Just Friends

Twenty Nine

After that session with Ye Jin, I hit the driving range. I needed to practice my golf game if I had any chance of making this work with her.

A couple of hours later, I headed to main hall to get a cup of coffee and bumped into Ye Jin. She gave me a brief nod in acknowledgment but didn't say anymore. I saw her head to a corner table, take out a book and read.

Not wanting to bother her, I asked one of the servers, "May I ask for a favor? I wish for a note to be delivered to Ms. Son?"

Quickly scribbling on a table napkin, I picked a cookie she might like and handed both to be delivered to her table.

She looked surprised at the gift but accepted it.

In case I lose on Friday, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for the way I handled things. – KTP

She caught my eye but didn't react otherwise, so I just raised my hand, gave a sad smile and left.

The next day, we arrived in the gym at the same time. "Good morning," I greeted.

"Good morning," she replied, still unsmiling. While stretching, I noticed her staring at my face. Giving her a questioning look, she commented, "Were you out in the sun yesterday?"

I nodded.

"You didn't use enough sunscreen again. Your nose is sunburnt," she said. Rolling her eyes, she continued, "Sheesh, you need to take better care of yourself."

"I'm sorry. I'll put more next time."

During the workout, she not only taught me the routine but did it with me. "Remember to tighten your core. You'll hurt yourself if you don't."

The next hour was more of that. "Ten more reps!"

In one particularly difficult round, I muttered, "Are you trying to kill me?"

She cheekily replied, "Maybe I should. Stop complaining. Come on! Work those glutes!"

Finally, I heard her say, "Alright, last round! Pull! Your posture. Alright!" When we finished that last round, we both lay on the floor panting. She got up first. "Don't forget to stretch."

While we were doing so, I couldn't help but ask, "I should have gone to more of your TRX workouts before. That was quite a workout."

I never really expected an answer but she said, "You favored doing weight training."

"That's true," I said. Pushing my luck, I asked, "Would you want to grab some lunch?"

She paused. Shaking her head, "No, thank you."

I sighed but accepted it.

Before she left, she turned to me and said, "Thanks for the note and the cookie yesterday."

I decided to take another trek to the lake since my afternoon was free. When I arrived at the clearing I found the other day though, someone was already there. "Jin."

"Oh, hi."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude."

She smiled. "Don't worry. Stay. I'm about to leave anyway."

I nodded. "I thought you'd enjoy this spot when I saw it the other day."

She smiled again but did not respond to that statement, saying instead, "I should get going. I feel a headache coming in."