Chapter 1 - Blue Eyes

I huffed in annoyance as I glared at the 46 inch Samsung TV in front of me. I was pretty sure that it had been in good condition: no scratches and no chipping before the move. But now as I observed it, I noticed that there was an irritatingly big three inch scratch on the right corner on the lower half of the screen. Not being the type to ever complain about poor service, I looked away from my TV. I didn't want the disappointment within me ruining the rest of my day. Besides, I was sure that if I called the moving company, I would just get angrier because they would most likely argue that the scratch had already been there. This was what I got for trying to save money.

My cousin Ethan was holding an I-told-you-so look on his face and I let out a sigh. "I know what you're about to say."

"You mean 'I told you so'?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Ugh, I don't want to hear it," I quickly said, flicking my wrist at him because I didn't want him to remind me of my poor decision again. I already knew that I should have listened to him. I should have chosen a better moving company, but it was too late now. "It doesn't matter that much to you anyway. It's my TV."

"Yeah, your new flat screen with a terrible scratch on it."

"Well, that's better than not having a TV at all," I retorted with my arms crossed. "I mean how the heck were you living here without a TV?"

He shrugged. "I didn't need one, nor did I have the time for it."

"Okay. Whatever you say, Dr. Choi."

Sometimes, Ethan was so annoyingly perfect. He was extremely active, exercising whenever he wasn't working and making sure that every meal that he ever had was considered healthy. Basically, we were total opposites. I exercised… barely and I happened to eat whatever was convenient, so I just knew that living here with him was going to be a huge pain. I was sure that I was going to be nagged at for my choice in diet and that I would be dragged outside to go on jogs with him. He never said anything about my appearance or my lack of exercise, but I knew that my BMI was starting to get a little close to above the average. But still, I couldn't find the motivation to live like he did. He amazed me.

"So there's this 10K charity run outside of Chicago Med in a few weeks."

"Don't tell me. You're going to participate in it, aren't you?"

"Of course I am," he grinned. "And so, I was wondering if you-"

"Ha, very fun," I cut him off. "I can't even run a mile without dying."

"You're always so over dramatic. I wasn't even going to ask you to join the run. Obviously, you wouldn't be up for it," he said sarcastically. "I was wondering if you wanted to come volunteer. You know, help out with setting things up and stuff."

I thought about it. I was new to Chicago and I was going to be starting my new job here in the city soon. But then again, I really didn't like being around strangers. However, I realized that every person in Chicago was a stranger to me except for Ethan.

"Well, I'm not sure. I could be working that day," I told him, knowing fully well that I would always be getting my work schedule two weeks early.

"Don't worry. I'll give you the exact date and you can make sure that you're not working that day," he replied with a grin. "I could introduce you to some people. It'd be great."

Since he worked at Chicago Med, he knew a lot of people and although I wasn't excited about the idea, I decided that it would be best for me to join him at the event. I planned on staying in Chicago for a while anyway, so maybe this start would give me a positive impact in the long run.

Reluctantly, I gave in.

Ethan was working a night shift, so I knew that I would be coming home to an empty apartment. With grocery bags in both hands, I waited for the elevator to reach our floor. A moment later, the elevator stopped with a soft ding. My mind having been blank while I was waiting, I was caught by surprise when the doors slid open to reveal a man standing there. He was tall, muscular, and the definition of handsome. I wasn't normally the type to be so overly attracted to a man that I was seeing for the first time, but this was exactly what was happening.

He gave me a polite smile as he stepped out of the way to let me out. My face felt frozen at first, but the corners of my lips raised up into a smile, returning the expression. Finding my voice, I greeted him with a stupid hi. Could you blame a girl for trying to be friendly?

"Hey. You're Jennie, right? You just moved in?"

"Uh, yes," I awkwardly replied, not sure how else to respond. How did he know my name?

"I promise I'm not a stalker. I'm a friend of Ethan's," he explained. As he spoke, I could see the small gap between his upper front teeth. Even that looked attractive on him. "My name is Kelly."

The first thought that came to my mind after hearing his name was how I'd never met a male Kelly before, but his name was another thing that added to the list of things that I liked about him which were starting to form in my head.

"It's nice to meet you, Kelly," I said, purposely saying his name out loud because that was usually what I did in order to remember a name.

Shifting the bag that was in my right hand to my left, I stretched out my free hand towards him and he immediately shook it. His large hands felt rough compared to mine, which I figured was from hard work, whatever it was that he did.

"Yeah. It's nice to meet you too," he said in a genuine tone, briefly taking his eyes off of me to tap the down arrow button to keep the elevator from closing its doors. "Listen, if you ever need anything, don't be afraid to ask. We're right across from you."

I couldn't help but get lost in his blue eyes for a moment. They were hard to miss. They were so electrifying. It almost seemed like they had a life of their own.

"Thank you," I nearly blubbered.

After he left, I was left with my own thoughts. He had used the word, we.

Did he have a girlfriend?

Was he married?

My single self grew curious although I was too self-conscious to ever be involved with such a beautiful man like him.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading! I'm sort of terrible at updating my stories, so I've decided to try something new... I'm going to write shorter chapters because I feel like writing longer ones makes me obsess over length rather than content. If you're enjoying this so far, please leave a review. I'll see you in the next chapter!

-Jane