Chapter 36

36 The Visit – Both were too mesmerized by each other. Dressed in black and white both were looking stark opposite but to an outsider, they were appearing to compliment each other. Suddenly they both heard the footsteps getting closer and then fading away. They both came back to reality. Kyung-Soo knew she was about to blast him for being so careless.

“Are you out of your mind?” as per his expectation, she shouted.

“What?” he smiled sheepishly.

“First of all, what are you doing here? And second, where is your mask?” she gritted her teeth.

“Yeah, sorry I forgot,” he apologised.

“What if someone would have... would have... ahhh,” she screamed. She clenched her fist and moved towards him to hit him but controlled herself. Why was he so infuriating? She wanted to hit him on his head. How could he be so stupid, coming to her house late at night, that too without a mask?

“I am sorry to come here without a mask, but be assured no one saw me,” comforted Kyung-Soo.

“Yeah, someone was about to see you a second ago,” chided Nivritti.

“You saved me,” said Kyung-Soo innocently.

.....

“Don’t be cheeky. Wait! How do you know my address?” asked Nivritti.

“You told me,” The answer was instant as if he knew what she was about to ask.

“What? When?” she was confused.

“When you showed me your employee page,” replied Kyung-Soo.

“Excuse me! I just showed you my date of birth to tell you about my age,” protested Nivritti.

“No, you showed me your page and what I see I read completely. The whole world knows I love to read,” mocked Kyung-Soo.

“That’s stalking, you are stalking. Why... why are you here?” she snapped.

He shoved the bag in her face and said, “I suppose these belong to you or you wanted me to give these to you in front of everyone?”

She took the bag from his hand and looked inside. It was her white shirt and grey jacket. Her face turned red with embarrassment after seeing the clothes as she knew that curled up in that bundle of clothes was her bra.

She just kept looking at the bag without saying a single word. She was too embarrassed to speak. He saw her in a bra, then without a bra and now he came to return it to her. Why did stupid things happen before him?

Kyung-Soo saw her cheeks turning red with embarrassment. He smiled at her and teased her, “If you want I can give you this package in front of everyone. Then you can tell everyone what happened in the bathroom and how I stalked you.”

She lifted her head up and looked at him with shock. She cried, “noooo...” She took a deep breath and cooled herself down. ” Um... thank you for bringing this here.”

“But I am a stalker,” he teased her again.

“A little bit,” she mocked him back.

“Excuse me!” he started laughing at her tease.

“I am kidding,” she laughed with him. Then with all seriousness, she thanked him, “Thank you for being so considerate.” Seeing her clothes she remembered that she too had his clothes that were drying on the balcony. “Well now that you are here, wait here, please.”

She vanished in her balcony and came out bringing his t-shirt and jacket. She was about to give them to him when she pulled her hand back, “this is not pressed, just washed. Give me a minute, I will press it.”

“And to think that I didn’t even take your clothes out. I too should have washed it. But I am not sure how to wash someone’s delicates,” he teased, again.

“Shut up!” she shouted, smiling.

“Just give it to me, no need to press it,” he put forward his hand to receive his clothes.

“No, no, please sit and give me a moment,” she pushed him towards the couch.

“Ritti, it’s okay,” he protested.

“No, not okay. I am an idiot. You came to my house for the first time and I have not even offered you water. Sit down,” she pushed him on the couch and threw his clothes on her shoulder.

Before he could protest, she ran to the kitchen and brought back a glass of water and a can of cola.

“I can make you tea if you want,” she offered.

“Relax! I am fine,” he smiled at her.

“Good, then drink and give me a few minutes.”

She ran to her bedroom leaving him alone in the living room and took out the press. Within a few minutes, she was done. She came out with neatly folded laundry in her hands.

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The moment she came out, her eyes fell on Kyung-Soo. He was drinking cola and reading scripts on her laptop. She froze in her path. The world slowed down for her. She stopped blinking. Kyung-Soo’s beauty was out of the world. His black hair, his shiny skin, his large muscles were captivating.

It was not only his intelligence, his talents but also his good looks that made his fans go crazy about him. His curled hair was playing on his forehead. She wanted to reach his face and get that hair out of his face. For a minute, without speaking a word, without disturbing him, she kept staring at him.

Her heartbeat slowed down. She was calm in his presence. She never felt like this with anyone before. Kyung-Soo sipped cola and gulped it. The movement of his adam’s apple sent a shiver down her spine. She gulped, hard.

But she realised that her heart was betraying her. It was starting to beat for him. She cursed herself and shook her head in disappointment. A deep breath after, she opened her eyes and went near him.

“Here,” she said softly after gulping again.

He looked up from her laptop and said, “I told you it was not necessary.”

“I know.”

“Well, thank you,” he stood up and bowed down to her with gratitude.

“You are welcome and thank you for helping me today,” she said with all the gratefulness she could muster. She had a problem and he helped her. If it would have been for him, she would have to wear wet clothes and come out in front of everyone. She was also thankful to Dae who sent her home.

He smiled, “anytime.” He then pointed to the laptop, “so I read some of the scripts. They were good.”

“Yeah, no,” one could hear the disappointment in her voice. “I wanted something with X-factor, something extraordinary, you know?”

He was aware of what she was trying to convey. “I understand. Like the one Jae-Hwa found.”

“Yeah, something outstanding which would be fun to shoot. This is not only meant for your fans to have fun but also for you to have fun with them,” she explained.

“I know our fans are very creative. You will find a lot soon,” reassured Kyung-Soo.

“Right!” she smiled at his belief in his fans.

He stood up, took the clothes from her hands and said, “well, thank you for the cola and my clothes. I should leave.”

“Of course and thank you for my clothes too,” she replied.

He nodded with a sweet smile on his face and moved towards the door.

He turned back and ordered, “lock up and then rest. I know you have been working since you arrived at your home.

“How?” she was shocked.

“By the number of scripts you read, anyone can tell you have been going hard at it,” educated Kyung-Soo.

“So you are observant,” she smirked at his observation.

“I am, now rest.”

“I will. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Carefully he opened the door and looked in every direction before stepping out. Nivritti stifled her laughter after seeing him act like that. His actions were too cute. He looked back at her before leaving and shut the door.

She ran to the door and peeped through the hole. He was gone. She exhaled loudly and rubbed her chest involuntarily. Her heart was rebating fast after she saw his cute actions. He was having effects on her brain and her heart. She had to control herself. She had to get a grip on herself. She reminded herself that he was younger than her.

“Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! How could you be so stupid? Forget about him. No matter how beautiful, how charming, how sweet he is, he is not worth it. he is not worth another heartbreak. Think about your past, you idiot,” she scolded herself.

She shut down her laptop, switched off the lights, checked every door and window and jumped on her bed. She was lying on her bed, spread eagle, thinking about how to get rid of Kyung-Soo from her mind. She diverted her mind to a number of topics but Kyung-Soo’s face and his Adam’s apple would flash before her eyes.

“What is happening to me?” she shouted and covered herself with her blanket.

Kyung-Soo parked his car in his home and very sneakily opened the front door. He hung his key and tiptoeing he moved towards his room. He locked his door and switched on the light.

“Ahhhh...” he screamed at the top of his lungs.