Touch Of Solicitude

CUARENTA Y DOS

I tried to push him off, but his grip tightened, slithering his arms, securing my waist. After pulling off the kiss, he looked at me directly, "Do you still want to act as my sister after this?" Luigi questioned, "Yes-" I could finish my statement when he pulled in again for a kiss, this time, more profound as if he was forcing himself.

My body gave up slowly; my arms wrapped themselves on his neck. After releasing me, he leaned closer to my ear, "I love you, Sunny," He mumbled, my eyes closed as shivers ran down my spine. I could feel my face getting redder as every second passed, "What?"

As I opened my eyes and saw that the person who made a move on me disappeared before me, only the rustling of the leaves and the blowing of the wind was all I could hear of, what made me feel worse was how my heart thumped like crazy. Somehow, I realized that after all this time, I loved him without me knowing.

Should I expect anything after this? Now that I know what I actually felt, I can feel a strange feeling that I am not familiar with. I no longer want to suppress such feelings. Instead, I let it all out and do what I want.

After a week of that incident, time passed as if nothing had happened; as I expected, Luigi did not even contact me. The only thing that reminded me of his was endless news and articles about the company he was working for. Days after he left the house, he went to his usual work and helped his company.

"Miss Kim," I heard Lina's voice from the other side of the room, "Yes?" She entered and brought me a magazine.

"This is the magazine you requested," I smiled, "Thank you," She then left the room.

It was the month's latest issue, featuring Elias as the front cover and Luigi at the special section. Suddenly, I remembered on my schedule that I had to meet the company's President to thank them for letting us feature Luigi when in truth, it is his final decision whether to accept our offer or not.

Lina came in once again, "Your ride is ready," I stood up and started walking to the basement where the car was parked. If we meet each other, I can also use this as an excuse to give him a copy; I want to thank Luigi once again, "Let's go," I said to the driver.

Arriving at his company, you could sense how professional the place was; everyone wore suits and skirts formally, with ties and blazers; I knew it was a different environment from ours. "Mister Ferreiro praised the managing team today," The moment I heard his name, I froze on the ground. Slowly taking deep breaths, I tried to act unbothered, "Let's do this, Sun Hee! You're not here to meet him, but to meet the company's President," I raised my head and walked confidently as the company secretary guided me to the office.

Entering, you could see how well established the place was, "It is such a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Kim," A middle-aged man approached me, extending his hand, "It's nice to meet you, Mister Miguel Sastre,"

He offered me a seat in front of me, "I did not expect that The Bulletin will help us this much," He chuckled, "You added us workload but on the other hand, you brought us more clients,"

From what I heard, after our continuous advertisement of Luigi, their company attracted clients from the Lands. "Call Mister Ferreiro here," I started panicking; relax, Sunny. It is not like you have not kissed before; why are you pondering your thoughts on him? I heaved a sigh and composed myself, "He's here, Mister Sastre," Slowly, the door opened, revealing Luigi.

However, when our gazes fixated on each other, he seemed shocked seeing me there, but he instantly shrugged it off and saw in my opposing side, "I am here with Miss Kim, you probably know each other because you worked together, right, Mister Ferreiro?" The President smiled, Luigi turned his gaze to me, plastering a cheeky grin on his face which made me feel annoyed, "Miss Kim, it has been a long time since I saw you," Long time his ass, after doing that to me last week you dare to show yourself here and act as if nothing ever happened between us.

"I just scheduled my appointment to meet the President and to thank you that you allowed us to take the opportunity to feature the field of finance," He laughed out, "It is our honor to be featured at the magazine." He clasped his hand together.

"Also," I rummaged through my bag and gave them each a copy of the magazine, "Here' the issue including the exclusive interview with Mister Ferreiro," The President's eyes shined as if he saw gems.

"I should give you a copy since the company was mentioned after all," I smiled; the man clapped loudly, he was proudly laughing, "As expected, Miss Kim never fails, we look like we're in the stars in this magazine. You over exageratedly showed how great we were, we thank you for that," The room was filled with our laughter, but Luigi kept a straight face.

I then handed him my business card as he did with him, "If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to contact me in the future, we will do our very best to respond to your wishes," He nodded, "We will," He replied.

The conversation went long, but it soon came to a stop when the President was called by his secretary because he was scheduled for a meeting; ultimately, the room fell quiet when the only ones that remained were Luigi and me.

We left the room, walking along the hallway; I prepared myself to face him but now that we see each other eye to eye. Words were not coming out of my mouth; I did not even know what I should say.