𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙫𝙖𝙨 • 𝙚𝙣𝙝𝙮𝙥𝙚𝙣 + 𝙨𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣

𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻

𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞'𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚, 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚. 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞'𝙢 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚.

𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗯. - 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

Chaerin isn't the type to blush that easily, but to him, she felt like a newly plucked rose that bloomed brightly in spring. Peeking from the closed curtains of her space in the noisy hospital room, she could see the opened door with him apologizing profusely with his fake accent to the strict head nurse in charge of her. She watched him, hugging her knees close to her from afar at how he could easily make the stiff and aloof nurse smile at him. But when his eyes landed through hers and smiled sweetly, she could feel heat rising from her neck, staining her ears with a hue of red.

"What the-" She says as she realized that almost all of the patients in the area saw their interactions. Chaerin quickly closed the curtains as she buried her reddened face deep in her blankets, trying to drown out every teasing she could hear from everyone. "Please stop," she kept muttering that she knew that she was reddening even further.

Then the noise stopped as she got out of her covers, she noticed that the light was brighter from the wall. She turned around to see the grinning Joshua with a small succulent plant in a small pink cup. "I figured that you might be bored in this room," he said and placed it near the window. "I managed to buy this with my first paycheck. Isn't he cute?"

"Wait. He?" She asked as she sat up in her bed and held the small plant in her hand gingerly. "And also, your paycheck? Why would you spend them in this tiny plant? You should have sent it to your parents."

"Well, everyone in the dorm has been asking Nara-ssi if you're fine after the... you know." Joshua said as he began cutting apples with the fruit knife and baskets on the table. "Everybody else has a full schedule for this day, even me. But I managed to secure some hours with you."

Chaerin nodded quietly and ate the pieces of apple that he kept giving, not giving her a chance to talk. Not that she wanted to. If she talked, she would have stuttered anyway. "Besides, you're one of my few friends that I can talk to," Joshua said as he began peeling the skin off a new apple.

Ouch. "Right, a friend." She mumbled to herself as she ate another slice of apple that he gave. The nerve of this oblivious idiot. No matter how hard she tried to convince herself that the man in front of her wasn't supposed to be with her, she couldn't help it. But then again, she hasn't confessed to him. She have no right to be possessive towards him. She knew that this feeling might be the same like his fans do.

He's a star. A painfully bright one that when she tried to hold on or even glance at its brightness, her hands would burn and might cause the star to break. Her friendship with him was short and painful. It was... He was so kind. When everyone catches sight of him with a girl, his future will be gone just like that.

Chaerin let out a pained smile when she heard an urgent ringing from the old phone in his pockets. Just as she thought, she's going to be one of the reasons his future might be gone. She thought that she might be able to stay as a friend that might be able to see him reach greatness. "It was nice." Chaerin said, pushing Joshua out of the curtains. "That's your manager, right?"

"I'm really sorry, Chaerin-" Joshua was cut off by another urgent call from his small phone. This time she could see that the caller was nicknamed as the director of their company. He glanced down and looked at her after. Why is it that even if her heart was breaking, she felt happy for him. It was at this moment that she could guess his answer already.

I'm really sorry. He'll say that because he knows that he's needed back to the company. Maybe he wasn't telling the truth a while ago. It ignited the small spark of hope that he might have visited her because he wanted to see her. Maybe he really saw her as a friend. That's acceptable. But if there's a slight chance that he did say that...

"I'm really sorry, noona."

Oh. He really said it. Maybe he'll really contue with things like, 'My manager is calling me now.' He'll tell the truth because he's afraid that he'll hurt her feelings. It was painfully obvious from the way his eyes fidgeted away and his body leaned to the right, near the door.

"My manager is calling me now."

Is it wrong for her to wish that her crush would stay? That she held some small significance in his life for him to skip work. I will make it up to you. How selfish. Chaerin felt a tint of sourness in her mouth. The first feeling of falling in love bloomed in her heart, yet she fell for someone she couldn't have.

"I'll make it up to you."

As she gave out a bright smile in contrast to how she was feeling, the tension between them lightened. The way he held out his hand for a handshake, smiling sweetly, and his eyes focused towards her sad ones. She held out her hands, feeling the softness of his with her calloused ones. Lee Chaerin knew the next two words he'll be uttering out for her.

"I promise."