15 | "I'll wait for you."

"I love Cha Yerin. I love Yerin so much, I will wait many lives to be with her."

Jaeyun's eyes flicker to someone behind him, widening even bigger. Sunghoon turns at the scene, seeing Yerin hold the hefty amount of papers in her hand. Yerin couldn't believe what she heard in front of the workplace. It was more surprising to hear since Sunghoon isn't the type to spill such romantic words but surprised Yerin even further that her intuition and brain had been wrong all this time. Sunghoon did have feelings for her.

"Oh."

"My."

"God," Jongseong and Yeojin throw words back and forth to each other. Yeojin is of absolute disbelief and Jongseong of true excitement. They waited years, the girl more than the boy, to see two unlikely characters fall in love at their workplace as they did. "Oh my god."

"You know, Honey, it reminds me of a song from my favorite idol group," Yeojin clears her throat, ready to tear the office workplace walls to shreds. She holds a dense ear, singing the first note with a bit of flat. "Ohh~"

"Honey, not the place and the time. Save it for when I'm not here or when we're at karaoke," Jongseong covers her mouth, pointing to Sunghoon's face. "Look. His chest isn't rising up and down. Sunghoon stopped breathing. Do you think we should help him?"

"Nah. He's about to fall to his knees in a second, but Yerin's ready to lend a hand. Jaeyun might lose his balance, too, considering that the short battle has already ended."

"Really? Who would've thought with all the bark Jaeyun was doing, he'd falter so quickly," Jongseong tsks. "I don't think it's over, though. You can see the defeat in Jaeyun's eyes, but his fists are saying otherwise."

"Stop narrating the moment. Let's go eat lunch."

"'Kay," And, we're back to the romantic climax. Yerin sees Sunghoon's knees buckle, causing her to drop the files in her hands and grab his forearms.

"Sunghoon, are you alright?" She pushes away the awkward feeling simmering at the bottom of her chest, grabbing him as his glasses are pushed up by her other hand. "Get a hold of yourself, Mr. Park. Are you okay?" She repeats her question, but as she pats his back for him to breathe, she realizes that this crush may be deeper than she believed. "Sunghoon, it's just me-"

"I didn't think-" He coughs, finally breathing when he realizes the scene he created. "-You'd still be on this floor, Ms. Cha..."

"I had to, uh, catch up on some last-minute paperwork," Yerin replies, her heart beating faster once they meet eyes. Once Sunghoon had enough stability (and Jaeyun had left to cry about his loss), she let him go. Wiping her sweaty palms on her sweater, she bows. "I'm sorry, Mr. Park. Could we talk about this later? It's not the right time, or uh, place-"

"No," Sunghoon refuses to let her go. "We should talk about this now. If I don't tell you now, then I don't know what I'll say later. Please."

His desperation influences Yerin to nod in agreement. With consent, he slowly pulls her into the empty accounting department, hiding in the small kitchen, which holds a fax machine and three coffee machines, all of which Yerin uses throughout the day. Unknowingly, Sunghoon traps her in between the kitchen counter and his body. She doesn't notice either, not until her lips are aligned.

"U-Uh, Sunghoon?" She stammers, hands lightly pressing against his chest to keep more distance. Sunghoon obliges, widening it enough so that his arms straighten against the counter. "Listen. I appreciate you doing this all for me, standing up for me, and loving me, but I-"

"You... don't like me?" He shakes his head with his words, but Yerin returns the decline.

"No, that's not what I mean!" Yerin would kill for a chance with Sunghoon, but her heart was splitting so many ways. "I love you entirely. With my whole heart. I just don't see myself... ready to be in a relationship at this very moment. I need more time to think about my decision on getting closer romantically."

Sunghoon doesn't frown at the thought, and instead, he smiles. "Of course, Yerin," Sunghoon accepts her honest opinion and places his hands against her arms.  "I'm just glad you... like me back. At least I know that after so long, my feelings weren't a waste."

Yerin slowly smiles, blush spreads across her cheeks. "I should be the one to say that," She mumbles, but as the pair giggles, Sunghoon brings her into his embrace. Yerin's eyes widen as Sunghoon's arms hold her tight. Almost like a bear hug, it was powerful yet cuddly. His arms brought her comfort.

"Thank you. Thank you so much, Yerin," Sunghoon's shoulders relax. "I promise-" He stops, staring at her with his loving orbs.

"I'll wait for you."

"I'll wait for you," Yeojin mimics as she points at Yerin cooking, the single one grumbling as she continues swirling pasta. "Stop making fun of him, Yeojin! Sunghoon's so sweet, can't you see? He's willing to wait for me because I had a moment of uncertainty."

"You should've told him the truth. Say you're willing to date him at that second and boast about it for days. You should've said that your heart was having a trivial moment and that your words didn't mean dog crap," Yeojin rolls her eyes. "However, it's a good way to test his patience. You deserve a good man for being able to put up with people and romantic, ill feelings for such a long time."

Yerin finishes making her pasta, setting it on two plates for her best friend and herself. With a giggle, she responds, "You act as if I'm some working goddess. Please, Yeojin, I can barely manage myself outside the workplace."

"I can tell," Yeojin looks around the room, but her eyes land on the sunflower centered on the dinner table. "But this portion of the room is well-kept. I wonder what's allowed it to bloom."

"Funny, Choi," Yerin rolls her eyes, placing the plate in front of her. Sitting in front of each other, the friends share a nice dinner. "I just hope that his patience doesn't thin."

"Two years of seemingly unrequited love, although it was love at first sight. If he waited years, Sunghoon can wait a few more days," Yeojin admits the truth even as Yerin frowns at it. "Anyway, besides talking about your first favorite thing, let's talk about your second. I heard you have a new co-worker coming tomorrow."

Yerin tilts her head. "How do you know- oh wait, let me guess. Your boyfriend?" Yeojin nods. "Yeah, an intern. Fresh out of university, like I once was. Jongseong only told me their name."

"Man, he didn't tell me her name."

"It's a girl?"

"Well, what'd you think she was?"

"It's a unisex name. Her name's Woong. I didn't want to make assumptions," Yerin complains, sticking her fork in her pasta. "Ah, whatever! I still can't take my mind off of it. How did he have the guts to confess like that? I couldn't even tell him the truth!"

"Because he's a man. You're a girl."

"Not even a woman, Ms. Choi!?" 

"I'd call you a woman, but that wouldn't change anything," Yeojin tsks. "You'd still be crying over him on days he's not in your line of sight. Even when he's doors away, you didn't want to invite him over. You're still whining. Then, what can I call you?"

Yerin doesn't respond to stop an argument waiting to happen and continues eating her food.

However, her mind wanders farther and farther away, with his circular glasses and lanyard that tangles around the orbit of her mind.