Fall For Me Again

My Empty Heart

"You didn't wait for me."

Jiwoo winced. Tae-hyung was blocking her way with his arms crossed over his chest, his expression irritated.

She shifted the books she was holding in her arms and said, "I told you I couldn't have dinner with you."

"You didn't say that."

"I was about to but you didn't let me finish," she explained. The pile of books dug painfully into her forearms and she clutch them to her chest, trying to find a more comfortable position.

"You should have waited for me," Tae-hyung insisted.

"But I was tired and wanted to go home straight away."

Tae-hyung must have been annoyed by her constant shifting of the load in her arms because he took the books from her.

"And how many times do I have to tell you to ask help if you need it?" he asked with a note of slight reprimand in his voice.

"It wasn't that heavy," she answered quietly.

Tae-hyung sighed. "You can be so stubborn sometimes, Jiwoo."

And at this, her heart did an unhappy little contraction before it drummed fast.

***************

Jiwoo was standing precariously near the top of the ladder that rode on railings along the upper shelves of the bookshelf to get the book she wanted from the topmost shelf. She glanced down to see how high she'd come and she swallowed. It was scary how the floor looked so much further away but she badly wanted that book.

Returning her attention to her objective, she clung to the ladder with one hand and extended her other arm. The ladder suddenly shook under her weight and she gasped. Holding on to the shelf, she waited until the trembling subsided. Then she tried extending her arm again.

Almost, she thought when her fingers touched the spine of the book. Almost there.

The ladder shook again and she almost lost her balance. Clinging tight to the ladder, she closed her eyes tight as icy terror enveloped her and made her heart thunder inside her chest.

Suddenly, the ladder was steady under her feet and a voice that she came to love so much spoke.

"Get off."

Peeling her eyes open, she looked down.

Tae-hyung was staring up at her with a frown.

"Get off. I'll get it for you."

Her heart still pounding but this time for a completely different reason, Jiwoo climbed down the ladder and stood aside while he climbed up. When he got the book she wanted, and thankfully, it wasn't one of the books he'd read, Tae-hyung gently tapped it on her forehead.

"Next time, ask for help okay?"

  ***************  

"Thanks for helping me carry them," Jiwoo told him when they arrived at her desk.

Tae-hyung put the books down and turned to her. "As gratitude, have lunch with me at the cafeteria."

The man was relentless.

Jiwoo resisted the urge to groan. "But I brought lunch with me. And I always eat here on my desk."

"It's the least you could do for standing me up," he pointed out.

He really wasn't going to give up. Jiwoo did feel guilty for what she did but he really should stop messing with her.

Wasn't Tae-hyung aware of the rumors?

Of the askance glances and the whispers about the two of them? Of Somin's jealous glares everytime he approached her?

Wasn't he aware that Somin was still after him?

Tae-hyung stood in front of her, eyes narrowed. They roamed her face determinedly, searching for whatever it was he was searching for, and Jiwoo knew he wasn't going to be denied this time.

"Fine," she finally muttered in defeat.

Sheer delight split his face from ear to ear into a captivating smile.

And dang if it didn't make her her feel warm inside.

Make her feel weak at the knees.

Jiwoo's breath got caught somewhere in her throat and her heart drummed faster. Tae-hyung was staring straight into her eyes and for a fraction of an instant, it felt like nothing else mattered but them.

"Great," he softly said, that dang smile still lingering on his lips. "And you know, I won't mind if you tell me you love me during our meal."

"Okay," she breathed.

Wait.

Did she just say okay?

Tae-hyung's eyes crinkled and for a horrifying moment, she thought he'd boast and push and mock her momentary weakness. But instead of doing those things, he turned and went out of the office.

Jiwoo sat down on her desk. She picked up the books and opened one thinking, dang.

What just happened to me?