Title : Hearts Unspoken To
Main characters : Changmin + Nuki
Genre : Drama + Romance
Rated : PG
Author : Nuki
A/N : This is the sequel for Unspoken Heart. I’ve decided to make one since Yuna and I didn’t want Changmin to walk away empty handed and to let him know that he can always start on a new love even if it was arranged at the beginning. Besides, I just had to give Changmin to myself for some reasons~ XD
Summary : After both of his best friends departed for Europe, Changmin couldn’t decline the post his father has set up for him in the company. Thus, he had imagined a very ordinary routine in the office though it wasn’t as what he has expected. On the first day, he was introduced to a very peculiar female who will work directly from him. There’s absolutely no way for both of them to be on the same ground even once and that annoyed him. But unknown to him, his father has set up more plans for him than he could ask for…
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![[ONESHOT/MIN] HEARTS UNSPOKEN TO Ficposter2](https://2img.net/h/i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc337/nukimiaka/PS%20for%20CF/ficposter2.jpg)
TAKE 1 I t W a s D e s t i n y
It has been weeks since he was at the airport waving goodbye to the two lovebirds who were also his childhood friends. He always tells himself that big boys don’t cry, but seeing how other people at the airport were sending off their friends and relatives with tears, he just had to join the club.
Tears of a man are rare but it is as priceless as the pearls in the ocean. He couldn’t help but smile at his own thoughts.
So there he was, laying down in bed and staring focused at the plaster-ceiling as if it was a map towards a hidden treasure. His eyes were fixed to one spot, but his thoughts were scattered. If it was months ago, he could be hanging out with Jaejoong and Yuna at one of their favourite restaurants in town right now. But today, he was absolutely clueless on what he could do for the rest of the evening.
Then he remembered… There was a time when he sat over-looking a lake and talked to Yuna about his plans for the future. He hadn’t actually meant that he had no idea on what he wanted to do. He had everything planned to the roots. He was ready to create a Talent Agency Company of his own, where he would search for fresh talents and market them to the public. He had the eye of beating SM Entertainment as the best agency in Korea. But that dream has been crashed with the hands of his father who threatened to use his influence to degrade that new company six feet underground once it starts to gain attention from fellow businessman. It will be totally impossible to develop the new company with such support from his father. Truthfully, Changmin knew his father couldn’t afford to lose his talents to anyplace else in the economy. Changmin already had his father’s company’s signature plastered on his forehead ever since he entered university.
Thus, he had no choice but to accept his throne in the office starting tomorrow.
It couldn’t be that bad, right?
TAKE 2 T h e I n t r u d e r
It was too early when the alarm clock went off. Several groans and kicks were heard and visible from the lump on the bed. A hand started to crawl from under the heavy blanket in search for a button which seemed to be furthering away from the creepy fingers. The hand soon gave up and a head suddenly appeared with closed eyes, narrowed eyebrows and dangerously ruffled hair.
“Shut up…” his lips mumbled. He searched side-ways, trying to make sense of where he was and finally caught the sight of the annoying Mr. Alarm Clock. He intended for a slap when his palm landed on the button and the room instantly quieted. He let out another groan and slump back under the blankets, covering himself from head to toe.
It didn’t even last a second when his room was being intruded by the maid who had an ice-cream bell in her hands. “Time to wake up, sir. It’s your first day of work!” And the bell went off, deafening his ears.
He grunted helplessly. “Yah, why am I being treated like a school kid,” he continued mumbling under his breath and roughly took off the blanket that was covering his body before pulling himself up from the bed. The maid gave a little shriek at the sudden sight of Changmin’s nicely built upper body and ran out of the room with a tomato head.
“What’s up with her?” he uttered as he brought his left hand up and rubbed his left eye while he was still eyeing the wide-opened door. “Thank you for leaving my door open!” he called out seconds later.
He then turned to check the time again before forcing himself to get out of bed and closed the door. He had to drag his feet all over the room with sleepy eyes and he couldn’t even remember if he had put the toothpaste on before brushing his teeth. He ended up brushing his teeth twice. His closet didn’t help him either. All the colours looked the same that he had trouble in finding a matching tie for his shirt. And when he arrived at the dining table, his father had already finished his toast and was already at the sports section of the newspaper.
“Good morning,” his father greeted over his cup of coffee.
“Morning…” he replied and took a seat on his father’s left. As soon as he was seated, the kitchen’s maid came to him and poured him his favourite cup of tea. He mouthed a little thank you and grabbed a toast from the bread’s basket and spread some peanut-butter paste on one side before shoving it into his mouth.
Breakfast seemed a bit dull. Everyone minded their own businesses for the whole fifteen minutes before Mr Shim was told that the car’s ready. Changmin had to leave his 5th piece of toast half-touched when his father insisted that they go to the office together.
“But I’ll be driving myself starting tomorrow, okay,” Changmin insisted back which Mr Shim gave no replies to.
Both of them sat quietly at the back of the Mercedes, looking outside the windows for something entertaining to watch. The road was quite busy in the morning that Changmin ended up looking into other people’s cars until its driver noticed him and gave him a flat face. Other than that, there were only trees and stone buildings.
It took them about an hour to reach his father’s building.
“Meet me at the conference room at 10 sharp for the introductory meeting. I have a few people that I want to introduce you to.”
Changmin gave a simple nod before following his secretary towards his office.
“This is your room, sir. And I am Jung Yunho, your appointed secretary. Just let me know if you need anything,” the man spoke as soon as they were inside his room.
“Yes. Thank you,” Changmin accepted the hand-shake that was interrupted by his father a moment ago.
“I’ll be back with your schedule, sir.”
Changmin nodded and watched as the tall man walked out of the room. He then circled the spacious room which was filled with expensive furniture and decorations. Everything was in black and while except for the carpet he was standing on, which was the tone of the lightest baby blue. He thought that the sofa looked comfortable and the flowers on the coffee table were very artistic. He even admired his own table and the painting on the wall. He walked further and took a seat behind his table and was immediately captivated by the sky-high view from his windows. He chuckled. His father always knew how to please him so that he won’t be running away again. If only his father didn’t spend too much on this room and increased the bonus of the workers instead.
Soon enough, it was time for the meeting. Yunho faithfully escorted him towards the conference room with several files in his hands. Changmin wondered if Yunho was actually very dedicated to his job or that he was just afraid of him. He is, after all, the Chairman’s only son.
He was glad that he arrived on time. There were several people already waiting in the room which he could only reply to their smiles and nods. The Chairman entered the room a few minutes after him.
“Welcome to the Board of Directors weekly meeting. This will be a quick one since it’s a very hectic week for the company. I know most of you still have several tenders to revise and project payments to claim before the end of the day,” Mr Shim began as he scanned the floor for missing persons. “But I’m afraid we have to wait for one more person to arrive.”
“I’m here!” suddenly a female barged into the room looking slightly flushed after the rush from the elevator. With a few files securely placed in her arms, she bowed to the whole meeting room in apology. Changmin couldn’t help but scan her from head to toe. He was curious as to what post this girl is holding. There was a lot of authority present around this girl who he figured might be in her 20s just like him. Her posture and wardrobe were very corporate-like and her manners were slightly odd in his eyes. He just hoped that none of his work will be connected with this person. He’s already tensed just by looking at her.
