It was another rainy day. Solbin walked at the CEO's side, heading to her car. The puddles were a nuisance for her, as she had her stilettos on, so she assumed she would end up tipping the eagle. Her foot slipped, but fortunately, she was caught in time by Jungkook, who released his umbrella to grab her around the waist with both hands.
She looked at him with wide-open eyes as she bent in half, lying in his embrace.
- Are you okay? - He asked, and she nodded in response. He helped her stand up straight and lifted both umbrellas off the ground. Fortunately, there was no wind, but it was pouring, so they managed to get wet for that moment.
- I always have to get something up," she said shyly, seeing how a smile crept onto Jungkook's face. - I make you wet.
- That's cute," he replied.
She watched him for a long moment, standing still. She watched as he walked to the car and opened the door, with a nod, urging her to get in.
- Excuse me," she muttered, then headed toward him with a quick step. As she got in, she looked into his eyes, and it seemed to her that at that moment time slowed down. It was strange, but just then she felt that this was a part of the shaman's story. Every time, she had this strange feeling that all the romantic plots with her boss were the novel of this crazy woman.
She felt uncomfortable because her yellow shirt was wet and see-through. It was fortunate that they were already returning to the company because how could they show themselves in this state in front of strangers?
Jungkook sped down the highway, as the meeting was outside the city. The rain did not stop, and the windshield wipers fought a fierce battle with the drops flooding the windshield. Solbin enjoyed watching the rain. It relaxed her. As a child, she often sat on the windowsill in such weather, reading books. There was nothing more wonderful than the sound of rain and a good read.
With a concerned look, she looked at her boss when a strange noise sounded in the engine, and after a moment, puffs of smoke began to come from under the hood. A visibly worried Jungkook pulled over to the side of the road.
- This is a new car.... how can it be? - he muttered.
She watched him as he got outside without taking his umbrella with him. He was nervous and didn't even care anymore that he might get sick.
He opened his mask and closed it back after a moment, then went back inside.
- It's a fatality. I dare you to think they sold me a defective car. - He grabbed his cell phone and made a phone call, explaining the situation and asking for help. - We'll have to wait here for an hour before the tow truck shows up," he turned to her as he ended the phone call.
- I understand.
Raindrops hit the car, and they sat in silence. Solbin did not speak because she noticed that Jungkook had lost his temper. He probably didn't like the fact that his newly purchased car had fallen apart on his first long trip.
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as he rested his cheek on his hand.
- The main thing is that nothing happened to us. I would not forgive myself if you were injured because of me.
- After all, it's not your fault. The car can break down at any time," she replied, and then he shifted his gaze to her. - In college I had a very friendly, cheerful friend. She was able to infect everyone with her cheerfulness. I never would have thought that the day would come when I would hear about her death.
- What happened?
- I remember how happy she was when she told me that she and her boyfriend had bought a new car and were taking their first trip to the sea with it. It was also their last trip," she announced in a sad voice. - The car turned out to be defective. They were on the road when the computer jammed and the car started to accelerate. Everything failed. They died on the spot because her boyfriend was unable to control the steering wheel. - Solbin looked at Jungkook and noticed that he looked scared. - This was to be their fate. They just happened to be the ones who ended up with the defective car. It's lucky that something in your car went in the engine and not in the computer.
- That's terrible. I can't imagine it.
- I couldn't either. I couldn't believe that I would never see this cheerful girl again. After her death, the corridors of the university became somehow so gloomy. We missed her very much.
Jungkook leaned his head against the seat, looking thoughtful.
- Do you know why I looked happy when I first met you on the beach in Thailand? - His words clearly made Solbin curious. - Even that day, you made my heart beat harder because you reminded me incredibly of my first love. - A feeling of heat surged inside the girl's body. - That's why I wanted to meet you and make your acquaintance at all costs.
Solbin looked confused when she realized that Jungkook wanted to get close to her for this very reason.
- Did you love your girlfriend so much that you saw her in me?
He nodded uncertainly in response.
- Since we started to open up to each other, I won't hide it from you any longer. It's true, I wanted to meet you because I saw my first love in you. - The girl did not take her eyes off him, wanting to listen to him to the end. - That day, when you ran away without a word, I was really heartbroken," he announced, forcing a slight smile. - I swore to myself that when I returned to Korea, I would find you at all costs, but you appeared before me, submitting a resume to my company.
Her heart was beating like crazy. She began to consider whether this was all a Shaman novel. After all, such stories didn't happen in real life, but in books. Until now, she thought they were only stuck in fragments, but it was coming out that ever since they met, a witch had guided their entire lives!
She turned pale on her face.
- You have intrigued me. I'm really curious how similar I am to your ex-girlfriend.
- You were because she died at a young age. The disease took her away from me," he announced. His face grew sad. - For a long time, I could not recover. Your appearance in my life made me smile again. Thanks to you, I gained the will to live. - He searched for something on his phone, then handed her the device. - This is her. My first love.
