ONE's AFFAIR ; DAERIN

Chapter 32. Change of Heart

NO ONE's POV

After her encounter with her ex, Danielle had been dealing with an inner battle of feelings with herself. All of her feelings seemingly rushed back after that night but a part of her wants to locks her feelings up. A part of her wants to runaway forever and never try love again.

She's having a conflict about whether or not she should give Haerin a second chance.

Danielle splashed her face with cold water and dried off before stepping out of the bathroom. Speaking of the devil, she accidentally bumped into Haerin right after she exited the bathroom.

"Oh, hey," Haerin greeted, her face lit up with a smile but it quickly faded as Danielle walked away coldly without a response. Though, Haerin brushed it off thinking she's probably running late.

Throughout the day, the two bumped into each other a few times. Every single time, Haerin would smile and greet but Danielle either coldly responded with a "Hey," and/or just walk away without saying much more.

Haerin laid flat on her back on the couch while continuously throwing a ball into the air, neglecting the pile of paperwork on her desk, waiting to be resolved.

"You're probably the laziest CEO that I've ever met," Lily commented after she finished reading the newest magazine.
"Just give me a few minutes." Haerin replied.
"You've been lying there for half an hour!"
"The work can wait."
"How are you more heartbroken the second time than the first anyway?" Lily furrowed her eyebrows.
"I dunno, maybe cause I felt like I actually had a chance to redeem myself."

Lily sighed long-fully, setting the magazine down. "C'mon, let's go." She gestured. "Where?" Haerin got a hold of the ball she's been throwing. "To find you love, where else? We have a few dates that are still pending and you're going to be attending them all." Lily dragged Haerin out and immediately drove them to the restaurant where Haerin's date is waiting.

"Don't be stupid on purpose to scare them away." Lily warned while fixing the latter's collar. "You're starting to act like grandpa." Haerin rolled her eyes.

Haerin step foot into the room and her attention was immediately taken by the woman sitting politely with a soft smile. "Hello, are you Haerin?" The woman asked. Haerin sat down across from her and had to clear her throat to regain her composure.

"Yes, and you are..." She tried to remember the name of her date but just cant quite get it. The woman softly chuckle, "Kim Minjeong." Haerin scratched the nape of her neck. "Sorry," She whispered.

"It's fine, should we start introducing ourselves?" Minjeong asked politely and Haerin nodded, "Ahem-" She cleared her throat, "I'm not sure where to start but I'm currently looking over a kitty named Luna." Haerin proudly admitted and put on an awkward teeth smile.

Minjeong blinked a few times, expecting more but Haerin stayed still and silent. She suddenly bursted out laughing at the unusual and unique introduction.

"That's it?" The woman asked in between her giggles. "I guess so, it's your turn now." Haerin smiled, genuinely. "Okay! Um, my name is Kim Minjeong like I mentioned before and I actually go by Winter as my stage name. I spend a lot of time going to the beach or just walks in general. I also really like to play guitar and piano."

Haerin's mouth formed an 'O' shape as she listen in awe.

"Wait, stage name?"
"I'm actually an actor!"

Haerin's jaw dropped wider. She doesn't watch many shows or movies and prefer to watch videos about history for entertainment. The only time when she watches some sort of shows or movies is when her and Hanni had date nights together.

"Wow, that's really.." Haerin gave a thumbs up to express her feelings. "Sorry, I didn't know. How long have you been doing it?" She asked. "Hmm, I got recruited in high school and I'm 25.. so nine years?" Winter answered proudly.

Haerin can't believe that her date is.. so perfect. Maybe, a bit too perfect for her taste but she's willing to give it a shot if it helps her with distracting away from Danielle.

The two started to order some food and refreshments to enjoy while getting to know each other a bit more.

Haerin rests her chin on the palm of her hand while listening to the woman talking about her interests. This date is going a lot better than she ever thought. It wasn't such a bad idea, after all.

—

A few days later

"Thank you, Eunwoo. For taking me out, I had a blast!" Danielle thanked the man. He nodded, staring at her with dreamy eyes which is one-sided. "No problem. Thank you for letting me take you out." He bowed slightly.

"I'll get going now." Danielle smiled before exiting the car and watches as it slowly drove out of view.

Even though the date was truly a blast, the entire night, Danielle has been acting different. Despite being able to enjoy one of their favourite things, she seemed uninterested and bored most of the time. Almost as if something major is occupying her mind.

Danielle entered the elevator with a sad expression on her face. She looked down at the floor tiles, mind completely somewhere else. She jumped in surprise when the elevator stopped and made a loud ding.

Danielle quickly washed up and crawled into bed, making herself comfortable by burying herself in a castle of pillows and blankets. She hugged the turtle stuffed animal tightly, the one Haerin gifted her.

Danielle chose to ignore Haerin for her own good but not being able to be with the person she love, pains her dearly. Every night, she would hug the stuffed animals Haerin bought her as well as wearing the clothes Haerin liked.

The puppy turned on her phone, a few messages from Wonyoung, her coworker.

Wonyoung🎀

20:22
woahh, have you seen this article?
this is so crazy!

*one link attached*

Danielle clicked on the link which directed her to a website.

NEW! Actor Kim Minjeong (Winter) and CEO Kang Haerin leaked photos after a date.

She scrolled through the article, expecting this to be fake in order to gain views but her heart nearly stopped as she sees photos and a video of the two together.

The two walked side by side, not holding hands but relatively close. Danielle clicked on the video. They were laughing after the blonde whispered something into the cat girl's ear. Danielle scrolled a little bit more to view the comments under the post.

-What? Winter is in a relationship??

-I never would've expected, theyre like two completely different worlds.

-They look good together.

-Idk how to feel..

-They look happy together. When's the wedding? Haha.

Danielle turned off her phone and threw it away somewhere on the carpeted floor. Her heart might explode if she continues to read. She hugged the stuffed turtle tightly and bury her face into it.

Tears started to stream down her face then onto her neck. She misses Haerin. Even though it was her choice to ignore and leave, deep down, her feelings for the cat-eye will never alter.

"..I miss you.. Haerin." Her voice was shaky and weak. Regret washed over her whole body and mind. Maybe she should've given her a second chance to redeem. This is hurting her more than the time Haerin confessed everything.

Danielle's sobs slowly put her to sleep. The pillow and stuffed turtle were stained with wet tears.