As soon as the girl took her seat, Mr Shim continued the meeting. “So to begin, as I’ve promised, I’d like to introduce you to our new Vice President, Shim Changmin.”
A round of applause was heard. Changmin stood up and beamed politely to everyone. Then his eyes landed on her, who didn’t even pay attention to him let alone putting her hands together at the important announcement. Instead, she was pretending to be busy writing in her organiser with her legs crossed and her back comfortably leaning on the chair’s backrest. Changmin instantly felt annoyed and sat back down with a sour smile on his face.
“And this,” Mr Shim turned towards the late intruder, “will be our new Head of Divisions, Ms Nuki.”
Upon this awaited opportunity, Changmin pretended not to hear anything and simply stared at the pen he was playing between his fingers. He could guess that Ms Nuki knew what he was trying to do when he saw the smirk in her eyes as she was sitting down.
“Wait, what??”
TAKE 3 S u r r e n d e r
It was a disaster. The first few weeks of his working career turned out to be exactly the opposite of what he had expected. Without even warning him, his father has selected a new Head of Divisions for the company, who could also be known as the Deputy Vice President. He didn’t know what his father was thinking bringing two fresh graduates into the Board at the same time and appointing both of them with such important roles! Well, of course he himself would be an exception since the company was practically his after all. But bringing in a person like her is simply unacceptable. If he was the Chairman next week, he would gladly dismiss that rude girl and replace the post with another decent man, with job experience.
Changmin sat in his chair and gazed at the thundering grey clouds outside. He was glad that nature agreed with him. A heavy sigh left his lips as he resumed his focus on the revised accounts that was scattered on the table. All of them were records of the month’s income and spending which has been revised twice by the Finance Division. He was supposed to approve them and send them back to his secretary so that he can submit them to the Chairman for the final approval. However, he noticed that something wasn’t right in one of the statements that he decided to look through for mistakes or fraud. It was a bit confusing to look and make sense of the accounts but he was a logical thinker. It may take him some time but he will definitely finish this by the end of today.
“Sir, Ms Nuki is here to see you,” a voice came after a few knocks on the door.
“It’s alright. Send her in.”
Yunho nodded and opened the door wider for the young lady to enter. Changmin could immediately recognise the perfume she had on. If it wasn’t being worn by her, he would’ve been captivated by the smell which will naturally pull his eyes towards the face and the sexy figure of the possessor. But since it was her, he was completely immune that he wasn’t even tempted to leave the sight of the confusing accounts to greet the girl.
“I’ve asked you to leave a copy of the revised Leon tender on my table this morning. But I can’t find it.” She sat down on the sofa and crossed her legs as if the room was hers.
Changmin didn’t bother to pay attention to this girl. Though, he still had to act normal and boss-like in front of her. “You can’t find it because I did not submit any copies to you.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Why should I when that project is mine? Lee Young Jae is my client and you have absolutely no rights to interfere,” Changmin was ready for her rage if there will be any. In whatever disagreement they have so far, none of it ended with them smiling or forgiving each other. It was always the doors and tables which had to receive the physical blows from either of them. How he wished that his father could hear the deafening sounds all the way in his office at the end of the hall.
“Well, excuse me! I happen to be your deputy so I have all the rights to give any second opinions!” Her eyes shot at the guy behind the tables. “And what do you think you’re doing with all those finance statements?”
“That’s none of your business as well.”
Changmin could only imagine how red her face has become at this moment. His head was still faced down as he pretended to write endless notes inside his organiser. Her brief silence was all it takes to indicate that she was starting to feel pissed.
“Why are you always picking a fight with me?” she hissed suddenly.
“Oh, is that what I’m doing?”
Changmin slowly lifted his head, still maintaining to look superior. As he has suspected, her face was as red as ever and now there were even glitters in her eyes. Wait, are those tears?
The guy was stunned. Nuki has always appeared strong and courageous. Never once in these 3 months has he witnessed such facial expressions on her pretty face nor did he ever wish to see it. Not only that, he just noticed that she had never spoken to him like that. Their conversations had never before involved themselves as a person outside of the company. And just now she was asking why he had always picked a fight on her…
No, this is business and people would do anything to get to the top.
“Look, don’t come in here and act like my mother and just do what I’ve told you to do. Is that so hard to understand?”
“Fine.” Within seconds, she stood up and made her way towards the door. Right before she turned the knob, Nuki turned around and faced Changmin once again. “Just tell your father that I’ve decided not to come tonight.”
“Are we having something tonight?”
But before he could utter the question, the door was already closed shut. Softly, this time…
TAKE 4 T h e S u r p r i s e
“Are we expecting someone?” Changmin asked, looking over at his mother at the other end of the living room.
She peeked over the magazine that she was browsing and threw him a smile. Changmin then looked over at his father on his right for another answer, but that old man was busy playing Crosswords on the newspaper. He sighed.
Changmin was told to dress up for dinner tonight. He thought the whole family was going to meet another one of those business partners or his father had decided to celebrate the empty night at one of the expensive restaurants in town. But after 15 minutes of waiting, all of them were still seated on the same spot and Changmin was clueless on what’s happening.
He was ready to leave and head for the kitchen to fetch a carton of milk before the doorbell went off.
“They’re here,” Mrs Shim announced and got out of her seat. The magazine was thrown back onto its pile and she rushed to the mirror to check her hair while his father started to march towards the door.
Changmin froze.
As soon as the door was opened, a tall man entered the hall with an elegant woman very close to his side. Changmin slowly made his way towards the uninvited guests his parents were joyously welcoming. He had no idea who these people were but he knew he had to remain polite and focused.
“And this is our son, Changmin,” his father introduced as he got nearer.
He accepted the hand-shake and added a smile to his face. Perhaps his father trusted this business partner very much to the extent that he was willing to invite him to the house. It was only when he was about to make way for the couple to enter the living room that he caught that familiar fragrance present in the air. He immediately turned back to the door to find the last girl he would expect to meet on his doorstep.
“Ms Nuki…” he whispered unbelievingly.
The girl was in fact blushing. Changmin had no idea why, but he was again captivated by the beauty of her curves and flawless skin. The velvet blue night gown she had on made her look a lot taller and slimmer as if she was a supermodel. He had never before denied this part of her but everything was covered by her unacceptable behaviour.
“Changmin-ah,” his mother giggled from behind him. “You don’t have to use such gestures at home, darling,” she smiled meaningfully. “Well, let’s go straight to the dining table shall we. I’m sure Changmin is very hungry right now.”
Everyone else was smiling at the light humour, but Changmin was in deep thought. He wanted to grab his mother on the shoulders and shot her those many questions that were inside his head until he was given a clear answer. But his stomach was threatening him too, so he decided to just wait and see.
The elders lead the way towards the dining room were special dishes were already waiting for them. Changmin followed the group quietly while Nuki’s earlier words started to replay inside his mind.
Is this what she was talking about? If yes, then why is she here? And why are her parents here too? Or is this why his father wanted her to be his deputy, to attract this old man’s money? And she knew about it and decided to play rude around the company?
Changmin’s thoughts were endless. Soon, he was already seated and enjoying the food prepared by their cook and wasn’t paying too much attention to his parent’s conversation. They were discussing things related to the stock market, company’s divisions, links and ministers that Changmin had no interest in joining. He was just anxious to wait for the end of this dinner where his parents and the guests usually toast for the real purpose of their gathering.
