating right, and I think I'd like to get involved somehow."
He couldn't help smiling at her enthusiasm. "It sounds perfect for you."
"Thank you." They regarded each other silently for a while before Ha-neul dropped her gaze and pulled a blue hoodie from her bag. "It's... it's started getting chilly in the late afternoon. You might want to put your jacket back on."
"Thanks." As Shin-woo put on his own jacket, he decided that this was the best, if not the only, time to strike. "Did you get my e-mail? What did you think?" he asked when she nodded.
"It was very short."
"I was talking about the song."
She shot him a small smile. "I thought it was amazing," she replied, the praise sounding gratifyingly sincere. "That was one of the new songs you wrote for A.N.JELL, right?"
"Yes, but-"
Suddenly, Ha-neul gasped. "Oh, I almost forgot!" she exclaimed. "My teammate told me that her foundation wants to launch a campaign encouraging kids to play sports, and they'll need a theme song for it. Maybe you can write one for them. I'll forward you Kyung-soon unni's number so you can ask her for more information if you're interested."
"Ha-neul-"
"You should seriously consider it. Being involved in something like that will be great for A.N.JELL's image."
"It definitely will," he told her firmly, "but that's not what I want to talk about right now."
Ha-neul had a feeling that he had come to have a serious talk with her. Playing basketball with the kids had held that off for a while, but now he was clearly through playing games. "Then... I suppose you want to talk about why you sent me that song," she guessed, forcing herself to look into his eyes.
"You know why."
She had to remind herself to breathe. "I think I have an idea, but I need to hear it from you."
Suddenly, it started to rain, big fat droplets that soon elevated into a downpour. Ha-neul grabbed her bag and they both jumped to their feet. Together, they ran past the kids and nannies hurrying home and sought refuge under a large shade tree. "Let's hope this doesn't go on for too long," Shin-woo remarked, shaking the raindrops from his hair.
She danced aside to avoid the spray. "I don't think it matters; I'm practically soaked."
A lock of her hair had stuck to her cheek during the run and he reached up to smooth it off her face. "We were talking about why I sent you that song," he reminded her softly.
She stood very still as his fingertips traveled over her skin, waiting, wide-eyed, for what was going to happen next. "And," she managed to say, "you sent it because...?"
"I love you."
For a moment, she feared that she had heard wrong, but his achingly tender smile said otherwise. "I... I was hoping that was why."
He arched an eyebrow. "Meaning?"
"Meaning...." She smiled back shyly. "I love you, too."
Later on, they would disagree on who had initiated their first kiss, because the kiss at Jeremy's birthday party definitely counted. However, they would always be sure about who was responsible for the second one, because this time Shin-woo cradled her face in his hands and leaned over to close the distance that he had kept between them for far too long.
Ha-neul threw her arms around him and kissed him back joyfully. This was more than just her earliest dreams of first love coming true. She had harbored a little crush on Kang Shin-woo back in elementary school, but she was even more in love with the man that he had become.
A sudden crash of thunder brought them back to earth. They looked at each other and laughed, heedless of the rain that dripped steadily down through the branches overhead. "Are you sure about what you just did?" Shin-woo couldn't help asking.
She smoothed his hair off his forehead. "I was absolutely sure about it the first time," she told him, leaning over to kiss him again, lightly, "and I'm even more sure now."
"The first time?" he repeated. Shin-woo looked at her blankly for a moment, then arched an eyebrow as a realization hit him. "You knew what you were doing that night, didn't you?"
Ha-neul grinned, but didn't answer. Instead, she said, "Come, let's go to my house so we can dry off and have some hot tea. Appa must be wondering what happened to us."
"Ha-neul...!" he said, but she had already picked up her bag and started for home. He heard her giggle, felt a broad grin break out over his face.
It was a cold, wet, and thoroughly miserable walk back to the Sos' house, but neither of them noticed.