Chills took over Solbin's body as she fixed her gaze on the photo. The girl laughing at Jungkook's side, you could say she looked like her sister!
It was so unreal that she immediately thought of the fact that they had been in the illusion of Shaman all along. It couldn't be real. An unexpectedly broken down car in the middle of the highway and then trapped in it, waiting for help. It all sounded like a novel in which they were supposed to take advantage of the situation and get closer to each other....
Solbin panicked. She handed him the phone and left the car, ignoring the pouring rain. Out of it all, she ran out of air.
- Are you all right? - Asked Jungkook, who came up behind her. They stood on the side of the road, getting wet in the rain.
- Are you okay? This isn't really happening! You may be real, but your feelings and behavior are not real! It's all an illusion! - She raised her voice, looking at him from under her squinted eyelids.
- What are you talking about, Solbin?
- I'm talking about the fact that we are all stuck in a sick novel, and we need to end it as soon as possible!
- A novel? - Jungkook looked confused.
- Yes, because at any moment it may come into her head to kill us. We are dealing with a dangerous witch that I freed from a tree as a child. The puzzling thing is, why did she wait fifteen years to make us puppets? There must be some mystery behind it.
- Solbin, I still don't understand what you are talking about....
- It's all an illusion. Our feelings are an illusion. They are not the real us. You are not infatuated with me at all because I remind you of your first love. You are a puppet of a crazy woman, just like me and our friends!
- I don't know what is happening to you, but I will prove to you now that this is the real me and my real feelings," he announced, grabbing her face in his hands. He kissed her in the rain, and she was already paranoid. She was sure they were still stuck in the story of this crazy woman. It was a fragment of the perfect scene the witch had used for their first kiss, but the worst part was that then her heart beat harder...
*
Ara snorted under her breath as she returned from work, and the smell of a cooked dinner filled her nostrils. The sight of the table filled with various delicious-looking dishes made her stomach clamor for food. Seokjin was a chef, able to create such dishes out of nothing that a person could not eat, but today he outdid himself. He showed off, thinking that in this way he would get to the girl's heart faster.
- What a nice feeling when a person comes back tired from work and a delicious dinner prepared by her husband is waiting for him," she said, throwing her bag into a corner and sitting down at the table. Seokjin smiled from the corner of his mouth.
- Through the stomach to the heart.
- Rather, to the intestines," she replied.
Paying no attention to his face, she put all the dishes on her plate. She was hungry as hell, and nothing could stop her from eating huge amounts. Most girls wouldn't dare do that in the company of a man, but Ara was the type of person who gave a damn about everything. She never pretended to be someone she wasn't. She always showed her true side.
Resting his chin on his hand, Seokjin watched her with a smile on his face. He was amused by Ara's behavior. He had to admit that she looked adorable when her cheeks were stuffed with food. However, he embraced rather quickly when he realized where his thoughts were going. He grunted and spoke to her teasingly:
- You are probably the only woman on earth who eats worse than a pig. - The redhead stretched her lips in a smile, unable to open a mouth full of food. - Is there anything at all that can embarrass you?
Ara chewed the food thoroughly and swallowed it with difficulty.
- I was born shameless, so no.
- I think I believe you when I remember your previous antics," he muttered.
The young woman smiled devilishly. She moved the plates to the side and climbed onto the table on her knees, crossing over to the surprised Seokjin.
- What are you doing? - He asked, looking at her with wide-open eyes. She grabbed him by the collar of his blouse and clenched the material in her hand.
- I'm showing you how shameless I can be.
- You don't have to. I've come to the conclusion that I believe you," he declared. She clenched the material of the shirt even tighter in her hand as he tried to free himself. - Will you let me go?
- Why, do you feel seduced? Are you losing?
The man snorted under his breath.
- I told you that you could stand naked in front of me, and it wouldn't impress me.
- Are you sure? - She let him go and shamelessly pulled her blouse down in front of him, leaning over him in her bra. He was confused, and his ears turned red. - You know... somehow I don't believe you.
- So you want to play dirty?
- All tricks are allowed. We didn't talk about any limits. Whoever falls in love first loses.
Seokjin squinted, looking into her face for a long moment.
- Oh yeah?
He got up from his chair, grabbed her around the waist and helped her off the table. Unexpectedly, he did something Ara wouldn't have expected from him. He pressed her close to him and kissed her passionately, knowing no limits. She couldn't break free. She was unable to appear weaker, so she threw her arms around his shoulders and pressed him against the wall. A passionate battle began between them, as neither of them was going to lose.
Ara swept his face with a seductive look as he took the initiative, and it was he who pressed her against the wall, holding her hands at head height.
- I will make you fall madly in love with me after today," he declared. She smiled wildly at these words.
- You would like...
Once again, they caught up with each other, as if they had been thirsty for a very long time. Perhaps both of them had been suppressing feelings they would rather not admit for some time?
Time will tell.