Nuki was too silent though. From the moment she stepped into the house up until now, not a word was heard from her nor did she ever look at his direction even though they were facing each other at the dining table. Was it because of the presence of the elders or is she simply different tonight?
A half an hour later, everyone was back in the living room with a filled crystal glass in one hand.
“We’ve been waiting for this moment for so long,” Mr Shim began and glanced over at his wife with a wide smile. “As of tonight, our son and your daughter,” he paused and held his glass briefly towards the other couple, “are officially engaged.”
“What!?” Changmin wanted to scream but his senses held him back. Instead, he politely held up his glass along with the rest of them and took a sip of the expensive wine. Everyone seemed to have already known about it beforehand and Changmin didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere. Besides, if this is the way his father chose to tell him, clearly he has no way out. As of tonight, he’s really engaged to be married whether he agreed to it or not.
So is this the reason why Nuki acts that way all these while?
TAKE 5 L u n c h t i m e
“Yah, how are you guys? I’ve missed you two so much!” Changmin nearly shouted inside his office, a wide grin visible on his face. He pulled his laptop closer to him as he fixed his posture on the sofa. It has been a while since he was able to chat online with his two best friends in Europe and now they were live chatting.
“We’ve been having fun,” Jaejoong’s voice was heard, happy and energized. “But it won’t feel the same without you though.”
Changmin chuckled. “Of course it won’t be the same. You should’ve dragged me together that day,” he joked. “So where’s Yuna?”
“Owh, she’s in the kitchen preparing some snack. Do you want some?”
“And how do you plan to give me that?” Changmin replied with a smile.
“Through your imagination,” Jaejoong laughed.
Changmin was glad that he did not have any lunch meetings that day but now his stomach was grumbling loudly. He quickly thought of the instant soup Yunho had offered last week.
“So what’s new about you guys?” Changmin asked. Moments after, Yuna came into view on the screen with a huge bowl in her hands. “Hey, Yuna!”
“Hey!” she replied excitedly and stuffed some pop-corn into her mouth and pushed Jaejoong lightly to make way for her to get nearer to the camera. “I’ve missed you, Changmin-ah.”
“Yeah, he misses us too,” Jaejoong answered on behalf of Changmin and laughed. He didn’t want to remind himself about the affection Changmin used to have, or are still having, for his girlfriend before he answered Changmin’s question, “Well, Yuna’s been in school as usual, and my company just got approved last week!”
“Yah, that’s great, hyung! You’re starting to live your dream.”
“Yeah,” Jaejoong grinned. “And how about you?”
“Me? Well, I just got engaged last night.”
“Really??” Yuna shrieked at the news. “To who?”
Before he could answer, there were three soft knocks on the door. Changmin looked up from his laptop. It was lunchtime and most of the employees were out including his dedicated secretary. There’s no one that he could think of knocking his door at this hour.
“Er, guys, I think I need to go now. There’s someone knocking on my door.”
“Oh, I forgot it’s lunchtime over there. Aish… Well, we’ll catch you later then, Changmin-ah. And by the way, you owe us your engagement story!”
“Yeah, whatever,” Changmin smiled and ended the video call after saying goodbye. He quickly put aside his laptop and ran to his door. Slowly, the figure of a woman came into view.
“I brought you lunch,” she half-whispered to his ears.
Changmin’s eyes scanned her as if he had just met her for the first time. He couldn’t decide what he actually felt looking at her after knowing who she was.
“Come in,” he offered and opened the door wider for her to get in. He then followed as she made her way towards the sofa where he had been a minute earlier.
Without waiting for any words from him, she sat down and placed the packed food she brought on the coffee table. There was no smile on her face and there was no rage either. Her words seemed lesser and her eye-contacts were dimmed. Changmin realised that he had never given much thought about her until now.
As she started to change, Changmin’s heart started to listen.
TAKE 6 M y C o n f e s s i o n
“You told me you weren’t going to come last night,” Changmin said while munching on his food. He looked over at Nuki who was also eating the take-away food while staring at the view from the window. Never once did Nuki look at him in the eye. Changmin couldn’t decide if it was due to their engagement or was it due to Shim Changmin, but either way he didn’t favour her passiveness.
Nuki turned her gaze from the windows to the flowers on the coffee table. “I guess it’s not my decision to make.” She took another bite of the noodles and started munching again.
Changmin looked over his meal and stared at the girl in front of him. She was practically ignoring his existence in the room and quickly went over to her own world outside the window again. He took the opportunity to examine her features more thoroughly. From her hazel eyes, it went down to her nose and further down to her moist lips.
Unknown to him, he wanted to know more about her. He wanted her to communicate, and tell him how she feels. He wanted to get closer to her.
“Talk to me,” he uttered suddenly, as he searched for her beautiful eyes which was starting to turn his way.
She shot him with the most questioning look. “Talk to you about what? There’s nothing to talk about. And even if there was, it doesn’t matter anymore now.”
The hurtful look was clearly visible from her eyes. Something tugged onto Changmin’s chest and urged him to show more concern for this girl. If he didn’t, he felt as if the day wouldn’t end in one piece. Changmin held his breath and sorted his mind before deciding to crack the barrier between him and this girl.
“Please don’t be like this,” he started. “We’ve been in too much misunderstanding already as it is.”
“Then tell me, what did you see me as when you first saw me?” Nuki bluntly asked. “When I first stepped into the meeting room months before, what did you think of me?”
The guy stared into her eyes, trying to figure out if he should tell her the truth or create something that she would like to hear. At this point, Changmin didn’t think creating a story would be a wise decision. She should know what his first impressions of her are and make it clear to her that those impressions has changed as he started to get to know her. After all, this girl is not as bad as he thought she would be.
“To tell you the truth,” Changmin paused, “I hated you.”
This few simple words pierced right through Changmin’s own heart. It was a fact, but it was odd how his heart couldn’t take it. He couldn’t imagine how hers would react.
“I was very annoyed,” he continued, never leaving Nuki’s eyes as he spoke. “I thought you were one of those arrogant, spoiled rich girls that would try to overpower me. And when you didn’t even look at me, I thought you were very rude so I decided to ignore you too. Not only that, when I was told that you were my deputy, I felt very depressed.”
Nuki’s face turned sour. Instead of looking at him, her eyes gazed into space. “Just as I thought… So it’s like that, huh?” she mumbled under her breath. It might’ve sound like she was hiding her tears inside. “Well, I’m also sorry that I’ve bring you that much hatred and bad feelings.” Without waiting for any replies, she quickly stood up and started for the door.
“Wait!” Changmin half-shouted. “I’m not finished yet.”
“It doesn’t matter. You hate me. I get it.”
“Not anymore!” he felt desperate. “I didn’t know who you were to me back then.”
“Owh! So it was me being your fiancé that made you think otherwise?” Nuki turned at the door, now fired with anger. “You won’t hate your fiancé but you’ll keep on hating me, right?”
“No!” he struggled to find the right words. “I…”
For the first time in his life, he found it very hard to express his own feelings. He couldn’t understand them, let alone to describe it. But he was sure, it wasn’t a part of any feelings he had felt before. It was as if his heart was talking an unknown language, and it was getting louder as he spend more time around her. If this was love, it was completely mad. Without any reason, without warnings, and very illogical, it fired an unwelcomed spark at the bottom of his heart.
