I Love Yoo, Maybe

Chapter 113

~~PREVIOUSLY On "I love Yoo, Maybe"~~

Kousuke gives Shin-ae a slight departing bow of my head. "I trust your judgement, Ms. Yoo." Straightening his clothes, Kousuke tells her, "Now, if you'll excuse me Ms. Yoo, I need check on some items before Monday."

"I'll be there right after school," Shin-ae tells him as walks out of the k-mall.

~~NOW~~

SHIN-AE

Phew! 

I can't believe I stood up to Kousuke and didn't get fired. Dieter, for all his bravado, stayed thankfully silent during my little speech. And now, for some reason, he won't look at me.

"Dieter?"

He stays silent for a moment. But I guess whatever he was thinking, he came to some kind of conclusion. He steps closer to me and says, "Don't worry. I won't tell Yeong-Gi." Then he looks away, his face blushing. "We're friends, right?" He looks back at me, waiting for an answer.

I sigh in relief. I may have lost Maya, but at least I haven't run-off Dieter yet.

"Of course, we're friends." I smile. My reaction causes him to smile back.

After an awkward silent moment, Dieter asks, "Soo...what happens now? I mean with your stalker. Are you going to tell your dad that she's your sister?"

"Um, actually..." Crap. I haven't thought this through! Agitated, I rake my hands through my hair. "Ugh! Who am I kidding? I have no idea what I'm doing!" I feel a panic start to rise within me...but then I feel a harm hand taking mine.

I look down and see Dieter's hot hands holding mine. "Hey," he whispers. "It's going to be ok. Think of it like the roller coasters we went on. You didn't know how the ride was going to go, but you went and did it anyway. Gott helfe mir, and just like on the Ferris Wheel, I'll be there for you to help you get through it."

I'm so taken aback by this; I don't even realize my body's reaction to it. Suddenly, I found myself hugging Dieter. "Thank you," I mutter into his chest. That's when I feel it.

His whole body goes faint from my hug, and with his heavy muscles, I fall with him. "Aaacck!" I land on top of him, his body out cold. Not again. I lean over him, pocking his solid chest. "Dieter? C'mon Dieter, don't do this now."

Then I hear this feminine voice calling me. "Shin-ae? Is that you?"

I look up. "Rika?" Is everyone at the k-mall today? "What are you doing here?"

She looks down at her shopping bags. "Well, shopping." Then she looks back down at me still on the floor with Dieter. "But I should be asking you that. Everything ok? What happened to Dieter?" She sets her bags down and kneels to us. "He's still breathing, right?"

I manage a chuckle and waive off the emergency in Rika's voice. "Yeah, he's fine. I just hugged him, forgetting his tendency to faint, and fell right on top of him."

"Pffftt! Of, course this would happen to you," Rika just laughs at my predicament. "Here," she offers her hand to me. "Let me help you up." I take her hand and her help, but Dieter is still out cold.

"Thanks," I tell her.

"Want to tell me what happened?" she asks with a sly look that says I-think-I-know-what-was-going-on-and-I-want-to-see-if-my-guess-is-right kind of way.

I give her my most unamused, straightest face. "Nothing happened." Ok, that's a bold face lie. A LOT has happened. But I'm not ready to share this yet, especially with Rika. What if she turns on me like Maya did? I can't handle anymore life-changing changes. It's too much change! Ugh! I miss my old life. I miss hanging out with my dad. I miss not being used by crazy rich people. I miss eating whatever my friends bought me. I miss...

"Uh, Shin-ae?" Rika's voice interrupts my one-person pity party in my head. And I guess my inner distress showed on my face, because she asks, "Are you ok?"

I want to tell her, I really do. But I can't risk it. Maybe...maybe if I tell her a small something – the kind something that she will eventually find out anyway. "Actually, no," I admit over Dieter's unconscious body. "I think...I think I need to move out Maya's house. At least until my dad is better."

Now Rika's face is distressed. "What?? What happened??" She is so distraught that she dropped her bags on Dieter.

A masculine "OOFF!" comes from the ground. Rika and I look down and see Dieter come too.

"OMG!" exclaims Rika. "I'm so sorry!"

"What – what happened?" He quickly looks around and notices that he's on the ground. "Mist, nicht wieder!" I really need to learn German. Or be implanted with a language chip. One of the two.

"Are you ok, Dieter?" I ask him.

He slowly gets up and tells me, "Yea. Just a bit embarrassed I fell...again." His complexion makes his blush extremely red. And it's oddly...cute? 

No, that can't be. I don't have time to see guys as cute!

Dieter turns to Rika. "Rika? When did you get here?" His face and neck slowly turn redder with the realization that Rika might have saw him fainted on the ground.  She certainly did.

Rika replies, "Not that long ago. But before I get to you," she turns me and asks, "Shin-ae, are you ok? Do you need to stay at my house?"

Dieter's eyebrows furrow in confusion. "Why would she need to stay at your house? Isn't she staying at Maya's?"

Crap...I really don't want to answer this now.