To Kiss An Idol

156 The First Attempt

After working for the whole day, it was time to leave for home. Nivritti was pondering upon whether to visit Young-Chul in the hospital. Going there every day would make people gossip about her. But Korain invited her, and she didn’t want him to think that his words had no value.

She was shutting down her laptop but kept biting her lips. 𝒇𝑟e𝙚𝑤𝙚𝐛𝗻𝐨ν𝚎𝘭.c𝐨m

“What are you thinking about?” interjected Jae-Hwa.

“Huh…” Nivritti raised her head and looked at Jae-Hwa. She didn’t hear a single word that she said.

“Who are you thinking about that you didn’t hear a word I just said,” teased Jae-Hwa.

“What? No one!” shouted Nivritti.

“Woah! Such a violent reaction. You were thinking about someone. Tell me, tell me,” teased Jae-Hwa.

“I was thinking about PJ. Have not seen him flirt with you for days,” Nivritti teased back.

“Hey! Shush! People can hear you,” scolded Jae-Hwa. “Don’t talk nonsense.”

.....

“Then stop teasing me. I was not thinking about anyone. I was making a list in my head as I am going to the supermarket today,” lied Nivritti. ƒ𝐫𝒆𝐞w𝗲𝚋𝗻૦𝘷e𝙡.c𝑜𝙢

“Ohh! Want my help? We can take my car,” said Jae-Hwa excitedly.

“No, no, it’s fine. I will see you tomorrow,” Nivritti said goodbye and was the first one to leave.

Jae-Hwa collected her things and moved towards the lift. She pressed the close button of the lift when Dae shouted, “stop the lift, Jae-Hwa.” She immediately placed her hands between the lift door and with her other hand kept pressing the open button.

“Thank you,” said Dae and entered the lift.

“You are welcome, Seong-ssi,” replied Jae-Hwa.

The lift kept climbing down. Dae kept glancing at Jae-Hwa who was busy on her phone. The lift stopped and the doors opened with a ding. Jae-Hwa moved forward still staring at her phone. Dae smirked at her and slightly moved his foot forward and Jae-Hwa bumped into his foot. She was about to fall when Dae grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to himself.

He had his arms wrapped around her waist and held her closer to his chest. Without loosening the grip, he moved one of his hands and reached up to her face. He parted her bangs and caressed her cheeks. “Are you alright?” he asked.

Everything happened so fast that Jae-Hwa could not process a thing. She finally came to her senses when Dae asked her a question. She realised that she was in his arms, and he was touching her cheeks.

She jerked him away and stepped back, as far as she could. But her bad luck, the lift door closed and it again started climbing up. She gulped and avoided looking at Dae. She didn’t like it when he touched her.

“Sorry! But you were about to fall. I am sorry if you felt uncomfortable by my touch,” Dae knelt down and apologised to Jae-Hwa.

She felt bad that a senior man was apologising to her. She moved near him and touched his shoulder. “Please get up. I am fine,” she said.

“Sorry, you were walking out. I didn’t mean to, but my foot hit your foot, and this happened. Please forgive me,” he bowed down again.

“Please Seong-ssi, get up,” she requested.

“So, you are, okay?” asked Dae.

“I am fine. Please get up.”

Dae stood up and apologised again, “sorry, very sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she said and pressed the button for the basement level where their cars were parked. The lift reached the 2nd floor and a few people entered. Jae-Hwa was somewhat relaxed after seeing a few people in the lift.

The lift again started climbing down and Jae-Hwa purposefully stood far away from Dae. But Dae was not done yet. Everyone came out of the lift and walked towards their car when Dae shouted, “Jae-Hwa!”

She bit her lips and halted in her path. She closed her eyes for a second and exhaled loudly to get rid of her fear. She turned around and with a fake smile on her face replied, “Yes, Seong-ssi.”

“Thank you for the suggestion to look for my phone in my bag. Because of you, I found my phone,” smiled Dae.

“It was not my idea. It was Ritti’s,” replied Jae-Hwa.