“Would you like to know why I couldn’t look at you that day?” Nuki whispered right before she stepped out of the room. “It’s because I was so nervous at the fact of meeting such a great guy like you. My heart wouldn’t stop pounding when I saw how gorgeous you are. I was restless and numb and I didn’t want you to see that in my eyes.”
And without looking back, she stormed out of the room towards her office on the other side, leaving Changmin stunned and speechless.
TAKE 7 H e r A c t O f K i n d n e s s
“Is Ms Nuki still in her office?” Changmin asked his secretary when he went in to deliver more documents to be signed.
“She went to GAMA Holdings a few minutes ago, sir, for a meeting with its Chairman. She left you a lunchbox before she left. Would you like me to bring it in now?”
Changmin held his head down. “Yes, thank you,” he uttered softly.
Yunho bowed and left the room before he came back in with a paper bag in his hands. Changmin watched as Yunho made his way to the door again.
He felt something clutched onto his heart every time a bag of lunch arrived without an early notice. Nuki knew he didn’t favour lunching outside and he always ended up not eating at all. Ever since that day, she never failed to drop him something to eat whenever he wasn’t away for a lunch-meeting. And she did this in the perfect knowledge that he once hated her, and she still believed he still does.
Changmin didn’t know what to do. Every time they were in the same room together, there won’t be any good conversations between them. It was always business matters and talks of convenience. And whenever he starts on something deeper, she will immediately leave the room. The only occasion where he could slip an act of love and care towards this girl was when they were in front of the public. Even when it appeared sincerely from his heart, she accused him of putting up a false show for the sake of the company.
Despite all that, he was sure Nuki cared for him too, perhaps much more than he cared for the girl. But he was clueless on how he could fix the wrong turns in this relationship.
He pulled the paper bag closer and peeked inside. It was home-made. He wondered if she made it herself. He asked her many times before but she always ignored the question. If only her answer was yes, Changmin felt as if he was the luckiest man alive.
It wasn’t lunchtime yet, but the subtle fragrance that came from the paper bag urged him to push aside all the documents. It had only been 24 hours but he missed the taste that lingers in his tongue after he finished the last lunch yesterday. Her lunch…
And how he wished she was there to keep him company.
TAKE 8 T h i s I s L o v e
It was awkward. A month after the engagement dinner, Mr. Shim decided to hold an official press conference to announce their relationship to the public. Even after such a long time, Nuki still haven’t shown him signs of acceptance. She was changing in all sorts of ways but she still remained cold when it comes to intimacy.
Changmin still remembered how she would always yell at him and acted bossy around him that he could die of annoyance a few months before. It was only now that he realised she was giving him hints. She wanted him to ask why. If only she knew that he was perfectly clueless back then.
“Changmin-sshi, you’re spacing out again,” Nuki whispered away from the microphone.
The reporters and journalists looked eager for something sensational to come out from his mouth. They were expecting an answer which he didn’t hear the question to. Changmin looked over to his fiancé who was looking forward with that same air of authority around her. She wasn’t going to help him.
“I’m sorry,” he began. “I was replaying our memories in my mind that I slipped over what you said. Can you repeat the question?”
“Will there be a chance of Love between the both of you?” the reporter repeated.
Changmin looked over at the ignorant Nuki before facing the crowd again. “There won’t be any chance,” he uttered calmly. “Because I’ve already fallen for her.”
Crossing his fingers, Changmin hoped Nuki didn’t take this as a false show. He wanted to seal this statement with sincere evidence, with something that cannot lie. He wanted Nuki to believe that he can’t help his overflowing affection for her anymore.
Without thinking further, Changmin stood up from his chair and pulled Nuki along with him. He never looked away, but straight at her confused eyes. He pulled her closer to him. Flashes from the cameras were blinding and everyone was tiptoeing to get a better view of what is about to happen but he ignored them. Softly, he pulled away the strands of hair that was covering her face. Nuki’s eyes were alarmed, but Changmin’s remained calm. He should’ve done this a lot sooner. With grace, he lowered his face towards hers. She tried to back away but Changmin managed to keep her still by grabbing lightly on her neck.
“I love you,” he whispered before his lips landed square on hers. The touch was subtle but it was heavy at the same time. It definitely came from his heart which was longing for assurance. It was full of his love and passion for the girl. She would be a fool not being able to read the touch which was crystal clear.
The moment Nuki realised this, she willingly allowed herself to return the kiss. Her lips parted when Changmin started to get bolder. Somehow she couldn’t help herself from enjoying the soft touch of the man’s lips. She was now sure of this man’s true feelings for her.
With reluctance, Changmin pulled away. He remained his eyes closed for a moment to savour his feelings. This wasn’t his first kiss, but it was so far the best. As he opened his eyes slowly, Nuki’s soft gaze immediately greeted him. He smiled.
It was illogical, but he supposed it was love.
TAKE 9 F i n a l e
“You took advantage of the situation,” Nuki voiced as soon as they were in a private room. The press conference ended successfully with everyone being assured of the strong bond between the merging companies.
“Yes, I did,” Changmin replied truthfully. “It’s the only way to make you realise.”
Both of them faced each other with Changmin having his hands inside his pocket and Nuki crossing her arms tightly.
“You didn’t have to do it in front of so many people.”
“And you’d allow me to approach you when we’re alone like this?” he pointed out. “You wouldn’t even look at me.”
“I was hurt,” she muttered.
“You don’t have to be.”
Nuki tried not to look at his direction. Changmin could sense that Nuki is trying to play hard-to-get. He swore he just saw the love flow from her eyes just a few minutes ago but now it was gone. As if there was a transparent wall, he could see it but he couldn’t push it away.
“What should I do to fix this?” he uttered. “From the first day, things aren’t going how it was supposed to.”
“Was that your first kiss?” she stormed suddenly.
Changmin stared deep into her eyes, trying to figure out what she actually meant.
“No,” he answered softly. It was easy to tell that she was hurt, yet again. “But it was my first with the person I love.”
The girl did not lift her head at all. “Who’s that lucky girl, the one who stole your first kiss?”
“Actually,” he began, “I am the one who stole it from her. She’s my best friend.”
And Nuki was as silent as a lonely night.
“I thought it was love,” he continued, his heart was tight but he wanted her to know. “But now I was proven wrong. My first love is right here.” He walked closer to her and took her hands.
She did not protest.
“Will you accept me now?” Slowly their gazes met. It wasn’t hard to read her emotions once she removed those invisible walls herself.
“I’m sorry for what I did to you before,” she whispered willingly. “I’m sorry I yelled at you, pretended that you weren’t there, purposely drove you mad with anger and gave you all the wrong impressions I should’ve given you.”
“I shouldn’t have been that way to you either,” Changmin chuckled. “Maybe I was mad at myself that day and that feeling dragged on for months.”
“What would you be mad at yourself for?”
“For not being able to give you my first of everything,” he smiled and pulled her in for a warm embrace. “The moment you started to distant away, that is the moment I realised I wanted you by my side for always.
“You’re too cheesy, Mr. Changmin.” Nuki giggled softly and lovingly returned his embrace.
“And by the way, don’t ever leave this fragrance. I like it,” Changmin whispered to her ears.
Nuki nodded her head with her face still leaning comfortably on Changmin’s broad shoulders.
