Anytime, Anywhere | DAERIN

chapter 16: push and pull

Danielle

I knew Haerin could be intimidating, everyone did. She had a reputation for being intimidating and unapproachable. But to witness it that close was something entirely different.

That was the first time I had ever seen her like that, for the first time I was genuinely scared. Not of her, exactly, but of what she could do if she wanted to.

I was lost in my thought that I just noticed I was walking down to a deserted part of this place, when suddenly, I felt a firm yet gentle grip on my arm.

The next thing I know, I stumbled into some kind of stock room. I saw stacked boxes, dust, and barely any light. 

"What the he–" The door slams shut behind me, and I saw Haerin stood before me.

"Haerin, you just.. why did you drag me in here?" I managed to ask. I felt my hands getting clammy and I could hear my own pulse in my ears.

No answer. Just more staring. It was like she was trying to read my mind or what. Or maybe she was waiting for me to say something, like an apology, an excuse, or a magic spell to make her less mad, who knows.

I was really nervous to face her right now. I just want to shrink into the shadows and pray that she would cool off.

But what happened next was not what I anticipated.

Haerin suddenly pulled me forward to her without warning. She buried her face in the curve of my neck. Her breath was warm and brushing softly against my collarbone.

I froze in the spot and I could've sworn my cheeks are flaming right now. God, this was so not part of my day plan.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that." Haerin murmured. I was even more surprised that she apologized to me. She remained pressed against me with her arms around my small waist. "I even messed up your work."

I just let her speak, and ironically, I found our situation right now to be strangely comforting.

"I was really pissed off at that man, he was acting up like you owe him something when he was expecting you not to say no." she grunted in frustration.

I relaxed a bit and decided to speak. "Honestly, I didn't see anything wrong with what you did there. If anything, it was helpful enough to let me escape from his pressuring." I said.

"That fucking bastard," Haerin cursed under her breath and tightened her grip on me, it made me smile inside. "But please don't hesitate to turn down any offer you're uncomfortable with, no matter what who it may be, even if it was me. If you don't want to, then don't."

"Even if it was me."

Hearing it made me reflect about the things we did. Has there been any moments of us that felt forced? It's true that Haerin has her own ways of doing things, but she never crossed any lines that I wasn't willing to let her cross (except maybe the time she sneaked into my apartment and bought the whole place, but there's a whole lot of story for that).

Maybe I enjoyed all of it, whether I wanted to admit or not.

"Okay, I'll do it next time." I nodded in agreement. I didn't say anything about the part where Mr. Jung told us to always win over the clients and not dissapoint them. The last thing I needed was for her to turn her anger at our supervisor and make things even messier. As I said, I'm scared of what Haerin could do if she wanted to.