Spring Moon

05

When I came back to the office 3 hours later as promised, I had only 15 minutes to be in my own space until it was invaded by none other than Haknyeon.

"I tried to fix the bug twice, but still, it's not working," he scratched his scalp rather violently, ranting out the system failure he faced on my page. "I followed all the steps though..."

Honestly, I just did not understand how could he ever think to report this to me. Never in a thousand years would I understand anything about it - my profession was writing. So, why... why did he decide to walk up into my compartment, invading my privacy just to tell me this?

"Try again then. They said, there will always luck on the third try," I suggested verbally, though internally I was intended to add 'just like me. My love has finally reciprocated on the third time falling in love with the same guy.'

Haknyeon slightly flinched at my suggestion. I could tell that he was doubting it at the first minute but there was something about me talking it out to him that made him instantly believe. Because the next thing that happened was, his eyes lit up and his lips subtly spread across his face.

"I'll go and try again," he said, swiftly turning on his heels towards the exit.

Yes, get out faster! I thought behind the stiff facial muscles.

Haknyeon had opened the door, in fact, a foot was set outside of my compartment, but suddenly he retreated with an exclaim as if he was just reminded of something else. And that resulted in him turning on his heels to face me again.

"Did you hear about it? Sangyeon is putting up a vacancy," he said in a low tone as if I wasn't supposed to know. Like it was a secret to keep away from me.

But, I won't lie that it was intriguing.

So, I asked, "What position did he advertise?"

"A designer."

"Designer?"

"For your book's cover," Haknyeon confirmed. "But, I hope he or she can design something new for your page too. We have been using the same thing for so long."

I flinched because I hated that idea. I truly hated it.

"Never change it, Haknyeon," I sternly remarked to which he retaliated with a stern 'Why?'

Because Kevin designed it, I intended to say that but I didn't. Instead, I said, "I like the concept."

He scoffed and eventually surrendered the conversation as he aimed for the door again. For, he knew once I made up my mind, it was final. Nonetheless, I was sure that he would come again soon with the same proposal.

Making sure that the boy had disappeared as his loud footsteps became fainter before they had eventually gone the farther he walked out, I finally released the breath I didn't know I was holding during the ambush. I pulled my drawer open, and the lit-up phone screen was what greeting me.

"How does it feel staying in the dark for a while?" I cackled upon meeting Kevin's face on the screen. His expression would always be my entertainment, it was random and funny.

"I almost had a heart attack when you threw me inside there," he played along with me. "But, thank you, Missy, you gave me a great experience."

Still cackling, I rested the phone on the holder on my table, aligning our faces. We were in the middle of a video call when suddenly Haknyeon barged in with a shout of my name. My brain was shocked and unable to think of what to do other than throwing my phone into the drawer.

"It's similar to our life. Not everything is on the bright side but when you are in the dark, it doesn't stay long. Even a tunnel has its end, the same goes with hardships," I shrugged and Kevin poked his tongue through his cheek as he digested my sudden quote.

"I'll make sure to jot that down. Thank you so much," he widened his eyes as he moved closer to the screen.

This felt surreal. I'd never imagined that I would stay in front of my screen, talking to him, not as a friend but as a part of me. My head kind of doubting this whole scene which I nearly hit myself to find out whether this was real or just a mere dream.

"So, back to our topic earlier..." Kevin snapped me back, anticipating the story, "Chanhee still wants the girl's attention?"

"Mhm... I like his perseverance. He knows what he wants and he will not stop until he gets it."

"Sounds much like someone I adore..."

Damn.

I could've sworn that my heart forgot how to beat. Suddenly it felt extremely hot inside here despite the air-cond being 16 degrees. Through my reflection on the screen, I had been cursed into a red tomato and Kevin smiled while biting his thin lower lip at his view.

So, this is how Kevin Moon flirts, I thought.

I managed to recover from the culture shock. Clearing my throat once and pretending to be busy with the laptop, I asked, "Why suddenly a video call? We could text over call."

"Nothing specific," I saw him shrug from the corner of my eyes. "It's just, that I'll be out of the radar for a few days. You will be shocked if I suddenly MIA."

That meant only one thing - the challenge had started.

"I'll be fine, Kev... I have a deadline to chase too," I assured, slumping against the chair. "You are worrying too much."

A wide grin appeared on his face as he looked straight into my eyes. I hope his internet connection was fine because I obviously, refused to be seen as pixels on his screen. I did not doll myself up for nothing. Duh!

"I think, I never made a wrong decision to ask you out," suddenly he said, making me ponder its message. "I'm glad it's you. I won't hesitate to wife you up, Ivy."

Stop. Right. There!

"Wait a minute..." Immediately I turned off the screen and muted the video call so that Kevin couldn't see what I was doing.

I squealed with my mouth closed and even punched the air. What did I hear? Wife me up? Kevin Moon said that with his own mouth? God, is this really a reality?

This was marked as the first thing about him that nobody had ever seen. Kevin Moon, someone who rarely talked about feelings was talking about marriage... with me. I obviously was the winner nobody could deny.

"I'm back," I couldn't stop the smile forming on my face when I returned, his brows scrunching as if he knew something was up. Evelyn told me that men normally wouldn't be so quick-witted but Kevin seemed to be a different breed.

"What happened?" He asked with a raised brow.

"Huh? Nothing," I lied. "Sangyeon stopped by earlier."

But, surprisingly, he bought my lie. Or, should I say that he actually was bewitched that everything I said would sound valid in his ears? If that were the case, it definitely, would be a big problem. Because he would keep forcing himself to believe me even though he didn't want to.

"Kev..." I called and he hummed melodiously in response. "I know that we are taking this relationship slowly. I know we should be open with each other, not to take any actions to heart, but, I would like to ask something from you."

"Tell, then. What is it?" He attentively listened which actually made me gulp.

"I had a few relationships before you which you are aware of," I paused, calmly breathing in. "I have a promise I made to myself that I don't want to be the old Ivy when it comes to a relationship. So, please, let me know if there is anything about me that you think should be fixed. I want to be the better version of Ivy."

I bit my lip, swallowing a secret thought - the version of Ivy that you preferred.