Not much has to be said, but these two hearts has finally found the roads to connect to each other. And so they lived happily ever after… ^^
Main characters : Changmin + Nuki
Genre : Drama + Romance
Rated : PG
Author : Nuki
A/N : This is the sequel for Unspoken Heart. I’ve decided to make one since Yuna and I didn’t want Changmin to walk away empty handed and to let him know that he can always start on a new love even if it was arranged at the beginning. Besides, I just had to give Changmin to myself for some reasons~ XD
Summary : After both of his best friends departed for Europe, Changmin couldn’t decline the post his father has set up for him in the company. Thus, he had imagined a very ordinary routine in the office though it wasn’t as what he has expected. On the first day, he was introduced to a very peculiar female who will work directly from him. There’s absolutely no way for both of them to be on the same ground even once and that annoyed him. But unknown to him, his father has set up more plans for him than he could ask for…
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TAKE 1 I t W a s D e s t i n y
It has been weeks since he was at the airport waving goodbye to the two lovebirds who were also his childhood friends. He always tells himself that big boys don’t cry, but seeing how other people at the airport were sending off their friends and relatives with tears, he just had to join the club.
Tears of a man are rare but it is as priceless as the pearls in the ocean. He couldn’t help but smile at his own thoughts.
So there he was, laying down in bed and staring focused at the plaster-ceiling as if it was a map towards a hidden treasure. His eyes were fixed to one spot, but his thoughts were scattered. If it was months ago, he could be hanging out with Jaejoong and Yuna at one of their favourite restaurants in town right now. But today, he was absolutely clueless on what he could do for the rest of the evening.
Then he remembered… There was a time when he sat over-looking a lake and talked to Yuna about his plans for the future. He hadn’t actually meant that he had no idea on what he wanted to do. He had everything planned to the roots. He was ready to create a Talent Agency Company of his own, where he would search for fresh talents and market them to the public. He had the eye of beating SM Entertainment as the best agency in Korea. But that dream has been crashed with the hands of his father who threatened to use his influence to degrade that new company six feet underground once it starts to gain attention from fellow businessman. It will be totally impossible to develop the new company with such support from his father. Truthfully, Changmin knew his father couldn’t afford to lose his talents to anyplace else in the economy. Changmin already had his father’s company’s signature plastered on his forehead ever since he entered university.
Thus, he had no choice but to accept his throne in the office starting tomorrow.
It couldn’t be that bad, right?
TAKE 2 T h e I n t r u d e r
It was too early when the alarm clock went off. Several groans and kicks were heard and visible from the lump on the bed. A hand started to crawl from under the heavy blanket in search for a button which seemed to be furthering away from the creepy fingers. The hand soon gave up and a head suddenly appeared with closed eyes, narrowed eyebrows and dangerously ruffled hair.
“Shut up…” his lips mumbled. He searched side-ways, trying to make sense of where he was and finally caught the sight of the annoying Mr. Alarm Clock. He intended for a slap when his palm landed on the button and the room instantly quieted. He let out another groan and slump back under the blankets, covering himself from head to toe.
It didn’t even last a second when his room was being intruded by the maid who had an ice-cream bell in her hands. “Time to wake up, sir. It’s your first day of work!” And the bell went off, deafening his ears.
He grunted helplessly. “Yah, why am I being treated like a school kid,” he continued mumbling under his breath and roughly took off the blanket that was covering his body before pulling himself up from the bed. The maid gave a little shriek at the sudden sight of Changmin’s nicely built upper body and ran out of the room with a tomato head.
“What’s up with her?” he uttered as he brought his left hand up and rubbed his left eye while he was still eyeing the wide-opened door. “Thank you for leaving my door open!” he called out seconds later.
He then turned to check the time again before forcing himself to get out of bed and closed the door. He had to drag his feet all over the room with sleepy eyes and he couldn’t even remember if he had put the toothpaste on before brushing his teeth. He ended up brushing his teeth twice. His closet didn’t help him either. All the colours looked the same that he had trouble in finding a matching tie for his shirt. And when he arrived at the dining table, his father had already finished his toast and was already at the sports section of the newspaper.
“Good morning,” his father greeted over his cup of coffee.
“Morning…” he replied and took a seat on his father’s left. As soon as he was seated, the kitchen’s maid came to him and poured him his favourite cup of tea. He mouthed a little thank you and grabbed a toast from the bread’s basket and spread some peanut-butter paste on one side before shoving it into his mouth.
Breakfast seemed a bit dull. Everyone minded their own businesses for the whole fifteen minutes before Mr Shim was told that the car’s ready. Changmin had to leave his 5th piece of toast half-touched when his father insisted that they go to the office together.
“But I’ll be driving myself starting tomorrow, okay,” Changmin insisted back which Mr Shim gave no replies to.
Both of them sat quietly at the back of the Mercedes, looking outside the windows for something entertaining to watch. The road was quite busy in the morning that Changmin ended up looking into other people’s cars until its driver noticed him and gave him a flat face. Other than that, there were only trees and stone buildings.
It took them about an hour to reach his father’s building.
“Meet me at the conference room at 10 sharp for the introductory meeting. I have a few people that I want to introduce you to.”
Changmin gave a simple nod before following his secretary towards his office.
“This is your room, sir. And I am Jung Yunho, your appointed secretary. Just let me know if you need anything,” the man spoke as soon as they were inside his room.
“Yes. Thank you,” Changmin accepted the hand-shake that was interrupted by his father a moment ago.
“I’ll be back with your schedule, sir.”
Changmin nodded and watched as the tall man walked out of the room. He then circled the spacious room which was filled with expensive furniture and decorations. Everything was in black and while except for the carpet he was standing on, which was the tone of the lightest baby blue. He thought that the sofa looked comfortable and the flowers on the coffee table were very artistic. He even admired his own table and the painting on the wall. He walked further and took a seat behind his table and was immediately captivated by the sky-high view from his windows. He chuckled. His father always knew how to please him so that he won’t be running away again. If only his father didn’t spend too much on this room and increased the bonus of the workers instead.
Soon enough, it was time for the meeting. Yunho faithfully escorted him towards the conference room with several files in his hands. Changmin wondered if Yunho was actually very dedicated to his job or that he was just afraid of him. He is, after all, the Chairman’s only son.
He was glad that he arrived on time. There were several people already waiting in the room which he could only reply to their smiles and nods. The Chairman entered the room a few minutes after him.
“Welcome to the Board of Directors weekly meeting. This will be a quick one since it’s a very hectic week for the company. I know most of you still have several tenders to revise and project payments to claim before the end of the day,” Mr Shim began as he scanned the floor for missing persons. “But I’m afraid we have to wait for one more person to arrive.”
“I’m here!” suddenly a female barged into the room looking slightly flushed after the rush from the elevator. With a few files securely placed in her arms, she bowed to the whole meeting room in apology. Changmin couldn’t help but scan her from head to toe. He was curious as to what post this girl is holding. There was a lot of authority present around this girl who he figured might be in her 20s just like him. Her posture and wardrobe were very corporate-like and her manners were slightly odd in his eyes. He just hoped that none of his work will be connected with this person. He’s already tensed just by looking at her.
As soon as the girl took her seat, Mr Shim continued the meeting. “So to begin, as I’ve promised, I’d like to introduce you to our new Vice President, Shim Changmin.”
