In A Beautiful Way

Something In The Rain

"I uh..." Hyunwoo blinked rapidly, caught off guard by her bold question. Why was she asking him that? Did she like him too? Or did she think he was being weird by crossing the line?

His heart pounded in his chest, so loudly that he feared she might hear it and know how he was feeling. This certainly wasn't what he'd expected when he suggested playing this game. He had been simply focused on getting an opportunity to ask her about Eunsung and didn't realise that she could easily turn the tables on him too.

There was palpable tension in the air, her piercing eyes staring straight into his soul. Shit, how as he going to get himself out of this one? If he was ever going to confess to her, he wanted to be romantic like those dramas his sister liked to watch. He wasn't just going to tell her straight to her face like this while they were trapped in a pitch black closet.

Well actually, a dark room is a pretty romantic place too. In movies, this is the part where they get bold and make out since nobody can see them and they can't see each other. No! This is not the right time to be thinking about this! Why isn't the power back on yet? It doesn't take that long to fix a stupid power trip.

"Why do you want to know? Do you think I like you?" He bounced the question back to her.

She pursed her lips. "That's not answering my question."

"Well I-"

Before he could complete his sentence, the lights flickered back on and light flooded the entire room.

"Ow." Haein grimaced, squinting her eyes as she adjusted to the sudden brightness.

Wow, that was a close call.

"Ya! Baek Hyunwoo! Are you in there?" There was a series of sharp knocks on the door and a voice which he recognised as Yangki's.

"I'm here! We got stuck because the electric lock wasn't working." He hollered, getting up from the floor quickly to open the door. When this was all over, he would give Yangki a big kiss for getting him out of this mess.

Standing in the doorway, Yangki was shocked at what he saw. Amongst shelves of sports equipment was Hong Haein sitting on the ground, looking every bit as flustered as Hyunwoo. Hyunwoo's shirt was untucked, his collar lopsided while Haein's shirt was crumpled, her hair a deviation from its usual pristine locks. What the hell happened here?

He eyed his best friend suspiciously. "Did you two..." He trailed off, letting them complete his question on their own. His suggestion didn't help one bit, making the both of them blush so fiercely that it only made them look guiltier.

"You know what? I'm not going to ask any questions." He held his hands up in surrender.

"It's not like that. Haein was already here when I came, she's looking for stuff for the logistics team." Hyunwoo explained even though he knew it was futile. Yangki would never believe him.

"Okay good buddy, let's get back to training. Coach is going to kill me if I don't deliver him his star athlete within ten minutes."

"Haein ah? Did you find what you were looking for?" Hyunwoo asked, turning back to her.

"Y- yeah, I did." Haein held up the equipment to show him.

Hyunwoo held the door open since Haein's hands were full.

"Um... good luck with whatever you're doing." He swallowed awkwardly, his head bobbing as he spoke.

"Thanks. You too."

With that, they parted ways, each turning to walk in the opposite direction. Haein would never admit it to anyone, but she'd turned around for a split second to watch his back before he turned around the corner, a faint ache in her heart. She'd never gotten the answer to her question.