Hello, Mr Li: The Christmas Trip

"Something is definitely up between the two brothers." Joreen pointed out as the two girls head up the stairs. 

"I think so too." Reen agreed while looking lost in her thought. Zichu wasn't the type to be aggressive. She had come to know him as a very collected person. Even when he had been accused of hitting on a girl and received a punch for it, he didn't react until the stupid boy tried to hit her. But the reaction he gave to his brother was something else. He looked very pissed and there was something up with his brother also. 

"We shouldn't worry about it right?" Joreen asked. Every suspicious thing was beginning to make her feel uneasy. 

"Forget about it. That's between them." Reen assured her as they got to their floor. 

"It's going to be fine. Just go knock on his door and let the spirit lead you." 

"Wait, what? You aren't following me there?" Joreen asked, holding her sister's hand. 

"Of course not! You have to do this yourself. Besides, it's going to be really awkward if I follow you there. I already told you I'll check the surrounding to make sure there is no suspicious looking person. Give me a call when you are about to leave his room. I'll come wait here and survey the area again." 

"I... don't understand. You are not waiting out here? I won't spend a lot of time in there. I'll just go apologize and come out immediately. Just stay here and wait for me okay? I promise to come outside in the next 2 minutes." 

"I doubt. You never can tell... you may want to...." Reen wiggled her brows again which caused Joreen to let go of her hand while frowning at her. 

"I won't hit him again if that is what you are thinking! Do I just go around hitting people?"

Reen sighed and shook her head. She was lost for words. "Just go!" She urged her. 

Joreen took in a deep breath before marching to his door. 

A part of her wanted him to be inside while the other part didn't want him to be in. It was going to save them a lot of embarrassment and awkwardness if he wasn't in, but she also needed to put an end to this. 

She stood in front of the door and began to rethink the whole thing. She decided to just knock on the door but when she raised her fist, she could not bring herself to knock. 

She turned to look at her sister who gave her a thumbs up and urged her to knock.

Joreen was just about to knock on the door but jumped back in shock when the door opened. 

She hadn't been prepared for the door to suddenly open so she was startled when Hoy's face came into view.

Hoy looked equally surprised to see her standing there. In fact, he was very surprised.

Joreen lost all her confidence now that she was standing in front of him. She turned around immediately, ready to flee but before she could take two steps away from him, he asked... 

"What are you doing here?" 

His voice was unusually calm. He sounded a little different compared to how he usually spoke to her. Had he already forgotten about that day? Or was this the calm before the storm?

Joreen exhaled sharply before turning around to look at him. He looked like he was ready to go out. He wore gym shorts and gym shoes with a tee shirt. His hair wasn't styled to the back like he usually left it. It was a little bit messy.

"It seems you were going out. I... will just leav–"

"You can come in." He said, holding out the door for her. 

Joreen didn't move. She began to bite a finger as she reasoned if it really made sense for her to go inside the room. This room reminded her of so many embarrassing things. 

Hoy didn't say anything else. He simply waited for her to make a decision. But when she still stood there without deciding, he spoke up, "We could stay at the common room if it makes you feel better." 

She snapped back to her senses and shook her head. She didn't want to take all those stairs immediately and neither did she want to have such conversation with him in an open place. 

Without saying anything else, she walked inside the room. 

Reen smiled when Joreen entered inside. She really hoped they would settle whatever was up with them as soon as possible. 

After waiting for a minute more without seeing anyone suspicious, she decided to take a stroll down. It would be nice if she saw Zichu and asked him what that was all about earlier. Since she was naturally an inquisitive person, she wasn't sure she would be able to let it slide just like that. 

~~~

Hoy had wanted to go to the gym at the top floor but when he opened the door, his heart dropped to the ground when he saw Joreen standing there with her fist in the air like she was just about to knock on his door. 

He would have thought he was imagining her there just like he had done the past few days, but he knew the girl before him was real. Because his imaginations of her had always been of the scene when they were both standing in his bathroom. 

The imaginations had been too much for him to handle that he had no choice but to move over here. He thought staying separately from her would help his mind, but it was even worse because he was in the room where it had all happened! Whenever he opened his bathroom, the image flooded his mind. 

He usually felt both aroused and disgusted at himself. 

So he had been really surprised when he saw her because he thought she wouldn't want to ever see him again. It had been the reason he refused to join the family for dinner that night and breakfast the next morning because he didn't want her to be uncomfortable if she saw him in the dining. He didn't want her to suffer indigestion because of him. But when he heard from Mr Ping that she had also skipped dinner that first night, he felt really guilty but there was nothing he could do. He thought she must really hate him now. But here she was! 

He didn't know when he asked her to come inside. It was only after the words left his lips that he realised he had just asked the object of his fantasy to come inside the room where they were going to be alone. Just perfect! 

When she entered, she stood by the door awkwardly while he went further inside and dipped his hands inside his pocket. 

Okay, this is awkward! 

"I'm sorry"

"I am sorry about the other d–"

Joreen and Hoy said simultaneously and looked at each other, wondering why the other was apologizing.

"It's my fault." 

"I should be apol—"

They spoke at the same time again and stopped. They exchanged a look before both laughed. 

"I will go first." Joreen said. 

"I am sorry for hitting you that day. And also sorry for entering inside your room without your permission. It was wrong of me to do so and I figured you must be really pissed at me. You even saved me but I repaid you that way." 

Really? She had been blaming herself? Hoy wondered. If only she knew... she would be hitting him more right now and calling him a pervert. 

"No. It's my fault. I shouldn't have...." He paused. Now that he thought about it, how was it exactly his fault again? It's not like he was obliged to knock when it was his room in the first place. And it wasn't like he would have closed his eyes when he entered inside his bathroom. He finally remembered why he was apologizing. It was because of the dirty thoughts he had been having lately about her. But there was no way in hell he was going to tell her that. 

Joreen shook her head. "I am truly sorry for my reaction that day. I was only shocked and didn't know when I slapped you. I... trust you. And I don't think you are a pervert." 

Hoy became even more disappointed in himself after he heard the last thing she said. She trusted him?

If only she knew. 

Joreen was quickly losing her confidence since she was the one doing all the talking. She wondered why he was so quiet and looked uncomfortable. Was he by chance still mad at her? 

"Let's pretend it never happened and go back to being friends?" She asked before extending her hand. She really wished he would agree and shake hands with her. 

He looked at her tiny hands with well manicured nails and wondered if it was a good idea touching her hand. He wanted to get away from her as soon as possible and also wanted her to stay. He had never faced such a dilemma before. 

When he was still reluctant to shake hands with her, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She moved closer and before he could register what was happening, she hugged him.

Not minding how stiff he was in her arms, she nuzzled the side of her face into his broad chest and whispered, "I missed you Li Hoy."