A round of applause was heard. Changmin stood up and beamed politely to everyone. Then his eyes landed on her, who didn’t even pay attention to him let alone putting her hands together at the important announcement. Instead, she was pretending to be busy writing in her organiser with her legs crossed and her back comfortably leaning on the chair’s backrest. Changmin instantly felt annoyed and sat back down with a sour smile on his face.
“And this,” Mr Shim turned towards the late intruder, “will be our new Head of Divisions, Ms Nuki.”
Upon this awaited opportunity, Changmin pretended not to hear anything and simply stared at the pen he was playing between his fingers. He could guess that Ms Nuki knew what he was trying to do when he saw the smirk in her eyes as she was sitting down.
“Wait, what??”
TAKE 3 S u r r e n d e r
It was a disaster. The first few weeks of his working career turned out to be exactly the opposite of what he had expected. Without even warning him, his father has selected a new Head of Divisions for the company, who could also be known as the Deputy Vice President. He didn’t know what his father was thinking bringing two fresh graduates into the Board at the same time and appointing both of them with such important roles! Well, of course he himself would be an exception since the company was practically his after all. But bringing in a person like her is simply unacceptable. If he was the Chairman next week, he would gladly dismiss that rude girl and replace the post with another decent man, with job experience.
Changmin sat in his chair and gazed at the thundering grey clouds outside. He was glad that nature agreed with him. A heavy sigh left his lips as he resumed his focus on the revised accounts that was scattered on the table. All of them were records of the month’s income and spending which has been revised twice by the Finance Division. He was supposed to approve them and send them back to his secretary so that he can submit them to the Chairman for the final approval. However, he noticed that something wasn’t right in one of the statements that he decided to look through for mistakes or fraud. It was a bit confusing to look and make sense of the accounts but he was a logical thinker. It may take him some time but he will definitely finish this by the end of today.
“Sir, Ms Nuki is here to see you,” a voice came after a few knocks on the door.
“It’s alright. Send her in.”
Yunho nodded and opened the door wider for the young lady to enter. Changmin could immediately recognise the perfume she had on. If it wasn’t being worn by her, he would’ve been captivated by the smell which will naturally pull his eyes towards the face and the sexy figure of the possessor. But since it was her, he was completely immune that he wasn’t even tempted to leave the sight of the confusing accounts to greet the girl.
“I’ve asked you to leave a copy of the revised Leon tender on my table this morning. But I can’t find it.” She sat down on the sofa and crossed her legs as if the room was hers.
Changmin didn’t bother to pay attention to this girl. Though, he still had to act normal and boss-like in front of her. “You can’t find it because I did not submit any copies to you.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Why should I when that project is mine? Lee Young Jae is my client and you have absolutely no rights to interfere,” Changmin was ready for her rage if there will be any. In whatever disagreement they have so far, none of it ended with them smiling or forgiving each other. It was always the doors and tables which had to receive the physical blows from either of them. How he wished that his father could hear the deafening sounds all the way in his office at the end of the hall.
“Well, excuse me! I happen to be your deputy so I have all the rights to give any second opinions!” Her eyes shot at the guy behind the tables. “And what do you think you’re doing with all those finance statements?”
“That’s none of your business as well.”
Changmin could only imagine how red her face has become at this moment. His head was still faced down as he pretended to write endless notes inside his organiser. Her brief silence was all it takes to indicate that she was starting to feel pissed.
“Why are you always picking a fight with me?” she hissed suddenly.
“Oh, is that what I’m doing?”
Changmin slowly lifted his head, still maintaining to look superior. As he has suspected, her face was as red as ever and now there were even glitters in her eyes. Wait, are those tears?
The guy was stunned. Nuki has always appeared strong and courageous. Never once in these 3 months has he witnessed such facial expressions on her pretty face nor did he ever wish to see it. Not only that, he just noticed that she had never spoken to him like that. Their conversations had never before involved themselves as a person outside of the company. And just now she was asking why he had always picked a fight on her…
No, this is business and people would do anything to get to the top.
“Look, don’t come in here and act like my mother and just do what I’ve told you to do. Is that so hard to understand?”
“Fine.” Within seconds, she stood up and made her way towards the door. Right before she turned the knob, Nuki turned around and faced Changmin once again. “Just tell your father that I’ve decided not to come tonight.”
“Are we having something tonight?”
But before he could utter the question, the door was already closed shut. Softly, this time…
TAKE 4 T h e S u r p r i s e
“Are we expecting someone?” Changmin asked, looking over at his mother at the other end of the living room.
She peeked over the magazine that she was browsing and threw him a smile. Changmin then looked over at his father on his right for another answer, but that old man was busy playing Crosswords on the newspaper. He sighed.
Changmin was told to dress up for dinner tonight. He thought the whole family was going to meet another one of those business partners or his father had decided to celebrate the empty night at one of the expensive restaurants in town. But after 15 minutes of waiting, all of them were still seated on the same spot and Changmin was clueless on what’s happening.
He was ready to leave and head for the kitchen to fetch a carton of milk before the doorbell went off.
“They’re here,” Mrs Shim announced and got out of her seat. The magazine was thrown back onto its pile and she rushed to the mirror to check her hair while his father started to march towards the door.
Changmin froze.
As soon as the door was opened, a tall man entered the hall with an elegant woman very close to his side. Changmin slowly made his way towards the uninvited guests his parents were joyously welcoming. He had no idea who these people were but he knew he had to remain polite and focused.
“And this is our son, Changmin,” his father introduced as he got nearer.
He accepted the hand-shake and added a smile to his face. Perhaps his father trusted this business partner very much to the extent that he was willing to invite him to the house. It was only when he was about to make way for the couple to enter the living room that he caught that familiar fragrance present in the air. He immediately turned back to the door to find the last girl he would expect to meet on his doorstep.
“Ms Nuki…” he whispered unbelievingly.
The girl was in fact blushing. Changmin had no idea why, but he was again captivated by the beauty of her curves and flawless skin. The velvet blue night gown she had on made her look a lot taller and slimmer as if she was a supermodel. He had never before denied this part of her but everything was covered by her unacceptable behaviour.
“Changmin-ah,” his mother giggled from behind him. “You don’t have to use such gestures at home, darling,” she smiled meaningfully. “Well, let’s go straight to the dining table shall we. I’m sure Changmin is very hungry right now.”
Everyone else was smiling at the light humour, but Changmin was in deep thought. He wanted to grab his mother on the shoulders and shot her those many questions that were inside his head until he was given a clear answer. But his stomach was threatening him too, so he decided to just wait and see.
The elders lead the way towards the dining room were special dishes were already waiting for them. Changmin followed the group quietly while Nuki’s earlier words started to replay inside his mind.
Is this what she was talking about? If yes, then why is she here? And why are her parents here too? Or is this why his father wanted her to be his deputy, to attract this old man’s money? And she knew about it and decided to play rude around the company?
Changmin’s thoughts were endless. Soon, he was already seated and enjoying the food prepared by their cook and wasn’t paying too much attention to his parent’s conversation. They were discussing things related to the stock market, company’s divisions, links and ministers that Changmin had no interest in joining. He was just anxious to wait for the end of this dinner where his parents and the guests usually toast for the real purpose of their gathering.
