The Wind of the Day

Part 1

AN: So this is my first attempt at a multi-chapter... and it'll more or less follow CLOY's entire plotline with a few twists here and there. There should be around seven chapters in this fic, hope everyone likes it! Your opinion means a lot to me, so... let me know what you think!

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The Wind of the Day

PART ONE

The blizzard shows no signs of surrender as Se-ri and Jeong-hyeok try to keep warm inside the empty classroom. Their shoes were too wet from the snow and useless against the cold; Se-ri had no coat at all due to her hasty departure and Jeong-hyeok draped his coat over her long ago. He's still cold, despite the fire, and he hopes his coat has dried enough to warm her.

They're silent after the mention of first loves and him being a bachelor — which of course is an insult, he'll have to look it up later — and despite the attempt of making lighter conversation, the atmosphere around them is still heavy. They don't talk about their feelings, and Jeong-hyeok will be the last person to do so in any situation at all, but with Se-ri...

It's different with her.

He can't ignore that he discharged himself from the hospital against medical orders just to go after her and make sure she's safe. He can't ignore that she took a bullet for him, nor can he ignore that he had been willing to suffer the consequences had she left North Korea by plane with the delegation. He can't ignore that she has just gone after him after telling him to forget about her just because she was worried he would freeze, and he can't ignore that damn engagement ring on her finger because fake or not it shouldn't even be there. Hell, he just broke an engagement of seven years and there had never been a ring in the first place.

Then again, it's not as if there was ever anything other than duty on his relationship with Seo Dan. Just like it shouldn't be anything between Se-ri and that Alberto Gu guy. But he still gave her that ring.

Jeong-hyeok shakes his head slightly; Se-ri remains still next to him, her palms rubbing together to fight the cold. He fights the urge to hold them between his palms.

She's been around him for just a few weeks, and he feels as if his entire world has turned upside down with her presence. And he can't ignore that it feels better this way. The way she makes him feel alive. The way she makes him feel again, or better yet, like never before.

Jeong-hyeok feels rather than sees Se-ri shiver, and he knows that even with his coat draped over her shoulders she can't be too warm, not wearing that skirt and that oversized sweater. He's a little unsure of what to do, because he can't do much besides what he's already done, and they're already sitting a little close together — albeit with a palm of distance between them.

She's too far away while being too close at the same time.

He decides to try and distract her, because if they talk they might forget about the cold and the blizzard and the gunshot wound he's still recovering from and that engagement ring on her finger.

"So, uh..." he clears his throat, trying to continue their conversation. "Was he your first love?"

He goes with the same question she's asked him about Dan, as it seems fitting. She more or less agreed to marry the man, and Jeong-hyeok knows they have some history.

Among the many men she has waiting for her in Seoul, he begrudgingly remembers.

"Who?" Se-ri asks distractedly, turning her head to look at him and then comically widening her eyes. "Oh, Gu Seung-joon? Oh, no. No, no, no. I saw right through him, you see. I'm very good at judging people, you've surely noticed that, so no, absolutely not. No, I knew right away he was after my money."