Dae clenched his fists at the mention of her name. “No one is listening to us. You gave me that idea, I don’t care who suggested it first. This is a cutthroat competition. Be smart,” taunted Dae.

“So, you want me to take the credit for someone else’s work?” Jae-Hwa crossed her arms over her chest.

“I didn’t mean that. I am just saying that are you not tired of her? Every good idea comes from her mind. She is getting annoying day by day,” Dae had an angry grin on his face.

Jae-Hwa thought that Dae was joking. She smiled at him and said, “yeah, her brain is sometimes annoying. Isn’t it great that she is a part of our team? Because of her, I met with our CEO twice. Before her, I never even dreamed that I would meet with him face to face.”

“Ah! This stupid girl. Here I am telling her that Nivritti is annoying, and she is praising her,” mumbled Dae.

“Are you not jealous of her? They say girls are jealous of each other,” mocked Dae.

“Why would I be jealous of her? She is sweet, kind, and my friend,” replied Jae-Hwa.

“Right, right! My family watches too many daily soaps. They keep talking about women pulling women down. So, I thought… I am stupid. It’s good that you guys are friends, otherwise, it would have been so difficult to work together, right?” taunted Dae.

“Yeah, she is awesome. She never judged me because my father works in this company. She was the first one who told me that I belong here because of my talent,” smiled Jae-Hwa. “I should really leave. Good night, Seong-ssi.” She turned around and started walking towards her car.

“Jae-Hwa!” Dae called after her. She turned back to look at him. “It seems that she is better friends with ASD than you,” Dae fired the last arrow in his quiver.

“Of course, she is, and she deserves to be,” smiled Jae-Hwa. “You have no idea what she did for them,” thought Jae-Hwa while staring at Dae. And the arrow missed its mark. “See you tomorrow, Seong-ssi.” She bowed down and moved towards her car.

She placed her bag and her purse in the passenger seat and started the car. The car zoomed past Dae who was still standing near his car and staring at Jae-Hwa. After she was gone, he kicked the tires of his car and shouted in frustration. He ran his fingers through his hair and shouted, “oh, that girl has everyone wrapped around her finger. Jae-Hwa is ready to defend her no matter what. How will I get her away from her? How will I break up their friendship?”

He pulled his hair in frustration and kicked the tire again, “think, Seong Dae, think. Something big, something drastic that will break their friendship. Also, you have to search for the video. I will have to keep an eye on her phone when she would unlock it. Oh shit! What if she unlocks it by fingerprint or facial recognition, I will not be able to get the passcode. I need to get her passcode.”

Finally, Dae unlocked his car and thinking and grunting at Nivritti, he reached his home.

Meanwhile, Nivritti ran to her home, changed into her casual clothes, and booked a cab to the hospital. She made sure that she would carry her mask with her. She didn’t want to take any chances today.

She was waiting for an update, but no one messaged her. While staring at her phone continuously she reached the hospital. She gave clear instructions to the cab to take her to the main entrance and not the emergency entrance. She received a shock for a lifetime yesterday and was not ready for any surprises, today.

Speaking of surprises, she remembered Jae-Geun and that she was still angry at him. She made up with Kyung-Soo when he came to her house, but she had no chance to speak with Jae-Geun after that. She knew if he came in front of her, she was not going to speak with him. How could he act like a child, that too a violent child?

She reached the 5th floor and knocked at the door and Jeong-Eun opened the door.

“Yes,” he said.

She removed her mask and revealed her face, “it’s me.”

Korain immediately reached the door and smiled at her. “Get in, get in,” he said with urgency.

She entered but to her shock, Young-Chul was not in the bed. “Um… where is he? Is he alright?”

“Calm down! He is fine. He just went to get some tests done. A nurse will bring him back soon,” replied Korain.

“Nurse?” asked Nivritti, scared. She gulped and stared at Korain.

“Yes, why? What happened?”

“I should leave. I don’t want anyone to see me here,” said Nivritti.

“What are you talking about?” asked Jeong-Eun.

“Last night a nurse saw me holding hands with MY. And here I am again, I don’t want to convey the wrong message to people,” replied Nivritti.