Nuki was too silent though. From the moment she stepped into the house up until now, not a word was heard from her nor did she ever look at his direction even though they were facing each other at the dining table. Was it because of the presence of the elders or is she simply different tonight?
A half an hour later, everyone was back in the living room with a filled crystal glass in one hand.
“We’ve been waiting for this moment for so long,” Mr Shim began and glanced over at his wife with a wide smile. “As of tonight, our son and your daughter,” he paused and held his glass briefly towards the other couple, “are officially engaged.”
“What!?” Changmin wanted to scream but his senses held him back. Instead, he politely held up his glass along with the rest of them and took a sip of the expensive wine. Everyone seemed to have already known about it beforehand and Changmin didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere. Besides, if this is the way his father chose to tell him, clearly he has no way out. As of tonight, he’s really engaged to be married whether he agreed to it or not.
So is this the reason why Nuki acts that way all these while?
TAKE 5 L u n c h t i m e
“Yah, how are you guys? I’ve missed you two so much!” Changmin nearly shouted inside his office, a wide grin visible on his face. He pulled his laptop closer to him as he fixed his posture on the sofa. It has been a while since he was able to chat online with his two best friends in Europe and now they were live chatting.
“We’ve been having fun,” Jaejoong’s voice was heard, happy and energized. “But it won’t feel the same without you though.”
Changmin chuckled. “Of course it won’t be the same. You should’ve dragged me together that day,” he joked. “So where’s Yuna?”
“Owh, she’s in the kitchen preparing some snack. Do you want some?”
“And how do you plan to give me that?” Changmin replied with a smile.
“Through your imagination,” Jaejoong laughed.
Changmin was glad that he did not have any lunch meetings that day but now his stomach was grumbling loudly. He quickly thought of the instant soup Yunho had offered last week.
“So what’s new about you guys?” Changmin asked. Moments after, Yuna came into view on the screen with a huge bowl in her hands. “Hey, Yuna!”
“Hey!” she replied excitedly and stuffed some pop-corn into her mouth and pushed Jaejoong lightly to make way for her to get nearer to the camera. “I’ve missed you, Changmin-ah.”
“Yeah, he misses us too,” Jaejoong answered on behalf of Changmin and laughed. He didn’t want to remind himself about the affection Changmin used to have, or are still having, for his girlfriend before he answered Changmin’s question, “Well, Yuna’s been in school as usual, and my company just got approved last week!”
“Yah, that’s great, hyung! You’re starting to live your dream.”
“Yeah,” Jaejoong grinned. “And how about you?”
“Me? Well, I just got engaged last night.”
“Really??” Yuna shrieked at the news. “To who?”
Before he could answer, there were three soft knocks on the door. Changmin looked up from his laptop. It was lunchtime and most of the employees were out including his dedicated secretary. There’s no one that he could think of knocking his door at this hour.
“Er, guys, I think I need to go now. There’s someone knocking on my door.”
“Oh, I forgot it’s lunchtime over there. Aish… Well, we’ll catch you later then, Changmin-ah. And by the way, you owe us your engagement story!”
“Yeah, whatever,” Changmin smiled and ended the video call after saying goodbye. He quickly put aside his laptop and ran to his door. Slowly, the figure of a woman came into view.
“I brought you lunch,” she half-whispered to his ears.
Changmin’s eyes scanned her as if he had just met her for the first time. He couldn’t decide what he actually felt looking at her after knowing who she was.
“Come in,” he offered and opened the door wider for her to get in. He then followed as she made her way towards the sofa where he had been a minute earlier.
Without waiting for any words from him, she sat down and placed the packed food she brought on the coffee table. There was no smile on her face and there was no rage either. Her words seemed lesser and her eye-contacts were dimmed. Changmin realised that he had never given much thought about her until now.
As she started to change, Changmin’s heart started to listen.
TAKE 6 M y C o n f e s s i o n
“You told me you weren’t going to come last night,” Changmin said while munching on his food. He looked over at Nuki who was also eating the take-away food while staring at the view from the window. Never once did Nuki look at him in the eye. Changmin couldn’t decide if it was due to their engagement or was it due to Shim Changmin, but either way he didn’t favour her passiveness.
Nuki turned her gaze from the windows to the flowers on the coffee table. “I guess it’s not my decision to make.” She took another bite of the noodles and started munching again.
Changmin looked over his meal and stared at the girl in front of him. She was practically ignoring his existence in the room and quickly went over to her own world outside the window again. He took the opportunity to examine her features more thoroughly. From her hazel eyes, it went down to her nose and further down to her moist lips.
Unknown to him, he wanted to know more about her. He wanted her to communicate, and tell him how she feels. He wanted to get closer to her.
“Talk to me,” he uttered suddenly, as he searched for her beautiful eyes which was starting to turn his way.
She shot him with the most questioning look. “Talk to you about what? There’s nothing to talk about. And even if there was, it doesn’t matter anymore now.”
The hurtful look was clearly visible from her eyes. Something tugged onto Changmin’s chest and urged him to show more concern for this girl. If he didn’t, he felt as if the day wouldn’t end in one piece. Changmin held his breath and sorted his mind before deciding to crack the barrier between him and this girl.
“Please don’t be like this,” he started. “We’ve been in too much misunderstanding already as it is.”
“Then tell me, what did you see me as when you first saw me?” Nuki bluntly asked. “When I first stepped into the meeting room months before, what did you think of me?”
The guy stared into her eyes, trying to figure out if he should tell her the truth or create something that she would like to hear. At this point, Changmin didn’t think creating a story would be a wise decision. She should know what his first impressions of her are and make it clear to her that those impressions has changed as he started to get to know her. After all, this girl is not as bad as he thought she would be.
“To tell you the truth,” Changmin paused, “I hated you.”
This few simple words pierced right through Changmin’s own heart. It was a fact, but it was odd how his heart couldn’t take it. He couldn’t imagine how hers would react.
“I was very annoyed,” he continued, never leaving Nuki’s eyes as he spoke. “I thought you were one of those arrogant, spoiled rich girls that would try to overpower me. And when you didn’t even look at me, I thought you were very rude so I decided to ignore you too. Not only that, when I was told that you were my deputy, I felt very depressed.”
Nuki’s face turned sour. Instead of looking at him, her eyes gazed into space. “Just as I thought… So it’s like that, huh?” she mumbled under her breath. It might’ve sound like she was hiding her tears inside. “Well, I’m also sorry that I’ve bring you that much hatred and bad feelings.” Without waiting for any replies, she quickly stood up and started for the door.
“Wait!” Changmin half-shouted. “I’m not finished yet.”
“It doesn’t matter. You hate me. I get it.”
“Not anymore!” he felt desperate. “I didn’t know who you were to me back then.”
“Owh! So it was me being your fiancé that made you think otherwise?” Nuki turned at the door, now fired with anger. “You won’t hate your fiancé but you’ll keep on hating me, right?”
“No!” he struggled to find the right words. “I…”
For the first time in his life, he found it very hard to express his own feelings. He couldn’t understand them, let alone to describe it. But he was sure, it wasn’t a part of any feelings he had felt before. It was as if his heart was talking an unknown language, and it was getting louder as he spend more time around her. If this was love, it was completely mad. Without any reason, without warnings, and very illogical, it fired an unwelcomed spark at the bottom of his heart.
