Catch, 22!

Chapter 3: The Girl with Lightning in Her Veins

As Jungkook stood, locking eyes with this lovely lady, he had a sudden urge to kiss her. Instead, he reached up and touched her cheek. Her eyes widened, and he heard her inhale sharply. He'd felt it too. Lightning had just struck him through his fingertips. On her skin.

Had he stopped breathing? He inhaled sharply, attempting to fill his empty lungs with air. To no avail. His chest felt constricted. His breathing labored. Maybe they had actually been struck by lightning. He looked up at the cloudless sky. At the blinding sun. No thunderclouds overhead. Just this beautiful girl in front of him. Who apparently carried electricity in her veins.

Hyejin was having trouble breathing. Again. But his words were echoing in her mind.

"But it's kind of refreshing to find someone who doesn't think they already know everything there is to know about me."

She felt compassion swelling in her heart. She knew what that was like.

"I'm sorry." The words slid out of her lips, unbidden.

Jungkook's head came back down as his eyes met hers. "Sorry? What are you sorry for?"

"That people judge a book by its cover. That they think they know who you are when they really don't."

He tilted his head to the side, trying to figure her out.

Just then her dog took off after a squirrel, carrying its leash with him.

She lurched sideways. "Twenty-two!" She threw back over her shoulder. "Sorry! I gotta go!"

Wait a minute. Why did she keep shouting, "Twenty-two"? Was that her dog's name? What kind of weird name was that? He wanted to ask her.

Jungkook stared after her in disappointment. He hadn't even gotten her name.

--

Jungkook had found it hard to sleep that night. His mind kept replaying their meeting. Her beautiful face kept floating before his mind's eye. And, of course, lightning kept striking him every time he relived the touch of his fingers along her cheek.

He groaned and rolled over. One of these days he was going to have to clean his bed off. So that he could sleep somewhere comfortable. The hard floor was not helping him drift off to sleep. It was rock hard, like his abs. Jungkook started laughing. There were so many bad jokes about his abdominal muscles on Twitter. He was sure this one must have made the rounds at least once.

He sighed and rolled onto his back. He stared up at the ceiling. Maybe he would try counting sheep. Or dogs. Her dog had such a strange name. What on earth had prompted her to name her dog after a number? He smiled as he realized that her dog was named for the birthday he was about to celebrate. He smiled to himself. He had to find the independent spirit that had chosen that unique name.