As I have nothing to give you, I give you my heart (IU Verse Book#1)

Chapter 22

          Jihyuk finished up the remaining of his paperwork and put them neatly on his desk. He let out a satisfied sigh looking at his finished work and couldn't wait to go home and take a rest. It was already late evening, and Jihyuk wonders if Jieun has already reached home. They hadn't had a chance to talk ever since Jieun went out the day before; he felt wrong for not going with her but he knew that deep down he was just a replacement for Sangin, and now that Sangin's back, the time that they spent together had lessened. Sangin would come and pick Jieun up in the morning and Jihyuk would drive to his own agency to catch up on some unfinished work. They would come back home at different times, and Jieun usually already fell asleep before he arrived, and yesterday was no exception.  

          He heaved a sigh and began to gather his things, and that was when he heard a ding coming from his phone. He checked to see that Jieun had left him a message, and just by seeing her name his heart began to quicken its pace. He clicked on her name. 

         "Can you drop by the office after work? There's something I have to show you." 

          His forehead furrowed as he stared at the message in confusion. What could Jieun possibly want to show him? And why at the office and not at her apartment? It was their home anyway. Wait, their home? Did he just consider her home as his too? 

         He shook his head to dismiss the thoughts as he grabbed his bag and rushed to the elevator. He stepped inside the elevator and pressed the ground floor. Just as the elevator door was about to close,  he saw one of his colleagues rushing in his direction, so he stopped the elevator door from closing and let him inside. His colleague muttered breathlessly with thanks as he stepped beside him. 

          Once he regained his breathing, his colleague offered him a smile to which Jihyuk returned. There was a moment of comfortable silence when his colleague blurted out, "Oh, Hyung. Isn't today your birthday? June 16th? Happy birthday." Jihyuk looked at his colleague puzzled for a moment and turned on his phone to check the date. It was indeed June 16th. And he totally forgot that today was his own birthday. He laughed sheepishly. "You're totally right, yes. Today is my birthday. Thank you." he replied sincerely.

            As the elevator reached the ground floor, they both walked out towards the exit. "Hyung, want to go grab a drink to celebrate? My treat."

          "I wish I could, Donghoon-ssi, but I have an appointment."

          "Ah, alright. I figured. Happy birthday again, Hyung."

          "Thanks." And with that, they went their separate ways.

           Jihyuk stepped into the ground floor of Edam Entertainment, looking around warily. It seemed like no one was there, as most of the lights were off, save for a few that were lit dimly. He approached the gate and checked in with his ID. As he approached the elevator, he spotted a figure standing in front of it, but he couldn't see who the person was because the whole floor was so dark it was almost pitch black. As he drew closer, the figure morphed into Hanteo as the older man gave him a smile when he spotted him. He was holding a single-string balloon. A balloon? Where did that come from?

          "Hanteo ssi?" Jihyuk called out unsurely as he approached him. Hanteo didn't say anything; he just smiled and handed him the balloon. He motioned for him to step into the elevator. Jihyuk began to feel nervous by Hanteo's action and asked the older man what's going on, but he just smiled and motioned for him to step into the elevator. As Jihyuk reluctantly went inside, he turned back to find Hanteo still looking at him. Before the door closed, Hanteo finally spoke up, "You trust me right, Jihyuk ahh?"