Collide

TO_GET_HER.

"I really like you Lee Chaerin..." He said again, and Chaerin let out an audible sigh. She let her shoulders slump down, like feeling defeated. She looked at him with a weak smile, her eyes down as if she had suddenly gotten really sick.

"Jiyong..." She started saying but the waitress interrupted them bringing their pastries and coffee – Chaerin's 4th coffee for the day – and then left. Chaerin shook her head slightly and looked at Jiyong, his expression was unreadable, as if he wore some sort of white mask to hide his true feelings.

"I'm not saying out front we should date, I just wanted you to know how I was feeling." He said coldly and grabbed his cup of coffee and added some sugar on it. She smiled and grabbed hers, sipping it quickly without adding any sugar.

"I'm not saying I don't want to. I do, I like you too, but it's complicated." She said. He looked at her, his eyes dark, not only due to the dim light on the café, probably because that's how he was feeling.

"Is it because of James?" He said and Chaerin tensed up.

"No, of course not," She said and bit on her vanilla cake. He looked at her suspiciously, his mouth opened then closed, he was fighting with words, she could tell as much.

"Alright then, it's hard, I know." He said and bit on his own vanilla cake. She nodded and slurped on her coffee one more time. She grabbed his left hand and caressed it tenderly.

"Jiyong, I honestly care about you. I do, and I even like you, this," She signaled her heart, "Beats a few times faster when I'm with you." She said and Jiyong smiled.

"Yeah, I know the feeling..." He said.

"But I can't be with you right now, it's not because of you. You must know that in other circumstances, I would tell you yes right away, but right now I can't." She said with the calmest voice she could muster. He nodded and finished his cake.

He didn't say anything else, and it was starting to get awkward between them when his phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket without looking and answered it. His eyes widened a bit when the person talked, and she didn't looked at him, giving him some sort of space.

"Indeed, yes, I'll be right over." He said and hung up. He looked at her and smiled, "I'm sorry, I have to go. Are you going to the company?" He asked her and she shrugged.

"Sure, I'll hang out in your studio, if you don't mind." She said and he nodded. They both stood up and he put some cash on the table and walked out, leading Chaerin to the front.

They both walked towards the company, it wasn't that far after all, just a cross on the street and a corner and they were there. She was kind of glad she was walking with him silently, even if the cold weather of autumn was starting to sting her skin, she was glad he was there with her. They both entered through the back of the company since the front gates were always filled with expectant fans, and Chaerin wore no protection on her, only her shades.

They both took the elevator and he led her towards her studio, he had told her he needed some papers there for the small reunion he had with Hyunsuk, and by the mention of his name, her stomach clutched, she wasn't sure how well Jiyong knew about him, or about her, she just knew Hyunsuk talked to her old boss, so he must know something, but didn't know what.

"Um, Jiyong, will that take too long?" She said as he opened the door of the studio. He shrugged and looked at her with curious eyes.

"He'll probably nag at me for something I didn't do, won't take long. Why?" He said and she shrugged.

"I just missed you." She said, stalling for time. He smiled and went over her, set the papers on a table and cupped her face between his hands.

"I missed you too." He said and kissed her, soft, slow and lingering. She closed her eyes, a gush of emotions ran towards her. The memories of the dreams fresh on her mind, how much she wanted him during the days she wasn't there, and how warm and wet he made her feel, even if it was just a dream.