“Would you like to know why I couldn’t look at you that day?” Nuki whispered right before she stepped out of the room. “It’s because I was so nervous at the fact of meeting such a great guy like you. My heart wouldn’t stop pounding when I saw how gorgeous you are. I was restless and numb and I didn’t want you to see that in my eyes.”
And without looking back, she stormed out of the room towards her office on the other side, leaving Changmin stunned and speechless.
TAKE 7 H e r A c t O f K i n d n e s s
“Is Ms Nuki still in her office?” Changmin asked his secretary when he went in to deliver more documents to be signed.
“She went to GAMA Holdings a few minutes ago, sir, for a meeting with its Chairman. She left you a lunchbox before she left. Would you like me to bring it in now?”
Changmin held his head down. “Yes, thank you,” he uttered softly.
Yunho bowed and left the room before he came back in with a paper bag in his hands. Changmin watched as Yunho made his way to the door again.
He felt something clutched onto his heart every time a bag of lunch arrived without an early notice. Nuki knew he didn’t favour lunching outside and he always ended up not eating at all. Ever since that day, she never failed to drop him something to eat whenever he wasn’t away for a lunch-meeting. And she did this in the perfect knowledge that he once hated her, and she still believed he still does.
Changmin didn’t know what to do. Every time they were in the same room together, there won’t be any good conversations between them. It was always business matters and talks of convenience. And whenever he starts on something deeper, she will immediately leave the room. The only occasion where he could slip an act of love and care towards this girl was when they were in front of the public. Even when it appeared sincerely from his heart, she accused him of putting up a false show for the sake of the company.
Despite all that, he was sure Nuki cared for him too, perhaps much more than he cared for the girl. But he was clueless on how he could fix the wrong turns in this relationship.
He pulled the paper bag closer and peeked inside. It was home-made. He wondered if she made it herself. He asked her many times before but she always ignored the question. If only her answer was yes, Changmin felt as if he was the luckiest man alive.
It wasn’t lunchtime yet, but the subtle fragrance that came from the paper bag urged him to push aside all the documents. It had only been 24 hours but he missed the taste that lingers in his tongue after he finished the last lunch yesterday. Her lunch…
And how he wished she was there to keep him company.
TAKE 8 T h i s I s L o v e
It was awkward. A month after the engagement dinner, Mr. Shim decided to hold an official press conference to announce their relationship to the public. Even after such a long time, Nuki still haven’t shown him signs of acceptance. She was changing in all sorts of ways but she still remained cold when it comes to intimacy.
Changmin still remembered how she would always yell at him and acted bossy around him that he could die of annoyance a few months before. It was only now that he realised she was giving him hints. She wanted him to ask why. If only she knew that he was perfectly clueless back then.
“Changmin-sshi, you’re spacing out again,” Nuki whispered away from the microphone.
The reporters and journalists looked eager for something sensational to come out from his mouth. They were expecting an answer which he didn’t hear the question to. Changmin looked over to his fiancé who was looking forward with that same air of authority around her. She wasn’t going to help him.
“I’m sorry,” he began. “I was replaying our memories in my mind that I slipped over what you said. Can you repeat the question?”
“Will there be a chance of Love between the both of you?” the reporter repeated.
Changmin looked over at the ignorant Nuki before facing the crowd again. “There won’t be any chance,” he uttered calmly. “Because I’ve already fallen for her.”
Crossing his fingers, Changmin hoped Nuki didn’t take this as a false show. He wanted to seal this statement with sincere evidence, with something that cannot lie. He wanted Nuki to believe that he can’t help his overflowing affection for her anymore.
Without thinking further, Changmin stood up from his chair and pulled Nuki along with him. He never looked away, but straight at her confused eyes. He pulled her closer to him. Flashes from the cameras were blinding and everyone was tiptoeing to get a better view of what is about to happen but he ignored them. Softly, he pulled away the strands of hair that was covering her face. Nuki’s eyes were alarmed, but Changmin’s remained calm. He should’ve done this a lot sooner. With grace, he lowered his face towards hers. She tried to back away but Changmin managed to keep her still by grabbing lightly on her neck.
“I love you,” he whispered before his lips landed square on hers. The touch was subtle but it was heavy at the same time. It definitely came from his heart which was longing for assurance. It was full of his love and passion for the girl. She would be a fool not being able to read the touch which was crystal clear.
The moment Nuki realised this, she willingly allowed herself to return the kiss. Her lips parted when Changmin started to get bolder. Somehow she couldn’t help herself from enjoying the soft touch of the man’s lips. She was now sure of this man’s true feelings for her.
With reluctance, Changmin pulled away. He remained his eyes closed for a moment to savour his feelings. This wasn’t his first kiss, but it was so far the best. As he opened his eyes slowly, Nuki’s soft gaze immediately greeted him. He smiled.
It was illogical, but he supposed it was love.
TAKE 9 F i n a l e
“You took advantage of the situation,” Nuki voiced as soon as they were in a private room. The press conference ended successfully with everyone being assured of the strong bond between the merging companies.
“Yes, I did,” Changmin replied truthfully. “It’s the only way to make you realise.”
Both of them faced each other with Changmin having his hands inside his pocket and Nuki crossing her arms tightly.
“You didn’t have to do it in front of so many people.”
“And you’d allow me to approach you when we’re alone like this?” he pointed out. “You wouldn’t even look at me.”
“I was hurt,” she muttered.
“You don’t have to be.”
Nuki tried not to look at his direction. Changmin could sense that Nuki is trying to play hard-to-get. He swore he just saw the love flow from her eyes just a few minutes ago but now it was gone. As if there was a transparent wall, he could see it but he couldn’t push it away.
“What should I do to fix this?” he uttered. “From the first day, things aren’t going how it was supposed to.”
“Was that your first kiss?” she stormed suddenly.
Changmin stared deep into her eyes, trying to figure out what she actually meant.
“No,” he answered softly. It was easy to tell that she was hurt, yet again. “But it was my first with the person I love.”
The girl did not lift her head at all. “Who’s that lucky girl, the one who stole your first kiss?”
“Actually,” he began, “I am the one who stole it from her. She’s my best friend.”
And Nuki was as silent as a lonely night.
“I thought it was love,” he continued, his heart was tight but he wanted her to know. “But now I was proven wrong. My first love is right here.” He walked closer to her and took her hands.
She did not protest.
“Will you accept me now?” Slowly their gazes met. It wasn’t hard to read her emotions once she removed those invisible walls herself.
“I’m sorry for what I did to you before,” she whispered willingly. “I’m sorry I yelled at you, pretended that you weren’t there, purposely drove you mad with anger and gave you all the wrong impressions I should’ve given you.”
“I shouldn’t have been that way to you either,” Changmin chuckled. “Maybe I was mad at myself that day and that feeling dragged on for months.”
“What would you be mad at yourself for?”
“For not being able to give you my first of everything,” he smiled and pulled her in for a warm embrace. “The moment you started to distant away, that is the moment I realised I wanted you by my side for always.
“You’re too cheesy, Mr. Changmin.” Nuki giggled softly and lovingly returned his embrace.
“And by the way, don’t ever leave this fragrance. I like it,” Changmin whispered to her ears.
Nuki nodded her head with her face still leaning comfortably on Changmin’s broad shoulders.
Not much has to be said, but these two hearts has finally found the roads to connect to each other. And so they lived happily ever after… ^^
THE END!
