Page 29 of You Had Me At Annyeong!
What a relief! These three months are going to be a breeze. I will not let Handsome Haneul win. No way!
Timira starts to walk again, a little absent-mindedly and half-wobbling because of the painful blisters. No surprise that she suddenly twists her ankle, loses her balance, and is only a split second away from losing to gravity when a pair of strong arms catches her.
Bracing for impact, Timira had shut her eyes. She can hear Hanee’s voice in the background and can still feel the strong arms around her. She opens her eyes slowly to look up at the person holding her.
She can’t see much because of the baseball hat hiding most of his face. His face is turned away from her as he asks someone for a chair.
She cranes her neck for a better look. The baseball hat now turns towards her and speaks in a familiar, low-pitched voice.
‘You okay?’
I know this voice. I know it! Wait, NO! I know this chin strap! NOOOOOOO!
She struggles to break free from the strong arms that are still holding on to her tightly and not showing any willingness to let go.
She grits her teeth and grunts into his ears.
‘LET. ME.GO. NOW!’
Timira’s saviour-turned-tormentor looks to be enjoying this and smiles wickedly before going dangerously close to her face and whispering.
‘Fancy seeing you here, clumsy clown!’
‘Don’t touch me!’
‘Okay okay, calm down. Not touching …’
With that, his arms give up their claim over Timira, who refuses his help to get up.
‘Are you all right,Seonbae? Are you hurt? Shall we go back in?’ Hanee asks her breathlessly after helping her up.
Timira doesn’t say a word. She grabs Hanee’s hand and drags her out. Hanee turns to look at the unusually well-built man with a familiar face she tries hard but is unable to place. He’s now surrounded by some of the office folks but is looking at Timira with a mischievous glint in his eyes and a wicked smile lurking around the corners of his mouth.
‘Hanee … can I call you Honey? Will that be okay? Or will your boyfriend mind? Oh, well, too bad if he does. Tell him you will be my Honey for the next three months.’
Looking and feeling confused, Hanee lets Timira lead the way down a street the latter has never before been on.
Lost in thought, she doesn’t realize that they aren’t walking anymore until she feels a tug. They are standing outside a bar/cafe and Timira is dragging her in.
But, this isn’t Dalkomm …Hanee thinks to herself.
‘Sorry, Honey. You will have to forget today’s lesson. Or not. Every experience is a lesson!’ Timira is surprised at her own wisdom and chuckles like only a father would at his dad joke.
Ordering a double cognac for herself, and an iced Americano for Hanee, Timira sighs deeply and wonders …
WHAT IS THAT CHEATING, LYING, DOUBLE-TIMING RODRIGO DOING AT MY WORKPLACE AGAIN?
Chapter Eight
Seoul, Korea
It’s past midnight and everything is cloaked in darkness. The air is still and the moon is hidden behind a colony of ominous-looking grey clouds. Timira’s gaze is fixed on a shadowy figure only a little distance away.
A gumiho? Is that really a gumiho? Alice would know. Damn, where is Alice when one needs her?
Timira seems to be staring directly at the silhouette of Korea’s famed nine-tailed fox, but can’t see its face.
Is he smiling at me? Why? Is he going to drink my blood to turn into a human?
